Band of Runners Christmas Run & Robs 100th Marathon, Marcothon Days 4, 5, 6 & 7

Got back at 02.30 this morning after a 21 hour party. Quite tired. All behind on this week's blog, so I will write it backwards. 

Golb.

Day 7: Saturday - Band of Runners Christmas Party / Robs 100th Marathon

Very, very excited for today's run with Phoenix! Ages since I've been down on the towpath and I miss everyone, and couldn't wait to catch up. Plus it was Rob's 100th marathon today, and the Band of Runners Christmas Marathon, and After Party. 

What a day, easily the best Christmas party! Plenty of running, lots of friends, sunshine, happiness, cake (the most beautiful cake I've seen), snacks, and a never empty cup! Lucky to run the whole way (29.5 miles) with Sarah and Jon, plus the last half with Rob and an ever growing Band of Runners. So good to chat and catch up with everyone, sing, and laugh the way around the towpath. One of the best runs! Congratulations Rob on your 💯 ! Absolutely brilliant, and the size of the crowd at the end to watch the presentation just goes to show what a legend Rob is!

After that, it was to the pub to begin on the import task of celebrating, before heading over to the Band of Runners Christmas party at the rugby club in Hersham. I walked in, and initially thought I'd come to the wrong place, as it's so wierd to see your running friends not wearing running gear, and with hair all dried properly, I almost didn't recognise anyone. And also strange, but good strange, to be able to talk to people whilst not running! After the simply stunning and tuneful kareoke performances, some of The Band of Runners are probably going to be lost to running, whilst they form an actual band....but hopefully not too many....

So good was the party, that I somehow managed to miss the last train. I was sure I'd checked. But on looking at my search afterwards, what I had actually checked was trains from Walton-on-Thames. Which wasn't where I was.

Oh. An Uber and two buses and a walk in the rain followed, involving passing through Clapham at 01:30am, which looked remarkablely similar to a checkpoint on a Hundred at that time of the proceedings .... people swaying all over the place, talking nonsense, and throwing up. I beat a hasty retreat on the N87 bus, which wasn't very much better, and was like the Body Bus on the Hundred, with people drapped, unconscious, over seats. I thought I might as well join in with pretending that I was on an overnight running event, I was feeling as tired after all, and cracked open my Freddo Christmas tin, (thanks Rik!) and had a midnight feast.

Day 6: Friday

I've noticed my error in doing golb, not a blog, in that the rest of the weeks running wasn't really as exciting as that, so the rest of this is going to be a massive disappointment.

Friday morning I was feeling quite motivated to get up early. Well, that, and the fact that I couldn't run later because it was my work Christmas party, so the motivation was a bit forced upon me.

The weather had taken a turn. It was like some kind of tropical storm had hit. I opened the door into the darkness, and the wind was whipping all the leaves around the square, raindrops the size of snooker balls were flying around, and it was bizarrely warm. 

Squeezed in a 5km, down to Brick Lane and back. I like Brick Lane, especially when it's not really busy. It has a 24 hour Bagel Shop, which I never really believe was actually open 24 hours, but it was before 7 when I got down there and it was open, so maybe it's true. I peered through the steaming window at the rows of hot bagels and cakes. It felt like about time for breakfast....

...but sadly, I hadn't brought any money, so the running streak continued.... 

Day 5: Thursday

Woke up late, so had to run, (literally) to work (5km). Then I felt like I needed another run, so ran home as well (not straight away, although it was tempting). It wasn't very exciting really, but hey.

Day 4: Wednesday

5km to yoga. This was even less exciting, if that is possible. Next week, I'll try to make the golb more exciting.....

The Marcothon: Days 1, 2 and 3

December....it's officially the season to be jolly.

Ho ho ho!

I left work late again on Friday, after almost being hoovered up and dusted by the cleaner, and not feeling very festive at all. It was dark when I got there, and dark when I left. Always dark, like being in the doldrums. And right now it feels that nothing I do makes a difference, and no one cares, or probably even notices what I do. Bah humbug. 

Mmmm... humbugs....

I mean, bah humbug. 

I was very disappointed in myself for feeling this way. I have been working hard on my mental health, and it's been going very well, and I have been feeling very much better. I was disappointed to have been adversely affected by a bad few days at work. My resilience to this is meant to have improved!

So, enough, I must rouse myself out of this rut, and find a new focus.

I have decided to do the Marcothon. The Marcothon was invented by a wife, who had a husband named Marco. Marco ran every day in November, so his wife named this running streak Marcothon, and then ended up doing it in December. I think it was in 2009 and every year it's becoming more popular. You don't have to sign up to it or anything, it's just a personal challenge. You are meant to run at least 5km or 30 mins each day (whichever comes first), but there's no upper limit.

I thought it sounded a good thing. I've done a couple of running streaks before and enjoyed them a lot. In 2015 I ran every day for 100 days (1000 miles altogether) for charity, and in 2017 I ran every day for the 75 days I was in Australia and New Zealand, as a comeback after being unwell. I like it because it sort of takes the decision making away from deciding if you should run or not today. And sometimes making a decision is hard if your mood is low, so if it's already decided, then that solves that! 

So, one decision for the month decided upon, it was time to get on with it.

Day 1: Sunday

My Marcothon began in Milton Keynes. I have never been to Milton Keynes at all until 2 months ago, and now I've been 3 times. I really quite like it. It's not all concrete and round-a-bouts. It's got big open spaces, parks, trim trails, countryside, nice cafes (good hot chocolate) and as well as concrete cows, it has a concrete triceratops.

I don't know anywhere else that has a concrete triceratops, or any kind of triceratops for that matter.

I was here for my fourth attempt at Krav Maga. My friends Alan and Tom have been kindly teaching this, and today Hisayo and my sister Kate came too. From the train station, we ran 3.5 miles to and around Willen Lake, including about 12 Trim Trail (the outdoor gym) stations. It didn't start off well, when I fell off the top of the first climbing frame (fortunately I had a bike helmet in my back pack, which cushioned my fall from grace). But then, and for the first time in my whole life, I did a monkey bar, the entire way across. Pleased as punch with that (plus grateful for a distraction from my previous balls up), and feeling like I'd finally achieved something of note this week, I was considering heading to the cafe for hot chocolate and a sit down, to recover from this dizzying success. But that would mean missing the rest of the Trim Trial (Push up bars - my favourite! The upper body balancing bars - my double favourite! Ha!) and Krav, so I pushed all thoughts of hot chocolate out of my mind, and got on with it. I love Krav, I mean I'm terrible at it, but it's such fun trying to learn it, and even stood outside in the freezing cold, the time passes like a flash. Thanks Alan and Tom for sharing your knowledge and experience! After that, it was time for hot chocolate, and then a 6.5 mile run back to the station. 

Day 2: Monday

I actually could not believe it was Monday morning again already. I was meant to get up at 6:15 so I could run before work, as I already had plans in the evening. But I got up, and spent so long staring out of the window in dismay at the darkness and frost, that I ran out of time to run. This was not going well already. 

I came up with a plan B, which is a plan I have put off for about 2 years, which is to run to work. It mostly just that the organisation to do this is beyond me that early in the morning. There's just so much stuff you need to get ready at work, and then it has to all fit in a running bag! That, plus the plumbing at work is always breaking, so I've always been worried I'd run there and then the shower would break and flood the building. Which come to think of it, might not be such a bad thing, but anyway....

Marcothon has helped me get over all this faffing, and running to work was a good start to the day, and to make the run up to 30 mins, I did an extra lap around Highbury Fields, which was nice in the morning sunshine.

And I didn't flood the shower.

Day 3: Tuesday

Today I just ran home from work, 5km, which is kind of a usual weekday run. Nothing exciting, down Holloway Road (the worst bit), through the back streets of Canonbury to the Regents Canal, then through Hoxton. Does the job though, and being able to run home feels much better than a tube or train. 

It's now only three weeks away from Christmas Eve! And as there was nothing exciting to take a picture of an my run, it is time for some Christmas cheer.....

I've just realised, I perhaps should explain what running streak means. It doesn't involve running naked. Thank goodness, it is December after all. It involves running a streak of consecutive days, wearing full running clothes. Glad that's cleared up.

50 miles in Milton Keynes

Yesterday, it was time for 50 mile run, organised by my friend Alan. I sort of  accidentally agreed to this, a bit like a reflex, without really thinking about if I was actually going to be able to do it or not. The last time I ran 50 miles was back in June, so my Fifty Fitness was in some doubt. But I wanted to do it, to spend the day running with friends, so there was only one thing for it.....I must try!

Waking up at 5:30 on a running day is so much better than an early morning on a work day. I had nightmare in the week, that I overslept until 10:00, so had to drive to the start, but ended up running instead, got lost, and fell in a bog. 

A lot of that is probably not even a nightmare, but what usually happens, but at least the oversleeping bit didn't come true. After breakfast number 1, and a cycle to Euston in the dark, Andrew and I caught the train up to Milton Keynes (including breakfast number 2), to meet Alan.

From there, we ran though the green parks of MK, past the Concrete Cows...

The Concrete Cows are a sculpture (of three cows and three calves) made in 1978 by Liz Leyh, an artist-in-residence in the early days of Milton Keynes. They are said to be the artist poking fun at the new city. I suppose, that the countryside had been enveloped in a city, and the only cows are made of concrete. They haven't had such an easy time of it. They've been painted pink, had PJ bottoms painted on them, a calf has been kidnapped, ears cut off, a badly behaved bull added, and then cow pats....

...from the Concrete Cows, Alan had planned a great route to the north of MK (thanks Alan!), around the countryside and villages. Feels like you are really far away from anywhere, despite being pretty close to the city.

There were plenty of ploughed fields, and bogs, so I made a bog montage...

And for a break from the bogs, we had our first checkpoint outside a luxury country mansion house...

....and soon after we were tempted by another checkpoint opportunity...

...but no! We must focus. Soon we ran over the River Great Ouse, which was indeed great, after all the recent rain...

Shortly before the half way point, there was an incident with a ferocious bramble, which firstly tripped up Alan in front, then I was next and it got entwined in my hair, so I was sort of hanging by by hair, which hurt really, but got more stuck the more I tried to untangle myself. Andrew came next, to the rescue, but he got stuck in the bramble too, and a few of the thorns got stuck in his hands. Eventually, looking a bit dishevelled (even more so than usual after 25 miles in the rain and mud) we were released from the bramble, and soon after made it to the half way checkpoint, a Luxury Checkpoint at a cafe in Olney, where we were able to recover with hot drinks and cake. 

Andrew headed home from here (congrats on his first marathon in a long time!!), and Alan and I carried on for the 50. The frequency of ploughed fields and serious bogs started to reduce, and the bogs became just minor bogs as the route started to follow more well made tracks. 

We were ahead of schedule, so were able to fit in a second luxury checkpoint in Salcey Forest Visitor Centre. Hot tea was a treat, as it was pretty rainy and cold by that point, and at 4pm, it was starting to get dark...

I love running in the dark! We almost made it through the forest before it got a bit dangerous running without light, and we both nearly went flying over fallen logs, and it was time for head torches. Running in the dark, and only being able to see a little bit all around in the circle of the head torch light always makes me feel quite safe and calm, like I just have to focus on my own little bit of world that I can see, and all the darkness all around doesn't matter, as I can't see it.

This of course only applies if I'm with someone else, and I'm distracted from feeling scared and am feeling safe, and not worrying about what actually is in the darkness all around. Especially when having a non-luxury checkpoint at about 45 miles next to a graveyard, for instance. Or when running through a field of cows, when suddenly just outside my little circle of light, a whole lot of glittering eyes start shining out of the darkness (the first time I met a cow when running through a field in the dark, I genuinely thought it was the devil, what with it's two luminous green eyes hovering about in the darkness, and there being hoofprints in the mud all around)..... 

Anyway, we made it back to MK without any more major bogs, ferocious brambles, or devilish cows, and completed 50 miles in 10.45. Thanks Alan and Andrew for a great run! Good to do a 50 again, my favourite distance. 

Such was the level of bog, that a bog decontamination zone had to be set up before going back into the house.....

...and just in case you're interested, this is what a banana looks like after 50 miles...

The Athens Marathon, 10.11.2019 - The Authentic Marathon!

The Athens Marathon, known as the Authentic Marathon, has been on my wish list since I was little. This is a while ago, but to explain why this is, we must go even further back into the mists of time....

In 490 BC the Athenian Army defeated the Persian invaders at Marathon Town (a town on the coast, north of Athens). The Greek messenger Pheidippides, ran the 26 miles to Athens, to announce victory, and then collapsed, and died from exhaustion. 

Well, that's how the popular story of the origins of The Marathon goes, but it's probably not true. The route from Marathon to Athens was smooth even then, so a messenger would have taken a horse, which was much a faster and preferable mode of transport. It is recorded that there was a messenger named Pheidippides, but he probably was used to relay messages along routes too treacherous for horses, like over the mountainous terrain from Athens to Sparta, which is around 280 miles. 

What is more likely, is that after the Athenians defeated the Persians at Marathon, the whole army had to march back quickly to Athens, which was already under threat from another Persian invasion, from the sea. So thousands of soldiers would have marched the route, headed from one battle, straight to another. 

But the Pheidippides story has stuck, as being the point from which The Marathon was born. Which is lucky really, otherwise a marathon would be 280 miles. Thank goodness. Anyway, I am easily enthralled by a good story, and I have always been fascinated by this one, as this is what the marathon route of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 is based on. So going there to run the Authentic Marathon was like a dream for someone who loves a marathon!

I went with some friends from work, Joe, Sumaiya, and Alex. The whole weekend was tonnes of fun, and felt like a proper mini holiday, with sun, sightseeing, nice Greek food, and of course, the running. The marathon weekend is a really big deal in Athens, and it's a really great atmosphere, and it felt like the whole city was in the spirit for the weekend.

I hadn't really appreciated how big an event it was, until we made it to the Expo on Saturday to pick up our numbers and bags. It was enormous and absolutely packed. As well as the marathon there are 5km and 10km and also other races, like kids races, over the weekend, so there are thousands of people taking part, about 19,000 doing the marathon alone. 

It was quite overwhelming and after a couple of hours we were pretty knackered. Afterwards, of course, we had to recover with a Greek lunch and some sightseeing.

Athens is so beautiful and there are so many things to see, that after this, we needed to recover again, with carb loading in the evening, and sangria (for hydration, and relaxation). When we arrived in the early hours of Saturday morning, the bed in Sumaiya's room had been soaking wet, due to a leak, so the manager had given us a free meal and drinks in the rooftop bar (as well as fixing the wet bed, of course).

I didn't sleep very well on Saturday, the traffic was noisy, I was worried about missing my alarm, and it seemed like other people in the hotel were up and down all night. But I wasn't bothered, I was too excited for race day to be annoyed by it. 

The hotel started breakfast from 04:30 on Saturday morning for the runners, which was a nice touch. We grabbed some toast and ate it walking to the pick up point for the coaches (we went to Omonoia, but there were pick up points organised all over the city). Already there were hundreds of runners walking around, and the queue for the coaches was snaking down the street. There was a constant steam of coaches, so the wait wasn't long. I think the marathon is very well organised, as well as very good value. It's about €35 for the race and transport from Athens to the start at Marathon (as it's a point to point race) which is quite a long journey, I thought, as we sat chatting on the bus. Really quite long indeed. And we have to run all the way back.....

We eventually made it to Marathon and hopped off the coach, to see a sea of runners as far as you could see. That's a lot of seeing to do, but there really was so much to take in.  The start was in the athletics stadium. Artistically, port-a-loos were placed the whole way around the edge, there were hundreds. They were pretty gross, but I've never met one the isn't (apart from a single one on the Hadrian Hundred, that was immaculately clean, and decorated with fairy lights, but on reflection, I'd run 70 miles by that point, so it was probably an hallucination). Anyway, this is a race report, I mustn't get distracted by port-a-loos. Will save that for another time (you can look forward to that).

Anyway, port-a-loos braved, it was time for our "before" picture. Joe and Sumaiya were running their first marathons, and Alex was unbelievably running despite a really bad knee injury, so was all taped and compressed up. I was so proud of everyone for making it to the start. 

The Marathon Flame was burning bright at the start....and soon it was time to get into our blocks. I was in block number 6, the blue block. I was wearing blue, so was happy to be coordinated. Waiting, we put our rights hands up whilst the Runners Oath was read out. Then, as each block started, and we slowly crept towards the start line, the rain poured, really poured, for about 2 minutes, then stopped again. It did this a few more times during the race, which turned out to be quite fortunate, as it was pretty hot. 

The marathon is a road marathon, so goes along a road, all the way from the start to the finish, with a small loop around the Tomb or Marathon (the memorial to the Battle of Marathon). I've heard people, a lot of people, say the Athens Marathon is really boring because it's just along a road. I disagree completely! There is plenty to see, the mountains, the sea, olive trees, towns, houses, the Greek outdoors. Plus, aren't all road marathons along roads? And, even if the route was boring, which I don't think it is, the atmosphere is completely fantastic. There's not long between places where loads of locals were out cheering and smiling, constant shouts of "Bravo!" musical in the air, giving olive branches to runners, handing out olives, and kids high-fiving-ing. The locals were really so welcoming. I high-fived a lady and she clasped hold of my hand, wishing me luck. So lovely! There were music stations, rock bands, steel drums along the route. The best was about 11km before the end, going through a road tunnel and a steel drum band were playing in the tunnel, the beats echoing around. It was spine tingling stuff!

The water and aid stations were plentiful and well stocked with water, isotonic drinks, coke, bananas, cereal bars, bitter chocolate and salty biscuits.

The only thing I didn't like so much was that there were quite a lot of aggressive men runners who would pretty much push you out of the way to get past. This happens at all big events, and maybe it's just because I haven't done a big marathon for a really long time and had forgotten about it as the ones I tend to do are smaller, where everyone is very kind to each other, but it felt like it happened a lot. I really can't stand it when people behave like they're more important than other people. Like, we're all here running the marathon mate, you can't just push someone because they happen to be in your straight line, ever heard of running around people? But, like port-a-loos, a few arrogant people are part of the game, and like port-a-loos, after a short rant about it, you feel better, and their insignificance in the grander scheme of life becomes apparent.

The marathon was fairly hilly, and from looking a the course profile...

....I was prepared for 20-30 km being tough. I didn't really think it felt that bad, although my spilt times for that section were a bit slower, so I guess it must have been. I think I was really just enjoying it, being in a big race, and enjoying the atmosphere. I was surprised at how many supporters there were along the whole course, I'd thought it would just have been towards the end, near to Athens, but the whole way was like a party.

The end, running down an orange tree lined street, with crowds lining the pavements, and turning the corner into the Panathenaic Stadium, is something that I will remember forever! I don't normally get emotional at the end of Marathons, but I was a bit overwhelmed by this one! The noise, the sight of the stadium rising up, being on the track where so many have achieved legendary status, was pretty special. All around me as I finished, people were holding hands and crossing the finish line with their hands in the air. A random man held his hand up at me, and being from the UK, and used to high-fiving people when seeing a hand in the air, I did that, but he looked at me like I was a complete weirdo, and then I got what he meant. So I crossed the line hand in hand with a stranger, which normally would be a bit weird, but that's what seemed to be completely normal for that moment, and it was pretty special. I did 4.09 which is my fastest in a long time. I haven't run much lately, nothing long anyway, and didn't really have any expectation about what I would be able to do, so am pretty satisfied with that. It wasn't about the time though, I could have done any time at all, because it didn't matter.

I think being at the end was just as good as the run. I spent a few hours in the stadium, sitting on the warm marble steps (it's the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble), soaking in the atmosphere, tracking the people I knew on the marathon app (I got really addicted to it, it gave alerts every 5km, but seemed to be tracking distance in between too, so you could follow runner along on the map). There has been a stadium on the site of the Panathenaic Stadium since 330 BC, and it was refurbished for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. A Greek athlete, Spyros Louis ran the route from Marathon Town to the the Panathenaic Stadium, and won the first marathon gold medal of the modern Olympic Games, and became a legend..... As I sat and watched people finish, I thought, I never want to leave, it's such a special place! The atmosphere, music, commentary, seeing runners and their supporters reactions as they crossed the finish line, is such a privilege to witness.

It was an absolute treat to be able to watch all my friends finish, successfully! So proud of them all! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Athens Marathon, the Authentic Marathon, and easily one of my favourites. I really recommend it, and I hope to come back very soon!

Efcharisto Athens! 

Trick or Treat - a Halloween run in Tottenham

I'm trying to get to Sheffield. So far it's taken 4.5 hours, and I'm not even running there, although I'm starting to suspect that might have been quicker than trying to travel by train during a day of 'adverse weather'. It's the UK for crying out loud, when is the weather NOT adverse??? It's only a bit of wind and rain. Anyway, I'm now on train number 4, I've finished my book, had breakfast, coffee, morning snacks, done my admin, and as I'm highly caffeinated and in a confined space, I thought I should expend some energy writing a blog.

I went to White Hart Lane this week. Not to watch football (no comment there as to if this is a good thing or not, as I will hurt the feelings of some of my friends whichever way I go about that), but for work for a conference. During the stadium tour we went on, I learnt that the stadium cost £1 billion pounds to make. So whatever you think about that fact, you can't deny it is a step up from the basement office in Holloway Road I usually rock up to at 09:00 every morning, next to the recycling centre (tip), before heading out, usually in the rain, pulling a heavy bag of scales with a broken wheel, to catch a number of buses, usually just to miss the first one, and then of course the rest of them, to the far flung corners of Haringey/ Islington. It was much, much, more glamorous than that.

Anyway, I've got distracted. This is meant to be about running. 

So, the conference was for work, and was called Caring For Those Who Care, a conference for Allied Health Professionals and looking after ourselves, which is a new direction to the usual approach of the NHS of driving it's staff into the ground with an excess of work, and a lack of time and resources, I must say. I could say a number of things about that, that it's not actually the NHSs fault etc etc.... but I've got distracted again, and it's Saturday, I'm not meant to be thinking of work.

Running.

Yes.

The reason I mentioned the conference was becuase it had a mindfullness session in it. During this, I learnt a technique to bring you back to the moment, like if you're starting to feel very stressed or anxious by something, and your mind is running away, it can help to bring you back to the moment and break your thought cycle, and feel a bit calmer. Maybe. You start by counting 5 sights you can see. Then listen to 4 sounds you can hear. Then 3 things you touch. 2 scents you can smell. And then 1 flavour you can taste. So in a normal day at work, I'm going to be spending all day counting back from 5. 

Anyway. I thought I'd try it when I was running. Since I started marathons, I have made at least some progress in that I don't really panic now if I feel terrible during a run. When I did my first one, I thought that if I started feeling bad at mile 8, that would be it for the rest of the run, and it was a total disaster and I might as well go e up. But I've learnt that that doesn't usually happen. You will probably have waves of good bits, and bad bits, and then good bits, and bad bits..... So I'm often feeling quite calm in a marathon, but the mindfullness lady said you should practice in a situation you are quite relaxed in, to get used to a technique, so it comes naturally when you're feeling less good and you actually need it.

So I decided to run home from the conference, through Tottenham, on Halloween. This was an error, as running through Tottenham at any time, never mind on Halloween night, is not a relaxing experience. The first 3 miles were along the A10, which at least had plenty of material for number 2 of the technique (but it disturbed me that I was breathing in too many fumes, so I tried not to breath too much, which turned out not to be a brilliant idea for running 3 miles). Slightly hyperventilating, I recognised the gates of Abbey Park cemetery (how appropriate for today!), and remembered the route back home via the back roads I used to run....

How did I make it this far, through such adversity, I hear you ask. Well, maybe you didn't, but I'll tell you anyway. I was practicing my new technique, of course....

5 sights I can see: a vampire, a zombie, someone in fancy dress, a bus, and another bus with the same number (why are there loads of buses when you don't need one)

4 sounds I can hear: a witch cackling, an angry horn blaring, a crow skwarking as it pulls apart an old takeaway box, a creepy guy shouting 'awrihht luv' (yes, fine, thanks for asking) 

3 things I can touch: my bag (it hasn't been stolen), the pelican crossing button which I've pressed 5 times but the lights are still not changing 2 minutes later (like I don't have anything better to do than stand next to the A10 on Halloween), my head (haven't lost it yet, not quite)

2 scents I can smell: only 2? OK. Fumes, obviously. Fried chicken. Mmmmm.

1 flavour I can taste: erm, water, is that a flavour? No? Ha, I found a mint. Mint!

Gosh, I feel so calm. I guess if you can be mindful here, you can do it anywhere. Plus it had a point. I would have normally hated a run like that, but it does make you pay attention to what's going on right now, and even if it wasn't a very beautiful run, and I didn't like a lot of the things I observed in my activity, it was kind of interesting, which was better than hating it. It wasn't really a treat, but I did learn a trick!

Happy Halloween!

52 Marathons in 52 Weeks ... all done!

Today (20.10.19) was back down to the river near Reading, with Saturn Running, for the Zoolanders Run, for marathon #52 of 52 in 52 weeks....

It didn't go entirely smoothly.... I enjoyed the first lap which I ran with Richard, but then had a right nightmare for the next 3 laps, felt sick and had stomach cramps, so didn't eat anything and then ran out of energy and felt dizzy. I gave myself a talking to at the end of lap 4, that if I didn't get out of this rut and eat something, this was going to get worse! So had some coke and some cookie, and fortunately I started to feel better again soon after, so enjoyed the second half more, so at least I wasn't a complete disaster!

Thank you so much George and Saturn for making it special, from the really nice announcement George made at the start about my 52 marathons, to all the encouragement at the aid station, and all the kind words and support!

Now I have a vague sense of emptiness, which always happens at these moments, when I have achieved a goal I set myself. I have started some therapy for my depression recently, which is proving to be very helpful, and I'm really glad I started it. My constant sensation of feeling like I've not achieved enough, and instantly comparing myself to others who have done other things, and immediately setting another goal, is something I have been exploring. I am meant to be validating my experiences/ acheivements out loud, and stop and think about it, instead of moving straight on the something else. This thought makes me feel a bit cringey to be honest, but I'm trying to be a good patient and do my homework, so here goes, I guess.....

I've tried not to worry about what I'll do next, and instead look back at this journey, and realise what a great ride it's been, and how lucky I am to have had a year full of new experiences. I did 1579.1 official miles altogether, plus probably quite a few extra free miles, due to navigational issues (a.k.a. being lost), including 14 ultras. 33 of the runs the were along the Thames! Along the way I completed my 100th marathon, did my first 10 marathons in 10 days, and did my new PB for 100 miles. I made loads of new friends, and explored some new places. And, very special to me, we (thank you for all your support!) raised over £1200 for The Royal Marsden and Pelican Cancer Foundation in support of my dear friend Hannah (who will always continue to be my inspiration and my hero), when I did my Running for HANNAH Challenge in the summer.

Other things of note, I got better (well, a bit better - I'm not going to get carried away with this validating myself malarky) at map reading and using a compass, so maybe my 'bonus miles' will start to reduce now. Or maybe not. I was lucky to celebrate with others on their own different journeys, had my first shots of vodka during a marathon, followed up shortly by my first trip to a pub during a marathon (although, I've gone back to just drinking water now, and coke in emergencies). 

I got many opportunities to be in that special moment, very early in the morning in London, on the way to a race, the quiet moment before the city wakes and it's still dark, when the promise of a new day and the adventure that awaits is in the still air (well, if you can block out/ navigate the drunk people swaying home from the night before). And I love that feeling at the end of a day of running, when you're totally knackered and hurting, but it's a good feeling, becuase you did something you wanted to do! 

OK. That's enough validating myself for a first attempt. I found that easier than I thought, once I got going. Don't want to get too carried away....

...so back to today.... Thanks a million to all the other runners who were so kind and supportive all the way around, and shared laps, hugs, words of support and smiles - you are all brilliant, and it was perfect to spend #52 with you all! And thanks again to Saturn for an extra special day. And I love my new Saturn buff! Today was a really great day 😁

Going to chill out for a couple of weeks, then my next marathon is Athens, which I'm really excited for.... 

...I know I'm not meant to be jumping straight in to the next thing (but let's be realistic...a lifetime of a habit isn't going to change overnight), but international marathons are definitely something I want to do more of... plus, I want to complete my A-Z of marathons, of which I still need Q and Y..... and then there's......

OK. Sorry. Enough. For now....

52 in 52 - I did it! 😊😊😊

Marathon 51/52 in 52 Weeks....The X-Run, 19.10.2019

Saturday morning (early, very) and time for a marathon! Quite excited for this weekend, as it's (hopefully) going to be number 51 and 52 of my 52 Marathons in 52 weeks. I never really thought I'd do that, and actually I haven't yet, but it's looking like I might, so I am feeling pretty excited that I might manage it.

So, time to stop swanning around...

...stop ducking the matter...

...and...

Back to Saturn this weekend, on the course near Reading, which I really love. It's even changed a bit (to avoid the busy bit by the lock) and now goes through the nature reserve, as well as through meadows and along the river, so it's even better than it used to be. Saturn runs are really good, relaxed, super friendly, and a great aid station (including three of my favourite things: peanut pretzel parcels, watermelon, and grapes) and I always have a good day there. Love them!

I felt like today was a big hug, with lots of friends there. Got to run the whole marathon with Sarah, which was really good fun, and the miles passed quickly. Thanks Sarah! 

Lots of laughs, including running past the rowing club, when the coach shouted "don't move the body!" Blimey. Glancing apprehensively at the river, expecting to see a body float by, I was relieved to see only a boat full of rowers all out of sync. Phew.

It was a bit hard today. I think my legs are still a bit knackered from the hills last weekend. But whatever. It was a beautiful sunny day by the river, running with friends, and a few sore muscles aren't going to spoil that. 

Thanks Saturn, and everyone for a great day!

So, will be back at Saturn tomorrow, and hope to do #52....