Tuesday, July 22, 2014
And it's Goodnight from me...
Running Diary 8
Well, it’s all done and dusted and it’s looking like the final total is £1,556.43. A MASSIVE thank you to everyone who supported
us either financially, with training, on the day, or all three, please award
yourselves a hardy pat on the back.
Our last training day had gone splendidly well with over 10K
being covered in about an hour forty, so confidence for the day was high. We were both injury free, so our only concern
is what the weather might throw at us over the course of the race.
Luckily the weather on the morning was pretty perfect for a
run. Cloudy with a chance of
meatballs with perhaps a hint of a shower.
Never a problem when running, unless it’s on city streets with their
notoriously slick surfaces when wet, and all those pesky drain and manhole
covers which can send you arse over ‘arris with just the slightest of
missteps. Eagle eyes required then.
The biggest problem we had was finding our luggage station and
then having to negotiate the 1.5K walk from there to the start! As you can imagine by the time we got there
(or as close as we could get) we were busting for the wee we hadn’t
had at the bag drop. Fortunately we come
to a stop right by the “last toilets for 3K” and a quick nip over the barriers
leads us neatly to the queue. Unfortunately
Blind Sam and his gang of remedials had been tasked with putting the portaloos
in place, meaning several units had their doors facing each other so close they couldn't be used, unless there was a way in through the roof. This meant the loos left were aleady beyond
disgusting and are therefore a memorable part of the experience for all the
wrong reasons!
Waiting in sight of the start was great fun. Chatting to all and sundry, especially others
in The Brain Tumour Charity’s distinctive running vests, the
atmosphere was heighten by the Army Wives signing the National Anthem
brilliantly, and then the completely amateurish starter counting us down from
10 seconds to start 5 seconds late. Most
people ignored the nob and set off as the gun went.
It’s a good thing he wasn’t in charge of anything else and the
start went well, group of 2,000 being let go at a time, with me and Catlin
reaching the start as 12 minutes clicked over on the clock. Not to bad, even if we have already covered
about 2K by this point!
The run itself was amazing.
The support along the route from the public was just superb, and high
fiving and chatting to other TBTC runners was inspiring. Of particular note were the crowds along
Embankment down to Hungerford Bridge, with what looked like thousands of people
hanging off it cheering and clapping us on.
Big grins all round!
We finally crossed the finish line at an indicated 1.40.00, which
translated to 1.27.55 “bib” time – a record for us running
together. To be honest, today was never
about the time, but more about the experience and running in memory of
Shaun. Oh, and having a bloody good time
too –
so it looks like we succeeded on all accounts.
We finished off a great day by heading back home and getting
monumentally drunk in Prezzo in the high street, whom I must thank for their patience,
as we became more and more rowdy as our meal went on. A well deserved gratuity to all there from us.
And so I’ll wind up the series of runners diaries with a few relevant
factoids about what this has meant to me, other than raising a shedload of cash
in Shaun’s
memory. So in the course of training I’ve
:-
Lost 15lb since we began
Lost 4" from my waist
Used three different pairs of running shoes
Covered 500KM in training
Found out that dolphin sperm dies in salt water (bit random, I
know)
Found out that some people you think are a shoe in to sponsor you
don't; and others you would not have thought of, out of the blue, do
10K shown on a Map, looks far, far further than it does on a
running machine
Running for this charity has been a really special moment in my
life.
Running for this charity with my Goddaughter Caitlin, has been a
really special moment in my life. (Thank you for asking me princess!)
The support from friends, family and colleagues in the run up to
the race has been epic
Support from friends and family on the day was epic (Tom and Eve,
Kieran and Paula, Conor and Lil' Tom, Lisa, Jamie and Maria, Jack and the
Garden Gnome (aka Lewis)
These type of events are some of the most fun you can have with
your clothes on!
So there it is, I hope you have enjoyed reading and I hope to be
back soon with more runners tales once I know exactly what I’m
going to do.
Goodnight, God Bless and R.I.P. Shaun Denney.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Soft Shoe Shuffle
Running Diary – 7
The shoes issue takes another turn, and
again it’s my own inability to take advice I readily churn out the causes my
downfall – hoist by my own petard you might say.
Not being sure if my new shoes would arrive
in time (yes, the new shoes you should never wear for the first time in a race)
I decided on a plan C for a way round the stinky worn out shoe problem. There, at the back of the cupboard sat a pair
of rather expensive ASICS Gel Kayano, which on inspection, looked hardly run
in. “Aha” I though, problem solved, and
promptly headed down to the gym with them.
Of course, the second I got on the running
machine with them, I remembered why they were consigned to corners only dust
and money spiders normally inhabit. Despite
looks, the support in the shoes was totally worn out, and not that evenly
between the shoes either. As I hit my
stride, it felt like running on concrete in those black Woolworth’s plimsolls
we all used to sport as kids – just with one having a inch more tread than the
other (I’m assuming one of the air insoles has gone). With a few minutes on the running machine I
have a shooting pain in my right knee and a dull ache in the lower left side of
may back, worsening with every stride.
Bollocks.
It’s no use and I had to stop, but the
damage was already done...
The pain in my right knee will be a showstopper
if it doesn’t abate, and the back is a real bugger too. I can’t believe having chastised others for
training when they shouldn’t that it could come down to ME not being able to
run on the day.
Plan D anyone?
Monday, July 07, 2014
Time running out...
Training Diary - 6
Well, it may be madness, but I decided to risk buying a new set of trainers before the race, and would just see if I can get some miles on them before Sunday. I wanted something subtle and understated, but in the end, just went for the cheapest pair. Hail the new running shoes!
The arrangements have been made with us runners and close supporters, meeting before sunrise and travelling on the 7.19 to Charing Cross. I must admit I didn't know that early happened on a Sunday!
If you don't want to come up that early, but want to cheer us on, we'll be at the BrainTumour Charity cheer post located as below. The race starts at 9.35 but the chances of us getting past the start line at anywhere near that time are quite remote, so the plan is to phone as we cross the start line and maybe again as we approach the cheer point - we don't want you to miss watching us hyperventilate do we?
It's great, you'll get to see me and Caitlin run past both way, what a treat! Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, Text or Carrier Pigeon if you're going to come and wave at us, there'll be free balloons and everything!
Ok, off to the gym now for some final training, no rest for the wicked and all that...
Sunday, July 06, 2014
The good, the bad and the smelly...
Training diary - 6
Since my last update, training has consisted of the usual
schlepping on a running machine in the gym, and a rather enjoyable evening run
in Swanley Park. Along the way there has
been some incidents though...
The first involves my running shoes - a lovely pair of Nike Air
Max that have done me proud for the last nine months. At an average of 30K a week that's over
1,000K under the soles of those shoes.
And that means that now, they are shagged. But worse than that, they fucking stink. So much in fact I can smell them while I am
running - they are rank. So this gives
me a problem. Run in a pair of shoes
that are worn out and disgusting, or break the cardinal rule of race running of
never wearing anything new, and sort out a new pair asap. Luckily I have a new pair of Nike Air Max
sitting in the cupboard, so the plan was to have a couple of runs in them and
if all is ok, go with them for the race, and if not stick with the old ones and
hope they last the race for me...
Straight away though, there was an obvious problem with the new
trainers. Not the fact that they were
full of dust and general crap from the back of the wardrobe; not the fact that
they are a hideous luminous orange and grey colour scheme that can only have
been designed by someone colour-blind, or even just blind; nor that they look
almost bigger than the box they arrived in. It is that fact that, compared to my current pair, they weigh a
ton! Balls, bit of a non starter
then. Plus, they look like I'm wearing
concrete blocks when I put them on. The
horns of a dilemma indeed...
Talking about new gear at a race, we have of course been sent our
lovely red Brain Tumour Charity running vests.
And I have to be honest here, they are shit. I don't know what kind of material they are
made from, perhaps hemp from the weight of them, but they're certainly not made
of the modern sweat-wicking fabric my normal running tops are made from. I wore it to the gym on Tuesday and by the
time I'd been running for ten minutes it had soaked up the equivalent of ten
litres of sweat and was hanging down to my knees. It was like running in a wet tent. Even worse, the tide of red sweat dripping
onto my trainers is not helping the pungency of them one little bit. Oh dear...something has to give before race day...
On Wednesday I managed to meet up with Caitlin for a sighter
round Swanley Park, where a new route has been found giving us an almost 1.5
mile loop to enjoy in the evening sunshine.
As soon as we get there, we notice something is up, as the park is
packed by people in running vest and numbers.
It seems that a group of school kids, or perhaps their running club,
have taken over the park. and a fair few
adults too. This should be no problem,
except they all seem to be running round the park in the opposite direction to
us! Every few seconds we seems to be
leaping out of the way of turbocharged children, heads down and taking no
prisoners. It does add some colour to a
run I must admit!
The run actually goes really well with pretty much 7K covered in
a reasonable time which puts on course to build up to 8 and a bit maybe next week, leaving a little to be run on instinct on the day. I think with the progress Caitlin has made so far, from being a non-runner, to all the knee and sickness problems she has had, and now being close to running her first 10K, Uncle Shaun would be mighty proud of her, as indeed I am. And let's not forget that with a week to race day, that's why we are doing this, in memory of Shaun, and to raise some can in the hope that other families don't have to go through what the Denney's have. If you're still on the fence over sponsorship, please have a think and if you can bung us a couple of quid, we'll be really grateful!
