Half Marathon Number 5.. (sung)
Half marathon time again yesterday, this time it was the Tewkesbury half marathon I was competing in.
As you will have read here, I have stepped up my training a notch or two since the Reading half marathon, and I seemed to be on pretty good form. Unfortunately I had a bit of a scare and nearly didn't run.
On Wednesday I had a session with Anthony and didn't run well at all. I suddenly had a stabbing pain in my left side, in the hip area. It wasn't excruciating, but it was quite painful and I had to give the last lap of the lake a miss. (We were meant to do three laps, just over a mile long, and increase the pace each time).
On Thursday I went for a run on my own - really I should have rested but it was such a beautiful day it seemed rude not to - I took it very steady and completed my route in 1hr 8 mins - normally it would be done and dusted within an hour. With hindsight, this was probably a good move - I was still inconvenienced by my sore hip but at least I had proven to myself that I could run through it. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if I had to run at that pace yesterday, and ended up with a (relatively) poor time, 2hrs 10 or 2hrs 20 even.
I rested and had a sports massage on Friday with Ali O'Hara. As always, he did a fantastic job, and was good enough to give my lower back a quick rub in the area I was having trouble. While I was being put through the agony that I would probably only wish on Osama Bin Laden, a paedophile or someone who says the England cricket team shouldn't have had their open bus tour after the Ashes victory, I reflected on how much I deserve to finish that marathon in September. Without wishing to blow my own trumpet too much, my commitment and dedication is second to none.
Saturday was a pretty cool day - obviously I rested completely, and in the afternoon went to see the superb "Mission Impossible 3" at the cinema. Suzie came with me, and while I struggle to get myself organised to keep to an agreed meeting time, it was great to have the pleasure of her company - and pretty glamorous company she is too. I don't mind going to the movies on my own, but it did make the occasion special.
As regards the film, as I say it was excellent and I shall most likely give it at least one more viewing - it's that good. My only cavil is that it was so fast-moving it was hard to follow at times - I badly needed the toilet but kept putting it off because there literally was not a dull moment. And as for the main star, any man who woos Katie Holmes deserves to be cheered and applauded.
I headed off to Tesco's afterwards to look at washing machines, and surprise, surprise, ended up chatting to a nice lady in the wine section about my running, as well as other things. So I came out with a rather expensive bottle of wine instead. Oh well. I shall save it for a special occasion - such as the evening after a race.
In the evening I watched a review of the Ashes series on Sky Sports. Needless to say I can't wait for the cricket to start on Thursday (no I won't be pulling a sickie). It was great to reminisce about a great summer and I'm hoping when England start thrashing all before them again I'll feel inspired to write my novel set in the summer of '05.
I slept quite well, considering it was an early start - the race started at 9.30am and I arranged to meet Grace in the gym car park at 7.30. She drove this time - probably a good idea to take it in turns and I'm hoping she won't mind me telling you that her sense of direction is worse than mine! Trust me, that's saying something!
It was a good run up to Tewkesbury - yes it is closer than I thought - and it was surprisingly easy to find the race. There were no directions in the race pack, which is one of my two only criticisms of the event. The other is that it closes at 11.50am, so anyone who takes longer than 2 hours 20 minutes to complete it doesn't get a chip time. This, I felt is harsh and unfair on the slower runners - 2 hours 45 might have been better. But running 13.1 miles in any time is a fantastic achievement and anyone who manages it deserves as much recognition as the guy (or guy-ette) who wins it.
A bit of sad news before the race - I met Kev and Gerry from the running club, and it transpired that Kev had attended his mother's funeral on Friday. Poor man. I must make a point of letting him know I feel for him and know only too well what he's going through.
I spent a lot of time before the race stretching - my side was better but still sore. It didn't seem to help - as soon as we set off it started hurting and for the first couple of miles I was convinced it would be a case of when, not if, my side was going to seize up completely and I would have to pull out. Nonetheless, I kept checking my watch at the mile markers to make sure I was running roughly 9-minute miles.
As it turned out, I was fine. After about 5 miles the pain in my side subsided. I was enjoying the run at last. The scenery was mixed - though some industrial estates and across the motorway at one point, but also through some lovely countryside and picturesque villages in Worcestershire. There were regular drinks stations and the miles were clearly marked. It was well marshalled, partly by police, and there were a lot of kids watching, cheering us on and giving high-fives, which was great. Just a pity I didn't have a chance to tell them how I used to come last in cross-country at school.
At one point I was running so well I seemed to be on course to beat my time at Reading. When I approached the finish line I looked at my watch and saw this wasn't to be. I did, however, with a final sprint, get under 2 hours with a few seconds to spare. Bearing in mind I was carrying an injury and nearly pulled out, this was a fantastic effort if I say so myself. From his text message later, Anthony seemed impressed.
The really, really great thing about this event however was that I ran a strong race all the way round and at no point felt in any trouble. After the race I felt I could have carried on - in fact, I would probably have gone running again yesterday afternoon had I not been resting my hip. This has definitely not been the case in the past - I'm usually shattered at the end of a half marathon. At Swindon I nearly passed out, after Bath walking to get my burger was torture and after Reading I was just exhausted. The training I have done recently is obviously having the right effect - I am stronger and have more stamina.
As I write I am feeling fine - apart from the hangover of course. Needless to say I had quite a lot of wine on Sunday evening. I could have run tonight but decided to rest my hip in the hope that the next four days will really count.
On the way home I felt optimistic about the marathon in September - probably for the first time. I've joked about how I'll be going to hospital afterwards and should probably not book my holiday (2 weeks in Crete) for that reason. Anthony paid me a nice compliment in the week, saying he thought at first that the New Forest marathon in September would be too much of a challenge for me, and too early. Now he thinks I am pretty much on course. At the time I wasn't sure I agreed with him, but I do now.
I've still got it all to do in the next few months but I think it's safe for me to book that holiday after all, and put the champagne on ice. Provided I stay injury-free I think I'm going to run that marathon - and quite a few people are going to be impressed.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, May 2006
As you will have read here, I have stepped up my training a notch or two since the Reading half marathon, and I seemed to be on pretty good form. Unfortunately I had a bit of a scare and nearly didn't run.
On Wednesday I had a session with Anthony and didn't run well at all. I suddenly had a stabbing pain in my left side, in the hip area. It wasn't excruciating, but it was quite painful and I had to give the last lap of the lake a miss. (We were meant to do three laps, just over a mile long, and increase the pace each time).
On Thursday I went for a run on my own - really I should have rested but it was such a beautiful day it seemed rude not to - I took it very steady and completed my route in 1hr 8 mins - normally it would be done and dusted within an hour. With hindsight, this was probably a good move - I was still inconvenienced by my sore hip but at least I had proven to myself that I could run through it. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if I had to run at that pace yesterday, and ended up with a (relatively) poor time, 2hrs 10 or 2hrs 20 even.
I rested and had a sports massage on Friday with Ali O'Hara. As always, he did a fantastic job, and was good enough to give my lower back a quick rub in the area I was having trouble. While I was being put through the agony that I would probably only wish on Osama Bin Laden, a paedophile or someone who says the England cricket team shouldn't have had their open bus tour after the Ashes victory, I reflected on how much I deserve to finish that marathon in September. Without wishing to blow my own trumpet too much, my commitment and dedication is second to none.
Saturday was a pretty cool day - obviously I rested completely, and in the afternoon went to see the superb "Mission Impossible 3" at the cinema. Suzie came with me, and while I struggle to get myself organised to keep to an agreed meeting time, it was great to have the pleasure of her company - and pretty glamorous company she is too. I don't mind going to the movies on my own, but it did make the occasion special.
As regards the film, as I say it was excellent and I shall most likely give it at least one more viewing - it's that good. My only cavil is that it was so fast-moving it was hard to follow at times - I badly needed the toilet but kept putting it off because there literally was not a dull moment. And as for the main star, any man who woos Katie Holmes deserves to be cheered and applauded.
I headed off to Tesco's afterwards to look at washing machines, and surprise, surprise, ended up chatting to a nice lady in the wine section about my running, as well as other things. So I came out with a rather expensive bottle of wine instead. Oh well. I shall save it for a special occasion - such as the evening after a race.
In the evening I watched a review of the Ashes series on Sky Sports. Needless to say I can't wait for the cricket to start on Thursday (no I won't be pulling a sickie). It was great to reminisce about a great summer and I'm hoping when England start thrashing all before them again I'll feel inspired to write my novel set in the summer of '05.
I slept quite well, considering it was an early start - the race started at 9.30am and I arranged to meet Grace in the gym car park at 7.30. She drove this time - probably a good idea to take it in turns and I'm hoping she won't mind me telling you that her sense of direction is worse than mine! Trust me, that's saying something!
It was a good run up to Tewkesbury - yes it is closer than I thought - and it was surprisingly easy to find the race. There were no directions in the race pack, which is one of my two only criticisms of the event. The other is that it closes at 11.50am, so anyone who takes longer than 2 hours 20 minutes to complete it doesn't get a chip time. This, I felt is harsh and unfair on the slower runners - 2 hours 45 might have been better. But running 13.1 miles in any time is a fantastic achievement and anyone who manages it deserves as much recognition as the guy (or guy-ette) who wins it.
A bit of sad news before the race - I met Kev and Gerry from the running club, and it transpired that Kev had attended his mother's funeral on Friday. Poor man. I must make a point of letting him know I feel for him and know only too well what he's going through.
I spent a lot of time before the race stretching - my side was better but still sore. It didn't seem to help - as soon as we set off it started hurting and for the first couple of miles I was convinced it would be a case of when, not if, my side was going to seize up completely and I would have to pull out. Nonetheless, I kept checking my watch at the mile markers to make sure I was running roughly 9-minute miles.
As it turned out, I was fine. After about 5 miles the pain in my side subsided. I was enjoying the run at last. The scenery was mixed - though some industrial estates and across the motorway at one point, but also through some lovely countryside and picturesque villages in Worcestershire. There were regular drinks stations and the miles were clearly marked. It was well marshalled, partly by police, and there were a lot of kids watching, cheering us on and giving high-fives, which was great. Just a pity I didn't have a chance to tell them how I used to come last in cross-country at school.
At one point I was running so well I seemed to be on course to beat my time at Reading. When I approached the finish line I looked at my watch and saw this wasn't to be. I did, however, with a final sprint, get under 2 hours with a few seconds to spare. Bearing in mind I was carrying an injury and nearly pulled out, this was a fantastic effort if I say so myself. From his text message later, Anthony seemed impressed.
The really, really great thing about this event however was that I ran a strong race all the way round and at no point felt in any trouble. After the race I felt I could have carried on - in fact, I would probably have gone running again yesterday afternoon had I not been resting my hip. This has definitely not been the case in the past - I'm usually shattered at the end of a half marathon. At Swindon I nearly passed out, after Bath walking to get my burger was torture and after Reading I was just exhausted. The training I have done recently is obviously having the right effect - I am stronger and have more stamina.
As I write I am feeling fine - apart from the hangover of course. Needless to say I had quite a lot of wine on Sunday evening. I could have run tonight but decided to rest my hip in the hope that the next four days will really count.
On the way home I felt optimistic about the marathon in September - probably for the first time. I've joked about how I'll be going to hospital afterwards and should probably not book my holiday (2 weeks in Crete) for that reason. Anthony paid me a nice compliment in the week, saying he thought at first that the New Forest marathon in September would be too much of a challenge for me, and too early. Now he thinks I am pretty much on course. At the time I wasn't sure I agreed with him, but I do now.
I've still got it all to do in the next few months but I think it's safe for me to book that holiday after all, and put the champagne on ice. Provided I stay injury-free I think I'm going to run that marathon - and quite a few people are going to be impressed.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, May 2006
posted by Jon | 7:02 pm
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