Farewell Adam

Batsmen and bowlers alike will have breathed a sigh of relief this week when Adam Gilchrist announced his retirement from international cricket. Many England fans may have celebrated, believing this to be the beginning of the end of Australia's dominance of the game, and offering England a scintilla of hope ahead of the 2009 Ashes series. I wouldn't hold your breath.

I myself was rather surprised, and to be honest, a little sad. To me, Adam Gilchrist has been the Don Bradman of batsmen/keepers, and it has been a privilege to have witnessed his brilliance, heartbreaking as it may have been at times.

To have broken the record for the number of dismissals in test matches by a keeper, and to average 48 at the astonishing strike rate of 82 runs per hundred balls simply puts him in a class of his own, which I don't think will ever be matched.

I think my most enduring memory of this extraordinary talent will be from the disastrous 2006/07 Ashes series. Even though England were taking a severe beating, I was willing him to make the fastest ever test hundred, and slightly disappointed when he couldn't quite pull it off. I will also remember celebrating his being dismissed during the 2005 Ashes series more than any of the other Aussie batsmen - he was always the one player who could turn any match on his head.

To boot, from what I've heard he is an extremely nice guy and whilst if I were a cricketer I'd probably subscribe to the "let the umpires make the decisions and it will even itself out" viewpoint, there's always something quaintly nice about someone who will walk when he knows he is out. It certainly doesn't tie in with the current Australian "win at all costs" mentality, but it didn't seem to make much difference to Gilchrist's record.

Farewell Adam, and good luck. Not everyone will admit it, but we're gonna miss you.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, January 2008

The rest of 2007

As I write, I come to the end of my Christmas break. I've had eight days off, and apart from going running every day, have done nothing constructive at all. I had a lovely day on Christmas day with my family, and had a long overdue night out with Graeme at the weekend after seeing I Am Legend, but apart from that I've done nothing at all except sit in my armchair, drink beer/wine/whatever else I fancied and occasionally piss around on facebook (I guess the novelty will wear off soon). And boy, did I need it. I must have done, otherwise I'd have got bored.

The fact is, 2007 was a good year all round, but very busy, very crowded, and at times extremely stressful. I haven't updated this blog since I ran the London marathon for a couple of reasons; firstly, that seemed a logical point to draw a line under the blog as it had mostly been about the build up to that wonderful day. Secondly, it was time for me to concentrate on my course with the writers' bureau, which has gone well, but still needs a lot more of my time and commitment.

So anyway, here's a little about what I got up to since the 2007 London Marathon. As there's quite a lot I'll divide it up by area.

Running/Training

I got back into training pretty much immediately after London, which was possibly a mistake. Looking back I should probably have had a week on a beach somewhere, and let my body recover fully. I started racing roughly a month after London, and much to my frustration my times have not improved at all, in fact they've got worse. I have not been able to improve on any of the PBs I set in the build up to London, but to be fair there are reasons for this. I haven't been as motivated since London, which is understandable as nothing I was going to do again in 2007 was going to match it. I tried a little too hard to motivate myself I think, and entered too many races to try and keep myself motivated. It didn't work, and I ended up injuring myself. A hamstring strain I had been struggling with was aggravated in the last few miles of the Bristol half marathon and meant I didn't do myself justice at the Swindon half and had to miss the Snowdonia marathon in October.

The absolute nadir of my running career came at the Cricklade half marathon when I actually came home and cried after the race because a) 1:55 was a terribly slow time for me on a flat course b) my hamstring really, really hurt and c) I knew I was going to have to miss Snowdonia and possibly Swindon. I hope I never go through that again.

Ali O'Hara was an absolute star at the time, as he has been all year (he does my sports massages, teaches my body pump classes and I have far too infrequent PT sessions with him to work on my core stability). He was quite strict with me, exhorting me to rest for a few weeks and let the injury heal. He has also been trying his best to help me with my weight which has been an issue for too long. My body composition has definitely changed, probably as a result of taking supplements to aid recovery, but I still need to lose about a stone to get down to an ideal weight and look a bit more like Daniel Craig and less like Homer Simpson. This has to be top of my agenda in 2008 now the leg is better.

Work
Funny this. I used to have a dream where I kept turning up for an exam without having revised or been to any of the classes. I think this was my brain's way of saying "How can you be doing so badly in your career when you did so well at school and went to Uni?". Last night I had a dream where I picked up my degree results and did better than expected.

I've worked incredibly hard at my job this year, especially in the last few weeks, and other areas of my life have suffered. I wanted to do it though; I've been determined to impress my boss, and I think myself, for the following reasons. If I don't get the pay rise I need and deserve (which now seems likely) I'm going to have to get a job at Honda or something else menial but well paid. On the flip side, if my writing career takes off, I may not even need a career in the commercial sector anyway, in which case I'd rather have done at least something of note in it, rather than it just being an abject failure.

Time will tell how it pans out. In the meantime, I have had words with my boss and my salary/grading is under review for all the right reasons. I've also had a couple of trips to Germany since my holiday which were tough but enjoyable. The question of whether I would consider working and living out there again, if the offer was right, has also been raised. Re-arrange the following words to form a sentence: heartbeat in a.

Running the house
I can't afford not to have lodgers any more - like most people I've been feeling the effect of rate rises in 2007. In any case, I didn't buy a four-bedroom house to rattle around in it on my own. I've not managed to rent out all three rooms all the time, but I have had at least two lodgers most of the year. It isn't easy, finding and keeping the right people, so I think I've done well. If anything, maybe too well; I enjoyed having Hamdullah here so much, and got on so well with him, I kind of resented the guy who replaced him (Santhosh, again a lovely guy), in the same way people never warmed to George Lazenby. Why can't they all be like those two?

Hols
Even though I don't feel like I've had a holiday all year I did in fact get two. In June I had a few days in Bochum, Germany, visiting my friend and former lodger. It was a great few days and made me realise how much I miss the place. Everything is better value out there, you don't get ripped off as you do in Blighty. We also travelled up to Amsterdam for a night out. I'll spare you the details, but I can see why one of my closest friends famously refused to take me on his stag weekend there.

I had a lovely weekend in Crete in September, just after the Bristol half. I stayed at a fantastic 4 star hotel, King Minos Palace, in Hersonnisos. Can't fault the hotel; it was half board and the food was great, staff all really friendly and I got on famously with the rep, a young scottish girl called Becky. Unfortunately the resort has become a tad too 18-30 since I went there with Pete in 2000, and I ended up longing for a few quiet bars where I could have a pint and read my book. I was on my own again, but I don't mind this too much as it enables me to catch up on some reading. The two stand-out books this year were 31 Dream Street by Lisa Jewell and Wish You Were Here by Mike Gayle (the latter aptly about 30-something males on holiday in Crete!) I loved them and it was worth the holiday alone to read these two.

My own writing
I've been doing more on my coursework with the writers' bureau this year, and the feedback I've received from my tutor has been very positive, especially for the last batch of assignments. I was hoping to get my curent assignment completed by Christmas but my work on the price file has put paid to that. The current assignment basically is a) write the synopsis for a novel you plan to write and b) write a short story for a magazine. I've finished part a) and am starting on part b) so watch this space!!

Cultural stuff
I've still managed to go the theatre in London a few times this year, mainly with my works sports and social club (I'm now on the committee and will be organising events in 2008). Trips I've enjoyed have been to see Dirty Dancing, Sound of Music, Joseph and Lord of the Rings. I also managed to see Boeing Boeing, which was great and starred my old friend Jennifer Ellison.

I think 2007 will be remembered as a year when I bought some great CDs. Needless to say I bought the new Sugababes CD as soon as it was released (About You Now always reminds me of the day after the Bristol half when I nursed a hangover, a torn hamstring and drove down to Gatwick to go on holiday). I've become a big Rihanna fan and a couple of weeks ago me and my running buddy Andy had a top day out in London seeing her perform at Wembley. I'm not an R&B fan but the album Good Girl Gone Bad is an absolute gem. Britney Spears CD got such good reviews I was forced to buy a copy and was not disappointed. I just hope she sorts herself out, bless her.

The unexpected surprise was Orson's Culture Vultures. Again, a review in The Times persuaded me to buy a copy and it was worth every penny. If there's justice in this world, Broken Watch will be at number one in 2008 for as many weeks as Umbrella was in 2007.

Cricket
Ah, now I know why I'm so knackered. Following the England team this year is enough to break most men. Following the Ashes debacle, there was the infamous Fredalo incident, being dumped out of the world cup, losing to India at home, losing 3 games out of 4 in the twenty20 world cup, and then losing 1-0 to Sri Lanka. Which should have been 2-0. I firmly believe, however, that they play far too much cricket and even I was relieved when they finally got a break. The fact that player rotation has been mooted just reinforces this, and who can really blame Paul Collingwood for going to a lap-dancing bar in South Africa?? I'm sorry but he is a human being at the end of the day and anyone who is away from home for that long is going to want to see some tits at some stage!! I'm sorry but they are!!

The only real highlight, apart from a slight improvement in the performances of the one day side, has been the return of Michael Vaughan who looked imperious in the summer after an injury which threatened to end his career prematurely. He should have been nominated for Sports Personality of the Year for that. Let's just hope Flintoff can do the same in 2008, or the Ashes series in 2009 probably won't be worth tuning in to.

Yep, I think it's fair to say 2007 was a busy year for me. Let's hope 2008 is just as eventful!

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, January 2008

Jon Ran London 2007

If I'm ever asked to give my most poignant memory of the 2007 Flora London Marathon, it will always be the moment just after the race. Seconds after crossing the line I saw some fellow runners sat on the pavement and decided to join them. I was absolutely exhausted and slightly light-headed, and a couple of officials expressed concern for my welfare, but in fact I was fine - I think I just needed to take a minute or two to let it sink in - I had done it. I had run the 2007 London Marathon in 4 hours and 31 minutes, slower than expected but nonetheless without stopping. The months of training I had put in, with an emphasis on making my body strong enough to run 26.2 miles, had paid off. And every bit as important, I had raised nearly £2000 for my chosen charity (as I write, some two weeks later, that total has now passed £2000). Lots of people had cause to celebrate my achievement.

With some help I got to my feet, had my finisher’s photo taken, collected my goodie bag and kit bag and made a call to my father to tell him the good news. Then I shuffled off to the meet and greet area in Horseguards' Parade to find my friends (Pete and his wife Sel, as well as his sister Diane and Jonathan who were both running) who had come to London for the weekend to watch the race. A well-earned pint beckoned.

I travelled up to London on Saturday afternoon (I had booked a room in a Kensington hotel for two nights) and in the evening met up with Pete and co for a pasta meal. Whilst the non-runners enjoyed a night out in the capital, I repaired to my hotel for an early night, not before I had watched England play West Indies in their last match of the world cup. True to form, England produced their best performance when it no longer mattered.

On Sunday morning I made my way to the start with some other friends (Anthony's brothers Daniel and Martin, with his girlfriend Claire) who, somewhat serendipitously, were staying in the same hotel. Daniel was running and was starting from the green start (good for age and celebrities). I made my way to the red start (charity runners) and found my pen. As I lined up it was clear there were all types of runners competing - this was going to be quite an experience.

In the early miles I realised I was going to have to downgrade my expected pace from 9-minute miles to around 10-minute miles, simply because of the number of people on the course. The hardest part was weaving in and out of people and avoiding collisions, and this didn't change until the latter stages of the race. It also became clear that this was an event to savour, and I loved witnessing a street party atmosphere almost all the way round, having my name shouted out and giving kids high-fives. I passed lots of people in some great fancy dress outfits, including the 16 "prisoners" chained together, the squad of paratroopers with their back packs and the CHASE cricket runners.

I was also very careful to stay well hydrated - the sun was beating down and I made sure to avail myself of water or lucozade at almost every opportunity. I had put some sun-tan lotion on at the start and donned my running cap, but the heat still made running hard. I loved the walk-through showers provided and just wished I could have stayed in them a bit longer!

After mile 20 I started to tire considerably, and remember wishing the next mile-marker to appear as soon as possible. I managed to keep going however, and at this stage the crowd support had reached fever pitch, to the point of becoming almost overbearing. My pace dropped but I was still running and in no great pain - a big difference to my previous marathon.

The miles ticked by and soon I passed the 25-mile marker opposite the London Eye, and then the 800, 600, 400 and eventually the 200-meter markers. What felt like a sprint finish was probably no more than a gentle trot across the finishing line.

Once I had found my friends we made our way towards Covent Garden for a couple of beers and I regaled them with some of my experiences in the race. I then headed back to my hotel for a shower and to make a couple more phone calls before re-joining them for dinner in Chinatown. On my recommendation we dined at Wong Kei in Wardour Street, which proved a good move - the generous portions are just what you need after a 26.2 mile run!

No one was really up for a late night - even spectating proved exhausting in the heat - and so I headed back to my hotel for a couple of quiet drinks before bedtime. The next day I checked out, had lunch in Leicester Square before reluctantly heading back to Swindon and closing the lid on what had been a truly wonderful and utterly memorable experience.

As I write, two weeks have passed since the event, and what a fortnight it has been. I was sore for a few days but managed to venture out for a jog on the Thursday after the race and got back into pretty much full training in the second week, including a good session at the track (as Anthony has told me, those sessions are going to be vital if I want to improve my times at all distances).

The reception I received at work and from people generally has been overwhelming. On my first day back our boss Lucy sent out an email to everyone in the company highlighting my achievement. People have been coming up to me to say "well done" which has made me feel like a celebrity. I've really enjoyed my moment in the sun.

So what next? Well, I have stated publicly that I want to run one big city marathon a year to raise money for charity. Assuming I don't get a place for London via the ballot system, I will aim to run the New York or Berlin marathon in 2008. It does make sense, however, to run another marathon each year to maintain and improve my fitness levels and I shall be sending off my entry form for the Snowdonia marathon in October.

In the meantime however, I'm really looking forward to the summer. After the New Forest marathon and my subsequent holiday I recall feeling deflated but not now. I have a few 10k and half marathon races booked and June is going to be a particularly busy month. After that I shall be training hard for the Bristol half marathon in September, and have a holiday booked after that (a week in Crete, four stars, half board - should be good).

It won't be all hard work though. The cricket season is in full swing and I'm looking forward to my days at Lords' and a day at Bath. I'm off to see Girls Aloud later this month and have a ticket booked for "Lord of the Rings" at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in July. I may also be making a short trip to Germany in June to visit one of my old lodgers and to sample the beer.

But New York 2008 is very much in my thoughts.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, May 2007

My fundraising website will be open until 22nd June 2007: www.justgiving.com/jonrunslondon2007

Final preparations

It has just struck me while I was on the phone to Anthony (calling, very kindly, to give me some advice for the last week before the big day) that I need to update this page with what I have been up to in the last few weeks since the Bath half marathon.

The weekend after Bath I competed in another race, the White Horse half marathon, near Grove in Oxfordshire. It was recommended to me by Mike Sas, a mate from work who also runs for the Harriers. We travelled up there with another Swindon Harrier, Allan Webb, who I know from my Tuesday track session.

This was always going to be more of a training run than a PB race, but it was highly enjoyable, and would have definitely had PB potential had I fully recovered from Bath. Nice and flat, yet scenic, out on quiet roads in the Oxfordshire countryside. I still managed to finish in 1:51:59, about 20 seconds slower than my previous best time at that distance - which again shows how much I have improved.

There was a nice mug as a memento, but also, I was able to buy a race t-shirt which had the names of all the competitors on the back. A nice reminder of an enjoyable event.

As this was more a training run, I decided to head out again in the evening for a 9-10 mile run, which went surprisingly well - in as much as, I expected to struggle (running twice a day normally kills me) but I didn't, I managed to keep a steady pace all the way round. At this point I realised I was probably in the best shape possible for London.

At the Easter weekend I did my last long training run, which at a guess was about 20-21 miles - but a challenging route. Starting at the gym, it took me up the railway path, then out onto the Swindon half marathon route (which I am beginning to know and love) and then back a slightly longer way through town. Best part was, it was such gorgeous weather and I ran with my top off out in the countryside. I later discovered I had caught the sun more than a little!

A nasty shock last week - I suddenly went down with a bad cold on Tuesday and had to come home sick. Many thanks to Kim Parry in my office, who went to Sainsburys and got me some "First Defence" (something I'd never heard of) which seemed to do the trick of getting rid of the worst of it. I was a lot better on Wednesday and went back to work - but not 100 per cent.

Yesterday I competed in the Highworth 5 mile race, which was the second year running for me. Again I travelled up with Mike, and it was nice to see some familiar faces from the Harriers, as well as a few colleagues, competing in a race for the first time. Also running was Ali O'Hara and his girlfriend Becky Weedon - the only Weedon I've met to whom I'm not related!

I was still feeling the cold, so in the end was very pleased with my time of 39:13, again a PB at the distance. Had I been feeling 100 per cent, I might have been able to push on a bit, but it was a good effort under the circumstances.

As I write, I'm feeling a lot better today - a bit of a tickly cough but otherwise fine. Maybe the short, sharp run knocked the infection out of me.

And that's pretty much it. Just a light jog Wednesday, maybe a walk Thursday, and the only other thing I need to do is load up on carbs and stay well hydrated for the big day.

Nervous? A little. Excited? You have no idea.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, April 2007

Bath Half Marathon 2007

This Sunday I competed in the Bath Half Marathon, another event I have now participated in for the second year running.

Having entered last year's race, I was given priority entry this year, and made sure I got my entry in straight away. I was later rather annoyed that the Reading half marathon, another of my favourites from last year, was scheduled for the same day, making it impossible to enter both events.

Given the choice, I may have gone for Bath anyway as it is more of a PB course than Reading, and with the London Marathon just four weeks away, a PB would definitely give my confidence a timely boost.

I wrapped up my training on Wednesday and gave myself 3 well-earned rest days. I also had a rub down with Ali on Friday (still not a pleasant experience but nowhere near as bad as it used to be). I also took care to load up on carbs for a few days, lots of pasta and my beloved jelly babies :)

On Saturday I went to see "I Want Candy" at lunchtime, which, while mildly amusing was a bit of a disappointment. It was advertised as a "British American Pie" but was, I have to say, nowhere near as funny as that classic, or the two sequels that followed it. Still, it helped kill some time and it's nice to see former Eastender Michelle Ryan make the transition to big screen.

After the film I just chilled out at home and watched the England vs Canada one day international. This has been a terrible week for any cricket lover, and whilst I feel they are right to continue with the competition, the 2007 cricket world cup will always be remembered for the murder of Bob Woolmer. Let us hope that the perpetrators of this heinous act are swiftly brought to justice, and let us also hope that the teams now through to the second stage of the competition give us some exciting matches and a tournament that Bob would have been proud of.

I caught a bus from the train station to Bath (no trains at that time, and I wonder how many weekends this summer will be blighted by travelling by bus when I have actually paid to travel by train) and at the station met Daniel, Anthony's twin brother.

I had actually caught up with Anthony at the gym the previous weekend which was really good, I hadn't seen him for a good six months, and he complimented me on the weight loss which made me feel better. He has promised to stay in touch and guide me through the last few weeks approaching "the big day".

I made my way to the race with Daniel and when we got there, one of the things we did was get some pace bands from the lucozade stand (they go round your wrist and tell you what speed you need to do each mile at to arrive at your target time). Unsure whether to go for 1:45 or 1:50, he swiftly told me to forget 1:50 and aim for 1:45. I didn't feel this was very realistic, but no harm in trying I suppose, as long as I don't burn myself out too quickly.

Great Pulteney Street was packed as we assembled for the start, and I had no choice but to start in the 1:45 pen. I was glad to get going and it wasn't until about 3 miles into the race that the crowd started to thin out.

I was keeping the pace at around 8 minute miles for the first 6 or 7 miles quite comfortably but after that it became very hard work. I hadn't enjoyed last year's Bath half due to sore legs, and I knew this year was going to be tough as well, but this time for the right reasons. Somehow I managed to dig deep and keep pushing myself along at the same pace.

A "pit stop" at around mile 9 put paid to any realistic hopes of a 1hr 45 minute finish, but I always feel there is no point trying to run with a full bladder, it will only slow you down. So I braced myself for the last few miles and pushed myself to the end as best I could, even though I was starting to feel slightly faint and really wanted to stop and walk for a while.

In the end I crossed the line with 1:46:36 on my watch, and I later found out my chip time was 2 seconds quicker. So I had beaten my previous PB at this distance by a good 5 minutes, which surely proves I am in better shape for a marathon than I was last year.

I picked up my goodie bag and hung around to watch my brother in law, Richard, cross the line. He was running to raise money for Clic Sargent, a very worthwhile cause. While waiting I saw a few people who had collapsed during the race being taken away in ambulances, which was horrible. Usually this is down to poor preparation or pushing yourself too hard. No one can accuse me of not preparing, but I did wonder how close I was to pushing myself to the point of collapse.

But I hadn't collapsed, I was fine, and so off I went for a burger at Schwarz Bros (best burgers in Bath!!) and a pint before catching the (standing room only) train home. Definitely time for a celebration so I cracked open a few beers and watched "Casino Royale" on DVD and the excellent "Transamerica" later on sky movies. I had earned it.

I knew later I must have worked hard because I was sore for a couple of days after the race, missing my Tuesday track session (horribly hard work but very effective) because of this. But I have trained, because it has been so nice to run in the sunshine after work now that the clocks have gone forward.

Just a few more weeks now, and the big day will be here. And I can tell you, there'll be some celebration after that.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, March 2007

Hogweed Hilly Half Marathon

At the weekend I competed in one of my final races before the London Marathon - the Hogweed Hilly Half.

I picked this because I knew from the comments on the Runners' World website that it would be a more than useful training run; it scored a PB potential of 2/5 and the profile was described as "hilly". Slightly more honest than just "undulating". It also had very positive reviews, which is - albeit in my limited experience - always a good sign.

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/events/viewevent.asp?en=32534&sp=&v=2

I decided to treat the race as a training run and also to fit in another 6-7 mile run later in the day. I trained every day in the week apart from Monday (even I need some rest after a 20-mile race!) and just took Saturday as a rest day before the race.

I spent a few hours at work Saturday - that may sound really sad but I am starting to get seriously behind which is never good, and it is truly amazing what you get done in a few hours with no interruptions. I managed to fit in a trip to the cinema as well, this time to see "Outlaw", a film about a vigilante gang in Blair's Britain. Not the best film Bob Hoskins has starred in, but entertaining enough, yet at the same time slightly depressing, knowing that we do live in a "yob culture", where custodial and non-custodial sentences are often a joke.

Moving on, I had a good night's sleep before the race and set off. The location wasn't too far from home at all; I drove down the M4 to junction 18 and then travelled about 5 miles to the village of Horton, just outside Chipping Sodbury, where the race HQ and start was located.

I had a little bit too much time to kill before the race but that is always better than being in a rush. Before too long we were ushered to the start line and the horn sounded. The race soon lived up to its description, and uphill stretches were soon followed by downhill ones. In fact, hardly any of it was flat at all. And when your downhill running is as poor as mine, this makes it nigh impossible to run at a decent pace.

Having said that, this was not a course to run round in a hurry, even if I could. On the way I passed through some of the most glorious English countryside and villages I have seen in my life, a timely reminder of why I love this hobby so much. The other runners were all pretty friendly, and on the way I met walkers and horse-riders and everyone seemed in a good mood on this fine spring morning (spring - how nice to use that word in conjunction with running again).

The marshalls especially were fantastic, handing out water at regular intervals - I was careful to stay hydrated during the race - and jelly babies as well. I plan to do some marshalling myself this year to try and give a little bit back to the sport.

In the end I finished in roughly 1 hour 58 minutes, which I was quite pleased with considering the course - the hill at mile 8 finished any hopes of getting close to my PB -, and the fact that it was only ever intended as a training run.

At the end I received a goody bag with a difference - a smart shoe bag with the name of the race and the running club on it. A very original and useful memento, much better than a medal. I also availed myself of a free massage, which was very welcome as my legs were sore not just from the race but a hard week's training.

I did manage a 6-7 mile run in the evening which was fairly painless, so another confidence builder for London. No alcohol to celebrate, as this was just another day's training and I wanted another decent run the next day.

So that was the last of the "tough training" races that I shall be doing for London, and I'm feeling in pretty good nick. Next up is the Bath half marathon on 25th March (where I shall be hoping for a new PB) and the White Horse half marathon the following weekend. I won't have recovered from Bath to get a PB but it is a flat and fast course by all accounts. Throw in a 5-mile race at Highworth the week before the big day and a couple more really long runs and I'm ready and raring to go.

At this stage I have to say I'm really looking forward to London and am quietly confident I shall get round painlessly and in a fairly respectable time. I'm also looking forward to the summer that follows, where I can just enjoy my running and focus on improving my half marathon and 10k times.

So all in all, lots to look forward to.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, March 2007

Gloucester 20 Mile Race

This weekend I competed in the longest race I have done since the marathon last year - the Gloucester 20 mile race.

I was due to compete in the Devizes 10k and had already sent off my application. I was a bit disappointed as when I heard about the Gloucester 20 mile race I knew it would be a much better training run for London (as much as I wanted to do the Devizes race - I used to spend a lot of time there when young and it would have been great to see a bit of the town and countryside.

When I did the Tough Ten Mike Sas, a friend from work and the Swindon Harriers, said he might do the Devizes 10k and enter on the day - suddenly a solution had presented itself to me - let Mike take my race number, so I would be free to enter the Gloucester 20 mile race and not lose money.

I wrapped up my training on Wednesday, although to be honest, none of the sessions I did last week were that hard - I was surprisingly sore from Bourton and missed the track session on Tuesday.

This meant I had three days' rest before the race, partly due to the fact that I was in London on Thursday for the day. I went to see "Sound of Music" in the evening with the MAN ERF Sports and Social Club, but instead of just going up for the musical I took a day's leave and spent the day in the capital.

In the afternoon I went to see a play called "Treats" starring Billie Piper and Kris Marshall (My Family). I actually really enjoyed it; the acting was good and the dialogue cracking. Ms Piper goes from strength to strength in my estimation and I really admire the way she is managing her career and her image - any woman to get divorced from a multi-millionaire and NOT fleece him for all he is worth is all right in my book.

Needless to say I had a few beers during the course of the day, which is not ideal preparation for a race I know, but it got worse on Friday when I had to attend Suzie's leaving do - she has made the brave decision to move on to pastures new, feeling she has nothing worth staying in Swindon for. Bearing in mind her age, her lack of commitments and the qualifications she possesses, who can really blame her?

And yes, I had to go - when it's my turn to go I want my friends to turn up for my leaving do and enjoy themselves, so I have to do the same for them. It was a good evening, we had a private room at the Apartment in Swindon, and later on the hardened party animals - me, Suzie, Tamara, Ajaz, and a few people I don't know so well - moved on to the Walkabout.

It was a cracking evening but Saturday was spent nursing a hangover. In my case, this meant re-hydrating as much as possible. I managed a trip to the cinema to see "The Illusionist" which was good, but something a little more "leave your brain at the door" might have been better at that juncture.

I had a really terrible night's sleep Saturday. I don't know if it was the nerves, the alcohol the night before, or having strange people in the house (my lodger had a friend from Holland over) but I didn't get much kip at all, 4 or 5 hours at the most. I honestly thought about turning off the alarm and going back to sleep, and that might have been the safest thing to do (it was a good hour's drive) but I really, really wanted to do this race to find out what sort of shape I am in.

The journey was not too bad, as much as I dread driving when I'm tired. I found the place easily enough and arrived in good time. The weather was awful and wasn't going to get any better. It was raining and there were strong winds about.

Soon we were off and I already had a pre-meditated plan to go at a nice gentle pace, anything around 9 or 10 minute miles would be fine. It wasn't about getting a time, it was about running all the way round if I could and seeing how I felt at the end.

Whilst the distance made it hard work, it was quite pleasant to run at a steady pace and enjoy the lovely countryside. It was also one of the friendliest races I've done, and at several points found myself chatting or sharing a joke with some of the other runners.

The weather wasn't that much of a hindrance as it turned out, it wasn't as cold as it seemed once I got going and the rain was never that heavy. Wearing my running cap proved a brainwave, as it kept the rain out of my hair and face. The worst problem was the wind, and I was nearly taken off my feet at one point.

As it turned out, I didn't have to walk at any point during the race (except at water stations and to make a call of nature), not even on some of the hills, and whilst the last couple of miles were tougher than most, I didn't find myself slowing down. I crossed the line with 3 hours 9 minutes on my watch, which I'd have more than happily taken before the start.

At this point I realised this was an excellent training exercise for London; whilst I had worried my running had gone downhill after the last marathon it seems I am now stronger than I was then. The gruelling training sessions I am doing - longer speed sessions round the lake, body pump plus running - are paying off, as is the policy of picking tough races to use as training runs.

I still have 7 weeks to make myself lighter, stronger and faster and should be on the start line for London in pretty decent shape. As I write I have managed a decent track session without feeling too sore after the race, which I didn't think would be possible this week.

I have another tough race this weekend - the Hogweed Hilly Half - and then have the Bath and White Horse half marathons before London. Throw in a few more good long runs (without getting lost!) and I'll be on the start line for London feeling confident.

I certainly hope so - the experience is going to be amazing, and I want to enjoy it to the full.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, March 2007

Please sponsor me to run the London Marathon to raise money for Samaritans: www.justgiving.com/jonrunslondon2007