Milton Keynes Marathon 2012 Race Report.

"I am made of Belief not Barriers."

Official Time: 04:12:24

3:53am. - Woke up seven minutes before my alarm went off and got out of bed.  Showered, dressed up and finished packing my bag, checking to make sure I had not forgotten anything.

4:45am. – Had breakfast – Cereal (Oats) and 2 slices of toast with a cup of coffee.

5:15am. – Got out my door. It’s raining – it’s pouring is a better description. That rain would dog my steps all the way to Milton Keynes. There were no problems with public transportation. I took the bus to London Euston station.

6:53am. - I got on the  train to Milton Keynes. I was glad the trains were running. With National Rail you can’t be too sure. I did have a backup plan just in case there were any problems with the trains.

On the train I passed the time reading Rudyard Kipling’s poem – “If” and excerpts from Chrissie Wellington’s book “A Life Without Limits”.

8:20am. – The train rolled into Bletchley station and I got off. It was better to get off here rather go on to Milton Keynes Central Station. From Bletchley Station it was a 15-minute walk to the MK Dons stadium where the marathon was taking place. I pulled my hood up, popped the umbrella and walked down. The umbrella wasn't very helpful because of the wind. By the time I get to the stadium I am a bit wet.

8:40am. – The stadium is like a marketplace – busy and bustling with 4000 runners with friends and family. I quickly find a quiet spot and change into my running gear. Then I dropped up off my bag at the baggage truck and settled down to wait. I prefer to be quiet, go through my game plan and mull over the inspirational stuff I’ve read. The goal is to finish in 4 hours or under and to run the entire distance – no walk breaks! I consider all that could possibly go wrong and my responses to each of them.

I like this part too for the opportunity to watch other people do their pre-race routines, from the very serious to the very funny (nobody is laughing though) but you notice each runner means business.

9;45am. – All the runners head for the start line. The rain is pouring down heavily, the wind is blowing hard and temperature has dropped – it is cold. Within a couple of minutes my fingers are frozen. I can’t operate my iphone so I can’t use the Runmeter app.

10:00am. – The gun goes off and 4000 runners are away. I get my stopwatch going and I am off too. I hold back and hold back – stick to the plan I tell myself – Miles 1-5 slow. As hundreds of runners stream past me I am sorely tempted to join them but I hold back. I hit the first mile in 9:58. Good! Good! I tell myself. I’m relaxed.

The rain continues and the wind howls and I’m doing my thing. This marathon is taking place on the footpaths that criss-cross the whole of Milton Keynes. There are huge puddles on the path and folks are running on the grass to avoid them. Within minutes the grass has turned to mud. At first I avoid the puddles but I notice the mud is slowing me down so I just hit the puddle causing a splash and all. No-one is complaining. We are all drenched anyway and you wouldn’t be able to tell what colour of shoes we were wearing.

I hit the fifth mile marker in 46:37, a bit faster than I planned but it’s ok because by now I’m cruising. I’m going steady but most importantly I am calm. I start drinking; I break out the first gel at 60 minutes. By now I notice a small group of runners with me. I remember thinking – this is just fine – these folks will keep me on target pace. A couple of minutes later after a short conservation I find out I’m not running with them – they are running with me. I’m their pacer. What?? How did that happen?

Mile 6 flashes by, so does 7, 8,…..I hit the halfway mark by 2hrs 7 minutes. I’ve picked up the pace and left my little group behind.  I do a quick systems check – everything is fine. I’m feeling strong. I’m drinking steadily and having a gel every thirty minutes. There is this quotation replaying itself over and over in my head. I read it from Corey Q.’s entries,   – “Run the mile You’re in”.

Mile 15 is coming up and I am thinking this is where it all started falling apart in my last marathon. I shake the thought and keep going. Words of Chrissie Wellington are jumping in my head – “trust in your preparation…. Focus on that fact….” At mile 16 I feel like jumping in the air with a whoop! It’s all going according to plan.

I have got to hand it to the crowd – they were amazing. That they were out there in that weather was amazing in itself. They would not just stop cheering – that wall of sound followed us round the course. The marshals did a great job too. I will not forget the marshal at mile 17 – she was one excited girl, dancing, jumping up and down and screaming at the top of her voice. Wow!

I got to Mile 20 at 3hrs 7 minutes. Sub 4hrs is looking very possible. I do another body check and except for a twinge in my left knee I’m still feeling strong – there is no wall.  So I pick up the pace.  I go through this underpass at mile 21: when I emerge in the open again there is this crowd cheering loudly. This gentleman in the crowd says to me “you’re enjoying yourself”. Without thinking I ask, “am 1?” The gentleman answers, “you’ve got a smile on your face”.  So I did, I was enjoying myself.

Problems started at mile 22. My body began to betray me. After the 22^nd mile marker there was this short incline. I just went for it but when I got to the top I got hit with severe cramps just above my knees on both legs. It was so sudden I was completely thrown. I came to a stop, willing myself to calm down – “remember the plan, deal with this” -. Once I got my thoughts together I did some stretches, walked a bit and started running again. The cramps did not go away completely but I didn’t stop again. But I had to really slow down to keep going and from here till mile 25 it was all uphill.

I found it difficult to keep it together at this stage; my thoughts were all over the place. With hindsight I realise all I needed to do was dig deep, keep my mind on the things that inspire me and focus. This is where I needed to force myself to think right and manage the pain.

At Mile 25 I’m holding on. By mile 26 I’m picking up the pace again. I’m inside the stadium and the cheering of the crowd keeps me going. I see the finish chute. I pass one or two runners. Then I’m over the finish line.

Time: 4:12:24. I am not disappointed. In fact I am so excited. If you had seen me then no-one would blame you for thinking I had won the race! I did not make the time I wanted but I had just shaved 18 minutes off my marathon time. I had run the whole marathon from beginning to the end except for the cramps stop. The hydration strategy went like a dream and there was no wall. I even helped some runners along the way. The whole race went according to plan.

And for my next marathon I know I need a mind as honed and as powerful as my legs. I’ve got train my mind to manage pain better. I have learnt that in this marathon business pain is always there and things will go wrong. The earlier I train myself to deal with it the easier it will be to get the PB.

For this race the best part is that I enjoyed myself – I ran with a smile!

The Journey So Far.......

The decision to run another marathon was easily made. It was while running my first marathon in Dublin that I made up my mind: I was going to do this again. I remember vividly when that happened. It was when that particular marathon began to go inevitably wrong.  I had ran myself to a stop and at that point it did not look like I was going to finish the race. I did go on to finish in fits and stops and through much pain. I understand it is at this point that some runners tell themselves - never again! Surprisingly it had the opposite effect on me. I was viscerally determined to do another one and do it well.

Once the decisions was made to run another marathon the next step was to pick a particular race, set goals and have a plan.  I wanted a marathon in spring, close to home and one I could train for with minimal disruptions to the rest of my life. I finally settled for Milton Keynes Marathon billed for the 29th of April 2012. I would have loved to do London Marathon but I could not get a place.

The goals for this race are:
1. Finish in about 4hrs.
2. Run the entire marathon
3. Get the pacing right.

It was finding the right plan that was the problem. I scoured the Internet, I spoke to people who should know and I read a book or two. One of the books I read was Hal Higdon's "Ultimate Training Guide To The Marathon". I loved the book so much I picked one of Higdon's plans - the advanced training plan. At the time it seemed like an overly ambitious plan because of the mileage and there's only one rest day per week (I love my rest days). This was going to be quite a leap for me but I settled for this plan because firstly, I wanted to train hard for this marathon. Secondly, I have set myself the goal of running 2000 miles in 2012 so I needed a plan that would help me build up the miles.

To be on the safe side I picked a second plan - an easier one just in case I could not cope with the first one.

Eleven weeks have flown by and it has been a steep learning curve. There have been days when the workouts have been daunting. I have put in the miles and time and have grown to love this plan. I am committed to it now. There's no way I am going to abandon it now. I am going to see this through to the end.

Staying with the plan is one thing but has there been any positive result? In the last two weeks I have taken part in two races to see how much I have improved with all the training I have been doing. The first one was a half marathon and the second one was a ten mile race.

The half marathon was the Roding Valley half marathon held on the 26^th of February 2012. This was a tough course – hilly and undulating. My goals for this race were simple – get the pacing right and finish between 1 hour fifty-two minutes and one hour fifty-five minutes. No PB chasing here. The plan was to do the first mile in about ten minutes, do the next six miles in fifty four minutes and finish the remaining six miles in about fifty minutes.

I started out slowly and did the first mile just under ten minutes. The first seven miles was completed in sixty-two minutes. The remaining six miles was done in fifty-four minutes to finish the race in one hour fifty-six minutes, twenty-seven seconds. It was tough going with all those hills. I was surprised at my pace later because it did not feel like I was going that fast.

The second race I did was the Self-Transcendence 10Mile race at Battersea Park, London held on the 3^rd of March six days after the half marathon. Now this was not a planned race. The Marathon Training plan called for 10-mile run at marathon pace on that day. I did not feel like doing that run on my own which was rather surprising because I am something of a lone runner. So while browsing the Runnersworld UK website I found this race and decided to give it a go. I needed the company of other runners. And there is something about running in a group that brings out the best in you.

It turned out to be a race that I enjoyed a lot. This was a well-organized race with just two hundred and thirty-four runners on a course that was flat, scenic and well marshalled. This one had PB potential written all over it but just like with the Roding Half Marathon I just wanted to get the pacing right under pressure. I finished the race in one hour, thirty minutes, fifteen seconds. This was a good run and the pacing was very good. The first mile was done in ten minutes. I was able to keep it around nine minutes per mile for the next eight miles. I picked up the pace in the last mile to finish strong. 

I told the story of the two races to answer the question – has there been any positive result with all the training I have been doing? I am satisfied with the results from both races. There has been massive improvement in stamina and pacing. I am not starting out too fast anymore and I am getting to a point where I can hold a pace no matter what. I had a plan for both races and I stuck with it. Also, I have been doing 40-50 miles per week lately and according to the training plan will go up to just under 60 over the next four weeks. That I am able to handle that kind of load is an indication that I have grown stronger.

So far it is going according to plan. That wraps up Phase one of my marathon training. Phase Two is already under way. I will keep you posted.

Recovery

It's been a week since I experienced the marathon - one long week of recovery. It has been one week of resting, stretching, icing the legs and elevating them. I particularly had problems with my left foot. The day following the marathon I could not move because of a terribly sharp pain on the underside of my left foot. But after a week of showing it some TLC it looked and felt like it was getting better. That is until I went for a run yesterday morning. There was no problem during the run. It was afterwards that the pain started up again. The good news is it wasn't near as bad as it was last week: the bad news is I might have to hold off running for awhile, give the foot more time to recover.  I won't make any decisions until I try another easy run on Thursday.

The past one week has also been a time of assessing my performance at that Marathon. What worked, what didn't and why did it go so spectacularly awry after the first fifteen miles? Those questions have got me reading up and researching a lot of stuff.   My room looks like the study of a crazed scientist or something. Books and magazines strewn everywhere with my laptop permanently on running websites. Anyway, I found some very interesting answers which I intend to use for my next marathon in spring so watch this space. 

My First Marathon...

Just over sixteen weeks ago when I started training for my first marathon, my goal was simple – to get round the course and finish the race. Time was not an issue. But by the time I got to the start of the Dublin marathon I felt like I could do it in four hours or just under four hours. That became my goal and my race strategy was designed to achieve just that. Unfortunately, like I found out yesterday marathons can have a mind of their own.
I started the race well and for the first fifteen miles it all went according to plan, then it all started to unravel. At mile fifteen my legs just gave up on me. I just couldn’t go on. Nothing I did could get them going. The legs just wouldn’t move. For the next five miles I resorted to a combination of walking and running (running? More like a funny shuffle on dead legs). I got out all my mantras, consumed copious amounts of sports drink, water and energy gels. Still – nothing. During those five miles all thoughts of running a sub-4hr time were drained away. All I wanted at that point was to finish. I got scared I was not going to finish. I had to make up mind – I am going to finish this race even if I have to crawl across the finish line!
Amazingly, at mile 20 my legs came back to life. I started running steadily again. By mile 24 it was all looking good then I got hit with cramps. By now I’m thinking, what on earth is going on today? But I was not going to be denied so I kept going slowly – walking and doing the shuffle again until I crossed the finish line in what was by now a torrential downpour.
I had done it! – finish my first marathon.
Will I do it again? Run another marathon? Hell, yes!!

The Marathon Goal

Over the years I've done a couple of races - 5Ks, 10Ks and two half marathons. Not much but enough for my needs. There is one race missing in that list. Yes - you guessed it - the marathon - the 26.2mile monster.
I haven't taken part in a marathon yet because I've only ever wanted to run the London marathon and that is because of it's fame and popularity. Unfortunately for three years now I've not been able to get a place in this most prestigious of races.
Early this year I realise there was something wrong with that thinking. Why am I so fixated on the London marathon? I am a runner: it should not matter what race I take part in as long as I put in the miles and finish. Right? So I made up my mind I was going to run a marathon this year. It wouldn't matter where. It was time to take on those 26.2 miles.
I shopped around looking for one that met my needs and fit into my running goals for the year. Initially I picked the Marathon in Chester but due to a conflict in interest at work I had to change that. I finally settled on the National Lottery Marathon in Dublin, Ireland on the 31st of October.
I'm in my tenth week of training and it's all going according to plan. No injuries and absolutely no doubts. Come 31st October I will be one of the thousands of runners pushing myself to the edge.

In The Beginning.....

When I started running about seven years ago it was simply to stay fit. I never envisaged myself running in races and becoming something of a running fanatic. I did not even take it seriously. I was not a regular runner. I only ran when I had time, when it was convenient and when I felt my waistline was getting too big. And when I did run it was not for long. I can't remember doing anything more than twenty minutes back then.
All that changed in 2006 when I was first diagnosed with High Blood Pressure. My doctor at the time told me he did not want me relying on medication to treat the condition. He wanted me to make some serious lifestyle changes that included changing my diet and exercising a lot more than I was doing at the time.
I did consider other forms of fitness like soccer, swimming, and the gym. Soccer I considered too risky for a guy my age, swimming was expensive and there was no pool in my neighbourhood. And the gym was just too expensive for me at the time. So I settled for running.
Three things helped make that decision an easy one. One, I realised running was something I could do anywhere, anytime and at minimal cost. Two, there were a lot more people into running than I thought. Three, I discovered Runnersworld and a little known website called goodrunguide.co.uk. A whole new world was opened to me and before you could say running I had fallen head over heels in love with running.
I was scouring the Internet for training plans, nutritional tips and all things running. I was mapping out routes, doing long runs and taking part in races. My weight dropped, I felt better about myself and other areas of my life was positively impacted.
It's not been smooth sailing over the years. I've had my share of injuries from shin splints to hamstring problems to problems with my toes, knees and ankles. All these injuries at one point or another have kept me from running but I never lost my love for the sport if anything it has grown stronger over the years.
I am still here, still running, still having the time of my life.