No Sleep til London by REAO69

Didn't train at the weekend due to not feeling very well and also my knee being sore. However, completed 8k on the running machine yesterday. Knee felt fine. Thank goodness for that. Woohoo!

So I am now hoping that it's business as usual and I can train flat out until the xmas festivities kick in. Not that I'll stop training but I certainly will start drinking and eating.

Then the serious work will begin in the New Year.

Did some weights in the gym this morning. Chest and triceps. Feeling good at the moment. Let's hope it lasts!

Also it looks as though I have got the best part of arrangements in place for a charity sportsmans dinner. Date is set for the 6th March 2008 at the Marina Club in The Albert Dock. More on this in future posts.

Train Hard.

Ok so where did we leave off...

Yes. Mile 14. This was, as the title suggests, were it all slipped away. My calf kicked in big time to the point were I was running with a limp. If you can run with a limp??? and my brother was struggling with his knee.

We then passed the point were you could see runners coming in the opposite direction. I think this was mile 15 - 16 for us and it was 22 for them. this didn't make us feel much better knowing that they were well ahead of us but what made it worse was at this point we started to see the first signs of a string of casualties!

I hadn't noticed any before this point but from here until the end there was a constant string of people sitting or lying by the roadside and lots being attended to by the ambulance/ st johns crews (big thanks to them but thankfully I didn't need them!). This sight again played with the mind and I think made us slow our pace again. The thought of running with the possibility of no water was a scary thought!!

Then at mile 17 ish (this is where the title comes from) my wheels came off big time. Not a mental thing, not a lack of training and maybe but not sure not a lack of water...but cramp took hold of both my thighs. AT THE SAME TIME!

It felt like somebody had just rugby tackled me.

I was stopped dead in my tracks.

I had to shout my brother because he carried on running and I couldn't. I stopped and spent the next 5 minutes stretching. It was probably the worst pain I have ever felt.

The one thing I have never experienced and certainly had not planned for was cramp and I didn't know what to do.

At this point I was absolutely certain that I wasn't going to make it to the finish. I jogled (cross between a jog and a hobble) for the next mile or so and had to take the painkillers I had brought as a result of my calf. Took four nurofen in about an hour and a half (don't try this at home).

Anyway, not a lot to tell after this apart from the fact that we jogged a bit and walked most of the rest of the way and I had to practically push my brother the last two miles.

Finished in 6 hours (was aiming for under 5).

Gutted about the time, the injury and the heat but it is these 3 things that will make me do it again next year...

BIG THANKS TO:

1. All the supporters (unbelieveable)

2. All the people at the water stations  (water or not) and organisers.

3. Two very nice young ladies who gave me a "Come on Kidney" when I was struggling. They were also running for Kidney Research.

I'll definitely be back next year in better condition and hoping for kinder weather.

Things I've learnt:

1. you can never over prepare

2. Physiotherapy is a must for injuries

3. Leave well early on the day of the race

4. Don't do any physical activity the day before

5. Most of it is mind over matter

6. Good support can get you through almost anything!

Thanks to everyone involved and all the support. Thanks to the family who came with me and especially to the mrs for putting up with everything from when I started. See u all next time. x

Hello again.

So finally got to the start. Feeling good. Very nervous. Very hot and sweaty after running a mile to get there. Sympathy for those poor runners who had to do the 3 miles!

So started finally (albeit 35 mins ish after the start gun).

Both my brother and I (both carrying injuries) had decided to run the full course together and just get around no matter what.

So we set off. after the first mile or two everything felt fine and we were running 10 minute miles (a little fast for him but he felt good). Lots of support from the spectators.

I agree with every other blogger in that the support/supporters are unbelievable. I read on somebody else's blog that it had restored their belief in human nature and I agree. I had heard that the support was good but you cannot understand how good until you run (more on this later).

So after we had passed the running trees, a person dancing, a spaceman in bare feet and a couple of wombles we had settled in to a good running stide. Quick check over the body and everything is fine. Felt the calf for the first 2 miles but it seemed to settle into a little niggle. All good.

At this point it was just good to be in the race and basically a novel way of seeing parts of London we would never have seen. Although, the heat was getting quite intense.

We are both not small runners by any stretch of the imagination. I'm 16 stone and he is probably 17 (not bad as he was probably over 19 when he started training!).

Then things started to go Pete Tong again...

We got to about 9 miles and had decided to take another gel (took one at the start). When we got to where the water station should be there was no offer of any water. This was were my sense of disbelief kicked in again!

No water in this heat. Surely we are mistaked and this isn't a water station. Nope all the bottles strewn out in front on us confirm that it definitely was a water station!

O MY GOD...it is swealtering and we aren't going to get any water because we started late (mind games at mile 9 not good!!). Gels got put back into belt and we carried on although feeling rough now.

Got to mile 10 and my calf pain kicked in and coincidentally my brothers knee started hurting. Was this the mind due to the lack of water or was it real pain.

Anyway it felt like pain...

We carried on at the same pace. I'm not sure looking back if this was the part of the race were there was no water at 10 miles and we had to go past another water station without getting any water.

Anyway, the stategy of taking gels at certain time had gone out of the window completely. Due to the fact that this is impossible without water on a normal day but even more so in that heat.

When we got to Tower bridge my brother said he had to walk and wanted to stop to put his knee suppost on. I made him run across the bridge. Couldn't have him walking/stopping in front of all those brilliant supporters!

We got across the bridge and then he had to stop as he was in so much pain with his knee. He put his support on and off we went again.

After this point it all gets a bit bleary with regard to where we managed to get water and where we didn't but I think that Vittel totally underestimated the requirements! There were lots of people behind us even though we were well to the back, who must've really been struggling with no water. (BIG SHOUT OF THANKS TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WERE ACTUALLY FILLING BOTTLES FROM THEIR HOUSES. AGAIN UNBELIEVABLE!!).

Will pick it up at mile 14 later...

Only just posting my blog now because only got home from London at 1 am.

I'm still struggling to walk and have a couple of bad blisters but hey....

WHAT A DAY!!!!

This is the reason why I couldn't think of a title. It was such a day of highs and lows and good things and bad things.

I've read a few blogs and they are all quite long so I'll try and keep my as short as possible.

Got on train at 8am thinking this was fine as we only had to get first tube one stop and then the DLR 6. Got to DLR to be told we would have to get off at somewhere (lost my sense of belief when the guard was telling me this!!) and walk for 3 miles or get another train back to Tower Hill and then another train to Greenwhich, which could take up to an 1:30 because of travel chaos!

We opted for the 3 mile walk. But fortunately we managed to get a lot closer. But we still had to run about a mile to the start and then still started about 35 mins aftrer the official start.

Boo to all the spectators that stayed on the trains when they could see desperate runners standing on the platforms unable to get on!

Anyway, got to the start. I wil diversify so I've decided to post several blogs containing different parts of my experience.

I haven't blogged since my calf injury because I wasn't convinced that I was going to make it to the start due to this, but I did!!

I had bought a calf support at the Expo as a last minute precauction (although I knew this was just panic setting in!).

Expo was brilliant and very well organised. Didn't really queue for anything. Which for that amount of people is very good!

Then came my first virgin marathon runners mistake. Pounded the streets with the family doing the tourist bit. All day and after we checked in to our hotel, all night until gone 10pm.

I seem to remember somewhere that you should lie in a darkened room and not move a muscle for the whole 24hrs before the race :-). Who knows, but we never...

See next blog entry later.