Overview

The bags are in the hallway. The last 3-miler run. If none of the 2,307 (and counting) things that I've envisaged going wrong happen, then I should make it to the start line.

Last week I ran a 5 mile out-and-in and at the turn-around point found myself almost unconsciously walking and for a mile I just went totally negative. I hadn't trained enough, my feet would never hold up, air travel aggravates gout, my body-clock will think it's running the race at 1:45am and so on. Eventually I broke into a trot again, but I admit that I've never felt so intimidated by a forthcoming race as at that moment.

Fortunately there have been a few better runs since then and what am I going to do anyway, not run the race? In the end, it's just another long run. You find your pace, get a few miles under your belt and settle down for the duration. And at the end of this one, at least you get a medal!

So we're off to London in 30 minutes and I don't know if I'll get a chance to blog again before the race, so I'd like to say a few words about my brother Anthony. It's not the sole reason for running the LM of course, but I have tried to raise some money for the Meath Foundation in Anthony's memory. He suffered from epilepsy and he died far too young as a result. But he was brave and cheerful in the face of a great deal of adversity and when the going gets tough on Sunday (and it will) I'll be thinking of Anthony and I'll do my best to put on a smile just as he always did.

Let's rock 'n roll!

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Five Mile Drive in Point Defiance Park is not quite 5 miles, so 4 times around is closer to 19 than 20 miles. However, although it is a loop, due to an interesting confluence of its geographical position, the earth’s rotation and its orbit around the sun, the road is entirely uphill.

 It is in fact the killer run of the training schedule. Last year, doing the 20 miler on flat Meeker Trail the week afterwards was, despite some of the most interesting weather I've ever run in, quite good fun. So going into my taper a week ahead of the rest of the group isn’t that big a deal in terms of being race-ready. 

When I stopped at the car to massage my feet after the 3rd time around, it took several minutes of loin-girding to get going for a 4th. Brutal. But it was a glorious spring day and it was the last long run. You know you can't quit or how could you even line up for the race itself? These are the runs that really push you and make you realize that, no matter how tough it gets, you always have some more in the tank if you dig deep enough. 

After London it's going to be a time for some hard questions. My foot problems not only cause a lot of pain but they also make me a not-terribly-good runner and as I've been a reasonably okay athlete throughout my life it's hard to be the slow-poke at the back. Co-incidentally, on the way to work there was an item on NPR (National Public Radio) about willpower, which finished on the subject of running marathons. It sort of turned the subject on its head because a lot of it dealt with the problems marathoners have adjusting to not being able to run marathons any more and that gave me some food for thought. Apparently most marathoners begin abandoning the sport at an increasing rate during their 50's and 60's (not sure what that says about my own perversity starting at 55) and find it hard to make the adjustment to stopping. My problem is feet, so I'll try and find solutions for that first. Then, if I can't clear up those issues it will probably be time to look at something like triathlon. Cycling and swimming have never been favourite activities, but I could probably be okay at both and a half-ironman shouldn’t be beyond the realm of possibility.

 Meanwhile, let the taper begin! For the non-runners amongst you, the taper is when you steadily decrease your mileage for a few weeks before a race. This achieves a number of results; raised glycogen levels and generally improved body function and strength (counter-intuitive though that sounds), a chance to decrease or lose some of those injuries and niggles and not least, to build a fresh appetite for running. By the end of the taper you should be bursting with energy and jonesing to get running. Yeah, right.

 The really hard work is done now, though it's never a good time to get complacent. On my 2nd lap this weekend I turned both my ankles within a couple of minutes of each other while running over rough ground. I recovered okay both times but my heart was in my mouth; snapped ligaments and there goes the marathon. It doesn't bear thinking about too much, but something like that does do wonders for your concentration.

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After arriving back from a slap-up meat and two veg at Shenanigans on the Tacoma riviera (aka Ruston Way) and casting a mellow eye over the preceding entry, it strikes me, not for the first time, that this blog could be taken as awfully whiney.

What it's meant to be is just a straightforward record of the trials and tribulations of a 57 year old man pushing a body that has been put through far too much abuse into condition to run 26 miles. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but the truth is that I get a huge kick out of all this. If it wasn't hard what would be the point? I hope I get to cross that finish line because I think it will be one of the highlights of my life and a few months of agonizing pain mild discomfort won't matter a damn once it's over.

The last big week. Suck it up!

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After a somewhat disastrous 2 weeks, the final week of heavy-duty training begins.

A major gout attack killed training for 5 days and, while the group had some fun at a local 10k last Saturday, I was barely able to stand up and walk. As the long runs resumed, I desperately needed a decent 18 miler yesterday and fortunately got one, though the rain and cold left me drained and as exhausted as I've ever been after a run. The drive home was painful as I couldn't stop shaking and my fingers did that weird draining of blood thing where they go paper white. It took an extra long soak and lying in bed to watch a recording of England's 4-0 win over Slovakia, to revive me.

Actually, when the two weeks between the 17 and 18 milers is looked at as a whole and compared to my original training plan, there was very little lost in mileage. It just felt that way and the runs I did do were completed in some pain, but now there's just one more long run to come before I enter the tapering pre-race period. Once that's done I think the race itself will start to become a reality and then I can start to really panic.

I'm  glad I have last years Tacoma marathon under my belt or I might have just felt overwhelmed by the difficulties this year. I've had to evolve ongoing strategies to handle the various foot pains I've experienced. This week saw me running with padded straps to handle my Plantar fasciitis and a gel pad for my Mortons Neuroma and I now stop for a couple of minutes every 3 miles or so and massage the toes of my right foot so that it stays pain free. Perhaps custom orthotics is the way to go, but so close to the race is not the time to start down a new path. It's a case of finding what works and going with it. It's also possible that years of gout have left my right foot weakened enough that I'll never run long distances pain free and I just have to accept that. One things for sure, my goal is simply to endure to the finishing line and forget about time.

So on to next Saturday and Point Defiance park for 4 times round Five Mile Drive. At least it will be a change of scenery, though the rotten weather looks set to continue. Damn but it's been a miserable spring so far. My understanding is that last years race was rather warm and a lot of people had problems coping with it. That would be bad news for me, us red-heads don't do well in the heat. But there'll be time to worry about that after next week.

I told Ben that my next venture after London will be to get my sky-diving license, my daughter Christa and I did tandem jumps last year. He thinks this is a silly idea but did understand my reasoning that, in the worst possible scenario, it only hurts for a second.

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Bed certainly feels like the place to be at 6am on a Saturday with the rain streaming and the wind howling, but it's time for that 17 miler - oh goody!

Actually, the wind howling turns out to be Bill the cat voicing his displeasure at being in prison. The poor old sod is getting on a bit and his internal feeding alarm has taken to going off at somewhere between 4 and 5 am, at which point Sandy gets out of bed, feeds him and then locks him in bathroom B, as his internal time-to-go-out alarm goes off immediately after eating and he will pester us unmercifully otherwise. As we have coyotes, racoons and skunks around, who tend to be out and about at that time, this is a better alternative to actually letting him out. While skunks tend not to be dangerous as such, the prospect of a sprayed Bill, amusing though it is, would probably wear thin rather quickly. And while Racoons hunting cats seems to be mostly urban (rural?) myth, we occasionally get woken up by Mr and Mrs Rocky peering in through the bedroom french windows and Rocky is damn huge! Coyotes don't need an explanation. The poor beggars wouldn't stand a chance.

The rain is just plain old nasty, wet, cold bloody rain, only a couple of degrees from being snow, which we have had the previous couple of days.

So time for a shower, coffee, cereal and a trip to the loo prior to heading to the group meet.  Non-runners might not realize the importance of that last item, but runners certainly would. Being able to produce an early morning bowel movement at will is a major weapon in the successful runners armory and porta-potty timing prior to race start can make or break a successful run (no pun intended) on the big day. One of my major fears is what jet-lag might do to my finely honed talents in this area when we get to London.

A 45 minute drive to the Meeker Trailhead, arriving with "Woke Up This Morning" by A3 (aka the Soprano's theme) coming to it's very loud end as I pull in - that's the stuff to give the troops! A brief miserable and damp mill around saying hi to people and we're off, like greyhounds springing from the traps! Well, some people are. I just sort of plod off after them.

Have a chat with Linda for a couple of miles, until my left leg starts giving me agro and convince her to go on ahead. She's really strong these days and in the Tacoma marathon last year actually placed 3rd in her age-group in her first race. Time to crank up PodRunner and start grinding out the miles. Miserable weather, nice trail though. A bunch of new-born calves in the field near the turnaround, gambolling and looking generally enthusiastic about life. The other cows look on morosely in the rain. They know you chew cud and then you're beef.

The final aid station on the way back is at the 14 mile mark and it's the signal for my Mortons Neuroma to really kick in and the serious pain to start. The good thing is that I've gone a mile further this week than last before it happens. It's a growth on the bottom of my foot and feels like something in my shoe, the toes above it become really painful. Stopping every few miles, taking my shoe off and giving my foot a brief massage enables me to keep going and that's what I'll have to do in London. That will probably add 15 to 20 minutes to my time, but at least I should finish.

Ben comes back along the trail and picks me up at about the 2 mile mark and we head back to the trailhead together. He and Linda have really been incredibly supportive and I owe them a big debt of gratitude. Linda and Kayla are waiting at the trailhead and I try and convince them that Ben and I have just decided to do another 5 miles and they should join us. For some reason they don't buy it. Nor do the 2 newbies who come in behind us believe me when I tell them that Kayla had gotten the 8.5 mile half-way marking wrong and they had a couple more miles to do. Oh well, it was worth a try.

And another one bites the dust! Breakfast, a hot soak, a long nap and a restful weekend beckon.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQMbXvn2RNI

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Did 5 miles today and used my Garmin. Over a minute per mile faster. My speed tends to be consistent no matter what the mileage, so it's a significant improvement.

I think there are a couple of things kicking in here. Firstly, due to the gout-prevention medication I'm begining to run freely again and not protecting my feet as I have been for well over a year now. I'm actually finishing runs not feeling as though I've been running on hot coals. Secondly, regular weight-training. My core is definitely stronger and back pains and other aches and strains are slowly receding.

 And finally, I think I'm really on to something with Steveboy's tempo mixes. Have had some thoughts about that which I shall probably share at great length some time. Won't that be fascinating? Fine, just go and find dancing hamsters or whatever else happens to be 'cool' on the Interwebs these days. See if I care.

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Well I solved the 3 mile runs problem. You'll never guess. I'm just not going to do them any more!

I was looking at the training program and I just wasn't getting enough miles. This may be my fault, when I went to sign up for the training group they asked for my resting heart-rate and I guessed 70. Turns out it's actually around 60, so all the times, speeds, heart-rates etc are wrong. Holding that nice little customized booklet, I didn't have the heart to tell Paul.

But the lack of miles has been bothering me, so I finally went back to my first running inspiration of a few years ago, which is "The Non-runners Guide to Running a Marathon" and decided to drop into that program while keeping the long runs with the group. Hence the eight-miler today.

And it was great! Last week while reading a Guardian blog on the London marathon, someone mentioned the Podrunner web site at http://www.djsteveboy.com/podrunner.html, which you should immediately check out if you're a runner. The DJ on the site creates music mixes of a fixed tempo specifically for athletes. I checked it out, liked the idea and decided to give it a whirl.

I have a little 1 gig SanDisk MP3 player which I use occasionally for audio-books. Unfortunately, I've yet to find a pair of ear-buds that will stay in place short of super-gluing them, so that was the first problem to solve. A trip to Sears turned up a pair of Sennheiser 'Runners' headphones, buds that have bits that go over the ears and round the neck, but they were Sennheiser and I happen to think very highly of their products having owned a killer pair of headphones for about ten years. And sure enough they go on, stay on and sound brilliant. I was always blown away by how Sennheiser got bass to sound good in headphones and these days they've actually managed to do a reasonable job with ear-buds as well. Oh, and they're meant to be weatherproof and Amazon.com have them for a reasonable $29 (you know where to send the check Mr. Sennheiser).

Okay, do I now need an iPod? It turns out that the little SanDisk is plenty good enough for running and that 1GB can hold a lot of music, so not for now. I own a set of earphones that cost about 3 times as much as the MP3 player - isn't technology marvellous? And so I set off, with every expectation of having to find some way to stash the earphones half way through the run when I get fed-up with the whole deal. But it was brilliant!

Now you may think that you're going to let your mind float off into bucolic daydreams to the sound of Vaughan Williams while you're running, but if you've had any experience of listening to music while you run, you know it aint going to happen. It turns out techno, house or whatever you want to call it is absolutely, spot-on, what you should be listening to when you run. You get that mantra/audio mandala thing going, your body syncs to the beat and it's a whole new ball-game.

I knew where my 4 mile turnaround marker was so I didn't bother to wear my runners watch, which is a shame because I'm certain the run was a whole lot quicker than I've been doing recently and it would have been interesting to see by how much. Perhaps it was just that I was due a really good run, Saturday wasn't terrible after all. But this felt like a real epithany, I was running way better than I've done for a while.

So it will be interesting to see how it goes. A few more runs like this and I will definitely be sending DJ Steveboy a donation for the fine work he's doing.

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Did you see what I did there? It's a blog, on a computer, with the 'y'. Clever eh?

So the 15 miler is done and dusted. Had a change of venue a couple of days before and the group met at Point Defiance Park for 3 times round Five Mile Drive. Very pretty, and very hilly! A beautiful drive out there with the Cascades clear as a bell and Mount Rainier looking majestic, though the choppiness on Puget Sound indicates some more difficult weather to come this weekend perhaps.

The group are more seasoned runners this year and I'm definitely the oldest and definitely the slowest, though I hope not by too much. That's where the reality thing kicks in, I can see myself lined up in London, based on my speed, with a bunch of over-achieving octogenerians and people dressed as muppets. Oh well, whatever. Today I just let everyone else vanish into the distance, found my pace and kept at it.

There's (yet another) movie called 'Spirit of the Marathon' in which an Old Codger is asked about 'runners high', to which he responds that the only high he ever gets from running is when he stops. I'm pretty much with him on that, though I have had a few experiences where suddenly everything becomes really easy and you have the bizarre phenomenom of enjoying a run, but those are few and far between.

I watch the younger, more experienced runners who clearly find this whole thing a lot easier than myself and I'm jealous. But the OC has a point; there are a lot of reasons to run but I think for me the main one is to discover if I can push my limits just that bit further. And when you do and the long run is over, you may not feel exactly good, but you do feel very good about yourself and that feeling lasts a while. The marathon itself is just the final realization of what we achieve every week when we train. It's the ultimate celebration and that's why it's such fun and why I'm looking forward to it so much.

So if this blog gets a bit on the whiney side occasionally (occasionally!), it's not because there's no satisfaction being gained from all this malarkey - it's just that I enjoy a good whinge.

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