5:30am alarm, coffee, porridge (this seems to be the standard pre-race breakfast for me) and I was off on the bike for the easy 15 minute spin to the start.  I got my bike racked and ready and after the 6:15am race briefing was able to stand around, cheer on support and chat with friends until my start (which would be sometime after 8am).

Spectators during the early swim wave.

At around 8:10am I was off.  I’d previously estimated a swim time for 400m of 6:30 and this determines the order you start in.  Ideally with other people of similar ability so there’s less/no overtaking in the pool.

I had a great swim and clocked 7:08 when I had left the pool and headed into T1.  This works out at 6:42 for 400m pace (but does include a few seconds to get out of the pool and to the T1 timing mat).  During the swim I passed two other swimmers – this is probably a first for me in these races.  This also says that I estimated my swim time pretty accurately.

Swim time – 7:08. 32nd fastest of the day

T1 is a quick affair. 49 seconds after entering the area I was out with my bike shoes on (I still don’t do flying bike mounts with the shoes already clipped in) and pushing my bike towards the mount point (T1 ends just as you enter the Hampton Pool car park and well before the mount line).

T1 time – 49 seconds. 31st fastest of the day

Onto the bike and let the fun begin!  My only plan for today was to hammer the bike and try and destroy myself.  The run would be… well, whatever it turns out to be in the end.

Conditions were pretty good today – temperature was ideal, blue skies but a bit of a SSW breeze was blowing.

I pushed hard.  Then I pushed a little more.  I overtook a few people fairly early on and then it got harder as the better swimmers (and potentially cyclists) are further up ahead.  Eventually I caught up with a small group of three and managed to get past them.  We then went across a roundabout and I heard some words behind me…

“Didn’t you do an Ironman last weekend?  Are you sure you finished it?”

It was Deenzy – an aging man (I can say that as we’re in the same age group) who I see rarely (but normally at these races) and he’s on peak form right now.  I wasn’t sure what I was doing going past him.

Well… he then came back past me and got ahead of me.  Making sure that I wasn’t in the draft zone between us (as that’s not allowed) I pushed on using him as a reference point.  Shortly after the turnaround at about 8.2 miles we had caught up with another group of cyclists and I decided to crack on with a big push.  I got past the rest of the group and powered on towards the finish.  Heading into the hell that is the roundabouts and speedhumps of Sunbury-on-Thames I just got past Nico (another local lad – note the word lad – he’s younger than me!) and we both raced to the finish (without any drafting).

I finished the bike leg with a time of 32:49 and an average of 24.95mph!  This was the 7th fastest bike split of the day which I’m chuffed to bits with.  Really happy.  The fastest split was 31:21.

My previous best bike split has been 34:48 – so to take two minutes off is pretty impressive.  This will be a combination of racing on a time trial bike (I’ve been on a road bike previous races) and also my ever increasing bike fitness.

Bike time – 32:49. 7th fastest of the day

As soon as I finished the bike segment you get up to (and no more than) seven minutes to get back to T2 (because of traffic lights and a right hand turn).  This non-compete zone is lovely.  I was absolutely shattered.  6 or 7 minutes to recover now!

As I got into T2 the clock starts ticking again and I ran in with my bike, racked it, removed my bike helmet and put my run shoes on – and then ran!

T2 time – 42 seconds.  21st fastest of the day

The run is always hard work – especially 5k.  I had no idea how I’d feel on the run after my unbelievably tough run at Bushy parkrun on Saturday.  I struggled and just got slower and slower as the k’s ticked by and just crept in under 19 minutes.  I knew the antics of Ironman Lanzarote would be with me for a while but it really was tough on Saturday.  This didn’t bode well for now.

Today I set off pretty hard and just wanted to keep up this pace.  Within the first minute I saw a couple of friends (Stefan and Katrin) on their bikes who cheered me on which was nice.  Starting the event in a later wave is great as there’s quite a few people out on the run course so plenty of people to chase down (or be chased down by).

I pushed on, overtook quite a few people and watched a chap come flying past me as what would no doubt be a superb run split for him. Funnily enough he did the fastest run of the day (16:26).

Run time – 18:45.  17th fastest of the day

As I came to the finish I was well and truly spent.  I crossed the line and my watch said 1:05:26.  This time includes the ‘non-compete’ zone which I believed was probably five or six minutes (and would be deducted in the overall results).  Surely I couldn’t have gone under an hour for the race.  Only the fast boys do that.

I got a printout of my results and my overall time was 1 hour….. and 13 seconds.  Doh!  It was fantastic to put in such a good race to get even close to an hour but boy, only 13 seconds away.  13 really difficult seconds, that’s for sure.  Maybe flying bike mounts and a fancy pointy bike helmet are needed.

My overall position was 10th (out of 337 finishers) and I finished second in my V40 age group.  My previous best position overall is 12th and I believe 6th in my age group.  I’ll take 10th and 2nd any day!

Finally, here’s an updated summary of my race times at the Thames Turbo Triathlons from over recent years…

• 08/05/07 – 1:20:27 (using my mountain bike)
• 27/08/07 – 1:07:51 (on a borrowed road bike)
• 25/08/08 – 1:06:33 (using my recently purchased road bike)
• 31/05/10 – 1:04:55
• 30/08/10 – 1:04:37
• 02/05/11 – 1:03:59
• 29/08/11 – 1:02:25 (same bike, new wheels)
• 27/08/12 – 1:02:41 (same bike, fancy wheels, same old legs!)
• 27/05/13 – 1:00:13 (new bike, fancy wheels)

Until next time..

The event is described on the ironman.com website as follows…

IRONMAN Lanzarote Canarias, located on the northern edge of the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa, offers you the ultimate challenge, and is considered by many to be one of the toughest IRONMAN events in the world.

Start, finish and transitions are located in Puerto del Carmen in the southern part of the island. The tourist center offers a unique ambience and a spectacular setting for this well-established race.

The course is designed to reflect the soul of Lanzarote, with a beautiful ocean swim in clear waters, offering amazing visibility. The hilly one-loop bike course, that takes you around the whole island, allows athletes to get a true feel of the Lanzarote environment and is an amazing experience. The run course is flat, warm and windy out and back, located within the city of Puerto del Carmen.

Training for the race took a huge hit at the back end of last year when I fractured/broke a rib (or two, or three – I have no idea how many!) in September whilst windsurfing. I did absolutely no training (other than some light walking) for around 10 weeks and started to train again gently at the start of December. This gave me a few months to get back to fitness and build up to the race. This was far from ideal – especially as I put on a stone in weight during the time that I wasn’t training. For a hilly race (Lanzarote is well regarded as one of the toughest bike courses on the Ironman circuit) I’d rather not be carrying too much extra weight. The mission for the lead up to the race was to get fit (again) and shed a few pounds.

Slowly but surely I started to build up time in the saddle and also my running. Swim training (my least favourite part of triathlon) needed a bit of a kick so I joined a local swimming squad – which got me into the pool a little more than I’d do on my own. Having said that, I’ve swum 20 times this year and completed a single swim of 3.8km (a couple of weeks ago). Must try better….

My immediate lead up to the race started with the London Marathon four weeks out, followed by an Olympic distance triathlon a week later. Two weeks out I ran a half marathon (and smashed my previous personal best) and then a week later we headed to Lanzarote for the race. I was feeling confident in both running and cycling and doing a full distance swim in the local pool really helped.

Race Week

We arrived on Tuesday and we were staying in a fantastic apartment complex in Puerto del Carmen – where the race is based. The apartment was less than five minutes walk to the race start but was also away from the ‘strip’ thus making it really quiet. Perfect. There were a few other ‘pirates’ (the triathlon ‘team’ that I race with) staying in the same place and it was great to catch up and share a few beers with old friends. I also made friends with some ‘normal’ holidaymakers in the apartments that were next to ours – two couples from Edinburgh. They often asked me about my training and how I was hoping to do on the day. They told me they’d look out for me on the day and give me a cheer.

On Wednesday we headed to the beach for a single lap swim of the two lap swim course (1.2 miles). The sea was beautiful – really calm and fish swimming all around you. It was great. A little later after getting the bike rebuilt three of us headed out for an easy ride (only about 30 minutes or so) to check out the first few miles of the race route. I’ve ridden pretty much every inch of the 112 mile course before apart from the miles in and out of Puerto del Carmen and I really wanted to get a feel for what the course was like at the start and end of the bike route. Wednesday afternoon we headed over to Club La Santa on the other side of the island to register for the race.

Part of the registration process involves signing a ‘Waiver of Liability and Assumption of Risk and Indemnity Agreement.’ This is part of the two page document…

I HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE AND ASSUME ALL OF THE RISKS OF PARTICIPATING IN THIS EVENT. I acknowledge running, bicycling, swimming, and/or other portions of this Event are inherently dangerous and are an extreme test of my physical and mental limits that carries with them the potential for serious bodily injury, permanent disability, paralysis and death, and property damage or loss.

It all sounded good to me so I signed my name and was given my race number and a goodie bag!

Thursday morning and I was back down at the beach for another swim and this time I decided to give it a push at around my planned race pace. I swam a lap in around 32:30 which I was really happy with. If I could get close to this for two laps on Saturday (with all the agro that a mass swim start has and also no doubt swimming a not so perfect racing line) that would be perfect. I said to Sharon that if I was out of the water in under 70 minutes that would be fine by me. Later on I headed out on the bike to ride a bit more of the course. I did a few of the early miles again and then looped back to ride the last five miles back to the finish. This was great as I could get a feel for the well talked about ‘donkey track’ road with all of its twists and turns. I learnt that I could push hard pretty much the whole way down to the main road at the bottom rather than hovering on the brakes all the time wondering what was around each corner. Thursday evening was time for the pasta party back at Club La Santa and we feasted on a fantastic buffet meal. Carbo loaded to the extreme topped off with some ice cream. Perfect.

Ready to rock.

Double (and triple checking) transition bags.

Friday I was back at the beach and just had a little swim of only a few hundred metres or so. I didn’t want to do much more than that. I then did a final test of the bike and then went for a two mile easy run to get a feel for pace. I then got the bike ready (i.e., loading it up with energy gels), packed my transition bags and took it all down to the transition area to get my bike racked for the race on Saturday. Feet up and pasta for dinner followed by an early-ish night.

Race Day

A 4:30am alarm (the race starts at 7am) and I was up with the kettle boiling for coffee and a big bowl of porridge cooking in the pan. After breakfast Sharon and I headed down to transition in the dark and I did a final check on the bike – getting the cycle computer on the bike and filling up my drinks bottles. I also put a little extra air in my tyres (which were new for race week) and retraced my steps back and forth to make sure I knew where to find my bike when I came out of the swim.

5:21am. Race morning. Race starts at 7am.

We then returned to the apartment, relaxed a little and then at about 6:15am I got partly into my wetsuit and we casually strolled back down to the beach. It was fantastic being so close to the start as I didn’t have to queue up for any portaloos or struggle on the floor trying to get my wetsuit on. It was so easy and relaxed.

As I headed to the beach I arranged to meet Sharon near where I was planning to start (it’s a beach start with 1800 people running/walking to the water in an area about 10 metres wide) which was going to be a little way back (in a self-seeded area for 65 minute swimmers) and on the right (hopefully away from the ruff’n'tumble of the mass start – especially after the beating I got at the Volcano Triathlon three weeks before).

9 minutes before the start and the final adjustments being made.

But… I couldn’t find Sharon. It was 6:40am and I wanted to get in a start position not too far back and also have her help me with my wetsuit zipping up and to take the backpack that I was carrying. At this point it started raining, pretty heavily. I was getting a little worried and there was no sign of her. After looking up and down the beach area I quickly headed back to where the swim/bike bags were and stuck my bag and coat in there and rushed back to the start with an energy gel, drink, goggles and swim cap. Next thing I saw Sharon (she’d ended up in the wrong spot trying to find me) but everything was good. It was 6:50am and I was lined up and ready to go.

The final minutes in the countdown to an Ironman are something special. You’re standing there with around 1800 other people. We all look pretty anonymous in black wetsuits, orange (and a few pink for the women) swimcaps and goggles. Some are professional triathletes trying to make a living from the sport. Some or racing to qualify for the world championships in Hawaii, others are doing it just for fun, some (like myself) are there to push hard and do the best they can and others just want to get to the finish in one piece before the 17 hour time limit. Yes, 17 hours! It can be a very long day.

5 minutes to go. Ready as I’ll ever be.

Swim

After a few announcements and a huge round of applause there was a countdown and the race was on. I knew it would take a little while to get to the water and it too me about 45 seconds before my feet got wet. My plan was to head to the right side of the ‘race course’ and try and avoid too much trouble. I would then move into busier water hopefully at my own pace and under my own control. Well… it pretty much worked to plan. I found myself in busy water but not overly busy. There were times when it was hectic and all you could see where bubbles and bodies in the water and a few little clips of arms and feet but for the most part I avoided any real trouble. I didn’t have any sort of panic attacks like I had three weeks before and the first lap of the swim went pretty well, although no doubt I swam a fair bit further trying to get a clearer swim.

Swim Start – Ironman Lanzarote 2013.

Swim Start – Ironman Lanzarote 2013.

This shows the ‘far’ end of the swim course during the first lap of the swim. It is just under 850m back to the turnaround. The swim is swum anticlockwise.

At the end of the first lap you swim back to the shore, run about 5 metres up the beach, turn round and head back in for the second lap. As I ran up the beach I saw the time on the clock was 32:05. Great. Especially when probably about a minute of that at the start wasn’t even swimming. If I could do that (or something similar) again it would be perfect.

The second lap was busier with a little more body contact. This didn’t bother me though as I was relaxed and warmed up. I found myself close to the rope course markers and sighted pretty well to swim (what I believe to be) a fairly good straight course.

When I came out of the water I had swum my second loop in 32:30. A total swim time of 1:04:35. Comparing that to my swim at the Outlaw triathlon last year (1:04:56) I was very happy that I’ve kept up a similar level of swim fitness and this time around I didn’t have a good pair of feet to draft off of for most of the swim.

Swim exit.

A number of people (about 13) didn’t finish the swim within the 2 hours 20 minute cut-off time or retired early. One poor chap retired after about 15 minutes after a panic attack in the water.

• Swim time: 1:04:35
• Overall swim position: 321st (out of 1759 swim finishers)
• Division (M40-44) swim position: 67th (out of 350 swim finishers)

Transition 1

Transitions in Lanzarote are pretty slow. You run up the sandy beach (there’s matting out but it’s still sandy), find your bike bag and then go into a changing tent. I took my wetsuit off, put my bike helmet on, had an energy gel, got some suncream put on my by a lovely volunteer and headed back up a steep slope to the bike racking area (which is huge!). Once you leave the beach area there was a bucket of water which I stuck my feet in to get the sand off and then I ran to my bike. I got my shoes and socks on (I don’t do any elegant flying bike mounts where my shoes are already attached) and headed to the bike mount line. Jumped on the bike and headed off along the seafront road. A huge cheer from the pirate support crew set me off on my way for a long bike ride…

Transition 1 time was 5:27. I know I could make this quicker. Putting on arm covers/warmers on wet arms I didn’t do well (I did it well in Wanaka last year but not today) and I could have left my shoes on my bike and just got them there rather than run with them from the beach.

The fastest transition on the day was 2:47 by Stephen Bayliss (UK). Wow. The slowest transition was over 26 minutes!

• T1 time: 5:27
• Overall T1 position: 288th (out of all T1′s during the race)

After transition one I had moved up to 287th (from 321st) and was now (55th in my age group, from 67th) so I’d moved up a fair bit just by being ‘fairly’ efficient.

Bike

At this point it was still raining, the roads were wet and there were lots of cyclists around me. All I wanted to do was get going steadily, avoid other cyclists and get into a good rhythm. I use a power meter in training and in previous races my average power has slowly dropped at the race goes on as I’m unable to keep up with what I had planned to do. My recent training had been good (with some of it riding on the same hills in similar weather) and I felt strong so this time planned to push slightly harder than I have done in previous races and hope that my fitness will allow me to keep on pushing for the 112 miles.

The first 30 or so miles were really quite busy. There was lots of overtaking going on. Often on the hills I would sit there and watch people slowly stream past me – many of them out of the saddle and pushing pretty hard. I was pushing slightly harder than I planned to over the whole ride (which is fine), because with the downhill segments where I wouldn’t be pushing as hard the idea would be that things should even out a bit. I hoped that these people who were flying past me would be ones who I’d see again in the latter stages of the bike leg of the race. The rain had stopped, the clouds were intermittent, the wind was blowing (as it always does here) and it was awesome to be racing such an iconic and difficult event. Every now and then it hits home what you’re currently doing. Some ridiculous distance event – just because you can (or at least hope you can)!

Weather wise the rain had stopped and it was sunshine and a few clouds. The usual Lanzarote winds were blowing but I didn’t have any problems at all with crosswinds. I’d ridden in much worse conditions on the same roads a few weeks back. This was alright today (although it does seem that bike times were generally slower across the board).

The scenery on this course is amazing. Lava fields aplenty in the El Golfo and Timanfaya region. The stunning beach area of Famara, the town of Teguise with some superb support and then the long climb up to Mirado del Haria. This climb is pretty much around 14 miles long with an average incline of 2.4% and took just over an hour. Once you get to the top you then have a fast descent around some crazy Tour de France-esque switchback turns to the well supported town of Haria. Great crowds filled the little area around the cafes in the town (three weeks ago I stopped here for a drink and a bite to eat – none of that today!). It was lovely – apart from knowing that you’ve got to climb up to the Mirador del Rio straight afterwards which is another 4.5 miles at around 3% average. Nothing is too steep – it just drags on a bit!

Towards the top of the Mirador del Rio.

The view near the top of the island at Mirador del Rio is stunning. Turquise blue seas down below surround the Isle Graciosa and although the climb just keeps going I knew that once I turned right at the top it was time for some fun! After a little bit of bad road to start it then gets interesting. This is pretty much a seven mile descent from 1500 feet down to almost sea level. I knew the road pretty well having ridden it a few times in recent weeks when I was here training at the end of April. I knew which corners I needed to slow for and which ones I could race round. As well as knowing how I wanted to ride the descent you also have to take into account the conditions around you and the other cyclists. Nobody came past me on this descent and I just sailed past other riders. My confidence was high and I just had to be really careful when overtaking. On one left hander I saw an ambulance and a chap in a ditch (no sign of his bike) being treated. Post race I found out that some competitors suffered broken bones (legs, arms, ribs) during the race and two people were kept in hospital overnight.

One guy in front of me at one point during the descent threw an empty water bottle from his bike – it then bounced off a rock at the side of the road, flew back into the middle and just missed another cyclist. I’d say it was a second either side of what would most certainly have been quite a nasty accident. It doesn’t bear thinking about. This is what worries me (and Sharon) the most – the actions of other people. I’m confident in my ability and feel that I ride safely, but as for some of the other people out there… On top of that, it’s clearly printed in the rules that if you are seen littering on the course (outside of an aid station) you are instantly disqualified. There were empty gel wrappers all over the course. Some people are just f**king selfish. It’s really annoying.

Anyway, back to the descent… The seven miles took just under 12 minutes and my bike computer had me averaging 34.9 miles per hour with a maximum of 47.8 mph! Sweet.

After the descent you then have about another 12 miles of time trial riding with a tail wind to Tahiche. This is at around 80 miles into the race and I was still feeling strong. I kept my power up and still kept overtaking people. One guy came past me and we stuck fairly close together for a few miles. He must have been feeling as good as I was at this point.

Coming into Tahiche there’s a sharp right turn at a roundabout and you’re straight into an uphill headwind. I knew this was coming (thankfully) so was ready as soon as we turned the corner. This is a tough part of the course as you head up for about two miles before turning into the dreaded Nazaret road. This road has probably the worst road surface that you could ever ride a bike on. This was the one road on the course that the race director said you could ride on either side – just to try and find a safe route through. This section is two miles long and it’s bone shattering. You’d never choose to ride on a road like this – not least on an expensive bike. Today we had no choice. There were water bottles strewn all over the road which had been shaken out of the bottle cages. I also saw an expensive carbon water bottle saddle mounting system thingy on the road as well. I tell you, this road is horrible. The technique I chose was to push hard and get to the end as quickly as possible.

In previous Ironman races at about 90 miles I’ve been desperate for the bike leg to finish and to get running. Today was different. I was still strong, I wasn’t falling apart and was loving it.

You then head onto a main road back in the middle of the island and you’re well and truly heading home now. A few more miles before you turn off, head up another hill (Lanzarote certainly knows how to do hills well!) and then head back to Puerto del Carmen for the the most part a nine mile descent.

I was really looking forward to the ‘donkey track’ road – as this meant we were close to the finish and also because is a great little descent. There were about four or five other riders close by all riding well and racing to the bottom. It was great fun.

Bike finish. Time to run a marathon.

Not long after this descent you’re heading back to town and the transition to the run. At my computer beeped at six hours (of cycling) I had another gel and cycled towards transition – once again getting huge support from Sharon and the other pirate supporters. Just before transition I rode past UK pro athlete Philip Graves who was on the run leg and heading back to the turnaround. I gave him a shout and pushed onto transition. I wasn’t exhausted (good job really!) and was getting ready to run.

Not at one moment did I feel like I didn’t have enough energy to keep up my desired effort on the bike, or was bored or wanting to get off of the bike. I’d have been happy to ride further. I really did enjoy the ride.

• Bike time: 6:04:13
• Overall bike position: 272nd (at this point in the race)
• Division (M40-44) bike position: 49th (at this point in the race)
• Time so far: 7:14:15

At this point I’d moved up 15 places up to 272nd overall and in my age group had moved up six places to 49th. Slowly moving up the field. Will it continue…?

For those wondering, nutrition on the bike was simple – every 20 minutes my bike computer beeped at me. This meant energy gel time! I had one every 20 minutes and washed it down with either a bit of water or some energy drink. I had energy drink on my bike the whole ride and kept a single bottle (between my handlebars) topped up and would sometimes have a little bit of water in a bottle cage. In total on the bike I had 18 gels on the bike. With the pre-race gel and one in transition 1 that’s 20 gels so far! Lovely huh!

OK, for the number geeks out there my average power on the bike was 219 watts. This worked out to be a NP of 231 and a VI of 1.05.

Transition 2

The bike to run transition is equally long like the swim to bike one! You have to run for ages with your bike before someone takes it and racks it for you. You then run and grab you run bag, head to a tent and get ready. For me this was bike shoes and socks off, run socks, shoes and visor on and then off I went. I also had a small waist-bag thingy which had some suncream, gels and immodium tablets. This transition was much more efficient than T1.

Whilst running with my bike to the racking area I head some unbelievable screaming and shouting from one of the bars that runs alongside the transition area. It was our next door neighbours from the apartments screaming “Go on Pirate Man!” or similar. I looked up, shouted and waved at them. It was so funny. They were out having some afternoon drinks in a bar and I’d just ridden 112 miles. Love it.

• T2 time: 4:21
• Overall T2 position: 142nd (out of all T2′s during the race)
• Time so far: 7:18:36

I was the 25th fastest M40-44 in T2. I gained 13 places in T2 but none against my age group. I started the run in 259th position overall and 49th in my age group.

Run

Heading onto the run is a strange feeling. You’ve just swum 2.4 miles, ridden 112 and now you’re about to run a marathon. Yes, a full 26.2 mile marathon. That is one hell of a warm up for a marathon! This is when you hope that the nutrition strategy that you’ve being following for the past 7+ hours is going to put you in good stead for the next few hours running in the heat of the day. Only time will tell.

In the race rules for the event the following rule is explicitly given for the run:

No form of locomotion other than running, walking or crawling is allowed.

The run course is 42.2km and consists of 3 laps: first one of around 12 miles and then laps of about 7 miles each (on the same part of the first half of the first lap/loop).

As I ran past the pirates Sharon shouted that ‘Philip Graves is just ahead of you – stick with him’ (Philip Graves is a UK Pro triathlete who became the youngest ever Ironman winner when he won Ironman UK in 2009). I politely declined the suggestion and headed off at my own pace! Four weeks ago I ran the London Marathon in 3:26 and it felt comfortable. Running that pace after what I’d just done wouldn’t feel comfortable but I had in the back of my head that if I could run anywhere near 3 hours 30 that would be amazing. My plan was to go for 8 minute miling and just stick with it as long as possible. The first mile was 7:43 – OK, a little quick but that’s normal for me! Followed by 7:58, 7:56, 7:58, 8:09, 8:01, 7:58. All was going well. It wasn’t as comfortable as I’d like it to be but my heart rate was in a good place and I felt confident.

All smiles at the start of the run.

The course is tough. It’s not really flat, it’s gently undulating. And there’s plenty of headwind! The surface is a mixture of tarmac and paving stones along a fairly busy seafront. For a fair bit of the course there’s restaurants and bars with people sat or stood outside and cheering you on. The only really quiet part (on the first large lap) goes past the airport – you’re literally about 10 metres away from the runway on a cycle/walking path just beside a rather high fence with the airport on one side and the sea on the other.

As is the norm in these longer distance races I was in the oh-so-flattering yellow and black ‘pirate’ kit and I really think this makes a difference. The kit has no writing on it, just a logo. Strangers give you loads of support and cheers. I’d liken it to wearing a running club vest at the London Marathon. The cheers you get are fairly regular but not all the time people shouting your name which (for me at least) would get tiring. Racing in pirate gear is great – and if you’ve got the energy to give a little ‘aarrrrgghhhh’ back to people (or children) they really get behind you. I have to say that the COLT triathlon club supporters were excellent on the course and really gave some good pirate support.

At the end of the first lap (about 12 miles) I had been averaging 8:02 miling. This was all good. I was running through the aid stations taking a combination of water/energy drink and also picked up a couple of large ice cubes at one point (which were lovely down my shorts!!). I felt alright and just wanted to do the same again over the two shorter laps. Well… that feeling didn’t last for long!

12 miles into the marathon and things are still going well.

I was now on the shorter laps and at the far turnaround point (about 15.5 miles in) I was really starting to struggle. I said to myself that I’d complete this loop (3.5 miles back to the start/finish turnaround) and then on the final 7 mile loop walk the aid stations. Well, three and a half minutes (not miles, minutes!) later and I was walking. This wasn’t in the plan but my head was telling my legs that I needed to walk. The strategy at the aid stations was drink whatever I felt I could manage without having too much and then getting a large cup of water at the last ‘table’ and either pouring it over my head or just throwing it all over my face. Then start running again. And repeat.

19 miles in and its getting tough. And salty!

This continued to the start/finish turnaround point at about 19 miles. My average pace for the previous seven miles had dropped to 8:30 miling (because of the briskly walked aid stations and also my speed slowly falling apart). One of our friends said to Sharon that I was dripping in sweat. She pointed out that it was most likely just water just thrown over my head – that was exactly right.

At the start of the final lap I stopped for about five seconds to tell Sharon that it was ‘f***ing hard work’ – which was pretty much what I said to her halfway through the marathon at Challenge Wanaka in January 2012. Well… Ironman is not a knitting club!

Post race looking at the live newsfeed that was on the ironman.com website I like this little snippet (posted a few hours after I finished the race but it does give you an idea of what we let ourselves in for)…

To recap, the people finishing now have been on the go for 15 hours. They started in pouring rain this morning and had to contend with very wet roads on the bikes. Then they climbed 8,000 feet into a testing headwind. By the time they got back to transition the sun was searingly hot as they began their run. As the sun went down, they dealt with running into it, and once it had gone, the temperature dropped dramatically. Lanzarote has once again served up a dramatic and fascinating race and has lived up to its reputation as one of the world’s toughest.

Heading back onto the final loop the course was really starting to get busy with other runners. Getting onto the run fairly early means lots of space but now it was getting busier as more and more people were coming in from the bike segment. Plenty of shouts of ‘Go Pirate’ along with a few other friends who were taking part really helped the miles tick away. The other thing that helped them tick by was knowing that I’d get a brief rest-bite at the next aid station and get to throw more water over me! There was a moment when I was running alongside Carl and Gareth from the Pirates – we were all on different laps of the run. There were three of us all together. It was great. Then bloody Gareth ran off. I just couldn’t keep up with him.

It was great to get to the final turnaround – at this point it was shortly before 5:30pm and the overall time was therefore 10 hours 30 minutes. 30 minutes to do the final 3.5 miles. Under normal circumstances that should be fine. This was not. I’d just run the previous 3.5 miles (from the start/finish to this point) in nearly 35 minutes. That’s 10 minute miling pace. Not what I had planned.

I was falling apart.

Heading back to Puerto del Carmen I chatted a little with a nice guy called John from Pulse tri club in Ireland. I then drifted a little ahead and found myself running with Anna S from Army Tri Association and Chris W from the COLT club. Both Chris and I were on our final miles to the finish. Anna said that I was on for ‘sub-11.’ I said no way. It just wasn’t going to happen. My head told me that. Because my body had decided that a few miles ago!

Chris pretty much said the same thing. ‘We’ve got 17 minutes to cover 3km. We can do this.’ For about 30 seconds I still believed that it wasn’t possible and then thought that I should do whatever I can over the last couple of miles. It didn’t matter. The finish was so close. Food, drink, warm clothes. Actually, the thought of not having to run another step was the main selling point for me.

Right, lets get this show on the road. I pushed on. I moved ahead of Chris and he said “Good running, stay strong” or something similar. I ran through the aid stations without getting anything. I went up and down kerbs to avoid other runners. I took the ‘racing line’ wherever possible. This is what they call zipping up your mansuit. Mine was done right up to the top!

Final push to the finish.

I saw Stefan H (who I sometimes run with at Bushy parkrun) running the other way towards me and he said ‘sub-11 is all yours.’ At this point it was well and truly back on and I said ‘yeah, it is!’ and got my head down. Shouts of ‘Go Pirate’ were responded to if at all by a bit of a grunt and perhaps a little thumbs up. Energy was best spent putting one leg in front of the other.

Next thing I’m getting closer to the line. The pirate support was of course amazing and I remember seeing the large flag/banner and Alan standing there raising his pint of beer to me! As I got to the finishing chute I waved my arm – showing my two coloured wristbands (that showed I had done my laps) and was let through. I looked up, saw the clock was reading almost 10 hours 57 so I eased off and enjoyed the moment. Sunglasses off (it’s all about the finish photo you know!) and I crossed the line.

Ironman Lanzarote Finisher 2013.

My marathon time was 3:38:26. This is an average of 8:20 miling. The final 3.5 miles I got back from 10 minutes miling to 8:34 miling. I’d call that a comeback.

• Marathon time: 3:38:26
• Ironman Lanzarote – 10 hours 57 minutes 2 seconds.

My marathon was the 215th quickest on the day. I run the 46th quickest marathon in my age group but as a number of the faster runners actually finished behind me (so were slower in the swim/bike) I moved further up the field.

The fastest marathon was run in 2:50:52. The male winner ran 2:55:03. The female winner ran 2:58:37 – outstanding. The slowest was 7:15:17.

With the final scores on the door I finished the race overall in 193rd place and was 35th in my age group.  Here’s a graph showing how my position changed as the race progressed in both the overall standings and M40-44 age group.  Most of the timing splits were on the run with no splits given for the bike other than start and finish time.  I created this graph thanks to the excellent work that Russell Cox (coachcox.co.uk) does for the (number obsessed) triathlon community – this time making available a spreadsheet of all splits from the race.

As soon as I crossed the line I was given my medal and then was met and had a photo with Kenneth Gasque, the race director (oh, and Ironman Hawaii finisher). He’s absolutely awesome. He was down on the beach helping people with wetsuits earlier in the week. I saw him wandering around the day before the race and he spent the entire afternoon/evening/night of race day meeting each of the finishers. Brilliant. He knows how to make a big event like this have a family feel.

Race director Kenneth Gasque greeting the finishers post race.

I got a bottle of water and walked towards the food/transition area. Sharon was the other side of the wire security fence beaming with joy. A bit like me to be honest. I dropped to the floor and sat down and had a chat for a few minutes.

I sat and chatted to Sharon through the fence for a while straight after finishing.

I then decided that I needed to get warm and drink something. One of the race volunteers helped me to my feet and I collected my bags, got changed and started eating and drinking. Eventually I felt well enough to leave the race area and join Sharon and one of the local restaurants – where I proceeded to eat half of her dinner and had another huge class of coke!

Dave and Frank from Edinburgh – some of my top supporters on the day.

Shortly afterwards I collected my bike, walked back to the apartment, cleaned myself up a bit and changed into some other clothes and then it was back down to ‘pirate support central’ at the ‘Route 66′ bar cheering in the other racers until gone midnight.  I then bumped into my newly recruited supporters from Scotland and had a photo!

What a day. What a race.

This was by far the toughest Ironman race that I’ve done. The wind, hills and exposed nature of the run make it tough. But to cross that finish line makes it all worthwhile. In my fifth race over this distance it was my slowest time but the race I’m most proud of. I swam well, had a great ride and managed to salvage a decent marathon time when things were getting tough. Oh, and I didn’t have to visit any of the on-course portaloos! What a bonus.

As always the pirates both racing or supporting were great and it was lovely to get a group shot of almost all of us who raced Ironman Lanzarote 2013 in our finisher t-shirts.

Pirate finishers. Ironman Lanzarote 2013.

The day before at Bushy parkrun I nipped under 19 minutes on very tired legs (from a previous week of fairly large cycling volume) so an easy Saturday would surely give a bit of recovery in advance of a bit of a smackdown at this half marathon.  I had toyed with the idea of a steady paced training run but with it being a fast course and myself being fairly fit I thought it was worth a go at pushing for a good time.

My previous best time over the distance is 1:27:42 from the Bedford Half Marathon in 2007.  That’s a hilly course. Surely I could do better. I had a good bash at beating that time at Tunbridge Wells in 2008 but it didn’t work out on the day. I’ve not ran a half marathon race hard since then.

I had a think and thought a time around 1:25 would be a great result. The only ‘speed training’ that I’ve done all year has been weekly parkrun 5k’s. How would this work out for just over 21km’s.  Surely four 20 minute 5k’s and a bit at the end. Sounds simple eh.

Sunday morning. The weather was perfect. Plenty of friends and fellow club runners were taking part (or marshaling) so there wouldn’t be a lack of support on the course. After a short warm-up I got myself in position right by the front of the start area. This is partly because the race is ‘gun’ timed (meaning everyone gets a time based on the start, not when they personally crossed the start line – so getting near the front was necessary and also helps avoid too much early congestion).

Richmond Bridge, one mile into the race. Photo: Rodney McCulloch

And then we were off. The early miles were solid and relatively comfortable. I saw my good friend Stefan race off fast (as he does every week at parkrun) and I awaited the ‘catch.’  Over 5k it’s normally at about 2.5k, but what would it be over 21k.  Well… it turned out to be pretty much bang on 10k.  I only know this as when I caught up with him he lifted his arms in the air and proclaimed to me (and the other runners near by) something along the lines of “I have done a sub-40 minute 10k for the first time ever!”  That made me laugh.

Heading from Hampton Court along the towpath at about 6.5 miles I found myself with a group of maybe five people.  Before long two of them had drifted off of the back and it was myself, a Collingwood AC and a Tadworth AC runner in a small group.  We kept each other going and ran pretty well together. No-one wanted to drop off of the group so we all ran hard and stuck together. The pacing was steady, the effort was hard.

Around 9.5 miles into the race. Note the Collingwood AC runner (in yellow) tucked in nicely behind me. Photo: Katrin Kroschinski, http://www.fire-passion.co.uk/

Just before 10 miles I took a gel. I’d had nothing else during the run (apart from a gel 20 minutes before the start) and no water. In fact I didn’t use the water stations once during the race.  I didn’t feel particularly thirsty (I was well hydrated beforehand) and just wanted to concentrate on running!

At about 10.5 miles I ran past Jo and Paul Sinton-Hewitt who were marshaling in Canbury Gardens and Paul said ‘take it easy David’ or something very similar! Cheeky git!

At this point it was just the Collingwood runner and myself.  We worked well together.  We sped up from averaging around 6:25 minute miling to around 6:15 miling. From miles 12 to 13 alongside Riverside Drive we caught up with Sean from Ranelagh who was struggling. I told him to jump on the back of us and he tried his best to. Shortly after he dropped back and I couldn’t hang on any more. Miles 12-13 was (according to my GPS) run at 6:04 minute miling pace.

I had no idea of the time at this point (I’d stopped doing the maths in my head a few miles back) and it was just a case of having to dig deep all the way to the finish.

There’s a slight double-back just before the finish and I remember a encouraging shout from Grant, who’d already finished. Cheers.  I turned into the finishing straight (the only bit of grass you run on) and crossed the line in 1 hour 23 minutes and 46 seconds.  A personal best of 3 minutes 55 seconds. I’ll take that.

Not long after I finished I cheered Stefan in who’d done brilliantly to hang on and get a 1:27:10 for his first ever half marathon. Brilliant work.

Stefan and David with their post-race bananas!! Photo: Rodney McCulloch

This run really worked me hard in the final miles and although I’ve not done and relevant speedwork as such lately I think my endurance and general leg strength from long bike rides certainly helped.  After a very gentle bike ride home I then got my ‘nice’ bicycle out and rode just under 60 miles to my parents house for a celebratory BBQ!

For those interested, here’s my splits/heart rate graphs etc. over at TrainingPeaks.

It just so happened that two days after we got here there was a triathlon taking place. This Olympic distance race (1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run) has been running on the island for 29 years and is a very popular race, with lots of visiting athletes to the island taking part. It also sees a few professional triathletes racing as well. I’d known about the race when we first booked to come to Lanzarote (about 10 months ago) but only decided to enter the race a couple of weeks ago. I thought it would be a good chance to practice a salt water swim, together with racing on my new bike. A good solid workout and a ‘free’ t-shirt to all entrants. Perfect.

The race start was at a civilised 10am and I went down to rack my bike shortly after 9am. There were quite a few Brits around and a couple of people said to me ‘oh, you bloody pirates get everywhere!’

Sharon and I then headed down to the lagoon (where the swim takes place) and I got zipped into my wetsuit and ready for my least favourite part of triathlon – the swim! The swim starts at one end of the lagoon and the 335 (approx) people then swim about 400m or so to the first turn mark. If you start on the left side then you get pushed towards a sandbar where you are pretty much forced to stand up and run along for about 75m or so. I wanted to steer clear of this and wanted to swim the entire course so I started on the right. It didn’t seem so busy.

Well. The starting horn went. I was pretty much on the front row and there weren’t many people behind me as the majority of people were over the other end of the start line. I expected a bit of ‘biff’ early on but oh my – this was about 400m worth of arms and legs everywhere. I really don’t like this. You’re swimming along, all you can see are bubbles in the water from the people in front. There’s literally no room to your left or right hand sides as there are swimmers literally cm’s to your side. You clip hands, you’re getting your feet bashed by the hands of the people behind, and you’re trying to stay calm. Well, I didn’t manage it very well!

The swim start. Loads of fun to be had!

'Swimmers' running across the sandbar

Once we rounded the first turn buoy I was able to find myself a bit more room and some feet to draft off of. I was then able to settle into the swim a little better.

The best bit of the swim was the end of it. As I didn’t have to swim any more! I came out of the water in 26 minutes 10 seconds. This was ok, but no faster than I can swim in a 25m pool (and I had a wetsuit on)! I guess the early panic didn’t help matters and you never know how accurate these swims are anyway. I seem to only have one real pace for swims like this and if the course was indeed accurate this would equate to a 1:06 ironman swim time (3.8k).

I was 107th person out of the swim (out of 313 full event finishers – not including the relay teams that were taking part).

Anyway, out of the swim you have a couple of hundred metres or so to get to transition 1 and it was off with the wetsuit, grab the bike and get going. It wasn’t the quickest of transitions (partly because I put socks on for the bike at this point and also my bike shoes – rather than have the shoes clipped into the bike ready to go) so that’s ok. Somehow I gained three places in transition 1.

The plan for the bike was to go just under my 1-hour time trial pace (or FTP for those who understand power). I wanted to average around 300 watts (92% FTP) and stick to that power as best as possible. It’s a lovely bike route, you go uphill to Soo (and it’s speed-bumps) and then down to Famara, then across and up to the turnaround (which is a huge roundabout) about a km or so from Teguise. Then you ride back. The bike was windy (well, it always is here in Lanzarote) and being able to stay aero and compact gives you your best chance of not being blown around too much in the head/cross-winds. The course has 1424 feet of climbing in total (so says my Garmin) over the 25 or so miles – so far from flat!

During the bike leg I just got my head down and pushed hard, and kept pushing. I was picking people off left right and centre. A couple of people overtook me but that was about it. I overtook tens of people – literally. The race back to La Santa was fast and the winds coming back down from Soo to transition 2 were unbelievable. It was absolutely howling and at times bloody scary!

My bike split was 1:09:19. I did pretty much what I planned to do on the bike with regards to power – averaged 296 watts, a VI of 1.02 and averaged 21.9 mph over the windy lumpy course.

Going through the results at the start of the ride there were 103 people on the bike ahead of me. When I came off of the bike there were 35 people ahead of me. Therefore I overtook 68 people on the bike. That’s a better stat than the swim! I had the 29th fastest bike split.

Only one woman – the eventual female winner – had a faster bike split than mine. If only I was a girl! My bike split was quicker than pro racers Eimear Mullan, Bella Bayliss and Michelle Vesterby. Of course comparing myself to girls is not a good thing to do, but it make me feel better than I am. On that note you can now call me Davina!

I got back to transition 2, bike racked, run shoes and cool new pirate yellow visor on and I was off, for three laps that make up 10k. My watch didn’t seem to be behaving and although it was showing time and heart rate it had no pacing information (which I later realised was because GPS was turned off). Therefore I had to pace my run based on feel. I felt knackered and hadn’t run more than 2 miles since the London Marathon six days ago. Oh well….

The run was hot, a little up and down and oh those lovely Lanzarote headwinds! There was some excellent crowd support at La Santa as you had to run a lap of the running track on each of the three ‘laps’ of the run course. A really great atmosphere.

Running without a GPS for company so no idea of pacing didn’t end up being the disaster that it could have been. My run time was 42:24 which for a windy (unbelievably windy in places) 10k after a hard bike was good for me. The run course was three laps and from the timing mat splits my minute-miling pace for on each loop was 6:33, 6:51 and then 7:06. So yes, I slowed down but I didn’t fall apart. I started the run in 37th position (after losing a position in transition 2) and finished in the same position (having had the 56th overall quickest run split).

2 hours 22 minutes and 30 seconds after starting that lovely swim I crossed the finish line where I was met by the main man when it comes to all things in triathlon in Lanzarote – Kenneth Gasque. A truly lovely friendly man (who personally told me in front of everyone else in the race briefing on Friday night to only have the one beer and no more!). I then got presented with my medal (which is really nice) and then had a post race banana and a cup of coke. Lovely.

For a tough course I think my time isn’t too bad at all. The winner finished in just under 1 hour 56 minutes and only 13 people finished under 2 hours 10. I was 37th overall and 33rd male. In my age group (now 40-44) I was 4th.

During the run I thought I had a blister on my right foot (I put it down to being pretty warm) but post race I noticed (from the blood all over my sock) that I’d cut my big toe before/during the swim and that had been the cause of the pain!

The Volcano Triathlon was a well organised race and for 50 euros I thought brilliant value for money. For that you get entry into a (as close as can be to) closed roads olympic distance triathlon with chip timing, a technical t-shirt, medal, a great goodie bag filled with energy gels and powders and a pre-race buffet at the pasta party. An absolute bargain. Apart from the swim being rather ‘serious’ (to be expected when there’s some money up for grabs at the pointy end and where there’s quite a few pro racers taking part) it was a friendly race and the marshals and volunteers on the course were great.

Highly recommended.

I got my place in this years London Marathon by running a ‘Good For Age’ time last year. I ran 3 hours 9 minutes and that gets me a guaranteed entry for 2013 and 2014. This year the day of the marathon fell four weeks from my main early season event, an Ironman triathlon that I’m doing in mid-May. For me I don’t believe that racing a marathon four weeks out would be great for my training (as a result of the recovery required from such a hard effort) so I decided that this was to just be a long training run instead! I’ve never run any more than about 21 miles in training before – and many of the books/articles I’ve read in the past say that once you go past 20 miles in training, the odds of getting injured from bad running form and generally causing muscle damage that can take a long time to heal (than if you ‘just’ ran up to around 20 miles) exponentially goes up. It’s just not worth the risk. But this is the London Marathon!

I’ve run London twice prior to day and enjoyed it both times – the first time (2009) was my first ever marathon and the second time (last year) I ‘raced’ it and got my marathon PB (personal best) time. I’m fortunate enough to be quick enough to be ahead of many of the ‘ipod brigade’ and those who weave around the route bumping into people. I’ve heard many stories from competent runners who are a little further back in the field and because of the ‘argy-bargy’ etc. many don’t like it and prefer less crowded races. Thankfully I avoid much of that and have a nice area to run in with not too many people too close by.

Anyway, back to the run. I wanted to run steady, not too fast to destroy my legs but quick enough to have a time I was happy with and also be able to get back to full training within a few days. To ensure I didn’t get carried away (like I have done a little in previous ‘races’ that I’ve written about on the blog) I thought I’d give myself a little distraction. A GoPro. This is a tiny little video camera that I decided to bring along with me (along with a little wrist strap) so I could try and document the run and have a bit of fun along the route.  All of the photos that you see in the blog post are video stills from the GoPro.  A video will follow at some point soon(ish!).

The journey to Blackheath was straightforward and I was there a good hour and three quarters before the 10am start. I’d much rather get there early than late. For the first time I was in the ‘Fast Good For Age’ starting area. I was personally greeted by Rachel and Michael (who run at Bushy parkrun) and after I got through their security barrier I was able to relax and prepare myself (i.e., go to the toilet repeatedly!). Prior to the start I saw a couple of other people I knew who were running (Grant and Roger) and wished them luck – they were racing this hard today. I wasn’t.

(clockwise) Sharon and I in the car on our way to the train station. Rachel greets David at the start. David, Grant and Roger before the start. Crowds before the start.

Prior to the start there was a 30 second silence to remember the victims of the recent bombing at the Boston Marathon.

Silence for Boston.

After a huge round of applause we were set off on our way. A cheer from Jo and Dylan who were on the side lines and I was off. I put myself at the back of ‘Pen 2′ in this Good For Age area of the red start and it took me about one and a half minutes to cross the line.

The Start - Me! Crossing the start line (with Jo and Dylan waving from the sidelines).

The crowds were absolutely huge. The early miles weren’t too busy with runners and I didn’t get elbowed once during the entire run. Although it looked busy, everyone seemed to be heading in the same direction at a reasonable pace so it wasn’t difficult to get and stay in a rhythm (at least during the first 20 miles).

During the first few miles there was plenty to keep me occupied. I saw a couple of people supporting at the side of the road with a large ‘Christian Aid’ sign and they were flicking water onto the runners. I guess to give us good luck! Then there was the mankini – in a grown (around 50 year old) man! With nothing underneath it! Once I got that disturbing image out of my head my start (Red) was running alongside the runners from the Blue start for a few hundred meters before we merge into one group at about 3.5 miles in. It was funny as I glanced across to my right and saw a chap from Belgrave Harriers running club in London also running with a GoPro camera!

The next bit of fun was at about five miles as we headed through New Charlton and towards Greenwich. A friend of mine, Stuart told me that he’d be sat on a wall by a BP Garage in Charlton looking out for me. I gave him an estimated time that I’d get there and we’d agreed that I’d wave my arms in advance of my arrival to give him a better chance to see me.

I think it worked!

(clockwise) Stuart (up on the wall) taking a photo. Stuart waving back at me. The photo!

I was having a great time. The miles were ticking by and one of the famous parts of the route, Cutty Sark was not far away. Breaking the run into smaller pieces works for me. Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, Narrow Street, Mudchute, Docklands, Tower of London, Blackfriars Underpass, Big Ben….

I always look out for some support from fellow Ranelagh Harriers running club members in the Greenwich area and this morning was no exception with Steve, Sonia, Simon, Deborah, Aiah and Phil there supporting in different places. Brilliant.

Miles 7-12 was just a case of enjoying the crowds out in the sun who are cheering us on. On a normal day these roads are (in my opinion) pretty dull but on marathon Sunday they come alive. At about eight miles I had to remind myself that if things got tough later in the day (i.e., around 20-25) miles I needed to draw strength and remember how much fun I was having so far. You might feel great at eight miles but anything can happen and turn a run/race into a really bad day. I really hoped this wasn’t going to happen today.

Crossing Tower Bridge.

Crossing Tower Bridge is a special part of the London Marathon and after this you’ve North of the River Thames for the rest of the race. That’s a big chunk done and dusted. 12.5 miles done.

Next up was the half way mark and I crossed this in 1 hour 42 minutes 24 seconds. This would equate to a marathon time just under 3:25. That would be at the fast end of my estimates so I didn’t have a problem with slowing down at all in the second half. I got a good cheer near here from David, Simon and Simon from The Stragglers running club. Thanks guys.

Just after 14 miles you turn onto Narrow Street. This is unremarkably a rather, er, narrow street and is where I knew Sharon and Kirsty were watching. I had a good idea where they’d be but the area was swarming with people. It was manic. I was looking for them both but couldn’t see them and then at the last minute I heard screaming! I quickly turned my head and saw them – but only for a brief moment. Sharon had been there since about 8am and I was gone in a flash (about four hours later).

Narrow Street - In the top right photo Sharon and Kirsty are the fourth and fifth 'heads' visible on the left side. It's hard work spotting people here because of the crowds, but its a fantastic place to support (and also run through).

At about 16 miles as I was in Millwall on the Isle of Dogs I saw (and heard) someone shouting my name from the side of the road. It was Stefan from Bushy parkrun. He warned me that Katrin and Rodney were a little further up the road so I should smile! That I did.

Stefan, Katrin and Rodney giving me the paparazzi treatment at mile 16!

I wasn’t expecting to see anyone here and it really took me by surprise. Between 15-17 miles are probably the quietest parts of the course for supporters so it was lovely to see someone I knew here.

Photos that Stefan (left) and Katrin (right) took of me.

You then run around the tower blocks of Canary Wharf. Any thoughts of using your watch GPS to keep an eye on pace are best ignored here as the reception goes nuts because of the tall buildings. I just ran at about the same pace I had been doing so far and hoped that I’d come out the other side running well.

At about 19.5 miles you turn out of the Isle Of Dogs and head west towards the finish. Only 6.7 miles left to run – and this is where the so called ‘wall’ can show its face and make your day a disaster. Thankfully this wasn’t going to happen to me today.

I saw Rachael and Michael (who I saw before the start) again in Poplar giving a big cheer and then it was just a case of ticking off the final miles, enjoying the crowds and not getting carried away and trying to race the last 10k.

Limehouse Town Hall has a fantastic soundsystem blasting out music really loud. Last year it was great music. This year – MC Hammer. Hmn… I wasn’t convinced!

At around 22.5 miles I saw a familiar sight at the London Marathon. Mike Peace. He’s a fellow member of Ranelagh Harriers and one of the London Marathon ‘Ever Presents’. He’s run every single London Marathon since it the race first started and this was his 33rd year in a row. Coming into 2013′s race there were 16 men (only men) who have finished every race from the very first in 1981 to the 32nd running in 2012. I got a smile and a few words (polite, not even a ‘feck off’) from him.

Mike Peace - One of the London Marathon 'Ever Present' runners.

Shortly after 23 miles you enter the Blackfriars Underpass.  This is one of the few places on the course that you cannot be seen.  It’s quiet, it’s dark… well, it used to be.  Although there’s no supporters in the tunnel this year it was called ‘The Lucozade Tunnel Of Yes’ – it was really cool.  Big balloon things were illuminated with encouraging motivational words such as ‘Stay Strong’ and ‘Nearly There’.  Unfortunately I didn’t see one with ‘MTFU’ on it.

Mile 23 - "The Lucozade Tunnel Of Yes" - awesome.

Just before mile 25 I ran past the usual supporters group from The Stragglers running club. I got some great cheers from Katie, Nigel and Emma amongst others.

Marathons are tough. Yes, I may have still been smiling all the way round but 26.2 miles takes its toll. The sunny weather will have no doubt troubled some people, and problems with hydration and taking on energy (whether its energy gels, jelly babies or whatever) can hit anyone. Not to mention cramps etc.

(l-r) Mile 25 - The Stragglers running club support area. Some poor chap who'd collapsed a mile from the finish.

Turning at Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and heading into Birdcage Walk was great. Some people are no doubt getting excited that they’re nearly there and this is the final push (as I was when I first ran at London). I was loving the crowd support (as I had done for the past 25.5 miles).

(clockwise) Just before the '385 yards to go' sign there was a chap being pushed away in a wheelchair. So so close.... Running past Buckingham Palace I cheer to the Queen! Getting applause from a policeman. Support on Birdcage Walk. Coming up towards Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

Then it was the final turn at Buckingham Palace into the finishing straight. I’d had a great run – the pacing was just what I wanted to do and I pretty much grinned the whole way round. Seconds before crossing the line I heard a huge shout from the stands – it was Karen from my running club. Thanks x

I crossed the line with a chip time of 3 hours 26 minutes and 12 seconds. Job done. Or as the finishers t-shirt said a couple of years ago, LonDONE.

(clockwise) The final straight. Immediately after finishing. Being presented with my finishers medal.

Straight after crossing the line it all goes quiet. You get your timing chip taken off of your shoe, you get your medal, you have your photo taken. It was quite the anti-climax of an amazing day. After collecting my bag (with some clean clothes in it) I put my finishers t-shirt on (and medal of course) and strolled over to a pub that quite a few people go to post race. As I was stood at the bar ordering a (soft) drink the timing was perfect as Sharon walked in the door. We had a couple of drinks, chatted and then headed home.

London Marathon evening always ends with a lovely get-together in a pub in Kingston with many other members of our running club where we wear our medals with pride and have a few beers and plenty to eat. It’s a lovely end to a great day.

Looking back at the London Marathon 2013 I had had such a lovely time, if only all long runs were like this.

I feel like I need to write down a few thoughts after the Brighton marathon. It’s pretty tough to remember it even now, to be honest. I didn’t blog this year about my training as I think last year when I did it just added to the pressure I felt when doing London.

Pre-race nerves setting in

Anyway, after London didn’t go to plan last year, I entered Brighton the week afterwards. I’d said after London I wasn’t doing another marathon. Hmmm. Anyway, training started in December (using Hal Higdon again) and straight away it was much better than the training in 2011-12. I was consistent, I didn’t get injured, I managed to do nearly all my runs on the schedule, including the “sorta-long-midweek-runs” as HH calls them. A lot of these midweek runs I did with David after work, it made me get out there but not sure running at my pace was good for him, however he said he liked it! This year I did most of my long weekend runs on my own, you’re going to be on your own running on marathon day, so that’s what I did. I generally ran with one headphone in, listening to the Marathon Talk podcast, or IMTalk podcast, laughing quite a bit as I ran along.

Double knottage!

Oooh, I’m remembering something! I said I got no injuries, I did though. I fell over during a 15 miles run about 9 weeks ago – did my right hand some serious damage, I am still in a splint and its not healing well. Luckily the lady at the Hand Injuries Unit made me a splint which was good to run in.

I didn’t really race, I only did two in fact. The other organised run was “Not the London Marathon” which is an annual thing we do through bushy parkrun, essentially as many loops of the bushy course backwards and forwards as you want to do. I ran one lap with Helen, two laps on my own, a lap with Kirsty and the last lap and two thirds (to take me to 18 miles) with Emma. I felt much better than when we did the same event last year, no toys out of the pram this time.

My first proper race was the Tempest 10 – which I did with a 2 mile warm up as I only had 12 miles on the schedule that weekend – and David did the Spitfire 20 at the same time. The race is organised by our friends Alan & Nicky at events to live, it was super. I did the 10 mile hilly course with an average of 40 seconds a mile faster than my planned marathon pace. The medal was lush too, I do love a bit of bling! The only other real race I did was the Cranleigh 21. This is an excellent, cheap, club runners race with an 11 min per mile cut off, if you haven’t reached the 15 mile point in 2 hours 45, before the final 6 mile loop, you can’t continue. Anyway, I was so nervous about this race after last year when it was a shocker for me. It turns out that I had remembered it worse than it was – although it was 20 degrees in 2012 and about zero and snowing this year! I prefer the cold, so maybe that’s why. I finished 8 minutes faster than last year, although had to argue with 2 marshals during the race to be allowed to continue as they didn’t realise it had started late. Never mind, the rush of adrenaline sped me right up for mile 16! I managed the 21 and a bit miles in just under 3:50, all looking good for Brighton, which is also a bit hilly.

I got quite poorly the day after Cranleigh. I had a cold, cough, sore throat that I just couldn’t shake and it was worrying me that I wouldn’t even be on the start line at Brighton. Anyway, it cleared away on Thursday, thank goodness. Kirsty and I went to Brighton on Friday to get our race numbers, Saturday was spent lollaxing and before I knew it, it was race morning.

I’m not going to go into details of the race in terms of splits etc., there is no point and to be honest it’s too painful to think about. We had our usual race morning, before I knew it David had gone leaving Kirsty and me there, to go into our corrals. Soon enough we were off. My first few miles were perfectly on pace. I saw David at about 3 miles, heard him say, “keep strong” and carried on. He saw me in the town but I didn’t hear him :( Going along, up some more hills, must have been about 8 miles when my head started messing with me. I wanted to stop. Ridiculous. I got to just about 11 miles I think and asked a marshal if I could use his phone. I rang David and left him a voicemail saying I was going to come and find him and DNF, I just couldn’t do it. The marshal tried to persuade me to carry on, he was lovely. I told him I was going to find my husband and stopping, it just wasn’t happening and there was no point. I thanked him, off I went.

Through half way, thinking it wouldn’t be long until I saw David, as he was going to be at 14 miles, then I could just stop. It would be over. Before then I saw Liz & Mike (Kirsty’s mum and dad), I gave them a kiss, told them I was DNF’ing, Liz asked me (I think) if I was sure, I said yes I was. Bimbled off again. Got to 14 miles,couldn’t see David. Panic. Asked another marshal if I could borrow her phone, this time I spoke to him. He told me my chip wasn’t registering over the mats (covered with my fuel belt we suspected), so to move it. He told me not to give up, please just carry on to 18 miles when he would see me, that I had to get my medal. I can’t remember what else he said but it worked, I carried on. Still eating my gels, drinking lots of water – it was absolutely boiling and when you’ve trained through a freezing winter and its race day on the hottest day of the year so far, its a bit of a shock. I was desperate to see him, walking lots but managing to run some too. Finally I saw him! A kiss, a chat (as my time goal was long gone, the chat and kiss were more important), saw the marshal who lent me her phone to call him, David thanked her, he sent me on my way. Plod, plod, plod.

There’s a weird bit of the course where you do a big loop along by a fish market, with lots of speed bumps. It was eerily quiet through there. Really odd. People were not in a good way, sitting down, crying. Horrible it was. I just kept chugging along, either walking with my head up or doing the slowest run pace I think I’ve ever done! Finally we were up on the Prom. Only a parkrun to go. Scorching hot, knew I was getting some serious sunburn, just wanted to get that medal. Plod, plod, plod. 800m to go. 2 laps of the track. Felt an age until the 400m to go sign. Then the finishing gantry was there. I actually smiled when I saw it – and heard the announcer call out my club name, so gave a wave. Crossed the line, got my medal from marshal, “we’ll done, babe” he said. Why do I remember that? Saw Trevor who was helping and gave him a cuddle and had a little weep, another cuddle for his wife Gill who gave me my tee shirt. Saw Heather from our club, who cuddled me, i told her i wasn’t doing another marathon. Now I needed to see David, I just wanted to get to our meeting point but he had come to me :) I was overjoyed to see him. More tears.

Anyway, a bit of milling about and we found Kirsty, Liz and Mike. Eventually after a mile and a half walk we got to the pub to see some Pirate pals (crazy Ironman athletes who have become really great friends over the years), had a lemonade and lime and then after a bit set off on the mile and a half walk to the car. David walked over 12 miles yesterday – he was meant to be having a rest day! In the car on the way home I texted the kindly marshal who lent me his phone and was so encouraging, to tell him I had carried on and finished. He replied and said thank you for letting him know and that that had made his day worthwhile.

Post race medals

I’d already said I wasn’t going to do another marathon, I really mean it. I loved the training again, but something in my head won’t let me run one to my potential. My body is willing, my head isn’t. I thought my head would have been beaten by the great training I did, but it wasn’t. I am not prepared to put myself through this again, it’s hard. Really hard. However, I am very proud of how I trained, I really stuck to my schedule. I am also proud of carrying on yesterday (with quite a lot of persuasion from the wonderful man in my life!) – I’ve never had to battle my head for 18 miles to carry on. Oddly though, even though I was physically ok yesterday, I just couldn’t get going properly, so much walking. I am sat here now, totally gutted but knowing that if I had DNF’d it would have been much much worse. It’s only running after all. It’s funny, if I hadn’t stopped twice to call David and once to talk to him I may have snuck under the 5:30, but then to be honest if I hadn’t I’d have DNF’d. I have no chip time (5:34 if anyone cares, I actually sort of don’t!) because my chip didn’t register until 30k, so only a gun time will show. I only care about my medal and its lovely stripey deck chair style ribbon. I am contemplating getting it engraved with the first words I said to David when I saw him at 18 miles, “I fecking hate marathons” just in case I ever think about doing another :)

So, thank you most of all to my lovely David, he’s amazing. He has kept me calm through training, put up with me rambling on and over-analysing. Words cannot express how I feel about him and how thankful I am to him for yesterday, persuading me to carry on – he knew a DNF would have been so bad for me. I love you so very much. Also a huge thank you to my Twitterati girls and Kirsty who have been great through the training and indeed yesterday and thank you to everyone for their love, good wishes and comments on Twitter and Facebook. It means a lot, it really does. So that’s it, stick a fork in me, I’m done…literally! You should see the sunburn…

I’ve run this twice before and this year the plan was once again not to race but to treat it as a good solid training run.

In 2012 the weather was beautiful – hot and sunny. This year it was 0 degrees celcius with a wind of around 15mph blowing. Oh, and some snow flurries! Certainly not shorts and vest weather. Today it was base layer, tights, running club vest, wooly hat and gloves. I was an ideal temperature throughout the run.

The original (note that I’ve said ‘original’ here!) plan was to run slower than I did at the Spitfire 20 three weeks ago.  Well… it didn’t quite happen.  I set off at a good pace, and kinda just kept it up throughout.

At around 9 miles (when you head onto two loops of 6 miles) I got chatting to a lovely lady from Woking. She like myself was ‘taking it easy’ (well, easier than race pace) and we had a good chat. About the usual subjects. You know. parkrun.

Towards the end I picked up the pace a little (she picked it up a little more) and ran through to finish in 2 hours 42 and 20 seconds. My average pace was 7:40 miling (according to the 21.14 miles that my GPS recorded – or 7:44 miling if I ran to the racing line) which was about the same as at the Spitfire 20. It seems like this is just my steady long run pace.

The marshals on the course were fantastic and I really enjoyed the little cups of orange squash that they were handing out (much nicer than just water).

With the London Marathon four weeks away running at this pace would get me round in around 3 hours and 20 minutes. I’m really planning on running London a little slower (so expect me to refer back to this post in a few weeks saying how it all went wrong and I ran too fast!).

The current training (including London) is just preparation for another marathon that I’m doing in May. I can guarantee that this marathon will be slower. Mainly because I’ll be doing a little swim and bike ride beforehand…

The weather forecast wasn’t looking great and unfortunately the forecast was pretty accurate!  Within about two minutes of leaving home it started to rain.  Occasionally it stopped but for the most part of the ride it just rained.  And rained.

I arrived at the start/finish HQ and got my number to affix to the bike and also a map of the route.  I had loaded it all previously into my bike GPS so I was all set and didn’t need to refer to the map at all. Shortly before 9am I set off into yet more pouring rain.

Partly due to the weather and the fact that I knew very few people who’d entered the event I decided to just get on with the ride and go solo.  Avoid any drafting opportunities (as you’re not allowed to draft from other riders/cars in triathlon races – at least the races I do) and push on, as the sooner I got this ride finished the sooner I’d be home in the warmth again!

I’ve got a lovely pair of Gore-Tex winter cycling shoes and waterproof cycling socks.  Well, these were both bloody useless today.  Water just got into my shoes and socks from my soaking wet leggings.  I could feel water moving around in my shoes when going uphill.  It wasn’t pleasant and my feet were freezing – from about two hours in untill I got home.

Because of the rain we’ve been having the last couple of days (and also today) the road conditions in and around the little country lanes were pretty dire.  Puddles, twigs, stones – and the usual potholes.  Plenty of things to flatten a tire and damage a bike.  I saw plenty of people fixing punctures today but thankfully I avoided any such mechanicals.

I didn’t stop and hang around much at the checkpoints (other than go to the toilet and get my event card stamped (to show that I’d made it to the checkpoints) – opting to just get on with the ride.

I made it back to the event HQ after covering the (according to my GPS) 75.94 miles of the Surrey Rumble.  My time was around 4 hours 22 minutes.  This included stops.  My actual ‘moving’ time was 4:09.  My average heart rate was 138bpm.

Looking back at my data for 2009, my GPS recoded 76.37 miles (so probably the same because of GPS accuracy) and my total time was 4:51 and my moving time was 4:35.  I also wrote in my training log “Much of the first half was alone, but less of the second half. Weather ideal.”  Average HR was 146bpm.

So, in pretty foul conditions today I rode the same route 25 minutes quicker and stopped for slightly less time at the checkpoints.  Oh, and with a lower average heart rate as well.  I’m very happy with that – especially as I cycled 14 miles there (and then home again).

Overall for the day I was out for six and a quarter hours and covered 105.8 miles.  I’m now thawing out at home and eating just about anything and everything that I can lay my hands on!

The ‘rules’ are as follows…

• Start around 9am
• Start at the Bushy parkrun current finish line.
• Run the Bushy parkrun course as many times as you like, looping round the start line and finishing line trees.
• Anyone can join in and run any number of laps at any time at any speed, either alone or in groups.
• No official timing, time yourself if you’d like.
• Friends and supporters congregate at the parkrun finish line to give encouragement and support, or maybe just enjoy an alfresco picnic/refreshments and a social.
• People can run as many laps as they like.
• It’s Not the London Marathon, cos it’s not a race, it’s not a marathon distance for everyone, and anyone can join in anytime.

The date was set for Sunday 10 March and a large number of us (around 50) found ourselves on the ‘old startline’ for Bushy parkrun.  After a quick photograph we all set off to run anything from 3 miles right up to the full 26.2 marathon distance back and forth on the Bushy parkrun route.

The start line - Not The London Marathon 2013

It was chilly, it was windy and at 10:30 we shared part of the route with a 10k race being held in the park.  It was great fun, I ran with friends, we chatted, we laughed, we ran.  Some of us ran a long way!

My run finished up as just under 19 miles.  My pace was pretty much in the range I was after.  It didn’t feel particularly tough.  My right calf feels tight (as it has done for about a month now) but writing this later the same evening I don’t feel particularly battered from this run.

After a 20 mile long run last weekend and 19 this weekend I plan to step back a bit next weekend.

Instead I’m going to treat myself to a 100 mile bike ride!

Sharon and Kirsty had plans to enter this event (Sharon doing the ‘Tempest 10′ event – which is a single lap – with the Spitfire 20 being two laps).  I entered as well and if it was anything near half as well organised as the Three Molehills race by the same Events To Live organisers then it would certainly be a good morning out.

Porridge and coffee for breakfast and an early (not triathlon early, just running race early) start to get to the race site in Dunsfold (where they film the TV show Top Gear).  Sharon had a couple of miles warm-up to do (her plan said 12 miles, so a two mile warm up and a ten mile run would suffice).  My plan.  Well, I don’t have a plan. I just thought it would be nice!  I did 16 miles a few weeks ago so surely 20 would be fine.  I had no plans to race this or run particularly hard.  I just wanted to get round at a steady pace and not injure myself.  My right calf has been tight the last couple of weeks and I’ve eased off the running and done more cycling. Time to give it a proper test.

The first 10 miles were lovely.  The course was lovely.  I know airfields are big but you have to run about 2.5 miles to get out of the bloody aerodrome.  It was very exposed but thankfully not too windy.  Once we got into the country lanes there was lots of chatting amongst other runners and I found myself ducking in and out of a few conversations and saying hello to people (who I didn’t know) from other running clubs.  The time flew by.

The course was lovely and quiet. The marshalls were absolutely amazing. Drink stations were perfect (one of the lads had no trouble with me swapping a lime flavoured energy gel that I’d picked up at an earlier station for a strawberry/banana flavoured one).  Now that’s customer service for you!  No quibbles (ok, so I was probably over 25 years older than him so perhaps he was just respecting the old folk!).

Back to the marshalls.  The route means we had to cross a couple of road junctions.  When you get out into the countryside it often seems that the 4 wheel drive brigade hate runners and when there’s marshalls stopping traffic out whilst ‘us’ are running along ‘their’ roads they can get a little angry.  Well, every time I crossed a road the marshalls were doing a superb job and I didn’t notice any angry motorists.  I hope it was like that for the rest of the runners as it was lovely where I was.

At the end of the first lap you have the tough part when you run through the start/finish area and back for another two and a half miles of exposed surroundings – with a stiffening cold wind and a sweaty running top on this made it a bit chilly.  Well… you just have to run a little faster to keep warm!  I was asked by a chap who I’d be running alongside for a while if I was comfortable.  My heart rate was steady and just on the overlap of my ‘recovery/aerobic’ ranges.  I felt fine from a heart rate point of view – it was just my legs strength that would be the limiter going forward.  I was still experiencing a few aches from a longish bike ride in the Surrey Hills on my day off two days previously.

At about 14 miles I decided with around 10km left to run I’d increase the pace a bit and started to put in a few faster miles.  I slowly edged past people and was really enjoying it.  It certainly wasn’t easy but I wasn’t pushing myself overly hard.  It was just more of a solid pace.  Before long… well, about an hour later we turn back into the aerodrome for the final straight.

There was a pretty large gap behind me and I was taking it at the same pace as previously.  As I approached the finishing funnel area I noticed three chaps closing in on me from behind and one giving it a good go. I remember saying to the people supporting something like “really, do I have to sprint and race now after all nearly 20 miles” and then I decided to give a good kick and sprint for the line.  I didn’t need to do this – the position or time doesn’t really bother me.  I just wanted a good solid run.  Oh, I didn’t let the chap pass me :)

My first lap took 1:18:20 and the second lap 1:15:42.  That’ll be a bit of a speed increase over the second lap then!

My finish time was 2 hours 34 minutes and 3 seconds.  Averaging 7:40 miling.  Faster than I had originally planned but not overly quick for my liking.  That’ll do.  I’ve got a 21 mile event/race in a few of weeks time which I will try and run slower at.  I want to get more ‘time on feet’ rather than a fast time.  Right now for me its all about Ironman training rather than specific marathon speed-work.

Lunch consisted of a couple of bacon rolls at the race HQ and then the drive home.  A really good race organised by really nice people.  Highly recommended.

Photo: Katrin Kroschinski

On 10 June 2006 I took part in the Bushy Park Time Trial, a free 5k timed run at 9am on a Saturday morning.  It was fun, I finished 52nd out of 159 runners and my time was 21 minutes.  I went back the following week.

Since then the event has been rebranded as Bushy parkrun and on Saturday 9 February 2013 I ran my 250th timed 5k run.  I’ve run at 29 different events, as far away as Sydney Australia for a hot sunny 5k run! I’ve run 202 times at Bushy parkrun – which I can safely say is my local parkrun (although there are now three others that are slightly closer to home).

For me it’s not about always running fast – it’s about running and socialising with friends.  I get there early, I leave there late and it often seems to take around three and a half hours all in to run a 20 minute 5k!  This is because the run is just a small part of what makes parkrun.

Before 855 of us set off on Saturday morning it was announced that I’d be doing my 250th run.  All I had to do was get to the finish in one piece and I’d get an exclusive ’250 Club’ t-shirt.  I think this is why I ran my fastest time since September 2012!  I didn’t want to get tripped up.

After finishing the run and cheering on many others who’d come along to celebrate the occasion we all stood around and drunk sparkling wine and had some lovely cake – all provided and served up by Sharon.  It was a lovely touch and great to be around so many friends.  As Sharon isn’t around next weekend I was fortunate enough to be presented with my 250 t-shirt by run director Ray Coward.  It was a great occasion and achievement and one that I’m very proud of.

Photo: Katrin Kroschinski

After finishing off the booze we all went to the pub.  And drank tea and coffee!  I’m sure there’s something not quite right about that…

After the main ‘highlight’ of 2011 being the Brighton Marathon there wasn’t much else of note that year.  Towards the end of the year I started building up again (run and bike, with a bit of swimming) for a busy first half of 2012.

January started with the most amazing holiday we’ve had topped with an Ironman distance triathlon in New Zealand.  A month driving around New Zealand in a big camper van and a little race thrown in half way through made for a superb January.

Back to the UK in February and I sacrificed cycling for a couple of months of focussed run training in preparation for the London Marathon in April.  I wanted to ‘safely’ run a ‘Good For Age’ (GFA) time which would guarantee me entry for the next two years.  Based on my age I needed to run under 3 hours 10 minutes.  A steady run saw me finish in 3 hours 09.  Perfect.

Four weeks later and it was mid-May and my usual visit to the Bognor Prom 10k.  Conditions were perfect and I absolutely smashed my 10k PB.  36 minutes 44 seconds.  That’ll take some beating.  I was delighted with that.

Back on the bike I went and quickly got some miles in before my second Ironman distance race at the start of July.  The race went pretty much according to plan and I finished a little under ten and a half hours.  That was my third marathon of the year and it was only the 1st July!

It was time to ease off a little bit now and this certainly came with a bang – literally in September when I fell off my windsurfing board and cracked/broke a rib.  After 10 weeks of pretty much no exercise whatsoever I slowly started cycling and running again at the start of December.  I’m not 100 percent healed and I think it will take some time before all the pain goes but it’s great to be back training again.

The plan now is to build up steadily before a busy Spring/Summer.  I’m doing an Ironman triathlon in May and also have plans to run the London Marathon in April, but most probably more as a training run than a flat out race due to its close proximity to the Ironman.

Finally, here’s the usual (and getting busier) yearly graph of my running numbers.

From here I decided that I’d try and ride into work on Tuesday.  13.5 miles each way.  If it didn’t go well in the morning then I could at least leave the bike locked up at work and get it another day.  Well, other than it pouring with rain the whole way, the ride was fine.  I even rode home that evening (in the rain!).  I then did the same again (in better weather) on Thursday and on Friday had a go on my indoor ‘turbo’ trainer as it seemed far too icy outside first thing to ride.

Sharon and I then went to Bristol to stay with friends for the weekend.  Saturday morning we headed to Little Stoke parkrun which was only a few miles away and I had decided that I’d probably try and run round part of the course with Sharon.  It was a multi-lap parkrun on a good solid flat surface so ideal conditions to test things out.

We ran the first lap, then the second…. then the third and then to the finish.  With a time a little under 31 minutes it was my slowest parkrun to date but I couldn’t care less about the time. I finished it.  If I can go out for a mid-week run and then do a parkrun this weekend I’ll be happy.  Really happy.

Pain wise I can feel something still inside/under/beneath my ribs but I’m of the belief that any break/fracture/crack has probably healed itself and its just other ‘stuff’ that’s causing the pain.  It’s not getting worse (even with exercise) and slowly getting better.  The only real pain I feel today (24 hours after the 5k parkrun) is that my legs hurt like I’ve raced a half marathon the day before!!

Looking at my training log I have done almost five and a half hours of exercise this week.  Brilliant.  If I can slowly build up now then I’ve got a great chance of having a reasonable 2013.  Fingers crossed.

We went on holiday to Turkey at the start of September where I did lots of cycling, a little running, swimming and plenty of windsurfing/sailing.

David windsurfing in Turkey, September 2012

About a week after our return to the UK I had an opportunity to go windsurfing in some rather testing conditions in the cooler waters of the English Channel and whilst out I managed to fall heavily onto the boom (the big thing you hold onto). Apart from initially knocking the wind out of me it bloody hurt. A lot. I was convinced I’d bruised/cracked/broken a rib.

The next few days were unbelievable uncomfortable and since then (nearly seven weeks have passed) it’s healing very very slowly. I’ve been seen by a specialist (someone in uniform who works at a hospital!) who confirmed my understanding that there’s no point x-raying the area as there’s nothing they can do. I was never short of breath or struggling to breathe following the injury – it’s just been really painful.

I’ve been very reluctant to do any real exercise – other than walking and a couple of easy rides on my indoor training bike a few days after the accident to see if it hurt (it did).  Apart from walking and those two easy bike tests I have done absolutely no exercise for nearly seven weeks now. All I know is that rib injuries sometimes heal in three or four weeks, sometimes six and sometimes more. I’m clearly in the ‘more’ camp.

Although out of action I’ve been watching/supporting at events (I missed out on running the Cabbage Patch 10 mile race last month – an event I’d run each year for the past six years but went along and cheered friends on) and have volunteered at a number of parkrun events.

I’m optimistic that I’ll be able to resume running sometime in December (I’ll be taking part in the Christmas Day parkrun at Bushy Park – that’s for sure) and want to get back on my mountain bike for some work commuting before then. I then hope to slowly build things back up to proper levels of training as I’ve got a busy plan for at least the first half of next year.

It’s going to be a long evening/night watching the race online and I cannot wait to see how the race unfolds.

Going forwards I think I’m going to have to see it for myself in the flesh, so one way or another I think I need to get myself over to Hawaii for the world champs – either watching… or if things go to plan and I learn how to swim and actually train properly then maybe I’ll get a chance to race there.

The journey isn’t meant to be easy. Bring it on! #konababy

I’ve written about the race format in the past and once again I was in the second (which actually is now the third) and final wave.  So although I was racking my bike in transition at 6am I didn’t start my race until after 8:20am.  The waiting around wasn’t too bad as there were loads of friends taking part in the race and I was able to cheer them on.

Into the pool and time for the 426m swim.  I’d estimated my 400m swim time at 6 minutes 45 which is probably the quickest I’ve estimated it over the years of doing the race.  The swim was very uneventful (which is a good thing) and I came out of the water in 7:18 which was 33rd fastest (out of 418 finishers).  This is the equivalent of 6:51 for 400m so accurate enough.

The race is now chip timed and we now get individual transition times.  This is great news but means a little more work to compare times from previous years.  All timings and positions are based on the results that were posted online later on race day.

Transition 1 took me 59 seconds (I’m still a bad inexperienced triathlete that puts my bike shoes on in transition rather than leaves them on the bike and puts them on whilst cycling.  I also lost a couple of seconds turning on the video camera that I attached to the bike to film the race.  I was 43rd quickest (or slowest) in transition.

Comparing to 2011 where swim and transition times are timed as one (although the timing point for bike start is a little earlier in 2012) my time in 2011 was 8:40 and this year 8:17.  Even with 10-15 seconds difference I’m about the same as last year.  That’ll do.

Onto the bike.  I’d not really trained for such a hard flat out effort on the bike but certainly knew what to expect.  The bike was uneventful.  There was no real traffic, conditions were good.  I was overtaken by one person but I got past him again and then a number of other riders.  I think I rode well and my bike split time of 34:51 was the 13th fastest of all finishers.  In race 4 of 2011 my bike split was 34:48 (15th fastest).  I was three seconds slower but the bike split time starts earlier so I’ll take those times as really close as well!

For the data lovers here’s my times from the previous times I’ve raced this course and this years full data in all its glory over at TrainingPeaks.com.

After the bike finishes you get a gentle spin (it’s part of a special ‘non-compete zone’ which forms part of these races). back to T2 and the 5k run start.  I took it easy and was ready to carry on racing after about 6 minutes.

Transition 2 took 47 seconds (55th overall).  The fastest time was 30 seconds so not too far behind but a little scope to get quicker and get my shoes on faster as that’s really all I had to do!

The 5k run was then as tough as ever and the support was fantastic.  Apart from just running as hard as I could I don’t have much more to say about it!  I saw a few friends during the run (James, Andy, Hayden, Ann, Stefan) which was great and plenty of other support at a part of the course that you run past twice.

Running across the finish line my run split was 18:45.  Last year I run 18:47 but that included transition, so this years comparative time is really 19:32, so slower.  Dammit.

Overall my finishing time was 1:02:41, which is 16 seconds slower than the same race last year.  It’s clear that it was my run was where the time was lost but overall I’m happy with the time.  My overall position was 12th and in the 35-39 year age group I was 6th (last year I was 9th in my age group).

Next year I’m sure I’ll be back for race 4, especially as I ‘age-up’ to the 40-44 age group.  I can then make amends and try and get my time closer to that of Paul D. (who’s in this age group) who’s absolutely flying at the moment.

Here’s how my times have improved over the times that I’ve taken part in these races…

• 08/05/07 – 1:20:27 (using my mountain bike)
• 27/08/07 – 1:07:51 (on a borrowed road bike)
• 25/08/08 – 1:06:33 (using my recently purchased road bike)
• 31/05/10 – 1:04:55
• 30/08/10 – 1:04:37
• 02/05/11 – 1:03:59
• 29/08/11 – 1:02:25 (same bike, new wheels)
• 27/08/12 – 1:02:41 (same bike, same wheels, same old legs!)

Finally I mentioned earlier that in transition 1 I spent a few seconds turning on my video camera.  Well, during the bike my camera decided to break away from its bracket and is lost – either in a hedgerow somewhere or in someone’s lucky hands!  So alas there is no video, which after last years exposure probably isn’t a bad thing!

The tallest men in triathlon. Stef, James, Nick, David

Saturday morning (11 August) at Bushy parkrun as I stood on the start line I saw a real life Olympian toeing the line.  I had hoped that we might have had a ‘speedy boy or two’ at Bushy after seeing an earlier message on twitter.  Well, what a treat we had in store for us.

Stood on the start line (kitted out head to toe in New Balance sportswear) was Andy Baddeley.  He’s a local chap who’s competed in the Beijing Olympics, and multiple other world championship athletics events.  He’s had a busy few days as he took part in the 1500m event in the London 2012 Olympics where he ran 3:40:34 in the first round and then 3:36:03 in the semi-finals – but unfortunately not progressing to the finals.

However, with all that pent-up speed in his legs surely the best way to get it out of the system is a little run around Bushy Park, and when better to do than at 9am on a Saturday morning.

During the pre-run announcements Andy was introduced to the ~900 runners to which there was an amazing round of applause, that just went on and on and on.  It was something I’d not seen in my 230+ parkruns to date.

As the start signal was made I watched in awe as he just opened up a gap between himself and everyone else and just kept running further and further away from us.  I had a good strong run, although my legs were feeling tired from a long run the day before but found myself with a few other runners of similar speed and worked hard till the end.  I finished in 17:58 and was happy with that.  I just need to be able to go ‘comfortably’ sub-18 minutes.  Today it was not comfortable!  My run was certainly more comfortable that others, as I saw one chap (who was much faster than me) being sick after finishing.

As soon as I finished I wanted to see how Andy did and word was spreading round that he finished in 13:48, which is 12 seconds faster than the previous Bushy parkrun (and overall parkrun) record.

The first time I attended a parkrun (well, Bushy Park Time Trial as it was known at the time) was on 10 June 2006.  That morning I watched Craig Mottram run 14 minutes exactly and get a new parkrun record.  That record has stood until today.  I was even there in October 2011 when Justina Heslop got the all time female record of 15:58.  Some of these amazing performances must surely be rubbing off on me.

In 2006 I ran exactly seven minutes slower than Craig Mottram.  This time I managed to run four minutes and ten seconds slower than Andy.  If I keep this progression up I should be battling for the fastest time in about 12 years!

After his run Andy headed off to continue his run and came back to the finish area shortly before 10am.  Quite a few of us were still around chatting in the sun and it was lovely to talk briefly with him and of course pose for a photo or two.

Zoe (a fellow parkrunner), Andy (a rather fast parkrunner), Sharon and David. Photo: Suzan Baker

What a legend, what a morning, and from the round of applause he got before he even broke the parkrun course record I’m sure he’s inspired a number of people this morning to keep running.

Unless it’s 2012 and its been pi**ing with rain most of the day and the course is mostly muddy and waterlogged grass.

Anyway… moving on…

This was my second run after the Outlaw Triathlon nine days ago.  My first run was at Bushy parkrun on Saturday where my legs were just tired, completely tired.  I pushed hard and managed a respectable 18:43 but was so shattered that was it for my training that weekend.  Monday/Tuesday this week I was working in London so plenty of steady miles on my heavy old mountain bike got the legs moving again.

I was looking forward to a good tough run this evening and that I believe I delivered on.  I really didn’t expect there to be so much water on the course having not run on the trails of Richmond Park for a good few weeks – it was much worse than in the middle of winter.

Getting ready for the start. Chap in the grey top is off next, followed by the lady.

As it’s a handicap race we all start at different times and its great fun watching who goes off in front of you (slower runners) and those behind you (hopefully faster runners).  We all stand around joking that the ‘handicapper’ (he who sets the starting order based on previous performances) has screwed up yet again and given us inaccurate starting times.  However, these are the cards that are dealt and we have no say in the matter.  If you’re a consistent athlete it’s very difficult to ‘beat’ the handicapper and win one of these races so you just need to look at it as a solid race where you’ll hopefully be catching up some of the slower runners towards the end.  You also need to try and look out for and stay ahead of the faster runners who set off after you.  It’s like running with a large target on your back!

Did I mention that the course was wet and muddy.  Well, it was.

All you have to do is follow the arrows that mark out the course

I set off fairly hard and took advantage of the run down Queens Ride to clock an opening mile of around 5:45.  Last year I ran the first mile in 5:53.  This is where the comparisons to last year end!  It was tough, real tough.

Heading around Spankers Hill Wood I was overtaken by Andy B. who muttered the words of encouragement “Come on Beardy!”  Well, as we were about to run into a headwind I had the option of fighting the headwind on my own or using the same effort and sitting right behind Andy and let him do the work, and at the same time run a little quicker.  Easy decision.

I stuck with Andy only for a couple of minutes during what was the most exposed part of the course.  At 5k my time was around 19:13 which seemed reasonable – especially with a couple more miles to run.  I really pushed myself during this race and it was great to overtake quite a few people in the last couple of miles.

As I crossed the line my time was 31:34.  Last year I ran the course in 31:04 which was my best time.  The weather in 2011 was better with no puddles and mud and I hadn’t just raced an Ironman nine days before so I’ll take that as a great run.

In the overall results I was the sixth fastest on the night out of 76 runners, which was a great turnout on a far from summery evening.

If you’re new to this blog then the ‘Pirates’ are the unofficial triathlon club from the Runners World/Triathletes World forum. I’ve been wearing the, er, distinctive yellow and black colours for a few years now and the support (and occasional strange looks) you get racing in the kit is amazing. I love that it doesn’t have a club name or any writing on the kit, so people don’t really know who you are or where you’re from. This weekend there were a lot of pirates out there – I counted over 80 entrants registered for the race on the entry list!

Sharon and I drove up to Nottingham on Friday morning and had decided to take our tent and camp at the National Water Sports Centre campsite which is only a couple of minutes walk from the race site. A perfect location and a great campsite. We got ourselves set up and then registered for the race. ‘We’ had the largest number of entrants of all and were given a special custom pirate ‘buff’ at registration. Very smart. The race site was fairly quiet on Friday. That evening we had dinner then walked to the bar at the race site for a quiet beer. I say quiet as there were only three other people in the place and one of them was serving behind the bar!

Saturday morning I finished getting my bike ready and rode a quick loop of the lake (the bike leg starts with a lap of the huge rowing lake) to get a feel for what the course is like straight out of transition. I followed this up with a 10 minute easy run just to remind myself what I needed to do on Sunday. Saturday afternoon I took my bike to the transition area to get it racked for the night and also handed in my transition bags (one with cycling kit, one with running kit). I also ate a ton of food during the day to get my energy stores nice and full in preparation for the day ahead.

Sunday was a 3:20am alarm call and then straight into coffee and a huge bowl of porridge. That’s my usual tried and tested pre-race routine. A couple of toilet stops and it was ready to head to the race site to check the bike and bags. I have to say that the toilet stops could have been more successful! I think I’d eaten too much on Saturday and didn’t feel like I’d got nearly enough of it through the system. Sorry for the nature of this but this blog is for me to remember in future how things went and how I can use this to learn from. This isn’t ideal as I normally take a couple of Immodium tablets to keep the demons at bay before the start and they’d only work for so long (and I don’t normally ‘top up’ during a race). Anyway, moving on (for now at least!)…

Sunrise over transition, Holme Pierrepont

The weather was absolutely beautiful at 5am. The sun was rising above the far end of the lake and it was a clear blue sky. The only problem was the increasing wind. It was set to be a windy day just like the previous days had been. Race morning is always strange. It’s often quiet. Competitors just moving around doing what they need to do, whether it’s checking their bikes and filling up drinks bottles, checking transition bags or queuing for the toilets. It’s a nervous time (although once again I was feeling pretty relaxed).

Ready to Rock and Roll!

At about a quarter to six (the race starts at 6am) the wetsuit was zipped up and a quick energy gel to remind me of what I was going to be ‘eating’ all day! I headed to the lake to get accustomed to the water temperature and psych myself up for the swim. The last time I swam 3.8k was at Challenge Wanaka in January. As I got myself warmed up and ready in the water I had a bit of a nightmare with my goggles. The right eyepiece was letting in water. I made a load of adjustments but it just wasn’t behaving. These were new goggles (which I’d worn once earlier in the week and was happy with) but today they were not playing ball. I moved to shallow water, took off my swim cap, adjusted the straps some more and then they seemed to work and have a proper seal at last. Phew.

I positioned myself about five rows back at the fast end of the field with the intention of swimming hard for the first 50m or so and then getting clear water close to the left side of the lake. I had no intention whatsoever of getting myself stuck in the middle of the lake. If I kept to the side then I could pick and choose how busy I wanted the swim to be based on how far ‘in’ I swam.

The final couple of minutes before the start was amazing. People everywhere (both in and out of the water), TV cameras filming the action (the race will be on Channel 4 in the UK soon) and then a round of applause that everyone in and around the lake took part in. It’s amazing to watch the start of an Ironman race. It’s even more amazing being part of it.

5-4-3-2-1. Go! Pretty much on the chime of 6am 836 starters (including relay team competitors) started swimming down the lake in the direction of a large orange buoy about 1.2 miles away!

And they're off!

My Wanaka swim time was 72 minutes (in slightly choppy water). As I’d swum even less the past few months I was expecting to have a similar time as in Wanaka as the water was much calmer. After settling into a rhythm I got myself into a position swimming right behind someone, keeping an eye on the bubbles from their feet in the water and sticking as close as I could. I pretty much stuck on the feet of this one person for the whole swim. On a couple of occasions I pulled up beside him to try and move forward through the pack but I couldn’t easily get past and it was much easier for me to sit on his feet than swim beside him. The swim is about 1850m along the lake, then you turn at a buoy, swim across the lake and then 1850m back to the finish. I got to the first turn marker is a little under 31 minutes. Nice.

Swimming was easy as you didn’t need to worry too much about where you were going. I was able to just breath to my left and sight against the edge of the lake. I’d see people walking alongside cheering us all on.

The return journey was a little slower as I was no doubt tiring (having not swum more than 3k in a single go since January) and having to swim directly into the wind and chop. My swim was very uneventful (which is how I like it) and as I came out of the lake my watch said 64:56. Wow. I really wasn’t expecting that. This got me off to a great start. On the way to transition 1 I got my wetsuit down to my waist (which reveals the pirate skull and crossbones) and got some great cheers – which I was only happy to ‘aaarrrrggghhhhhhh’ back to them.

Swim time: 1 hour 4 minutes 56 seconds
Swim rank: 75th
Overall position (at this point): 75th

Note that all positions are based off the provisional results that were posted online shortly after the race. There were a few competitors disqualified for a range of offences and some appeals and also corrections to the results may result in the results being updated over time.

Transition one was straightforward. Wetsuit off, bike helmet, shoes and socks on. I also decided to wear a zip-up gillet top as it wasn’t very warm out and there was a forecast for rain at some point. This and my cheapo armwarmers (that don’t quite fit but worked fine in Wanaka) went on and it was off to collect my bike. As I was getting ready in the transition tent I saw another pirate come through. A few words of encouragement between us and then I was on my way.

Transition 1 time: 3 minutes 30 seconds
Transition 1 rank: 31st
Overall position (at this point): 51st (24 places gained in transition 1)

As you can see I gained a large number of places in transition. I’ve no idea what some people are doing in T1 but I would have been much quicker if I hadn’t chosen to wear an extra top or put armwarmers on. I would have been quicker still if my bike shoes were on my bike (and I didn’t put socks on) and ran barefoot to the bike. Transitions can be just as important as the swim/bike/run if you’re chasing a good time, so don’t waste time when you don’t need to.

Photo: Paul Moore

Heading out onto the bike you do a single lap of the rowing/swim lake. I got some great support at the start of the bike including Sharon who was there looking stunned (and excited!) at how I managed to put in such a good swim time, especially when I said I planned to have a steady swim and not push myself too much – which I believe I did.

The lap of the lake gave me time to have a gel (that’s two so far) and get myself setup for the rest of the 112 mile (oh, doesn’t that sound lovely! not!) ride. I could see a number of people still in the lake just having rounded the far markers and I was happy at this point to not be one of them still in the water. They had a long long swim ahead of them directly into a headwind.

Leaving the lake and onto the open roads. I then settled into my planned nutrition which was to take a gel every 20 minutes. This I did for the next five hours and 20 minutes (meaning 16 gels, plus the one I had at the very start of the bike leg making it a total of 17 on the bike). Yummy! This was washed down with High-5 drink and some water later on in the ride. Although I’ve used the same strategy in my last few races my stomach wasn’t overly happy after about three and a half hours. It may have been because of the generally flat course that I was spending much more time than usual bent forwards in a more aerodynamic position. Things did settle down a bit eventually but I didn’t feel 100 percent.

The bike course was lovely although pretty windy in places. Lots of headwinds and exposed roads throughout the course. The pockets of support were great and it was good to see some of the locals standing at the end of their gardens cheering us on. I always made an effort to smile and/or say thanks to them.

Most of the road junctions had traffic management on them (men/women holding stop/go signs) to give the riders a clear and fast route. There were a few places where there were left turns and no stop/go signs and it was amazing to see quite a few other riders just race round these corners without even looking to their right to see if the road was clear. I would always look and only go if I felt it was safe to do so. It is the riders responsibility. These riders didn’t seem to care less if there was a car coming. Unbelievable. Post race I saw that two riders were disqualified for dangerous cycling. Maybe that’s that kind of behaviour that got them in trouble. If so then it serves them right. It was made clear at the race briefing that were were riding on open roads so had to observe the rules of the road.

About a third of the way into the course I was overtaken by a fellow pirate. Unfortunately a few miles later I passed him as he was at the side of the road fixing a puncture.

One of the aid stations on the bike course was organised by the pirates and I got some massive cheers as I came through (as I was the first pirate at this point). I loved the support. Thanks everyone.

I overtook a fair few riders on the bike and quite a few overtook me – mostly people on expensive looking time trial bikes with disc wheels and riders wearing pointy helmets.

One day I’m going to turn up to a race with a decent bike and an aerodynamic helmet and show ‘em who’s boss, but right now I’m content riding my 2008 issue road bike with clip on tri-bars that cost £1150 (although I do have some lovely new wheels on it now for racing).

At one point I came across three men on road bikes on a Sunday ride. As I pulled up beside them (they were very courteous to competitors) I asked if either of them fancied running a marathon in a couple of hours time. They weren’t up for it so it looked like I’d have to do it instead!

Power wise I mainly stuck to my target. I didn’t go off too hard in the early miles (like I had done a little over optimistically at Wanaka in January) but in the second half of the ride I was conscious to keep my effort under control and not slacken off or push too hard. I’ve got more data and thoughts about all this which I may post on the blog at a later date but I won’t bore you with the details now.

It certainly didn’t feel like an easy ride, thats for sure. I pushed fairly hard (or at least felt I was pushing fairly hard) throughout the entire ride. My heart rate over the 112 miles averaged 140bpm.

Bike time: 5 hours 34 minutes 11 seconds
Bike rank: 57th
Overall position (at this point): 42nd (9 places gained during the bike)

Transition 2 was another speedy affair. I see no reason to hang around in transition if you want a fast race. Bike shoes off (which I could have done at the end of the bike to save a few extra seconds I guess), running shoes on, bike helmet off, visor on, gillet off and then onto the run. When I start the run I have a couple of gels with me and a small amount of vaseline to put where my tri-top sometimes rubs.

Transition 2 time: 2 minutes 25 seconds
Transition 2 rank: 31st
Overall position (at this point): 42nd (no change)

As I started the first lap of the lake I got some superb pirate support as I was the first one (pirate that is) out onto the run. Within a few minutes I was caught up and overtaken by Shaun although his race didn’t quite go to plan – he eventually withdrew and spent a few hours in the medical tent.

Early on during the run... clearly!

With the wind really blowing and much of the run course being exposed, especially around the lake – part of the course had a lovely tailwind, but then there was a horrific headwind to contend with heading back to the main supporting ‘stand’ and finish area. This part wasn’t pleasant at all and there was probably close to five miles of this lakeside ‘direct into a headwind running’ throughout the marathon. This was not at all pleasant but everyone had the same to contend with.

Within about 20 minutes of the run starting a pretty heavy rain shower came over. Although I’d rather it not pour with rain I was glad to be running and not cycling at this point. The sun then came out, then it rained a bit more, and got cloudy…. and this continued…

The first few miles I settled into a steady pace and tried to keep close to 8 minute miling – that was my aim. The only thing that slowed me down in the first few miles was the timing chip that rubbed on my left ankle. In the past I’ve had timing chips on a neoprene/velcro strap but this time it was a paper-type strap (the non-tear waterproof kind that race numbers are often made of). This started to rub and I had to stop twice to make adjustments – with the final adjustment being to jam my sock underneath part of the strap. This seemed to do the trick.

Passing yet another 'pocket' of pirate support!

I literally flew past the ladies leader in the first 30 minutes of the run. I was actually really surprised that she was leading as she really wasn’t running well. She eventually clocked a 4 hour 46 marathon. And didn’t win.

Eight minute miling would give me a 3 hour 30 marathon split which was what I was aiming for. This was unfortunately not going to happen. Over the first few miles I was having a few, er, wind issues and was glad that the run course was fairly quiet with not many of us out there else it could have been quite embarrassing! After around eight miles I decided enough was enough and headed to one of the portaloos. This was rather reminiscent of a similar loo visit during the later miles of Ironman Switzerland in 2009.

It might be worth skipping the next paragraph. I really do think so!

I did feel a lot better afterwards but a few miles later the same problem came back to haunt me. Another couple of miles of farting like a, well, I’m really not sure, and worrying that at some point it will be one too many and I’ll be crawling around in the bushes! I then decided enough was enough and it was time for my second portaloo visit (at about 17.5 miles). The first one I came across was busy, then the second but thankfully the third was available. In I darted, did what needed to be done (well, to be honest I think it was more like a emptying a tub of chocolate ice cream that had been out in the sun all day!). Back out into the fresh air I was overtaking people I’d just run past a few minutes ago. A couple of pirates said “hey, didn’t you just ran past me five minutes ago?” or similar.

Anyway, I was feeling a bit better at this point and was heading back towards starting my last ‘lap’ of the run course – about six miles from the finish. I loved the pirate support all over the course and did my best to smile, cheer and thank people who were cheering me on.

Walking an aid station with a cup of water

Aid stations on the course were everywhere. You were never far from one which was great. I treated myself to gels, water, energy drink and a little drink of coke. I didn’t go for the orange segments, crisps or jaffa cakes although I gather that plenty of people did. After about 18 or 19 miles I started to walk the aid stations rather than run through. I wasn’t hunting a particular time. I wanted to get through the run without destroying myself so having a quick ‘break’ (i.e., walking briskly through the aid station whilst taking on gel/water) was I believe a sensible decision for me.

I will say here that the run course is pretty good. You run past the finishing funnel/area three times during the run and there’s a great atmosphere and support. You then get a ton of cheering and support on the opposite side of the lake as you turn to run away from the lake and towards Nottingham and along the riverside. Then, just past the Nottingham Forest football ground there was a Dragon Boat racing event taking place with really loud music and some lovely supporting going on. It was a really uplifting part of the course and part of an out and back section where you could cheer on other runners.

This is where I got my glances of fellow pirate Dave F. He’s a slower swimmer, similar biker but much better runner than me. I knew that I was a hunted man as I started the run course and after my stomach/toilet troubles it was just a matter of time before he caught up with me. This weekend it was about 22 miles into the run, just after the turnaround. He was absolutely flying (compared to me that is) when he ran past me. Mutual words of support were given and I watched him head off into the distance. Post race when checking my GPS and how long I spent in the portaloos had I not had these stops we both could have been set for a cracking final mile neck-and-neck to the finish. Another day…

Shortly after seeing Dave come past I saw another pirate coming the other way. This time it was Emma. Her training puts many people (especially me) to shame and she was having a superb day. I’d seen her earlier on the run looking great but this time it was in the final few miles – she looked great – but this time had someone on a bike cycling just in front of her with a sign that said ‘leading female.’ Yup, our Emma was leading! After starting the run in fourth place overall she slowly but surely went past all the other women to take the lead. She eventually didn’t just win – she smashed it with nearly 10 minutes between her and second place. Awesome work. When she saw me (probably a few seconds after Dave came past) she said “race strong David.” I was doing my best.

As I headed towards the final lake circuit with around 3.5 miles left to run I decided to do a few calculations. The upshot of this was that I had a chance of getting a time just under 10 hours 30 minutes if I really pushed on for the last few miles. I’d have to give it my best shot. I pushed on as hard as my legs could, my heart rate rose, my legs ached like hell but I was getting closer to a time that I’d be very happy with today. My speed didn’t increase much (that pesky headwind in the final mile played a huge part in that) but I know I gave it everything I could at the time. The best feeling of the day was as I filtered into the finishing funnel, took the support from the crowd, gave plenty back and crossed the line.

Run time: 3 hours 43 minutes 54 seconds
Run rank: 50th
Overall (and final) position: 34nd (8 places gained during the run)

My overall time was 10 hours 28 minutes and 59 seconds so nicely inside of 10:30. This is second fastest result over the distance with my best performance being at Roth, Germany in 2010. It’s really difficult to compare times across races as the course difficulty and weather play huge parts in it so it’s better to look at how you did compared to everyone else. Well, in this case looking at the non-relay athletes I finished 34th out of 780 finishers. This is in the top 5 percent of all finishers so that’s not bad at all in my eyes.

I was expecting this race to be fast and comfortable (if that’s a word that you can use to describe an Ironman distance race). The wind made conditions tough, my stomach gave me all kinds of grief during the run (which I think was partly caused by eating too much the day before). My relaxed attitude going into the race probably didn’t help as I’d put in a rather long training session the previous Sunday, having run just under 22 miles and cycling over 35 as part of “The Longest parkrun” event. Perhaps a slightly longer taper would help…

All in all the last few months have been busy when it comes to training and racing. Since around October 2011 I stepped up my training to prepare for the Ironman distance race that was in January. Straight off of the back of that I dedicated my time to running and getting a good time at the London Marathon in late April and then May and June were spent quickly stepping up the bike training and swimming to get me fit for The Outlaw.

So what’s next…. I’m going to do a tough duathlon (run, bike, run) later in the year and then hopefully build on the training to get me fit for another tough first half of 2013 where I’ll be running the London Marathon and then doing yet another Ironman. I’ve also got this strange thought going through my head of actually training harder than before. Maybe I will…

Right now however I’ve got my feet up, watching the Tour de France and really looking forward to watching and supporting London 2012.

“Started in 2010, the idea is simple – On the first Sunday after the longest day of the year, to visit as many parkruns as possible. But while the potential total distance is quite large (35km or 21.7 miles), this isn’t a heavy duty running event, it is first and foremost a social day – there’s no official timing, runners can turn up at as many (or as few) of the runs as they want, and do as much of the courses as they want.”

The weather was much cooler than in 2011 and after getting my heavy old mountain bike ready for the day (i.e., clean and oil the chain and pump up the tyres) I was at Bushy Park at 8:40am.

In a weeks time I’m doing (yet another) ironman distance triathlon so wanted to make sure I took it easy today.  I wanted to run (slowish) and steady throughout and together with the cycling between runs would treat it as a very long training day (but not quite as long as the triathlon!).

There were so many people there this year (well over 50) which is understandable as parkrun gets more popular.  Lots of us were on bikes (I counted about 15 at one point) so it was good to have a group of likeminded parkrun addicts to spend the day with.

Bushy was first, followed by Bedfont Lakes, then Old Deer Park.  I only just got to Old Deer parkrun with about three minutes to spare before the midday pre-run briefing.  After this parkrun we headed to Richmond Park where we had plenty of time to relax before the 1:30pm start.

Just as soon as we started at Richmond it started to rain so as we ran past our bikes I took a super quick detour and adjusted my rucksack so that it wouldn’t get rained on too much.  Then it was back to the running.  We then got bombarded by a very short but intense shower.  The rain actually felt cold.

After Richmond is was off to Wimbledon Common.  This is where I reached into the rucksack I’d be carrying all day and pulled out my trail shoes.  They felt like new shoes after having the running shoes on for so many hours.  Wimbledon was muddy and slippery in places but no trouble with these shoes.  Good decision.

We then headed to Kingston parkrun where I kept my trail shoes on.  This was another pretty wise decision as some parts of the course were really wet and muddy.

Finally we all ventured back to Bushy Park for the final run of the day at 6pm.  There was still a great crowd and we had a couple of photos before the run of everyone who’d run all seven (or was about to) and those who’d cycled in between them all as well.  I was one of the ten who rode between every parkrun and completed the 5k distance.

They say an interval session is only as good as your last interval so I decided to push pretty hard in the final run, finishing in 19:40, nearly five minutes faster than my slowest run of the day.

So, the scores on the doors….

1. Bushy parkrun – 24:13
2. Bedfont Lakes parkrun – 24:16
3. Old Deer parkrun – 24:34
4. Richmond parkrun – 24:11
5. Wimbledon Common parkrun – 23:24
6. Kingston parkrun – 23:28
7. Bushy parkrun 19:40

The Longest parkrun is a great event.  When you cross the finish line you normally hang around and wait for every last runner to finish (who you cheer on) and then you head to the next run.  The timings are perfect to allow this to happen.

Just under 22 miles were run and with over 30 miles on the bike I’d call that a good days exercise!  Now I just need to recover quickly in time for my ironman race…

With a large proportion of the race taking part on the exposed promonade by the sea the weather plays an important part in this race.  On many an occasion I’ve had to run into a horrendous headwind for the final 4km which really isn’t much fun.  This year however I’d say the weather conditions were perfect.  It was cool and with a NNE wind which gave a little helping hand during the second half of the race.  This was very very welcome!

I had a bit of a pre-race plan for today… The aim was push hard and try and get through 5k in around 18:15-18:30 (I’ve run a couple of 18:15 parkrun 5k’s over recent weeks so this should be OK) and see what happens during the second half.  I was more than willing to ‘blow up’ and have a nightmare towards the end.

My current 10k personal best is 38:03 from last years Bognor Prom 10k.  I did run a 37:56 at the Saucony 10k in March but this was apparently a ‘Short 10k’ according to the Power Of Ten website.  As the course doesn’t have an official certified course then I guess it can be open to interpretation.  The Bognor Prom 10k course is officially measured and has a certificate to that effect.

Another thing in the back of my mind was a discussion I had in the pub on Thursday evening with one of my Dad’s friends.  Over the past few days my parents had decided to try and raise a little sponsorship money to help support the Fernhurst Centre Cancer Unit at St. Richards Hospital in Chichester where my mum has unfortunately been spending some time over the past few months.  One of the chaps in the pub gave me five pounds and said if I finished in the top 20 he’d give another 20 pounds.  Last year I finished 21st….

I set off close to the front of the pack and ran hard from the ‘gun.’  The first km is always fast and I’ve learnt that you need to push pretty hard early on as the course has about four turns (with one of them being a 180 degree turn) very early on.  I dug in and didn’t get held back at all or have to change my course during this opening part of the race.  I did notice early on that it didn’t seem that busy, even though over 1,800 people had entered the race (I found out later that there were 1,497 finishers).  I guess they were almost all behind me.

At the 180 degree turnaround I counted that I was in around 21st/22nd position.  Hmmmn.

I’ve talked about the great support on the course many times in the past so won’t repeat it but it lived up to my usual expectations.  As I know quite a few people around the course I did get plenty of ‘Go David’ shouts from friends.

The first km was run in approx 3:34 (35:40 pace – a little quick!!!).  I then eased off (if you can call it that) and settled into a pace in the 3:40 range.  That was more like it.  The only person I was able to ‘draft’ off of was a chap about a foot shorter than me (this is usually the case!) from Portsmouth Joggers.  He was flying and running a great steady pace.  We ended up running almost all of the race together until he opened a slight lead in the final km.

I went through 5km in around 18:25 and although it was hard work I wasn’t at deaths door (which is a good thing in a 10k race!). At around 5.5km you head back up onto the promenade for the run back to the finish. I ran very close to the Portsmouth Jogger (let’s call him Martin – as that’s his name) and after passing the cheers of support from Felpham Sailing Club (where I’m a member) I muttered to him “I don’t know anyone else from here on in so we’ll get some peace and quiet now!” Famous last words. Well, within 30 seconds I got another cheer of support!!

From 7km to about 8.5km there’s not much on course support which is probably a good thing as you just need to get your head down and get on with it.

The final 500m is brilliant – there’s so much support on both sides of the road and although I was in a dark place, I knew it would be finished soon enough.  I had last looked at my watch at about 9km and thought I’d be close to 37 minutes (wow!) but when I crossed the line in 36:44 I couldn’t believe it.  A 79 second personal best time!

Looking at my splits (courtesy of my GPS) my km’s were… 3:34, 3:41, 3:48, 3:38, 3:44, 3:44, 3:36, 3:45, 3:36 and 3:36.  Pretty consistent.  There was a tailwind in the latter part of the race but then it was much harder to maintain that pace.

In the overall results I ended up finishing 13th overall out of 1,497 finishers.  Wow.  This was great news – especially as I was in the top 20 and raised a little extra cash towards a good cause.

The most interesting thing for me here is the data on how I ran during the last 7km (from 35 to 42km).  Apparently I overtook 455 runners during this time, and only 5 runners passed me.  As I said in my race report I kept my pace going steady until the finish, which clearly was not quite the same for just about everyone else around me.  I’ll take that as a positive thing :)

Training over the past few weeks had gone really well and I stuck to my planned training schedule really well.  The easy runs were easy, the hard runs hard and I was the best prepared I’ve ever been.  In the last couple of weeks before the race you taper down your training with the result being that you feel as fresh as a daisy on race day.  Well, for some strange reason which I cannot understand my quad muscles were aching towards the end of last week – this should not be the case!  I just didn’t understand why.  I put this to the back of my mind.  Perhaps it was just a phiggle (a phantom niggle!!).

Sharon and I were up early at 5:40am, breakfast was consumed and then we headed to Twickenham station to meet up with Chris (from parkrun) for the 7:03 train.  At Waterloo we met up with Danny, Nick and Ann and then made our way onto the super busy train (standing room only) to the start area at Blackheath.

The usual routine in the start area was followed – queue for toilet, go to toilet, go to back of queue and queue for toilet… and repeat.  At about 25 past nine we were happy down to ‘race weight’ and Sharon and I took our bags (with warm post-race clothes) and dropped them off for transport to the finish.

The toilet queues... before they got really busy!

Sharon then headed off to her starting area (the areas, or ‘pens’ are based on estimated finishing time) and I went to mine.  I was back in pen 1 again which ensured a pretty swift start.  After the starting gun went at 9:45am I crossed the line after about 50 seconds.  The electronic chip timing that you have on your shoes means that whatever time you start you’ll get accurate timing.

The first couple of miles were busy and we all started off pretty slowly but before long I was on pace and pushing steady.  The weather was fantastic – cool and sunny – and although there was a bit of a breeze with the number of people running and supporters at the roadsides there’s very little in the way of headwinds slowing you down.

After about four miles or so I could feel that my quads weren’t right which was very frustrating.  I couldn’t explain why but decided that I would continue on at my pace (I really didn’t have any other choice) and try and tick off the miles close to 7:10 miling pace.  The first few miles were paced approximately 7:12, 7:15, 7:03, 6:59, 7:01, 7:12, 7:03, 7:02… and so on.

Just before the turn to Tower Bridge. That's me in the blue in the middle. Photo: Andy Wingate

The early mile support on the course was fantastic.  Music (loved running past the South London Jazz Orchestra), bands, people screaming and shouting.  It was awesome.  Cutty Sark was amazing and the wall of sound when you get to and cross Tower Bridge at just before the half way mark.

13.1 miles was ticked off in a time of 1:33:56.  Doubling this time would give an even split finish time of 3:07:52.  That’d be lovely!  Just after this point I caught up with, said a quick hello and then edged past Mike Peace, a fellow club runner.  Mike is an absolute legend.  He’s run the London Marathon every year – and I mean every year since it started.  This is his 32nd year running the race and he is one of the Ever Present runners – a club you can leave but no longer join.  There are now 16 people remaining who have run every year since 1981.

Shortly after 14 miles you head down Narrow Street.  This is the main spot where I took photos from last year.  It was so so crowded.  I was looking out for Kirsty (and family) and spotted her in her usual place.  Great screaming/shouting and a little high-five.  Love it.

You then head into Docklands.  This is always a tough time and you have to concentrate hard to stay to your split times.   I just about managed this.  I knew I’d gained a few seconds in the first half so had some leeway if I dropped off of the pace at all during the final 10 miles or so.  It was good to see fellow clubmate Marie.  I said hello, she asked how I was doing and I said something like “I’ve been better.”

There was no such ‘wall’ to fight through today (well if there was it was in my legs really early in in the race).  I hydrated well on sports drinks and water and had energy/carbohydrate gels approximately every five miles.

After 20 miles you’re back on the main road to the finish.  There’s only 10k to run and looking at my watch I (just) had to run a 10k of around 45 minutes to get to the finish in under 3 hours 10!  Surely that was possible.

Although my legs were hurting and felt like they were on fire that was the only problem.  I wasn’t breathing at all heavily.  I said to myself that I’ll push on as best I can close or better than target pace.  Ignore the pain and run till my legs refuse to run any more.  That’s all I can do.  I wanted to get this time last year at Brighton but didn’t, and I could happily go through some pain to get the time that I wanted today.  Toughen up.

Just before 21 miles I remember hearing a great tune (DJ Fresh, Gold Dust) pumping out from one of the super sound sound systems on the course.  Upon further investigation with the help of Google Maps it was coming from Limehouse Town Hall!  Nice work there whoever was in charge.  This gave me a great boost.

When you’re feeling strong and positive then the final miles are awesome.  You overtake so many people.  You do have to weave a little around people and be aware that anyone at any point could suddenly stop and start walking (or clutching their legs with cramp!).

During the final miles I remember overtaking a chap from Thames Turbo Triathlon Club and a couple of members from another local club, The Stragglers.  I obviously said “Go Turbos” and “Go Stragglers” at I went past in support – as you never know they may say the same if/when they come past you a few minutes later!

At about 25 miles I caught up with Sean from our club.  He was’t having the best of days.  He then stepped up the pace and I ran with him for about 30 seconds or so before he dropped back again (although he eventually beat me over electronic ‘chip’ time).

The main thing I did today which I’d not done previously was ignore the distance that my GPS was reporting.  I checked mile splits based on the mile markers out on the course, and not what my watch was telling me.  If I believed my watch then I’d be off of my pace (it measured the 26.2 mile course at 26.6 miles).  This was the best thing I did before the race (other than train!).

Towards the finish there were 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m and a 385 yards to go sign (at the 26 mile point).  I pushed on all the way to the finish and with the finish line clock reading under 3 hours 10 (and knowing that it took me about 50 seconds to cross the start line) then I knew I’d got the time I wanted.

My finishing time was 3 hours 9 minutes and 9 seconds.  Result.  Job Done.  This now means I can automatically enter the race for the next two years.  My first half as I said earlier was 1:33:56.  My second half was 1:35:13.  Losing a minute and 17 seconds over the second half isn’t too bad I’d say.  I just wish my legs didn’t hurt so much from so early on.  I also now have a really nasty blister appear on one of my toes which is going to be a case of bye-bye-toenail very very soon!

My finishing position was 1,958th out of 36,672 finishers.  I was 1,009th in the male 18-39 age group.  In 2009 my position was 2,699 so I’ve moved up 741 places.  This was also a big personal best time for me over the distance by 10 minutes and 37 seconds.

A couple of people who’d been tracking me online (Kirsty and Emma) said that my 5km splits were metronomic and machine like.  Mike P. who I went past shortly after half way said the same.  My 5km splits were as follows: 22:16, 22:18:, 22:15, 22:17, 22:26, 22:49, 22:46, 22:38.  The final 2.2km to the finish was run in 9:24 which would work out to be a 21:26 5k split.  Here it is as a pretty little picture.

After finishing I ate and drank pretty much everything I had with me and in my post race ‘goodie bag.’  I then went for a bit of a walk, tracked Sharon online and spent about an hour or so cheering runners along Birdcage Walk.  I then waited for Sharon to come past and then I went and met her shortly after the finish.  We then met up with Kirsty, Heather and Danny and caught the train home.

The support on the course was amazing and I found it really encouraging.  I got plenty of shouts from clubmates and friends and the ones who I remember cheering me on were as follows - Andy P., Phil A., Andy/Emma/Suzan, Simon B./Simon, Kirsty/Orlando/Mike/Liz, Deb & Simon, Jess/JJ/Anna, Ali Y., Phil K, Marc & Julia, John L., Chris O., Nigel R., Clare K.  Thanks to all of you and sorry to anyone I missed.  I know there were a few others but I cannot remember their names – sorry!

I think I was much more ‘in the zone’ this time around compared with in 2009.  I was much more concentrated on my pace and getting the time I wanted (needed).

What’s the plan now… well, another Ironman distance triathlon in a few weeks time (time to get back on the bike again) and then perhaps a quieter autumn…

I slept reasonably well, woke at 4:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep but that was OK, to be expected. We had breakfast (my usual pre-long-run rice pudding), kit on, off to the station. We had planned on taking the 7:03 from Twickenham, which wasn’t showing on the boards. Eeep! Transpired all was well, it was running. We waited for the train, writing 5, 10, 15, and 20 mile splits on our arms.

Scrawling 5 mile splits up my arm...

The train arrived, on we hopped after meeting up with Chris and off to Waterloo. I think we look more relaxed than we felt!

Sharon and Crispy looking ready to go

Met Danny at Waterloo and then off on the train to Blackheath, crazy! Trains were so full, just unbelievable numbers of people. We walked up to the start area, the sun was shining, nice and cool. All good. We did the usual, “queue for the loo, come out, then practically get back in the queue again” thing and before we knew it we were dropping off our bags and going to the start.

David told me that at every mile marker (generally a big arch of balloons) he was going to press his lap button and leave me a kiss, so that when I pressed my lap button, I could collect it :) I only missed one kiss which was mile 21, I never saw a marker for it. So not bad.

So, back to the start. I lined up in my pen and it only took about 20 minutes to get over the line. The first mile was nice, fairly clear and easy to run, Ann went past me looking great. I kept calm and just pootled along. The second mile was funny because of the speed humps and the marshalls were there with signs, shouting, “hump”! Of course, there’s always one clever so and so who shouts, “Not right now, I’m busy”…haha. Ahem. I knew that the Runner’s World 11 minutes per mile pacer would be close by and sure enough, the group was there. They were flying along though! Goodness, it felt fast.

I had heard the best advice on Marathon Talk, where Tom advised that instead of auto-lap on your Garmin, you turn that off and press the lap button yourself when you go under the mile markers. Seriously, I was so glad I did that, thank you Tom. I thought that most of my miles were spot on for 11 minute miling, but when I looked at my Garmin it seemed like about 6 miles were too fast, even though I thought they weren’t. Hmmmm. I will analyse it more later. When I can bare to look at the data, right now I cannot.

So I carried on, really not believing I was doing the London Marathon. I was very pleased to see Cutty Sark, as it’s been a while since she has been uncovered – and in the sunshine was very beautiful. I had a good look as I ran by, with her on my left. I can’t really remember the next few miles, clearly uneventful apart from the runner who nearly tripped me dashing behind me to a water station and a lot of weaving from people wearing MP3 players. Ggggrrrr. I still don’t understand why you would choose to do the London Marathon wearing headphones, not only is it dangerous but don’t you want to hear the crowds, DJ’s and bands?

So, there I was, tripping along…when my head/brain/legs decided that they didn’t like it anymore. I think it was somewhere in the 11th mile that I first walked. I walked with purpose, head up but couldn’t understand why I was needing to walk. I really couldn’t. My head couldn’t understand it. I should have been more than able to go that pace, for much much longer than that. It’s very disconcerting.

The next bit I remember is coming around a corner, and seeing Tower Bridge. I was walking (again!), so I made one of me deals which was to get to such and such a place and then run, so I did. I saw Ann again at this point and we went along together for a little bit. Then I felt OK for a little while, I knew that soon I would be through Halfway (I went through Half on target) and then I was whizzing along (well, it felt like it to me!) into Narrow Street, where I knew Kirsty, Liz, Mike and Orlando would be. I saw them from quite a way off and gave a big wave. They were shouting like mad and it was so wonderful to see them. I had said to Kirsty before that if I was going well, I wouldn’t stop, I would just squeeze her hand – and that’s what I did.

I can’t remember much about the next couple of miles but somewhere at close to 17 miles, I felt hideous. I think it was in my head. Suddenly I was upon “Mudchute” – which is the Pirate support point. I walked by, calling over that I didn’t like it. I hadn’t planned on stopping but decided that in actual fact I wanted to. I saw Holly and told her I hated it. Then I walked back up to Meldy and Ditchy, saw Jj and Happychap. Sweaty, salty hugs and me saying, “I hate it, I really hate it, I’m not doing it again”. There waiting was Seren, who ran along with me for a while until I banished her – when I am running badly, I am better to be on my own so I don’t bring others down with my negativity. Bless her, we had a chat for about a mile I think and then off she went. Actually we went a bit back and forth, “Don’t I know you?” she said to me :) In this mile I heard Deb and Simon from Ranelagh cheering for me and I called to them that it wasn’t good, I didn’t like it. Next I knew Simon was alongside me, telling me to be strong. A little further up the road and Nicola and Stuart were on the left, cheering and shouting, waving the Pirate brolly (bet they were glad that they had that later on when the rain started!).

So, there was me in the depths of despair for nearly 3 miles. It was very odd, really a strange experience. I was making all these mental calculations, all the “well, I’m not going to go sub-5 now, what will I do?”. I decided that I would walk for 2 minutes at the start of each mile and then go from there. It took me a couple of miles to decide that! Clearly there was poor blood supply to my brain at this point ;)  Somewhere in Canary Wharf (I think) I saw Kay, who had come up to cheer on. I was bimbling along and suddenly heard my name being shouted. I looked to my left and saw Kay, I went over and gave her one of those salty, sweaty hugs and told her it was so hard. She was very positive and sent me on my way. It was so lovely to see her and spurred me on again.

We came around a little corner at about 20 miles and I could see the Gherkin! Hurrah! I suddenly felt a bit better. Odd. Somewhere in this mile I took a quarter of orange from a little person by the road (contraband!), which was the nicest thing I have ever put in my mouth. I chewed all the lovely cold juice out of it and then spat out the flesh (didn’t want to eat it in case of tummy problems). So there I was, going along, having a little walk when i realised it was Fetch Point coming up – I hadn’t remembered that Kirsty, Orlando and Mike would be there, but they were. Yet another cuddle, yet more saying how hard it was. Hmm, recurring theme for the day ;)

After the 22 mile point (which I was happy to see as I hadn’t seen a 21 mile marker), I realised it felt mostly down hill. Funnily enough, I have just watched the marathon coverage and seen a lorry with a band playing on it. I remember the woman with the microphone saying, “Only a couple of miles to go”…and me yelling back, “4 miles, 4!! A couple.” Pfft! I got to mile 23 and thought, “It’s only a parkrun to go, anyone can do a parkrun”. This cheered me up for a while. I calculated that I could still get under 5:20 if I could keep going and minimise the walking. Mile 24 was quite nice, running through the Blackfriars Underpass. It was cool, dark, away from the blazing sunshine, quiet and I was overtaking loads of people as they were all strolling through! David reckons it’s because there are no crowds to see you walking. I really liked that Underpass. I walked up the exit to the tunnel, taking on board some more lucozade with my final gel and set off again.

It wasn’t long before I saw the big Stragglers flag a little bit before 25 miles. I ran by and saw the lovely Ray cheering me on, I gave them a big smile and carried on. I knew that it would be over soon. I still could get under 5:20.

With just over a mile to go I saw the Houses of Parliament, which was cool and the sky was really getting dark. We rounded the corner and I heard a shout of, “Go Ranelagh”. I looked to my right and it was David! I was delighted to see him, so delighted.

Sharon running up Birdcage Walk, not responding to her name, only "Go Ranelagh"!

In the distance I could see a sign, “800m to go”. Only 800m? Two laps of the track? Brilliant! It went on for fecking ages though, seemed to take forever to 600m to go. I was running along, overtaking people all the way, which was good (not for them I realise). I rounded a corner and there it was. The, “385 yards to go” gantry. I couldn’t believe it. I was going to do it. I glanced at my watch and saw I would safely finish under 5:20. I was running towards the finish line and as I saw the photographers, I was crying, so I will no doubt have ruined all my finish photos. As soon as I crossed the line, Darren (who was volunteering on the finish) came over and gave me a hug. Guess what, I told him I didn’t like it ;)

I walked to get the chip taken off my shoe, then got my medal. The thing that really had spurred me on. The lady put the medal around my neck and I stood and looked at it and burst into tears. She said well done and looked like it had got a bit smoky ;) Walked over to have my photo taken, then to get my baggage and then headed down to the exit, I heard and saw David through the little fence. It was like talking to him through a prison barrier! I was sobbing and telling him I hated it and then I said, “Please tell me you got your time, we can’t both have fucked up”…he told me he had. Hoooray! Then I cried some more at the happy news.

Plodded along to the designated meeting point of letter R. Saw Kirsty and Orlando, had a massive cuddle and started to cry again. Then David was on his way and we saw Heather, more tears (no wonder I was dehydrated!) and in the pouring down rain we decided to walk to Waterloo. It was definitely a good idea – and I am sure it has helped my legs today. Met up with Danny and headed home, regaling one another with tales of the day.

Sharon with her medal on the way home

I knew it would be tough. I have enough involvement in my life with marathon runners and Ironmen to know it’s tough. It was hard in a different place though than where I expected. Everyone talks about the marathon being two races, one of 20 miles and one of 6.2 miles. Except it wasn’t like that for me. Mine was a race of three parts. Start-17 miles, pretty happy overall, still on target time. Miles 17-19, really, honestly, horrendous. Mile 20 onwards, overall much better again, especially from mile 23. I think once I had realised my sub-5 target was gone, I lost heart. I had to really talk to myself to get going again but I did it. I think my negativity dragged me down, if I ever do another marathon, that’s something I really need to work on. I have a tendency in life to look on the “down” side of things, which didn’t help me yesterday. I definitely need more self-belief. However, I then re-assessed and worked out the best time I could get from the day and worked for that instead, so that’s a positive too.

Yesterday, my overwhelming feeling was that I had let everyone, including myself, down. I couldn’t stop crying about it. I still feel like that, I think it’s going to take a long time for that feeling to go. I am so disappointed. I know what I am capable of and something (my head?) took it away from me. Right now, I cannot ever imagine wanting to run a marathon again. I also know that feeling changes for many people, so I shall never say never.

So, here I am, Monday morning, reading my lovely messages and texts again. My legs are feeling OK. I can walk downstairs pretty normally. I am still gutted – and I am trying very hard not to be. I am trying to look on the positives of the day and I am starting to feel a bit proud of what I have done, so that’s a good feeling. I finished a marathon, not many people do that, I have an awesome medal, a cool Finishers tee and I raised lots of money for Macmillan – thank you so much for all your donations, I’m sure it’s part of the reason I kept going. I also loved the training, I liked it much more than the race itself! Even better for me is that David got his Good for Age (GFA) time, so he is guaranteed entry for the next two years without having to go into the ballot. I am so proud of how he trained and then executed his race plan. Amazing :)

There are so many people who have helped me get to the start and through the day. I have received so much love and support from everyone, so many amazing messages and emails and cards. I am very lucky. I am bound to forget someone but I want to try and list as many as I can, more so that I can remember. So bare with me. You can look away from the Oscar style speech now if you would like.

To David, who has been strong for me all these weeks, despite everything going on. He essentially was “forgotten” as the London Marathon became all about me. I love him so and I am so proud of him. He’s fabulous. I think he’s a keeper ;)

To Kirsty, who was such a wonderful supporter on the course and has been so supportive through my training. It’s been so lovely being able to run with you again, everyone needs a running buddy – and for a long time, we couldn’t run together. Now we can :) Only one Colin cake has disappeared so far…!

To Ann and Ray, who have helped me more than they will ever know. I carried Ray with me in my head, “Sharon, slow down!”. Sadly I took his advice a little too literally! Ann, you will be back, I know it. I’ll train with you but I might not actually stand on that start line again!

To Heather, who seemed to have faith that I would do it when I never really thought I could. You are such an awesome marathoner and so very inspiring.

To Tom & Helen, who have been incredibly supportive of my road back into running. From the Marathon Talk, “Jantastic” in 2011, which set me back on my running path, to all the advice they have given me. Their friendship, love and support has been invaluable. H, I am so proud of how you ran yesterday a mere 6 months after giving birth! So wonderful and so strong.

To the Twitterati and the Wingers, who have put up with my selfishness and moaning and reporting back of splits after every run! You have given me such great advice, as a result of your wealth of experience. Thank goodness I have you all. Special thanks to the beautiful Waffy, who was the only person besides David who knew the extent of my foot problem after the Cranleigh 21 and who kept me calm when it was happening. Her foot held up yesterday, too :)

To Paul, who I personally blame for me doing this. If it hadn’t been for parkrun, I would never even be able to run a mile, let alone a marathon!

To Liz, Mike, Orlando, Simon, Deborah, Nicola, Stuart, Kay, Darren, the Ranelagh Harriers and the Stragglers, thank you for your shouts yesterday. It’s amazing that people take the time out of their lives to come and cheer runners on. It means so much.

After a bath, Skins on, looking at toenails and chaffage (good for me on both counts, not so much for David on the toenail front!), we went to the annual Ranelagh post-marathon get together last night, for a natter and a nosh and a Crabbies or two ;) Shiny medals ahoy!

David & Sharon with their shiny medals

Oh, for the mini-stats. I finished 28828th (36672 finished) in 5:16:55. I was position 1551 in my age group, with an age graded performance of 45.6%.

So that’s it. My London Marathon. Done and dusted. Phew. If I was to describe it on one word, I would say, “Overwhelming”!

Bring. It. On.