Not much happened while I was ill - it's as if life shut down for three months. I stopped doing any sort of exercise and my daily challenges which got mentioned so much in my posts this year, they also fizzled out. But I'd really felt the benefits of both regular (daily) exercise and my daily good habits so I was determined to get back into a good routine again. It also plays a big part in me getting better and staying well so fairly essential. Anyway back in October, a friend posted on Facebook saying that she had signed up to do the Brighton Half Marathon in February 2012. As soon as I saw that, I thought "I want to do that too!" - even though I hadn't run for over 4 months and it would be like starting from scratch again. I remembered that the charity that organised the HEROES RUN in Brighton (the 10K race I'd done with a couple of friends in May) had places for the Brighton Half so the next morning I called Pass It On Africa and spoke to co-founder and Charity Manager James Macdonald. Luckily they had some places left so I put my name down and then had quite a long chat with James, saying how much I'd enjoyed the HEROES RUN and how I'd been really impressed with the work they were doing to raise funds to build schools in Africa. One of the things I'd really liked was that they kept admin costs down to a minimum so 70-80% of fundraising goes directly to the projects.
I mentioned some of my previous International Relations experience and the conversation ended with me offering to email my CV over to see if there was any way I could help the charity on a pro-bono basis. It's something I'd been wanting to do for a while and it felt as if the right charity appeared just when I was ready to take something on. I'm now an integral part of the team, working closely with the Chairman and the two co-founders and getting ready to bring the HEROES RUN to London for the first time ever! It'll be taking place on Sunday 1st April 2012 on Clapham Common and if you fancy donning a Super Hero outfit and running 5 or 10K for an incredible cause, click here to sign up.
Anyway, back to the title of this post - the Brighton Half Marathon - only 51 days to go... I know that because I set up my Virgin Giving page for sponsorship and the page kindly told me I had 51 days until the big event. Luckily I have been training fairly seriously for the last 4-5 weeks, otherwise knowing I had 51 days only might have put the fear into me. I wanted to start blogging again, in a somewhat regular fashion, and I thought doing a weekly Half Marathon diary might help. I have to say I've impressed myself with the discipline I've shown towards training (I even ran on Christmas Day in Cambridge) - I'm now running 4 times a week and adverse weather conditions have yet to deter me! The only reason I'm impressed is that discipline like this has never been one of my strong points. However I'm determined to do the race well and I know the only way I can do that is to train properly so I KNOW I can run the distance before I do the race. While I'm happy to wing some things, this is not one of those. Plus working so closely with the charity now adds an extra bit of grit and resolve to my running.
I also have no idea how I'll find the extra distance. I know that I can run 10k but anything beyond that and it's all new to me. I have no idea how my body will react or how I'll feel but that's one of the main reasons that I want to capture it here, as close to real time as possible. I like doing something where I have no idea how it's going to be and charting my progress as I go along. I've found running longer distances easier - once I get beyond 4 miles, it feels so much easier and I feel like I can float on for ages. I'm keeping a close watch on my feet - I have problematic feet and have had since I was a child. The only time I've stayed in hospital was for an operation on both my feet when I was 11. I have this weird bone that grows out of the side of both feet (on the inside), just above where your arches are. As a child it used to cause me untold pain and made both walking and running difficult. The operation was meant to get rid of the extra bone but over the years, its grown back again. Often when I'm running, I'll get a twinge on my left foot but it's never been so bad that it's stopped me so fingers crossed that's the extent of my foot concerns.
In the last two weeks, my long runs have covered 6 miles, 7 miles and 8 miles today. Well those are the distances I'm supposed to have run - I've got a little monitor that checks the distance, just need to set it up properly and I'm good to go. The 6-mile run was great. I was meant to do it on a Friday and whenever I looked out of the window, it was either pouring with rain, hail or snow. I left the run til the next morning and stepped out in sunshine and blue skies. Before I started training properly, I was a bit concerned as to how I'd find running in the winter but the weather has generally been glorious and I've found myself running on cold crisp days with a bright blue sky and sunshine - my ideal kind of running weather. Anyway I set off on my run and half-way through, the heavens opened and the rain came. I kept running. I knew that if I stopped now, that would set the precedent for the future - little bit of bad weather and I call it a day. I ran through the rain and just kept going and then the rain stopped. I was so elated by my lack of wussy behaviour I ran an extra mile!
The 7-mile run the following week was not quite so successful. In fact it's probably been my most difficult run yet. I'd been out the night before and eaten a large 3-course meal which really didn't help matters. I think I was also quite dehydrated. I was too hot very quickly and by the time I got to the Rye where I normally run, I was peeling off extra layers and my scarf. As I haven't got myself a suitable running bag yet, all these layers were tied around my waist and it was only a matter of time before they were falling off and tripping me up. In the end, I hid them all on a park bench and kept my fingers crossed that my little bundle of clothes wouldn't be discovered by anyone who might want them. I'm not sure who would want sweaty running clothes though... The run was further disturbed by needing the toilet - and having to wait until the local cafe opened so I could sneak in. Actually they're very good and always let me use the facilities when it's obvious I'm not a customer. I found the last bit of the running hard too. My hamstrings were starting to feel really tight and ache and that's never happened before - a sign that I need to get back into my ashtanga yoga practice to help with stretching - and stop my calves getting too bulky! They have expanded a little already...
Today's 8-mile run was good. Perfect running weather conditions for me and only had to stop once - again for a toilet break (need to sort that out). One thing I did find though, as this is the week between Christmas and New Year, I have switched off from work completely. Normally when I run, I've got work-related stuff going through my head which helps to distract me from the running, as does the music. My head was very empty of work stuff (so happy I can do that) which should have made for a Zen-like running experience - instead I was too aware of the fact that my right foot was hurting slightly and I had a little blister by the time I got home. Apart from that, all good!
Music I've been running to - I've always been a massive music lover and I think the tunes I listen to between now and the Half Marathon are going to be key, particularly when I do my long runs and increase the distance each week. When I was training for the 10k, the last couple of long runs I did (5 miles and 6 miles), I played Sounds of Blackness "Optimistic" over and over again - it kept me going! Michael Jackson's "Thriller" has been great on some of the shorter runs, anything between 3 - 5 miles. Norman Jay's "Good Times Volume 1 (side 2)" has also played a major part in keeping me going. And today I did my 8 mile run to Arcade Fire, starting with "Funeral" and then on to "Neon Bible". I need to think carefully about music selection and put together a 2-hour playlist (or choose some of my favourite songs and have them on repeat 3 or 4 times - I like to hear them over and over again!) - this is what will help to get me there!
