JUST 8 WEEKS TO GO!

Just 8  weeks to go, can’t wait now, and a lot has happened since my last blog

 

The marathon training plan is still relentless, mid way through week 12 of 20, with lots of hills sessions, especially Kenyan Hills powering up and down rather than doing hill sprints, which have proved really good for building my base strength and endurance.  The fast running, threshold stuff has been OK but I prefer the hills as something I can actually “attack” and to cover this off by mixing road sessions  with cross country races, for my club in the Southern XC League (7 rounds of circa 5 mile XC races which seemed to have got hillier and harder with each round!).  In the mix are Pilates and swimming too, and I will ramp up the cycling from now on too.

 

The expected long-easy runs have not featured as much yet, often due to XC races, and perhaps not enough as there has been a 12, a 14 and had to abandon a 16 at 13 miles having been taken ill.  Couldn’t work out what was going on as I got colder and colder and slower and slower as my run buddy, Amy, got more worried and convinced me (“...can’t stop yet, need to do the miles...” and other such helpful comments from me!!!) to stop early calling my partner, Debs, out to collect us.  Nearly passed out on the run, in the car and actually did go for 1.5 mins at home...unhelpfully, in the bath!  Turned out to be gastric flu and I was actually soooooo pleased to realise I was ILL!  Not a problem with nutrition, hydration, sleep or over training.  A few days off work, and an actual rest from any training seemed to do me the world of good and I’m now nicely back on training plan without trying to “catch up”.

 

The “lack of long miles” meant that I was more than nervous in the run up to the Bramley 10-20 where I was doing the 20 mile race, having never run beyond 16 miles before.  More than nervous means, for the first time in 2 years of running, I was just plain scared.  Would I survive to finish? Could I do the distance?  What pace can I do?  Will I get preparation, nutrition and hydration right?  So, a tough prep but once we got going I absolutely loved it, treating each mile as its own little race, in lovely weather, chatting to some great people and being oblivious to the overall time and daunting distance.  It was great, I did it, and did it just 6 secs a mile average outside my (current) marathon target pace.  Sorry Ben (at Full Potential), I didn’t go the first 12 miles as an “easy” but did all 20 at marathon pace!!  It worked, I learnt a lot (like I really don’t like a well known brands’ elite jellybeans) and it has given me massive confidence and renewed enthusiasm for the challenge.

 

Why renewed?  Well, to be able to do what I am planning to do with running in 2015 I have had to change things in my life as there just isn't time for everything with a very demanding job: 

-          1.  Was to stop racing karts with Club100 as my feet and legs now have too much invested in them to risk a silly crash. 

-          2. Was I went “dry” in January and, by and large, that continued into Feb with just a couple of drinks in the month.  April will certainly be “dry” 

-          3.  The big and emotional change....two years ago my partner and I started a running club which has grown to nearly 80 runners registered with England Athletics and is mostly made up of great, positive and friendly people.  In any group like this you get the detractors, “takers”, under-miners, the “loud voices” who’s own opinion has to be seen to be more important than the majority.  I’ve held it all together as Chairman, Secretary, Membership Sec and kit-man, with 1-2 others,  for so long that it just became a massive boulder that I was pushing up an increasingly steep hill.  Lots of people had been saying for ages that I should step away from all the negativity and concentrate on training, racing and my “awesome year”.  Hard to do when so much time, effort, hard work and emotion have gone in but I’ve done it.  Hopefully, the club will move on to a stronger place but such clubs rely on volunteers and the “Jury is out” on whether people will really stand up to their promises.  Something I saw today rings true about my thoughts on some people who have made my life so difficult... “Never apologise for trusting your intuition – your brain can play tricks, your heart can blind, but your gut is always right”.  Lightweights will always be lightweights!

 

Whilst, in many ways, this has been a positive step it drained me emotionally and running just had many negative feelings attached it.  If it hadn’t been for the London Marathon and raising money to help Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research fight and beat blood cancers then I would have stopped running altogether!  It has take an few, fantastic, trusted people and some enjoyable runs like cross country races and my training plan to get me mentally back on track.  Totally out of character, in running terms it is now all about me and doing the best job round the streets of London, and raising that money.

 

So, a bit of a roller-coaster,  but now really positive.  I know what I enjoy with running, I know what I want to achieve for others and me and I know who I can trust and who gives me great support...like Debs, Amy, Libby, some great guys from the Club, Full Potential, L&LR and my brill sports physio, Vicki, from The Body Reset Clinic.

 

Just eight weeks to go to VMLM2015, and I absolutely can’t wait!

Link to my fundraising page...
 

SURVIVING SEVEN

After week 6 comes week 7...astonishing, I know, but another step through the relentless forward progress through the 20 week training plan up to the London Marathon.

Week 6 ended with a very cold, damp 14 mile long run which was generally ok but resulted in me having a head cold which moved to my chest, low lung capacity and a cough.  Monday's are a running rest day, often the only one each week, with Pilates in the evening.  Last Monday I was facing another hefty week of work and training and not feeling great for either!

Tuesday is Sherfield Club Runners' club night where we do effort sessions and last week featured our great intervals session of a variety of effort and time mixes that pushes everyone's individual boundaries.  The double problems were said cold and the sub zero temperature that meant, even with a good warm up and constant movement, legs were getting stiff, sore and calf muscles were calling enough across many people.  A night for "throttling back" and getting the most out of the session, being positive, enjoying it and moving on.

This became the shape of the week with a work induced rest day on Weds, double training Thursday ( Kenyan hills at 0615 then a 4 mile club run at 1930...followed by SPR Committee mtg.), a recovery run them swimming ( off pace, no puff in lungs still) on Friday, a decent fastish ParkRun on tricky, icy paths after a warm up pre-run Saturday, then a return to cross country on Sunday.

The Southern Cross Country League continues to bring great events, great fun and a whole load of muddy challenges.  Yesterday was the turn of Stubbington Green Runners to host their event at Manor Farm country park on the banks and slopes above the Hamble.  A lovely setting and a very challenging run with loads of sticky mud and a particularly tricky bit downhill down a country lane that suddenly switched from Tarmac to very deep mud that you hit a full on road race speed...with the next few hundred metres looking like something out of It's A Knockout as everyone slipped, skidded and some fell negotiating this stretch.  A great event, great fun even with a killer last hill back up to the finish...and a good result from the SPR teams considering we were running at the minimum team sizes of 3 women and 5 men so everyone was a scoring runner.  Brill cakes after again!  As we all know, SXCL and cross country really is all about the cakes!

So, the week done and survived.  Still very positive and motivated and driving on, so rather than being a bit downcast by distances or effort or pace or weekly mile count being "off target" I'm still happy that every session done counts and builds towards THE DAY on 26th April.  M

6 DOWN, 14 TO GO!!

The end of 2014 was tough...I lost my Dad in November and, whilst 94 is a fantastic age and he “kept all his marbles” until the end, it is still a big loss to lose my Dad, my friend, my “sounding board” and my inspiration in one go. A massive hole in my life that will never be filled, but life really is about the next generations and loved ones around me. That’s where my drive comes from now. The early weeks of London Marathon training were more “mechanical” than inspiring and they went in a unmotivated flow, ticking off session after session. Christmas and New Year changed all that. For once, I properly downed-tools from work, rested, re-charged and re-set my life. Proper rest, improving speed and endurance in training, the benefits of pilates and lots of great times with family and friends. I somewhat blew the concept of rest days (Ben at Full Potential please ignore that bit!) as my motivation kicked in and I found myself saying, between two parkruns on New Year’s Day “...funny, the more I go through my training the easier running is getting”! Doh!

But that is the difference, I am now deep (200 miles with 100 miles in 2015) into the 20 week pre London plan, seeing and feeling benefits although not (yet) shifting the weight I want to (basic physics...want to carry less weight, and each 1lb off equates to 10lbs less pressure on my knees) and have not touched a drop of alcohol since N Y Eve...even having a non-alchi birthday! I can really say now, having completed 6 weeks of the training plan that I am utterly enjoying it (yes, I am bonkers!) even its relentless nature. As some of you will know, this path to VMLM2015 is a step on to ultras so my plan differs from many a marathon plan that would have an easy day on Saturday ahead of a Sunday long run. Thanks to Ben (from FP) my plan is a very personal fit to my needs and what work demands of me too...unlike many, with my client work being on various sites, I am not able to do commute runs so I have adapted.

What’s my week like? Mondays are the oddest thing called “rest days” with [drum roll] NO running but with pilates...I am loving pilates but have no style – others have graceful and controlled movements, whereas mine are somewhere between a one-armed paper hanger and someone with their laces tied together! Core work and conditioning rule, and pilates along with my trusty foam roller and a fantastic new knobbly massage roller stick are working. My sports physio, the wonderful Vicki at Body Reset Clinic, is really pleased at the way some old, persistent muscle knots are getting under control. I really am trying to look after my legs and feet with all the investment going into training which means that I have stopped racing karts, which is quite a shock, and do get really annoyed at silly trips...caught a kerb and stumbled out of control into a parked car last week, luckily without any real injury apart from a sore foot for a day. The rest of the week has...3 effort sessions (Kenyan Hills, Intervals, fartleks, threshold, sprint hills, etc.), 2 recovery runs, parkrun and a Sunday long run or a Sunday cross country event. Oh, swimming and starting cycling again drop in there somewhere.

Gotta say, I love mud-plugging on cross countries and whilst the distances are “only” 5-6 miles there is an all-round training hit of threshold + hills + endurance in one wet hit, yes!! The year started with the Cliveden 6m XC taking 3.5 mins off my 2014 time around the beautiful grounds of the house, complete with steep uphill zigzag and twice up the 175 steps of yew tree walk!!!!!!

Fellow club members from Sherfield Park Runners, have been great. Practical advice, great club nights and also joining me in various of my effort sessions rather than me always banging out effort sessions on my own. Many are in their own training for half and full marathons so it works for all and I really, really appreciate the company and enthusiasm.

Events wise things are getting serious. The Bramley 20 (cunningly that is a very local, 20 mile race) is looming very near, as in Sunday 15th Feb! By then I really need to have settled on what “marathon pace” means for me as I am still in a range. 22nd March brings the Reading Half Marathon where Amy, my running buddy (from SPR), and I are targeting a 3 mins + reduction in PBs and getting a sub 1:45 HM. Yeah, not remarkable for many but another step forward for me where my first HM, March 2013, was 2:15+, so all good. April sees the London Marathon itself which I am already massively excited about, including the support that I know will be there from Debs and others, Endure24 in June as a solo and the Berlin Marathon in September. Now the latest piece of the jigsaw has landed...in August, at the Salisbury 5-4-3-2-1 the very popular 50km trail ultra round Salisbury with 5 rivers, 4 hills, 3 country estates, 2 castles and a cathedral!

Why do all this? On one hand I love a challenge and am, in many ways, (Ultra)bonkers! But there is a good cause under all this...raising money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. Please have a look at this page, my drivers and what I’m trying to do:

 http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=MarkBurrell996&utm_source=SwitchToDesktop&utm_medium=web&utm_content=Footer&utm_campaign=VMGMobile&stop_mobi=yes

I have a stinking cold....do I care?  No!  Staying cheerful and positive and will use a little rest for all the development to sink in.  Cheers for now, Ultra Bonkers Mark

PUTTING THE ULTRA BACK IN BONKERS

It's been far too long since I sat down to Blog, but now is the time to put that right.
 
It has been a long and, at times, hard year of running and competing with lots of lessons learned and some real development in both running pace and style as I developed better technique.  Still lots to do.  This year included two run streaks of 179 and 107 days, split by a bout of illness.  The second streak was ended as focus turned to the challenges of 2015. All was going well until I lost my Dad.
 
After 94 years of a great life  doing so much to help others, being a Husband, Father, Grandfather and Great Grandfather, a production director in a car parts business and 5 year PoW veteran of Stalag 8B from 1940-1945 who escaped three times and eventually fought with the Czech partisans he died in early November.  Dad never wanted to go into a home and it is fantastic that he stayed in his own bungalow until the day he died, organising things and living life his way.  A way I thoroughly approved of.  The honour of being with him alone in his hospital room overnight for his final night will stay with me forever and was a small thing, last thing I could do for him.  George, Dad, you have and always will be my inspiration in life...very much always will be.  RIP GEB.
 
And, oh, will I need inspiration next year?!  People keep saying things like "you're going to have a big year next year" and I think they are right.  A big year where I will absolutely need every bit of inspiration from Dad, and every bit of support from Debs.
 
You may recall that although I didn't get a ballot place in the London Marathon 2015 I am fortunate enough, to have one of Sherfield Park Runner's two UK Athletics club place.  So, I am in and preparing now, a week into the 20 week training plan.  My brother, Chris, died of Leukaemia at the age of 51 and, in memory of Chris, I asked the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Trust if I could fund raise and run for them.  They said yes, and like another 174 runners I will be fund raising for the L&LRT, and getting their full aid and support up to, during and after the VMLM2015 with great support on the day.  Through them comes coaching/ training support from Ben and Richard at Full Potential, and we had had really practical on-track and in classroom training day yesterday.  What has to be done over the next 19 weeks is clear...and now has to be delivered with many hard miles of effort in the cold of the coming Winter months.  I can't wait!  I seriously and positively can't wait!
 
But this is just the first of many big running events in 2015.  On a whim, and thanks to the light night power of Facebook, I signed up for the public ballot for the Berlin Marathon in September, safe in the knowledge that I wouldn't get in.  Oh wait!  I have an e-mail in German, scroll down to the translation, and "Congratulations You Are In!  You must now start preparing for the 2015 BMW Berlin Marathon"!  Wow!!!  Hmmm, I hadn't really said to Debs that I'd entered as she'd just think I was/ am bonkers, expecting to not be successful, but here I am now with a place, hotel booked and all set for a marathon expo at the very famous Templehof airfield, and a marathon threading its way through both (as was) West and East Berlin.  It is flat too so, yeah, time to pick the pace up!  Oh, and she does think I am bonkers!
 
And in between?  June sees my first Ultra, running Endure 24 (24 hours around a 5 mile, woodland, trail lap) as a solo runner, rather than the team of eight that I ran for this year.  Plus, a new challenge...a self designed/ planned approx. 63-65 one day Ultra leaving our development north of Basingstoke ("B") and running with the equally bonkers Ben Eason (SPR's Training Sec and all round awesome bloke / runner) across Hampshire to finish on Bournemouth ("B") pier followed by fish and chips at Harry Ramsden's.  Hmm, there are no official aid stations so the plan is to map out big supermarkets and make use of all their facilities. This is The B2B, and is scheduled for early August...and, with the holiday traffic, we'll probably get to Bournemouth faster than the holiday makers.
 
Can't wait for all that next year but first comes Xmas and the New Year with family, friends and my cadre of running shoes, on road training and off road doing trails and cross country races for SPR (Southern Cross Country League) and others like today's Muddy Welly 10k Trail and January's Cliveden 6m XC with its infamous set of steps.  Bring it all on!  UltraBonkers to the max! :)

LOOKING BACK TO GO FORWARD

Today marked the end of my 2014 racing season of 22 events at the Fleet 10k with Debs and 4 other Sherfield Park Runners club members.  A nice, undulating two-lap triangular course (used for one lap as part of the Fleet half marathon each March) that had great PB potential...except that I have been unable to shift a sore throat and head cold for a week and a half.  Debs was VERY keen that I didn't run today, but I did with the promise that "I won't run too fast".  In the end I managed a reasonable, for me, half marathon style pace and landed a 51:15 at an average of 8:16 mins per mile. 

Not shabby, but not what I wanted....a PB better than my 49:07.  Wasn't to be, but I did it, enjoyed it and got another "gong".  A good day, especially with Debs getting her mojo back and really enjoying parkrun and this 10k this weekend.

Which gets me thinking.  What was I trying to do this year in my targets?  Actually, when I step back I am pleased with the way the year has gone.  In psychometric tests with work over the years a consistent trait is that I achieve with drive, bloody mindedness and a belief that I will achieve.  The problem, as such, is I don't celebrate success when it comes because I expect to do well.  So, please excuse me stopping for a second and being chuffed at how my three targets have turned out...5 mile, 10k and Half Marathon:

5 mile: To get below 40 mins. Down to 39:24 by 3:10 from 42:34
10k: To get below 50 mins. Down by 2:20 to 49:07 by way of an interesting 50:00!
Half-M: To get below 1:50:00.  Down by 3:20 to 1:48:31 at Edinburgh HM

So, I am happy at 2014 in an overall mix of pace, style, learnings and results.

So, what of 2015?  A mix of evolution and new challenges awaits after a winter of club cross country events and much training laying down my base.  I am still running every day and stand at 107 on this streak having got to 179 on my previous one in June before illness knock running on the head for 2-3 very frustrating weeks.  My new training plan has a weird concept of "rest days" as I build towards my big double act of running firsts:
April: Virgin Money London Marathon 2015 (my first marathon)
June: Endure 24 SOLO (my first ultra over 24 hours of 5 mile trail loops)

On the way there will still be 5k, 10k and Half Marathon races but with more specific selection to get quality over quantity...am already in 4 HMs at Reading, Edinburgh, Bristol and Basingstoke.  Note:  I ALWAYS enter races early so I don't miss out, unlike some local runners who wait till the last minute and find races closed!  Targets are still developing for the new challenges but a couple that I am clear about already are 10k at sub 45 and Half-M at sub 1:45

All this training and the races and ambitions mean changes and sacrifices in 2015 to give time for the right amount of quality training, especially with the mileages I plan to do.  Since I was 15 I have almost continuously raced either radio controlled model cars or karts, racing karts with a great organisation called Club100 for the last 11 years.  I have hardly raced this year and really can't see me doing much at all next year which has come a quite a shock but what I must do to dedicate myself on my 2015 plans.

A time of change.  Really pleased with this year's progress now to lay down the hard yards/ miles to be ready for 2015's challenges.  Meanwhile, bring on the mud of cross country races!  ttfn, mark

NEWBIES ON THE BLOCK!

Yesterday saw the first round of the Southern Cross Country League which has 22 running clubs and we, Sherfield Park Runners, joined this year to compete in 7 multi-terrain, 5 mile events held between October and March on a mixture of woodland trails and parkland sometimes with a little but more often a lot of mud!  The league has gone from strength to strength and now has approximately 400 runners at each event, with friendly competition and making sure every participant enjoys it.  

Races are held on a Sunday morning starting at 11.00am. Men and women compete in the same race with the first 5 men and first 3 women from each club scoring points. All abilities take part and the non-scorers from each club have a big effect on the results by getting ahead of scorers from other clubs, so every runner counts.

 

A, err THE, really good feature of the Southern Cross Country League is that the host club provides refreshments (read this as mainly cakes) at minimal cost after each event while the results are prepared and presented. Most venues are very family friendly, so whilst you run, friends and family can be enjoying themselves elsewhere in the parks before they cheer you in at the finish and then share the cakes with you.

So, with a slick and neatly created Women's team and a Men's team that was, eventually, strong but in the days leading up looked like a pub team with Dave Dee, Dozey, Beaky, Mick and Titch in the frame we set off.  Boy, were we "green"!  Lots of lessons learnt for future round like having the club sailbanner with us as a focal point, taking some warm clothes to the finish area rather than a cold walk back to race HQ (aka The Village Hall) and the biggie...if 400 runners are facing towards you then you are (a) at the front not the back and (b) facing the wrong direction!  But, great to see so many running friends and make new friendships.

Loved the day even if the first mile was at club "magic mile" pace.  Our Training Sec is all for "starting fast and hanging on" but this was barmy, so a little bit of throttling back saw me stay as an "overtaker" rather than being overtaken.  Enjoyed that!

Overall, a great event, with a really nice mixed 5.1 mile course except for a bummer of a 0.2mile finish up a hill!  Another lesson...don't bust a gut to pass a female runner as she is, in effect, in a separate race!  We did alright though for our first go...coming 16th overall of 22 teams.  Can't wait for Round 2 in November.

It was a beautiful running day on Sunday with a bit of mud and some muddy puddles.  BUT, tonight's run was just slog!  Get the legs going again, but in the rain, the dark, the cold it was all just banking miles and moving on. 

Shame I am going to miss out on our club "Hills Training" session but I am away with work.  Still, that was Day 94 tonight of my latest run streak (last one was 179 days that was stopped by illness in June) so chuffed with that...big 100 on Sunday, with parkrun #47 the day before so edging to that big 5-0! :)

ttfn, mark

 

114,999 DISAPPOINTED RUNNERS AND ME!

OK, so I knew that maths didn't work out well with 125,000 runners entered into the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon ballot this April going for just 10,000 available places.  But, that didn't stop over 5 months of hope, anticipation and planning.

If you read my earlier blog, EVERYTHING WILL WORK OUT IN THE LONG RUN, you'll know my plans for 2015 events have taken a few knocks recently with date changes taking plans out of alignment.

Well, the big disappointment came yesterday...not just for me but for some 114,999 others with just 10,000 entrants going "woo hoo!!". Rather than a natty "You're In" magazine, I got the one I really, really didn't want to get. The one saying "Sorry" with the yellow costumed runner...the pesky yellow costumed runner who I have come, overnight to hate vehemently as the personification of my disappointment.

Yes, I know, the maths didn't work!
Yes, I know, I shouldn't have been surprised!
Yes, I know, I shouldn't have been as excited and anticipated a positive outcome so much!

But, that..doesn't..make..the...news...easier...to...absorb...or...live...with!!!

That's even with knowing that there are runners out there who have entered the London Marathon ballot since Noah thought the weather looked like a bit of precipitation. One runner I know well has got "Sorry!" in the ballot 13 times BUT has managed to run the event 6 times through one competition win, two entries through the old rules of 5 rejections leading to a guaranteed place, and also three times running in charity places. But, never through the ballot

So, what's next? Plan B, it is! Our brilliant running club, Sherfield Park Runners, is registered with UK Athletics / england athletics and through the UKA/ea "British Running Club Entries" scheme should get two places allocated in VMLM2015 as the club's membership is now up over 70 registered members. This will all come clear in the next 6 weeks. Our Committee thought ahead in May and devised our first set of selection criteria for use in 2015 and sustainably thereafter in selecting which runners get those coveted places. The first is obvious - that a runner has to have entered and been unsuccessful in the ballot. Others, aligned with what other local running clubs use as their criteria, include what that individual has done for the club; raising sponsorship; running in the club colours in past events and at VMLM2015, etc. Cases are being developed and our selection will be made. Fingers are crossed for better luck in this stage!

There has been SPR success in the ballot though with, at least, two members getting the "You're In" pack and that is just absolutely fabulous news for them and the club. I hope to be working/ running through a marathon training plan with one of them who I already run a lot with anyway. That reminds me, better go and set up Friday's pre-dawn run (I was also out at 0540 this morning - funny how I didn't see any other runners!!!).

ttfn, Mark