Marathon Day - THIS IS IT !!

After a full 4 hours sleep, the alarm went off at 05:45 and I fully realised, this was it – no turning back now. After letting this sink in (while on the loo, obviously), it was down to stretching and banana eating, along with a cocktail of painkillers designed to get me through the run. Then I coated myself with enough anti-chaffing gloop to swim the channel, stretched ‘til I could stretch no more then off we went, leaving at 7:15. It was a foolish 2 mile walk to Preston Park by which time (8ish) I thought it best to queue for the loos. At the time I didn’t actually need to go but by the time the mile long queue was complete, there was only 30 minutes to go!!

Steve Cram then did the most boring motivational speech, mostly containing pure gold like “keep going as far as you can” and “it’s a hot day so take plenty of fluids” – he’s an Olympian, you know. So the run started at 09:00 and my ipod kicked off with “Don’t stop me now” – very apt.

At 3 miles, the crowd was cheering, the adrenalin pumping and my left knee went. It was a sudden, searing pain that went round the bottom of my knee and down my shin. It then went away as quickly as it arrived and came and alternated like this for the next ½ mile or so, until I established a gait that would reduce it happening. Ok, I really might not make this, what am I going to do. I appreciate that most would go the conservative route, but today of all days, that wasn’t for me. Chances are I wasn’t going to be able to run the whole distance so that was the last goal I had, gone, after I had already said goodbye to the 4 hour dream. Time for a new dream – if I was going to walk at some point, I was going to put in a bloody good half marathon time – so off I went.

The course blurb said that the first 11 miles were mostly uphill – and they weren’t kidding. Some of the inclines were steeper than the road past Upton house whereas other were shallower but seemed to go on forever. As the temperatures rose (hottest day of the year) I took to grabbing 2 waters at a time, one to pour over my head and one to drink.

At 9 miles my right thigh went but that just maintained at ache level so not too bad. By 12 I was unable to eat any of my carbo-gels as dehydration was making me feel too sick to keep them down and no-one came along to clap and see me bring up my breakfast.

Half way was reached in 1:55 dead and I was so pleased – even though I knew that in the heat I was pretty much spent, especially as I couldn’t take the gels. Joss was there to cheer me on but I was head down, so didn’t see her.

At 16.5 miles I stopped running for the first time for 2 minutes. This gave me time to drink a whole bottle of water, eat a gel and drink most of another bottle, before running to 18 miles. By this time, the roads were littered with runners lying down suffering from injuries and heat exhaustion. They looked terrible and were a grim reminder to take care of myself.

So, from 18 miles, I walked ¼ mile then run ¾ mile all the way to 25 miles. At that point I thought, “there’s no way I’m not running in from here”. So off I went. I knew that Joss would be somewhere near the end with Gary and Sarah so bu$$er the knee – I was going to stride out and look as good as possible.

At 25.5 miles I heard the unmistakeable call of “GULLIS” – no, it wasn’t Joss being a bit cool towards me but Joss realising that almost every male was called Dave and so wanted to make sure she was heard. There they were, all 3 waving and cheering, to which I replied with a bulldog stance and a “GRRRRRRR” which sent them, and the rest of the crowd around them into hysterics.

Less than a mile to go and I could see the finish line and I thought about what I had done and had happened today. Not just the bad stuff like bad knees and dehydration but the good stuff too. People who are running for the same charity patting you on the back and running with you, the crowd shouting “Keep going Dave” (my name was on my shirt – they weren’t psychic) and waters being shared amongst the runners when they could see others needed it more.

It was all this, plus the thoughts of all the hours of training in sub-zero temperatures, the weights and cycling sessions and with Joss being at my side all the time that made the last 100 yards the most emotional sporting time that I have ever had.

Emotional? Bl$$dy yes – an experience to be repeated – you have got to be kidding!!! Finishing time 4:19:37 – with the heat and injuries I couldn’t be happier and putting in a sub 2 hour half marathon topped it off nicely.

Training - Day 118 - 1 Day to Go

Ok, time to officially changing my status to "soiling myself". Today is Eloise's birthday so the morning was all about that followed by a trip to Dean Court to see Bournemouth on the same pitch as Tranmere - that's the best I can say for them. Home at 5:45 and Joss had lovingly prepared a big pasta meal - I love this carbo-loading and might continue it after the run :-) Then it was in the car and a short 2 and a quarter hours later we were checking into our room in Brighton, over a pub. Joss had a couple of glasses of wine and I stuck to orange juice and lemonade. What a good boy I am. Now, when we've stayed here before we have tended to gone to bed a little "tired and emotional" but with this being a sober experience we were able to fully enjoy the thumping music downstairs, followed by the arguements that come with a splendid night of drinking - brilliant!!!

Training - Day 117 - 2 Days to Go

Yes still a rest day but more importantly we're in the middle of of carbo loading. So, as I had the day off it's been a mixture of cake, bagels, power bars / drinks, painkillers and chips - I feel like a real athlete!! I bet Kelly Holmes never ate a diet quite like this - if she had who knows, she might have won 3 gold medals. Off to put some ice on my knee - been a lovely day though, hasn't it?

Training - Day 116 - 3 Days to Go

Right - it's rest all the way to Sunday now. I've taken this completely to heart, booked the afternoon off and slept for nearly 4 hours. Well, I must have needed it, yes? I also wnet to Boots and got some super strength anti inflammatories. The girl behind the desk said I should only take them for 3 days at most and I should have phrased my reply better than "that's ok I only have 3 days left" judging by the look on her face - oh well.
Sat here now with ice on my knee and just about to have pills number 2 watching the golf - could be a lot worse

Training - Day 115 - 4 Days to Go

Oooooo my goodness - I have been sooo tired today. Got home from the football at 1:15 and bed at 2:00 so it's been a real trip through treacle day. Got the prediction right - how did I do that, I wonder? Today was a 4 mile run and I had no confidence. This proved entirely accurate. Both legs really hurt and although I made it round there is no way on earth I have another 22 miles left in me. I'm hoping it's because I'm so tired but fear it's just a forerunner (no pun intended) of what is to come. I'll try to get a full night's sleep tonight and I'll see how I go from there

Training - Day 114 - 5 Days to Go

As I mentioned yesterday, today I'm treating as a rest day as I'm off to Bristol Rovers to watch AFCB. My prediction is that we'll lose 1 nil but dominate the game with over 20 shots......

Training - Day 113 - 6 Days to Go

Today is down as a rest day and tomorrow a 30 minute jog. Unfortunately I'm not free to jog tomorrow as I'm off to Bristol Rovers so wenrt to the gym today instead. In another 'read between the lines' moment I in fact did the most leisurely cycle ever. Legs were hurting more today than yesterday so hence the biking decision. Not a bead of sweat earned, I stretched on a cold mat and that's it. People kept out of my way, didn't invade my personal space and that's exactly how I like it  - I wonder if I'll mellow after this run is finished with - naaahh!!

Training - Day 112 - 7 Days to Go

Rest day today. Went for an hour's walk along the beach and did 2 sets of stretching at home. Finished that off with a mother's day curry and I think you'll agree that this definately was, a rest day

Training - Day 111 - 8 Days to Go

It was an 8 mile run today and I was extremely nervous. Joss had been ill this week so I was to be on my own. Yesterday I had bought myself some Deep Heat gel as I couldn't ever feel the spray doing anything. So, with that in mind, I coated both knees, shins thighs and hips - you can't be too careful, can you. Well, it appears you can. I applied liberally and then put on all the strapping that I intended to use. It was at this point I wondered exactly how hot the molten lava of a volcano was, and whether it would be slightly chillier than my legs. How exactly is having your legs on fire meant to help - except maybe evaporating lying water on roads for people to follow in a more safe manner? Joss followed me into the toilet (my place of application) and we are hoping that she will be able to come off the oxygen any time soon. From this run I learnt 3 invaluable lessons: 1 - Just because it hasn't hurt in the past it doesn't mean it can't hurt now. My right leg had eased but my left more than compensated for this. Lesson 2: Good music really does make you run faster. I was listening to some middle of the road songs and noticed that I was a few seconds per mile down. Then on came foo fighters and by the end of them I was 2 seconds under the pace I needed - a miracle. The 3rd and by far the most important lesson is, while running, never EVER wipe your runny nose with your hand unless you are ABSOLUTELY convinced that you have washed all the deep heat off. I looked like Rudolph and was breathing fire for a couple of miles and when you have a nose like mine it's much much worse. Still - live and learn....

Training - Day 110 - 9 Days to Go

It was a cycle at the gym today. I got there and realised that I hadn't already taken off my 50cm leg tube off and so was hoping for an empty changing room. Well, you can guess the rest - full to the rafters of blokes comparing muscle definition. Great - being in a room with a load of posers is bad enough but having to get changed out of something Miss Marple would be ashamed of is another level. I did consider stalling and hoping that they'd leave but there's only so many times that you can check your bag for contents before people start to wonder what exactly you're up to. So, after that embarrassment I went to the bike that had the least amount of fresh sweat and boiled sweets on it and settled down to an audio book and 30 minutes of cycling. After that it's time for stretching. Now in the gym, there are about 6 mats. On there, was a bloke with a personal trainer and they had decided that rather than just use 1 mat, it was perfectly acceptable to lie across 4. The other 2 being busy - I walked up to them and stared until they begrudgingly gave one over - the sweat laden one. I put my stuff down and went and got some paper towels and cleaning spray and made a point of cleaning it in front of them while slowly shaking my head. They had the decency to look a little abashed but I couldn't care less - so i then picked up my stuff and dragged the mat to another spot across the gym. You know what - the older I get , the more tolerent I think I'm becoming....