30 Years of Running Marathons
30 Years of Running Marathons
Chasing Goals and Silver Linings on the Path to Windsor
Ever felt the unpredictable nature of marathon training? Join me as I share the rollercoaster of emotions and experiences that come with smashing personal records and facing unexpected physical challenges. From achieving my fastest 5K of the year in the early morning to feeling utterly drained afterward, we’ll discuss how meticulous planning sometimes falls short and why listening to your body is crucial. Whether you're an early bird runner or fitting training around a busy schedule, you’ll get practical tips on balancing both worlds.
Feeling heavy-legged and emotionally tested on familiar routes is no stranger to runners. I recount a particularly grueling morning run through Gerrard's Cross Hill and passing my late nan's crematorium, making it a mentally challenging experience. Yet, despite these hurdles, completing the three-mile run brought a sense of achievement, underscoring the importance of mindset and setting realistic goals. We'll explore the internal battles runners face and how finding silver linings can keep you motivated even when things don’t go as planned.
Excitement builds as we look ahead to upcoming races and training progress. I reflect on my latest achievements, such as recording my fastest park run to date and the benefits of taking breaks between long runs. With the "Beat the Boat" race in Windsor on the horizon, I share the unique aspects of this event and my ambitions to beat a 55-minute goal. Varied workouts and cross-training have been key to my progress, and I'll provide insights into the joy and anticipation of future challenges. Don't miss out on the latest from "30 Years of Running Marathons" for more inspiring stories and tips from my running journey.
Thanks for listening. Keep on running.
The race is on. The race is on, so let's get straight into this episode of 30 years of running marathons, and this episode is all about the highs and lows of marathon training. Now, marathon training is not an exact science. You can do all the perceived right things that you should be doing, down to the exact finest detail, but it doesn't necessarily heed the results that you would expect, and my last week of training has been a prime example of this, because I've got some excellent news to tell you. But just a few days earlier I was absolutely distraught.
Speaker 1:So the previous week I'd run my fastest 5k, which I think I mentioned in my previous episode, and I do a park run every saturday, which is also a 5k, and this particular 5k I did it on my own and it was crazy out the morning. Uh, quarter to five in the morning, um, I wasn't at my best, I was feeling pretty tired, but with the help of the black coffee before I went out, I managed to smash my previous 5k best. And that normally I say I normally run 5ks when I can do every Saturday, which is my local park run, and it was faster than that. It was 25 minutes, um, 14 seconds, uh, bear in mind. Previously I have done uh, but you know you've got to put it into context. But a few years ago I did. I've been down as low as 22, but this year has always been in the 26 minutes anyway got a long story short. So I did 25 minutes um 14 seconds and I really wasn't up for it. And you know, a quarter to five in the morning you're not fully awake. Even though I'm an early morning runner, I never expected it.
Speaker 1:So this is partly what I'm saying you can do all the exact things right and you can have it down to the finest detail. You can have the most perfect condition for race day and you still might not perform at your best and you're thinking to yourself well, why, how can this be? But your body will have a mind of its own and, at the same instance, you can be really tired one day, or really not feeling it on race day, yet still pull out the best performance you've ever had. Um, and this is the, this is the funny thing about marathon training. Yes, do all the things you can do to prepare yourself, um, and nowadays we have all the technology to monitor ourselves. Um, so so we know, you know we can set our goals and we know and many goals, and we can see how we're performing as regards to that. But at the end of the day, you shouldn't necessarily judge one performance, for example one good performance, or one bad performance, on the basis of several months training, because that isn't how it works.
Speaker 1:And just after I did that fastest 5K I think that was on a Thursday or Friday I just couldn't get back out running again. I don't know where, it completely drained me, but um, so I took, I took a couple of days off as I normally do between runs. Um, you know, I don't necessarily run every day of the week. Um, and that's partly because my job, because sometimes I work night, sometimes I work early morning, so I have to fit it in obviously around my work, my training runs preferably. I like um getting up early in the morning so that that quarter to five one that was ideal for me. I don't really like running in the afternoon. So you know, if I'm working nights it's ideal because I can go early in the morning. Having said that, if I'm working the night before, then you know you don't have much sleep beforehand to obviously do an early morning run and I do like to do an early morning run, I don't. And when I say early morning, I don't like to do, you know, even after eight o'clock, because it just gets busy with with the traffic, you know, people commuting to work, the schools, etc. It's just so much more you, you know, the earlier the better for me, and that's probably why I smashed it out of the park with that quarter to five run, because it was so peaceful and I was relaxed, and the more relaxed you are, you tend to perform better and that's what happened with me. So I was really pleased with, you know, the fastest 5K this year.
Speaker 1:And then I was due out again on Monday, so I think I had the weekend off, because I was working the weekend, so I was due out on the Monday and because I had a couple of days off. Usually I'm feeling really refreshed and I did everything correctly. I think I had a good night's sleep, you know. I had a good meal, I was feeling good and because I hadn't run for a couple of days, I was really up for a run. I wanted to do a long run.
Speaker 1:Now, this is probably where I went wrong, because if you listen to my previous episode, you know I'm not necessarily one for writing down my specific training plans. I mean, I've got goals, you know I've got half marathons, 10k booked in and marathons, but I don't, because I've been doing it for so long, I don't necessarily which, you know. If you're starting off, you probably should write down specific training plans for me. So my training is very ad hoc. If I write down that I'm going to run 10 miles, I'm thinking, oh crikey, 10 miles, that's five miles out. I've got to go to that distance. And when you're waking up early in the morning, think you've got to do 10 miles nine times out of 10. It doesn't happen for me now. If I don't write it down and I wake up in the morning I'm feeling really bad. I'm like I'll just see how far I can get and normally that turns into 10, 15 miles quite easily.
Speaker 1:It's probably not the best basis, uh, to train because, as I mentioned in previous episodes, my Garmin watch will tell me whether I need to recover more, you know, have more days rest. It'll even say if I've had a poor night's sleep. You know I need to to rest more, more rest days. And of course I ignore it and sometimes you ignore it your peril, and this is what I did on on one occasion. And I went out and I literally, you know, I was absolutely knackered and this is what happened to me on Monday. So I had to get up the day's rest but stupidly, I wrote down in my diary I thought, thought you know, I thought I'd plan ahead for the week Every run I'm going to do. You know, I'll be really studious this time, do it the proper way, as you should and I wrote down 10 miles, so run 10 miles.
Speaker 1:Now, if I hadn't written that down, I very well might have done it, because I set off early in the morning, I had a good night's sleep. I don't eat breakfast before I go because obviously it needs time to digest and I don't have enough time for that. So I went out the door and, like within the first half mile, I'm feeling absolutely grotty. And not just, it wasn't just in my mind, because sometimes I, you know, my mindset's not there. I don't really even know it was a lovely morning, but I'm still thinking I don't really want to do this. You know, because I know, because I tend to do the same route over and over again.
Speaker 1:I was heading towards Gerrard's Cross Hill and I know how far that is and I'm thinking I just, I just don't want to see anybody, I don't want any traffic on the roads. I was in one of those moods. And half mile is up to the crematorium where my late nan, her late, rest and she's always been a big fan of my running. So I'm thinking, well, get to the crematorium. But even that was a struggle and that was like only half a mile and I literally got to the crematorium and the rest is uphill. And you know, my next objective was well, sure, I can get to my old house where I used to live, which is one and a half miles, and normally when I get there I can then have a little bit of a rest in the fields and that peace and quiet and then come back. But I knew I couldn't even make that and it wasn't just my mindset.
Speaker 1:This time it was literally my legs. They were like they were seizing up and even though I warmed up properly beforehand a lot of stretching beforehand, make sure my legs were loose they just weren't moving. It was like I had no gas in the tank, nothing, nothing was moving. They were literally coming to a standstill and there are times when you should push yourself in training and times when you know not to. I'll be doing this long enough to know that when I was trying to push through, I could have pushed further up the hill, um, at a much slower pace.
Speaker 1:You know, I I'm very competitive, I don't like to. I work in miles, um, and the lowest I would go down is probably 10 minute mile in. I don't even like to do 10 minute mile in unless I'm doing like hill work, you know. But sometimes my gardener recommends well, you know, do a recovery run, do like 11 minute mile in. But ironically it's for me anyway. It's even more difficult to run slowly than it is to run fast. It slows yourself down to that pace. Run slowly than it is to run fast, it slows yourself down to that pace. So I just, I really struggled. So, yeah, I didn't think I could, I could make it up up the hill. So I was about to turn around and go back and then I thought, well, okay, just, okay, just just give it a try to slow down the pace.
Speaker 1:And I struggled up this hill and it really was a struggle. I wasn't even looking at my watch for the time and I've never found it so hard just to do that one and a half miles up to my old place. And I got up there and I literally just just collapsed. I felt like I'd done 10 miles and, as I said, you know the times when you probably shouldn't have pushed it um, and that was one of those times and I'm thinking to myself I really, you know was was that a wise thing to do, because I'm probably not getting any benefit out this training? But I wanted to get at least three miles, um on the clock, um, but it took me a long time to recover. I probably spent about maybe 10-15 minutes, uh, before I even tried to get back home.
Speaker 1:And back home, even though it was downhill all the way, was absolutely torturous, I'd say. I just had no energy in me and my legs just didn't want to move. But coming back, I guess because it was downhill, I did move a little bit better and surprisingly, it was what, what? Nine minute pace, just over nine minute pace, uh, so from that half mile being absolutely horrendous, thinking it's probably only going to be about 11, 12 minute mile pace, if I'm lucky, it's going to be the worst run ever. It turned out not to be, so it wasn't the worst run ever, and sometimes you think your runs are going to be the worst run ever. Um, but you just got to give it time, because I know it takes me a long time to warm up. So, even though that half miles were a struggle, but at the same time I've also been doing it long enough to know that half mile is probably one of the worst I've ever done or felt.
Speaker 1:But anyway, back to the story. So I do this, this three miles on monday, and I'm trying to think of of half, you know glass, half full rather than half empty. It was half full in the sense that I didn't think I was even going to make a mile, so I did three miles. So tick the box on that. I thought, you know, even if I made the three miles, I thought it'd be 12 minute mile in pace. It'd be like my slowest ever. It was nine minute mile in pace just over, which is what I've been doing anyway. So, okay, yes, I want to do 10, 15 miles.
Speaker 1:And I say if I hadn't written down in my diary, it probably wouldn't have been messing with mine, I probably just would have gone out and done it. But because I set that 10 miles and written it down. It was like if I don't do that I'm a complete failure, whereas if I hadn't written anything down or if I said, well, I'll just see what I can do a mile and I do more than that, then I see myself as success. So in my world it's very binary. You know, you've done a successful run? You haven't, which of course you know you can't think like that.
Speaker 1:But you know, once I got back I thought, well, three miles and this is the point I'm trying to make three miles is better than nothing, any mileage. I've only done a mile, you know it. It, it all counts. You know it's no point, you know, just throwing the toys out, the pram and like I'm not going to do anything. It's not black or white, it's not binary. You, you know, I either do 10 miles or I don't do a run at all. It was three miles and the pace was quicker than I expected, about nine minute mile in.
Speaker 1:So once I had time to recover I thought, well, this isn't too bad at all, this is OK. And so then I thought, because I was working afternoons, I thought, well, you know, I've got a few days, I can go back out and go out and smash it another day. I've got a few days I can go back out and go out and smash it another day, you know, and that that run counts. That that's probably. You know, sometimes your best runs are your runs when you really don't feel like doing them. And that was one of my best runs because I didn't feel like doing it and, yeah, I got further than I expected. So that was a good run at the end of the day and it gave me the motivation because I'm thinking, well, now I really do want to do a 10 miler, but I didn't write it down in my diary this time.
Speaker 1:So next couple of days I thought I could do it, but I don't know. I don't know. I don't know what's wrong with me, because it just didn't happen. Um, I, I guess I've not been, you know, sleeping maybe as well as I should have. I mean, my garment measures my sleep and sometimes I take too much notice of that when it says, oh, you've not got enough REM sleep, not done enough deep sleep. You slept long enough but you've not got enough of that sleep, or your sleep wasn't continuous enough, I think. I thought I was sleeping okay, but I don't know, according to my Garmin, I could have slept better. I probably do only get about maybe five to six hours a night when I'm working, and even when I'm not working I find it very hard to, you know, delay and get the full eight hours. So five, six hours is normally what I get anyway.
Speaker 1:But so I tried it one day, didn't work out. I tried it second day, still couldn't get up and do a run, and now it's getting towards the weekend. So I've got to salvage something from this training week I really have, because I'm thinking this is, you know, I've got races coming up. It can't go on like this. So my salvation was and I couldn't do it last week because I was working on the saturday but this saturday my salvation was, um, the park run. So my local park run, 5k and as I'm recording this, I've literally just finished it a few hours ago and it literally was my salvation, because it's 5k, um, and it's just not the run itself, it's, it's just everything, it's it's.
Speaker 1:You know, I meet the regular runners, they're familiar faces. Um, it's a beautiful, beautiful course. I run around the black park. Uh, I mentioned it before. You know, they film various different films. They're like harry potter and that's such a scenic woodland, um, and it's it's really nice and and also it's really warm this morning, even though we're in the uk, it was a really, really warm sunny morning and but, but the course is shaded, so you're running this woodland under trees and that beautiful course, run it many times.
Speaker 1:In fact, this was my 59th part run and this is from someone who said he would never, ever, run one. But a few years ago I, you know, I took the plunge and I did the reason I said I would never run one, because for me, 5k I know it sounds tough, it's always too short a distance for me. I like to just go out and run a couple of hours. Well, normally I would when I'm in the mood. But you know, 5, 5k you've got to do it that much quicker. So I always found it a struggle. But, as I say, I do it more because it improves my speed.
Speaker 1:Work for the other race a lot half marathon and even 10k and I get to meet other runners and then I have a coffee afterwards and it's a beautiful morning, uh, this morning, but unfortunately I've been working um last night, so by the time I got home by it's byclock, got something to eat, got to bed and I was up again at seven. I had to get out the door at half eight to get down to the park run, so I wasn't feeling particularly, you know, energized this morning. I had my usual black coffee and normally I don't eat anything before a park run but because I hadn't had much food the previous day, because I was working and I was so hectic, no time for breaks or anything I thought I'll have a banana before I go and I had that probably just over an hour before I go. I thought a banana because normally I can't eat before a run because it doesn't digest for me, it upsets my stomach when I'm running. But I thought, no, have a, have a banana, and I hadn't had one of these for ages. But I thought I better have an energy drink. Um, I'm always all about taking these energy drinks because they carbonated, a bit fizzy, upset my stomach. But I took that an hour before and I hope that would settle me down and, you know, just give me the energy boost. Um, so I get down there in plenty of time and I'm warming up, stretching.
Speaker 1:It's very hot morning and I know it's only four days, but four days. I'm thinking to myself I haven't run for four days, will I still remember how to run? You know we talk about muscle memory and obviously over 30 years I should have muscle memory for running. But it really knocks your confidence. You've not been running for four days and you're thinking will I be able to even make the distance?
Speaker 1:Okay, it's only 5k, but I just feel so lethargic, I felt so unfit and I got to start line. I didn't know what was going to happen. I had this nervous energy within me. I had to keep stretching, doing up shoelaces, and I'm on the start line. I don't think about yet again. Just think of the glass. You know half full, you're on the start line, you make the start line. Doesn't matter what the time is, just you know. Just try and enjoy it, just be grateful that you can run and it will be another three miles in the book. So it's better than nothing. It's broken the duck of not having run for the last few days. You get a few more miles in.
Speaker 1:So, as we start off um, it's always very hectic at the start to come around the first corner got to dodge a few posts and trees etc. And I and because I was starting at the front, I'm just getting a mass of runners who are passing me because with the adrenaline everybody starts off really quickly. I'm trying not to be too quick because that's gonna in the last stage, that's really gonna affect you, but I see all these runners past me, which is very depressing. But I just keep looking at my watch, looking at my own pace, because I know what pace I've got to do. It's roughly between eight and nine. I don't like to go over nine minute pace. I'm sure these need to do nine.
Speaker 1:Anyway, the first mile was really good. I think the first mile was something like 8.04. It was, you know, close to the eight minute mile, so I was really happy with that. And then, obviously, the middle mile. I had to stabilise on the middle mile. I say it's 5k, but I work in miles. And the second mile wasn't too bad. Actually. I think I was just slightly down by about 10 seconds or so, so that wasn't too bad.
Speaker 1:But my Achilles heel is always the final mile and the last kilometre. You're actually going uphill slightly there are plenty of downhill sections just before you get there and down towards the finish, which is the same bit as you've done. At the start it's slightly uphill, but coming back it's downhill. So my Achilles heel I know it's only 5K3 miles and normally that's not a long distance. For me it's that last kilometre. They've got markers that tell you which kilometres you're at, even though my watch is working in miles. So the last kilometres is about 0.6 of a mile and I get there and I'm just struggling.
Speaker 1:It's a really warm day this morning and I'm struggling to get up this hill and I just see the minute miles on my watch average minute mile go down and down and down and I'm starting to get really depressed and I'm thinking this is such hard work and I was so desperate because I thought I could be on for a good time here but this was all going out the window. Now I'm thinking this isn't going to happen and your mind starts playing tricks with you. And it's like a vicious circle, because as soon as you think you're not going to happen and your mind starts playing tricks with you. And it's like a vicious circle because as soon as you think you're not going to make the time, your mind just convinces you that you're not going to make the time, sends messages to your legs, to your body. You're not going to do it. You might as well pack up now, give up. And then you get into this feeling well, okay, you know, I'm still going to break nine minute mile and it's still not going to be a bad time. Relax, chill out. But I couldn't be like that. I just I was so desperate because I thought, you know, this isn't so bad after all.
Speaker 1:But yeah, that hill, the last kilometre, it just seems to go on forever. And then you've got a slight downhill section. So I was trying to relax on the downhill section. At the same time I was trying to get back the few seconds I lost going up the hill. And then you come around the corner, turn right and you're at the finish. Um, and, as I mentioned when I'm reading episodes, I've fallen on the finish and that's what I was worried about.
Speaker 1:And it was very dry, uh, the course today. Very dry because we have had recently hot weather and luckily it was because I'd forgotten to put my trail shoes, so my normal running shoes on. I was right back the corner. It was a guy just in front of me and I was trying to catch up with him because I always like to do a sprint finish, but I just couldn't get anywhere near him. So I'm coming around the corner and now I was more worried about someone passing me and I didn't look around. So I was trying to sprint but there was nothing in the tank. I managed a bit of a sprint but I just couldn't catch the guy. I mean, I sprinted through the line but I don't think I've ever been so tired on a 5K. I didn't know where to get.
Speaker 1:But obviously I looked at my watch straight away and the time it was brilliant. It was 25 minutes 52 seconds and I knew my previous one fastest time was actually in the 26 minutes. In fact, looking afterwards, it was 26 minutes 14 seconds. So it's not quite 25 minutes 52,. It wasn't quite as fast as my fastest 5k um this year, which I did early in the morning. That was uh, 25, 14. But bear in mind this this this was a hilly course and I'd worked last night and also I did such a stupid thing last night. I went and dropped something on my foot, didn't I? So my right foot was like it's quite painful last night, but I took painkillers and that and I didn't even notice it.
Speaker 1:Running today it was fine. It was just I didn't think I had the, the energy within me, um, but that's probably why I just felt so, so tired and you've got to walk down this, the, you've got to keep up with the runners in front of you, what you know, keep in line, collect your token, get it recording everything and that. And I was just struggling to walk. But if you don't care and walk and they see volunteer students start saying to you know, you gotta keep moving. But I just absolutely had it, luckily. I mean, I didn't even know which, whether I handed in the token first or they scanned my barcode first. I was at days. I said to the volunteer sorry, I just keep forgetting, I'm just so tired.
Speaker 1:And then what I always try to do is do a little jog down to the coffee shop. At the end it's only maybe 50 yards, 100 yards. I didn't feel like it, but I thought, just try and do it. And I stand in line. I get there, stand in line in the queue for the coffee shop there it's like a mobile cafe thing there and I'm just dead on my feet and I'm sweating like anything. I can hardly speak, and now I'm just dying for a drink. I mean, I'd you know, I'd obviously had a lot of water and had the energy drink and everything beforehand, but I was just so desperate because so hard I was just and I was gasping. I was and my hands on my knees and I didn't know where to get those people queuing up behind me. Um, and even when I ordered my drink they were well, for me anyway, it seemed to take ages to get me the coffee and I was just, I was just gasping. I'd never felt so, as I never felt so drained after a park run. I went and sat on the of the tables and I didn't know where to get. I was just managed to find one in the shade and then a lady comes up to me and says oh, can I perch on the side here? And that and I was that confused and dazed I didn't hear her at first she goes can I just perch? Yeah, yeah, of course, but I was just completely out of it. It yeah, yeah, of course, but I just, I was just completely out of it. It took me a long time to recover, but obviously it's nice recovering, no matter how painful you are.
Speaker 1:If you know you've run a fast time and to get my fastest time of the year. You know we're almost end of June, so that's the six months, almost half the year, to finally get my fastest time of the year, to get into the 25 minutes, because I've been in the 26 for most of the year, and if I put all the things into consideration, the fact that I'd worked last night I dropped something on my foot. I just wasn't feeling it. I had those four days off.
Speaker 1:The week had started off badly. Ok, I haven't done any long runs this week, but the fact that I I nailed it and did a smashing fastest park run and it was great getting email through because I sent you an email through the results say you could do the fastest park run of the year and, yeah, I, I couldn't be happier. Um, and it's been, it's been a. You know I didn't do the runs that I wanted to this week but, um, you know, sometimes it's good to do a bit of cross training. So you know I've done more walking this week.
Speaker 1:I also, in the middle of the week, I went down to the coast and that was nice, um, get a bit of sea air and put everything into perspective. And I did a bit of swimming about and put everything into perspective and I did a bit of swimming about 500 yards of swimming. I recorded it in my Garmin and that really, you know loosened you up and you know that all counts as part of your training, whether it be for marathon, 10ks, half marathons, and you know it's regarded as cross training, so you don't necessarily always need to be doing the running. And you know it's regarded as cross training so you don't necessarily always need to be doing the running and you know recording this episode. I completely forgotten about that. Actually, because I'm so focused on my running and on my part run result, I completely forgot to tell you that I'd been down to the coast this week, for it was just for the day, but I got there early morning and I spent the whole day literally, and it was a lovely sunny day literally out in the sun, walking along the coast there, you know, just clearing my mind, being at one with nature and doing a bit of swimming.
Speaker 1:Um, it was a bit bit windy down on the coast there, so the sea was a bit rough. I was wondering whether I'd get swimming and there weren't many people swimming, but I managed to get swimming and, say, 500 yards to about 20 minutes or so. Sometimes I go in for about an hour, but a little bit too cold maybe for that. But just to do some swimming, uh was nice. I'm not the the best swimmer. I mean once I get going, I normally I can, I can swim. For I say I can go in for an hour, but I'm not very fast, um, and that's probably the one thing that would hold me up if I was to do a triathlon. Having said that, I'd like to do a triathlon one day. Obviously my running would be good. The 10k at the end of a triathlon, cycling, I'd have to get used to. And I say the swimming, uh, but I prefer swimming in the sea rather than the pool, and it's, you know, the salt water does your skin so good, it's just so relaxing, um, so I love it. And that was on the thursday. I came back, worked on the friday and then, as I say, saturday, today, beautiful park run, fastest park run of the year, um, and anyhow, I went. Tonight I'll be working, um, and then, uh, tomorrow off and then we're back again into next week, and next week's an important week because it's race week next week, not not a big race, it's not, it's another 10k.
Speaker 1:As I said, I've been focusing on on 10ks. Uh, it's been probably more 10k this year than I've done any year so far and, as I mentioned before, it's not my favorite distance, a bit like the 5k it's. It's a shorter distance, you've got to go faster, but it's not as um how can I put it? It's not you've got to go faster than a half marathon, um, faster than a 5k, um, and it's just, and you don't seem to get as much kudos. You say to people you're doing a 10k, you know, I mean you do get a medal for it and everything, but it's just not like if you do a half marathon you get a lot of kudos and marathon even more kudos and certainly ultra marathons. But I don't know, people don't seem to recognize 10ks. But at the end of the day it shouldn't be a worry about what other people think. But it's good for my speed work, for my half marathons and marathons and it's my favorite one, uh, next week, so I show we hope to get you know more runs in next week. They also park run on saturday next week, the day before the race is pace a week, so they have paces there. So maybe I'll run with the pacer and get in the 25 minutes again. Not saying necessarily beat 25 52, but they'll have a 25 minute pacer. Don't think I'm quite for 24 minutes yet, but 25 minute pace would be good. And then on the Sundays the actual race as well. So I don't want to burn myself out too much. But if I run the park run next week it'd be my 60th park run from someone who said they would never run one. So really be really happy with that. And then, to be honest, the 10k next week.
Speaker 1:It's just a fun race, it's. It's um, I mentioned it in previous episodes. It's called beat the boat. It's here in the uk, eat in windsor. You run towards winter castle. Basically you're racing against the boat. So you say what time you're hoping to beat and they have it on the side of the boat. Your friends and spectators can get on the boat and watch as you race against this boat. So you go around this field, boat sets off, you see the boat for a while along the river, then you turn around around the field, come back. When you come in to find a lap in the field. You must be inside before the boat because you've still got to do a lap of the field and the boat just comes straight down. I mean you get a medal no matter what.
Speaker 1:So even if you don't beat time in the past, I've done there. I think there's a 40 minute boat, 50 minute boat, 55, 60, 70. In the past I've beaten the uh, no, I think it's 40 minute boat, 45 boat. Yeah, I think I've beaten the 45 minute boat before, but obviously I've not had the you know the training recently. So I think I put down for 55 minutes and, based on my obviously part run today at 25, you put that round up to 26. That's 52 minutes and my obviously other 5K, which is slightly quicker than that. So, and it's a fairly flat course, albeit it is sort of cross country along a trail.
Speaker 1:The fun thing about it is the race HQ mentioned before. It's actually in the local pub. Now I've got the race queue. It's actually over two pubs. They're within like 20 yards of each other. So it's great because you'll come back after the race, go to the beer garden. I remember last time I made a discount on your first pint of beer and it's great. It's a sunny day, lovely atmosphere, so it's a real runner's race, probably only about a few hundred runners, but you do get all standards even still. Um, so there'll be some people who'll be going for the 70 minute boat, which is about an hour and 10. So you know I've run it before with friends and I think I ran it when it first started only started a few years ago and I've tried to run it every year since.
Speaker 1:And the good thing as well. There I mentioned before in my other episodes they have these drink stations, couple of drink stations, and they also serve as well as water. So prosecco and beer and on one race actually picked up the beer by mistake. I was so thirsty just drank it, but obviously in the heat it really dehydrated me. So you can go for that. You can go for the prosecco and the beer and bear in mind you might not break your pp but have a fun time. Or just stick with the water and wait to drink in the pub. The race hq afterwards totally your choice. But yeah, so it's.
Speaker 1:It's a real fun race, so I'm really looking forward to that. I want to beat 55 minutes. I should beat 55 minutes. I hope I do, but at the same time I'll try and enjoy it because it is a fun race and after that race. I haven't got a few days off anyway, so you know I can fully recover, but I'm really looking forward to it and I'll let you know. You know how it went? Yeah, the next week. You know how it went? Yeah, the next week. So, after I run it on the Sunday, I'll post an episode about how I've done as regards that. Fingers crossed, I should break 55 minutes, but, as I say, more than anything it's more about the fun of it. I might post an episode as well, just before what we say on Saturday, maybe next Saturday, just before the race to let Saturday, maybe next Saturday, just before the race to let you know my preparations are going. But certainly, you know, I look back at this week and I, you know, just to round up, let's talk about the highs and lows of running. It's a bit like the highs and lows of life.
Speaker 1:Sometimes we have this negative bias where we just focus on the the negative sides of things, and that's because of our brains. Um, you go back to our ancestors and that our brains, you know, always had to be alert to the fact that was danger. So you know, you, if, if you weren't alert to dangers around you, then that would be it, you'd be gone. So you know, even over all these, you know years, the evolutionary of our brains and that we still have this. You know, as you can see, I'm waffling now because I'm no expert on this, but it's very much a case of we do tend to look at the worst side of things, negative sides of things, um, and what's gone wrong, and you know all the worst case scenarios and the bad things have happened recently, rather than look at the positive side of things. And as I say that, that just dates back to our ancestors when we had to be more alert to the dangers just to survive. So you know, looking back at this week, I was very much looking at fact.
Speaker 1:Well, I haven't done any long runs, I haven't done as much mileage I was like, but let's look at the positives. On my fastest park run, did a bit across training down at the beach, bit swimming, um, and you know, and touch wood, you know, I'm fit and healthy. To do that fastest park run has been the highlight for me this week. I'm looking forward to next week hopefully get some more runs in before the race and then I've got a lovely beat the boat race. So this week I'm thinking glass half full.
Speaker 1:It's been a good week done my fastest pb sorry, not pb my fastest park run, and that probably wouldn't have happened if I had done all those long runs and hadn't had that break in between. So you know it swings and roundabouts. So here's on to next week for a good week of training and, more importantly, a good beat the boat, which I shall tell you about, uh, next week and hopefully before next week's race. Get a little episode in just letting you know how it's going, but yeah, it should be fun. So I'll see you on the next episode of 30 years of running marathons. It's going, but yeah, it should be fun, so I'll see on the next episode of 30 years of running mountains. Thank you.
