I decided to start this podcast series to be a source of inspiration to writers and creative people everywhere after mourning the loss of The Book Show on Australia's ABC Radio National late last year. I used to listen to The Book Show every day on my walk to work and I found it utterly invaluable in terms of staying abreast of what was going on in the literary world and keeping inspired and motivated as I tried to finish writing my own book, daring to hope that the life of a full time writer might be a possibility for me.
So when The Book Show sadly disappeared there was a bit of a void in my life and I thought instead of trying to find another podcast that might measure up….what if I just created one myself?
And so, nearly a year later, here we are! I wanted to create a programme where interesting writers answer interesting questions about their work and their methods, not just what is newsworthy at the time, and share thoughts and wisdom from what they have learned in their writing careers to give hope to the rest of us who would like to follow in their footsteps.
The very first guest on Book Ends, I’m very honoured to say, drum roll please (!), is one of my heroes, the Australian writer Nikki Gemmell, author of With My Body, The Bride Stripped Bare and many other novels and works of non-fiction. After writing this post a few months ago, you can imagine how excited I was to speak to her :)
If you'd like to hear the interview, it's right here! You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.
There are lots of exciting interviews lined up so I hope you’ll tune in each Wednesday to see who’s next!
This month I've been honoured to be named user of the month over at the runtastic blog. Runtastic is the app I use on my Blackberry to track my distances, times and splits when I train. Of all the apps I've used it's by far the best and the most accurate!
I'm not a very technical person but I do geek out a bit when I see my running stats :) It is immensely satisfying to have some stats to measure your progress with, especially when you're training for a big event. You can see your average speed for the whole run and then a breakdown per kilometre, which is always really useful and interesting - I always seem to pick up speed around 5km! At the end of each session you can record interesting details like the weather, the surface/terrain you ran on, your feelings about the run (there's a variation of smiley faces to choose from, including one with a bandage on its forehead!). You can also view an elevation graph and a GPS map of where you ran, which I always like to see as well! The app also provides you with splits - and you can choose from 0.5km, 1km, 2km, 5km or 10km. All the split options are available on the full Pro app or you can get the free Lite app which has a limited selection of the features.
The runtastic app saves all your session stats and you can view your history at any time. You can also share and analyse your stats online or in the forums with other runtastic users. It's rather impressive seeing the kilometres, times and calories burned over the year! I'm up to nearly 29,000 calories so far ;) The runtastic app can be used on Blackberry, iPhone, Android and Windows phones - any device that has a GPS, really.
If you would like to try out runtastic for yourself, today I am giving away 5 Pro runtastic accounts! All you have to do is follow me on Twitter and retweet this Tweet:
I will draw the five winners at random at 5pm GMT today so get retweeting! Competition is open to everyone, anywhere in the world!
What could you do today that would be a step towards the life you really want?
Can you think of something, even something very small, you could do right now that could get you just that little bit closer to being the person you want to be?
Could you:
Go for a run or a walk?
Apply for a different, better job?
Set your alarm for one hour earlier?
Research that dream trip or course at uni or flats in a city you want to live in, instead of thinking "one day"?
Remember when I made the list of things I'd like to have done by the Rio 2016 Olympics? Did you do that too? Get your list out and think of one thing you can do that will make the things on that list a real possibility instead of a pipe dream. Go on! Do it! Your future self will thank you :)
Hugh MacLeod continues this thought in his book Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys To Creativity by saying "this is equally true in art and business. And love. And sex. And just about everything else worth having."
Sometimes the quotes I put up here for Monday Mantra are not particularly mind blowing, but they just make sense. I read it and I think, yes. Sometimes it's just what I need to hear. I hope it might be what you need to hear too :)
Over the past few weeks, to psych myself up and get in the zone, I re-read lots of running books and articles that I read during the marathon training last year. When you're tired and flagging and can't be arsed going out for yet another training run (!) it's great to be reminded that anything can be done if you're willing to commit, put in the hard yards and don't give up!
Following on from the best ever running playlist I've made another one filled with recent favourites and songs I've enjoyed running to over the past couple of weeks, especially at Robin Hood and Royal Parks. Having a few new tunes to pound the miles out to really does give you a lift! I'm making my way through all the suggestions on the last post too - I love hearing other people's favourite power tracks so don't be shy, do share!
The tracks on this one are:
Spectrum (Say My Name) (Calvin Harris Mix) – Florence + The Machine Call on Me (Radio Edit) – Eric Prydz Pandemonium – Pet Shop Boys White Knuckle Ride – Jamiroquai Open Up – Leftfield Miami Vice Theme – Jan Hammer Really Want To See You Again – Sneaky Sound System I Love New York – Madonna Chariots of Fire - Vangelis
"Chariots" is guaranteed to get you over the finish line, literally and metaphorically ;) It rescued me in the final mile or so of the Royal Parks on Sunday! And the eagle-eyed among you might see the Olympics on the television in the background of the "Push It" picture, very fitting.
I've also written a race review of the Robin Hood half for Women's Running UK, which is now online! Check it out here.
Otherwise, this week it's all been about chai lattes and ginger biscuits.....
In other words, trying to chill out! I'm absolutely gagging to get back to running but forced myself to take the week off. My legs and toenails have been thanking me. There has been plenty of walking though. Yesterday, Tom and I walked from Finchley Road in London to Covent Garden, which was a lovely long walk, and we took in Regent's Park on the way, where we saw a guy doing laps of the inner circle on his lunch break....by the time we got to our turn-off I think we'd seen him 5 times!
It feels a bit strange to have a weekend approaching and not have a race to go to! Meh! I am still mulling over my next challenge, thank you for all your suggestions. I can't believe I'm going to write this....but I'm considering a shorter trail race! But who knows. Famous last words and all that ;)
Well, it is done! This is my race report for the third and final race in my three half marathons in three weeks challenge. Little did I know what I was getting myself into! But over the past few months I've rediscovered my resilience, located some strength and determination that had been lying dormant, and need to buy a new pair of jeans because my old pair are now falling down :)
And so I reached the final week of the challenge. Training was strong and solid - a recovery 5k on Tuesday and then a 10k on Thursday and Friday. I was down to do a much longer run on Friday (as I've been following my marathon training plan from last year) but as I was feeling tired and sniffly I decided to just take it easy with 10 and I think that was a good decision. My form was strong. Time wise I seemed to be getting closer to my "peak" times - I did my 10k on Friday in the exact time Tom and I did the BUPA 10k last year in, 1:04:24. That race was one month after the marathon so that made me very happy!
Saturday night arrived. My carb loading dinner of choice is now baked potatoes - my favourite filling is sauteed leeks and broccoli (I will share the recipe soon) - so I loaded up on those, laid out the kit, went through the normal routine and tried to get an early night. Sadly, again, our neighbour decided it was appropriate to be having a rave at 1am despite my "let's be cool" chat last week, so I had to go and yell at him wearing my somewhat revealing dressing gown and bed hair, which in itself is terrifying and had the desired effect, at least for now!
We headed off to London about 5:50am so I got to see another sunrise. It was quite deserted on the roads and we were parked in South Kensington by 7am, so we went in search of a Starbucks where I forwent a tempting pumpkin spice latte (never try new things on race day!), sipped an Earl Grey tea with soy milk and finished my breakfast.
We were only a short walk away from Hyde Park and so headed up there for 8am, which is when the media team were expecting me, so I could interview Ben Fogle! That was great fun :)
We had a lovely time in the VIP tent and I got to catch up with some blogging pals, one of whom was running the Ultra marathon!! We also saw Gordon Ramsay who was running the race with his family. Liz and I tried to get a picture with him but we missed out! Never mind, I was happy to be just 1 metre away from him :D
There were also some very nice toilets in the VIP area, so I stuck around a bit longer and used those before heading to the start! Proper loos with wooden floorboards and hand-wash and moisturiser :)
Tom accompanied me to the start, which was now looking very crowded. I had a media place so hadn't been allocated a colour for my start pen. I reasoned that I could just slot in wherever but I really hoped that didn't mean I had to start up front with Gordon! Ha ha! Time was ticking by and the start was getting more and more packed. I wasn't even able to get on to the main path, I had to just pick an entrance, line up and merge once the gun went off. I said goodbye to Tom and then got swallowed up in the crowd of runners. I ended going in with the 1:50 pacer, a serendipitous choice that ended up having a very positive effect on my performance that day, I thought.
The gun went off and suddenly we were away! The sun was shining, my breath was making clouds in the air, the streets of London had never looked more beautiful. I was excited to see it as a runner again.
For the first four miles, we went out of Hyde Park, down to Green Park and past Buckingham Palace (the triumphant finish of the London Marathon!) up Birdcage Walk to Big Ben, across Westminster Bridge and then down the Embankment to Temple and back again. It was wonderful to run this route again, albeit backwards (!), because it reminded me of the marathon. Seeing Big Ben was awesome. In fact, it struck 10am as I finished the Westminster Bridge section and turned down the Embankment. I felt my face break into a nostalgic grin. The London Eye was sparkling in the sunshine. Crowds had already formed along the streets, cheering us on. If you ever want to feel like a rock star when you're running, London is the city to run a race in!
At this point, I could see the 1:40 and 1:50 pacer not far in front of me. I was KEEPING UP WITH THEM! The 2:00 and 2:10 pacers hadn't caught me yet!! I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep this up for the whole race but I was really happy that I was at least going to run some of this race at that pace. At Mile 4, still hot on the heels of the speedy pacers, my power song from Robin Hood came on my iPod and the first verse made me tear up a little. "Thanks Spandau Ballet, "I thought, "I'm proud of me too!" ;)
The honest truth is I hadn't intended to run fast at all. You know me, I hate being uncomfortable when I run! Running at a slower steady pace makes the whole process far more enjoyable for me. In a race with thousands and thousands of runners, however, especially in the crowded bits near the start, sometimes you don't have a choice! As I had started closer to the front than I intended to be I was surrounded by fast people. I could have just slowed down and moved to the side but a spark had lit inside me. I wanted to at least try to keep up. I wanted to prove to myself that if I really tried maybe I could do it.
I found I couldn't really relax at this stage in the race either, being surrounded by so many people. I wanted to power through and get ahead!
We headed down the Mall and passed the 5 mile mark, and started heading back up where we'd originally come from, past Green Park , Buckingham Palace and Wellington Arch to Hyde Park. At the 6 mile mark there were crowds and crowds of people cheering and spurring us on, as it was almost the halfway point. Apparently Tom was at this marker and when he saw the 2:00 pacer go by (who had caught me at this stage) he said he thought I'd be at least another half hour away. He was shocked to see me flying through about 10 minutes later! I didn't see him though, I was deep in the zone by then!
We ran along the Serpentine to get to Mile 7 and you could see where the course looped around at the same point for Mile 10 - and there were already people there! Oh, how I longed to join them!
Although I had slowed down and the 1:40 and 1:50 pacers had left me for dust by now, I was still pleased with the strong form I had. I certainly wasn't as slow as I thought I would be! But mentally the pace was very hard to hold on to. As I explained in this week's Monday Mantra post, this was the sentence I kept repeating to myself over and over at this point in the race:
And, surprisingly, it really did help. I would feel a sudden lightness as I said the words to myself, because it made perfect sense. If you're doing it right, of course it's going to be hard! If it were easy, what would be the point? There's a reason thousands and thousands of people lined up to run this race and it wasn't for a nice stroll in the park :)
But the scenery itself was beautiful. I had been for runs in Hyde Park many times and felt great waves of nostalgia as I made my way through miles 8 and 9. And at Mile 9, there was Tom! You can see me wave in the video:
I made it to Mile 10 without even really noticing. But then I suddenly started to feel uncomfortable and sore. My pace had really slowed down. I also started noticing how dry my lips were and it was really bugging me. Fuel wise I was fine - I hadn't needed my sports beans at all, like last time, I was making do with gulps of Lucozade as and when I needed it. I was almost out and grabbed a fresh bottle just after Mile 10….but the bottle I had been carrying all the race had only been 1/3 full at best. Now I had a full bottle and I noticed the effect the extra weight had on my arms immediately! I had to keep swapping from left to right to balance myself out!
I was very happy that I had made it to Mile 10 without needing a break, which was what I’d achieved the previous week at Robin Hood, and I really, really wanted to run the whole thing without stopping but the idea of another 3 miles was quite unbearable. Everything hurt. I was starting to get a stitch. Perhaps my first speedy 6 miles were finally catching up with me, who knows.
I made it to Mile 11 and really tried to keep going. But the stitch got worse and I decided that I would just stop for 10 seconds to stretch it out and then get back on the horse, as it were. It was disappointing but I wanted to finish well, not hobble over the line in pain. I stretched and the stitch disappeared almost instantly. I gulped down as much Lucozade as I could bear, and then I joined the pack again….so many people had passed me in the scant 10 seconds I had stopped for but the path was still thick with weary runners. The point where I joined in I noticed there was a bloke wearing nothing but a pair of bright pink women's underpants! Hilarious!!
I allowed myself to walk for one song only, to get my breath back. But when the song finished I still felt a bit battered and considered walking until I saw Mile 12, as we were a bit off the beaten track now, but then Chariots of Fire came on the iPod. You simply can't keep walking when that song comes on!
It perked me up so much I repeated it three times.....and by that time the finish line was in sight!
Something that also really helped me was visualising in my head what the remaining distance of the race looked like. When I had 1.5 miles to go, I said to myself “that’s from the roundabout to the train station! You can do that!” which made me feel very confident, because that’s my warm up on most of my training runs. And when I saw the sign “800m to go” I thought “that’s just two laps of the Domain! You can do that!” (the Domain is the athletics centre in Hobart). When I put it that way, I could SO do this!
By the time the finish line was in sight, I no longer cared what time it was, or whether I’d beaten last week’s time or not. I just wanted to be over that line. I held on and kept a strong, steady pace all the way to the end. I may have even thrown my arms up in joy as I crossed the line!
After we crossed, we were directed to either side of the track where there were tables set up with water, Lucozade, bananas and medals. I was stoked to get my autumn leaf shaped timber medal! I then fought my way through the crowd to get back into the park so I could make my way to find Tom at our agreed meeting place. There was a “goody bag” stand where you could line up and take what you wanted (within reason) from the items available, but when I saw the enormous line I decided to just go to the end where there was FREE BEER (non alcoholic but still!) and grab a can of that! I had enough goody bag goodies from the previous two weeks :)
Then I found Tom! What a delight to see him. He looked so happy and proud. We filmed the little ending for the video and I was delighted to note from my watch that I was roughly ten minutes faster than last week. I ended up being six minutes faster – 2:20:22! Whoo hoo!
It was a fabulous race - well organised, great atmosphere and a really good mix of elite and amateur, male and female runners. Everyone looked like they were having a great time. I can see why this race is so popular and fills up so quickly every year. I would definitely do this one again!
We hung around the park for a little while, and then walked down to the Prince Albert memorial to sit in the sun and cheer the remaining runners on. I always love seeing people who have already finished stop and call out “come on, you can do it, you’re nearly there!” when I'm still going so I did the same, and I got some very grateful smiles!
Then we walked down to South Kensington to the GBK to meet my sister-in-law for lunch. The runner’s reward was a mushroom brioche burger and a pile of skinny rosemary fries! After a couple of hours we eventually headed home on the M40, collapsed gratefully in our cosy warm house, and I reflected on the last three weeks:
I hadn’t had a drink for weeks so we cracked open some champagne and I finally sampled the Haigh’s peppermint chocolate frogs my Mum sent over for my birthday. She confessed she had sampled one before sending them “for quality control” ;)
So, there you have it! Three half marathons in three weeks! Maybe I was crazy but I DID IT! And the Royal Parks race was the perfect one to finish on – running again in my favourite city, with such a great vibe and support from the crowds, through parks and streets that I know and love, and a time I was pleased with. Every race got better and better, time and performance wise. I never felt like I was firing on all cylinders though and there were moments in all of them (especially the first!) when I thought “I am never doing this again!” but the minute I crossed the finish line all the pain was forgotten and the runner’s high was so sweet!
And, in typical Phil style, I am already thinking about what comes next! Poor Tom has requested a couple of “normal weekends” first :)
I hope you enjoyed following my #3halfs3weeks challenge! What do you think I should do next? :)
I went inside the VIP tent on Sunday at the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon in London....where I really wished I'd put some make-up on (!) (but I sweat so much when I run I just can't! Comfort has to win over vanity!).....and I was lucky enough to grab five minutes with race ambassador, TV presenter, writer and professional adventurer Ben Fogle!
Ben was unable to run on Sunday due to a knee injury but he spoke to me about coping with injury, keeping motivated, his running journey and what adventure he's got coming up next - this guy seriously sounds like he never stops :)
Tom and I had great fun with the video camera at yesterday's Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon. Full race report to come, but I hope you enjoy this little video we've put together of selected highlights!
I so enjoyed this race, what a great one to finish on! If you ever get a chance to do this race, put your name down, you won't regret it. One of the best, for sure!
A few days ago, before yesterday's race, I saw this quote on Lorna Jane Australia's instagram feed. Oddly enough, it kept coming back to me during the run yesterday. Because I started quite close to the front, I was with very fast people and I challenged myself to keep up with them. I am NOT used to seeing "1:40" and "1:50" pacers anywhere near me...ever!! Naturally I didn't keep up that pace for the whole race (!) but I pushed and pushed and pushed to make yesterday's run just that little bit better than last week's. This little phrase became my mantra for the whole race!
If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you.
If you want to change, make sure you're doing something that's going to get you out of the comfort zone :)
More on the race later! Hope you have a happy Monday! x
Whoo hoo! The #3halfs3weeks challenge is done, done and DONE!
What a finale to the challenge - the Royal Parks Foundation half marathon. An energy-filled, great paced race through my beautiful city, so vibrant with the colours of autumn, where every street, landmark and park path had a memory. I ran my heart out. It was awesome!
Race report coming very soon......with some rather cool video too! :D
I believe in working hard for certain outcomes. I believe in setting goals and doing whatever it takes to reach them, to develop enough mental toughness to learn not to fall at the first hurdle. But I also believe in the power of attraction too. I believe in putting stuff out there, in meeting the Universe halfway. I believe in taking opportunities when life gives them to you, whether or not you think you're ready for them. Leap!
About two months ago, for a laugh, I started writing a list in my journal. A list of...I hesitate to call them famous people (some of them are!) but certainly people who are very well known in their field. I called it "people I'd like to have coffee with". I didn't think about whether it was realistic or not, I just allowed myself to dream big and indulge in some fantasy. I ended up writing down the names of about 50 people I would like to buy a latte for while we have a chat about their life and work, to find out how they got to where they are, what motivates them, what keeps them up at night, what makes them smile.
Yesterday, I had an hour long phone call with number two on the list!! It would have been coffee but she's in Australia ;)
In a few weeks, I'll be launching a new exciting venture and you'll get to hear the whole thing but here's a sneak peek for you:
So today, I encourage you all to think about a secret dream you might have, however small it is, and just put it out there. Scribble it down in bold letters in your journal. Text it to a friend. Write it down on a postcard and mail it to yourself. Be brave enough to send a tweet or an email to someone you admire. Put it out there, let the energy travel out into the world....you never know how it might return to you!
Who would be on your "like to have coffee with" list?
Well, I'm officially two thirds of the way through my three half marathons in three weeks challenge....and I'm still standing!
The race I did on Sunday, the Ikano Robin Hood Half Marathon in Nottingham, was a last minute inclusion in the challenge when I cheekily entered a Twitter competition Lucozade were running at the beginning of August, just for a laugh.....and won a place! So that took me from two half marathons within a fortnight to one every weekend for three weeks, and Project Insanity began.
The first race was not my finest hour, as you all know! And so I went into last week feeling a bit nervous and secretly worried that my fitness had taken a real nosedive. After taking two days off to recover as, weirdly, my right arm was very sore, I started slowly with a 5k on Tuesday; then 11k on Wednesday; then 13k on Friday. None of these runs were spectacular but they were ok. I got a stitch in all of them, right at the beginning, and also needed a brief walking break about halfway through, which was so disappointing and made me think my fitness was well and truly below par to cope with another two half marathons. But I read up about stitches and a technique advised on the Runner's World forums helped - breathe out as the foot on the side of your body on which you have the stitch hits the ground (does that make sense?). And there were moments of awesomeness, despite everything - running in the rain and picking up some speed in Friday's run, which was great - so I spent Saturday feeling pretty good and hopeful that I would at least get through it.
Saturday, I carb loaded with leftover gluten free pasta for lunch and leek and broccoli baked potatoes for dinner, while we watched the spectacular Chariots of Fire. I laid out my kit, wrote my list to check in the morning, and we headed off to sleep.
Because we had decided to drive to Nottingham on the morning of the race, we had to be up at 4:30am on Sunday to leave by 5:30am, to allow three hours to get there. We went to bed nice and early on Saturday night. Our new neighbour, however, was having a rave. Tom also had a stinking head cold. I think we got about three hours sleep. At 2:30am, as we were both lying there, exhausted, I said to Tom, "I am so close to just calling the whole thing off."
At 4:30am, somehow we managed to shower, dress, secure the house and pack the car. It was pitch black outside. Being so tired we were both convinced we'd forgotten something so after a bit of OCD checking everything, we finally left at 5:45.
I ate my bagel with peanut butter and strawberry jam in the car, sipped Lucozade and watched the sun rise as we finally found the entrance to the M1 (Milton Keynes has so many roundabouts, we always get lost!). I had never seen a sunrise before (that I could remember anyway) so that made me happy and took my mind off the tiredness! We stopped halfway so I could take over the driving, then Tom took over again just before we hit Nottingham. We saw the line up to the car park at the race village and decided we would be better off finding a car park in the city centre and walking down, which a lot of other people were doing too. It was a 1.2 mile walk in, which was a good warm up. Had a Caffe Mocha Nakd bar on the walk, which I shared with Tom.
Finally we arrived at the race village, which had a very carnival-like atmosphere! Did the usual lining up for the loos, then pinning on the race number, and then there wasn't very much time to hang about before I needed to head off to the green pen for the start.
On the drive up and the walk from the city centre to the village I had been so tired I'd felt nauseous. But now I was quite pumped and excited to get going!
Poor old Tom was going to have to find somewhere warm to watch the race:
I had my arm band with sports beans, phone and spare hair ties in; my iPod shuffle with new music on (!) and a bottle of Lucozade in my hand which I couldn't get open because my hands were so cold and it was stuck - the man next to me who eventually got it open for me struggled too! There wasn't much hanging about - the race start was 9:30am, and we crossed the start line about 9:35.
I had made the decision to run the first two or three miles at warm up pace to avoid the stitch problem - it still appeared though, within the first five minutes, annoyingly. I just breathed and did my foot strike technique and it soon disappeared. Originally I was planning a few walking breaks as well, but I felt very strong so I thought I would see how far I could go without stopping to walk. Having needed a walking break in every run lately I was expecting to have to stop at 5 miles or less.
The race started at the Victoria Embankment, along the River Trent, and then went through the city out to the Nottingham University.
The first five miles, apart from a brief stitch at the start, and having to hitch up my new running capris, I felt fantastic. It was a lovely atmosphere and I felt I was back where I belonged, if that makes sense. The atmosphere was just so much lighter than it had been the week before. I saw people running with Robin Hood costumes and giant backpacks and fairy wings on and I thought "yes! These are my people!" :)
I was so happy to have reached the 5 mile mark without stopping to walk. I said to myself "how about you see if you can make it to 6 miles without stopping to walk?" and I felt great so I kept going. At this point we were at the Nottingham University and it was just beautiful. The tree-lined University Boulevard, a gorgeous blend of summer green and autumn gold, was so pretty. The buildings were beautiful, it was lovely having something so nice to look at and take my mind off things! I hit 6 miles and kept going, telling myself I should at least make it halfway before taking a break. But I didn't have to. At the halfway mark there were some fantastic drummers, not unlike the ones at mile 6 at the London Marathon, and everyone's faces just lit up as we approached them. What a boost! No stopping now!
Up to now it had all been smooth surface roads but for the next mile as we went around the lake was all uneven, so I was happy my trail experience was going to be put to good use. I hit mile 7 and thought "right, let's see if you can get to mile 8!", so on I went. I was so happy with my pace and form. I couldn't see any pacers anywhere so assumed they must have all been in front. I decided to put time right out of my mind. All I cared about was having a good strong run. It was all about returning to form!
So Mile 8 came and went, and then it was "let's see if you can get to Mile 9!" and I was so happy I was holding the pace and rhythm. What a turnaround from last week's race where I could barely run for three minutes without needing to walk! It really helped that this was a flat course. There were only two hills, that I remember, and they were EASY compared to last week! I ran up both of them!
Either just before Mile 9 or after, there was a car wash where the owner was standing out front, with a huge sprinkler, spraying all of us hot, sweaty runners. It was magic! The rain had held off and even though it wasn't a warm day, the sun was out and we were all pretty hot by now. I remember reaching up to brush some hair out of my face and feeling my hair crusted with salt.
At this point I realised the 2:30 pacer was right on my heels. I tried to keep up with them but I was just starting to flag by then. I was a bit confused though, because according to my watch I was on target to do it in under 2:30 (which was all I minded about really!). I reached Mile 10 (16.09km) and finally decided to have a short walking break as I was thrilled I had made it that far without needing to walk. Fuel wise, I hadn't needed my beans, I had only been sipping Lucozade as and when I needed it. I was starting to flag just a little but I knew it wasn't fuel I needed, I was just tired. So I stopped and walked.
This is the one part of the race I regret....sort of.
I probably could have kept going. The minute I stopped, my lower body went numb! I could barely feel my legs. I walked as fast as I could and enjoyed the break, trying to get as much Lucozade down me as I could, but I felt it flood my stomach and felt a bit sick. So I had to walk a bit longer until that feeling went away. I think I walked for about five minutes then I started running again. Weirdly enough, I felt better running than I did walking. I didn't walk again! I wonder if I'd just gritted my teeth and got on with it I could have run the whole thing. I guess I'll find out this Sunday ;)
I hit the 11 mile mark and by this time we were back at the Victoria Embankment and only had two miles to go. You could see the faster people on the other side, heading up to the finish! Oh how I wanted to be there!
This was the song that got me through to Mile 12:
You're indestructible! Always believe it! :D
At this point, I felt fantastic! The end was in sight! One foot in front of the other.
When we finally reached the descent into the race village arena, my body was filled with adrenalin and I picked up the pace. I saw Tom in the crowd waving and smiling, it's always so lovely to see him :) When I finally saw the finish line, I gave it everything I had. I saw the timer saying "2:29:50" and I was determined to get over the line in under two and a half hours so I gunned it!
My official chip time was 2:26:09! Twelve minutes slower than my PB, admittedly, but form wise, I was BACK baby!
I got a medal, goody bag and a fresh Lucozade and then went to find Tom at our agreed meeting place. It was so good to get a hug and read all the lovely Tweets from my friends and just let the elation of having completed the race, and have actually had a good race for the first time in ages, sink in. I couldn't believe that, having had a shocking start to the day and being so close to chucking it in, I'd had the best race I'd had all year!
Then Tom and I walked back to the car and headed south, back home.....but this is when the fatigue really hit both of us! We stopped in Leicester for coffee and a sandwich, and then I took over the driving because I was still buzzing. I got us back to Milton Keynes and then Tom got us home. I couldn't handle the roundabouts!!
We got home utterly, utterly spent. We had about two hours where we showered, snacked, had cups of tea and tried to watch a film.....but we ended up going to bed at 6:45pm!! And slept through until 8:50 the next morning!! We must have needed it ;)
All up, the Ikano Robin Hood half marathon was a fantastic race and it has really helped me build up my running confidence again. There was plenty of space to accommodate all the runners, so you didn't get crowded and stuck. There was a lot of local support and crowds cheering us on, and the marshalls were excellent. If you're at your peak and want a nice flat course to get a PB on, or if you're a beginner and want something not too challenging terrain-wise for your first half marathon, this is the race!
It was no where near as brutal as Beauty and The Beast, but I still felt like I completed this race against the odds. It just goes to show, NEVER give up, no matter what!
The Ikano Robin Hood Half Marathon in Nottingham yesterday was fantastic! I felt strong and got into a good rhythm early which I managed to maintain for the entire race. I didn't think about time, it was all about getting my form back and feeling confident. I felt amazing!
Considering the tough and brutal race of the weekend before, and the day not getting off to the best start (three hours sleep, raving neighbour, two hour drive to Nottingham) my hopes were not high but it ended up being the best race I've had all year!
Street art, taken in London last week. It got me thinking about dreaming big.
So many of my dreams have come true in the last few years. When I walk around the streets of London I feel the need to pinch myself sometimes! There's still a few dreams I'm working towards and I wonder/worry sometimes that maybe I need to knuckle down and be sensible. But I used to live life like that....and where did it get me? :)
And I know the reason I get the "want to run away" impulse sometimes is because these are the really, really big dreams. I'm trying to get a good balance between being realistic and being brave enough to follow my heart. There is nothing more wondrous, to me, than the hope and anticipation of waiting to hear whether your most recent jump off the cliff is going to mean you land somewhere amazing......
Most of my current dreams have been in my head for over two decades. They have been around since I was a child, wondering where on earth life was going to take me, hoping it would be somewhere exciting. The dreams that hang around you for that long, that still keep you awake at night and make you smile at the thought of them should never be ignored. Remember, the child you were was not afraid to dream big.
It's never too late. And you are never too young nor too old to dream big!!
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