2015 Brighton Half Marathon

I did it.  I started – and most importantly – I finished the 2015 Brighton Half Marathon.  And I feels good.  I set myself a challenge, I put in the effort to train for it, I didn’t bottle it, beforehand or during. I met that challenge, raising some money for CoolTan Arts to support their excellent work.  And you can still sponsor me, please.

It was a great day, and much praise on kudos on the organisers for putting on a great event, 25 times now.  A massive thank you to the volunteers who stewarded the event, handed out drinks and other countless tasks, which ensured a smooth, safe event for all the runners.  And finally, thank you to all the friends, family and bystanders who enthusiastically and constantly cheered and geed up all runners. I (and all the other runners) had the benefit of being warm from the running, so they deserve lots of bonus points for doing their bit for hours in that freezing wind.

It was a cold but sunny morning, requiring the scrapping of ice off the windscreen before I could set off to Brighton for a 9am start having packed (and repacked) my race bag with sweets, sunglasses, water, bananas, gloves, hats, layers and dry kit for afterwards.  Made it to Brighton by 8:30, leaving my partner to park the car, and for me to walk down to the start by the sea, along with streams of other runners, friends, families and supporters.  Found my pen and with a number of restarts of my phone, eventually got my music working and set up my tracking app to keep me up to date on my progress in time for the starter’s off.

Got off to a cracking start.  First 4kms sub 5:45 on average and was starting to really warm up.  The sun was shining, the wind had slackened and being surrounded by lots of hot and sweaty bodies, I started to rue the choice of putting on all my layers.  Hat and gloves came off about the 2km mark, and I began to consider throwing away my shower jacket when I started to climb up out of Brighton City centre up the cliff through Kemptown when that biting wind returned.  And I knew that my choice of running wear was validated.

Having done the Brighton Half several times, I knew that there is an incline, and I had done some hill work to prepare myself.  But it went on for longer and further than I remembered.  Maybe because it is now in the beginning half of the race now, rather than the end of the race as I remembered it. Those races, I think by then I was so tired, that I didn’t remember all the dipsand its length or I had chosen to block that part of the half marathon out.  

And on this up-hill stretch I broke the cardinal rule of long-distance running.  I did something I hadn’t trained for.  At the drinks station, instead of water, I took a bottle of sports drinks. I don’t use them, hadn’t trained with them, and whilst it gave me a boost it was too soon into the race, messing with my blood sugar levels and unsettling my stomach. Whatever the reason, that climb was a struggle, in the first 6kms, meaning I had 15km to go. I started to freak me out a little – could I do this?

But what goes goes up, does come down, and after a pit-stop at the top of the cliff, carried on with some good km times before leveling off and hitting about 6 minute per km as I started along the seafront and promenade section towards Hove.  Broke into the sweets around the 13km mark, and had a walking section, taking a moment to watch the the front of the race passing us on their were on their way back from Hove and heading to the finish.  When were we going to be doing that, where was this turn, how much longer can I carry on. Mustering all my reserves I plodded on.  With some walking and mostly running, I was soon rounding Hove Lagoon and heading back towards Brighton Marina and the finish line. And although the wind was bracing, the sun was shining, and the time and distance to the finish shrank.

But I hadn’t given up.  I had ploughed on.  As I neared the pier, with the crowds cheering and shouting us on, I suddenly realised that with a bit of a kick up my arse with a pair of size 9 running shoes, I could come in under 2:15, my unofficial goal for the race.  I let those going for a spring finish, sprint off and I kicked up my pace to something I could manage and to finish with a time of  2:12:20 seconds.

I’ll count that as a good return to running and only 7 minutes more than my last time for a half marathon, the 2009 Brighton Half.

Time now for a few days rest and for me to reflect on what I have achieved and where I want to go next with my running.

Race day!

What more can be done? No more time to train and my race bag is packed (and repacked a few times). Nothing left to do except enjoy the day.  Good luck everyone running anywhere today.

Slowing the running and taking time to enjoying the wildlife.

On Sunday I’ll be running 21km (or 13.1 miles – still have decided which is easier) on behalf of CoolTan Arts – please sponsor me here. Therefore, this week has been about the tapering.  I have done two training sessions – a short run and a yoga.  But any training regime worth its salt will see you taper in the days leading up to your race.  And I have, as much out of necessity as desire. I had wanted to fit in one or two more training sessions before today, but those that I have done took it all out of me as my cold hasn’t shown any signs of going away.  Nor getting any worse.  It’s b!##dy annoying.  I just wish it would go.

And spring is in the air.  Sunshine all day, and whilst I couldn’t make the most of it and train in it, I went for a walk around my local park, Burgess Park, where I do a lot of my training.  As well as soaking up the vitamin D, I kept seeing different birds – blackbirds, crows, blue tits and these that I managed to snap: a robin and a woodpecker (greater spotted I think – please let me know if I am wrong).

But what I didn’t manage to snap was the green flash that flickered past. I think the London parakeets maybe moving into the park.

2015 #17 – Camberwell Beauty

A little run to ease me into the weekend. And I tried to be arty, using the using the colourful streets of Camberwell to draw a picture. Based it on the butterfly named after the area, the Camberwell Beauty, a mosaic of which I run past on a regular basis, including today.Ok.  It is a tad unsymmetrical and wonky, and if it could fly would probably fly around in circles and it’s only got one antenna – so, let’s just call it a work in progress, a bit like me.

Pleased with training today, all in all, a good run.  My cold is no worse than yesterday and feels like it might even be in abeyance. Nice pace – at the start.  But still need to build up my stamina.  Weather not as nice as Monday’s but the sun was trying to pop out.

I have also reached my target for sponsorship, but don’t let that put you off.  All money raised is going to support the good work of CoolTan Arts, and who knows, your click on this link and your donation might help me run a bit faster.  Thanks. 

2015 #16 Intervals

It’s been a week or so since my trainers saw the light of day and pounded the highways and by-ways of South London.  Had a couple of physio sessions, to help me get over a back issue, and didn’t feel able to do any running afterwards. And Tuesday was yoga to help with my flexibility and mindfulness.  The other days I

The 12-minute test

My training app of choice is Endomondo.  And my training plan I am trying to follow is curtsey of it, with my own additions, in particular, my long running sessions.  At the moment I am mullering the paces it says I should be training at  – and boy, it feels good.

Each of the last few of weeks one of the suggested session is a 12-minute test, so it can recalibrate itself.

Question:  if I do, and the paces it says I need to run at are closer to where I am, will I become disheartened if I miss those on a training session?  Decisions, decisions, decisions.

2015 #15 – 18km like a bullet

I did it.  I upped my distance. I chalked up another long run and covered 18km of my 21km race distance.  I am only 3 weeks from race day, and I just just 3km to add on to my long runs.

Checking my times too, seems I was 18km like a bullet or however that song went (well like this actually).

It’s been a week or two since my last long run.  So I peered down the gun-barrel of today’s planned long run with equal measures of desire and dread.

2015 #13 Rage Against the Wind

First a thanks for those that have sponsored me as a run for CoolTan Arts, supporting the invaluable work that they do. Every penny helps motivate me, especially in the winter weather as I will describe.  My sponsorship page can be found here.

If proof were needed for the temperate nature of London’s weather, then I can say throughout my many years of running, it has been mainly dry.

At times wet, especially that Watford 10k. Now that was wet. I look like I’m running on water in the race pics, maybe because I was so much lighter in those days.  And, as a result, muddy – really  muddy.  I’m clean up front, but caked head to toe behind in the mud. I left most of it on the toilet floor when I changed after the race in the nearby shopping centre.

But invariably when training for a winter race, one has to expect winter weather. Today’s problem was the wind and the cold.

I’d been itching to try out my new trainers, to break them in before the 22nd February.  But it had started to rain and really didn’t fancy being cold and wet. My weather app claimed that within the hour it was due to clear, which it did. And I set off, even though the Shard was charcoal black – indicating those rain clouds were still nearby.

First part was a short, 1.5km warm-up and pre-session trainer check run. My audio accompaniment of choice for this session was the radio; my station of choice BBC LDN 94.9.  As the top of the hour chimed, the news was read and travel delays announced to London, followed as always by the weather.  The skies would clear and the sun would shine, but a north wind, straight off the Artic and the cousin of Storm Juno, would blow she claimed. And blow. And blow – and chill.

Did the skies clear and become the clearest blue? Yep.  Did the sun shine brightly? Yep.  And did that north wind crash down?  Boy did it.   When it was behind me it pushed me along.  But when I twisted and turned along the course, the wind too turned – turned vicious. That crosswind pushed me back.  I had no option but to press on, to dip my head into it, furrowing my brow against it and narrowing my eyes to cover the distance. The wind wasn’t happy about that and retaliated: scratching at my face with its icy nails and trying to snatch the breath from my mouth. Until I turned again, finding a route more sheltered, leaving the wind to rage against itself, enabling me to clock up another 8 plus km to my training in this impressive interval session.  The two slow intervals – I was heading into that cruel wind.

Even the Shard had was bright by the end.

To distract myself on my runs, to focus on the moment, so as to let the distance fly past, I occasionally compose poems. Funny enough, this session it was a wind poem.

Wind. Thou was my friend.

You rapped.

You tapped.
At my window,
You invited me out to play.

Wind. Thou was my friend.

Eagerly I accepted.
Racing with you.
Tussling with you.
Aided by you
Pushing  me along.

Wind. Thou was my friend.But you turned.

But you turned.
You gripped me with
Your icy fingers,
dagger nails digging
and scratching my face.
My breath too,
you wanted to steal.
from my lips.

Wind. Thou was my friend.

But nothing.
Nothing I had done against you.
Why?

2015 # 2669

Ok, ok, ok.  I haven’t really done an extra 2650 odd training sessions in two days.  If I had I don’t think I’d be here typing about it.  But with just under four weeks to go my race number (#2669) has arrived.

It is beginning to feel very real.

I am both excited and apprehensive: hopefully the later, less so than the former.

As you can see I have put in significant more running kilometres and session than I have done for a considerable while.  As a result, I know I can go the distance on the 22nd February. I just hope that something doesn’t come a cropper between now and then, especially my back, and that those pesky naysayers don’t make a return.

I’m running the Brighton Half Marathon on Sunday, 22nd February, 2015 on behalf of CoolTan Arts.  

You can sponsor me at https://www.justgiving.com/Robert-Larkin-Frost1

2015 #12 – I am Superman!

I’d been to physio this morning for my back. Feeling good this afternoon, I decided to do a short run to see how my back was.  The results are better than anyone could have expected.  According to my tracking device, as a result of this morning’s physio session I am now Superman.  Admittedly l am slower than a speeding bullet (or my usual pace), but apparently l am Superman none the less.

I must be.  If I had actually followed this map, I’d have run through my dining room wall, several trees and garden fences, let alone all the houses betwixt here and my local park.  Bah.  #TechnologyFail.

PS My back held up reasonably well.  Any niggles this evening I’ll just have to put down to it not liking having to smash through all those walls.