An early Christmas Present to me

Well it has a been a few months since I have blogged.  I have been very busy at work and if I am brutally honest after learning that I needed to pack up my long distance running, I kind of lost my mo-jo for running.

During September & October I ran a few Parkruns and that was about it and with lack of regular exercise and enjoying a night out or two I have put on a fair bit of weight.  However in the last 3 or 4 weeks, I have started running cross country events with Petts Wood Runners and doing a few more Parkruns and have started to realise why I enjoyed taking up running again a few years back.

In some ways regaining my appetite for running has also been frustrating, because I have realised how out of shape I have become and in a few of the events, people that I would be competing with on time or finishing positions have been leaving me for dead.

However what has also been refreshing is just running naked.  Don't worry, I mean in the metaphorical sense.  I wouldn't subject people to seeing trundling round some woodlands in my birthday suit.  I have just been running without my Garmin (of which I had become a bit of a slave to).

In fact this weekend, I have taken part in 3 events.  The first was the Bromley Parkrun on Saturday, which had been nominated as the Movember Parkrun.  So I pushed my boy (who recently turned 4 and is now getting a bit big)  round in the running buggy, in quite muddy conditions.  Everybody got into the spirit wearing stick on moustaches

Today, I had two events.  The first was a cross country mob match between Petts Wood Runners, Orpington Runners and New Eltham Joggers.  The course was a testing 2 lap-4.2 mile course.  I did in fact wear my Garmin for the first time in 3 months.  To start it would only show elevation and nothing else, so I had to reset to factory defaults and then when I did finish, I forgot to stop it until 5 minutes or so after finishing.  So a bit pointless wearing it really!  For the record, the Orpies won the mob match, with PWR taking Silver!

After finishing I had to dash off quickly as I had my 3rd run of the weekend, the Bromley Santa Dash.  This was a family affair as you can see

The course was 2k which included a steep uphill bit and a finish in the High Street.  My boy ran over three quarters of it.  The pre-race warm up was a joy to see with 500+ Santa's performing and aerobic warmup and it was great to be running with my wife and boy along the finish getting cheers and applause from the crowds and witness the atmosphere gee my boy up for a burst of energy sprint finish :-)  I am proud to say we finished in 24minutes.  Not bad for a 4yo!

So my early Christmas present is the return of my mo-jo.  I know I need to take it easy due to my knee condition, but I will be keeping to 5k and 10k events and not have to put in the training miles that I was doing previously.  But when you can have fun and get photo's such as the one below, (which I know I am obviously biased, but I love) it certainly makes running, whatever the distance, very worthwhile!

Until the next time (which will not be another 2+ months)

TJH

Tourism

This weekend, I travelled up to North Yorkshire with Mich & Max and with a mate of mine 'The Rat' and his wife and their two boys.

None of my mates have normal names :-)

The main purpose of the weekend was to visit a couple of racecourses, Thirsk on Friday and Beverley on Saturday.  Having now visited these, this now takes me now having visited 30 of the 59 in the UK. You could say that I am taking part in a kind of racecourse tourism.

Thirsk was the Super Hero Family Day and Max managed to meet SpiderMan!

 

At Beverley, The Rat and I made a tidy profit, so two successful racecourse visits were had.

So whilst up North, I thought would take advantage of the situation and take part in some Parkrun Tourism as well.  We were staying in a static caravan in Skipsea which meant that the closest Parkrun was just over 10 miles away in Bridlington.

The name of the Parkrun was Sewerby! Now I must admit having the word Sewer in the name didn't sound too appealing.

This was my 54th Parkrun and my 11th different venue and I can quite easily state this is my favourite Parkrun that I have done.  I must admit that I was very lucky with the weather.

There were around 90 runners and I did have a wry smile (being a Southerner) listening to the locals chatting and I heard at least three 'Ay Ups'

The start is in front of Sewerby Hall, a rather grand start to say the least.

The run then takes you along a coastal path, then around a cricket green, through some ornamental gardens, along some wood chip tracks, through some woods.  A delightful run, and for me the epitome of what Parkrun is all about.  As I have stated, I was lucky with the weather and I am sure if there is a gale blowing in from the North sea, the mile or so along the coastal path could be brutal!

I managed to get round in 25.25 and came 37th just being beaten by a Husky.  No stats as once again, I left the Garmin at home.

We all had a great weekend, lots of activities and I even squeezed in an hours fishing on Sunday morning and managed to catch a 3lb Carp!

Next family weekend away........................not sure when or where, but wherever it is, I think I will be checking to see where the closest Parkrun is.

Until next time
TJH

Running Naked

Metaphorically of course.  I wouldn't subject anybody to seeing me running in the nuddy!

So it has been a month since I received the news that I have to pack up long distance running in earnest otherwise I would be requiring a large piece of titanium to be placed into knee.  So despite having to knock anything longer than 5k on the head, it does mean that I can still at least run Parkrun. If albeit not as frequently.

So having not done any running at all since the Adidas Thunder Run 2two weekends ago, I decided to run the Bromley Parkrun this Saturday.  There were two main reasons behind this. 


Reason 1 -Not a Headache
I had gone into work on Wednesday & Thursday and had to return home on both days due to migraines and didn't make it into work on Friday  Sometimes you hear people saying I had a migraine earlier (thinking that it is just a bad headache)  I can assure you a migraine is not just a headache.  I lose my periphery vision, I then get black spots in front of my eyes, followed by nasuea/throwing up and then the mother of all pressure headaches.  The only thing I can do is lay down in a dark room.  So in a nutshell I spent 90% of Wed/Thu/Fri sleeping or trying to sleep.  So I had to get out Saturday morning as I needed the fresh air.

Reason 2 -All the Gear, No Idea
I have been fortunate enough along with a number of other Petts Wood Runners (for the second year running) to be asked to help test and provide feedback on a selection of running apparel, nutrition and technology.  So I wanted to test a couple of items that had been assigned to me.  Can you guess what I had to test??

I look like a packet of Opal Fruits

What you may also notice from the pic above is, no Garmin! so in running terms, I was naked!  Having spent the best part of the last 2 preceding almost every run waving my wrist at the sky trying to pick up the satellites, I just wanted to run and not worry about pace or time and not having to wait for the recognisable Garmin beep that can be heard a thousand times at most events (running or cycling).

I got round in 24:14 (only learning of my time when I got my text from parkrun in the evening). 

No link to my Garmin stats.  So here is a link to duck billed platypus instead?

The gear that I tried was Ashmei compression socks - very comfortable and despite being compression socks, not a nightmare to put on. But the acid test for me with any pair of socks is how much they seem to shrink after washing (although being Merino wool, potentially less washes are required!)

My other item being tested were the Puma Mobium running shoes.  I admit these look strange as they have what looks like a pre-formed  high arch.  Reading the bumph the idea is that the shoe effectively flattens out and moulds to your foot on footstrike but then recoils back to shape once you lift your foot and therefore getting power transfer.  Well that's the idea?  From my perspective, they were comfortable with loads of cushioning especially in the forefoot (which is important for me, being a mid to forefoot striker), and very lightweight.  I had some minor discomfort on the instep of one of my feet, but I will be giving them another whirl to see how I get on with them.

So there you have it, a brief blog by my standards.

Until next time
TJH

24 hours of Run, Sun, Fun and One (hell of a Thunderstorm)

Jackanory Time.

Are you sitting comfortably? then i'll begin.

I Have an Idea
Just under a year ago, I posted a message on the Petts Wood Runners Facebook page stating I fancied running the Adidas 24 Hour Thunder Run and would anybody like to be in a relay team.  Four intrepid/stupid/brave/desperate* (delete as appropriate) put their names forward   My fellow team members were Karien, Emma, Matt & Eleanor.  So the first thing for me to do was come up with a team name.  Now if you chuck my name into the equation, our first name initials (in alphabetical order) are E, E, K, M, R.  So I came up with a few ideas and in the end the resulting team name was KREME KRACKERED. (Saatchi & Saatchi eat your heart out).

Fast forward 11 months and e-mails began to be exchanged plus a post Tuesday night run Pub visit to discuss plans and tactics.  Emma & Karien had been part of a team in the 2012 Thunder run, so they had some inside knowledge.

Arrival
Myself and my support crew (Mich and Max) were planning on getting there early on the Friday, Emma & Karien suggested the best place to try and set up base camp.  A few things transpired that  meant we didn't get the spot we wanted.  First, it was widely advertised that the camping areas would open at 3pm, but from somewhere it changed to 12pm, we were never going to get there for that time (there being Catton Park in Derbyshire).  We were planning however getting there around 1:30pm, but having left just gone 10am Friday morning, we didn't arrive until almost 4pm (2 hours on the M25!)

Thirdly there were some TR24 professional people already there with rolls of plastic tape cordoning off large areas where there were whole running clubs taking part.  Some had tent, some also had Gazebos, there were even Marquees!  Fortunately one of these professional groups lent us some of their tape and we managed to cordon of the the last remaining area relatively near the course.  Lo and behold as we started erecting the tent, they opened up the next field where we would have had ample opportunity to get a prime spot! Ce La Vie.

The rest of the team couldn't arrive until Saturday morning.  In the warm summer evening I lit up the BBQ and treated myself to a couple of bottles beer, my way of preparing whilst watching others jogging the course!

Bedtime stories for Max, Real Ale for Mummy & Daddy

Saturday
9am the next morning, I was still without a team, but by 10am the other four had arrived.  It was a glorious day.  I handed out everybody's timing chips, numbers and Thunder Run T-shirts that I had collected the night before and then handed out the team shirts that I had made up.

Smiling, oblivious to what lie ahead

The Plan
The race started at 12pm.  I was scheduled to do the first lap.  Our planned schedule estimated that we would average around 1 hour per 10k lap so the plan was that myself, Karien, Matt & Elie would do 5 laps and Emma would do 4.  Also Elie said she would prefer not to run in the dark but would a double lap to counter that.  Well that was the plan......


Getting Started
We all wandered down to the start area for the 11.30 briefing.  I had looked at the weather in the week and light rain was forecast for Saturday night.  However, during the briefing we were told the good news was that the thunderstorm that was due at 3pm wouldn't be happening, the bad news was that is was now due at 7pm.  And, ominously, it was mentioned that the event WOULD NOT be cancelled and it was up to us if we wanted to continue running.  I think they knew something that we didn't?

Emma didn't like the mention of Thunderstorm, Karien put on a brave face!

Max with matching supporter's shirt

Lining up at the start line there was a real buzz in the air as everybody anticipated what lie ahead in the next 24 hours.  I managed to find Liz, another PWR who was running the TR24 for the third time and this year she was running solo! Crazy Woman!

Psychologically, it is strange trying to get prepared as to start off you are only running 10k and without sounding cocky, if you are a regular runner, 10k is not far.  What is the unknown, is how your body will handle running 10k multiple times in 24 hours with little or no sleep? And compared to the solo runners I would only be completing a fraction of the distance they would be achieving.  There was a countdown from 10 and then we were off.

"Ha ha this is easy Liz", "Ray we have only run 100metres"

Off and Running
Less than half a mile in there was a bit of queue as the course narrowed and turned right up a very steep hill, I think quite a few people were secretly thankful that we had to walk that bit.  The sun was blazing down and the temperature was in the high 20's.  Most normal people would not choose to run 10k in midday heat, but come to think of it, most normal people wouldn't run in a 24 hour event.  Just after 2k there was another hill.  Liz was using a strategy of walking up the hills, so I said goodbye and pushed on.  I was surprised at how tough the course was, twists & turns, undulating and concentration required a lot of the time avoided tree roots, pot holes and other hazards.  Mich, Max & Emma were waiting just after the 9km marker to cheer me on.

Max doing his Meerkat impression and being a lookout

Hands up if you think it will rain later

I managed the first lap in 1:03 and handed over the baton (a reflective snap strip that you could wrap around your wrist) to Karien.

The handover is quite funny as there are a couple of hundred people waiting and you are trying to pick out your team mate.  Yourself and incoming runners are shouting names, the waiting runners are shouting names.

I wandered back to the my tent had a chat with the gang and then went and queued in a field to have a shower.  Just your normal Saturday afternoon! ;-)

Once I had freshened up, I went back to the tent and then Mich, Max and I found another vantage point to watch the runners at around 8k and due to the design of the course enabled us to then take a cut through which took about 1 minute to then see the runners again at just after 9k.  Mich also went to the Start/Finish area as well to try and get at least one photo of all of us running.

Karien being chased by Pat Sharp (it's not really him)

Matt being photo bombed

 

Elie showing her Tiger clawing impression

Emma completing her 1st lap

Whilst we were waiting at the 8k mark, supporting the runners, Max was trying to get high-fives.  I think it shows the feel good factor of the event as within 10 minutes he was up to 51 high-fives and said 'Daddy I don't want to do it anymore as my hand hurts'  Whilst we were waiting for Ellie, one fella ran past with no top on and Mich's eyes lit up.  I was in the process of explaining to Mich how I had a similar physique, but I had a protective layer covering it and we managed to miss Liz approaching.  We shouted encouragement but couldn't get a photo.  So Mich took the shortcut to get a photo of Liz which she managed to do, but she also managed to get another photo as well!!!

Liz looking good on what must have been lap 3?

Very similar physique to myself.  Mine is disguised.

Before I knew it, three and a half hours had passed and I was getting ready for my next lap.  It was still warm but was beginning to cloud over. I wandered down to the handover area waiting for Emma to come in.  The camaraderie amongst the runners is fantastic, everybody chatting and having a laugh.  For the racing snakes that were obviously competing to win the event the handovers were extremely slick.  Where as for us mere mortals it was more of a case of a quick 30 second chat ask how the incoming runner was feeling and trundle off.

My second lap was my fastest in 58 minutes.  But I was definitely aware of my lack of fitness and  due to very little running recently due to my knee issues.  I was putting in effort that I know 6 months ago would have been getting me an 8:30ish minute mile, yet despite my input, my output was nearer a 10 minute mile. I was also being consciously careful to nurse my knee a little bit, especially on the down hill sections where normally, time can be made up.  Just as I reached the 9km the first few raindrops started falling.


An event for Lunatics
Whilst sitting outside the tent earlier Matt had mentioned that thinking about it, this was an event for lunatics.  I agreed but suggested branding it as such probably wasn't the best idea.  However, his comment was justified as once again I stood in a field with 40 to 50 others in a queue wearing only shorts and running vest, standing in light rain waiting to have a shower.  Lunatics, every one of us.


It is Just a Passing Shower
I got back to the tent and Mich had knocked up a nice hot Tuna pasta, just what was needed. Whilst Karien and Matt did their legs the Thunder & lightning was rumbling in the distance and then it was time for Elie to do her double lap.

The Thunder Run was certainly living up to it's name.  May I make a suggestion to the organisers, can you rename it to Pimms on the Lawn run next year?

Karien and her hubby Kobus popped into our tent and then the rain started in earnest.  We were wondering if Elie might come in after one lap (although technically it is against the rules as you need to have somebody on the course at all times)  But we shouldn't have doubted Elie, she is made of stern stuff. 

The rain fell and fell and fell I did take a short video at 19:30, but alas I can't seem to upload it to this blog.  But the only way to describe and I think I would 2000+ people to verify that I am not exaggerating as that we had torrential rain for almost 8 hours.

I managed to get about 45 minutes sleep but was awoken by the tent zip as Emma ventured out to take the first stint in pitch black darkness & the rain.  I didn't envy her, and I knew I would be following just over an hour later.

When I did wander down 45 minutes later, I was soaked before I even got to the handover point.  I felt particularly sorry for a woman that come running in shouting for Ken, 10 minutes later she was still standing there in the rain waiting for Ken to take the baton.  I have a feeling that Ken will not be getting a Christmas Card this year!

Emma came in and simply said it is ridiculous out there. The first bit is of the route is on grass, so that was just squelchy, but the first hill was virtually a water fall.  Now this is where I was to rue an enormous schoolboy error, despite getting my trail shoes out at home, I had forgot to pack them.  I was like bambi on ice and fell over 5 times in the first 3k. The conditions were, well as Emma put it ridiculous.  I trundled past Liz without realising it and she shouted out.  So I decided to walk with her A) to keep her company and B) to take it a bit easier and try and stay on my feet.  I achieved A), but still managed to fall over twice, once nearly taking Liz out in the process.  We had a good chinwag whilst trudging through rivers of ankle deep mud.  With about 1k to go I said to Liz I had better push on as I knew Karien would be waiting for me.  This third lap took me 1:26

After telling Karien to be careful I wandered back to the tent. I think the time was about 00:45?  I didn't and couldn't be bothered to shower, so just tried to wipe as much mud off as possible with my wet running gear and put something on dry as quick as possible. Mich then came out of one of the tent bedrooms and  Emma came out of her bedroom wrapped in her sleeping bag shivering, so I made Porridge & Coffee.

Because Elie had done her double lap, during the night there was 1 less hour's rest before the rest of us had to do our next lap.  I got into my sleeping bag and probably managed about an hours sleep.  At 2am I was woken as the intensity of the rain increased to biblical proportions, I honestly had visions of the tent floating away.

I went to meeting area at 4am and the rain had finally stopped.  Despite the conditions, the humour of and mood of everybody was still top notch, one fella come running in wearing nothing but a red pair of pants! Bizarrely I managed to see and say hi to one of the ladies of the Men's & women's Running Magazine Project 26.2 that we were involved in last year.

Dawn was beginning to break, head torches were still needed though.  I didn't even try running on two thirds of the course, it was nigh on impossible.  A pothole that was at least a foot deep had appeared just after 2km, where there wasn't ankle deep mud a lot of roots either exposed due to mud being washed away or hidden under a slurry of mud and just after 7km there was a puddle, well more of a sheep dip really as it was knee deep!

Being a drama queen? maybe? But the main objective for all of us was to get round in one piece and complete the challenge.  Chatting to others I found out that there were teams that pulled out and I heard of two people with broken ankles and one with a broken arm! and I managed to navigate lap 4 without falling over in 1:23

I was now feeling quite fatigued, I had a cup of tea and a bacon and egg roll, I went back to the tent, got into some dry gear and got into my sleeping bag, but now Max (who had slept through the monsoon) was now awake, so sleep for me was not forthcoming.  Mich took Max for a walk up to the HQ area to get some breakfast, but I still couldn't get to sleep.

The Final Countdown
By now we were a few hours behind our planned schedule, so it was now looking like only two of us would be doing 5 laps.

Despite now having daylight and the rain stopping, 8 hours of rain and hundreds of people running round the course meant that underfoot conditions were not going to dramatically improve.  Everybody came back saying the conditions were now different but still very difficult.

I went out for my fifth and final lap about 10:30am, It was now getting hot again, the slurry mud was now turning into a glue pot and was literally trying to suck your shoes of the feet.

The support and encouragement on the final lap was fantastic and I should say that is was excellent on the first couple of laps.  No surprise that during the night almost everybody were tucked inside their tents trying to keep dry and warm.  I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the marshalls.  I think there were 10 Marshall points, where a couple of people were camped out on the course and despite not running had to endure the conditions for over 24 hours.  Much respect.

My last lap took about 1:20ish, I say ish as my Garmin was showing a 'Low Battery' warning.  I am not sure if that was the watch or me?  But it took a while for the watch to pick up the satellites, so I could only start it about 500metres after I had started. .  I saw Liz again for the 3rd time on course, well actually she saw me.  This was our briefest of encounters as I just wanted to get round, but I discovered she was on her 10th lap.  A truly amazing effort!

The TR24 rules state you can stop whenever you want and if you finish a lap at 11:59, as long as somebody starts a lap before the midday cutoff, they can continue and finish the lap.  As I came in at 11:50, I said to Karien, "Don't feel you have to go out"  We were all tired and decided we were happy with 21 laps between us, especially considering the conditions.

Two-Tone skin colour

So whilst I queued for a shower, the rest of the gang queued for medals, the deal was hand your timing chip back to receive your medal.  Matt had managed to lose his chip, but they took pity on us and we all received a well earned and deserved medal.

Team KREME KRACKERED, still smiling, just!

One More Race
There was still one final race to complete.  Rumour had it that another storm was approaching in the afternoon.  The early morning wind and sun had dried out my tent so I wanted to get it dismantled and packed away.  Elie had shot off, but many hands make light work so the rest of us manged to get the tent packed away in record time.  This also meant we had to have a bit of a team bundle with us all lying on the tent to try and expel the air.  Quite a funny end to the event.

We said our goodbyes to then embark on a long journey home.  It took about 30 mins to actually get off the campsite.  We stopped at services on the M1 and it seemed that quite a few other TR24 competitors had chosen this strategy.  We were all easily recognisable by our bright yellow Adidas t-shirts.  Lots of knowing looks, nods and wry smiles were exchanged.

Conclusion
A friend of mine on Facebook questioned last week that he thought I had been advised to give up long distance running.  I explained that this event had been booked a year ago and there was no way I was going to drop out. This was going to be my 'Last Hurrah'  At midnight on Saturday, I was wishing I had dropped out :-)

This was one of the toughest 10k's I have run, I just had to run it 5 times in 24 hours in conditions ranging from midday blazing sunshine to midnight monsoon mudfest conditions.  Suntroke and hypothermia in one event?

I thouroughly enjoyed it (I must be a lunatic) and it is these type of events that epitomise why I got back into running in such a big way.  Irrelevant of speed, we are all runners enduring and enjoying the same experiences.  Camaradarie is top notch and the sense of achievement is fantastic.  It doesn't matter if you have just run a Marathon, got a PB or just completed your first Parkrun.  The running community is unique.

As a team we performed brilliantly, nobody was left waiting at the change over area, we all managed at least 4 laps (210k in total), no arguments, (depiste Matt leaving his boxer shorts lying around in my tent ;-) All in All a weekend experience that none of us will forget.  Massive Thanks to Mich my wife, who put up with us all. She is a star!

What's Next?
So I have been told that if I continued all of my long distance running and training (typically this has been 6+ half marathons, at least 1 marathon and endless miles of training per year), I would probably require a knee replacement within 10 years.  So that means I have to dramatically reduce my running, no more marathons or half marathons and just Parkruns for me now.  I will now be back on the bike and will be cycling regularly to regain and keep my aerobic fitness.  But I am sure doing one event a year won't do me too much harm?

Adidas Thunder Run 2014, Where do I sign up?

Until Next Time
TJH

A Moment of Magic

Waking up at 6am this morning, I was rather pleased to see cloud cover.  I am sure that 12,500 over people were probably grateful as well.  The reason, Today was was the Olympic Anniversary run.  5 miles around the Olympic Park culminating in a finish in the Olympic Stadium.

My boy Max is a serial early waker, usually some time between 5.30 & 6.00am.  Lo and behold, a Sunday morning where we needed to get up early and he decides to have a lie in!

Anyway, once we were all sorted, we were out of the door by 07.30am and on a Bus towards Lewisham to catch the DLR to Stratford.  The DLR was perculiarly quiet with probably only another dozen peopla sporting the National Lottery emblazoned techincal t-shirt that arrived with the event's running number.

It wasn't until arriving at Stratford and walking through Westfield that there was a sea of Blue shirts.  For those of you that have followed my blogs over the past couple of years, you may recall what a fantastic experience myself, Mich and Max had when we came to watch the Paralympics last year

I realise that this event was never going to match the high of such a spectacular and historic event.  But if the stewards on duty even had 10% of the enthusiasm that the Games Makers had, it would make for a far more pleasant experience!

Upon arrival at the Stadium, I had to ask no less than 5 stewards if there were pushchair storage facilities.  Fifth time lucky, somebody could answer my question.  Once that was sorted, we secured some seats in the Stadium.

At 9:40am I made my way to the white start area, where an enthusiastic warm up was happening and most people were joining in.  There was a bit of a buzz, but not quite what I thought it would be?

The race was started in waves with the Red wave due to start at 10:00am and the White start at 10:09 and two more waves (I think) after that. There was a minor delay of a couple of minutes, but an air horn sounded by Sir Chris Hoy got the event under way.  There was a large screen showing the start of the race and there was lots of laughter as we watched one person after another, throwing any thoughts of a race plan out the window as they stopped and tried to get photos of the Olympian.

Just gone 10:10, the White start were under way.  The start was being beamed back into the Stadium and Mich said she saw me on the screen (my Union Jack Bandana has its uses).

Now this may sound a bit negative/miserable call it what you will, but the first 4.75 miles was literally running around a building site. The course was narrow and covered all sorts of rough and dusty terrain. There were hardly any Marshalls and virtually no support (spectators weren't allowed around the course for security reasons).  Some may say well that is not what running is about.  But to be honest, I thought this event was meant to be a celebration of the Olympics and I was expecting a bit more of a feel good factor.

But despite this, the finale did make it all worth while.  You approached the Stadium on a slope that went below ground level and for a moment you could see the stadium seating through and archway, but just when you thought you might actually run out onto the track, you had to take a sharp left and then run 3/4 around the stadium in a sub terrainian passage way.  You can only imagine what a hive of activity this area must have been during the Olympics & Paralympics.  There was a nice touch with the sound systems playing sound clips of commentary about British Athletes winning Olympic Events, plus the obligatory Chariot's of Fire music.  This certainly started the hairs on the back of the neck to stand up....

Then you entered the stadium amphitheatre, this was certainly a Moment of Magic, I didn't know which way to look, it was certainly an impressive sight and feeling.  I slowed the pace down a little to try and absorb the moment.  It took me a while to spot Mich & Max in the crowd and I had to stop so Max could see me as it must have been difficult for him to try and pick me out in a moving mass of blue.  Then the final 100metres, running down the track where so many famous athletes had won their medals.  I just had to put on a sprint!  My result, 41:25.

Photo finish between 5 of us!

I posted on Facebook later that I felt quite proud to have run on the same track where British Olympians and Paralympians had won medals.  In fact there is an inscription on the back of the medal which reads 'I followed in the footsteps of Legends'

Thumbs Up for the Stadium Finish

So, there you have it, an honest account of the event and speaking to a few others, it seems they had the same opinion about the event.  Maybe for people that had not experienced the Olympics or Paralympics, it might have felt like a better event.  But the bar was set so high with the Olympic experience, in all honesty that was never going to be matched!

Was it worth it? Yes for the Stadium finish. 

Could it and should it have been a better event? I certainly think so.  I believe there is talk of making it an annual event? 

Would I do it again? No, especially as the Stadium will have a certain East London football club that I am not particularly fond of as residents ;-)

Until the next time
TJH

Gutted!

If you have been following my blogs you will be aware that I have been having an issue with my right knee and you are might be aware that just over 5 years ago I had keyhole surgery on my knee on my meniscus (football injury).  I then took up cycling which then led me back into running.

My recent issues started in March this year when taking part in the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon which is quite hilly.  It was the downhill elements that seemed to cause the issues and I ended up having to walk the last 3 miles or so.

Since then, I have pulled out of the Brighton Marathon but then trundled round the Kent RoadRunner Marathon.  Last night I took part in the JP Morgan Chase Corporate run and again was still having issues with my knee.  

Over the last 4 months, I have had a multitude of physio sessions, seen a Sports and Musculoskeletal Physician, been for MRI scans and this morning I had a consultation with an Orthopaedic Surgeon who specialises in knee disorders. 

He had a simple instruction for me; "Give Up Running"  Now I was already prepared for this and was ready to come back with, 'well do whatever surgery that is required to get me back running'. 

However, he then took me through my MRI scans showed me where the issues were with my meniscus and cartilage, highlighted the signs that arthritis was beginning (arthritis is heredity in my family)  He frankly explained the following;

• I could have a first operation which would be to 'tidy up' my cartilage and I could be back and running within 3 months
• If need be I could have a 2^nd operation where they could drill holes into my bone in which the seeping bone marrow would create a kind of polyfilla in my knee.  This would result in 6 weeks+ on crutches and probably another 6 months of rehabilitation before I could even start to consider running again

But irrespective of what operation I have if I was to continue with long distance running there is a significant probability that I would have to have a replacement knee operation by the time I am 45 (less than 7 years)

Now I wasn't prepared for that damning diagnosis!

I must admit I am a bit gutted.  As you might have gathered I do actually enjoy my running, but it would be foolish of me to continue in the long run (pun well and truly intended).  I did explain to the consultant that I had the Olympic Run and the Adidas Thunder Run coming up in the next three weeks.  He said, "well if you can get through those without too much discomfort, all well and good, but then that has to be it!"  I even asked what he considered as long distance running and could I still do half marathons?  His honest opinion was no more than 5k! At least maybe I can still run Parkrun, albeit not as frequently as I would like?

Looking at my Garmin stats (which I have worn for probably 99% of my runs) in the last two years I have run over 1300 miles.  So for a bloke that has always carried a few extra pounds in weight, that is quite a bit of wear and tear on the old joints.

The good news is that from a fitness perspective and from a knee perspective is that I can continue cycling (also swimming or rowing).  The bad news (particularly for Mich my wife) is that when we have weekends away, instead of me disappearing typically for 2-3 hours to run a half marathon, I will probably be gone for 7-9 hours cycling 100k events. On the flip side, hopefully Mich will keep up with her running and I can repay her by supporting her at events as she as done so many times for me.

I rang Mich when I came out of the hospital and told her the news.  Max my 3yo boy obviously heard some of the conversation, so Mich had explained to him the situation.  I then received a phone call at work in this afternoon from Mich's mobile, when I answered it, Max was on the phone and the conversation went roughly as follows

Me         "Hello"

Max       "Hello Daddy"

Me         "Hello Buddy"

Max       "Are you still sad"

Me         (now smiling) "No I am OK buddy"

Max       "Are we going running"

Me         "Not really mate, I can't"

Max       "Oh, isn't your leg getting better"

Me         "It will do mate, maybe we can go cycling"

Max       "Can I go cycling with you"

Me         "Yes mate"

Max then shouted to Mich "Daddy said we can go cycling together"

There is nothing more uplifting than a conversation like this from (in my own biased opinion) a very perceptive 3yo boy.

This now means that I won't get to achieve my hatrick of Barcelona Half Marathons. I have already entered next year's RoadRunner Marathon, so there is a place going if anybody wants it? And knowing my luck, I will now get accepted via the ballot for next year's London Marathon!

So the JoggingHippo Jog Blog is now on borrowed time.  I will still blog about the Olympic Run and the Adidas Thunder Run, but then I will need to get my creative thinking cap on and change the name of my blog to something cycling related? Ideas on a postcard.

At least I achieved my sub-4 Marathon!

Until next time

TJH

Time Flies

Blimey, it has been a month since I wrote my last blog.  I have been busy, but not busy enough running!

I have have been on a cracking family holiday for 11 days in Majorca. I did manage to get out running twice, once on my own running just over 4 miles and also out with Mich my wife (whilst pushing Max in his buggy) when we did a couple of miles.

Holiday Run

When you have a 3yo old boy though, it meant that I spent 90% of my time in the pool, jumping, splashing, swimming and Max's favourite 'pushing Daddy in'

I have also been busy creating a new website for Petts Wood Runners.  It is now live, so have a look

www.pettswoodrunners.org

I have managed to get out twice with PWR for the Tuesday night runs.  Last week was our traditional annual Midsummers Night Run.  Instead of being in our usual 7 groups, we merge into 3 groups, have two stops where drinks (including beer and wine) are available and then finish up at our Men's Captain Garden, we we have Pimms on the lawn and have our annual presentation.

Midsummers Night Run

Did somebody say there is Pimms tonight?

Unbeknown to me I picked up a trophy for 3rd place in the group that I competed in our club Grand Prix.  (I had missed a few events due to injury, so wasn't expecting it).

On Saturday, I took part in my annual pilgrimage to my favourite Brewery; The Hogs Back Brewery.  This involves meeting at my boss's house for Bacon Butties, before embarking on an 8 mile walk to the Brewery across the North Down's followed by the tour and vast quantity of real ale and then a BBQ back at my boss's to finish!  The walk was an extra challenge for me as for 6 of the miles I had to carry Max on my back in the carry rucksack!

Brewery Walk

Not content with an 8 mile Saturday Walk, Mich and I also ran the Guildford Parkrun in the morning.  This is quite a tough undulating course and once again, I was Max's chauffeur as I pushed him round in the buggy

Guildford Parkrun

So whilst this all sound quite busy, it actually means that in a month, I have only managed to run 5 times! As well as being busy, the other reason is that I am still having issues with my knee.  So another visit to the specialist is required to try and discover the route of the problem!

I should now be back into regular blog mode.

Until next time
TJH

Not Ordinary or Standard

Saturday 1st June, the date of the Kent RoadRunner Marathon which would be my fifth Marathon.  Today would certainly be a case of mind over matter and this will probably be quite a long blog, so you might need to mental resolution to read through this?

If you have been reading my blogs, you will know that preparation for this Marathon has been far from ordinary or standard.  In fact I only entered this Marathon, when I realised I was going to be unable to run the Brighton Marathon in April after picking up a knee injury during the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon in March.

Lo and behold, I then won a competition via the Southern Running Guide, which gave me entry into the Marathon, 2 nights in the Dartford Hilton Hotel and an exclusive polo shirt.  So I was determined to run (and hopefully complete) this Marathon.

I was only given the all clear that I could at least attempt the Marathon last week after having the results of my MRI scans back.  No further damage to my meniscus in my knee, but some damage to my cartilage and bruising.

Anyway after getting home from work and sorting the final bits out, Mich, Max and I drove to the Hilton.  Just to top the poor preparation, Max had a nasty cough all night that meant all 3 of us had a rubbish nights sleep.

At 06:15 the alarm that I set sounded.  Looking out of the window, I was pleased to see cloudy conditions.  Friday afternoon had been quite hot and there was talk that the weekend would be more of the same.  So I sorted myself out and had my brekkie.

Getting to the venue, The Cyclosport complex was simplicity itself and we arrived at 07:30, within 5 minutes, I had my number, timing chip and 16 wrist bands, not an ordinary or normal item you would receive normally at a Marathon, but then this isn't a ordinary or normal (despite the distance) Marathon.

16 bands and a camera strap in the shot for good measure

As the Marathon is round the Cyclosport tarmac track, you have to run 17 laps.  At the end of each lap you remove a band and chuck it into a large plastic container.  Sounds a bit strange, but it is a simple and effective method

Once I had got myself sorted, I went in search for Ian the race organiser and introduced myself, he asked me to be near the front at the start, so he could make a quick presentation.

My final warm up before the run was to play football with Max, probably not the most conventional of warm ups, but Max was happy. I bumped into and had a chat with a few people I knew, Kris from work and Rupert from Orpington Runners.

So at 08:55 the 350 odd runners assembled at the start line.  There were a selection of international flags and this we were told represented the nationalities of the people that had or were taking part in this Marathon (2013 being only the 2nd year of this event)  The Japan and Nigeria flags were the ones that stood out.

In addition to my presentation, 3 people were celebrating their birthdays by running a Marathon and there was a far more impressive presentation to a lady called Rachel who was running her 100th Marathon.  In fact there were quite a few running vests from 100 Marathon Club, obviously these centurions were keen to add this Marathon to their collection.

Ian (Race Director) presenting me with my polo shirt (c) Stuart March Photography



Shortly after 9am, we were off.  I had heard on the grapevine that this was a relatively flat course and good for a PB.  The word 'relative' is the key part of this sentence.  I will admit there are no lung busting hills, but there are 3 notable inclines, now if you multiply that by 17, I think you get the picture.

So a bit about the race in general. 

How many Marathon's do you know that only have 1 water station? Well when you have a 17 lap course, that is all you need and this was no ordinary or normal water station.  Water, juice, energy cubes, biscuits, jelly babies, donuts.  It was near on a picnic!  Plus, there is a section where runners could set up their own table where people could have their own provisions to hand. So no need really for running belts or having to carry any gels etc. 

One chap was commissioned to run around the course the wrong way just keep an eye on everybody.  This chap was fantastic, firstly he was wearing a Help for Heroes running vest (Top Man) but he also was encouraging everybody as he ran against the tide.  Now considering he was passing 330+ runners 17 times, that in itself requires a lot of energy, let alone having to run a Marathon also.

The two photographers were very friendly and also very encouraging and the race day photos are free! Again how many Marathon's do you know that provide free photos?  The prices these days of obtaining even just a digital image are quite frankly obscene.

The Marshalls, one word, Fantastic, every single one of them.  Special mention must go to Linda who was standing on the hill over the bridge.  She had an assortment of musical items (bells, castanets, whistle etc) and the energy she showed to stand there for probably 6+ hours and encourage everybody deserves a medal.  I had a bit of banter with her on every lap.

Those previous 3 paragraphs might seem that I am writing this because I won the competition, but i can assure you this is an unbiased honest appraisal

Now about my race.

My longest training run for this event was a 13 mile run, one month prior and my average weekly mileage was under 20 miles.  Ask anybody who has run a Marathon and 99% will tell you that is not enough.  I now have conclusive proof of that.

I started off at a 9 min/mile pace and managed to maintain that for 9 miles.  Yes I did have some discomfort in my knee, but the brutal truth is that of lack of training (albeit knee related) you will be found out in a Marathon, there is no hiding place.  I managed the Half Marathon in sub2 but I knew I was looking at at least 4:30 finish time.  During the second part of the race I adopted a run-walk strategy, but my walking also included the couple of sharpish decline, purely because it was less painful on my knee.

The one thing that all but the fastest runners know is that you are going to be lapped.  My mate Kris, who actually finished in under 3 hours!! I think lapped me 5 times :-)  But what is also strange is that somebody can overtake you but they can actually be a lap or two behind you.  Also as you get near the end you are trying to work out if you only have 2 or 3 laps left.  But you have to get rid of your last band and then you are your final lap.

I can tell you those bands become a bit of an obsession.

Mich and Max had been there to see me run my first couple of laps and then Mich took Max back to Bromley for his Munckin Athletics, but being only a 30 minute drive away I knew they would be back before I finished.  When I did see them again, I had 5 laps left, Max was waiting there ready to give me a High-Five.  I was glad I saw them as I needed some Vaseline, as for some reason, my under arms were rubbing and getting red raw.  A bloke running behind me said "Mate can I have some as well please", " No problems I replied"  He however, had rubbing issues in a slightly more tender area"!

As I came up the finishing straight for the final time, instead of high-fiving him I grabbed his hand and we ran (shuffled) the last 100 metres together, a very proud father & son moment.

Wave to Mummy

 

Father and Son completing a Marathon

 

My final time was 4:47:50.  Garmin stats via the link below.  Please note the elevation! Not flat ;-)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/321884760

Oh so that now means that PWR doesn't stand for Petts Wood Runners, but Personal Worst (for) Ray.  But I really am not bothered, I finished.

Once I had collect my medal, I can assure you this is no ordinary or standard medal either, it is a whopper! we made our way back to the hotel and once I had stretched and showered, I had the perfect post run nutritional refuel of Fish & Chips and a couple of pints of real ale. Bliss!

Max had to help hold the medal up as I was knackered

I whole heartedly recommend this Marathon.  It is certainly a challenge, not only physically, but psychologically as well.  But it is not standard or ordinary and that is what makes it great!  I will be doing this again, hopefully with some ordinary and standard prep?

Until next time
TJH

Injury Update

Seeing the specialist on my Birthday yesterday, meant that I was possibly going to receive an unwelcome present.

Well I received a mixture of good and not so good news.

My foot doesn't have a stress fracture, but does have some bone bruising and inflammation.  It does seem though that I did have a stress fracture previously.

With respect to me knee.  I do not have any additional issues with my meniscus, but I due have some damage to my cartilage behind the knee and again some bruising to the bone.

Not a clean bill of health, but at least I don't have a stress fracture and my meniscus which had been operated on hasn't deteriorated.

So it does mean that I will be going to the ball and with caution I can run the Kent Road Runner Marathon next week. :-)  The main objective being completion rather than worrying too much about the time.

Then subsequently more cross training to strengthen the knee and also reduce the high impact exercise.  I was planning on running an Autumn Marathon, but having run (Kent Road Runner Marathon pending) 3 Marathons in 18 months, I think I am going to take a bit of a break from the longer stuff. Except of course the Adidas 24 hour Thunder Run in July, but that is only 10k, albeit probably 5 times in 24 hours. Then I will stick to 10k's and the odd Half Marathon for the rest of the year.

I am also going to ensure I take a combined MSM, Glucosamine & Chondroitin and a Omega 3 oil supplement to try and help with my joints.

Until next time
TJH

What does MRI stand for?

I thought that it could be 'Mr Ray's Injuries' or maybe 'Marathon Running Implications' but the Internet tells me that it actually means 'Magnetic Resonance Imaging' and I think that is what the medical profession will be sticking with.

Anyway, on Wednesday evening I was booked in for two MRI scans one on my right knee and one on my left foot.

I am fortunate enough to have private health care through my work.  After registering, I was taken to the MRI area and was shown to a room where I could get changed and put my belongings into a locker.  I was also informed to have a look at the list on the wall and choose which music I would like to listen to whilst having my scans! :-)

 

 

When I got back to the waiting area, there were two other women waiting, so I asked what music they had chosen, but they were both waiting for x-rays and apparently didn't have the option of music. I decided to go for Moby to start with (but I must admit the Play album is much better) and then when my foot was scanned, I was asked if I wanted to change the music, I then went for David Gray (but I must admit that the White Ladder album is much better also).  I did consider going for Queen Greatest Hits, but if Don't Stop Me Now came on, I am not sure I could have kept still for the scan!

 

So why am I having these scans?

Five years ago I had a knee arthroscopy (better known as keyhole surgery) this was as a result of a football injury.  The surgery was to repair a torn meniscus.  At the time, my surgeon explained that I had to give up football and running.  I therefore took up cycling, which 2 years later resulted in me cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats.

Having an effective 3 year break from running/football my knee slowly got stronger and stronger and then having seen a mate running the London Marathon in 2011, I decided that I wanted to start running again.  Since August 2011 I have now been running pretty much every week.

I have tried playing a couple of games of 5-a-side football, but the constant change of direction and twisting and turning means I experience discomfort in the knee.  So the football boots are well and truly hung-up.

But since suffering my knee injury earlier this year in the Tunbridge Wells Half (resulting in me having to walk the last 3.5 miles) something has definitely been amiss.  I am concerned that maybe the constant running has weakened my knee?

Also as a result of this, I have been experiencing pain in my left foot, which maybe a result of sub conscious change of running style to compensate for my right knee?

So scans have now been done and I see the specialist tomorrow to see what the diagnosis is? and whether I can run the Kent Road Runner Marathon next week?

The other advantage of going private is that you get your own CD with your images, so here are images of my foot and knee. Not sure if they are good or bad news?

 

I will post a blog update to disclose the conclusion. 
TJH