Thursday September 19, 2008

Anyone who said that running is easy should be shot

Anyone who said that running is easy should be shot. Now who was that now? Oh yes I remember, NOBODY! No one would dare tell me that travelling in a forward motion, both legs bent and moving one after the other, sometimes at speed i.e. RUNNING! is easy. That's because it's not, but what is these days? No, since my last marathon and during the first few weeks of training this time around, I have come to realise that it takes a great deal of stamina, commitment, dedication, motivation and coming to terms with the fact that it's not going to be an easy ride( no chance of anybody giving me a ride, I�ve still got to run), it's going to be an extremely mental and physical and at times, emotional challenge. Saying that, ever so rewarding at the end of it, when you finish, when I go past the finishing line. Sorry I began to drift away with my thoughts there, it was all that talk about the finish, maybe a little too early to think about that just yet, after all we have only just started this adventure and our quest for marathon glory really. Got a bit of work to do yet, so let's get on with it.


After my last training session with Michael i.e. cool dude, great motivator, genuine believer, hero of the hour, you get the idea; the adventure book took a bit of a nose dive with the chapters displaying subtle hints of an unhappy ending. My best result in distance and duration was 6.2 miles in 1 hour and 22 minutes. This time was different, felt different, and felt inadequate even for me. Just before the session started I consumed a protein bar at Michael's studio, a very nice nutty flavoured, bit chewy protein bar. I was a little peckish and assumed it would do me no harm. After what seemed like a never-ending ordeal of actually chewing the bar, about an hour later (ok I might have exaggerated a little, but you get the picture), we went off on our run. I couldn't believe what happened next, I began to feel the stitch of all stitches, not a nice pain at all. I've had stitches before but not like this and not after 1 and a half miles. Something in this marathon soap opera had gone horribly wrong. I felt like i was at the end of an episode of Eastenders, waiting for my inevitable drum beat to be cued. My mind as well as my body had become affected and succumbed to the ultimate pressure that this pain was giving me. Michael informed me the main culprit here was probably the protein bar, eating so close to our training session was probably not the best idea I�ve ever had. I've probably had better ideas but really can't be fussed to bring them into this blog right now. I was feeling guilty of being rubbish, of letting this get to me, of letting the pain, the stitch, the moment control me in such a negative manner. All the time Michael was saying there will be good running days and of course bad running days, it's never going feel wonderful every time. I guess I learnt a lesson that day, that you can't have every day as your day to shine. Sometimes you've got to give the light to somebody else.

Determination is my middle name (well not really, it's Roger actually, I blame my dad for that misfortune, just because it's his name doesn't mean he has to give me it), I was determined to get back on that horse and ride again, well run again. With the help, support and belief that Michael was giving me, I knew that things could only get better. And sure enough they did.

Our sessions began to take in one of the local parks. So there we were taking in the picturesque scenery, the serene still beauty of the trees and the grass and the ever longed for breeze in our face and our hair. This was what running was all about, being at one with nature whilst enjoying the tranquillity that the park offered; moving through stillness was exhilarating as well as breathtaking, sometimes literally. My legs began to feel at one with the path they were running on, a flat terrain, finding it easier in some ways and still challenging in others. The easier it began to feel the more I was aware of the gauntlet being thrown down by the park. It was like the path was talking to me, crazy I know but you'll have to believe me on this one. I was all too aware of this voice calling me "RUN ME, RUN ME, RUN, RUN. Suddenly against my control I was being transported to a parallel universe where i was running at speed and seemingly enjoying it. But it was no dream, this feeling of ultimate awe and phenomenal power was real. Michael was beginning to come back into my field of vision; I had lost him just then. I could hear him say that we were coming in at 7.1 miles. I don't remember the time; I was in too much shock to focus on anything but what we had just done. A big deal for me, this was the most I�d run in the space of 12 months. It couldn't get any better than this, could it?

That adventure was on the Friday. It was Monday now, two whole days had gone but my legs were still holding onto the memory, the twinges of Friday. Michael and i had just completed or required stretching exercises at this studio. We do these essential tasks before every run. We set off again, a nice day , little breeze, not too hot, what you would call a perfect recipe for success, well you would if we were cooking but this blog as you know is all about running. The weather conditions suited us nethertheless. Fatigue and tight muscles were playing their parts magnificently today. Tight calves to be accurate, had to stretch them a couple of times, not major attention but attention nonetheless. My mind was focussed on the fact that we were coming up to 7.1 miles, anything over that and my mind and body in theory wouldn't know how to behave. Memory became the order of the day when my muscles began to remember the ordeal I put them through last time. Breathing heavily but still running I was enduring the run but finding it hard, I didn't want to stop at 7.1 miles, a great achievement yes but not as great as 8.1 miles sounded. I had made that my next target; I was hoping I had the magic legs when it counted. Michael calculated that given my energy sources (not much by then i can tell you) that we were going finish this session at 8.1 miles. So there you go no opting out now, I had been told, I just had to keep going for a few minutes more, easier said than done. Stop said Michael, stop said the watch, the mileage had stopped at 8.1, and the time was 1 hour and 38 minutes. Oh my god, we had done it, totalling surpassing my longest run for a year just two days previous.

On October 12th Michael and I will be running a half marathon, taking in some of London's parks, 13.1 miles. With just over three and-a-bit weeks, the adventure continues....

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