Thursday 24 November 2011

Kettlebell Challenge for Children in Need

Of course, the running continues.  In fact, only this morning did I complete an interval training session consisting of eight sets of two minute pieces.  I haven't put myself through a hard interval training session for some time, as I've never felt that I'd recovered enough since the previous marathon to run hard.  However, this morning I was feeling up to the task and curious to see the effects of running 14 marathons in 11 months.  I wasn't quite as quick as at the start of the year, but not a million miles away.

What I really want to report on today is the Cambridge Kettlebell Challenge.  One of my clients had the idea of holding a mass kettlebell class to raise money for Children in Need.  I developed the idea and mentioned it to other clients, who were mostly really keen to be involved.  The aim was to run a class on Saturday 19 November from 10am to 5pm.  24 people got involved, most people did 5 minutes at a time of kettlebells and 5 minutes either instructing or shaking the donation bucket.  No one stayed the whole 7 hours, but most people did a one and a half hour stint and worked in relay throughout the day.  One person (John) did about four hours in total - big up to him.
Kettlebell Challenge - I'm the one with the bucket.
I mostly kept an eye on everyone from a distance whilst shaking a bucket.  I also spent most of the day shouting "spare any change for Children in Need", and "help us complete our 7 hour kettlebell challenge.  Give it a go if you think it looks easy".  By the end of the 7 hours we had two very heavy buckets, and I was a little hoarse.  My expectation was that we might collect between £300 and £400, but on the day we managed to raise £980.  We've also collected £1,382 via a JustGiving page (www.justgiving.com/cambridgekettlebellchallenge), which, with Gift Aid, has brought the total raised to £2,665.  Pretty amazing, heh?

It was very gratifying to turn something I do to make a living into a charitable event and a cause for good.  Everyone who came along also really enjoyed themselves.  So who says exercise can't be fun?  Of course, they might not have enjoyed it as much if it had been pouring with rain.  Fortunately, we had fantastic weather.

I'm now off to do some kettlebelling myself.  My next big run will be this coming Sunday, when I intend to do an 18 mile training run around Cambridge.  I should be joined by quite a few friends, at least for the last 13 miles.  Should be fun.

Sunday 13 November 2011

Shillington Shuffle

This oddly named marathon was another low-key event organised by the Long Distance Walker’s Association.  Distances on offer were 12, 17 and 26.5 miles.  As is the way with these events, there was no mass start.  We could start anytime between 8am and 9.45am.  It wasn’t in the interest of faster runners to set off too early as it would have been quite possible to reach the first checkpoint before it opened.  With this in mind I went out to the pub the night before with a few friends and allowed myself to indulge in the sinful act of drinking two pints of beer.  What a relaxed approach I have to marathons these days.

Sunday morning came round and I was up at 7am and out of the house 45 minutes later.  The drive to the starting village of Barton-le-Clay took about an hour.  The car park was a short walk from the official starting point at the village hall.  After stripping down to my running gear, making my way to the start and checking in, it was 9:05 when I eventually got going.  I had no idea of how many people were before me, but over the first few miles there were plenty of walkers and runners for me to chase down and follow.  Despite this, I still managed to miss two turns early on going a short way off course.  This was my fault for not paying close attention to the race instructions, which we had to run with.

After less than 2 miles we had our first gruelling climb to contend with.  Just south of Barton-le-Clay is a ridge of hills that suddenly jump up out of the ground and seem almost man-made in the context of the surrounding gently undulating landscape.  Our route would take us up a steep gulley to the top of the ridgeline.  I ran past a few walkers on the lower slopes of the hill, but soon gave up on my exertions and walked along with everyone else.  From the top of the hill we had fantastic views of the surrounding countryside in the early morning mist.

First steep climb of the day
Most of the run then continued on footpaths, bridleways and farm tracks.  There were several sections were the organisers had secured landowner permission for us to run along the edges of ploughed fields.  However, as there is no official right of way, the running on these sections was tough and on some occasions almost impossible, you had to tiptoe your way through clods of ploughed earth.  It also seemed to me that if there was the opportunity to run up a steep hill then the race director didn’t want us to miss it.  For example, we ran up and over a hill with a trig point, which I mention as an illustration of how high it must have been.  I can now see on the map that there is an alternative path that goes around the hill that wouldn’t have made the route any longer or shorter overall.

Just after the second checkpoint of the day in Pirton, the route passed through the village church ground and past the very pretty little church.  I reached this point as a memorial service was taking place and just at the point that the congregation were having a minute’s silence.  I respectfully stopped to a walk and continued through the church ground in complete silence.
Pirton Church
Just over half-way through the run I was brought to a complete standstill and left scratching my head as the directions seemed unfeasible.  I reached a way marker post where the instructions told me to turn right and head towards a farm building.  The only problem was that turning right meant running through a field of cabbages with no sign whatsoever of a footpath.  There were very clear paths going ahead and left.  Where the instructions wrong?  I could see another runner approaching so I decided to wait until he reached me so we could decide on a course of action.  To my good fortune the runner behind me was the race organiser. What were the chances of that?  He confirmed that the instructions were correct and that there was a right of way through the cabbages.  He also told me that he had recently met with the farmer who had assured him the footpath would be reinstated before the event went ahead.  Naughty farmer didn’t keep his word.  The two of us ran through the cabbages, trampling on several and getting very wet feet in the process.  I only hoped that we were making enough damage so that other runners would be able to follow our footsteps.

By the time I reached the final checkpoint in Shillington itself I was feeling completely knackered.  I was very slow over the previous section as on many occasions I had to stop to read the directions and then check them again to make sense of them before proceeding.  I think that I was getting so tired that simple instructions weren’t making sense.  Fortunately for me, just after the final checkpoint, and whilst I was scratching my head once again, another runner caught up with me.  It turned out to be someone I’d run with on my third marathon of the year.  The two of us then continued together to the finish, chatting all the way.  He was able to make much better sense of the instructions than I was, so I left him to it and just followed. 

When we reached the finish we were informed that only one other person had completed the full marathon course ahead of us.  My partner had actually started 4 minutes ahead of me, so at this stage I was actually second.  However, it’s quite possible that there were runners who started later than me and completed the course in a quicker time.  Time keeping on the course wasn’t exactly accurate so I can’t really claim a second place finish with confidence, and there won’t be any published results at all.  The best I can say is that it’s another marathon completed this year and I now only have two to go.

Sunday 6 November 2011

Update For The Last Three Weeks & Rutland Water Marathon

The last 3 weeks has been a busy period for me.  First I was contacted to ask if I'd try a new pair of running shoes.  I was quite excited about getting a free pair of running shoes in the post to road test.  However, the shoes weren't for me.  I was asked to test the Sketchers Prospeed.  The shoe is designed to encourage a mid-foot strike, rather than a heel strike, and it does this very well. 

When I first went for a run in the shoe I started by running normally, but as there is no cushioning in the heel, you immediately have to adjust your running style as the impact feels quite uncomfortable.  So, whilst the shoes are very good at promoting a mid-foot strike, I didn't quite feel they were right for me.  After each short run I did with them I felt that I'd been for a hard run, even though my speed indicated otherwise.  The shoes are supposed to promote a more efficient running form.  It could be that I need to stick with them for a longer time period, but I ended up thinking that my running form doesn't seem to be broke in the first place, so why try to change it.

Ruth and I also went on a short holiday just over a week ago.  We spent 5 glorious autumnal days walking in the Peak District.  We couldn't believe how lucky we were.  First we spent a couple of days with our dear friends, Kate and Ron, who have fantastic walks (and runs) right from their front door in the charmingly named village of Tintwistle.

Just a short distance from our friend's house
... and slightly further away.
Ruth and I then spent two days walking from a base in the centre of the Peak District, where we did a couple of really long days walking.  Ruth was pretty much finished off at the end of each day, and it took me a lot of persuasion and prodding just to get her up to go out for food in the evening.

Ruth on Stanage Edge
Our last day was a little more relaxed with a walk around the gardens of Chatsworth House, which I'd highly recommend for nature and garden lovers.

Chatsworth House
Emperor Fountain

Autumn Colour

Kitchen Garden
Following our few days in the Peak District we spent a couple of days with Ruth's parents in Nottingham.  We returned to Cambridge last Saturday so that I could get in a 13 mile training run as preparation for this weekend's marathon.  It was quite nice to have a few non-running days, but I did also enjoy going for a run along the Roman Road bridleway close to home.  A run I've not done for some time, as there hasn't been the need to do a long run from home whilst I've been entering marathons every other week.

Last week was work as normal.  It was a busy week, made even more so by the fact that I'm now also organising a 7 hour kettlebell relay event in aid of Children In Need on Saturday 19 November.  I just hope it doesn't rain on the day, as I have set myself up to be on hand for the entire 7 hours.

And so to today.  I was slightly apprehensive about marathon number 13.  I am in no way superstitious, but so many other people made comments about hoping I wouldn't have bad luck and twist an ankle that I actually started to fear the day, especially as rain had also been forecast.  Fortunately, the long term forecast was characteristically incorrect and the weather on the door was fantastic, although quite cold with temperatures at the start of just 7 degrees Celsius.

For a £25 entry fee the start line was very low key.  Okay, so we did have chip timing, but there wasn't a single portaloo at the start.  Instead, all toilets where at the two car parks which were each a 20 minute walk from the start in either direction.  Thankfully I had made use of the facilities in the car park, but I had also expected there to be loos at the start.  You would have been in a tight spot if you had walked form your car to the start to find no toilets.  Would you walk the 20 minutes in each direction to use a loo?  Unlikely.  A bush is fine for a number 1, but... need I say more?

The race apparently had an entry limit of 1000, but I'd guess that there were less than 300 people lined up at the start.  Once we were underway the line of runners quickly thinned out into a long string of runners in single file.  I did find myself running side-by-side with a few runners, with whom I would try to strike up a conversation, but for most of the run I was running alone.  I spent a couple of miles running with a marathon first timer named Matt.  We had a pretty decent chat. 

Rutland Water itself is a reasonably large reservoir with a long peninsula that juts out into the lake like a tongue, making for a U-shaped body of water.  The route of the race started near the dam to cross the dam wall at the furthest distance from the peninsula.  We made our way counter-clockwise around the lake and had to run two laps around the peninsula, which had a timing mat at its end to ensure no one could cheat by only doing one lap.  On my second lap I found myself overtaking slower runners on their first lap, which must have been dispiriting for them.  I tried my best to cheer them on as I passed by.  As I passed one group of female runners I shouted "cheer if your having fun", to which they mostly all responded with a whoop, so I hope I brightened their run briefly.




It was a welcome relief to finish the second lap of the peninsula and turn left for the final eight miles, rather than right for another lap.  I was feeling really good at this point and overtook several runners in quick succession, including the first placed lady.  However, at mile 22 we reached a reasonably long and steepish climb that reduced me to a walk.  The first lady caught me again at this point and passed me with ease. 

Over the last four miles the terrain was very undulating with the odd short steep uphill climb.  I kept finding myself catching the first lady and going past her, only to be passed by her a short while later.  We kept this up all the way to the finish.  With about half a mile to go we were running side-by-side and the finish line was in sight.  I decided I'd just keep alongside her all the way.  With only about 200m to go we reached the final short climb, which reduced my running partner to a halt, I turned and shouted at her "you can't walk now, we're nearly there".  She groaned, then pulled herself together and started running again.  At that point I was determined to cross the line together, I didn't want to beat her as I felt she had run a much more consistently paced race than I had.  But with about 100m to go I suddenly realised that a sub 3.15 time was possible, and so I found myself sprinting for the line.  According to my own time keeping I crossed the line in 3 hours 14 minutes 41 seconds.  The first lady was then just a few seconds behind.

I collected my medal and finishers T-shirt and made my way to the bus stop to catch the free shuttle back to where I'd parked about 3 miles away.  However, once I got to the bus I realised I hadn't taken my customary finishing photo, so dashed back to the finish line to have my photo taken.


On returning to the bus stop I realised I'd just missed the bus and then had to wait about 40 minutes for it to return.  I have no idea why it took it so long to travel 6 miles.  If I'd known I was going to spend so long waiting by the side of the road, getting cold, I would have walked the 3 miles to the car park.  Once I reached the car I departed as soon as I could put on long trousers and drove for a good 20 minutes with the heater on full blast to thaw out.

Now I'm home and looking forward to a roast dinner for supper.  I definitely need the calories.  I'll be eating well this week, as I have another marathon to do next weekend, my second back-to-back marathon weekend of the year.