Le voyage très difficile!

The thought in my mind was “the hard miles” but I wasn’t sure if “Les miles durs” worked as a literal translation…

No matter - whatever language barriers may have existed, I’m sure anyone who saw me on one particular January evening would have been in no doubt about my frame of mind!

It was one of those joyless January evenings – dark, cold and windy and as I stepped outside it even started to rain!  Moreover, my purpose in going out was another training run!

My GPS watch appeared to be as lethargic as I felt as the bar indicating the search for a satellite connection was particularly slow in creeping towards the fully engaged position.  Worse still, after hovering for minutes, frustratingly just short of the full position, the bar indicator dropped back to nothing and the process started all over again. 

There is only so much purposeful warm up activity one can do in a situation like this and I was conscious of becoming an ever more bedraggled sight – not that there appeared to be anyone else among my neighbours as mad as me in being out on a night like this!

Such is the lot of those who are training for a spring time marathon!  However, despite the increasing temptation to take the hesitation of my watch as a sign that I wasn’t meant to go running on this particular evening, I just about held my resolve and started the run.  As I’m a bit of an “obsessive” this was actually very difficult to do without the satellite being fully engaged… a whole quarter of a mile of my run ended up not being properly recorded! [Obsessiveness is something I have witnessed in a lot of runners I know… but I’ll leave those stories for another time!]

The happy ending to this particular tale is that just over an hour later I had completed my 7.6 mile run, ticked off another part of my marathon training regime and moved closer to the 100 miles in a month target that I and a lot of my running buddies had set ourselves.

 

Following a run in the snow on the last day of January (shame it doesn't look too obvious in the picture - and certainly nothing like the conditions up north, let alone New York and Boston) - heading into February, I am now well into my training for the Paris Marathon.  In hindsight this started earlier than I had specifically planned for.  Having taken a much needed rest after my autumn events, in early December I thought it wise to start building myself up towards running again on 4 to 5 days per week.  With the injuries I’d had over the last year or more this seemed a fairly ambitious aim but, starting off with relatively shorter distances, before long I found myself able to reel off a regular succession of 5 mile runs and occasionally push the boat out to about 8 miles. 

I was particularly pleased that in the time off from work around Christmas I was able to run on 6 days in a week, completing over 30 miles in total.  This included the inspirational experience of running with Robert Young (aka MarathonMan).  This was on a particularly cold Boxing Day morning in Richmond Park – though I had no cause for complaint, considering I only joined him from 7.30am for the last 7 miles of his marathon for that day.  Goodness only knows the sheer guts it takes to run a marathon distance on a daily basis through such weather conditions and worse!  [And, due to an injury that meant he missed some weeks of running, Rob has scheduled some days of double marathon running to get back on track in his aim to run 367 marathons in a year!  He is currently running in a coast to coast event in the USA but will be back to run in the London Marathon].

On New Year’s Eve I went out on what has become a traditional training run for me of about 13 miles.  On this occasion I stopped to take a photo from Teddington footbridge and a passer-by commented that the sight of my bare legs was bringing tears to her eyes!  I think she was referring to the temperature rather than the look of my legs!

Returning to work and having to shift most of my training sessions to dark evenings after a day’s work has been a challenge but I’ve met this head on and managed 4 or 5 sessions per week throughout January.  It is such a relief to have some daylight runs at the weekend but even then it is still dark when I start running on a Sunday morning!  The last few weeks I’ve broken things up a bit by doing one session per week of cross training work at the gym.

So far so good, particularly that I have significantly fewer aches and pains compared to the same stage of my training last year.  Strangely, having had a year of problems in various parts of my right leg, this is now working just fine and my current niggle is in my left calf.  Having had the difficultly earlier in the month of forcing myself out on the night time training runs, I found myself last week having to force myself to take an extra rest day!

So, sometime in the last few weeks my mind condition seems to have reversed and I now find myself very much engaged with a focus on completing 26.2 miles in Paris on 12^th April.  Once into it, there is something incredibly compelling about a marathon training regime!  It is amazing how the building up of the long runs through a month and then month to month takes you up to distances that at the beginning of the training schedule appeared to be ridiculously long and unattainable!

February will be about consolidation but also something of a break as Lesley and I head out to The Gambia for a week to support Carmella in the last week of her current project work.  As I reported last month, in the first two weeks of her trip she was joined by over 30 scouts from Hampshire.  I mentioned last month of how they had worked with local scouts on painting the interior and exterior of the main mosque in Soma.  As well as this Carmella’s newsletters report of further work undertaken by the scouts of building walls, painting and refurbishing, decorating classrooms, block making, gardening and helping to build a new roof for a family in crisis. 

Carmella mentioned in particular about work at one school:

Along with the Kaira Konko carpenters and Scouts, we have been working to remove the termites and re-decorate/refurbish the library.  After several days of working on this project, the ceiling has been replaced and painted, the floor has been tiled and the walls have had a first coat of paint.  Our next steps include painting learning aids on the walls, organising the books, training some librarians and listening to some of the children read.   

Upon finishing this job, we handed out some pencils to the children and, once again, I was reminded about the difference just one pencil makes.  Mr Seine (the headteacher), who was extremely grateful of such a seemingly little contribution, said ‘a pencil is so small to us but it means so much to them’.  Just one pencil, the equivalent to less than a penny, can be a big expense to some families and all too often I have seen children turning up to school without pencils to write with or exercise books to write in.

 

After the scouts returned to the UK, Carmella’s work has shifted even more to working with various schools in Soma, for example through providing training to their teaching staff.  

 

In my next post I anticipate writing about my own experience of supporting the project work made possible by Kaira Konko Scout Active Support and, as well as this, I hope to report on some warm weather training runs!

Further details about Kaira Konko Scout Active Support can be accessed through the following link through which donations can also be made to my fundraising:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnReece  

Many thanks to the generous donations already given, the support has been amazing and plays a huge part in keeping me motivated through the cold, dark evenings!

Very best wishes…

John

Jeux Sans Frontières!

After having limped and hobbled for the final ten miles of the London Marathon in April 2014 I questioned whether that would be the last marathon I would physically be capable of completing. 

Nevertheless, I found myself unable to resist the opportunity that arose just a week or two later to enter the ballot for the Paris Marathon.  My success in the ballot means the new run (sic) of Run Reece Run lurches off the keyboard amidst my preparations to run for 26.2 miles through the streets of Paris on 12^th April 2015.

 

My third marathon campaign brings with it many feelings and experiences which are beginning to become familiar.  A good one is the opportunity to spend inordinate amounts of time making and re-making intricate planning arrangements and a not so good one is the effort involved in putting into effect the training set out in the plan!  This is particularly the case when so many training runs involve setting off alone on a cold and dark evening or very early morning! 

It does seem that my running efforts over the last couple of years have had a motivational influence on my daughter Carmella who in the course of 2014 applied herself to the “Couch to 5K” programme and then went on to complete the Kew Gardens 10K event in September.  This was at the Richmond Running Festival where I was taking part in the Visit Richmond Half Marathon and therefore we had a great opportunity for a joint celebration at the end.

 

Carmella in turn has for some years been inspiring me and many others with work she does in association with the community of Soma in The Gambia.  This came about through the twinning of All Saints Junior School in Fleet, where Carmella is a teacher, and The Soma Lower Basic School.  Through the association of the two schools Carmella had an opportunity to visit Soma for a week in 2008.  She came back fired up with enthusiasm to further develop the partnership between the schools and use this as a vehicle for learning in both communities.  Carmella has visited The Gambia at least once every year since then, mainly self-financed and in her own time.  As well as the work through the schools, Carmella has become involved with links between the scouts of Hampshire and Soma.

Carmella flew out on 30^th December 2014 to commence the latest of the 11 visits she has made to The Gambia.  This is a visit of over 7 weeks which will continue until 20^th February 2015.  For the first two weeks of this trip Carmella is joined by a group of over 30 scouts from Hampshire and in her final week, during the half term period, she will be joined by a number of staff from All Saints and also by Lesley and me and our friends Jeanette and Pete.  We hope we can make a practical contribution to the project work being undertaken!

I made the decision many weeks ago that I would support the work Carmella is associated with through fundraising linked with my Paris Marathon campaign.  The charity I am supporting is Kaira Konko Scout Active Support, a Hampshire based charity within Hampshire Scouting.  Operating since 1989 the following are examples of what it has achieved and is currently doing:

 

* Built Kaira Konko Scout Lodge.

* Built 18 classrooms, a library/resource centre and provided clean drinking water at Soma Lower Basic School.

* Repairing and rebuilding homes.

* Distribution of mosquito nets in the community.

* Well repairs. 

* Providing rice for the poorest families.

* Providing tools and fencing for growing food.

* Sponsoring children through school and college.

* Annual visits from Hampshire teachers and University students who 

      work in local schools helping to raise educational standards.

* Expeditions of Hampshire Explorer Scouts who fund and implement

      projects in the community.

As I write this post, I find myself reflecting on events of the last week during which we have seen the horror of terrorist attacks in Paris by militant Islamists.  In marked contrast to this, I received news from Carmella of how she has been with scouts from Hampshire and Kaira Konko painting the interior and exterior of the main Mosque in Soma. 

The work, made possible by Kaira Konko Scout Active Support, resonates with me even more against the backdrop of events in Paris.   The feelings generated by the recent events and my wish to support the work with which Carmella is involved will no doubt be a powerful motivator for me to run well in Paris.

I have set up a fundraising site through which donations can be made to Kaira Konko Scout Active Support:

 http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnReece  

Your support would be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes…

 

John

To the cabbage patch and beyond...

The thought of running through a cabbage patch perhaps brings to mind something along the lines of the Nuts Challenge (as per my recent experience: http://jhr190764.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/small-steps-big-steps.html ) but thankfully the “Cabbage Patch 10” is a ten mile event on terrain as solid as could be wished for and I don’t think I could have found a more suitable event to mark the fifth and final part of my autumn challenge. 

The most particular reason for this is that, while not organised by the Bearcat Running Club, the CP10 is considered by the Bearcats to be something of a “home run” and of such importance in our calendar that it is one of only two or three events that bring the club’s normal Sunday routine to a temporary halt.  This meant that not only was I able to enjoy meeting up with about 50 club mates at The Fox in advance of the race but there was also a Bearcat celebration lunch to look forward to afterwards, back at base… The Turk’s Head.

On the morning of the event I was also in the happy state of mind of absolute optimism that my legs (particularly my right leg) would carry me to the end.  This was a far better place to be mentally compared to the pre-race uncertainty I’d had the previous two weeks.  Even so, while two months earlier I’d had fair reason to consider the prospect of challenging a time of 1h18m, as I headed to the start, mindful of how my body had faired over the four previous weeks and the fact that I had remained in no condition to do training between events, I set myself the realistic target of 1h22m (based on an average pace of 8m15s per mile).

As well as the pre and post race Bearcat meetings, a fair number of Bearcats ran for much of the race in close formation…

 

As is evident in the look of growing discomfort apparent from the photos, I did hit a bit of a sticky patch (no cabbages) in the latter stages…

 

Nevertheless, by the time of reaching the final straight of about 30-50 metres, I felt in good enough shape to do a bit of posing, holding my hand high, fingers spread to mark the completion of 5 events! 

 

However, raw instinct instantly took over as I suddenly became aware of being overtaken and, while I might only have been in 805^th place, there was no way I was giving up a further place without a fight!

 

I’m pretty sure that I met or at worst came within a minute of my target but I’m uncertain about the accurate finish time.  The official timing of the event only provides a “gun time” (and due to being someway back in the field, it took possibly more than a minute for me to reach the start line after the race began) and my watch (along with a considerable number of other Garmin devices at the event) didn’t start working until I’d passed the 1 mile mark.

My reaction to completing five distance events in five weeks?  Certainly the feeling that I had good cause to celebrate!  A lot of thankfulness for: having the capacity to complete the events; having the time to take part in the events and fit in the training; and having the support and encouragement of friends and family, particularly Lesley.  Also, I’ll be honest and admit to feeling pretty proud of myself for what in the context of “my own bubble” is a notable achievement.  Balancing the pride in myself, I believe the preparation for and completion of my autumn challenge has increased my appreciation of truly mega endurance accomplishments.  It leaves me with an open mouthed reaction (a mixture of amazement, awe and bewilderment) in considering how my challenge compares with, for example, those of: Rob Young, who has passed half way towards completing 367 marathons in a year (having never run a marathon before he started this venture in April 2014!) http://www.marathonmanuk.com/ ; Steve Way whose marathon journey started at the age of 33 when he weighed more than 16 stones and had a 20 a day smoking habit and has reached the point where he represented England at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year at the age of 40, finishing in 10^th place!  http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/28418596  ; closer to home, my friend Nick Rowe who earlier this year ran 80 miles within a 24 hour period (knowing how I feel after I’ve completed 20 miles, Nick’s accomplishment completely blows my mind!); and yet what about the 24 hour accomplishments of Fiona Ross (144 miles!!!) and 81 year old Geoff Oliver (99 miles!) - not just eye watering mileage but done through repetitive lapping of a 400 metre track!  http://ultrarunningworld.co.uk/scottish-women-pillage-self-transcendence-24-hour-race-2014/  and http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/real-life/scots-runner-fionna-ross-crowned-4457586

 

The memories that stick out for me?

-        Running in the Visit Richmond Half Marathon at the Richmond Running Festival while my daughter Carmella was also at the Festival, competing in her first running event, the Kew Gardens 10K.

-        Starting the Visit Richmond event like a cork out of a champagne bottle (I sense this was the unleashing of a lot of anticipation after the weeks of training and release of a certain amount of frustration that followed from my London Marathon injury)

 

-        The pain through all but the first couple of miles of the Windsor Half Marathon and the colourful expletive from a fellow runner as yet another hill came into view at mile 10

-        The relief I felt in the early miles of the River Thames Half Marathon to find that my right leg was working a lot better than I had feared it would

-        Dealing with some “unfinished business” at London as I ran (rather than hobbled) passed Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament during the Royal Parks Half Marathon

-        The pre and post run companionship of many Bearcat runners and most memorably running the whole of the Royal Parks event with Gareth and Phil

-        If not finishing in style, at least finishing with a final gurn at the Cabbage Patch 10

So, having made my way through the “cabbage patch” what is my next running challenge on the horizon?

As I drafted this post I reflected that it was fitting that I was on route to Rome (a great place to spend my first weekend in a long time that hasn’t involved a 10 mile plus run or Nuts Challenge!).  This is because the next series of Run Reece Run will have an international dimension to it and possibly a re-launch under the heading Allez Reece… Plus Vite!  This arises as I have been given an entry to run in the Paris Marathon on 12^th April 2015 and I look forward to kicking off a new training regime around Christmas time.

And finally…  My motivation for running and writing is fuelled by a number of key ingredients and fundraising is very significant among these.  I am very grateful to Shooting Star Chase for giving me the opportunity to take part in the Royal Parks Half Marathon, which for me was the pinnacle event of my autumn challenge.  Most of all I am thankful to the generosity of the contributors to my fundraising, many donating anonymously at the 200 Year Spectacular party I shared with Lesley and Joan (and many having also generously supported my separate fundraising earlier in the year).  There have been times when the motivation coming from this support has made a defining difference – goodness knows I needed something extra to get me to the finish at Windsor! 

Having worked for children’s services organisations for over half of my lifetime (increasingly significant now I’ve turned 50!) I am particularly pleased to support Shooting Star Chase, a leading children’s hospice charity.  I am in the fortunate position that my close family have never needed the direct support of Shooting Star Chase or similar organisations – my direct appreciation of the valuable work they do comes in particular from time I spent some years ago doing voluntary work at a school where a considerable number of the children had life expectation that in terms of time was horribly short.  I strongly believe that what we do in our time is most often more important than the amount of time we have, and this is why the following description of the work of Shooting Star Chase resonates so much for me, “Whether lives are measured in days, weeks, months or years, we are here to make every moment count.” 

It means a lot to me to make a contribution that enables more moments to count for the children and families supported by Shooting Star Chase and I am immensely grateful for donations made through my fundraising site https://www.justgiving.com/John-Reece/ 

To all who have reached an end to their own endurance event of reading the autumn 2014 series of Run Reece Run! I offer my thanks and best wishes and, with Paris in mind, felicitations…

John

Grin and gurn it...

My last post closed with the completion of the first two events in my autumn challenge.  In the last two weeks as I’ve taken on two further half marathon events it’s been not so much “grin and bear it” as “grin and gurn it”!

Sunday 5^th October saw me lining up for event three of the challenge – the inaugural River Thames Half Marathon, a course starting and finishing adjacent to Walton on Thames Bridge.

With the memory of the previous week’s 1pm start at Windsor in a temperature of 20˚C plus, it was with unusual lightness of heart that I left the warmth of home in the early hours of a Sunday morning and found a heavy dew, not far from being a frost, covering my car. 

In fact, the event could hardly have been held in better conditions, an autumnal chill to the air combined with the brightness of morning sunshine in a near cloudless sky.  The scene along the Thames was a picture being enjoyed by numerous anglers who were soon probably not too amused by the pounding of a thousand runners scaring the fish!

 

Nevertheless the scenery was a side scene as I tried to work out my race plan.  The on-going problem in my right leg had left me abandoning plans of training runs between events and after the struggle at Windsor I had little idea what I would be capable of. 

It was with some relief that, on setting off, my leg didn’t feel too bad and I found myself settling into an ambitious but (unlike Richmond two weeks previously) not near suicidal pace of about 8 minute miles.  I was well satisfied as I kept this pace consistently for 7 miles and even started doing that dangerous thing of working out the possibility of a PB.  Mile eight put that thought firmly to bed as I found myself slowing and, I have to admit, I found myself drifting into a 5 mile spell of negativity.  This was initially kindled from frustration about my leg but then compounded by the loop in the final couple of miles of the course.  This took the course almost within arm’s reach of the finish line only to carry on by the river for a further mile and then loop back for the final mile along the road.  For good measure, there were even a couple of spiteful hills thrown in at this point! 

I just about found it in me to raise my pace for the last 50 metres, just on the off chance that it would make the difference between going over or under 1 hour 50 mins (I’d avoided checking my watch for most of the last mile so genuinely wasn’t sure). 

As it happens it didn’t have such a significant consequence on my chip time (1h51m28s) but the flurry at the end certainly would have helped me if I’d been in a gurning competition!

Overall, I had no complaints about the time but was disappointed with the manner of the run – I might even have been happier to have had a slightly slower time but run at an even pace throughout.  Nevertheless, such disappointments are totally inconsequential in the overall scheme of things, and there was no negativity in the mood of the numerous Bearcat Running Club team mates who began to find one another in the after race melee, particularly as there were some truly outstanding PBs to celebrate (especially for the legend that is Gareth Coombs, coming in at 1h36m!) and a pub not too far along the river bank with a table reserved for lunch!

 

With no improvement in my leg over the following week there was a certain sense of déjà vu as Sunday 12^th October drew closer - the day of the Royal Parks Half Marathon.  Things probably weren’t helped when a few kicks of a football while at the park on Saturday with grandson Harry left a throbbing pain for much of the rest of the afternoon! However, an evening of carb loading with Bearcat chums, never fails to lift the spirits and, on the back of that, even getting up at 5am on Sunday was less of a challenge than I’d expected.

 

It’s great when everything goes to plan and Sunday morning couldn’t have gone better.  The car park I had to use near a train station was pleasingly free on Sundays (I’d expected to pay £12) and despite engineering works closing off my originally planned route, the reserve route worked perfectly.  I therefore arrived in plenty of time to have no problem exchanging the ill-fitting souvenir Royal Parks shirt I’d been sent (somehow my original race entry had me down as a large female and there was no way I wanted to be considered a “big girl’s blouse”!). Once more there were no complaints about the weather  – cool with more than a few glimpses of sunshine (we were so lucky the torrential rain held off until the late afternoon!).  Of biggest importance, most of the Bearcat contingent found one another and my race plan fell firmly into place – start out with Gareth and Phil D (on his first half marathon aiming for sub 2hours) and hope my leg would allow me to keep up.

This turned out to be the run I’d been disappointed not to have at the River Thames event the previous week.  After a first mile at just over 8 minute mile pace we settled into a groove of 8m20 to 8m45 up to mile six and then marginally increased the pace from there until the final mile which we blew away in under 8 minutes.  I was more than happy with a chip time finish of 1h52m07s on the longest half marathon course I’d ever done (the amount of weaving necessary in a field of 15,000 probably contributed to the distance registering 13.35miles on my watch).

 Of course, the last mile had its gurning moments, as Gareth pushed Phil and me to our limits, but I’ve no doubt I was grinning ear to ear just moments after the finish line!  

 

So, that leaves me with just one more event to complete my autumn challenge – the Cabbage Patch 10.  Right now, the leg may be on ice but the spirit is on fire and I sense a steely look will be in my eye as race day approaches (even if it wasn't when I was in the cold bath)!

I close again with a note of great appreciation for the donations made to my fundraising for Shooting Star Chase, now over 80% of the way towards my target of £750.

Shooting Star Chase say about their work, “Whether lives are measured in days, weeks, months or years, we are here to make every moment count."  When I started planning my running schedule for the autumn the thought was very much in my mind of making as many as possible of my own moments count.  I very much hope the autumn running challenge I have set myself will inspire donations for Shooting Star Chase and help them to make more moments count for more children and young people.

To find out more about Shooting Star Chase and help me reach my fundraising target please visit my Just Giving page:  https://www.justgiving.com/John-Reece/

With very best wishes...

John

Quick, quick, slow...

My last couple of posts have focussed on the steps I’ve taken in preparing for my autumn challenge, taking things up to the completion of the Nuts Challenge at the end of August.  So, how have I shaped up in September and part one of the autumn challenge?

A week before the first of my half marathons, I somewhat naïvely got carried away with the conviction that, as I felt in pretty good shape, I should absolutely “go for broke” to achieve a personal best at Parkrun. 

For those not in the know, Parkrun has become something of a cult activity for the running fraternity.  In much the same way as congregations have come together on Sunday mornings for centuries across the land for the undertaking of religious worship, in recent years across the land on Saturdays mornings, runners head to their local parks to participate in the ritual challenge of a timed 5KM run. 

While not in their “Sunday best”, appearance is not unimportant at Parkrun…

 

… and though there is no direct equivalent to clerical robes there is certainly extra respect due to those who have earned the right to wear a specially presented top to confirm their completion of 50 or even 100 Parkrun events.

I am only a sporadic attender at Parkrun having participated in my local event at Crane Park just 10 times since my inaugural run about a year ago.  5KM is not a distance that I feel entirely at home with as I generally prefer a longer run at less frenetic pace.  Nevertheless, every now and again I sense a call to attend and, for whatever reason, I sensed such a calling on 13^th September.  I even restricted my alcohol intake to one glass of red wine on the evening before with a view to being in a good state to run (very restrained for me on a Friday night)!  Arriving at the start line and seeing a few BRC club mates waiting there, perhaps unwisely I announced to them my intention of going all out for a PB.   It’s difficult to go back on such a statement of intent and so, disregarding the subsequent discomfort, I pushed myself hard through the run and with encouragement from “Sir Alun” of the BRC who tracked me throughout (with relative ease on his part), I made it round the course in an official time of 22m17s, a whopping 35 seconds inside my previous best.

Achieving a PB is a pretty joyous occasion, however, there often seems to be a cost and on this occasion pay back came the next morning in the form of an annoying strain to my right calf and Achilles’ tendon.  Despite this, with the wish to do one more long training session, I pushed myself to complete a 10 mile run as part of the BRC’s second anniversary celebration (the 10 hour challenge).  With little improvement to the strain over the next few days, I took up the recommendation to try acupuncture for the first time and, whether or not this made the difference, by Sunday 21^st September I was pleased to wake up feeling in reasonable shape and raring to get my first HM of the autumn challenge underway. 

This was the “Visit Richmond” HM, part of the Richmond Running Festival.  Making this event all the more special for me was that my eldest daughter Carmella was competing in the Kew 10KM event at the Festival.

 

 

How did the run go?  On reflection, I think I did everything possible to screw it up, but thankfully managed to hold out and complete the course in 1h48m02s (pleasingly inside the 1h50m target time I’d originally set myself).  How did things nearly go wrong?  Partly I have the excuse that my watch didn’t start functioning until I was well over half a mile into the race.  A pretty poor excuse, as I knew only too well that I had set out far too fast, but even I was surprised to work out later that I must have set out at pretty much the same pace I’d run at Parkrun (which is less than quarter of the distance).  No surprise that by the 5 miles mark I was feeling a lot less comfortable than I would have liked and my pace began to seriously stall by mile 9.  However, it was a wonderful feeling when I crossed the finish line and great to have photos with Carmella of a double Reece triumph.

However, Monday morning wasn’t so good as I found the problems of my right leg were significantly aggravated, to the point where walking was not at all straight forward, let alone running!  Through the rest of the week I stuck to a regime of strict avoidance of running, a foam roller workout at least twice a day, regular application of ice packs and a good few ibuprofen pills. 

Consequently I reached Sunday 28^th September, the day of the Windsor HM, just about ready to run!

Having said that, I have to say I felt a bit lousy as I headed off to Windsor and in other circumstances would have been very happy to have been heading back to bed!  My mood didn’t improve as my train journey was disrupted due to engineering works and I found myself on a standing room only journey followed by a walk from the station that turned out to be about 2 miles (twice the distance I’d anticipated).  A start time of 1pm and unseasonal heat (20 ͦ C plus) did not bode well.  Nevertheless, as I set off, I was pleased to note that the calf strain wasn’t a particular issue and I congratulated myself on keeping to a sensibly restrained starting pace of 8m30s/mile. 

Unfortunately, my confidence took a severe knock as I came to the first of a long succession of morale sapping hills!  This left me with the very strange sensation so early in the run (about mile two) of feeling like I’d “hit the wall”!  At this point, if my right leg could have been described as a coiled spring then sadly it was a “slinky” that had sloped off to the bottom of the stairs and run out of momentum!

From there on it felt to me that, rather than a half marathon, the event was more like the second half of a full marathon!  Thankfully the event was well served with water points and for most of these I slowed to a walk (not much slower than the pace I was running!) so I could take my time in drinking 2 or 3 cups rather than trying to gulp 1 cup on the run as per my usual practice.  This made each water point a blissful relief but I was pleased to retain sufficient resolve to overcome the immense temptation to slow to a walk on the seemingly ceaseless uphill sections of the course.  One hill at around the ten mile mark drew a particularly colourful expletive from a fellow runner which at least brought a smile to my face.

I sometimes ponder on what is the hardest part of a half marathon, the beginning, the middle or the end?  On this occasion I think it was a dead heat! Even the downhill section in the last mile, with a straight sight line to the finish, was pretty agonising until the last 20 metres.  To add to the sensation of being under the cosh, in the last two miles of the course I saw a couple of runners being put in the recovery position and a couple of ambulances also went by with sirens blaring. 

With a sense of huge relief, I finally made it to the end in a time of 2h07m40s which is by a significant margin the slowest half marathon I’ve run, even in training sessions! 

I don’t want to put too much of a downer on the event which was generally well organised and well attended (and in its 32^nd year) and I’m sure on another day I’d be able to complete the course in sub 2 hours.  Overall, I don’t think the course was more challenging than the Bacchus Half Marathon I did last year in 1h51m (I think Bacchus was no less hilly but was a more visually interesting course and with a wider range of running surfaces – Windsor was almost entirely on solid tarmac).

Despite feeling utterly spent in the immediate aftermath, I am pleased to say that a cold bath and a good refuelling session were very restorative and by the next day I was in better condition than I had been the week before, following the Visit Richmond Half.

 

I remain in contention to complete my autumn challenge!

I close with a note of appreciation for the donations made to my fundraising for Shooting Star Chase, now 70% of the way towards my target of £750.

Shooting Star Chase say about their work, “Whether lives are measured in days, weeks, months or years, we are here to make every moment count."  When I started planning my running schedule for the autumn the thought was very much in my mind of making as many as possible of my own moments count.  I very much hope the autumn running challenge I have set myself will inspire donations for Shooting Star Chase and help them to make more moments count for more children and young people.

To find out more about Shooting Star Chase and help me reach my fundraising target please visit my Just Giving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/John-Reece/