Harry's Blog 4

The training has continued on in similar vein to previous blogs which doesn’t necessarily make for an interesting blog, but it will do me fine. One ankle is a bit stiff in the mornings, but otherwise in reasonable shape.

I’d left you last time doing a long run around Ealing’s canals, waiting for children to be well enough to make it down to Brighton for a half term break. We did finally get down on Friday, and I squeezed in an early morning run along the seafront in much better weather than the Brighton half marathon would endure the following week. I bumped into a crowd of runners on the Hover Promenade, and realised I stumbled on a Parkrun. Fortunately I always carry my barcode along with an oyster card and cash when I ran, so I incorporated a fast 5k into the middle of the run. Such are the benefits of having a flexible approach to the training plan. I love the way you feel at home and welcome in any Parkrun. The run director had run the Ealing Half Marathon, but found it a bit hillly. I stretched out a quick Sunday club run to a half marathon the next day, followed on Monday while my daughter swam by a hills session up Studland, Ealing’s steepest street – give it a try if you haven’t already.

I then tried extending a run in to work to 20k, but felt that slightly out of sorts all day – I think I need a decent meal after a long run. I then tapered with a quick short run and day off to the club championships Parkrun. I was spurred on by chasing 3 eagles just ahead, and managed to match my track time fromtwo and half weeks earlier, though this time finishing just behind Santry. Still, a Gunnersbury PB by a massive 21 seconds, a place in the Gunnersbury fastest 500, and time I never thought I would ever achieve.

Buoyed up by this success and inspired by Chris’s blog to stretch out the long run to 23 miles, partly because I was nervous of what would happen in the marathon in those last 6 miles. I took the opportunity to run down through Bushy Park to Hampton Court Palace and back up along the river – always get the trickier navigation out of the way on the way out. I deliberately went off at a cautious pace, but by half way it was feeling like hard work, and I wasn’t able to up the pace as much as I’d hoped while keeping my breathing relaxed. I was glad to see some Eagles coming the other way on the Sunday club run – I had started very early – and I managed to up the pace a bit for the last 3k. At least I hadn’t hit a wall. I caught the bus up from Kew bridge which meant I was a bit cold and stiff by the time I got to Ealing Green, and I decided I had to be anti-social and refuel properly rather than join the other just finishing the club run in café. It was only when I got under a hot shower that I found out from the sharp pain that the weight of a couple of gels had caused my shorts to rub my skin raw on my lower back.

For some reason I don’t understand myself I felt deflated rather than elated after the run. Perhaps subconsciously I’d hoped I would find it easier to keep up a faster pace, or I expected too much on the day following such a hard 5k run, or it was unrelated non-running stresses, a chemical imbalance in the brain or just mid plan blues (is that a thing?).

After a rest day a couple of quick runs showed I still had pace, and then a couple of slower runs to taper for the Cambridge Half this Sunday, which hopefully will give a better feel for what time I should be aiming at for the marathon, and post a time that has a chance to getting me on to the Welsh Castles open team.

Spring is beginning to poke its head cautiously out from under the duvet, and I finally took some time out of the schedule to check on my allotment. Unfortunately Doris had uprooted my poly greenhouse, including heavy wooden base, and tumbled it over the blackberries and mangled it against an apple tree. It’s hard enough keeping on top of an allotment without marathon training. So I brought some seed potatoes – it will be low maintenance crops this spring. I’m travelling with work next week. I’ll take my running kit, but it might be low mileage. It’s not easy fitting life around marathon training, but so far I think I’m ahead slightly, so I will just have to squeeze it what I can. All in all, I’m running faster and further than ever, and I’m still injury free, so it’s all good.

Marrakech Express by Becky Fennelly

For the fifth consecutive year, a group of intrepid Eagles flew off to Marrakech to take part in the Marathon and Half Marathon weekend. The weekend was expertly hosted by Eileen Imrie and Rachid Afouzar as always. The fact that a number of the group are now regulars at the event is testament to how well we are all looked after both before and during the trip. In total, Rachid and Eileen were looking after over 120 runners in various groups including a group of runners raising money for the Human Appeal charity. Perhaps they should set up a travel agency!

This was my second time at the Marrakech marathon weekend, although the previous year was only as a spectator, having suffered a calf tear days before the trip. This year I have been training very cautiously as my main aim was to get to Marrakech in one piece and actually get to run this year.

The Eagles flocked together over the course of Friday with transfers arranged from the airport to the beautiful Riad Anya which was home for 3 nights. The Riad was booked for our sole use and it was a great opportunity to spend some time with like-minded people. Dinner was served in the Riad on Friday night cooked expertly by a lovely local lady to recipes that reflect what a typical family meal is in Morocco.

The evening was a great opportunity to meet the other Eagles and find out about each other’s goals for the weekend. With so many members of the club now it was lovely to have a chance to spend time with Eagles whom we may not crossed paths with before. 

Saturday was taken up with a variety of activities. Some took the opportunity to join a guided tour of the city which is included in the price of the trip. The day starts with a trip to the beautiful and peaceful Jardin Majorelle which houses a memorial to Yves Saint Laurent as well as many beautiful plants. A local guide then took the group round many of the main sights followed by lunch in a rooftop restaurant overlooking Djemaa El Fna (the main square). From the restaurant you absorb the sights and sounds of the square, watch the traders, snake charmers and other characters without being hassled to buy anything. 

The afternoon provided a chance to go to the local pharmacy and discover all sorts of local remedies for ailments and illnesses. Eileen was on hand to help stop the traders hassling us and showing us how best to deal with them when they approached us.

Another group travelled out of the city to visit the beautiful Cascade D’Ouzoud waterfall which included a hike in the hills and an unfortunate incident with a sheep.

Saturday evening was dinner in the Riad once again and an opportunity to carb load on couscous ready for the big day. 

The day arrived, bright and sunny (as is pretty much always the case in Marrakech) and the marathon runners got up for an early breakfast ready to start running at 8am. The Riad was close enough to the start line to walk there and stretch the legs before racing.

Melissah Gibson, Sophie Shawdon & Paul Keen set off to represent the Eagles in the marathon, joined at the start by Piers Keenleyside. Paul had run the marathon the previous year and was looking to shave a significant amount of time off his previous best. Sophie was running her first marathon whilst our 100 club members were planning to run hard, Melissah aiming for that elusive sub 3 hour marathon and Piers hoping to improve his start pen for Comrades with a solid time in Marrakech.

 
The start line was lively with plenty of music to keep runners upbeat and ready to go for it although the number of portaloos was woefully inadequate for the number of runners.  It would appear they were relying heavily on people waiting to use the unofficial “toilets” in the Olive Grove at mile 3 (ladies right, gents left). They could certainly learn something about this side of the organisation from EHM. 

At 8am the marathon set off and the start line cleared ready for the half marathon runners to gather.
 
The Eagles were well represented in the half marathon. Tony Austin, Douglas Hodgkinson, Paul Doeh, Kelly Scanlon, Trevor Pask, Dineke Austin, Kathryn Keenleyside, Paul Barry, Me (Becky) & Daniel Fennelly lined up at the start along with Kelly’s friend Mandy 

Having heard numerous reports of water stations running out of water for the slower runners I had over a litre of water secreted about my person in various drinking bottles as the idea of running in warm weather without water had me in a pre-race panic.

At 8:30am the half marathon started in warm sunshine. The roads were lined with supporters right from the start and shouts of “Bon Courage” could be heard as we set out.

In the early miles the route took us along wide boulevards closed to traffic. After about a mile the crowds had started to spread out and I found myself running alone. This was not a problem as I was enjoying seeing parts of the city I had not yet visited.

After about 3 miles we reached the Olive Groves where the first water station was which not only had bottles of water but crates of small oranges too which were very refreshing on the warm morning. This was the narrowest part of the course and I found myself battling for road space with a car carrying a film crew with cameras pointing out the boot and the windows. I don’t know who they were filming for but I like to think that my Eagles vest may have made it onto Moroccan TV that day.

After exiting the Olive Groves we turned back onto a main boulevard where I found myself accompanied by a clown, high fiving everyone and shouting “Bon Courage” to all the runners.  
With a smile on my face I carried on knowing I was approaching the spot where the Eagles cheer squad would be waiting. Even from a distance I could see Eileen, Rachid, Jonathan, Jacquie and a number of other friends waiting to cheer us on. Rachid was technically running too but spent much of the race running backwards and forwards finding Eagles and other charity runners from his other groups to cheer on and support as they made their way round the course.

Onwards towards the half way point and I was on track to match my time from EHM. Meanwhile, elsewhere on the course, the first Eagles were finishing the race with Douglas completing the half marathon in 1:33:36, followed by Kelly 5 minutes later. 

Around the same time, there was bit of commotion at the finish line for the marathon when the Melissah was seen approaching the line at pretty much the same time as the male first place runner meaning she had run a world record marathon time for a woman! Now we all know she’s flipping fast but that would be an incredible achievement. 

A confused Melissah wondered why she had crossed the finish line given that her watch said she’d only run 29km. Sadly, it seems like she must have taken a wrong turn and picked up the half marathon route at some point. Despite trying to get advice on how to get back on course, it became clear that today wasn’t the day for that sub 3 hour marathon.

More Eagles started to cross the finish line for the half marathon with Paul Doeh next over the line with Tony Austin not far behind. Paul’s chances of a PB had been dashed by the group of Berbers shouting “Obama, brother Africa, come dance with us!”. Who could resist pulling out a few moves? Not Paul! 

Further back down the course I was approached by a lady asking “Parlez-Vous Anglais?” to which I replied “Oui, Je parle Anglais”. My French mode had kicked in over the course of the weekend and it didn’t cross my mind that perhaps she wanted me to speak English to her.  The lady in question turned out to be called Deborah and had travelled from Salt Lake, USA to run the race. 

For the next couple of miles we took the opportunity to chat to fellow English speakers and ran together along the wide boulevards slowing to collect more oranges and (still plentiful) water along the way. She was keen to know what Ealing Eagles was and I relished the chance to wax lyrical about the club to a new audience. 

Eventually my pre-race niggles started to take their toll and my hips and thigh became quite painful so we parted company as I slowed down, leaving behind my chances of a PB.  It was lovely to have a few fellow runners who had been running close to me check I was ok when they saw my pace dropping, although my tiredness and less than fluent French meant my responses were pretty limited.

Back at the finish line, a flurry of Eagles crossed the finish line. Dineke finished the half in a frustrating 2:00:04, Paul Barry finished in 2:02:46 with Trevor Pask right on his heels. Mandy crossed the line to complete her first ever half marathon in 2:06:24.

The Eagles who had finished headed back to the Riad to freshen up knowing the remaining field would not be finishing for a while. Mandy decided to celebrate her first half marathon by jumping fully clothed into the plunge pool. None of us had used the plunge pool up to that point due to the fact the water was freezing cold. Well, they do say a post-race ice bath is good for you!

Back, on the course, the marshalls seemed to have given up on holding back the traffic on the busy main roads and gradually I found myself navigating multiple lanes of traffic at every road junction. If you live here and are quite used to just stepping out in front of traffic this probably isn’t an issue, but for a cautious accountant like myself, this was not what I needed in the latter stages of a half marathon with aching hips. A similar experience was being had by Sophie out on the marathon course, and the crazy scooter drivers hurtling towards her was quite disconcerting at times.

I reached the bus station area and the traffic, public, donkeys etc became quite an issue and I was continuously dodging and weaving.  After this the route took in a market area where the crowds were gathered and were very supportive of a weary looking runner. At one point I found myself surrounded by children and whilst I’m not averse to high-fiving the youngsters on my way round this was bit overwhelming. Listening to their shouts, I realised that they were crowding round me because they wanted my water bottle that I had been carrying since the previous (again well stocked) water station. Apparently the race organisers were paying kids for each bottle they collected in an effort to get the streets cleaned up quickly. Eventually the route took us back onto quieter roads and the stress of dodging traffic and pedestrians eased off. 

Back at the finish line Piers was the next Eagle to cross the line with a marathon time 3:26:06 which many people would have been delighted with, but for Piers today this was a little disappointing. In the meantime, Melissah, undeterred by being unable to re-join the race, decided to complete her marathon in the car park. This earned her many a confused look from finishers heading back to their car but she was determined to complete the distance she set out to do.

Finally, I found myself close to the end of the race, in some discomfort, but keeping going. As I rounded a bend in the last km I spotted the familiar sight of Rachid who was chatting to a friend. On spying me he dropped his bag, handed his phone to the friend and proceeded to run the final stretch with me. It was great to have the encouragement at the end to allow me to finish with a strong push over the finish line. Shouts of support from Piers who had recently finished his marathon also spurred me on to push hard for the line. Having seen video footage of my finish since, it looks much slower than it felt.

My final time was 10 minutes slower than my EHM time, but given my careful approach to preparation, pain and the warmth of the day, I was happy overall and delighted to get my hands on the medal I had missed out on last year. I was also pleased to have not needed any of the water I still had round my waist. I bumped into my American friend milling about beyond the finish line and was pleased to discover she had easily achieved her target.

4 more Eagles to finish and next over the line was Paul Keen who completed the marathon in 3:52:05 closely followed by Kathryn finishing a tough half marathon.

I stayed around the finish line looking for Daniel who I hadn’t seen since mile 1. After a few minutes I saw him limping towards the finish line. Unfortunately he had turned his ankle quite early in the race and had been bravely hobbling his way round the course for most of the route.
The final Eagle out on the course now was Sophie, who found herself running directly into the mid-day sun for the last hour of the marathon. She had found some company along the way and chose the camaraderie of running with someone else over chasing a time alone. Nevertheless, she crossed the line, completing her first marathon in a very respectable 5:08:44.
With all Eagles home it was time to head back to the square for a well earned lunch, followed by a stroll back to the Riad for a rest. Celebrations were had in the evening with a trip to Fantasia, a somewhat touristy destination but with banquet style food, alcohol on sale and some local dancers for entertainment, it was an excellent way to round off a great day of running.

Monday dawned to some aching muscles and some of the group set off early for their flight. A group of us headed back towards the Souks to visit the Cafe Des Epices for a relaxing rooftop lunch in the sun with great views out over the snow-topped Atlas Mountains. One intrepid Eagle set off for a night in the desert with Rachid and some of the charity runners, while Melissah decided to try her hand at camel riding.

After lunch there was time for a bit of haggling for gifts to take home. Tony secured himself 25 camels for a very reasonable price and Paul Doeh found that being a native French speaker made it harder to shrug off the salesmen as he couldn’t pretend not to understand.

Finally it was time to say goodbye to the Riad, the city and our wonderful hosts and board the flight home, many of the group vowing to be back again next year.

Sadly, getting any refreshments out of BA on the flight home was pretty much impossible. That company has gone downhill since Piers left. ...

Tokyo Marathon by Mike Duff

By rights, I probably shouldn’t be writing this race report.

In October last year after a flight to San Francisco a small vein started to protrude on the outside of my right calf, which I presumed was a varicose vein and decided to get seen once I got back from holiday. Meantime I continued to do my 20 and 22 milers in the Bay sunshine and even finish first veteran in the Bridge to Bridge 5k as part of my training for the New York Marathon, all the time completely oblivious to what was going on in my leg. The day after returning I saw the GP for what I assumed would be a routine referral and ended up being rushed to A&E for ultrasounds, x-rays and blood tests to diagnose a Deep Vein Thrombosis just below my right knee. Suddenly everything comes crashing down, you have no idea what this means for your future and you start feeling very, very mortal. New York was obviously out of the question given the potential consequences of another trans-Atlantic flight but as it hadn’t been causing me pain whilst running, I asked the consultant if I could start running again in some form perhaps in a week or two and was given the ok with the proviso to take it very easy and not to cut myself, as I was going to be on anti-coagulants for the next six months.

That night was spent scaring myself silly on Google, feeling sorry for myself and trying to work out how this was going to potentially affect my life. Next day there were still a hundred thoughts racing through my head but the one thing that usually helps me to clear my mind is to go for a run. So after a long debate with myself I decided that I was going to go to the track and even if it was slow, I was going to run. That decision was probably what got me to Tokyo - if I had left it even until the weekend then it would have festered in my mind and I wouldn’t have run for months. I made it round, nowhere near my normal pace, but it removed at least some of the demons in my mind. The first Sunday League cross-country was due that weekend and having committed to going I went through with what felt like the scariest race of my life. Every step was terrifying - worrying whether that jolt on the uneven surface was going to dislodge the blood clot, am I going to trip on the tree roots and dislodge the clot, am I going to get spiked and not stop bleeding. By the end, my brain was scrambled but I’d done it and was still in one piece which provided a real confidence boost.

The medication was starting to kick in and leaving me constantly tired so I didn’t run until the following weekend and, tiring badly towards the end of the run, ended up tripping, falling, giving myself a badly cut knee and draining all my confidence. It turns out I’d even lost out on the worst Thrombophlebitis contest to Jenny Baker. Back to square one and I didn’t run for a week but knew if I wanted to have any chance of making Tokyo I needed to start training in two weeks, so after giving myself another talking to I managed to force myself out to do a midweek run and cross country at the weekend to prove to myself I could at least run twice a week. Going through my plan with Mirka we decided to take the New York plan and remove the easy and recovery runs and have complete days off instead; the medication was leaving me finishing my runs with a face greyer than Aberdeen granite and not up to running two days in a row, but if I could at least do three sessions in a week I could get to the start line in some sort of shape.

So, week one, session one and a spectacular “heid o’er arse” fall on the track at Perivale cutting hands, elbows and knees - its amazing that as soon as someone tells you not to do something it suddenly becomes all you can seem to do (the track trip was later followed by a comedic slow motion fall on black ice in Aberdeen during a long run at Christmas to cut the other knee). However, this time I didn’t let it shake me and I kept up with the sessions - the pace wasn’t quite there but the stubbornness was and I was getting there. A few weeks later and the recoveries were getting easier – the next test was to try back to back days with a cameo at the Wormwood Scrubs Met League on the Saturday followed by the Perivale 5 on the Sunday. Another test passed and so by the end of December I’d managed to step up to 4 runs a week and was allowing myself to think that maybe under four hours was possible, and not just reaching the start.

Through January my pace gradually picked up and midway through I had a check-up with the consultant which confirmed that the clot had gone and I’d be safe to fly. I was going to make it to the start line and the training was going better than expected – maybe a PB was in reach. The extra run each week was making a difference and the less running early on seemed to have left me a bit fresher for the last few weeks before February’s taper. Ironically, after six previous attempts, the one where I started with DVT was the first one I’ve finished my training uninjured.

And so to the sensory overload that is downtown Tokyo - neon lights, huge video screens on every street corner booming out music and adverts and, of course, lots and lots of people. This meant that on race day you were never quite sure if you were being cheered on by spectators and on-course entertainment or listening to the Japanese X Factor winner and being sold car insurance.

We headed to the Expo on the first evening and although the content was pretty much the same as any other what was noticeable was the overwhelming friendliness of the volunteers. I’m not sure if this was just because I was an overseas runner but I was greeted by almost every volunteer and thanked profusely for coming to visit their city and run in their marathon.

Saturday was the Friendship Run which Angela and Ellen took part in and I’m sure will be the subject of a Duffrunning blog so won’t go into details here. It did however introduce us to the official sports drink of the marathon “Pocari Sweat” which as well as having an unfortunate name, has the rather unappetising tagline of “having the appropriate density and electrolytes, close to human body fluid”. Having made a mental note to stick to water next day, the rest of the day was spent taking it easy and carb loading on the oatcakes and Jaffa Cakes I’d managed to smuggle into the country.

Race day dawned and with the hotel being only a few hundred metres from the start line I figured I had plenty of time, but the starting area was chaos with understaffed security checks just to get in, baggage lorries at the opposite end to the entry gate I was given and less toilets than the Ealing Half for over 36,000 runners. Having finally managed to drop my bag and given up any hope of getting to the loos I ended up getting into my start pen with only a minute to spare which left me a bit flustered and it took a bit of time to get my focus back on the task in hand. My ethos of “just making the start line is a result” was being severely tested but after the struggle to get here I was determined to stay relaxed and enjoy the race regardless of what happened.

The start itself was fairly low-key – a quick introduction of the elite runners, a confetti cannon and then we were off. Maybe it was because I was starting a bit further up the pack but, compared to London, the field started to move fairly quickly and I managed to get into my running within the first couple of hundred metres. Unfortunately, the first two kilometres also seem to be the Tokyo equivalent of Canary Wharf with satellite reception going haywire and showing me having a quick jog up to the 12th floor of one of the nearby skyscrapers before getting on with the race, so my distances were already about 300m too long by the time I passed the 2km marker. After that, the markers seemed to be pretty much spot on and it was nice to have the course measured in kilometres for a change as I do all my training in kilometres (miles are too far).

The toilet stops were frequent and well signposted with service station style signs telling you the distance to the next stop as well so you can plan if you can make it to the next one, meaning I didn’t lose too much time making up for not managing to go pre-race and by 8k I was pretty much back on my target pace. The water stations were also very regular with plenty of tables at each to avoid too much of a scramble although I did walk through them to avoid throwing most of the cup over myself.

At 10k you start the first of the three out and back sections that make up the rest of the course which gave the chance to see the leading wheelchair racers coming back the other way. The out section takes you to 15k and the turning point probably sums up the city perfectly – you run toward the almost 400 year old Kaminarimon Gate at Senso-ji Temple (the one with the huge paper lanterns) and then turn right to be confronted by the 4 year old Skytree Tower.

Almost from the start the crowd was really supportive but not as overbearing as London can be, and they seemed to be picking out the international runners for additional shouts of encouragement which I found a real help in keeping me relaxed and enjoying the race. I even managed to Eagle for the camera. A glance at my watch showed I’d nudged slightly ahead of pace at 15k and I was still feeling good – so far so good.

From 16k you follow another out and back through halfway and up to 25k. The elite runners had long since passed but there was a steady stream of sub-3 hour runners coming the other way. At 20k my pace had picked up again slightly and then again at 25k – I was going to pay for this sooner or later. By this point the temperature had started to edge up and after spending the majority of my training in temperatures hovering around freezing the sudden jump to the mid-teens was not particularly welcome, so although the crowds thin out between 25 and 30k the skyscrapers lining the route were providing a useful sunblock. Another 5k checkpoint and my pace had picked up again – surely I couldn’t keep this going?

30k onwards is the final and toughest out and back – just over 5k straight into a strong headwind and slightly uphill all the way but the crowds are back and pushing you along before turning for the long run home. For those towards the back of the pack I could see this stretch being a bit soul destroying as the crowds drift away and there are fewer and fewer runners on the opposite side of the road. I manage to keep pushing my pace along and reach 35k with a bit of a cushion to 3:30. This was getting into uncharted territory – I’ve never managed to run beyond 23 miles in a marathon. I kept thinking the wheels must come off soon but I reached 40k still running and increasing my pace. Things were twinging but nothing serious.

Then at 41k, just as I entered the last stretch to the finish, my hamstring pulled slightly and I stopped to walk just as the crowd was building and the noise increasing – sod it, I thought. I’ve got less than 5 minutes, I can run this. I broke into a run again.

The last kilometre gets noisier and noisier until the final corner and then…..well, nothing. An empty plaza that leaves you wondering if you took a wrong turn then you eventually spot a timing mat and a small race clock to confirm that, yes, this is actually the finish line. Despite the underwhelming finish area I raised my arms in celebration and relief at finally breaking 3:30, crossing the line in 3:27:45.

This was the point where Tokyo really let itself down. There was no water at the finish. Or round the corner from the finish. Or for another kilometre. They seemed to have gone out of their way to stretch out the finishing zone as far as possible before giving you anything to drink and even then it’s genetically engineered Sweat. Then you receive your medal and a finisher’s towel which is really nice and something different to the usual finishing line goodies. Eventually you receive a bag with water in it but then have another kilometre to walk to pick up your bag, although the guard of honour that Tom mentioned was still going strong when I got there. I suspect they were still going strong for those coming in at 6 and 7 hours because the volunteers across the weekend all just seemed so insanely polite, happy to be there and genuinely pleased to see you. Once I had my bag it was off to the meeting point to be reunited with Angela. Oh – that’s right, there’s no meeting point. After a few texts and descriptions of buildings we eventually managed to all meet up.

As Tom mentioned, it’s a relatively new race and they are still sorting themselves out year by year. None of the little gripes need big or difficult fixes – a few banks of urinals in the start area would halve the toilet queues, using some of the acres of space at the finish line to store crates of water, squashing up the finishing zone to half the length and a few poles with letters on in Hibiya park to act as a meeting point are all easily done and I’m sure the race will continue to grow and improve.

Despite the issues at the start and finish I loved the race itself and credit to all the volunteers along the way for making the event.

Wilson Kipsang may have won but he didn’t get a PB so I’ve got one up on him there.

I’m not running – but my nose is…

Firstly, I must apologise for the time that has elapsed since my last blog.  Not because I believe you were waiting with bated breath for the next instalment, but because in winning a ballot place I did promise to write a regular blog.

I suspect training blogs are easier to produce when you’re getting the miles in and everything is going well and according to plan. Alas, I am at pains to report that this is not the case here.   

Now I don’t tend to get colds.  I had one last year and that was the first in about six years. I think I had another one about four years prior to that.  So you’ll appreciate my surprise and disappointment when about three weeks ago I came down with my worst cold in a decade.

This was a chesty little number that refused to budge and left me so blocked up that eating and breathing became quite separate pastimes.  Running with what feels like the contents of a swamp sitting on your chest is never a good idea as I discovered to my cost.  It just makes you feel a hell of a lot worse. But let’s not be over-dramatic; it is after all only a cold and I refuse to big-it-up as ‘man flu’.  

After about a fortnight it started to lift, but by then I had missed out on several training runs.  As it happens this is somewhat of a moot point because just prior to my cold I had thoughtfully added to my injury list. My left leg, which until now had remained injury-free, decided it was time join in the fun and chose my Achilles is its weapon of choice.

Now my list of injuries is impressive, or possibly depressive depending on your point of view.   I’m often asked if I have been increasing my mileage by too much too quickly. “Chance would be a fine thing,” is my usual reply.

I’m then usually asked any or all of the following: Are you warming up properly?  Are you strength training?  Are you cross-training?  Are you stretching? Are you foam rolling?  Have you had gait analysis?  Have you seen a physio? The answer to all of these is yes, so if you see me please don’t ask me again.  

I should stress that I am not looking for any sympathy here.  I’m telling you because I agreed to write a blog about my training, and to my mind that means telling you how it is, the good, the bad and the ugly.

So yes the training is not going very well and I’m miles behind where I’d like to be.  However I’m nothing if not tenacious and I’m not giving up yet.  I have been heading to gym (colds permitting) in an effort not to lose too much cardio fitness whilst my injury hopefully improves.  I must say that two hour’s running outside passes a lot quicker than one hour on the cross-trainer.  Bloody hell gyms are so tedious!  

They’re full of very odd people too.  Yesterday I observed a woman walking very slowly on the treadmill whist reading a book she had spread out across the display panel.  What’s the point of that? There are people in comas exerting more effort than this woman.   The recently deceased have more get-up-and-go.  Utterly ridiculous.

Anyway, if you’re in need of further amusement I think my cold is coming back again. Last night I was kept awake by a runny nose of near diluvial proportions.  Still, mustn’t grumble, hopefully it will pass

If I do make it to the start line then like many others getting there won’t have been without its challenges.  But even if I don’t make it, I’ll pride myself in the fact that I’ve put in more effort than the weirdo on the treadmill.

I’ll keep you posted…

Tokyo Marathon by Tom Easten

The main problem with becoming obsessed with completing all six World Marathon Majors is not particularly the running six marathons, it’s the word ‘world’. Inconveniently, only one of them is in my home city. You’d think they would have put a few more in London to make things a bit easier for me. It becomes rather an expensive business and one that takes a good deal of planning and time, especially when there’s a three-year- old in tow. With all that in mind, Tokyo was always going to be a challenge but the series wouldn’t be complete without it and Japan has long been somewhere I’ve wanted to see; I just needed a good reason to make the trip. Getting extraordinarily lucky in my first attempt at the marathon ballot (most of my friends missed out and one chap I spoke to after the Boston Marathon last year had been throwing his hat in the ring for ten years without any luck) was the spur I and my long-suffering wife needed to get the flights booked and make the trip one to remember.

Although it promised to be an extraordinary experience, we both dreaded our departure in a funny kind of way. The emails from the organisers didn’t fill me with confidence; it was all rather haphazard and far from the slick, seasoned operations I’d seen in Boston, London and Berlin. In fairness to them, the Tokyo marathon is young in comparison to its competitors and has grown enormously in a short space of time. They must still be getting to grips with all the issues it throws at them and doing their best to improve things just a little, year on year. Still, there was an uncomfortable sense that the powers that be were flying by the seat of their pants and that’s ever so slightly alarming when you’ve got a few other worries to contend with, such as surviving 18 hours of travelling with a toddler and the prospect of managing the Tokyo transit system, which looks like Jackson Pollock has thrown a giant bowl of noodles at the world’s largest canvas and then given it to my daughter to doodle over. Terrifying. Sometimes, though, you just have to throw yourself in and deal with it and we managed to make the trip, find our apartment and get the hang of train tickets without any major trauma, thanks to my better half and her relentless planning.

The expo was pretty standard stuff, little different from its counterparts at other big city races, which restored a bit of confidence to proceedings. We arrived at midnight on Thursday, visited it on the Friday and were still trying to get over the jet lag by Saturday. Race day had crept right up on me as this time, we’d decided to do things the other way around from Boston, where we had to have the holiday part of the trip first with the race at the end, so as to fly back for the London Marathon the following weekend. Now, the idea was to get the race out of the way early so we could enjoy Japan for as much time as possible afterwards. Better, but it doesn’t make for the best performance; not to make excuses (I actually am making excuses) but you’re unlikely to give your best when you arrive at the start line still exhausted from your travelling. That was always going to be the case though, and it took the pressure off to a large extent; Tokyo was unlikely to be my best performance of the year for that reason (and because I loathe winter training and wasn’t in tip-top shape leading up to the race anyway) so it was very much a case of give it my best shot and hope all the stars are in alignment, the wind is at my back and it’s one of those days when you can’t put a foot wrong. But then accept that it probably won’t be and adjust expectations accordingly.

So it was that I arrived at the start line fully expecting to have a decent first three-quarters but suffer and slow in the last 10k and end up with a decent but not spectacular time, which is precisely how things panned out. The start area itself was slightly odd; bringing a bottle of water through security wasn’t allowed, for reasons that still escape me, and that nagging feeling that the organisers were a little out of their depth began to creep back in. There was a slightly amateurish feel to things and the starting pen and line itself were remarkably low-key for such a major event. Boston had its pair of Black Hawk helicopters and star-spangled pomp, Berlin had its pyrotechnics, big screens and important-sounding announcer. Tokyo had a strange little hymn of sorts which was probably meaningful to the Japanese competitors but lost on everyone else and a couple of small smoke machines (they could have been tiny fireworks but you couldn’t see) next to the start line and then we were off, in as anticlimactic a manner as could have been arranged.

So, to the race itself and its aftermath. I’m going to be a bit critical of certain things, but there were plenty of good points so let’s give them a nod first: the aid stations were very frequent, offering water and electrolyte replacement drinks from the off and more substantial stuff later, for those who enjoy a bread roll, some tomatoes and a banana in the second half of their race; there were plenty of very well-signposted toilets on the route for those people who want them (I never do); the distance markers (kilometres only but no surprise and indeed no problem there) seemed accurately placed and were very visible, along with timing mats every 5k for tracking and post-race analysis; there was great support on the course for those who appreciate such things (I don’t personally like being yelled at by strangers during any run); and the frequent out-and- back stretches, while disliked by some, I enjoyed, as they gave me a chance to spot Wilson Kipsang roaring away at the front a few times and also allowed me to scope out the terrain of the miles immediately in front of me as I ran the other way.

Now, the not-so- great aspects: the organisers inexplicably placed crowds of slow runners at the very front of the starting pen, providing me and hundreds of others with the dubious pleasure of still having to weave around girls jogging along in rabbit ears in the second 5k. Large races are often crowded at the start but I’ve never felt so frustrated at being unable to run at more than jogging pace for such a long time; to record any kind of decent splits for the first few miles meant sprinting, darting sideways, halting, jogging, sprinting through another gap, hopping on the pavement a bit, running in the gutter and doing anything I possibly could to keep the numbers on my watch going in the right direction. The result was that I got to about 10k in a decent enough time but all over the place in terms of my rhythm and pace. Not an enjoyable start. There were no particular issues for the rest of the race, apart from my own poor fuelling strategies and customary dodgy last 10k. I was in such poor shape that I was even more desperate than usual to see the finish arch (“why the hell am I doing this again in London in two months? I hate this crap”) except there wasn’t one. If I hadn’t known exactly where I was on the course having studied the map beforehand, I wouldn’t have known I’d finished until I was crossing the line. Again, very low-key stuff. No arch, no gantry, just a couple of signs saying ‘Finish’ either side of the timing mats and a few guys standing around, alarmingly empty-handed. No sign of medals or, more importantly, water. “Ah,” I thought, “we turn around this corner to the left. It must be just round there.” Nothing. Just another empty bit of road with a few nervous-looking marshals who’d clearly been told to do little but smile and clap. So I kept walking, around the next corner, where, finally, the same electrolyte drink was waiting. Enticingly called ‘Pocari Sweat’, I decided to give it a miss and wait for the water, which arrived what seemed like several years later, along with such things as a rather nice finisher’s towel and the sweetest peanut butter sandwich known to science. The medal is rather nice, I’ll give them that, but marks deducted by annoying the hell out of me before I got it by the wholly unnecessary vast expanses between the finish line and the freebies. If I was annoyed by then, the long, Dr Zhivago-like trudge to the bags reclaim tipped me into the realms of murderous rage, delayed further as it was by a grinning photographer who insisted I stop and adjust my towel and clothing sufficiently for him to get the optimum shot of my race number. I could have shoved my ‘Pocari Sweat’ where he would have had considerable difficulty extracting it. It was hard to stay angry for long, however, as I was the only runner in the bags area at the time (my finishing time was 2:47, ahead of the main crowds, if I may be so bold) so I received an ovation and high-fives from every one of the hundred-odd orange-jacketed marshals on duty who formed a kind of human tunnel of congratulation leading to my little bag of green trousers and cigars. A surreal experience indeed. 

Looking back at this rambling diatribe, there’s been plenty of complaining but none unfair, I think.  That said, I’ve never regretted entering a marathon (once I’ve recovered a bit) and the extraordinary experience of the journey to Japan, negotiating Tokyo and taking part in a race with tens of thousands of others and some of the world’s top marathon runners far outweighs any of the negatives. If you enter this race yourself, just make sure to manage your expectations and you’ll have a great time. Don’t expect seamless organisation; you won’t get it. But at least they make the trains run on time.

Now for London. With Chicago looming large in the background…

Forgive me Eagles for I have sinned, it's been 4 weeks since my last blog!

So far I am still on plan. I've had some great runs and some tough but buzzing runs. I can't believe we are over the halfway mark!

During the past four weeks I have gone way past my previous longest mileage. Angela and I ran seventeen miles of the London marathon route and had a ball. I was terrified beforehand ( more on that later) but we did it. Turning onto the mall knowing next time would be the end of one of the biggest achievements of my life was something special :-)

I have been super lucky with marathon buddies and support. Big shout out to Mark, Angela and to Laura but also to each and everyone of you. I honestly could not be doing this without your help and encouragement. 

"Use your arms"

Long run anxiety: I debated whether to write about this or not but this is me and if anyone else goes through this maybe it could help. 

I suffer so badly from long run anxiety. I used to be anxious generally and constantly worrying about what I said, what people thought etc...that has gone by the wayside! I am what I am and I need no excuses ( and all that jazz!) but I get crippled by the thought pre long runs of 'what if I can't?'

To me in times like this I think I revert back and still see myself as the hugely overweight girl I used to be ( not that I'm a petite thing now but I was over seventeen stone previously!) I look at the long run and the first thing I think is what if I can't? What if I slow whoever I'm running with down? What if they insist on slowing down? What if it's just too much? All things that people can rationalise but these thoughts get to me. Yes, in theory I know I can do it. Some of the distances I have done before so why wouldn't I be able to? I guess being poorly last year has taken its toll too. I get in a real state the night before every long run. In fact I went to Brighton by myself on Sunday because I didn't want anyone to feel I was being negative....which is how understandably it can be construed but it is so not that. 

Why put yourself through it some might ask? 

Because as soon as I start I love it. I love what running gives me. It makes me feel good. It puts a smile on my face. It makes me challenge myself. It gives me headspace. It gives me me time. It makes me feel proud. It makes me feel I'm being a good role model for my children. It makes me feel part of an amazing community. 

Right now it's something I can't seem to stop but it is there. I keep in the forefront of my mind how I will feel during and afterwards and that is what keeps me going. 

Running has given me so much. You lot for a start! I feel fitter, stronger and have much more energy for everything. 

I hope no one thinks this is a negative blog....it really isn't. I am feeling good. Every bit of my plan so far has gone to plan. I'm entering the second half feeling strong. I'm still so excited and feel so privileged to be representing the club. 

I love running, I love you lot. I can not wait to run the London marathon :-) 

Showing off the bling

Staying Positive (Almost)

I am aware that I have not exactly been putting a positive spin on my training experience so far, despite getting a fair few miles under my belt and avoiding any serious damage to myself.  Maybe it is the time of year or maybe I really did make myself sick of it doing my half marathon challenge in 2016.  These last two weeks I have wavered on a couple of occasions.  The training regime seems incompatible with me going out to socialise and enjoy myself, so if I were taking it super seriously, I would lay off the booze from now.  But instead I find myself wondering if it’s the running that’s getting in the way of my enjoying life.  I need to focus on the goal at the end, getting to run the London Marathon and the amazing experience that I know that it will be.  That really is going to be the light at the end of the tunnel, because right now it still seems like a bit of a hard slog.  I know that this training will not be forever.  The weeks seem to be falling away quite quickly, the coming spring brings with it the prospect of the rest of training being a bit more pleasant, and I get ever closer to the blessed time when I can taper and relax.
 
Week 5 - 66 miles
 
The weeks always seem to start well and then get tougher.  It is always a nice surprise to discover that Monday’s sore legs have a bit more go in them than I expect.  I find that I have a bit too much energy sometimes and it is hard to keep at 8 minute miles when it's more fun to go nearer 7.  This is what happened on Wednesday when I ran what was supposed to be a shortish slow run both longer and faster than I should have done.  I enjoyed it but suffered a little afterwards.  After I ran to work on Thursday, the familiar pains around my hip told me I should abandon the plan for the fast lunchtime session.  I rested in preparation for the challenge to come.

Of all the things you can do during your training, a double race weekend probably isn't one of them.  It started off at Alexandra Palace, where I had some unfinished business with Met League cross-country.  Resolved to not repeat my slippery mistake of last time, I equipped myself with some brand new spike shoes, a bargain at £30 including two more sets of spikes.  I fitted the 15mm ones to make sure I had some grip.  Sharp as hell, they made the shoes into lethal weapons and I wondered if they were allowed on public transport.  Handy to keep around in case of burglars, I guess.  

The snow had stopped by the time I got to Ally Pally but it was still cold and gloomy, although nice to be with my fellow Eagles.  The five miles consisted of three laps, each a flat circuit apart from the big hill going up to the palace.  Half a mile in, I was bitterly regretting going to the pub the night before.  Just a couple of miles with the new spikes made me feel like I was going to sprain an ankle.  The shoes were now way too grippy for what I was expecting.  When I needed a bit of slide in the tight turns, I wasn't getting any at all.  I had to learn how to run in those things while I was racing.  I changed my technique a bit and it felt ok enough after that.  I was determined not to let Santry beat me this time but he passed me right before the finish, so I didn't even have that.  Still, I made a first team place this time and I contributed in a small way to the Eagles men winning Division Three. 

Sunday my plan said run a half marathon.  It didn't say run the cross country the day before though.  I had said to myself that I would not run any half marathons as part of this training: not after what happened last year.  Yet still I'm signed up for Fleet because of the Welsh Castles Relay qualification, and here I was in Vicky Park for the only half marathon that day that wasn't too much of a hassle to get to.  The organisers tried to get people enthusiastic but it's a difficult job in the wintertime.  I set off at marathon pace but it took less than a mile for my shins to make it known that they had other ideas.  All the ankle work of the day before had taken its toll. The four lap route was pleasant enough and I would have enjoyed it more if I had been in better shape.  The pain eased off like I hoped it would, but that wasn't until the halfway point.  After that, the going was easier but I could have sworn I was going faster than my Garmin was telling me.  I finished in just over 1:32: not what I had hoped for at all. As soon as I stopped, I was suddenly aware that my hands were so cold that I couldn't feel them, and my shins and right calf quickly seized up.  I had to hobble as quickly as I could out of there and back towards my bed.

Failing this test gave me a few doubts about how well the training was really going and whether I was going to be able to even attempt to run this marathon as fast as I wanted.  I had been telling myself that I had to try for sub 3, but that wasn't necessary my goal when I started all this.  I just need to do what I can and enjoy it.

Week 6 - 53 miles

There had to be at least one week where I had to be a bit less ambitious with my mileage and, because my ankle-related problems ended up persisting a while, this turned out to be one of them.  I started off trying though, although I was tired to begin with and got more tired from there.  Monday's cross-country was painful but successful and Tuesday I swapped in a long slow run, which I made sure I did slow enough this time.  I attempted the track on Wednesday and it turned out to be a killer session in more ways than one.  Twenty lots of 200m seemed to do wonders for my sprinting but it finished my legs off for the week.  I was just too knackered to do anything on Thursday and two days rest turned into three when parkrun got dropped as well.  Not running made me feel a bit more lively, at least.

I had only Sunday evening to get my long run in and redeem my mileage for the week.  It seemed appropriate to revisit my old favourite night route: passing all Piccadilly Line stations between home and Hammersmith and then going back along the north side Thames Path, which is lit apart from a couple of stretches where you need to be careful.  I added on a loop to circumnavigate Osterley Park and start with Osterley station.  The resting had brought on a bit of soreness but that subsided fairly quickly.  I found it fun to just run a route without knowing how long it would turn out to be; it was just like the old days.  I guessed it would be about 20 miles but I had already clocked seven by the time I passed Boston Manor.  I ended up running 23.  I let go of the pace in the last five miles so I could finish in one piece, and also avoid tripping along the dark canal.  I still managed an 8:01 pace overall, and running for more than three hours was just the training I knew I needed to last the marathon distance.  I don't need to tell you that it hurt after that.

I'm happy that there is only nine weeks to go now, including the taper.  Even though I'm less than halfway, it feels like I'm over the hump.  I look forward to the time when my legs will feel fresh again, and I hope they can do what I ask of them when I put them to the test.  I don't feel too daunted by the prospect of doing the marathon at the end of it because the training has challenged me enough.  I guess that is the whole point of it.
 

Harry's VLM Blog 3 - 65 Days to Go!

Well, first I must apologise – it has been almost a month since my last blog. This is partly because I’m no Caitlin Moran - I struggle to think of anything to write that would be worth reading – and partly because I got out of the habit of taking a picture. I’ve been running 4 or 5 times a week, one of which will be hills or a track session and one a long run at the weekend, in total 40 to 45 miles a week. Overall it has a reasonable semblance to the plan, even if it differs in the details.

I’m still getting the odd twinge, like suddenly feeling a pain in the arch of my sole (plantar fasciitis?!), and then it goes, then I feel it again, but can’t remember if it is the same foot or not, and then it goes again. Sometimes when I wake up various joints are stiff and I shuffle down the stairs, but then that is no different to before I started marathon training. So all in all, fingers crossed, touch wood, the body is holding together.

To be fair there have been a few highlights. I’d given myself a 2 day taper for the Battersea 10k as it was club champs race, and was a just a few seconds off a PB. Chris Lambert mentioned our 17 mile long run, where I managed to navigate a new route by the railway past Chiswick and Barnes stations. A lost Irish lady joined us in the park, claiming she was not as fit as she used to be. Turned out she was 12th woman in the 1984 London marathon. The following week I ran with Kieran to the Burgess Parkrun. I hadn’t run the route through Hammersmith, Kensington and Victoria before. Kieran had highlighted the last part through Kennington in a post with “This is the bit where we might get lost!”, and indeed, an unintentional detour meant we approached the park at five past 9. Fortunately they were not as prompt as the Gunnersbury team, so looking forward to lift back courtesy of Paul, I set off a ridiculous pace on the flat course which my tired legs couldn’t maintain.

The following Tuesday Ben Cale had arranged a timed 5k down at Osterley track, which I decided my flexible plan could accommodate. Just as well, as Melissah had given up looking for the track and was heading home when I bumped into her on the way there. I found setting up the Garmin to beep the pace every kilometre helped keep track of the laps, and using others as pacers dragged me round to sprint finish and a big new PB. Perhaps all this training was doing me good.

Last weekend there was a big shout out for the last MET League cross country of the season at Ally Pally to try to overhaul Highgate C to the league 3 title, which was an excuse to add some mud to the hills in the training plan. I really enjoyed mixing it with Eagles who would have been out of sight ahead in the past, though I didn’t have much left in me for the third time up the muddy hill. A commemorative towel at the finish was an unexpected bonus. Cross country is a great way to get to know other Eagles over a post-race pint – get yourself a pair of spikes and join in.

This week the training plan needed to flex around half term and a couple of days off in Brighton with the family. Both my children picked up a vomiting bug, which has spoilt their holiday a bit, but gave me a free morning, so I took the opportunity to get a good long run in early with a 20 mile run around the canal with a diversion down to Osterley House. The towpath is generally in good nick, but the corner on the other side of Southall is a bit muddy and worth cutting off. Note also a stretch including the aqueduct over the North Circular - a favourite bit of mine on the run into work – is blocked off until March, though the detour isn’t too tricky via an underpass to the South. The picture for this blog is the three bridges North of Osterley, where the canal simultaneously goes over a railway and under a road, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1859. Genius.

Cross Country Double Header! by John Foxall

Ealing Eagles had much to celebrate as the curtain came down on another cross country season with a challenging double header last weekend.

Saturday

As the temperatures fell in the week, snow followed rain and challenging conditions were assured. All the talk was of 15mm spikes, mud and guts as the men went for promotion in the Met League at Alexandra Palace. There was no let down as a tremendous turn out of twenty-five Eagle men toed the line, eagerly awaiting the starters’ pistol.

After a false start (did he forget to load the gun?) we were off, feet squelching through the mud with every foot step but already going at quite some speed as the frontrunners set a frightening pace. The course took us up the steep hill to the palace three times and hurtling back down the hill past runners and supporters cheering us on. The only thing missing was some good honest booing, which perhaps explains why Tom Easten decided not to renew his love affair with Cross Country. 

As ever, José Manuel Pabon led the Eagles’ charge and was first to finish the five mile course in 98th place. He was shortly followed by John Foxall and Ewan Fryatt, who made sure not to let the club down by finishing in exactly 120th place as promised. Next home was the returning Ricardo Agostinho. The Eagles’ scoring eight was completed as Kieran Santry, Philip Evans, Chris Lambert and Kieran Morrisroe crossed the line in quick succession.

The men won promotion by topping division 3 by a significant margin and the mens’ veterans likewise by finishing in second place in division 3.

After promotion last season, the women finished in a solid 6th position while the veterans also gained promotion. Jennifer Watt finished in an excellent 48th place and the scoring five was completed by Marion Bolster, Sophie Foxall, Sarah MacKenzie and Emily Schmidt.

Sunday

On Sunday, it was an early start and the Eagles were met with bitter cold and snow more akin to a biathlon competition than a XC fixture. Royston is perhaps the most testing XC course of the season and it seems like you are always running up a punishing hill or throwing yourself down a steep descent. Runners adapt tactics to suit their strengths, as evidenced by Frank Doyle and Melissah Gibson, taking it in turns to overtake each other time after time on the hills and descents!

After 9km and 250m of testing hills, Melissah was first home for the women in 4th place overall. Jen Watt was next in 5th place. Hannah Copeland has returned from injury to look as strong a XC runner as ever and finished a minute later in 9th place. Another convincing victory was secured with Ellen Easten (11th), Maria Fitzgerald (13th) and Yvonne Linney (16th).

After finishing 2nd placed senior team last year, the Eagles women went one better this year. With 338 points from the 5 fixtures to Heathside’s 688, they won by a country mile in the end!

Just for good measure, the Vets finished second in the league after last year’s first place. Hearty congratulations to all those women who contributed to a successful season. A more serious Eagle would name them but I’m too lazy to check.

Final Thoughts
1. Well done to all those Eagles who did the double over the weekend – you are hard and you know it.
2. Well done to all those Eagles who took their first steps in XC this season. I know you loved it and if you didn’t … well just keep quiet about it. In all seriousness, dozens of you lot decided you fancied giving XC a try and most people though it was reasonably fun and something a bit different!
3. XC offers you a chance to get to know your city better. Parliament Hill on race-day is quite a sight and you can now say you’ve been to Cockfosters, Claybury, Ally Pally and more. The sun was out when we ran at Wormwood Scrubs … enough said.
4. The standard of competition is ridiculously high, especially in the MET League, which celebrated its 50th season this year. The souvenir towel was a nice bonus. You can toe the line alongside runners who have represented their country, but everyone still has to traipse through the mud and up the hills! It’s great fun and if it’s good enough for Hawkins, Butchart and Farah it’s good enough for us.
5. You can sense a growing camaraderie in the club when you see how many of us turn up to XC fixtures. We can barely all fit in the team photos now. Many thanks to Kieran Santry, Sarah Mackenzie and Thom Martini for rallying the troops and organising us throughout the season. We couldn’t do it without you!
6. Forget the watches, plans and don’t worry about your pace. Just get over the hill(s) and through the mud! XC is gloriously simple. Mud is awesome… obvs.
7. Let them eat cake. The club has some exceedingly good bakers. But you need to do XC to find out just how good…

On a personal note, I’m not ready to give up on mud just yet. I’ve signed up for Orion 15 in March. No doubt I’ll see some of you there.
 

Beginner's Graduation & Next Improver's Course

10k – the next step after 5k! 

Have you completed the club beginners’ programme or are otherwise able to run 5.5k?

Currently running at or willing to run at a pace of 8min/k (parkrun 5k in 40mins)?

Want to run faster and further?

Come along to beginners’ graduation and find out more about increasing your distance, talk about training plans and discuss opportunities for training.

You will find us in the Rose & Crown on Wednesday 22 February from 7.30pm and in FarmW5 on Thursday 23 February from 11am.

In particular, with the January beginners’ programme finishing at the end of February, a second Improvers course will be starting 10am on Thursday 2 March (with a holiday on Maundy Thursday 13 April). This course will aim to progress Eagles from running 5.5k to running a 10k race at the beginning of May and to provide an introduction to speed work.

There is no requirement to attend all the sessions but you will make most progress if you do and you will also be expected to do “homework” outside the Thursday sessions as part of a training plan for 10k.

The length of the sessions will necessarily depend on the distance being run that day but you should allow from about an hour to 1 ½ hours. Most sessions will meet in Gunnersbury Park.

Update on Club Championships for 2017 - 2018

Thank you everyone for all your feedback on how to improve Club Championships for the next year!  Whilst we are still finalising the rules we wanted to publicise some of the Club Championship events that are coming up in the next few months so you can start to plan your training and book some races!  Facebook events will be set up for all these races and the Race Calendar on the website will be updated.

Westminster Mile

Date: Sunday 28th May 2017
Race Costs: £8
https://www.vitalitywestminstermile.co.uk/

Second Sunday 5 miles on Wimbledon Common

Date: Sunday 14th May 2017
Race Costs: £3
http://www.secondsunday5.com/
 

Summer League

Two 10km races will be Club Championship races:

Regent's Park on 16th July 2017

Battersea Park on 20th August 2017

Race Costs: Free

Harlow 10 Miles

Date: Sunday 3rd September 2017
Race Costs: £15 approx
http://www.thehrc.org.uk/harlow102017.htm
(this isn't open for entry yet so save the date!)

Burnham Beeches Half Marathon

Date: Sunday 13th August 2017
Race Costs:£24
http://bbhm.burnhamjoggers.org.uk/ 

The rest of the races as well as all the updated rules will be published shortly.

For more information on Club Championships please see the relevant section of the website (http://www.ealingeagles.com/club-championships/) or for further information please contact race@ealingeagles.com

Brighton Marathon Places!

If anyone is looking for a last minute entry to The (sold out) Brighton Marathon this year we have access to some club places which will need to be claimed by 20th February. If you're interested please contact Olivia on membership@ealingeagles.com

Please see message from the organisers:

England Athletics Club Entry:

We are pleased to announce that England Athletics registered athletes can now apply for a guaranteed entry into the 2017 Brighton Marathon. Entries are limited per club according to the number of first claim registered members.

Entry into the Brighton Marathon costs £69.50 and entries must be applied for through your Club Secretary. If you are interested in entering the Brighton Marathon via the England Athletics Club entry, please speak to your Club Secretary. We can only accept requests to enter from Club Secretaries.

Ride London Volunteers

Cycling Eagles we need you!

With the ballot places for Prudential Ride 100 being announced this week we are looking at suppling a volunteer team for the event for those that weren't successful but would still like to be a part it!

If we volunteer as a group, we will all be assigned a role where everyone can be together in the same location which will make for a great day.

Also if we can get 10 or more people we could potentially get a guaranteed entries into the 2018 Prudential RideLondon 100-mile event or other rewards for the club.

It's just a matter of interest at the moment but if you are keen please make yourself known so we can give a rough number to the organisers of people we can supply over the weekend, the dates are 28-30 July 2017.

More info on the event can be found at https://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/about/faqs/ (copy and paste into browser!). 

Get Involved - Volunteer for your Club

Ealing Eagles Running Club is entirely run by volunteers. You all know that, but did you know how many volunteers it takes to keep the club running (pun absolutely and unapologetically intended!)?

Well, there are 7 committee members for a start. Then two club runs every week, which each have a leader and two tail runners. That's 13. We then have coached sessions on a Tuesday and Thursday, so that's two more. Plus the Improver's sessions, which are commonly two additional coached sessions a week. That takes us up to 17. We also have 4 club members who manage the Junior section and two cross country captains. Plus the person who collates all the club champs information. Plus Mr. Kit, the fabulous Piers Express.

That's a bare minimum of 25 volunteers needed each week to keep this club of over 700 members going. That's over 1,000 opportunities to volunteer every year, most of which are filled by the same small group of amazing regular volunteers. 

And that doesn't even count the additional volunteers we need for the Juniors and Beginner's sessions. It doesn't include the 10k committee, or the team who arrange the Gunnersbury summer league. It doesn't include captains for events like the Welsh Castles or the Green Belt. It doesn't include the people who bring the tea urn and cakes to events. And it doesn't include all the club coaches who work behind the scenes putting together training plans and meeting with their coachees in their spare time. 

If you can, please consider getting involved on a voluntary basis with the club. There are loads of things you can do - these include:

• Run leader for club run - check out the schedule under the training section on the Eagles Nest and just add your name! You just need to turn up on time, welcome new people, make the weekly announcements, and lead some stretches at the end (or ask a pal to do that). More info under 'volunteer roles' on the Eagles Nest. Please note if you would like to be a run leader, send us a quick email to info@ealingeagles.com so we can add you to the email list and the Google sheet we use for new members and announcements.
• Tail running - even easier - you just need to add your name to the same schedule as above, turn up on time, and run at the pace of the slowest runner for the short or long club run. You get a nice chat and an enormous sense of well-being from helping people along. 
• Volunteer with the beginners - Wei Hei runs the beginner's like a well oiled machine, but she can't do it on her own! Volunteers are always needed so that different groups can run at the same session. If you're not sure what it's all about email us or offer to run with the beginners at parkrun first to get an idea of how it works. Again you get that chat and the pleasure of helping someone on their way.   
• Eagles 10k - you can volunteer to help organise this event, or volunteer on the day as a marshal or a water station attendant, or lots of other things! 
• Coaching - the club offers support for members who would like to support the club by achieving the recognised LiRF and CiRF qualifications. Volunteers are also always welcome to assist the coaches at specific sessions. Contact coaching@ealingeagles.com if you would like to help or are interested in gaining a coaching qualification. 
• Juniors - the juniors section meets on Monday evenings and still needs volunteers. Is Monday your rest day? There you go then! 

To volunteer for any of the above roles, register your interest by emailing us at info@ealingeagles.com. Other opportunities for specific events come up all the time, so keep an eye out on the newsletter and Facebook. 

Run, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

Why do I do this to myself?  It is a question I have been asked a few times lately.  People wonder why I need to run so much when it leaves me so tired all the time and often not as cheery as I could be.  I feel like I have a responsibility, and it is motivating in a way that I have to write about my training because I need to have some training to write about.  Just don't expect me to be jolly about it all the time.

Week 3 - 70 miles

I started my third training week feeling like I was getting back into the groove.  I started it off Monday with one of my favourite runs for training, though not one that's on any plans that I've seen.  I go from work along the canals to Primrose Hill, run up it three times as fast as I dare and then run back again.  Tuesday I was supposed to do track but I was on a course the other side of London and it seemed like the last thing I wanted to do afterwards.  One thing marathon training does is make me feel guilty for being tired.  Some outside force seemed to want to redress the balance, however.  On Wednesday, I ran to work on the most treacherous winter morning I have experienced, where the pavements were white with ice and I needed to watch my footing the whole way.  I realised near the end that I had left my wallet and home and I needed it for a work social event.  The only thing for it was to run home again lunchtime to get it.  On the homeward leg I was sweating with a hat and gloves on and then I was cold going the other way after I took them off.  It shows what difference covering up the extremities makes.  After that, I had money for the evening but it left me so shattered that I didn't enjoy it at all.  

It left me with a low on Thursday that I could only cure by running again.  I did my tempo route, happy that on the fast section I was getting back towards normality, if not quite good form yet.  Friday I was determined to get back the track session that I had missed.  I was tired before my run to work and even more tired afterwards, so I really had to force myself to do it.  The Linford Christie Stadium is conveniently near to work and I can do my warm up jogging there.  My training plan said to do 1000m reps but with only 200m recoveries.  That was not nice.  With not enough rest in between, each one steadily wore me down until I gave up after six.

Sunday I joined Harry, James L, Santry and Rob for a long run.  After all the races I did last year, I am now reluctant to get up early on a weekend for running.  I'm glad I did though, not least because it was timed well for the weather.  We went over Barnes Bridge and to Richmond Park, doing a loop back through the middle and bits of it I didn't know, then through Mortlake and along the river to Kew.  In Richmond Park there were a ton of runners, and the tracks are nice and soft for training at this time of year.  It was an enjoyable route and a great run.  It was good to have company.  It is a bit different running with others because you can't just fall into your own pace anymore.  Perhaps that is a better way of doing it, to improve your natural pace rather than rely on it.  It was 16.5 miles when we got back to Ealing Green and I could hardly not do the extra two to put my weekly total above 70, which happens to be the distance back home.  It felt good to get my first proper long run done, though I was feeling sore and thought I should take it a bit easier the next week.

Week 4 - 61 miles

The dull tiredness diminished and I started getting a bit antsier.  I preferred it the way it was before.  I upped my food intake with whatever rubbish I felt like eating and it made me a bit more energetic.  Eating a lot compelled me to run and vice versa, turning the whole thing into a real addiction that eclipsed my other vices.  At least I was starting to feel I had regained a bit of strength in my legs so it felt like it was going well.  

I like to start the week with a bit of cross-country on the Scrubs, which is getting muddier all the time.  I have found it enjoyable even on tired legs.  Tuesday is track, this week at the Linford Christie again, and I find the longer, more endurance-based marathon training sessions to be completely exhausting but beneficial.  Wednesday is longer, slower stuff to recover.  Thursday was time to try something quicker again, but I felt soreness around my right hip where I had my problems before.  My body was telling me no, but I still would have gone if it wasn’t for a colleague that wanted to go for a run with me, so I had a short gentle one instead.  The way I see it, doing the training properly isn’t following the plan to the letter, it’s knowing when to ease off.  I had got carried away and forgotten that.

It was time to test my parkrun chops after a long absence.  I was still mostly asleep when I got to Gunnersbury Park and the only thing motivating me to get round was the prospect of going back to bed.  I blew up after a mile or so, my shins screaming at me because I hadn’t warmed them up properly, but my hip felt fine.  I finished in 19:20, nowhere near a good time for me but OK I guess as the first one in a while.  For me, the only way to get fast at parkrun is to do parkruns.  The last run of another tiring week was my first 20 miler of the training.  I did it in a simple and boring way by running up the canal for 10 miles then going straight back again.  The canal is bleak at this time of year and a bit featureless at the best of times, so the miles felt really stretched out.  It was harder to keep the pace in the last quarter but I kept even splits.   I finished up shattered and hurting all over.   I had a sports massage afterwards that was as painful as anything.  All my muscles were stiff and sore, and it proved what I had suspected, that I had become tense physically as well as mentally.  If I’m going to stay injury-free, I need to keep my limbs loose, so I need more of the stretching for which I struggle to find the motivation.

The training so far has been difficult and draining but I get reward in thinking that I’m getting closer to being someone that can finish a marathon, and hopefully in a good time as well.  I'm not on as much of a downer now that I'm getting used to it.  I don’t want to let the club down, but I know I need to be careful.  In hindsight, maybe I shouldn’t have gone from zero miles to 70 in three weeks.  It feels a bit more fun when it’s a learning experience.

So Good I Ran it Twice

It is with no small sense of relief that I announce the accursed hamstring injury as being no more.  The strange knee pain is also gone, thanks to some good advice from physio Michelle Tanner and some tough love with my ITB.  The Achilles Tendinopathy is no longer a problem either.  I can’t afford another injury because I’ll end up spending so much time on preventive exercises there’ll be no bloody time left to run.

But I am running and enjoying it too.  I’m sticking to coach Jesal’s plan because that’s the general idea with plans.  Jesal and I agree a few adjustments every couple of weeks based on the feedback I provide (normally over a hot beverage somewhere in Ealing Broadway).  This has led to things like going for a time at the forthcoming Cambridge Half rather than just running it at training pace.  Last week totalled 24 miles with my long run a particularly exciting one.  More about that in a moment.

I have also taken to colouring in my plan as I complete each training session.  Whilst I say ‘colouring in’ there are no crayons involved, the Fill Color (sic) button in Excel does the trick.   I do this for two reasons: firstly there’s great satisfaction in seeing a visual representation of my progress, and secondly I just like colouring things in.

In my efforts to fit my life in around marathon training (as oppose to the other way round) different days of the week have taken on different meanings. Currently Mondays mean rest, Wednesdays cross-training and so on.  Whilst this will change around to provide some variety as my plan progresses, for most of us ballot winners and others in marathon training Sunday will always mean the long run.

Those of us on Strava need only glance at our Flybys to see just how many people are out there getting the long miles in on a Sunday morning. For me this has meant incorporating the Sunday morning ten mile club run into my training.   Until now my club runs had more or less been limited to the ‘long run’ on Monday and Wednesday evenings.  However, I am now a big fan of this Sunday morning run too and I’m likely to remain in regular attendance after I’ve recovered from the marathon.

As you can see from this picture it attracts a good number of Eagles (some particularly eager Eagles had already set-off (fled the nest?) before Catherine Mulrenan kindly took this picture). The route takes in Walpole, Lammas, Gunnersbury, Syon and Blondin parks, plus a wonderfully scenic stretch along the river – where everyone bemoans the uneven terrain and the fact that ‘it goes on forever’.  It’s true, we do and I’ve said it myself.  But I love it really.

Even if you are adding miles to the beginning or end of the run (and it’s often both) there is still a good ten miles where you can chat to other Eagles.   On the few runs I’ve now attended the conversation has included: injuries, underwear, getting enough sleep, tooth ache, people’s bottoms,  holidays, coaching, alcohol, Donald Trump, weight loss and the new Train Spotting film. Oh, and running.

Recently the conversation came round to ‘things people have said to you whilst you’re running’.  It seems these range from the tedious ‘Ello darlin' to the more offensive that I won’t repeat here. 

I was recently subjected to a rather bizarre outburst whilst running along Northfield Avenue.  I passed a teenage girl who appeared surgically attached to her mobile.  She looked up momentarily as I passed her by, and with a look of utter revulsion shouted: “Uurrrghh!”

I thought this was a bit harsh.  I may not look my best towards of the end of a run (how many of us do?) but surely this was a bit strong?  Perhaps she was just reacting to something on her phone.  I will keep telling myself that.

I couldn’t make last week’s Sunday morning club run.  However, I wasn’t too tearful because the reason for my absence was a trip to New York City.  This meant my Sunday morning run was two and a bit laps of Central Park (13 miles – the first ten at training pace and the final three at marathon pace).  I’d never been to New York before, but was hoping for better encouragement than that afforded by Northfields’ adolescent smartphone addicts.

Central Park is a great place to run.  Rachel joined me for the first few miles to give me both encouragement and helpful directions – though if you’re following ‘the six mile loop’ it’s almost impossible to get lost.  Rachel’s VLM top got a lot of impressed looks and she became convinced that people started to consciously improve their form upon seeing the words ‘London Marathon’. I’m not sure what they made of my Eagles’ top.  I’m hoping they thought it was an American Eagle and so rather liked it.

There were a lot of runners in the park and my Strava Flyby looks like a swarm of bees, with over 120 people on it.  It seems I also ran through a segment called ‘horse shit alley’ which sounds a lot worse than it is.

Despite the high number of runners in the park, there is a large amount of space and no bottlenecks anywhere.  I also noticed that non-runners always give way to runners, which is very nice of them.  There are a couple of hills to challenge you too, and I was half way up one and facing a headwind when my Garmin told me I’d completed 10 miles and it was time to up my pace.  Nonetheless the last three miles felt good, probably helped by the joy of running in such great surroundings.  By far the best bit was getting to mile 13 to find Rachel waiting for me with drinks (note bottom left of picture!).  Now that’s how you finish a 13 mile run in Central Park, and it was also a great finish to another week’s training.

Next week Osterley track and the streets of Ealing may not seem quite the same as Central Park.  Though to be fair, there’s bound to be a bit less horse poo…

Cross Country Double Weekend : 11th & 12th February

The final cross country league fixtures take place this weekend with the Eagles in a position to win promotion or silverware in both leagues so it’s vital we get as many runners out over the two days as possible.  Even if you don’t score in an Eagles team you still make a vital contribution by pushing other clubs’ runners further down the classification.

Saturday 11th - Met League Cross Country - Alexandra Palace

Venue: Alexandra Park, Alexandra Palace Way, London N22 7AY. The start is close to park entrance by junction of Park Road, Muswell Hill and Alexandra Palace Way.
Note: there are no toilets at the course.

Race HQ: The Pavillion, North Middx Cricket Club, Park Road, London N8 8JJ

There are changing facilities and showers at race HQ.

HQ to course walk time: 1.25km, approx 15 mins

Course description: A mainly flat open course but with one long, steep hill (run more than once by the senior men and women) up to the Palace. It normally gets very muddy, especially on the hill, so spikes are essential if you want to make any progress uphill!

Timetable
12.45pm - Under 11s – 1500m
12.55pm - Under 13 boys – 3000m
1.00pm – Under 13 girls – 3000m
1.20pm – U15 boys/17 men – 4000m
1.25pm – U15 girls/U17 women – 4000m
1.55pm – Senior / U20 women – 6000m
2.35pm – Senior / U20 men – 8000m
Transport

Public transport
The best route from Ealing seems to be the tube to Finsbury Park (Piccadilly line / Central line then Victoria line) followed by the W3 bus to Alexandra Palace)

Car Parking:
Paddock car park at the western end of the park is adjacent to the start / finish. Entrance on Alexandra Palace Way. Do not park at the Cricket Club.

If you raced any of the previous Met League races this season, please remember to bring your race number with you to wear. If you have lost your number, or haven't yet raced a Met League fixture this season, you will need to collect your race number. Please make sure you have your EA license with you.

Please arrive at least 30 minutes before the start of your race and look out for the Eagles flag.

You must run in an Eagles top.

Listening devices such as I-Pods are not allowed on safety grounds when competing.

Post race: After the races, trophies will be awarded in all categories at Race HQ. and a few other clubs are going to The Mossy Well, 258 Muswell Hill Broadway, which also serves food.

Sunday 12th - Sunday League - Royston

Venue: The event will be hosted by Royston Runners and will be held on Therfield Heath, Royston.

Race HQ: The Heath Sports Centre, Baldock Road, Royston, SG8 5BG. The sports centre has good changing and showering facilities.

Please note that there will be portaloos onsite for runners to use. Please use these rather than the toilets in the Heath sports club as they struggle to cope when used by large numbers of people.

Race details
Start: 10:30am

Course: Both women and men will run approx 5.5 miles. There will be one small lap and two large laps. The course is mostly across open downland and is very hilly. Watch out for rabbit holes! It is suitable for spikes, studs or trail shoes.

All entries are taken on the day. Also, please wear an Eagles top.

Please note that all muddy footwear must be removed before entering the sports centre, especially spikes.

There will be an end of season presentation in the Heath Sports Bar after the race.

Travel
Parking is available at the Heath, but is limited due to other sporting activities taking place. Please arrive early. Car sharing is recommended.
A car sharing google doc is available via https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LU1IJEraZYX-iPnP0L6hiS4_Vfkx3Qs6gq0BqGaps8Q/edit#gid=0

Green Belt Relay 20 - 21st May!

Now recruiting!

An epic weekend of running, covering 220 miles around London, 22 stages, 2 days and 11 runners per team.

This is a great chance to see the countryside and get in some trail running. You'll run a stage each day, from 7 to 13 miles across all types of terrain. It's fantastically friendly, finishes with drinks and a BBQ and the runners have all had a great time over the last couple of years.

When not running the teams tear around between the stages encouraging everyone and trying to get everyone to their start line on time. The event starts at 8.30am on Saturday, and we won't be returning to Ealing until 7/8pm that night, before making an early start on Sunday morning to leave Ealing and continue the race. The event finishes in Kingston at around 6/7pm on the Sunday. 

Runners of all paces are welcome to sign up, the organisers only ask you can average around 10min/mile so that the marshalls can go home at a decent hour.

The club will pay for the race entry, but we are expecting there to be a small cost per runner of around £30 for transport, a bit of food/drink, and incidentals. Any spare will go towards food and beer at the barbecue on the Sunday! 

We're entering three teams, so there are only 33 places, but we've always needed to use the reserves in the past, so please sign up even if there are a few names on the list.

The sign up spreadsheet is here, don't worry about your 10K time, it's just so we can try to make the teams roughly even:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-k1KByhwfzgd0tLypoA2jKALeJ186HJGGx_-b81neTU/edit#gid=0

A few  pics from last year: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ealingeagles/search/?query=green%20belt%20relay

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/greenbeltrelay/?fref=ts

REMEMBER Please copy and paste the links into your browser! 

Marathon Blog 3 - A Quarter of the Way There!

It is hard to believe that a quarter of the training plan has gone. Pleased to report I had another fab fortnight. 

One of the biggest highlights of the last two weeks was the Boxhill Fell race. This was my third time doing it. I love this race so much. It is in the most beautiful part of the country. It's challenging yet stunning and so much fun! I wasn't fast but I enjoyed it all. This is my favourite photo at the finish with Liz and my boss/friend from 'Run Mummy Run. ' 

The rest of my training has been and pretty much gone to plan. My strength is definitely increasing again, which I am delighted with. I even managed my fastest parkrun since at least August on the weekend. 

As for the rest of my news, I love track and although I always approach it nervously I finish feeling awesome! I struggle a lot with running after work and do wonder how I will cope when the midweek runs increase but I am continuing to live by my rule of one run at a time and so far so good. All runs ticked off at the pace and speed I was aiming for....that's a pretty big success in my book! 

Sunday I ran with the club. I can not say how important the support of the club is. It really does help knowing there are people around and rooting for you. Even better is when someone has arranged coffee at the end ( thanks Sophie!) I had actually been really dreading that run. It was my first 12 miler in a long while and although I found the last mile and a half hard I did it and felt good :-)

The next fortnight is a big one for me, the miles continue to increase ( particularly the midweek ones) and I get to go to the meet the experts day ( can't wait for that!) I mentioned in my first blog I had been pretty ill last year. Well in ten days I go back to my consultant and although I think everything will be ok there is always that thought of what if?  So fingers crossed that goes well and then it will be full steam ahead! 

Thanks for all of your support. Still super excited! 

5k Time Trial - 7th Feb

Ever wondered how fast your 5k time is on a track? Well now's your chance!

On 7th Feb at 7:30pm at Osterley Track we will run the first Eagles 5k time trial. 12.5 laps against your fellow eagles. This will be a group start so plenty of people for you to pace yourself against and chase. Set a time on the 7th and then try and beat it again at the next event in March.

Details will be included on a Facebook event for these sessions, and on the weekly training information on the website.