Other exercise: Swimming, Core/Abs workout
Still
to go: £1,179.00
As
the end of the year is fast approaching, I thought I would look back at what I
have achieved this year.
It
all started back in February, on a very wet and cold Sunday (the 10th,
to be precise). I lined up at the one hour forty-five mark, not because I
thought this would be my time, but rather because the ground was far too muddy
back at the two hour mark (which is the time I hoped for). It was my first ever
half marathon and it’s probably fair to say that I didn’t have a clue what to
expect or what I was doing!
My
longest run up until then had been ten miles, yet here I stood in icy rain, in
a zone I had no right to be in, waiting to attempt 13.1 miles! I was in a day
dream, trying to get into the zone by listening to my music… but I couldn’t
help but think to myself ‘what am I doing?!?!!!’ Then the sound of the gun woke
me for my daze and I was off!
I
won’t give you a mile by mile account, but, to sum it up, I was wet, cold and
had earned myself a blister for my troubles. I could hardly walk back to the
car afterwards. However it was all worth it, having gained a finishing time of
one hour and forty-nine minutes, giving me an overall position of 1103 out of
2186.
My
next half marathon came on a very, very wet Sunday, 17th March, in Reading.
I hadn’t trained as much for this one as I would have liked to… I guess
laziness got the better of me after Wokingham!
I’m not a very superstitious person
but I had started to think that someone was trying to tell me something, what
with the second half marathon having MORE torrential rain!
But,
despite this, I was waiting for the start of the race, trying not to think
about the rain, getting into the zone by listening to my music… and then, all
of a sudden, it stopped (my music, I mean). I managed to switch my phone off
and on again, just as we started to slowly move towards the start line. Crisis
averted, or so I thought! I got no more than 100 yards past the start line and
it broke again - this time it wouldn’t come back on; it turned out my phone
didn’t like the rain.
Overall
I wasn’t keen on the Reading half marathon, so fairly confident I won’t be
running it again any time soon. I think
it was mainly because it felt very gimmicky, though I did like the last stretch
of the race because you enter the Madejski stadium to cross the finish line! I started
this race near the back, due to the colour number I had been given when
entering, which showed as I was constantly weaving my way through the pack. Having
said that, I managed a time of one hour and fifty-three minutes, with an
overall position of 5,214 (I started the race at 7,138 out of 12,863).
As
the year passed into June, I thought I would try something a little different.
I decided to tackle an army assault course, otherwise known as Tough Mudder. The
course for this changes depending where you do it - my location was in South
London, which entailed an eleven mile run, broken up with twenty-one obstacles.
It
was a very hot day and no sign of shade anywhere, but the worst thing was that
we had been given the 1pm slot. This didn’t put us off our stride however, as
we managed to finish in a good time of around two hours and fifty-five minutes.
We had been told that the average time for the course was over three hours.
Some of the obstacles we had
to go through included electric shocks, ice water, fire, small/tight spaces and,
of course, mud!
As
bad as Tough Mudder sounds/was, I really enjoyed it. Would I do it again? Yes,
but not in 2014.
The
final half marathon (Windsor) came on the last Sunday of September. After my
last ones I was half expecting rain, but, to my surprise, it was sunny!!
Most
people I spoke to before the race said this course was horrible, tough and very
hilly. I can tell you they were not joking about the hills. When you get around
to the eight mile mark you are greeted by an Everest of a hill!! By the time I
had powered my way to the top my legs had turned to jelly.
I
had used the experience of the Reading half marathon to decide I would try and
start higher up the pecking order, in a time I could roughly achieve. I’m glad
I did, as the start of the race saw everyone stuck in a bottle neck for about a mile.
I
crossed the finish line achieving a time of one hour fifty-one minutes, with a
position of 1,012 out of 3,743.
So,
looking back, I am pleased that I managed to complete the personal goals I had set
myself. However I know next year will be an even tougher year, what with the
London Marathon and, if I’m extra lucky, the New York marathon (which I applied
for on Tuesday morning). Alongside training for these I will obviously be
trying to raise as much sponsorship money and awareness as possible for my
chosen charity, Sense.
Another
week has gone by with me being side-lined from football with the ankle injury.
It’s annoying because some days it feels fine, but on others it feels like I’m
back to square one.
As
with last week I have managed to go swimming (with little to no pain) and
maintain my home workout routine.
Eagle-eyed
followers will notice a slight change in the design/style of the blog, I thought I
would use the colours associated with Sense. Well done if you spotted it!!
In
a bid to raise some much needed sponsorship funds, I have been looking around
the house this week, ear-marking what I can sell at a car boot in the New Year.
I have put a few bits on eBay now, as well as selling a couple of old mobile
phones via the mazuma website.
I
know that with it being only 17 sleeps till Christmas most of you will have
been spending your hard-earned money on loved ones… But if you can spare any change
please visit my sponsorship page.
Merry Christmas!
Leigh
No comments:
Post a Comment