Category: Races

Some Marathon Advice/Thoughts

Jess GuthLeave a comment

Alright alright, I know. Who the heck am I to give any kind of advice about running a marathon. Well that’s exactly what I thought but in the online running Club I joined (The Clubhouse – it will re-open for new members in April with a new look and programme including expert input, challenges etc – looking forward to it) there are a few of us training for marathons and a few people doing their first marathon. One lovely lady was having a marathon sized and shaped panic this morning and it made me reflect on how I feel about London looming. In 10 weeks it will all be over so how do I feel?

I am mostly calm. I am worried about the patchy training. I am a little concerned about the next training run which is a ‘get the train to Leeds and run home’ kind of a deal but I realised that I am totally calm about the event itself. So here’s what I know and what is keeping my calm

  1. Trust in the training. You have to train for a marathon unless you are some insanely fit freak who has a natural running ability. You have to train but no training plan ever really goes completely to plan. I met so many people doing the Dopey Challenge who missed runs, who were injured at some stage or who just didn’t get their butts out as much as they’d wanted to but they all finished. It’s about getting out there, doing the long runs as best you can and then trusting in that on the day.
  2. Clothes are more important than you realise. You don’t want to have to think about clothes at all while running. They shouldn’t be a thing so everything has to fit and be comfy. It has to be perfect. I ran the Dopey 5km in 3/4 pants I hadn’t worn for running before because I wanted to wear them round the parks after and not have to get changed. BIG mistake. They chafed massively on my tummy where the cord sat to tie them – and this was only a 5k! For London I will wear my trusted marathon pants and either the T-shirt I have worn for a half marathon and the Dopey marathon or possibly a charity top if I train in it on a long run before then.
  3. Knickers – Some of my comfiest knickers are horrendous for running in. Don’t know why but they chafe. Work our which are good running knickers and which are not
  4. Socks – I am so lucky to have really resilient feet. My little toes were mangled after Dopey but everything else was fine. But like everything else, you have to know that your socks and also your socks and trainers combination works.
  5. Running belts etc. I don’t even notice my running belt is there but make sure that you train with roughly the same stuff in it as you will have in it on the day – it feels different when it is full than when it is empty. Just remember that different isn’t a good thing on marathon day
  6. The Wall – is it worth worrying about? Not sure it is. Chances are we will hit it at some point. I was really concerned about the WALL before Dopey. Now I couldn’t care less. I hit the wall so so early during the Dopey marathon  – at around mile 5 – and I finished. Try and see the wall as this thing that will be there for a little bit of the course, it’s part of the marathon. That’s that. It has no bearing on whether you finish or not.
  7. Mantras: I have them, I use them when it gets tough. They’re useful but also remember to allow in new thoughts and new mantras as you run. I started with a ‘there are no hills at Disney’ mantra and ended up with ‘not a real hill – this is Disney’ when I was faced with a slope or two!
  8. Target times: However much people say they just want to finish, I can’t quite believe that. Everyone will have a time in mind. That’s not to say that they won’t genuinely be proud (and rightly so) if they ‘just finish’ but I bet everyone has a ‘I’d like to do it in…’. I did. I wanted, really really wanted, 6 hours for Dopey. That wasn’t to be. That’s fine. I’m a little disappointed but mostly I am bloody proud. So, London. I just want to finish but I’d really like to finish in less than 6 hours. Really like to. I will use that target time to keep an eye on my pace, make sure I go slow at the beginning and maybe to help me speed up a little towards the end but it’s a marathon. It’s not about doing it fast, it’s just about doing it.
  9. Fuelling: Because I now know what works for me in the run up to a marathon, right before it and during it I am not panicking. You’ll need to work out what works for you but eating plenty of good carbs like pasta and veggies like broccoli etc  the days leading up to the run works, porridge about 90 minutes before running works (this is tricky given the long wait to cross the start line etc but basically means eating a porridge pot on the way to the start line) and then having a banana shortly before setting off works and my porridge bars work for during the run.
  10. Water stations etc – I am happy to take water at fairly random intervals – I haven’t trained for specific points and I am happy to take them as they come. That worked before, it works in training, it will work for London
  11. Maybe the key thing is that I have gone the distance before – maybe that gives me a huge advantage but I am not sure. I don’t really believe I can do this any more than I did last time – except that I sort of do. It’s hard to explain. I do not believe I am the sort of person who can run a marathon but I absolutely believe I will complete London. I am stressing about all sorts of things like reaching the fundraising target (you can help with that here), doing the course justice and being able to enjoy it, doing better than last time, not getting injured in the next few weeks, people laughing at me… but I am not stressing about getting it done. If I can get my arse out and train for these next few weeks then I’ll do the 26.2 miles on the day.
  12. Don’t underestimate the power of support – whether that’s from the crowd on the day, people tracking you and sending you messages of support, people who have sponsored you. I thought a lot about that support during the Dopey. It helps more than you can imagine
  13. Look around, soak it up and love every second. This is actually my biggest aim for London. I did this on the Dopey Half Marathon and I have such warm fuzzy memories of that run – even the really tough bits. I forgot to do that for much of the marathon. I had to be reminded every now and again but by then my head just wasn’t in it anymore. Look around and smile. You’re running a marathon, you’re fucking awesome.

Colds, post Dopey and pre London thoughts

Jess Guth5 Comments

I cannot shake off the stupid cold and it is doing my head in. I actually want to be out there running. I also cannot decide whether or not this is life post Dopey or whether this is life pre London. Yep that’s right, London.

Some of you will know that as part of the Countdown to Christmas challenge run by The Fat Girls’ Guide to Running I ‘won’ a place for the London Marathon. As I understand it the fabulouse Julie had teamed up with the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund and had 5 places available for London. Well one of them came to me and as Kath was also still looking for a place, Julie agreed that another could go to her. We looked at the required fundraising etc and decided that in spite of having just done a challenge and asked for people’s support we could manage the fundraising. We paid our fees and got very excited, then tried to park any thoughts about London until after Dopey.

I am still in post Dopey blues I think. I keep checking the RunDisney site, the facebook group I joined and blogs I bookmarked. I pick up and hold my medal every now and again and I keep meaning to go through our photos but end up just flicking through them not really quite knowing what to do with myself. We drew up a training plan for the London marathon to start when we came back from Florida but we haven’t really got going with that yet because I have this silly cold. We’ve done a couple of runs but nothing major.

So I need to snap out of Dopey mode and into London mode. So here’s the revised plan which is based on me basically not being able to do anything much for this coming week as well as some weekend plans we’ve already made. Every week we will do two runs of 45 minutes and then the longer training runs at the weekend as follows

Week 1: 5 miles

Week 2: 6 x 1 mile (as fast as possible with 5 mins walking inbetween)

Week 3: 17 miles

Week 4: 6 miles

Week 5: Keighley 10km

Week 6: 20 miles

Week 7: 6 miles

Week 8: 20 miles

Week 9: 7 miles

week 10: 6 x 1 mile as above

week 11: 7 miles

week 12: MARATHON

More on the plans for London, the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund – charity we’ll be running for and some of our fundraising efforts soon but for now I need to find some more tissues.

Oh and it is Sunday – weigh in day. I am exactly the same as last week.

 

More Dopey reflections

Jess Guth6 Comments

A week ago I ran, well walked mostly, a marathon. Hm. Doesn’t seem real at all. In fact, the idea that I completed the Dopey Challenge seems utterly bizzare. Me?! I can’t run! I can’t do that. But I did and here’s the proof:

Dopey cert JG

So if it feels like I am milking this a bit – I am  – but this is a huge deal. I went from not being able to run 100metres without hyperventilating and being in pain after to running 48.6 miles in 4 days in just about 12 months. I think I have earned the right to go on about it a bit. I’d also like to say thank you so much to all those of you who supported me through the running and who sponsored us. Our sponsorship page is still open if anyone would like to acknowledge our achievement and support Panthera. Thank you!

So, a week on and any muscle soreness (not that there was that much) has gone and my mega blister on my little toe has settled down; I am back home, it’s been snowing and tomorrow I go back to work. With a little bit of distance, here’s what I think and feel about the Dopey Challenge and what I learned.

  1. I ran a marathon! Well I walked a marathon mostly but I completed it within pacing requirements  – less than 16 minutes per mile – just.
  2. Conditions matter, they really matter. I knew it could well be hot and humid for the running but that still didn’t prepare me for how the humidity would impact on me. Heat on its own isn’t as bad but humidity even when it isn’t that warm is just something else. I couldn’t breathe
  3. The support from the crowds and from people supporting on facebook or by text messages etc make a huge difference and can be the difference between managing another little jog and giving up. Thank you to all those people who shouted encouragement along the routes
  4. I can walk pretty fast for a very long time
  5. I really would like to have run much more than I did in the marathon
  6. Half marathon is a good distance – it’s a real challenge and it comes with bragging rights but it’s not so bloody endless. I’d like to do a couple more half marathons
  7. Star Wars music is just the best for crossing a finish line.
  8. I don’t think I could do a marathon somewhere where there is nothing of interest to me to see. I had my major wobbles and nearly giving up points along long stretches of road where there was just nothingness. The theme parks saved me because they broke it up and gave me stuff to look at. So I could probably run something like Berlin, Hamburg or of course London because there are places there of historical or personal significance that I can focus on
  9. I have to remind myself that doing the Dopey is a big deal  – I struggle with that. I did it, therefore it can’t be that big a deal.
  10. However tired you are and however impossible it seems, it is always possible to run the finishing stretch and cross the line running. Always.
  11. Usually when I know I am not going to be good at something I just don’t do it or I find an excuse to give up early… not this time. It never crossed my mind to actually stop. Not once. I struggled badly from mile 5 of the 26.2. I thought I might not be able to complete the marathon and I was almost sure I wouldn’t make Dopey pace but I never thought I might actually stop. I thought I might be swept or possibly even taken off the course by medics if things got really bad but it never occured to me to actually stop.
  12. Every now and again I giggle to myself because I did it! I’m proper Dopey
  13. I haven’t run since Dopey but I did do a lot of walking in the theme parks and my next training plan starts with a 45 minute run on Tuesday – very possibly in the snow.
  14. I feel oddly calm about everything. Running the marathon after having run the 5k, 1ok and half marathon on the preceeding 3 days was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Physically that’s obvious but mentally too. It’s all fine – you just have to breathe through it.
  15. Running long distance takes you through all sorts of emotions – mostly for the marathon there was a mixture of self-doubt and determination with splashes of total desperation and despair and sprinkles of excitement and elation. I was sobbing from the minute I crossed the finish line and I had to hold my breath for the finisher photo to get myself under control. I wasn’t excited to cross the finish line, I was relieved! Being excited came later.
  16. I’m looking forward to running again

And there we have it – it was all a pretty amazing experience – from day 1 at the expo picking up our race packs with all the shirts and the bib numbers etc to day 5 – the marathon. The early starts somehow add to the occassion and the events are so massive that it is hard not to get caught up on the occassion. I won’t promise that this will be my last Dopey post – in fact it won’t be because there are photos to sort through yet and I wanted to tell you about the race retreat and the runners world challenge package etc but for now I’ll leave you with this – hower unlikely that seems to me :

badge_dopey

Quick reflections on Dopey

Jess Guth5 Comments

i have been meaning to post some reflections on the Dopey Challenge but I’ve been too busy going on rides (the ones for kids mostly, nothing fast, scary or motion sickness inducing), eating cake and drinking wine, mojitos and beer

It is our last full day in Florida today and a week since we started the Dopey Challenge with that amazing 5k run. So what are my reflections so far.

  1. I still don’t feel like I am a runner, you know, one of them. I’m just not.
  2. eventhough I know I did all 4 races legitimately and within pacing requirements I feel a little niggle every time someone says congratulations (and that happens a lot here), like somehow I don’t deserve it because I’m not really a runner.
  3. Being told ‘well done’ and ‘awesome’ and ‘congratulations’ over and over is pretty fun and good for the soul but… See above.
  4. I was amazed that I could move after Dopey. Yes my legs were a little tired and achey but not really sore. My hamstring on the right was tight but nothing more and when I walked for a while my hips tightened but that only lasted 2 days.
  5. Blisters are bitches. I so rarely get nasty ones but the one on my left little toe is the most painful thing ever!
  6. running is 99% in the mind – I just completed Dopey but right now am fairly convinced I wouldn’t make it a mile if I went for a run.
  7. I am mentally incredibly weak and incredibly strong at the same time. Weak because I didn’t manage to power through the poor start to the marathon and a poor start in poor conditions determined my race. The first few minutes set the tone and I couldn’t recover from that. Strong for actually finishing at all.
  8. I think I might be done with Dopey
  9. The impossible is possible
  10. I am quite proud of myself (but see 1 and 2)

The Marathon

Jess Guth13 Comments

MickeyI am going to keep this short I think because I am really tired after the 4 days of really early starts and running. Today was marathon day. It was mainly just bloody awful.

We got up at 2.30am and left by 3am. Today the queue for security etc was much better – possibly because we were earlier. We got the the retreat tent and had plenty of time to have a bagel and peanut butter, check our bags and then walk out to the coral with the rest of the runners world people. That meant a much shorter walk there so I didn’t hit my 10000 steps until just after mile 1!

We sat for a bit and I was a bit overwhelmed with it all. I did cry a little. The start was delayed slightly, not sure why so we eventually crossed the startline about 8 minutes past 6am. They say you hit a wall during a marathon. Well I guess I hit mine then! I was ok for a bout half a mile, that’s something, right? We stopped for loos at the first opportunity again  and then kept plodding. Mile 1 was sort of ok, mile 2 seemed endless and I was convinced we should be at mile 3 by then. I got a little boost running through the magic kingdom arches and just kept plodding. By mile 5 my hips were sore, my back was sore, my knees creaky and I just wanted to curl up and cry.

Luckily we entered the Magic Kingdome park just after and running through that was great. Then we started the long stretch of just road. By mile 7 I needed extra walk breaks, by mile 8 I had switched the intervals to running a minu and walking two. Finishing seemed utterly impossible. Kath refused to leave me. And I became increasingly conscious that I might not make the required pace for Dopey.

Mickey2I can’t remember at what mile the animal kingdom came but running through the park was a welcome distraction. Running through one of the backlots the staff had brought out animals to see us including a donkey which was awesome (I like donkeys) and a vulture who was perched next to a sign saying ‘run faster, vultures are circling’. Onwards, slowly and painfully onwards.

after the animal kingdom came another long stretch of road that seemed to go on for ever and eventually we hit ESPN wide world of sports which covers roughly miles 17-20 but seemed to take ages to loop round playing fields and through the stadium. I felt awful. At this point I was pretty much just walking and pretty much resigned to the fact that I wouldn’t manage Dopey pace.

more road. Every time something new started hurting it took my mind of what had been hurting before. I had a few stretches where I went dizzy and my vision blurred but it never lasted long. I stopped at every water stop on course and I think I fuelled ok but the last 3 days and the humidity at the start made it a really tough one.

After what seemed like an eternity we reached Hollywood Studios. That was just fantastic. I managed a couple of little jogs through the park and began to hope that maybe, just maybe I might make it. Mile 23 came and went as did 24. Then we entered Epcot and ran round the world showcase. mile 25. I kept repeating ‘just keep walking’ to myself. It didn’t seem possible but somehow I kept moving forward. Then came mile 26. I suddenly believed. I managed what felt like the fastest run ever (but was actually barely faster than a slow walk) along the finishing straight and Kath and I crossed the finish line hand in hand.

We got our marathon medal, had our picture taken and went to the a Challenge tent where we had to have our time checked. we made it. 6.55.04. We had 4 minutes and 56 seconds to spare! We got our medals for the entire Dopey a Challenge and also for the Goofy Challenge which is for completing the half and the full marathons back to back.Goofy

we did it. I couldn’t have completed it without Kath’s constant encouragement. she just kept talking to me, telling me how awesome we were and that we were going to finish.

We just got into the race retreat before they started clearing up, got some food, our bags and then left to get back to the hotel, get a cold bath and then head out for dinner.

It is now 8.15 pm and I am ready for bed and so looking forward to not having to get up in the middle of the night. I’m sore but I don’t think anything is injured. I have done a marathon! And yes it was awful for the most part but it has also given me some great memories and a huge massive sense of achievement!

Reflections on the whole thing in the next few days!

Dopey c