Hello!
Thank you for joining me as we review week 11 and 12 of training for the Burgess Marathon. The last two weeks have been solid with the Big Half on 1st September. The build work is now done.
This week I want to share the following;
What marathon training I did over the last two weeks
The Big Half - what a day!
Running hero - introducing one of my running and life heroes
What’s in the store? - looking after my body
What marathon training I did
Week 11 running training
Wednesday - 10k - steady
Thursday - 10k - steady
Saturday - 3k - easy
Sunday - 34k - (13k + The Big Half!)
Total - 57k
Week 12 running training
Tuesday - 10k - steady
Thursday - 10k - steady
Saturday - 5k - Southwark parkrun
Sunday - 31k - easy
Total - 56k
You can follow my training at Strava or message me if you’d like a copy of the full plan (which includes the strength workouts).
Week 11
This week was hard. A summer cold and poor sleep wrecked my week. My running/motivation buddy was nursing a niggle and taking some time off to recover and couldn’t come out with me. My Tuesday run slipped to Wednesday and my Thursday run slipped to Friday. On Saturday I was meant to run 9k but could only manage 3k. I decided to walk Burgess parkrun instead of running it (my sister ran a pb!).
Sunday - (34k + The Big Half review)
I decided I’d do 13k in the park, come home, change, walk up leisurely to Tower Bridge (about 3k), where the Big Half starts and complete the event in a leisurely way. However, as I was leaving to do my 13k Nisha woke. A change, a feed and another change meant I left 40 minutes later than I had hoped. I arrived at The Big Half start more out of breath than I’d hoped for.
After dropping off my bag and walking to the start the energy of the event started to embrace me. There were lots of people there, the Master of Ceremonies was great and the vibe was exceptional. I soaked up the atmosphere letting it fuel me. I started seeing other runners running for the charity Become and my friend Robyn from Burgess parkrun. The speakers pumped out a huge heartbeat for the countdown. We were off with big tunes pumping, cheering crowds, the sun and heat rising.
I controlled myself for the first quarter of the race, soaking in the atmosphere, loving the Limehouse Link Tunnel with oggy oggy ringing around. I kept controlled through the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf and through Wapping enjoying the crowds, talking to other runners and enjoying the sun.
As I approached Tower Bridge the control vanished. With cheering on both sides you’re running through a tunnel of noise and then a huge roar from friends from Burgess parkrun, including my running buddy 🙂This was followed by another huge roar from my friends at Kennington Junior parkrun who were out in force with Shveta and Nisha. As I swung into Jamaica Road the atmosphere was eclectic and I was bouncing.
More Burgess parkrun supporters and then I ran with 3 ladies from the Ugandan Crew who were dressed vibrantly in their Ugandan shirts and head wraps. I ran past them, pivoted 180% so I could face them and shouted ‘Uganda forever’ leading to a call and response. Whistles blew, thundering cheering from the crowd and then my picture was taken by Tony Wilson, a regular at Southwark Park parkrun who consistently takes great photos of the South London running community.
With 5k to go all the exuberance started to catch up with me, my legs felt heavy and the sweat was running into my eyes, it was now becoming hard to keep going. However as I approached mile 11.2 I saw them, the Become crew cheering wildly. I saw Oliva the fundraising Officer and others from the team. These guys work hard to improve the outcomes for care-experienced young people. These people had been great supporting all the runners to get to the start line and here they were yelling us on.
This gave me the energy to get through the remaining stretch. Turning left to the finish by the Cutty Sark this had been an incredible 2hrs 2mins with my running community, my friends, my family in my city, whilst raising money for Become. I crossed the line with happiness seeping out of every pour.
Big Half 2024; we love you!
Week 12
My recovery from Sunday running had been great and I put this down to my massage gun. My running buddy took to their bike and rode alongside me on Tuesday and Thursday so my training was done. Saturday was the start of the Southwark Slam starting at Southwark park. Sunday was a 31k slow run to Greenwich, Tower Bridge, Battersea finishing at Kennington Junior parkrun where Shveta and Nisha had been volunteering.
Running heroes
I wanted to introduce one of my running heroes to you, Eluid Kipchoge, born in Kenya, in November 1984. Eluid was one of 3 runners selected by Nike in 2017 for a six-month scientifically advanced training to break the two-hour marathon barrier. The National Geographic documentary titled Breaking2 is one of the most satisfying things I’ve watched and spoiler alert none of them achieved it.
Fast forward to October 2019 in Vienna, Austria. Eliud proved that 'no human is limited' by achieving the first ever sub 2 hour marathon with an average pace of 2mins 50secs each kilometre. For context I’m not capable of running 1 kilometre at this pace.
However it’s the Breaking2 documentary that stands out for me. With stunning cinematography, it is the way he handles the disappointment of not achieving his goal, in 2017, that truly reveals his greatness. It offers lessons in how to deal with the disappointments of life. It offers guidance on the attitude you may want to develop to live an incredible life no matter where you are or what you do. I’m trying to be mindful of his lessons in my training.
The store
This week I wanted to share what has been aiding my recovery and keeping me in top condition.
I continue to recommend and use the following to protect my feet;
In previous weeks I’ve been banging on about the benefit of my Theragun massage gun. Theragun happened to be one of the sponsors of The Big Half and they’ve sent me a 20% discount code 🙂
Use code: BIGHALF20
Of course I already have a Theragun so I won’t be using the link but I’m happy to share it. If for any reason the link doesn’t work you can visit the Theragun store here - https://amzn.to/4eHi4JH
With my running buddy sidelined with injury I’ve been run on my own using my Powerbeats Pro headphones. They sit in the ear and have a hook over the ears providing a stable ‘locked in’ snug fit. With noise cancelling and great musical detail through the treble and base ranges my music, podcasts and audiobooks sound crisp. With intuitive volume controls they haven’t let me down.
Lifting Nisha consistently with my left arm has led to me straining my left shoulder. This product, used before going to bed means I wake up ready to go again. Easy to apply unlike the cream which takes ages to wash of your hands. Deep Heat roll on
Any purchase you make using my link I will get 1% which I will add to the fundraising.
Thank you!
I’ll be back in two weeks (22nd) for an overview of how the next two weeks go (13 and 14). The following weeks will see a reduction in my training load. I will be providing a review of my new shoes, the ASICS Gel Nimbus 26, showcasing more of the work that Become does and sharing another story of an amazing care-experience young person 🙂
Until then
Stay safe, stay well and happy running
.
The Burgess Marathon
The Burgess Marathon takes place on 28th September and will involve me running the Burgess parkrun course 8.5 times with the final 5k to commence at 0900 to conclude the challenge with the official Burgess parkrun. You can donate to my fundraising page for Become Charity here;
A huge thank you to everyone who has already contributed and please spread the link far and wide. I’m hoping together we can do something special.
What an amazingly positive account! It really brings home the atmosphere. Fantastic motivation and keep it up!
You never cease to amaze! Keep up the great work