Great North Run Done

Good day to you dear reader.  Well it’s over now.  The race has been run and I’m going for a massage later today.

I completed the race in 1 hour 46 minutes and 54 seconds, finishing 6,722^nd out of 56,000 entrants.  I am so pleased.

The whole weekend was amazing, starting with the Mega Bus (£8 to Newcastle from Victoria station in London) and it had free WiFi!  I also sat next to an incredibly inspirational person.  The lady I was sitting next to was 75 years old and completed her first full marathon at the age of 58.  She has since done the London Marathon 4 times and many others too.  The week before the GNR she did a half Marathon in France and she has a full Marathon to do in 1 weeks time.  Her estimated time for the GNR, 2 hours 20 minutes!!!!!

But apart from her frankly intimidating CV, it was her enthusiasm for running that was just completely infectious.  That lady could get the whole nation running if she was on the BBC.

After that my cousin Claire (Who was also running) and her partner Steve met me in Newcastle city centre and looked after me for the weekend.  I was nervous about the run but that is all I had to be nervous about.  Travel, food, accommodation were all sorted for me.  Claire made sure we got to the run on time and mothered me.  Thank you so much.

When we got to the race, oh wow was it big.  So many people it just defies belief and the atmosphere takes your breath away.  It was friendly and scary and surreal all at once.  As I said earlier, this year there was 56,000 runners taking part and they were dressed in any number of costumes and running kit.  Before the race I met 4 Paras carrying rucksacks with 50 pounds of kit, some very scary clowns, Mario and Luigi, Indiana Jones, Darth Vader, Kick-Ass and there were more men in drag than at a rugby player’s stag-do.

It wasn’t all smooth going though, because the queue for the toilets was 45 minutes long, the organisers had closed the gate to let me into my section of the start line.  Thank god for one Geordie mother who helped her son, me and about a dozen other runners get to our starting point.  She hoisted the fence up to allow us to crawl under.

Nerves jangling, I had made it to the start line.  I don’t know if you have ever been to a big race before but pretty much everyone around you looks really fit.  It can be quite intimidating.  The only thing that makes you feel any better is that if you look closely you can see that everyone is crapping themselves waiting for the start.

The noise from the crowd was incredible; it really spurs you on from the very start.  But I made sure that I started the race off at a steady pace.  I had been advised that I would want to leg it as soon as I got over the start line and you really do have to stop yourself from getting sucked in.

I just about managed to keep a cool head and kept the speed down for the first few miles and found my rhythm.

The weather was pretty bad it has to be said.  20mph winds, rain and it was pretty cold.  At one point in the race my right ear was filling up with water as the rain lashed in sideways.  But all those spectators by the side of the road standing in the rain (a far worse proposition) made it unfeasible to stop.  

Your name is printed above your race number so at various points in the run people will shout your name encouraging you to keep going.  It is very hard to put into words how much that helps to keep going.

As well as the sponsors handing out water and the occasional Jelly Baby (My new favourite sweet) some people in the crowd had taken it upon themselves to give things out to the runners.  I turned down a free pint but did get a chocolate biscuit and an ice pop.  People of Newcastle, you make the Great North Run what is and it is wonderful.

At about the 8 mile point the course starts the longest climb of the whole run.  You climb steadily for just under 4 miles and I was feeling very tired.  By the end of the climb I had pins and needles in both of my legs and I was very aware that this was the furthest that I had ever run.  But then at the most painful point of the run, the course turns left and you can see the sea and a steep downhill.  What a welcome site.  The last mile is along the seafront at South Shields and you know you have made it.  Your only concern is when to put your last big kick in.  I chose from about 200 metres and ended fast.  I really couldn’t have tried harder.  I felt such a huge sense of relief, a weight lifted from my shoulders.  Great North Run, done.

Injury-wise, I forgot to take the ibuprofen with me and started feeling my hip from 10k but not too bad.  By 16k it was hurting and as soon as I crossed the finish line and stopped running it ceased completely and I was hobbling.  So much better than I could have hoped for.

From the start of training to this point now I have enjoyed the whole challenge.  It has been really hard doing the training and as much of it has been on my own having this blog and seeing that people have read it has helped no end.

I wanted to see if I could complete this sort of challenge and not have it affect family life.  I think the answer to that is no.  My family have had to be patient with me.  They’ve put up my huffs when training wasn’t going well, or I hadn’t eaten properly, or I had injured myself.  They have had their weekends disrupted while I drag myself round country lanes on a Saturday morning.  They have had to listen to me wang on about running as I became more and more obsessed.  They have been terrific and I’m lucky to have them.

On that note I shall sign off until my next challenge of which I will of course keep you updated.

Thank you again for reading; you have helped me so much by doing so.

Toodle pip.

Training done, race on!

Good evening dear reader.  I am writing this on the Friday night before the Great North Run.  I know I haven’t blogged for a few weeks and for that I apologise.  Training-wise I’ve not had too much to add.  I’ve been back to my physio and the news is mixed.  The bad news is that I am going to be running in pain for the GNR.  I think from about 6k in it’s going to hurt, but with some ibuprofen and crowd encouragement I should make it round.  The time isn’t going to be very good but we shall see.

The good news is that I’m not going to give myself a long term injury by running with my injury.  I know this looks a bit negative overall but I feel ok about it.  The race is still going to be my reward for doing all of this training so let’s bring it on.  Don’t get me wrong I am still bricking it but I’d be an utter knob not to be.

Since starting this blog my motivation and morale have gone up and down more times than an over excited kangaroo on a trampoline.  But the responses that I’ve received from people about the blog and from friends and family have really helped spur me on.  Thank you all it has made all the difference I needed to train as much as I have.

A couple of weeks ago I had an experience that I wanted to share with you about motivation and support.  I was speaking to someone I know about the GNR, just talking about training and how excited I was about doing the race.  Pretty much straight away I was told about how much faster they could do it than me, really putting me in my place.  Nice eh?

I wish to put the record straight about this.  I am not running this for them.  At the start of this whole adventure I was running purely for my own sense of achievement.  However I am now also running on behalf of anyone who has ever been put in their place.

On behalf of all of us “in our place” may I say we’re going to bloody do it anyway.  Not necessarily the GNR but whatever we choose to do.  We who are “in our place” seek neither your permission nor your approval.  The thing about people who like to put others “in their place” is that place they put you in is always, without fail, behind them.

I will do one last blog on my struggle after the race so until then I would like to wish you a good night and say thank you once more for reading.

Toodle pip!