Right then - I'm off...

Right then… I think this is where I say goodbye…

…in so much that this will be my last pre-Sheffield TenTenTen post. I head off Up North tomorrow morning and will be home some 40 hours later. All being well, just under one of those forty hours will be spent running the 10k, though of course I have no aversion to spending even longer in Endcliffe Park before and/or after. If it ends up being a little over an hour, so be it – no worries, seriously. As long as I give it my best, the result itself is of secondary importance. I know I’ve put in as much training as possible (730k / 65 hours, since you ask – and a bit, but not enough, cross training) and I know I’m ready. Not sure whether I’m ready for the Bristol Half, but I’ll worry about that on Monday. I think I am – here’s hoping I don’t go and beggar it all up in South Yorkshire! Trail, downhill, lots of people… what could possibly go wrong?

PMA, Squintani: PMA! I genuinely believe that when you’re worried about something it’s more likely to happen, because you are overly conscious about it and that has a negative impact. Which is why I avoided my trail run this morning, preferring to take to the asphalt. I’ve had no problems with the trail run but it does have the potential to be treacherous, a potential I did not wish to increase by über-worrying. No such worries on the road…

…in fact, my heartfelt thanks to West Country Road Management, who have spent the week working on the section of Valley Road which I often use. You know, the dark bit, the one where cars don’t always see me and, ahem, don’t always remember to observe the 30mph limit… Anyway, it’s been closed all week for works. I was happy enough that it was closed to all but residents, so imagine my joy at discovering that they are actually relaying the tarmac for me ahead of the winter! It felt so much better this morning… that really is a nice touch. Remind me of it when I next moan about Council Tax!

That does mean, of course, that I am morally obliged to keep training during the winter. Some people have enquired as to whether I’ll stop once the Bristol Half Marathon is behind me. The short answer is ‘no’, although I will have to find myself a couple of new goals to ensure my body can still give that answer when the alarm rings at 6:15am. I don’t expect to be running five times a week and I’m unsure about the likelihood of weekly long runs. But three runs a week, be they in the morning or nearer lunchtime when WFHing (‘working from home’, that is), sounds both reasonable and appealing… well, verging on, given that I can’t stand running. One thing I do want to do is spend more time in the garage, which features a rowing machine (£30 a decade ago and really unspectacular), a weights bench (four years ago someone needed to store it somewhere and somewhat conveniently it’s still there – and, finally, getting some use!), an exercise mat (Amazon, £9.99!), a doorway pull-up bar (Amazon, £8.89!)… hmmm, that’s it. Plans to get an exercise bike still on hold. If the winter’s sufficiently clement I may just stick to what I prefer and cycle outdoors!

But yes, the goal now would be to work on my muscles a little. Weight-loss, as a goal, is redundant: weight-gain through swapping fat for muscle, however, may appeal. Or even just adding some muscle, even if not at the expense of fat: we’ll see. I just need a goal or I’m not going to bother. Similarly, I need a running goal or motivation will suffer. The plan is to run the Sheffield Half Marathon on May 12. What’s keeping me from signing up? Well, they’re not taking entries yet…

…more short-term, there is a multi-terrain 10k organised by Portishead Running Club on October 28. When I found out about that I wasn’t sure whether it appealed to me or not. On the one hand it’s on my doorstep, it’s along a path I know and enjoy; on the other, I quite enjoy the anonymity of my running efforts, not having to worry about being overtaken by people I know… As it happens, I needn’t give the matter any thought, on the basis we’ll be in Italy on 28/10 anyway. So the winter will probably be spent in that training anonymity (as much as glo-yellow/green/orange gear permits, mind) and in the garage. With an eye firmly on May… and a route that passes the road where I once lived as well as Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane.

So don’t worry (or do!), this blog is likely to survive the cold and rain of the coming months. I may post less frequently after the Half Marathon, but I’ll still be around. Besides, I’m of course going to let you know how these two races go, right? ‘Races’… let’s call them ‘runs’. I’m not racing against anyone, only myself and the notion that ten months ago I was over 25 kilos heavier and had just had a bit of my brain taken out. A lot of people achieve far more spectacular results in the face of far more challenging adversity. But we can but rise to the challenges we face and I’m happy with how these past five months have gone. Even without the two landmarks, the two goals and the two culminating moments that are coming up over the next nine days, I’d still be happy with the journey I’ve been on. But hey, having made it this far…

…and hey, thanks for making it this far with me. Oh, and Sheffield, I’m looking forward to spending 30h37’ “in your grey, wet buzzom!”, as Carl Maloney tweeted back in April. I look forward to seeing my cousins, my aunts, my uncles… and, now, to meeting up with Daz prior to heading back darn Saath! It’s only been a dozen years or so since we last met, but I’m sure we’ll find summat to natter abaat..!

Bit worried. Which is great!

Right – T-4 and T-11 now! The body is still ready, the mind…

Well, let’s not be hypocritical here: the mind is wavering. Least, it wavers at times, by no means continuously. It certainly wavered a tad earlier today when I was out running with Jon and struggling towards the end of a steep rise. It wasn’t a particularly long run, but it was the ending to end all endings… and it reminded me why I can’t stand running. Seriously. I wanted to stop and just walk home – it’s not as if it was far! And yes, it briefly brought back memories of running with my Dad and wanting to stop. But that was then, this is now. I’ve got a bit better at gritting my teeth and gerrinonwi’it. It’s what life does to you. Ideally, anyway: because stopping and starting, whatever it is you’re doing, is usually harder. Anyway… where was I… yes, my mind is wavering.

But then my mind, my confidence should waver. A tough run up Nore Road, Portishead should shake it up a little. From sales folk to actors, from sportsmen to teachers, from presenters to doctors, whenever a professional is called to perform there should always be an element of fear. Fear is the greatest motivator: it needs to be managed more so than to be overcome, but intrinsically it is no bad thing. It keeps you in check, does fear. So I’m happy there is some fear, because fear will keep me on my toes, fear of failure will push me. As it did today: in the end I got there, and when I got there it felt good. So on Sunday I expect belief and my old legs will get me there. Besides, it’s only ten flippin’ kilometres! (er, did I really say that?)

I’ve been out running on the last four mornings and on eight of the last nine days. Must… not… overdo it… heck, I had learnt that lesson, right? The one about the rewarding nature of doing less? Will try to resist the temptation of going out tomorrow morning, whereas I plan on treating myself to an 11k road+trail run on Friday. I know I should rest tomorrow and, more importantly, Coach Nick has told me I should rest. On Saturday I head Up North to The Greatest City In The World and on Sunday it’s Race Day. Plans to reward myself post-race with the greasiest chip buttie going likely to be shelved in light of the Bristol Half. And there’s no chance of finding a cheap buttie, let alone a decent, über-greasy one, darn here.

Whilst I’m here… have you ever wondered what the difference is between a natural athlete who's honed his God-given gifts to become a semi-pro sportsman and... well, the likes of me (and maybe thee)?
Me: I've run 720km (447.5m) in the past five months. That's the equivalent of Trap Lane (S11) to St. James' Park (Exeter) to Merlin Park (Portishead) plus 102 laps of a running track at the end, just for the fun of it. I've spent over 50 hours of my life that I'll never get back running, all in aid of Sunday's Sheffield TenTenTen 10k (the Half thingy came later, though granted, I may not have run a 22k session training for a 10k). And believe you me, I can’t stand running! What’s my target time? 59'59"
…whereas my beloved cousin Joe Wood messaged me earlier in the week: "I am going to just run with Nats I hope so round 48-50 mins, I have done no training at all though so have no clue..." – bless!!!

Mind, sticking with Nats and/or Joe is my race plan. Oly still reckons he won’t be able to keep up, but I bet he’ll manage fine. It would be awesome for the four of us to cross that finish line together, ideally hand-in-hand. But that will require us to keep the same pace and do so naturally: I don’t want anyone to slow down for me and, especially if my sub-60’ target were at stake, I’d struggle to slow down for anyone else. Well, I wouldn’t, quite simply! In fact the ideal scenario would probably be for us to keep together for nine kilometres and then make a race of it at the end! Just how realistic that is, I have no idea. All I know is that Nats, Oly and Joe have got eight and a half, ten and three quarter and twelve and three quarter years on me respectively, so I’d be flippin’ delighted to keep up with them. I’m the old one, me. Sure, I may have put in the highest amount of running-specific training of the four of us… in fact, I may even have put in more than the three of them together… but that’s because I needed to. Because, back in April, I was old, fat and unfit. I did the best I could, guys, but I’m still old. Can’t do much about that.

There you have it – three more sleeps, then it’ll be time to board that train on platform 3. When the train departs at 08:30, I’ll be in coach F, sat on seat 32A. In theory, the doors will open onto Sheffield Train Station some 167 minutes (and green English countryside aplenty) later. Rightly or wrongly, it will feel like a homecoming, as it did back in June. Because that’s what Sheffield does to me, that’s how it pulls at my heartstrings to make the most beautiful music resonate in my soul. Now, I’m not going to have this whole conversation with mi’self again and I fully accept that distance can make the heart grow fonder, that I might hear a different sound altogether if I were getting out of bed in Sheffield every day, heading to work in Sheffield, coming home to Council Tax bills in Sheffield (though bet they’d be a darn sight cheaper than darn Saath!) and all that. But, cometh this weekend, I will be delighted to be there, with my people (whether I’ve ever met them before or not, they are ‘my’ people), embarking on my first race (look, let’s forget about Salcombe, eh?) from the heart of Endcliffe Park, a place five minutes from where I used to live that will forever have pride of place in my heart… and to cross that finish line around sixty minutes later. I might even get to meet the legendary @unitedite, he of the award-winning A United View blog (which has housed musings of mine about sending off Dave Bassett, travelling to Italy with some hundred Blades and about my favourite Blade), before the race, who knows! The race will be good for the soul, make no mistake about it. Should be good for the legs, an’all. Both will see me in good stead when I head off into Bristol seven days later. And trust me, there are worse places to head off into, especially if, like me, you quite like the sight of water. That’s one thing that Sheffield doesn’t have – well, Peace Gardens fountains aside, like.

Anyway, as I said, I’m not embarking on this monologue again… not nah, anyroad. I’ve got a job to get done. And I’ll be heading home to do it. Spiritually speaking, anyroad.

p.s.: oh, and should I need some inspiration I’ll just cast my mind to The Wall of Inspiration in my home office!

It's time (well, nearly, anyway!)

T-8… or is it T-15?

The date is September 15. And not much long of it left, for that matter. Hmmm… not long now, is it?

Not at all. The Sheffield TenTenTen takes place a week tomorrow. I’m travelling up to Sheffield Saturday morning, which in itself is a privilege. Plan A was for Mrs S, Big’Un, Littl’Un and I to head up in the car together, but a fortnight ago Mrs S ‘suggested’ I go up on my own. Given that I can’t drive, the suggestion doesn’t leave much scope for manoeuvre…

…to be fair, at the time of the suggestion Littl’Un was going through a phase with which I bore you shall not, but which certainly made it hard to contemplate having him sleep elsewhere. And Mrs S is open about her dislike of driving long distances, and she would have had to drive there and back within little more than 24 hours. Now personally I don’t consider Sheffield to be far away, but then that is a biased, non-factual comment: I will grant you Nottingham is far, for example, but not Sheffield, even though the former is actually closer. It’s an emotional thing…

…anyway, Sheffield TenTenTen a week tomorrow. Bristol Half Marathon a week after that, if ever I receive my race pack: Jon got it on Monday and he lives five minutes away, I’m still waiting… I’ve chased the organisers, they reassure me all is well… so hopefully it’ll arrive soon, otherwise it’s just another thing to sort on race day. Either way, two races coming up in the space of the next eight days. What are my thoughts? Hmmm… let me gather them…

Providing I don’t injure myself, I have no concerns whatsoever about Sheffield. Since June 27, I have run 10k or more on 26 occasions, recently on trail as well as road. I am as unsure as ever about my time: I still haven’t seen the course, I still don’t know how the race environment will impact me, so I am not taking a sub-60’ time for granted in the slightest. Truth be told, I still expect to take longer than an hour. I will try to surprise myself, but I won’t be distraught if I fail to achieve my initial, simplistic target.

Now, as for Bristol…

…I am delighted Jon and I ran 22km last week. I already felt comfortable about managing the distance as a result of four consecutive weeks of my hilly 18.5km, but last Sunday gave me the confidence that I could manage 22k and at a decent pace (if accompanied). I ran 10k in Bristol on Thursday morning, at a pace just 5”/minute faster than with Jon (5’23” vs 5’18”), which also reassured me that I can sustain a faster pace than my legs may desire if my mind concentrates. Last but not least, Jon and I are heading off again for a ‘mere’ 16km in the morning, with the target of a faster pace. Suits me: it will be my last long run before race day and I feel ready. Again, I feel ready to complete 21.0975km, but not necessarily to do so in under 120’. Maybe bizarrely, I don’t know, I feel more confident about a sub-two hour half than a sub-hour 10k: I will have Jon for company, hopefully (if not Jon, any of the other thousands – let’s hope I pick someone running at the right pace), I won’t be running down trail and… oh I don’t know, I just do. Feel more confident, that is. But, even then, I’m happy to not pin my hopes too high.

So far this week, I’ve only run 37.7km. Thursday’s were the best: was staying in Bristol for work, got up at 6am and hit the waterfront area. I was not alone: indeed, following a couple of other runners did no harm in my quest to maintain a decent pace. Whether I need to do that on race day remains to be seen: it’s a double-edged sword and one I back myself to manage, if need be. Who knows…

…on Tuesday I ran on trail, on Wednesday my plans for a 12k pre-office run were literally halved by rain which delayed my departure and yesterday I again hit the trail for 11k. The trail coast path is a sort of treat for me: the fresh westerly wind, the scenic surroundings, the absence of cars… my feet and legs probably prefer the steadiness of asphalt (when I’m actually out there, anyway – long-term’s a different matter), but trail is a treat. I’ll probably hit it another couple of times in the coming week, for the benefit of next Sunday’s 10k. But the focus of my training has to be the Half, so I won’t be turning my back on the hilly roads nearby.

 Two shots from my trail run along the Portishead Coast Path. Not the worst of views…
…one day I may set off armed with camera and the acceptance I’m not looking to clock a decent time and take a few more!

All in all, though, it’s quite simple: I’m ready. To start, to complete, I’m ready. To hit any particular time targets, less so: but that’s OK, whatever I achieve will be a PB! But my mind is ready. And my body…

…as I texted to Uncle Richard (he who told me on May 8 that the TenTenTen would prove too difficult for me), “Since April 19 I’ve run 415 miles… that’s like Exeter’s ground to yours [S11] & back to mine… if I’m not ready for the TenTenTen now I never will be! x”. My body feels ready. And well nourished, too! I’m no longer striving to lose weight, haven’t for around a month. What I am doing is enjoying my food! If I do stray a little (and Mrs S isn’t approving of me having what she labels “a whole packet” of carbonara today – a gross exaggeration, I only had one plate, if a somewhat overflowing one!), I do so safe in the knowledge that I will run it off at some point. Mrs S has also been busy baking, and I’m less likely than before to turn owt down. What I don’t turn down, I’ll run off… sounds good, tastes better.

Anyroad… bye for now. Better get some sleep soon – 7.20am (and, by extension, Jon) will be round before I know it.