Sunday 22 February 2009

The One With The Half Marathon

It’s the end of week 7 (of 16) of my training plan and today it says, rather ominously, “Half Marathon (13.1 miles) Slow, plus walk warm-up and cool-down”. I love how they include the distance just in case there’s the tiniest semblance of doubt as to JUST HOW FRICKIN’ FAR that is for a 44 year-old ex-smoker who used to consider crossing the living room to collect the remote control from the other sofa “a fair hike.”

So yesterday I went out in the car and found myself a 13.1 mile route and this morning, on yet another cloudless, beautiful Sunday, I drove to the approximate seven mile mark and stashed some Powerade and a young Thai masseuse for the inevitable “support and supplements” my body would require. Long story short, I managed to complete the half marathon distance but was initially a bit disappointed with the time. Like most things in life though, there are pros and cons to consider when reflection takes place.

Pros
- I completed it.
- I didn't die.
- I felt ten times better after 13.1 miles this week than I did after 11 last week.
- Once I got home, I could walk up the stairs AND back down again for the rest of the day.
- I smashed my non-stop personal best running 95 minutes from the start to the Powerade stop, where I only stopped for a minute to stretch.
- I really only stopped one other time (for 30 seconds to stretch) during the remaining 77 minutes.

Cons
- It took me 2 hours, 52 minutes and 7 seconds to complete. I was hoping for 2 hours 30 minutes.
- Mind you, I was running into a cold, strong wind for at least half the run.
- And there were quite a few hills too.

So all in all, I'm feeling quite happy with the progress especially when I don’t think I’ve ever walked that far before, never mind run. And my favourite musical moment of the day was Simply Red singing 'Stars'... pure class.

All that remains today is for me to thank Shari, Brian, EJ & LB for their kind sponsorship in the last seven days as well as my good pal Andy (how does one say it… ‘obtainer’ of rare, as yet unreleased U2 albums) whose generous donation of Friday night’s poker winnings (still can’t believe I got bombed out with two pairs, Kings and Fours) has pushed the fundraising over the half way mark on the way to my target. Thank you all, it’s very much appreciated.

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