So after last week’s ‘keygate 2’ https://aquavista.me/2019/09/16/week-9-you-couldnt-make-this-up/ , which followed ‘keygate 1’ https://aquavista.me/2019/09/09/well-you-couldnt-make-this-up/ (which reminds me I need to change the name of one of these posts to something different!!) I am glad to say that I didn’t lose any keys this week!!

I did however buy a host of spare keys and new keyrings to put in places that I can hopefully get to if I ever have a repeat performance, but with my luck (or carelessness, I hear you say) you never know! I also got a ‘Tile’ thing, which serves mostly as a glorified whistling keyring brought into the modern age. It thus has an app for your phone which means if you lose your keys the app can tell you where they last were located (unless you drop them in the North Sea of course :)).

Amongst the things that I also thought of this week (apart from spending £342 (yes really!) on a replacement key for my car :O) were the other ‘hidden’ costs of doing a marathon. Since I decided to embark upon this little venture for example I’ve bought (and nearly now worn out) two new pairs of trainers, insoles, two water carriers, new shorts (two pairs just aren’t enough when you are washing them all the time), about six pairs of socks (at £13 a pop they saw me coming!), and countless gels, recovery drinks, protein bars, electrolyte drinks, arm warmers, and a new Garmin running watch. I’m not claiming all of these are exactly essential, but they certainly all add up.

So this week’s programme of events contained a mere 43 miles of running, a nice little step down from last week’s 44!!

Tuesday was a 7 miler, of part easy, part tempo, done in glorious sunshine when it eventually came up. That’s because I started in the dark just after 6am, complete with the aforementioned arm warmers (and also gloves) as it was a mere 6 degrees when I stepped out of the door. Thankfully my legs were ok after the 20 miles on Sunday, but I was more worried about my foot, as I suffered some pain in the side of my foot the weekend before caused by poorly fitting insoles (don’t ask!!). Thankfully that was ok too.

Wednesday saw a 9 mile effort (the time for these things alone really eats into your day, and necessitates a 5:30am start, which isn’t my favourite time of day I have to say). This was at marathon pace (9 mins a mile), and started when the temperature was just 3 degrees! It was uneventful in the end, save for the fact that I needed by mile 7 what they term in the USA a “bathroom break”, and I had nowhere to go (and no toilet paper), so had to almost sprint the last mile home and nearly break the door down when I got back to relieve myself (and thankfully I hadn’t lost my key this time or it could have been worse!!).

Thursday morning saw a relatively balmy 7 degrees for the start of a 7 mile interval session, including 7 x 0.5 mile @ 7:30 pace. The first few reps I definitely struggled to get close to the right pace, but after that I got into my stride and felt pretty good overall. The only incident of note (and there always seems to be one!) was that on my way back the local road to Drayton where I live had (literally just) been closed due to an emergency gas leak. When I got to thus got to about mile 6 I had to come to a total stop as there were barriers across the road blocking my way. There was then also a bit of a frustrated exchange between me and a road worker in a high viz jacket, which started when I realised that I wouldn’t be able to get past him and the road closure back to my house. The exchange basically went as follows:

Me: Can I get through to use the pavement?

High viz man: No.

Me: It doesn’t say the pavement is closed!

High viz man: There’s a sign back down there (pointing over my shoulder)

Me: It says the road is closed, not the pavement!

High viz man: (looking at me strangely, shrugging shoulders, and rolling his eyes) I can’t help that.

Me: (now slightly exasperated and probably in a slightly raised voice) How am I going to get home?

High viz man: (Looking now that he’s had enough of this conversation altogether) That’s really not my f***ing problem!

At this point I realised that further conversation (or any conversation in the first place in fact) was futile, so I turned tail and sprinted furiously in the other (and actually the wrong!) direction. Why, I’m not sure, but it let off some steam anyway! I ended up then running back through fields and only adding about half a mile to the overall distance.

The weekend was in Cambridge, and started with a nice gentle 4 mile run on the Saturday. The weather was (a little too) glorious, and passed without incident. An evening at the theatre in Cambridge was preceded by some rather delicious steak and wine, not exactly the best preparation for a 15 miler the next day, but this is still training after all right? 🙂

On the Sunday, despite a slightly later than intended start, the 15 miler was actually not too bad. It was muggy (and rained for about two miles on the way back which led to a bit of nipple chafing for me) and warm, and we did 5 miles at a sort of steady pace (9:30), then 5 miles at marathon pace (9:05), then 5 miles @ 9:30 again. This was followed by a fab Sunday roast at Melanie’s, where I could have eaten four Sunday roasts I was that hungry!

So here we are already at Week 11 (of 16). It is flying by now, and I know that the next four weeks (when tapering starts) will go by with even more gusto. I’m praying now that I can get through this period injury free, and without mishap of any kind in fact. Everything I’ve read suggests also that this is the most important part of the training period, and the next three weeks are 47, 43 and 46 miles respectively, with two runs of over 20 miles thrown in for good measure. I need to get the game face on it seems, and bring the things I’ve learned into focus and practice, and really mean it.

The balance of everything I’ve had and done so far in this programme is really important. You have to be fit, certainly, and I’m fitter now than I’ve ever been in my life (my VO2 has increased by around 4 during this programme so far, my resting and exercising pulse rate has fallen, my weight has dropped, and my waist is smaller for example). I’m also eating better, drinking less, and more focussed on time and priorities too.

And you just have to be focussed, otherwise you’d end up being half-hearted about it, and that doesn’t wash in my book. If you’re going to succeed (and succeeding for me is getting round to the finish line in Central Park, and hopefully in time approximating to four hours) then you need to be ruthless and relentless. I’m taking inspiration this week from Greta Thunberg, the girl who is teaching the world a lesson about climate change. Many may challenge her ways, but no-one can fail to see the dedication and single-minded relentlessness of her actions and her drive, commitment and passion. I absolutely love what she is doing, and her words and the messages behind them are just so perfect. She’s been doing this for two years or so now, and has finally got a platform, and wow is she using it well.

“Please save your praise. We don’t want it,” she said to US Congress this week when being praised by senators for her wisdom. “Don’t invite us here to just tell us how inspiring we are without actually doing anything about it because it doesn’t lead to anything. If you want advice for what you should do, invite scientists, ask scientists for their expertise. We don’t want to be heard. We want the science to be heard.”

Go Greta, and may those congressmen and women take notice of the scientists too.