The 1000mile journey has now finished. The new home of Run Fatboy, Run can be found at www.fatboy.run.
Its the year of the marathon! Manchester, London and Berlin!
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The Final Half The final half of the year. The one I wanted to go hard at and run well. The one I could see what possibilities next year could bring and also the one where I had to re-evaluate my goals and change my plan. I had picked up a slight injury after the Nottingham half, my ankle was playing up and all week it had been rested and iced to try and ease the swelling. It was a strange feeling as I could also hear the creaking in my ankle as I raised it! As it was the last one of the year, I decided to run anyway. Pre Race I meant up with Paul finally after watching him conquer half marathons, marathons and Ultras this year and it was his final swan song in an official event. It was great to finally say hello! It was wet, very wet and the walk to the starting pens was grim! I had my bin bag on but I was getting so cold already. I tried to get involved in the warm up but the pen was packed so in the end I just stood there and did a little jog on the spot. Warm up done. I had a rough idea before the run of how I wanted to run it. Start steady, similar to Nottingham around the 8min per mile mark and the slowly ease the speed up if the ankle was feeling ok but under no circumstances to continue if the pain got to much. I had to remember the main goal of this year – The 1000miles in 2018 for Parkinson’s UK – that was the plan.
Post Race It was now time to try and get warm! A couple of coffees and a change of clothes and I was starting to feel normal again! I meant up with Paul, we had a couple of beers and some food and discussed his final race. He ran Birmingham to raise funds for the hospital that saved his brothers life and he was beaming. All in all, a great day minus the weather. Focus on the recover now and tick off this last few miles to finish my main goal for the year. It was well organised and the volunteers deserve a huge thank you for standing in the rain! I would highly recommend this event, maybe I will be back next year, who knows?! I'm already starting to plan 2019, a marathon is on the cards. I am looking forward to training to race rather than racing to train! The final half was done. Time to get full fit and go again stronger and wiser! Simon Friday. It was time to hit the road. It was time to do something that would never have been achievable even so much as a year ago. Rewind to the start of July. I posted my pipeline idea to Instastories about running the Equinox24 with runners from the world of Instagram. Suddenly people were messaging me and within a couple of days 4/5 of the spots were filled. Austin, Matt and Jim were in. It took a little while longer to confirm that Joe was taking part due to family commitments, but we were up to a full team. Fast forward to Friday 21st September and I was typing in the postcode of Belvoir Castle, my boot loaded up with camping stuff. The Equinox24 What’s App group was in over drive as everyone was leaving at different times, but we were all soon to be on route. So, what is the Equinox24? Simply put it’s a 24hour event that solo runners, pairs or teams can enter to see how many 10km laps they can do in the 24-hour window. I knew it was going to be tough, but I think we all underestimated the challenge we had a head of ourselves. Friday. I was first on site, I spoke with Jack from Grantham running club and went about setting up my tent. It was windy, but the rain was holding off. Joe was next to arrive, and he erected his coffin like tent. I hadn’t met Joe before and after chatting away for a little while it was good to see that we were 100% going to get along. Jim arrived in flip flops, I had met Jim a couple of times at Braunstone Parkrun, we decided to have a wonder around and then explore the course. The on-site facilities were brilliant. Plenty of food stands, toilets were looking good and the shower block was great! We walked a big chunk of the course. The first 2km was mainly on grass and had a slight hill climb. You then headed along the road, across a bridge and then onto “Not That Hill”. Once you had conquered that, it was a small flat section up until the water station. A sharp left-hand turn took you back on to the grass and a slight hill climb before dropping down a steep bank. A 90degree left hand turn and now you could see “That Hill”. It was a very short hill climb BUT incredible steep. Once you had battled your way to the top. It was back on the trail section between trees. A good down hill section back to the bridge. From there it was 2km to the transition area around the edge of the campsite. It looked tough. Very tough.
We came up with an order. I would go first, followed by Jim, Austin, Joe and then Matt. We discussed maybe a double lap through the night, but this was disregarded, and we chose to stick to single laps each time. We had a goal. 24 laps in 24 hours. Now, I am no maths genius, but I calculated that we had to keep the 10km laps to below an hour to get this achieved. 11:00 – Time to focus. Time to start thinking about what we are under taking. I got ready, did some stretches and a little jog just to see if the legs were ready to play ball. Two months ago, this was just an idea and now it was almost time to go. I made sure my number was attached and I had the slap band on. The slap band was basically a baton like in a normal relay. An announcement comes over the PA system. 5-minute warning. Shit. This was happening. I got into the starting area. Headed straight to the front so I could look back over the field of runners. There was also a 10km day race and they were part of the mass start so not everyone was there to do a gentle run! “10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 -1 – GO! The Equinox24 2018 is now underway…….” We were underway. I flew out the traps, mainly so I could ensure I had a half decent photo when I was looking relatively good! Lap 1 – 12:00 10km is a good distance. It’s a challenge as it can be a full-on sprint or it’s a good distance to bridge the gap between 5k and the half marathon. I have done a fair few 10kms, but this was unlike no other. Once I had finished, I knew in a few hours I would have to go again. My plan for lap 1 was to get it done quickly but with out busting my balls. I had looked at the weather and knew we were expecting rain but when and for how long, no one was sure. The first mile flew by, I was chatting to another runner and before I knew it, we were two miles in. That’s when I looked at my watch. I had average 6:45 through the first two miles. I eased off. I saw the rest of the Speedhaters, gave them a wave and cracked on! I powered up “not that hill” and enjoyed the views over the hills around Belvoir. I was glad to have purchased some trail shoes because already on lap 1, the grass was wet and slippery, the downhill section would have been disastrous in my trusty Brooks. It was time to face “that hill” for the first time. Bloody hell! I ran every metre of it, as I climbed the hill my legs were burning, my breathing was heavy, and my heart rate almost hit 190. The great thing about this run was once you had got to this point, it was relatively down hill back to the start. I got back onto the campsite grounds and pushed on, running next to all the tents and support crews before turning left onto the final straight. It’s a lot further from that turn to the transition that I imagined. I handed over to Jim, gave him the slap band and a few words of encouragement. Lap 1 done. 43:46. Jim, been cheered on by his wife and son, smashed through his first lap in 45:42. This is when the rain hit. Austin got the brunt of it. He ran through in 51:11. We were three laps in and loving life! Joe clocked a 49:42 and Matt completed round 1 in 50:08.
Lap 3 – 20:18 Time was starting to go quicker in between runs. At each transition we would give a quick shout about how the course was holding up. Each time it was getting worse. Cut up, wet and now it was dark. The head torch was on. I hadn’t run with a headtorch very often and I didn’t realise how much more effort it took to run at night. Was tough trying to focus on running, other runners and making sure I wasn’t about to fall over. 48:13. We had managed to break into the top 20 at this point, none of us had any idea how and all of us knew there was a long way to go. The rest of the Speedhaters were still pushing hard. Jim 52:41, Austin 59:15, Joe 58:25 and Matt 53:05. Everyone was beginning to find it tough. We weren’t even half way though. The darkness was just adding to the difficulty. Lap 4 – 00:50 Sunday I made the decision on this lap to try to run more consistently. It didn’t work particularly well. I was getting tired, I hadn’t eaten properly, and my water intake was poor. I was living in a calorie deficit. 8:15, 8:11, 8:42, 9:02, 8:16 and 8:12. A total time of 51:32. This lap turned out to be the most challenging lap of the entire weekend for me. I was glad to get it done. I needed to eat and try and sleep. I think I managed a trek bar and that was about it. I headed to the showers. They were amazing. Piping hot and pretty clean. I got back to my tent and got my head down. Two- and a-bit hours later I was a wake. Wide awake. That was all the sleep I managed. Jim 54:48, Austin 1:06:54, Joe 1:02:54 and Matt 54:20. On this lap Austin took a fall but luckily managed to carry on relatively unscathed. Lap 5 – 05:40 Sunday My final lap was about to begin. I wanted to just enjoy this one. It worked. I chatted to everyone I saw. I spoke with a guy who had been seriously ill earlier this year and was on the come back trail with his running. So many great stories and memories in this lap alone. My slowest lap by far but one I will remember the most. 8:59, 8:34, 10:43, 11:11, 8:12 and 8:22 giving me a total time of 56:39. The legs were burning. My mind was friend. Jim 57:51, Austin 58:38, Joe 53:38, Matt 51:35. We had beaten our original goal! 25 laps done. We decided that Joe would do the extra leg and if he took less than 1 hour 40, Matt could bring us home. I had opted out due the legs slowly giving up and knowing I had the Nottingham half seven days later…. Joe ran 1:01:27, which meant Matt could go out and complete our 27th lap. Another sub 1 hour for Matt and it was incredible emotional as we all ran the last 100 yards down the finishing straight to complete our first Equinox24. In 24 hours, we had managed to run 270km and finish 12th in the small team category. What have I learnt? Marshalls are heroes. 24 hours of constantly cheering and motivation. Thank You. Runners are awesome. Everyone was so encouraging, and the camaraderie was incredible. Camping is all about size. Bigger the better. Food is king. Need to come up with a better plan for eating while at events like this. I took loads of stuff that I probably didn’t need. The best thing in the bag that weekend was the last minute Ascics Trail Trainers I picked up Friday! Was great to have lots of fresh Tshirts from Manhut & Truesapien. Well worth the purchase. Trek Bars were a god send, took home as much pasta as I bought with me, there just wasn’t the time to cook it. Any advice regarding this would be much appreciated! Caffeine Bullets were amazing, having not used them before they were great! Thank you to Makro for supplying some much needed food and water! I want to say a huge thank you to Jim, Austin, Joe and Matt. To bring five relative strangers together and gel like we did says a lot. We may of started as strangers but I feel we left as friends.
We did it. Same again next year? Its almost time……
24 hours. 10km laps. 5 man team. The weather looks awful but I don’t care (currently I don’t care as I type this from my warm house!). How many will we do? How many will I do individually? Who knows! I can’t wait. Bring it on! This is all part of my journey to run a 1000miles for Parkinsons UK. If you wish you to support the fundraising, please click here. Lastminute.com The usual recovery run after the JF10. 3 miles and negative splits just to see how they really felt. I didn’t run Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Why? No idea, I just couldn’t be arsed. A call late on Thursday from my dad and some frantic googling, I had made a last-minute entry into the Nuneaton 10k on the Sunday! It tied in well as I was planning on going to see them and take the two little monsters over! Parkrun and after entering the Nuneaton 10k, I wanted to run at a similar pace to my 10km pace. Almost to plan for a change, 656, 637, 630. 20:48 and felt really good! Who knew that training paid off?! Race Day!
Sunday and the Nuneaton 10km. Up early to get myself ready, boys up and out. 3 and a bit laps plus finishing on a running track. I haven’t run on a track for about 15 years! I was looking forward to it. Having grown up there, I know how little there is to see on the route. The mayor of Nuneaton had about as much charisma as a wet lettuce and said a few words. 30 second countdown. Last little chat to myself. “Stick to 650 a mile for the first 3.” 3-2-1 GO. Bollocks. First mile – 631. Far to quick. The lead group were already pulling away and I had my usual issue of what to do. Push hard and potentially run out of steam or drop back. Luckily for me 2 runners had come up behind me, so I had a group. Right, time to hit 650 for a mile. Bollocks. Second mile – 633. Far too quick again. Sun was out. Time to start lap two. Right, time to hit 650 a mile or this is going to be painful. Bollocks. Third mile – 634. I can’t drop off this mini group or I will run the second half by myself. I didn’t want that. This was going to hurt. Yes! Fourth mile – 649. This wasn’t through pacing though. This was my legs starting to hurt. NOOOOO! Fifth mile – 656. I had dropped from the group. I was by myself heading into the park. Luckily for me as I turned the next corner, there were two club runners a head. It gave me someone to aim for. GET IN! Sixth mile – 647. I had fought off the aching legs. I had caught the club runners and it was time to get onto the track. The final push. With just 1 and ¾ laps required, I was slightly cautious of pushing to much to soon with one bend to go, I went. The last 0.21 was ran at 525 pace, how the elites run like this for entire marathons baffles me! Finished in 41:16. A new PB. Terrible pacing. Big grin. It was great seeing the boys and my parents on each lap, even though the smallest monster shouted “Dad!” as I ran towards him followed by crying as I went past. Each and every time! Time now to taper slightly for the EQUINOX! Two weeks to go! The speed haters are coming……
JF10 time. Jim had managed to get a place last minute and was great to catch up. We chatted before hand and he wanted to run 1.15 for the 10miles. It was hot and it was a hilly route. I ran with Jim for the entire 10 miles. We had to work hard, really bloody hard it parts. There was no breeze. Lots of sunshine. I felt very comfortable through 1-7, after that the legs did begin to hurt a bit. We kicked on with 2 to go. I had noted that we forecasted to come in at 1.16. We got to the top of the last hill and then reality struck. A couple of runners and collapsed. One looked unconscious (later confirmed he was ok), we ran the last mile hard without been silly.
We Finished in just under 1.16. Hills + Heat = tough run. Solid week done!
Listen To Your Body
Recovery run on Monday and a steady 3.1 miles. The legs feel heavy after Newark. I have had some time to reflect on the Newark Half, I am happy with the run. It wasn't ideal pacing but I got the job done. Steady 5 on Thursday at 7:33 a mile and I am back to normal. Parkrun was amazing! Paced Jim (@le8_runner) round to a massive 50 second PB! Long run. If I make the London Marathon, I am going to have to get use to running long by myself on a Sunday. This week, 14miles, done! Set the pace at 8 min miles and finished at 8:01! Few good hill climbs in there as well. Felt good! The Newark Half It’s the week of the Newark half marathon. Do I feel prepared? Yes. Do I feel I could of done more? Yes. The weather recently has been amazing but has hindered my preparation for this half marathon. I have set my sights on running a sub 90-minute half at Newark. Its advertised as flat and quick. I don’t normally change my running routine but with my goal for Sunday in mind I took the miles right down. On Monday I ran an interval session aimed at keeping my legs moving quickly, it was tough but only lasted two miles. I am going to look at doing more of these but over a longer period and slightly different ratios. Mondays was 5minute warm up then 20 seconds flat out and 40 seconds recovery repeated 10 times. It was a good workout. I didn’t run until Saturday. I went to my local Parkrun and meant up with my sister. She smashed out a PB for the 5km and a Parkrun PB. It was great running alongside her and that her hard work is paying off. She also ran a 10km PB on Thursday! Her strava didn’t start (I believe this was a good thing) as we started off a lot quicker than she would normally. With a 200metres to go, I looked at my watch and knew we could get the PB, we were walking at this point, but I signalled to her 3-2-1 Lets go (She had headphones in!). It was time to dig deep. The final 20m is up a hill to the finish funnel and I chased her up ever single metre! We did it! I loved it. Sunday and its time. It’s the Newark half marathon. I got there nice and early. Collected my number and started talking to a guy called Dean who was doing his first half in a few years and I felt relaxed. The rain began to come down, I pulled out a race essential – a bin bag – and dropped my bag off. I hate getting wet. We queued up in our anticipated finishing times. I had a chat with a fellow Instagram runner Jack and walked towards the start line. It was time. 3-2-1 GO. We were underway through the streets of Newark. Miles 1-4 were quick. To quick and would cost me later. I ran 639, 649, 658 & 656. I decided to ease off a tad and pulled next to a guy who was running at 710/715ish pace and cracked on with getting stuck into the next 9miles. The main issue arose when he decided to up the pace and talk the other runners with him, I didn’t have it in my legs to go so stuck it out on my own. I looked over my shoulder for every 2/3 minutes hoping someone would catch me up but nothing. It was a long and lonely 4miles by myself.
The course is advertised as flat, I would say 80% of the course is, there were a few climbs but nothing to major. It was a very well organised event and the marshals and support along the course were great! My only minor complaint was the water stations, grabbing a plastic cup while running just ends up with me having a wet leg. I understand its done for the environmental reasons but is there a suitable alternative out there, that is recyclable/reusable??
Next up is the JF10 on 2nd September! Then the Equinox24 on 22&23rd September! Simon #Therunofgratitude This week was special. I ran with a truly inspiring guy, who was taking on a huge personal journey. I ran with Stuart Amory. (Insta @stuartamorypt) He decided to run from London to Aberdeen in 17days for Mind. That’s pretty impressive in its own right but it was only after we began to run along that his story began to come out. Now, it’s not my story to tell but please check out his page! Stuart has taken on many challenges throughout his life such as, Ironman, Marathons and was a member of the RAF but this run is so personal to Stuart and it will never be replicated. His website can be found at http://srg.upandrunning.co.uk/the-run-of-gratitude/ . I ran with him for 13 or so miles, he had another 13 or so to go that day. Its taking huge mental and physical endurance to complete this. Good Luck with the rest of the run!
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