So, the Ealing Half Marathon is only a few days away and I have already decided it will be my last half marathon EVER!
Over the years, as a Personal Trainer, I have run more of these races than I care to remember and had decided that my last half marathon was actually going to be years ago at the Great Windsor park run. However the lure of the first half marathon in Ealing was too much for me to resist.
As a race sponsor and running a local Personal Training business I felt it would be rude to not run! Although I feel I have trained hard, I can’t say I have enjoyed it; those “rain-filled” miles around the hills of Crouch End (that’s where I live) won’t be missed. I don’t know if I have trained hard enough, I guess we will find out on Sunday. I didn’t mind the shorter, hill and interval runs but the longer ones were a real struggle.
Training for the half marathon has allowed me to see things a little bit more from my clients points of view; I found it really hard to find the time to do the long training runs as they invariably involve taking 2 hours out of your Sunday and as I work on Saturdays, Sundays are meant to be family days! So, I guess this experience has made me more tolerant when clients turn up and say “I haven’t had much time to fit in a workout this week!”
If you are doing the half marathon on Sunday I would love to hear how your training has gone; what has gone well and what has been a struggle? Are you feeling confident about race day? Have you taken any inspiration from anyone? (You can leave your comments below)
I have mentioned Mo Farah before as an inspiration to me but recently I have taken inspiration from a source closer to home; my little 2 year old daughter, on seeing me change into my running kit, tells me to “Run Daddy, run!”
I will take her advice on Sunday.
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well done for all that training. Hope itgoes well.
Thanks Chris, I ‘ll be sure to let you know!!
I’m also running the Ealing Half on Sunday, and like you, I’m fairly determined it will be my last half marathon. Unlike you though, in my case it’s also my first half marathon.
I’m 38, and about 5 or 6 months ago I would have said I’d never been fitter. I did no exercise at all between the ages of about 14 and 36, but thanks to encouragement from my now wife, and a general feeling that I should be doing something, I took up a bit of running and started going to the gym where I work. I ran the Bupa London 10km race in May, and got a fairly impressive personal best time, coming six hundred and somethingth out of about 15,000 runners (about 15 mins behind Mo Farah who won the race). I then eventually gave in to the pressure from the missus to sign up for the first ever Ealing half marathon.
But the training has been quite different to the 10k. A lot more gruelling, especially during the warmer months. And over the past few weeks, despite a few psychological boosters (first ever 10 mile run, first ever 12 mile run, second 12 mile run knocking four minutes off the previous week) my body has started to protest, even though I’ve done plenty of stretching and foam rolling after each run.
My knees are starting to ache a bit. My lower back is feeling fragile, not helped by a dodgy deadlift a couple of weeks ago (I’ve since stopped doing any weights until after Sunday). I’ve also started to really struggle to run on consecutive days, even though this only happens once per week in my training programme.
As a result of these complaints, I now feel less physically fit than I did around the time of the 10km race, even though my endurance has obviously improved.
And generally it’s taken over my life too much. I’ve been craving some variation in my exercise schedule. Anything other than running. But there’s no time to do all the running AND fit in some lifting, yoga, Pilates, or a spin/circuits class here and there, PLUS the day job, the evening chores, and a little bit of relaxing at the weekend if you don’t mind! And I don’t even have any kids or pets.
OK, moan over. I am actually looking forward to the day (as long as it’s not too warm or windy, fingers crossed) if only because it will all be over. I hope there’s plenty of spectators to keep our spirits up, and I’m really pleased with how much money I’ve raised for charity. Best of luck to you this Sunday, and I hope you enjoy the little bit of extra free time on your Sundays. I know I will.
Thanks for your comments Max, I understand and empathise with all your points! You will probably find your 10km time will improve dramatically now, if you decide to keep running!!
Come to our stall, Bodyline Fitness, on sunday to say Hello and take advantage of a free massage or stretch.
All the best for Sunday!
Roy
Man up!
Inspiring Tony