So we’re in July and I have not posted since an article
caught my eye about the cathartic
benefits of running (thanks Dean!).
Post marathon – especially a PB is a strange time. You want
to get back out there but need to take things slowly. It is quite incredible
how eager the mind is to continue to push yourself.
The painful (literally) truth is that you cannot run with
any real zest for about a week and even then the spectre of your most recent
race hangs over you so focus is most definitely lacking. You run because you
want to – not because you have to.
Taking time off is never an option for me as the next race
is just around the corner.
I read an interesting article that suggested that training
for your next race is going to be compromised whilst the shadow of your most
recent race looms large.
This is so true. It took a good 3-4 weeks to mostly
eradicate the memory of Paris and start the pendulum swing away from that and
towards my new goal of Loch Ness at the end of September.
I spent time basking in the knowledge that I had qualified
for Boston and wondering whether I would take on that challenge.
In the end my wife and I discussed it and due to cost (we
were about to undertake a major home project) I would delay my Boston exploits
by a year and instead leverage my 3:11 time to gain automatic entry to London.
This would be my 3rd attempt at London and I felt
that it would be April 2015 where I would do my utmost to obtain a sub 3 hour
time.
So where to start?
I had Loch Ness already planned, my original
second marathon in late 2010.
Loch Ness was a turning point for me. The race where I
knocked 30 minutes off my original London time (of 4:14) and realised that I
could be quite accomplished at this mad endeavour.
I knew that I would need to be sensible with my aspirations.
3:11 was tough but I knew the areas where I could make up
for lost time.
Loch ness would give me the opportunity to shave 5 minutes
or so off my 3:11 and give me the psychological kicker to get to sub 3!
But things have to change – you can’t expect to obtain a
significantly better time at this level without changing your programme.
I therefore used the initial couple of months to dive into a
rigorous programme of cross training and fitness courtesy of Nadia Lismore,
super personal trainer.
My focus on the road translated well in the gym and I
relished the opportunity to try new things.
A significant fact was that I could most definitely
correlate my cross training with an improvement in pace.
In late May I had the opportunity to take a dramatic career
opportunity that would impact my work life balance (due to travel) but put me
on the global stage.
I was appointed Chief Marketing Officer for Kodak Alaris. An
amazing challenge to reinvent the company some 9 months after it had reformed
post Chapter 11. Excitement levels were high and I negotiated a 4 day week for
the remainder of my time at Motorola.
The wind-down period began with good intentions: I would do
something physically demanding every Friday be it cycling, running or something
else.
All went well and I was clocking up 25 miles per week on the
running side, getting out on the bike and taking advantage of this lack of
pressure to see old friends (I even went up to Manchester to see some of my old
University buddies).
This release of pressure (after a continuous 4 year period
of intensity) had an unforeseen impact on my health.
On the way back from Manchester, some 2 weeks before I was
due to start at Kodak Alaris I started to feel off colour.
Then due to the travel I was going to have to be doing I was
advised to get my inoculations up to date. I had 2 injections and it knocked me
for 6.
Jetting off to France with my brother for a brief spell of
R&R tipped me over the edge.
I started my training programme for Loch Ness with vigour
and was enjoying running through the hills and fields near Toulouse, Aurignac
and Sanguedenes ticking off 4, 6 and 10 miles whilst I was out there.
I thought I had been bitten by mosquitos on my hairline as
lumps appeared on my scalp.
They got worse and significantly more painful and once I
returned home I was fearful that I had been bitten by something nasty as the
rash started to extend all across my hairline and down my neck.
A trip to the Urgent Care Unit in Harrow confirmed that I had
shingles.
Shingles: One funny name but not funny at all.
I was in significant pain and had to go on pain killers and
was on meds that I had to take 5 times a day.
Fortunately in 4 days the condition cleared up but my
confidence had been knocked.
Was I not invincible?
My withdrawal from Florence had taught me that I was far
from that but I could not stop. I was fearful that if I lost momentum it would
be tough to regain it at a later date.
I continued but at a lower pace and slowly but surely got my
mojo back.
I am now 3 weeks into the new role, am clocking circa 40
miles a week which I am managing to integrate into a hectic work schedule that
has seen me take in Paris, Stuttgart and Rochester, New York.
 |
| New Job, new Countries, new runs. |
I have run a maximum distance of 14 miles and this weekend
will cross 16 miles.
I feel strong, confident and upbeat.
The rest of the summer will be challenging, balancing increasing training intensity with family
vacations and work commitments.
But so far, so good..I have not blown a gasket, no cold
sores, no illness, no more shingles.
I need to maintain my health and positive outlook over the
coming weeks so that I can triumph at Loch Ness and then seal the deal in April
at London.
Challenges will be running in extreme heat over the summer
in both South of France and Israel (providing the situation does not escalate)…
This will be a new challenge but one that I am looking forward to embracing.
