Tom Roper's Running Training

The readiness is all

It's the night before the marathon. I've been preoccupied with house buying crises, but fortunately they seem to be resolved. I eat spaghetti, a banana and an apple, gather my kit and pack it, drink tea, go to the loo, pace a bit, go to the loo again.

I always worry about missing something. This is what I have prepared:

Garmin Forerunner, charged
Three gels, orange (maybe not enough, but all I have, I'l ration them) and a gel belt, with which I must take care as it's old and they tend to fall out.
My number: 624
I'll put on t-shirt, shorts, socks and running shoes in the morning. I also have a warm top for before and afterwards
Sticking plasters for my chest
In my bag I have washing things, a swimsuit and towel, as at the end we can use the school swimming pool, though only if we've showered the mud off, some safety pins, clean clothes and some BodyGlide.

Twenty minutes with pick-ups

I ran for twenty minutes just now, with four pick-ups, that is to say short sessions of accelerating until one is running almost flat-out for 10-20 seconds. It was fine, there's a strong wind which should have blown itself out by Saturday.
Time: 2.00
Distance: 20.29
Pace: 10.13

I thought about my readiness for my ninth marathon, my fifth Beachy Head. My meditations are nowhere near as profound as Highway Kind's but here goes.

Physically:

• I've had no injuries during training
• Training has been not as intense as sometimes. Now I commute for more than three hours a day, there's less time
• I've haven't done all the long runs I should have. But I have a twenty-miler under my belt

Psychologically:

• I know I can run the distance. I've done it eight times before, four times over this demanding course, but also over other hilly ones, like the Isle of Wight and the Neolithic marathons
• I'm ready for the dark night of the soul that always comes at some stage during a marathon. I know that I can keep going, and if I wonder why I am doing it, and what the point is, I remind myself that it will be better when it's over
• There are the supporters. Not the London crowds, though those buoy me up, but those who will come out to cheer us on Saturday are fewer, but perhaps more dedicated. The people who run the drinks stations, the marshals and others are a great encouragement
• I know other runners. At big events such as London, I'm afraid I hate my fellow runners. They get in the way, they jostle, they're unsuitably hearty or just plain mad. The smaller field at Beachy is entirely different, and I feel a real sense of solidarity.

Equipment

• I have well-worn running kit
• I have three gels left
• I know my way to the start and have plenty of time, after porridge at 6 am, to get there
• I have plasters to apply to my nipples to avoid blood-soaked shirts such as I had in the Isle of Wight marathon

The interpretation of dreams

I had another dream about marathon disaster; in this one, unlike my London one in which I arrived at the start on time but without a number, I was running Beachy Head, but got the idea that the start was at 2 pm, not 9 am, and turned up to find the race over. I need an oneiromant to make sense of all this.

Today, in the interests of variety, I swam 1 km, and ran for 30 minutes, with additional fast one-minute bursts every five minutes.

Time: 37:07
Distance: 3.68
Pace: 10.05

11.5 miles: last long run

Apart from three miles to do on Tuesday and a short excursion on Thursday, today was my last run before Beachy Head. I did 11.5 miles, out to Bo Peep, Firle Beacon and Beddingham Hill and back on the ridge above Norton and Bishopstone. At first my legs felt tired, but by 6-7 miles I was going well. The sound of the Curst Sons at Applefest accompanied my running, particularly their interpretation of Railroad Bill.

Last night I dreamt I was at the start of the London Marathon, but without a number. I'd failed to go to collect it, and had no bag for my clothes.

Time: 2:11:09
Distance: 11.62
Pace: 11:17

Total this week: 17.14
Six days till the Beachy Head Marathon

Three fast miles, Seaford front

I ran three fast miles on Seaford front, with quarter-mile recoveries, and the usual warm-up and cool-down. It was dry, though cloudy and mild. My legs felt tired, but I suppose that is to be expected at this stage.

Time: 56:11
Distance: 5.52
Pace: 10.10

First mile: 9:35
Second mile: 9:49
Third mile: 10:24

15 miles

I ran 15 miles, starting out to Bo Peep, then east on the South Downs Way to Alfriston, then along the Cuckmere valley and back over Seaford Head.

There were thick patches of mist over the hills at Bo Peep, but fierce sun elsewhere, to the extent that the last few miles were quite difficult, and required shirtlessness. My legs felt tired in the early stages. I see that I ran the same route earlier in training, but this time I was three minutes faster. Nothing heroic in ascents here, a mere 1684ft. The poor souls doing the Jog Shop Jog at the same time as me had more to cope with.

Time: 2:47:24
Distance: 15.02
Pace: 11:08

Total miles this week: 24.92
Two weeks till the Beachy Head Marathon

5 miles, Seaford front

After my French lesson, I returned to Seaford for a late afternoon five miles to Splash Point and back, in beautiful weather. The earthmovers have begun their winter work, moving shingle from one end of the beach to the other. It seems as futile as the government's gestures towards the financial system.

Time: 50:07
Distance: 5.02
Pace: 9.58

Six fast half miles, Seaford front

I ran, on a dark mild evening, six fast half miles along the front, with short recoveries, a truncated warm-up and a normal cool-down. Again I had trouble with the Forerunner: the volume of alerts is far too quiet, and not adjustable, and my eyesight is not up to reading the screen without spectacles.

Time: 53:24
Distance: 4.88
Pace: 10:57

First half-mile: 4:46/9:35
Second half-mile: 4.51/9:46
Third half-mile: 5:03/10:09
Fourth half-mile: 5:12/10:29
Fifth half-mile: 5:15/10:35
Sixth half-mile: 5:43/11:13

Three weeks to go...

...with three weeks to go the good news is I have a place in the London Marathon next April. Otherwise, it has been a poor week for training. I only ran once, yesterday, and what should have been a twenty mile long run ended up as a 16 miler. I had intended to go over Seaford Head, then along some of the Seven Sisters, but the wind was so strong that I realised that it would be folly to spend a lot of time near cliff edges. So, after descending to the Cuckmere, I took myself off through Friston Forest, returning by way of Litlngton and High and Over.

Time: 3:08:15
Distance: 16.08
Pace: 11.41
Ascent: 2442 ft

Three weeks till the Beachy Head Marathon, (and 29 till London

Firle 20K

I ran the only race I'm taking part in during my training for Beachy Head, the Firle 20K. starting and finishing in the ground of Firle Place, the race ran along the Old Coach Road at the foot of the downs, passing Charleston and Berwick, before a stiff ascent onto the Downs, and then followed paths I know well, the length of the Firle Beacons escarpment, as far as the dew point and trig point on Itford Hill, then returning by way of Firle Bostal.

So far I only have my unofficial time, 2:06:52. I had hoped to finish in under two hours, but I don't think I disgraced myself. I've never run the distance before, so this represents a personal best.

Time: 2:06:52
Distance: 12.66
Pace: 10.01
No other running this week, other than a five miler on Friday.
Time: 58:18
Distance: 5.48
Pace: 10.47

Total mileage this week: 18.14
Four weeks till the Beachy Head Marathon