I DID IT!

Full race report to follow :-)

London 2 Brighton ElliptiGO ride

I'm sitting on the coach on Brighton seafront after finishing an epic 100.6 miles on the ElliptiGO today. It really was a ride of two halves! The first 50 miles from Leighton Buzzard to Clapham Common took 3.5 hrs. The second fifty to Brighton took almost twice that time!! I've never seen bike jams like it in my life.

The first 16 miles out of London were stop start all the way... And thereafter whenever we hit any incline over 5% it brought everything to a grinding halt! We waited for over 45 minutes at just one traffic light junction alone!! With only the inpromtu Mexican waves to keep morale high.

It was a great day and enjoyed with 8 other ElliptiGO riders too. These brought quite a lot of attention which is always a good laugh.

The route is best described as flat to undulating but with a massive sting in the tail!!... DITCHLING BEACON at 45 miles in and 5 miles to go is a monster! I was determined to absolutely smash it... There is no other way to ride a hill in my opinion. I felt strong all day with the last 6 months of solid training really paying dividends.

All I need to do now pre-Western States is chill out and relax, and let me body recover fully and recharge for the big day. It sounds like its going to be a 'hot year' if you believe the reports so the next week will be spent in the sauna and a couple of sessions at Kingston University brand new heat chamber to help the body acclimatise thr the expected 100 temps.

There will be a live webfeed of the Western States race so I'll be sure to post a link.

Western States 100 Training Update: Heat Acclimatisation and GUCR 2013

Acclimatisation to the heat out in California in late June has been something I've been wanting to get my body and mind ready for. But how!?.... I was listening to an episode of the Talk Ultra podcast which covers the MdS race in Morocco each year. British MdS competitors often use indoor heat training to acclimatise and this was mentioned in the show and the use of a heat chamber at Kingston University's Sports Science department. So I googled it to find out more and arranged a free 1 hour session which I completed last Tuesday.

I met Chris Howe who works in the Sports Science department at the Uni and is an accomoplished ultra runner himself having won the Cardiff Ultra 50 on the Sunday in under 7hrs! A top bloke who explained the session and what I would be subjecting myself too. Essentially you run steady to hard for an hour on the treadmill which is set up in a small lab heated to 35.5 degrees. Core temperature readings are taken every 15 minutes using a ear probe to monitor your increased temps.

The science and research behind this type of session demonstrates that consistently elevating your core temperature daily (especially through moderate exercise) in the two weeks before your goal event in the heat helps your body to physically adapt via an improved sweat function to remove heat from the body more efficiently resulting in an overall lower core temperature for the same effort. That's the theory anyway!

My pre-session temperature reading was 36.7 which Chris said was nice a low. That was about to change! You could immediately feel the heat as soon as you stepped into the chamber. Wow running in this for an hour is gonna be tough was my first thought... I mean for most ultra runners, including me, running on a treadmill in any conditions for any amount of time is not fun. So it was good mental training too. In the first 15 mins my temp rose over a degree, and by 30 minutes by another. At 45 minutes my temperature was 39.4 degrees C. For Chris this was too high - 40 degrees could mark extreme heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke so he asked me to ramp down the speed and incline on the treadmill. I had been runnning at 5mph (12 mpm pace) and a nice 8% incline. In the final 15 mins I powerhiked the incline bringing down the pace and my temperature to below 39 which Chris was happy with.

It was a great workout and served to demonstrate how the body (especially mine!) can't work as hard as it would in normal temps as it simply produces too much heat which it can't get rid of quick enough. Quite simply the only way to manage this is to slow down and in doing so reduce the amount of heat generated. So this is what I must learn to manage in the next 3-5 heat chamber sessions scheduled for the last two weeks before I fly over to the States. Sauna sessions also work well to elevate core temps so can be incorporated into my training as well.

As well as the physical adaption that may occur through these heat acclimatisation sessions I think the biggest plus is knowing mentally that when I stand on the start line of Western States I won't have quite the same level of apprehension and uncertainty of the unknown in regard to running in the heat. My body will be use to it and my Central Governer will hopefully recognise the signals as the June temps steadily rise in the heat of the Californian sunshine and adapt my effort inline with what i've learnt in the chamber. We shall see....

I should add that I completed the above session with just two days rest following the North Downs Way 50 where I finished 6th (see previous post). I felt strong and well rested. My new diet and consistent training continues to reduce my recovery times after long runs which is pleasing.

I followed up with a 35 mile long run this weekend (through the night) in support of friend James Elson who was running the Grand Union Canal Run (GUCR). This is a classic ultra race of 145 miles from Birmingham to London along the tow path. Most reading this blog probably know of it. I had the pleasure of being part of the crew for James ( (Race Director - Centurion Running) who is an accomplished ultra runner (Rocky Raccoon 100 - 17hrs32mins PR). I planned to tag along from Leighton Buzzard (home town) along the canal down to Watford and then return back. The exact mileage was unknown at the time as I didnt know how much I would be supporting James as his pacer. The crew was made up of James' mates and accomplished ultra runners in their own right (4 GUCR finishers!) including Robbie Britton who placed well at the Worlds 24hr championships. There were 6 of us in the crew in total in a 2 car convoy. It worked really well as one of us would pace James whilst the others would get to the next meeting point at a bridge section on the canal and set up a temporary aid station with everything James could need including gels, SCaps, tomatoes, hot beans, cheese, sausage rolls, pastries hot coffee, coke etc. We were a well oiled machine as we rolled down the canal edging ever closer towards London. And what's more James wasn't just here to run and complete the distance, no no.... he smashed it! When I picked him up at 9pm on Saturday night in LB (90 miles in) he was leading the race! James hit 100 miles in 17.5hrs, and throughout the night was able to maintain a healthy margin between him and second place. I paced James for short 2 mile section and a further 5 mile section from the 100 mile aid station down to the outskirts of Berkhamsted. It was great to see the race unfolding on the other side for a change. Crewing was such a buzz ampified by the fact that James was leading such a historic UK race. I finally left the crew at the Grove in Watford (115 miles in) to head back to LB in the very early hours setting off on the 27 mile run at 3am. It was an extremely enjoyable run as the sun rose and a new day dawned having not slept a wink. I also got the opportunity to see the other runners on the GUCR and the gaps that separated them. It took a full 45 mins running in the opposite direction before I came across the 2nd place runner. We were getting vague reports from various people as to the distance which was getting back to the crew and James. The gap at this point we worked out to be over 6 miles which was a healthy cushion. And so it stayed that way with James winning the GUCR in 29hrs19mins. The only runner to go sub 30. The final runner who finished the full distance came in just under the cut off in 45hrs in the early hours on Monday morning!

To read James' full GUCR race report go to www.centurionrunning.com/blog

Would I ever run the GUCR having now experienced it from this unique perspective? I probably will is my answer but not for quite a few years. What I saw that I wouldn't want to experience myself is the final 50 mile death march. Running 100 miles and then dragging myself another 45 miles at not even a fast walking pace definitely doesn't appeal. Thus whilst I'm never gonna have the pace or endurance of James (I simply don't have the time required to train and race enough) I would want to train properly and get my pace right to 'run' the entire distance. To do this my goal first is to excel in the 50 mile and 100 mile distances. And I'm saying here and now that I don't plan to increase the distance above 100 miles until I can crack 20 hours for the 100. 104 miles for UTMB being the exception here ( hey what's an extra 4 miles between friends ;-)

So that's a rather more lengthy training update than I had intended.... So enough from me already....

North Downs Way 50 race report (original title that!!)

My final race before Western States in June was the North Downs Way 50 this past weekend. Organised by James Elson at Centurion Running it promised to be a great race on what is fast becoming my favourite trail. I knew the route well having run it twice before in 2011 and 2012 as part of the NDW100.

The 50 mile route boasts around 5,000ft of vertical gain with the second half having a fair proportion of this. So good training for WSER. The route starts in Farnham, Surrey and finishes in Knockholt Pound in Kent. I drove to the start in the morning having filled up on one of my primal omlettes. I was feeling good about the race and judging from last years time was aiming for a top 10 finish and going under 8 hours. The plan was also to try and run as even a paced run as possible. That didn't happen!! ;-)

This was also my first race as a sponsored ultra runner! :-D Just days before the race Buff confirmed me as a new member of Team Buff UK. I had been speaking to their head of marketing Sarah over the past few weeks having met her at the ElliptiGO ride event in Hyde Park. I enquired about sponsorship opportunities and followed up with an email to Sarah explaining what I have coming up in the way of events and the exposure this could bring the brand. A bit cheeky but worth a shot right! And it worked :-) There are quite a few other UK ultra-runners on the team including Sarah Gardner-Hall who is absolutely smashing it right now including a win (outright) at the 8hr Hellrunner race a few weeks ago.

So the pressure was on to perform for my new team at the NDW50 which certainly added something extra to my approach to the race and hence why I was not only thinking about time but positioning as well. As a result the early miles as well as my average pace for the first half was higher than I had intended but I wasn't willing to let too many people past. And more besides it was FUN!!

I led off from the start line with race favourite Craig Holgate who won the Thames Path 100 in 2012 in a little over 15 hours! So clearly in a different league to me. I understand Craig's also a 2:3# marathon runner so he has a lot of speed and endurance. We exchanged pleasantries in the first mile which was run at a 7:30 pace before I consciously decided I had to slow my pace down a little. So I let Craig and a few others past and found myself in I think around 12th place as I settled into a more sustainable pace. And this is how it stayed for much of the first half. I hit the first aid station in 8 minute mile pace and felt good. I knew I would be slowing a little in the second half of the race but I hoped by not too much and wanted to keep my average pace below 9 mpm for the total distance.

Much of the first half of this race up to Box Hill can be best described as undulating. No massive climbs to speak of really, and what there was, is over pretty quicky. The trail is sandy in parts but most definitely very runnable.

The longest downhill section on the whole course is the approach to Box Hill that descends past Denby's Vine Yard along a tarmac section and allowed me to catch and overtake 3-4 more runners. The stop at Box Hill aid station (24 miles - 3h:22m - 8:26 mile pace - 8th place) was very brief (as they had been at all the stations on route). A quick refill of my bottles and some fresh fruit, cherry tomatoes and some ham was off. No sweets, biscuits mars bars etc for Mr Primal! I've been sticking to the paleo diet for 3 months now and its working so well for me. Once refilled I headed up the 200+ steps to the top of Box Hill. It sounds pretty horrific having run almost a marathon but it really wasn't. I was surprised how quickly I reached the summit and took in the amazing views. I wish I had some photos to post but this was a race after all and so my phone was staying firmed tucked away in my chest pocket (for emergency calls only). There was one guy out there though who was managing to take plenty of photos. He would stop take a picture and then catch up and pass me with ease only to then stop again a mile or so further up the trail and take another snap! Great interval training! 

The first marathon completed in 3:44 went by so quickly it somewhat caught me by surprise that I had been running for that long. In that time I kept on top on hydration and nutrition taking on board a Nakd bar every 10 miles and regularly refilling my 2 water bottles one of which had GU brew electrolyte tabs in. Peach tea flavour! Yum.

The second half the race is far hilly than the first, and you definitely feel it too! However beacuse I knew the course so well by now I was simply able to focus on the next aid station and the trail ahead and really did enjoy every second. I did try and put in a conserted effort after Box Hill to pull away from those behind me as there was at least 4 or 5 runners that merged together whilst we huddled to eat and drink. It worked and I wasn't over taken in the second half by anyone from behind. However my pace was slowing from the intial 8 minute miling in the first half to the then 8:30 and slower. But then so was everyone else's too.

I hit the Caterham aid station (38 miles - 5h:41m - 8:58 mile pace) in 6th place (not that I knew that at the time) and had more fresh fruit - kiwi this time which tasted simply amazing!!! I was still moving well however knew that it would be difficult to hold the 9 minute mile pace that I was looking to average over the whole course. I was running with my Garmin so knew the score on that front.

The last 10 miles were just as enjoyable as the first as I thought to myself how much my running and fitness had progressed with the last 4 months of solid training in the build up to WSER. I could take a lot from that and was glowing with quiet satisfaction of a job well done. However the race was not over and there was still more to do. I power walked the long climb up to Botley Hill aid station which is the last one at 43 miles (fresh melon this time!) and was told that 4th/5th place were just one or two minutes ahead. This gave me some renewed focus as I set off after them. On a normal day making up this time over 7 miles sounds like a piece of cake, but the continued undulating terrain and the growing fatigue in my legs meant that whilst my mind wanted to catch them my legs were a little way behind. With 3 miles to go I spotted Nick and Emily who had been running together for much of the second half of the race. It wasn't that I hadn't seen them before as I had actually been running with them both earlier but their speed on the flat was a notch quicker than mine, but I always seemed to pull it back on the climbs. However they still had 400 metres or so on me which in the end proved too much to pull back.

The finish was great coming into Knockholt Pound village and swinging a left to be greeted by a few families out walking who clapped and cheered. I responded by blowing on my emergency whistle to more cheers. Then it was a short 200 metres further up the road into the village hall carpark and under the Centurion Running finish arch on the grass field behind.

Loved it! My finish time was 7:51.53 meeting my primarily goal of going sub 8hrs. Nick and Emily finished 3 minutes ahead of me with 3rd place Matt Smith just 7 minutes ahead. However 1st place went to race favourite Craig Holgate in an totally amazing 6:47!!! A full hour ahead of me!!! How!!!?? I had better continue training.... and with that its off to bed to get some well needed sleep before an early morning track session and site visit to Kidderminister.

Oh... one last thing.... In true sponsored althete style ;-) I have to thank my new sponsor Buff for being the coolest brand around and being willing to take a punt on Ultra Disco Stu - a young (read: middle-aged), passionate (read: obsessive) ultra-runner! I truly do love the Buff product which is why I got talking to their marketing manager in the first instance. Livin' the Dream!!

Some totally Buff pictures will be posted on this blog very soon so watch this space! My next post will be on my session at the Kingston University Heat Chamber which was on Tuesday... But I REALLY need to go to bed now.... zzzzzzz

Centurion Running NDW50 race report here

Official NDW50 race results here

WSER build up continues [Training update]

I thought I'd check in with a quick update. So with London Marathon PR and the Fellsman behind me I hit the ElliptiGO to rack up some active recovery miles. I love the ElliptiGO as you really can continue to train and build strength whilst recovering because of its zero impact nature. So the week following the Fellsman I clocked up 200 miles on the GO. Which included a great 80 mile ride to Hyde Park and back. I hooked up with a big group of fellow ElliptiGOers as we saw off two adventurers - Dave and Squash (@davecorn) who are doing a 3,000 mile ElliptiGO ride across Europe! Amazing to be able to have the luxury of time to take on such challenges (and the sponsorship backing!).

Yet I have my own lifetime sponsor in my wonderful wife who allows me to also follow my ambitions and put in the miles in my quest to become a better Ultra runner. Its all too easy to forget the dedication our other halves have to putting up with our antics! I just hope to make it all count as the big day approaches. I don't know where the last 4+ months have gone. Its just 7 weeks until Western States which is both extremely exciting and scary!!

So what am I doing in these final weeks before the dreaded taper begins. Well quite a lot actually.... The big test and key 'training run' is the North Downs Way 50 which is this Saturday coming. I love this trail having done the NDW100 twice now so am familiar with the terrain which is a nice advantage. I plan to run this one full on but get my pacing right. I want it as even as possible as I learjt alot from London and want to see if I can translate this to a longer trail race. Hence I plan to set off and stick to a 8:45mpm pace (2 mins slower per mile than London pace) and hopefully hold this pace from beginning to end. I don't want to get involved in 'racing' others for position but hope that by playing it cool and not slowing down (most will!!) that I will still have a shot of placing in the top 10. We shall see.

As thoughts turn ahead to WSER I've been looking and concerning myself with how I'm going to cope in the heat of California in late June. 100+ degree temps are common place. Sauna sessions is one strategy to get the body use to heat and adapt accordingly. But I've also heard about heat training on a treadmill on a podcast I was listening to. Brits training for MdS often go for this tactic so I investigated further. And the outcome is that I'm booked in with Kingston University Sports Science department next Tuesday to do a 1hr+ run in their heat chamber. They heat it to 35+ dc and you hit the treadmill and run hard whilst they (the lab scientists) monitor your core temp and fluid loss. If the session goes well and I feel that I get something from it (mentally and physically) I plan to complete a further 5 sessions in the chamber in the final two weeks before WSER. This is the optimum adaption time for the body to get use to and adjust to the intense heat. I'm really excited about including this in my training as its nice to bring a bit of science into it and not leave everything to chance....

Fellsman 2013 - Hokas & Poles

Nick and I raring to go at the start in Ingleton

 

Climb up Ingleborough looking back to Ingleton

 

Climb up Ingleborough

 

Top on Ingleborough... Snow!!!

 

Descent off the top of Ingleborough

Viaduct after Stonehouse at 27 miles

 

View from near top of Great Knoutberry



Finished!!!! (photo courtesy of Nick Ham 100)

Loads more great photos taken by Nick Ham are available here

 

 So this past Saturday with just 5 days recovery after London saw me travel North to Yorkshire to take on the Fellsman. With 100km and 11000ft of ascent over rough water logged fells its got to be the toughest 100k in the country. Having completed it twice before in just under 17 hours I wasn't looking this year to go back and challenge those times. Instead I was viewing this event as time on feet and not looking to push the pace. I was also keen to run with fellow Fellsman junkie Nick Ham who has now amassed at least 7 finishes. So the pressure was off and we went out to 'enjoy' the best that the Dales has to offer.

Previous reports on my blog (2012 report here) describe the Fellsman in a lot more detail than I intend to go into here this time around. These are just the highlights (and lowlights!).

We arrived the night before at Thresfield School which was our base for the night camped in the huge school hall. A long journey north saw me arrive a shade shy of 10pm so it was a quick kit check to ensure I had all the mandatory gear, and very late dinner, and then I hit the sack (quite literally).

Alarms set for 5am not that it was necessary sleeping in a hall with all the comotion. A 'reasonable' 5hrs of sleep and thoughts turned to the run ahead. I was relaxed and really looking forward to this one. The weather was looking good on the coach which shuttled us to the start in Ingleton. And so if proved with a cloudy start, brief hail shower but then sun for the afternoon and evening. The wind was blowing but nothing compared to the previous year. The night though was very cold down to below freezing. This event can be summarised as a continuous series of constant ups and downs from start to end. The bits that are flat are tough to run on because the varied and rough terrain. Not too much groomed trail here. Instead its either endless tussocks, bogs, heather, flooded pastures, or rocky paths. Fun to run but not fast which was just as well.

I had two weapons in my armoury to assist me in my quest - HOKAS AND POLES. Such was the brilliance and performance of both these items that they had to feature in the title of this post. I bought the Hoka One One 'Stinson Evos' especially for attacking the downhills at Western States and boy did they not dissappoint on the Fellsman!! I was concerned that they may not provide enough stability on the uneven terrain because of their extra height but any concerns quickly dissappeared as they ate up the terrain with ease. They were awesome and did what it says on the tin 'its time to fly'. They gave me the confidence on the rocky downhill sections (during daylight) to just go for it. I compare this to how I tiptoed down one section into Dent at the 20 mile mark. They really do make a massive difference when descending.

And then there's the ups where my second secret weapon came into its own. My poles were a god send!! I don't have much need to run with them but I was approaching the Fellsman as a kind of mini-UTMB training run testing all the gear I intend to use out there. And again they really came into their own on the steep ascents as well as keeping a good technique on the decents. And the reason the 'Hokas and Poles' thing stuck with me is that we found ourselves running with a female runner Rachel who was also sporting both items. So it was that I coined the phrase Hokas and Poles to unite us against the toughness of the event.

The day section was extremely enjoyable as we went about eating up the miles slowly but surely in a steady and efficient way. I was fuelling well and keeping hydrated. It was at night where for me the speed and time on feet started to effect my outlook and positivity for being out there. The major factor was the cold which combined with the fact that we ('we' being a group of 7 of us who were grouped together before nightfall) were moving slowly meant it was hard to keep warm. The mandatory kit rules had also increased this year after the torrid conditions experienced last year which forced the organisers to stop the race. I was extremely thankful for the 3 long sleeve tops, plus base layer and jacket which only just kept the chill at bay. Its my hands where I always seem to suffer the most. I still haven't found a pair of gloves that keep my hands warm without resorting to bulky ski gloves.

I kept reminding myself as we slogged it through the night section that this was perfect training. The scariest thought was that at UTMB I would need to endure 2 full nights of this moving at a similar speed. I therefore need to readjust my approach to such a race and be prepared for the long slog. Leg speed is irrelevant in such a mountain race. What I need to work on is an improved mental endurance and a positive outlook when faced with such a situation again.

During the final few hours of the Fellsman I accepted our fate of a 20hr ish finish time (3hrs slower than last year) and was able to move quite happily in the knowledge that it will soon be over. I think the trick to such long slow event is to ignore the miles as they go by so slowly and instead get into the mind-set of time on feet and be prepared for that. I'm expecting UTMB to take me around 35hrs or longer so i damn well better get use to this otherwise I won't survive.

The Fellsman is a tough event and not to be underestimated. Even at my third attempt the navigation was no easier than the first time especially at night. My sincere thanks go to Nick Ham who did a great job of leading the 7 of us around the dark fells. That certainly made things more enjoyable and less stressful knowing I was in safe hands!

Next up is the NDW50 in three weeks time. I want to do well in this one and place highly so its back go training and working on my speed endurance.

London Marathon Race Report

Its been 3 years since I last ran the London Marathon in 2010. Back then I was aiming for sub 3:30 and missed my goal by just 6 seconds! Fast forward to last Sunday and my time goal was to 'shave' 30 minutes off this time and go sub 3hrs. My training for WSER has been going really well and the opportunity arose with only 2 weeks to the start line to run London. It was great timing and allowed me to lay down a marker to measure my improvement over the past 4 months following on from last month's 1:20 half marathon.

I was confident that I would have a good shot at 3 hrs but there are absolutely no guarantees with so many variables on the day re weather, and simply how you are feeling on the day. For me doing sub 3 comes down to one thing and one thing only - how bad do you want it!!!? Ok you obviously need the training base as well but there is no doubt in my mind that if mind AND body don't work together then sub 3 isn't achievable. So this is how I approached it with an unwavering determination to crack sub 3 whatever it takes.

Race day and I was up at 4:20am although didn't sleep from 3:30am onwards. I was just too damn excited :-) I fuelled with a pre marathon breakfast of a bacon, tomato, spinach and cheese omelette with avocado. A firm favourite of mine and something I have tested and run on before. Getting to Blackheath can be a bit of a pain but not this time... the Leighton Fun Runners had very kindly laid on a coach for all local runners which picked us all up from the high street. Perfect and we were soon on our way. I used this time to further fuel polishing off a Mars milk and my homemade quinoa,banana and chia seed porridge. Yum yum!! With a late 10am race start I would have eaten my main breakfast a full 5 hrs before so topping up the energy levels was a wise move.

On arrival at Blackheath our coach driver very nicely informed us that we were driving over 1000s of bodies - the apparent burial ground of Londoners who died in the black plague. Thanks for that :-O  I still had 2 hours to kill at the start which gladly went quite fast. I was in Pen 1 on the red start which comes with its own pre race holding area complete with separate changing tent, toilets and FREE tea and coffee! :-) Now there is motivation to run a 'fast good for age' time if ever one was needed.

I sat basking in the early morning sunshine with fellow local runners from Herts, Beds and Bucks clubs who all congregated together. Conversation naturally fell on race strategy and pacing. And it appeared that everyone was aimed for sub 3 too. And the accepted wisdom was to aim for a 6:45 minute per mile pace which would bring you in at 2:58. This was my plan too. With the usual frantic last minute dash to be baggage lorry and then the long queue for the portaloos I was soon on the start line with 10 minutes to go. Alongside club mate Andy Inchley who was also going for the same time and has a 2:58 PB and 1:19 PB in the half we are quite evenly matched. 4 minutes to go and we held a very emotionally charged 30 second silence for those that fell and suffered in the Boston tragedy. Everyone running was given a black ribbon to wear on the day and I didn't see a single person who wasn't wearing one. This was a massive show of solidarity by the running community.

And with that we were soon set off on our way. I love the London route with both its contrast as you run through the outskirts of inner London south of the river and then cross Tower Bridge to be greeted with the mayhem of Canary Wharf later in the race whilst passing many major landmarks on the way. The support that lined the course this year was simply incredible. I've run London three times before but have never seen or experienced a crowd so charged with energy. I think London came out in force to show respect to Boston and demonstrate our resolve and determination not to be beaten by sheer acts of madness and mindless evil. Humanity won on Sunday.

Back to the start and Andy and I quickly fell into our target pace of 6:45 minute miling. Starting in Pen 1 meant that there was no bottlenecks, no people to dodge around to stay on pace. It was quite the opposite in fact with one needing to stay calm and composed and not get carried away whilst a few others perhaps by plan or through sheer excitement set off at what looked like 10k pace! The miles quickly ticked by with Andy and I working together nicely to pace one another and grab water from the drinks stations and share the bottle to reduce waste and leave water for those behind who would need it more than us. The Garmin was telling me that I was on pace at 6:45 with each mile. I was ticking along very nicely and there isn't a lot more to say about that really. I continued to soak up both the sun that was shining very brightly and also the amazing crowd. They were absolutely deathening in places! I knew I was working hard as sub 3 wasn't ever going to feel easy so even the miles in the first half 'felt' fast.

I went over Tower bridge at 12.5 miles which always raises the pulse, and soon reached the half marathon mark. My time 1:29.21 but on the road side clock it was nearer 1:30. Blimey I thought despite working hard and efficiently up to his point I didn't have much of a cushion and would need to run the second half at near enough the identical pace! Ouch this is really gonna hurt. However I was still full of optimism to achieve my goal and wasn't wavering mentally.

I think it was about 15 miles just after seeing my mum and dad at my company lucozade drinks station that I started to feel the pace. And what compounded this feeling is that I started comparing the 'actual' race time on my watch from when I crossed the start line to my 3hr pace band (not the Garmin). I got a bit of a shock as the cushion of time that I thought I was building up from banging out the 6:45 pace was actually nearer 6:50 pace. This doesnt sound a huge difference but when the margins are so small it really matters. At that point I think I worked out that I had about a 40 second cushion which is nothing and could be lost in one mile let alone eleven! This rather spurred me on however. I simply knew that I couldn't afford to stop concentrating and let the pace drop even by a few seconds a mile. Andy had steadily started to pull away from me in the second half. I wasn't slowing down so he was obviously speeding up ever so slightly. I was comfortable with this and didn't try to chase but instead continued to bang out those 6:50 miles.

By Canary Wharf at 18-20 miles it was evident that people around me were slowing down, which mentally always spurs you on when you start passing runners ahead. Unfortunate for them but great physiologically for me. It was also around this point that I finally caught the Runners World 3hr pace maker. Right I thought all I need to do now is hang on to this guy and I'm sorted. Easier said than done however as he pushed the pace which felt way faster than 3hr but it was indeed on pace and it took absolutely everything I had just to keep up.

I continued to use water to rehydrate but avoided the lucozade. At 21 miles was the second gel station and I decided that if a gel meant the difference between running 2:59.59 or 3:00 then I wasn't going to risk it and not take one. My 'good fats' fuelled Paleo diet had got me this far and running on water alone may well get me a sub 3 but I wasn't going to be too proud my risk it. My legs were screaming at me to slow but I was having none of it and the energy gel definitely gave me a mental boost to keep pushing. Placebo or real it worked and actually tasted great too (new Lucozade Elite brand).

To my surprise I then caught up with Andy who was struggling to hold onto the 3hr pace. I tried to motivate him to run with me but at this point my cushion was down to less than 30 seconds with the hardest 4 miles still to go. There was no way I could hang around so I pushed on.The 3hr pace maker was now 50 or so metres up the road but I remained steadfast in my determination that sub 3 was mine for the taking and knew I had a slight cushion between me and the pace maker as they crossed the start line 30-45 seconds before me. The final miles were extremely enjoyable actually as I knew all I had to do was keep putting one foot in front of the other (abet quite quickly!) I was passing many more runners now than at any other time in the race. They undoubtedly set off too fast in the search of a sub 3 to 'bank' the miles, but in marathon running I just don't think that pacing strategy works and always comes back to bite you on the backside.

Victoria Embankment was lined with supporters 3 deep on both sides of the  road. It was a great feeling as I approached Big Ben and turned the ninety degree right turn pass Westminster and towards Buckingham Palace. Soon I saw the 800yrds to go sign!! Yes we still do imperial over here and the marathon will always be 26 miles & 865yds and not 42.195km ! ;-)

400yrds to go and onto the Mall. The finish line was almost in sight. I could hear the finish line announcer saying that the 3hr pace maker was approaching the finish line as the gantry timing clock ticked towards and over the 3hr mark. Of course the all important time was on my watch from when I actually started 'my race'. My cushion was down to less than 30 seconds as I sprinted down the Mall and over the finish line as I punched the air in celebration (as every runner who didn't make the finish line in Boston would have done). My watch said 2:59.40 :-) I had done it!!! Yes!!!  I later learned in the pub that my chip time was 2:59.35. Time to celebrate with my first pint in over four months me thinks.

It was a great race for me. I set out to achieve a very specific goal and executed it with precision and determination and had to dig deeper than I have ever done before. Whilst ultras require a similar unwavering determination and focus this race pushed me further in that there was simply was no margin of error. My pacing had to be spot on and was the most consistent I've ever run a race of any distance in my life. My 5km splits from the chip timing were as follows. Just 10 seconds separated my slowest and quickest kilometer.

 

Whilst not a negative split race my second half was only 53 seconds slower than the first. Quite how I managed this and ran straight through the wall crushing it underfoot can be put down to one thing: consistent training and mileage. There is no trick to this running malarky I've learnt. Since 1st Jan I've averaged 45 miles per week which has been split between quality speed sessions; from intense 1 mile efforts to hard 10 milers, longer runs (15-30 milers) and a lot else in between. I've thoroughly enjoyed the journey to this point and I am extremely excited about the path that lays ahead. Between now and Western States which is in just 2 months time I have two major training races to go: the first is this weekend! The Fellsman in the Yorkshire Dales promises to test my powers of recovery to my limit with 61 miles of fells, moors and peat bogs to negotiate on route. With over 11,000ft of climbing and a similar amount of descent the timing couldn't be better to recreate the trashed legs feeling I will have at Western States 100. Then it's two weeks of training before I peak for the North Downs Way 50 which I plan to give a good go and break 8hrs. We shall see on that one.

And on the diet front the Paleo/Primal approach continues to motivate me to eat better. I can really say that this has made a massive difference to how I feel, my fitness and health and recovery time. And if others are interested then go read www.marksdailyapple.com to find out more about going primal!