It's a long, long way...

Well I'm still alive... just!  What an experience, physically, mentally and spiritually.  I have to say that London in the 20 degree sunshine is a truly beautiful and majestic place and the residents who live along the marathon route and the thousands who come to watch really show how accommodating, supportive and entertaining they can be.  People open their homes to the runners and hand out sweets, food and carb drinks that they have bought with their own money.  We are one and it makes you very proud.

The London Marathon experience is one slick operation.  It's so well organized, from registration at the EXPO (no queues, in and out in 3 mins) to the pre-race bag drop, toilets, tannoys, marshalls, water stations, advice, instructions and build up that lasts until the starting gun.  Then your standing-shuffling-walking then jogging and across the line you go.

For me it had to be about the experience and pretty much all the way through I kept telling myself this and trying to take it all in.  After all I'd only had 6 weeks training and was still wearing my 6 year old beaten up cross-trainers so it was never going to be a record breaking time trial.  So for the first 13 miles I held my pace whilst all those around me were overtaking.  I can certainly see how easy it would be to get carried away with the whole day and set off too fast as you kind of get dragged along with everyone elses pace - something I was conscious not to do.

I was told that the "race" (if you can call it that from my perspective) is all about the second 13 miles and how true that was.  I pretty much maintained my reasonable pace and found myself overtaking a lot of the runners who had so enthusiastically overtaken me at the beginning and all was going well until about 19 miles when my left knee popped and pretty much stopped me in my tracks.  So I stopped, tried to bend my knees and stretch them out but the pain was excruciating.  My quads felt like someone had stabbed me in both of them and my left knee felt in pieces.  I was almost in tears.

I tried to walk but even that felt impossible.  Fellow runners offered encouragement but the pain persisted.  Fortunately I'd brought some pain killers with me so I popped two of them and walked for half a mile or so before feeling like I could carry on.  When I started running again everything felt a lot better and only stopped again when I heard the shrieks of "SSSTTTTTUUUUUUUU!!!!!!" from my wife and her family - it was just the lift I needed.  A quick kiss, and cuddle with Gem and Reece and I was off again.

The last few miles felt dragged out (every mile literally felt like 2) but I knew I was nearly there.  800m to go... 600m to go and then I hit the gas, especially when I saw some guy dressed as Pingu in front of me, sod that I thought and sprinted past him only to see two guys dressed as roman soldiers, nope I aint being beaten by them either so sprinted past them and crossed the finishing line, hands held high for the  best photo finish I could muster.

After collecting my medal and bag I then hobbled the mile or so to our meeting place and finally slumped down on the ground, cuddled by a joyous Gem and Reece - perfection!!

Looking back there is so much to remember.  When the "red" start meets up with the blue and green start it really is a sight to behold and despite the hot weather it gave me a shiver.  The shivers like this came think and fast throughout; the crowds encouragement throughout but especially in the second half was priceless (com'on Stuey!!); the beauty of tower bridge and the crowds; the skyscrapers at canary wharf; the hundreds of street bands and parties; seeing Gem & Reece at 22 miles; the London Eye; Big Ben; thousands of supportive fellow runners; the Children with Leukaemia team; The Mall...  My problem at the moment is I have vast patches which I can't remember but I have been told that they will come back.  It's probably my mind and body's way of desperately trying to forget!

My closing thought on this whole experience is really summed up in the words of a sign that someone was holding near the end of the run yesterday, it said "The pain and agony is temporary, the glory and memories will last forever".

Standing... on the edge of forever... At the start of...

So this is it... this is what it's all been about.  One man battling against one man - himself...

If the work has been done they say that the day should be fun (well about as much fun as running 26.2 miles can be I suppose!).  I've read blogs, reports and chatted to fellow runners on twitter about the day and they all say that the atmosphere is like a carnival, that the rush from the crowd carries you on (literally please!!) and that there is no feeling quite like it.  However the actual London marathon news magazine actually says that if you "can't run 15 miles comfortably then you should not run".  Can I?... probably(ish)...

Bollocks to everything... I've done all I can, run and trained as much as I can whilst juggling my life of running a business, raising a family, supporting a very heavily pregnant wife and being in a band.  I would say "ah but it's been fun" but it hasn't.  What I am proud of though is my body and how it's coped with cramming such a lot of training into such a short period of time.  I've gone against all professional advice and rapidly increased my mileage week on week without giving my body time to adjust and aclimatise to the rigors of long distance road running and it's just coped and taken it.

Tomorrow I will be setting, without a shadow of a doubt, a PB (personal best) - more for the fact that this will be my first (and I can safely say last) marathon rather than the speed in which I shall complete it.  Saying that everyone I speak to says it is quite addictive - pah... cigarettes and alcohol are addictive, what do they know!  Anyway word on the street is that everyone is aiming for a 4.15 - 4.30 hour finish time which means we'll all be finishing at the same time so I may well hang back to avoid the crowds.

I just want to say thanks to my wife Gem for putting up with me and this blasted marathon (I can tell by the look in her eyes that she'll just be relieved when this is all over and we can return to some sort of normality).  Next up: childbirth... I think I pulled the long straw there!

Also a big thanks to my very good friend Philip Gamble who has phoned me most days and offered countless words of encouragement, support and advice - thank you thank you thank you!

My aim - no time so no pressure but if I can just run all the way then I'll be elated.  I've just to got make sure I don't start too quick.  Apparently if you can see a motorbike with a camera on it in front of you then you've started too fast...

Last gratuitous plug for sponsorship (I'm £30 away from my target) - click here and then you can watch guilt free!!

8 days to go...

It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, the tank is clean - the tank is clean?!!

Well today has been a day of firsts - the first time that I've gone out for a run and kind of enjoyed it; the first time that I've really felt strong whilst running; the first time that I've returned from a run and found myself locked out (!); the first time that I've got back from a run and found that I've actually run considerably further than I thought; and tonight will be the first barbeque of the year - yay!!

It's the eve of the Brighton marathon so a quick shout out to some friends running it - Emily Dale, Damian Andrews and Robby-Jon Garka - good luck y'all!!  PLUS it's also the Paris marathon and my good friend Philip Gamble is running (run forest run!) - good luck MC!  It looks like its going to be a warm one again so even more incentive for them to all make good time before the heat of the day.

For me... well today was the last long(ish) run before the London marathon.  I'd done a very quick (for me) 5 miles earlier in the week (Wed) and today's intention was 9-10 miles.  I felt really good and strong pretty much throughout, well apart from the first mile which I've learnt that all runners dislike (the body creaks an cracks as it gets into its rhythm).  So much so that I picked up the pace pretty much throughout and then really stepped it up in the last few miles.  The best bit though was when I mapped it and found I'd done 11.5 miles and I'd found it to be easy!!  Easy?  11.5 miles - who would have ever thought!!

Apart from a sizable blister on my right foot I'm all set (should I drain it or leave it?) and am getting pretty excited.  I'm perhaps planning a 2-3 mile run on Tuesday, London on Thursday afternoon for race registration and lots of carbs, water and resting throughout.

If you're interested where I ran today then click here
If you're one of the guilty ones who hasn't sponsored me yet (SHAME!!) then click here

13 days to go...

The ticking of the clock... inexorably goes on...

Ah yes, the countdown continues - 13 days?  Pah...  Well what seemed like an impossibility, 3-6 months worth of training crammed into 6 weeks is (kind of) working.  I went for my longest run on the weekend, a run of pesky pedestrians (will they EVER get out of my way?), out of control dogs (attacked by one, attempted mauling by another) and confused footballers (when they hit me with the ball I'm guessing that it was actually meant to be a pass).

After a burst of road rage last week I joked that it's just as well that we aren't allowed to carry hand-guns in the car (not that we're allowed to carry them anywhere else obviously) as there would be drive-by shootings happening daily.  But I've got to say that the further I run the more it appears that any law of the pavement that may ever have existed has definitely been thrown out along with manners, decency and respect.  I'm not alone here either - just read any marathon training blog at the moment and they are littered with rants about "rights of passage" from apparent psycho runners etc...  Now we know that you don't know that we've already run 5, 10, 15 miles and are decidedly knackered but just a little common sense wouldn't go a miss.  I swear that some dog walkers purposely straddle the pavement with dog and lead and secretly train their dogs to jump at me as I run past before offering a comical "sorry" after drawing first blood... but maybe that's just me in my delusional exhaustion.

Anyway enough of this rambling and on to my longest run.  I was on my own this week.  I don't think I'm the best running partner for anyone if I'm honest - I don't talk rather grunt, moan and complain to anyone who wants (or doesn't want) to listen.  I've never really enjoyed running that much and these distances are just insane.  Just the thought of them makes my body physically rebel before and during.  I have said it's only the feeling of elation after the run of what I've managed to achieve that makes it worth while but sitting here thinking about it I actually think it's just relief!!

So the run - I'd mapped 18.5 miles but during the run I took an extended deviation which I thought would push it over 19 miles but true to form it turned out to be 18.6152 miles (I've never come back and found that I've run further than expected!).

3 more runs (2 short and 1 long) and then it's the marathon (gulp!).  Why am I doing this - for sick kids, so sponsor me, you'll feel a lot better about yourself once you have.

To sponsor:  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StuartSpicer
The long route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4399109