Another Marathon Catch Up

Wow, blogging has not been my top priority. But heyho, I'll try a catch up before getting in to some more recent races and reviews.  The last time I wrote was 2016 and then I had planned 20 marathons, including timed challenges and Endure 24.  I managed 22, but had entered 24 and pulled out of the LDWA Winter Tanners in January, doing just the 20 miles and then also DNF'd at Portsmouth in December.  That was the day after the SVN Usual Suspects which I did with Leon Hicks and Emma Lewis at a very steady pace finishing in 6:22.  At the start in Portsmouth I was feeling very stiff legged and tried a gentle jog warm up to serious knee pain.  I decided to try and go for it, lining up at the early start with Leon, but managed only 2 miles before the knee pain was too much and so I stopped.  I spent the rest of the day waiting for Leon to return by having a look round the nearby D-Day Museum. Results for the year basically got slower and slower as I carried more injuries and had no time to recover. So - there's a lesson learned for the future; 20+ marathons/ultras a year doesn't suit me.

14 February 2016 SVN Marathon Day MAR 4:56:22 26 February 2016 SVN Relativity Run MAR 5:46:46 28 February 2016 SVN Book Day Challenge 6hr 6:34:35 09 March 2016 Hermes Thames Meander Spring MAR 5:07:51 12 March 2016 SVN Wonderland Caucus race 6hr 5:42:08 22 April 2016 SVN St George's Day MAR 5:37:51 23 April 2016 Phoenix Top GRun Race 6hr 5:30:18 12 May 2016 SVN Greg and Janets Wedding Challenge 8hr 6:42:10 27 May 2016 Endure 24 60 24:00:00 11 June 2016 Hermes Thames Meander Summer APR 5:18:31 13 August 2016 SVN The Punk Run MAR 5:44:40 14 August 2016 SVN Star Trek 50th 6hr 6:04:43 08 September 2016 Farnham Pilgrim MAR 4:50:05 11 September 2016 SVN The Tolkien Run 6hr 5:49:07 22 September 2016 Clarendon Marathon MAR 4:56:19 02 October 2016 Dorney Midweek Marathon MAR 4:54:26 06 October 2016 Beachy Head Marathon MAR 5:42:06 29 October 2016 Hermes Thames Meander Winter MAR 4:58:58 05 November 2016 SVN Somme Centenary Challenge 2 6hr 5:18:55 18 November 2016 Phoenix Timelord on the Thames 6hr 5:37:07 23 November 2016 SVN The Usual Suspects Challenge 6hr 6:22:51

Plans for 2017 were to focus on London Marathon in April and train properly for that. That meant cutting right back on doing marathons, and basically starting from almost scratch with weekly PT sessions with my friend Jo Longmuir and sticking to a training plan to aim for a PB and possibly 3:45 time.  I was fairly good at the training and the cross-training, core work and intervals really helped.  I couldn't resist doing the Winter Tanners (9:29 and it rained all day!) and the Punchbowl Marathon (30 miles in a PB 7:16).  I even took on the Dorney Mid-week marathon - a lapped route by the Dorney rowing lake - as a training run by running to half way at race pace in 1:45, then jog walking a recovery 13 miles and stuffing my face at the aid station - I did 3 hours for the second half and enjoyed chatting to loads or people, it was much nicer than just quitting at 13.1 miles and going home.

Training went well and I really enjoyed it. Having a structure, feeling fitter and faster and, of course, having no fear of the long runs was really nice.  However, 4 weeks before London I picked up an injury and couldn't train for two weeks and missed my peak training. I still did London and was actually quite pleased with the run - I managed a 4:10 time, which was the fastest 2 years and only missed being a course PB by 15 seconds.  It was a warm day, though not as warm as 2018!

I enjoyed my running in 2017 and did 17 marathons and ultras including the 50 mile LDWA Surrey Tops in September which included a lot of night navigation and adding 2 bonus miles by getting a bit lost.  I did a few Phoenix Running events as they are mostly nearby along the Thames and cut right down on SVN events, which are mostly in Kent and quite a drive to get to. In fact I just did one of Travis's events, The Usual Suspects, in December, just to remind myself how much I dislike running along concrete sea walls. 

15 January 2017 Winter Tanners 30 9:29:00 12 February 2017 Punchbowl Marathon 30 7:16:00 09 March 2017 Dorney Midweek Marathon MAR 4:49:31 23 April 2017 London Marathon MAR 4:10:25 14 May 2017 Arun River Marathon MAR 5:33:57 21 May 2017 Richmond Park Marathon MAR 4:40:13 27 May 2017 Phoenix Saturday Night Marathon MAR 5:14:50 15 June 2017 Dorney Lake Marathon MAR 5:20:13 07 July 2017 Dinton Pastures Sundae Challenge MAR 5:14:58 05 August 2017 Midnight Marathon (South Downs) MAR 6:17:03 10 September 2017 Farnham Pilgrim MAR 5:57:25 23 September 2017 Surrey Tops 50 15:37:00 07 October 2017 Phoenix-Numbers Game 1 MAR 5:34:10 08 October 2017 Phoenix-Numbers Game 2 MAR 6:08:37 27 October 2017 Phoenix I'll Be Back Run MAR 5:14:22 11 November 2017 Phoenix Remembrance Day Marathon MAR 4:47:27 16 December 2017 SVN The Usual Suspects Challenge MAR 5:29:38

By the end of 2017 I was feeling pretty good and certainly a lot less fatigued or injured.  Stand out runs were London, doing a half decent time, Richmond being my 50th marathon/ultra and I joined the 100 Marathon Club soon after as a "Wannabe" associate member, and the Surrey Tops, finishing a 50 mile event for the first time even though I nearly quit half way in.  So, lots of lovely trails, lots of friends to run with and some achievement along the way. And I didn't finish the year feeling completely broken!