Back as we should be.

Testing, difficult, painful, sporadic, clumsy, inefficient and misguided. Some of the words I'd use to describe our training even in January. We had the will, the determination but lacked the guidance.

With the efforts of Southampton Solent University's Dr Bruce-low, we can now see the reward and the effort required. It's not just about effort but training smarter. We have four years of this type of event, each one getting bigger and more challenging.

It looks like I am back in to remission and I can train again, it was a bit touch and go in the last four weeks if my IBS was going to go full blown and knock me out for three or four months again. But I hit it with strong meds quickly and rested up, sticking to my diet plan and luckily I'm on the mend. I now have a huge admin task of getting back on track with UKEC emails and contacts...but it's nice to be back in training and to not have really lost any momentum.

It's been very odd. the first week back and I've knocked two mins off three of my to date fastest runs? The rest seems to have done me some good and Bryn too.

11 weeks to go, wow that sounds scary!

-darren

Stumble It!

Time waits for no hairy men....

Since the Marathon and our testing day at Southampton Solent we managed to fit in a session of hill sprints, I managed to fit in a couple of Tempo runs keeping to my newly identified heart rate zones to maximise the efficency of my training.

I had a weeks holiday coming up and was planning a big training push to try and run at least ten to fifteen miles every day for five days. The the car broke and I was offered a weeks work in London and Darren's IBS kicked in and all our plans had to change.

I took a week off to actually recover from the Marathon and to prepare for my visit to london and a revamped training plan.
After nearly two weeks we finally got back to training it was a beautiful Sunday Morning the sun was high in the sky pouring on the heat, Darren had set his Garmin to thrash the living day lights out of us, and we did we managed our traditional four miler of around Haytor to Hound Tor and back in about fourty two minutes give or take the seconds. This might not seem much but when you consider 6 months last september when we started the same distance took us eighty minutes!!!

We finished our run each time marking our small success actually running eighty five percent i.e. all the hills bar the last one which still defies us it will be conquered!! Once we had recovered enough which was about ten minutes we cracked a set of hill sprints, why not if you can, you should!!

Onwards and upwards eleven weeks to go....
-Bryn

Stumble It!

Recovery

For me it's been a roller coaster over the last eight months. Loosing weight [all two stone of it!], changing diet, life style and the training. At some point it was going to come and bite me I was sure.

At the moment I am recovering from a small remission of the IBS I have. It's knocked me out for a few weeks, whilst I get back on track with taking all the meds.

Training is starting up again, it's also just another reminder to me why I'm doing this event and more after it for one of our charities; The National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease.

-darren

Test this! - PART ONE

Doctors generally make people nervous, but when you are in a room with one that has a running machine, several assistants and a harness!?! You can't help feeling under the microscope.

Ok, I'll wind back a bit.

Wednesday the 29th of April, Bryn and myself dragged our weary legs down to Southampton Solent University for another of our training assessments. This knowing what was to come we both spilled out our excuses as soon as we entered the room. Having both run marathon distances on a few days before, this I felt was going to be messy.


[The team on the day who supported us - thanks guys]

Dr Stewart Bruce-Low our BASES Accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist told is in his best manner to basically 'stop moaning and lets start!', quite right, so we did. Bryn went off for lower back testing, I went for a round of getting my fatty bits being measured. We swapped then the REALL fun began.



After checking we were fit to be tested, we were once again strapped in to the running machine.



...and this is where I'm going to leave it for today. I have an early training session in the morning, so enjoy the pics and the video for starters and I'll add more info about the day and what we felt like PLUS what we have taken away from the day. It's been enlightening.
-darren



Stumble It!

Tickle tastic London Marathon 2009

What a day, a years worth of training, managing my diet and managed to shave 53 seconds off my finishing time.

Sunday the 26th March 2009 the last ever Flora London Marathon, last year was my first marathon which just so happened to be the one hundredth year of the official marathon distance (set by the London marathon). I was honoured to run both this and last year dressed as Mr Tickle for Children. A lot of people are amazed that not only do you volunteer to run the London Marathon but then to do it it in Fancy dress costume! My answer when asked is "why not" it's going to be hard anyway so you might as well make it as hard as you can?

Last year the temperature was around eigtheen to nineteen degrees celsius an nice spring day, this year it was in the mid twenties a swealtering hot summers day. The temperature inside the costume was five to ten degrees hotter inside on both races.

It was a beautiful morning, my preparation had gone well training hard since September even completing a twenty one mile run across Dartmoor in five hours and twenty minutes. I was physically feeling strong mentally very well settled. The race started I managed to literally bump into Mr Bump and Little Miss Giggles and as we crossed the start line together after twenty minutes of shuffling closer and closer to the start. The first seven miles felt good and I was running well, until I passed the Cutty Sark I felt myself getting hottter as the day started to really warm up as it approached mid day. The Next five miles around Rotherhithe and along Jamaica road to Tower Bridge definatley felt slower and hotter. I hit the bridge and slowed to Striding walk, as I crossed the bridge I remembered being interviewed last year which felt really positive I picked up the pace and started runnning again down past the St Catherine Dock towards The Docklands and Canary wharf the miles stretched ahead of me then you pass the half way point that felt good I had go to the Half way point in two hours and forty minutes that felt positive. The race continued under good spirits I managed to catch Peter Andre and Katy Price I managed to muster the energy to give Peter some words of encouragement for Katy, the look on his face was a beauty, it was " a man dressed as Mr Tickle has just ran past me cheering Katy on???????".

I got through Canary Wharf and things where getting harder at the seventeenth mile water station they had run out of water at eighteen so few people where giving out water I ran past without getting any, then nineteen no water and at mile Twenty I hit a wall. I reccomend the water for the marathon comes in smaller sizes and more of them it was a very hot day. The wall I hit was massive I arrived at mile twenty at around four hours thirty, I had only six miles to go it took me a full seventy nine agonising minutes to complete the last six point two miles, they are possibly the hardest miles I have ever run (coming close to the commando thirty miler. I managed to dig deep running the last 385 yards with my all coming in at five hours forty nine minutes and fifty seven seconds. What a day, emotional as last year close to tears and a very tired boy.

I have managed to reach my target of Two Thousand Five Hundred Pounds for Chidlren with Leukaemia. Thank you to all those of you have donated sponsored helped and encouraged me along the way. I simply hope my briefest moments of suffering can help prevent others from suffering a whole life time?