Two blogs, two lots of work, half the time..... and the zombies

Having two blogs to do and no time is becoming rather frustrating as I have to use my comic wit twice during a day rather than just the once. Seeing my dad always used to call me a half wit I officially have to use four times as much brain power to be funny (hope everyone is keeping up). I read the previous blog post and thought I would put a few positives on your training. First you lose weight, through running I lost 3 and a half stone in around 4 months. Second is the immense satisfaction you feel after you hit a milestone. My first one was running 4 miles for the first time then 12 then 20. Third, I was the first person to ever run a half marathon then a full marathon in our family. Having their support when you cross the line after you first race is fantastic and a feeling you will never forget. The forth is being fit and everything that comes with it. I never get sick, I always eat well because I know it will affect my training otherwise and little things like being able to fit into a pair of 32 jeans when you had to squeeze into a pair of 38's really make you smile. What I love most is having my playlist, running 18 miles down by the river and watching the landscape change everyday. You can switch off from work and all the stress that surrounds it. You can forget about everyone and have a moment of self indulgence where all you are worrying about is yourself. You can work out your pace, work out your miles or even your bank balance it's up to you. I love thinking about the most diverse things like if we had a zombie attack which parts of the house would me most tactically advantageous to stay in and how many shells would I need for my shotgun. Can zombies run? How long would it take to wear one down? Is a snooker Que really an effective zombie disposal method?

I too, only have one knee....

So I found the "create post" button - a year of firsts - first marathon, first blog post, but not much encouragement - cold burns and pain all round are not reassuring me. I am following the muppet's guide called "how to run a marathon" and having started at 3 minutes some time last year when it seemed like a good idea to fill out the form, I am now at significantly more than that and realising why its called " no pain, no gain".  Anyone got anything positive to say?!

Baby steps

The first run back after an injury is never particularly satisfying. How far? Not very. How fast? Slow. After a week or two of enforced rest you’re a bundle of nervous energy, and you want to get out and pound the pavement pretty hard and turn out that new 10k PB you’ve been dreaming about for the last couple of weeks.

Once you’re out things aren’t so straightforward. Everything’s harder than you thought it’d be. You’ve put on a bit of weight with the time off, you’ve not been sleeping so well, and your muscles aren’t used to moving like this. Your SHOULDERS hurt. Has it really been that long?

It’s ok. The first mile’s always a bit crap. Your body needs time to bed in, switch from desk/caffeine/commute mode into the lean mean efficient running machine you know it is. Keep going. Slow and steady.

Your injury starts to hurt a bit. Suddenly 6 miles isn’t looking so clever. Or is it? Maybe it’s just a ‘goodbye’ twinge – ‘So long and thanks for all the ice!’. You’ve got to do 6 miles. You’re already behind on your training schedule – no time to slack now. You’ve done the rest, it should be fixed, keep going.

It’s getting worse. Another mile and it’ll be ok? Yeah?

No. You’ve been down that road. Go home. Rest some more. Book sports massage. Do strength exercises. Try again.

Maybe I am learning from last year’s mistakes after all.

I have one functioning knee

Successfully cycled into work this morning without any pain, will break out the trainers tomorrow and give some running a go.

Plans are afoot for a charity pub quiz in a central London location sometime in February – there may even be a celebrity quiz master on the night… watch this space.

Cross posted to lukewaterfield.co.uk

Has anyone seen my man parts?

Well it was my first morning run of the year and it was cooolllllldddddd!!! I was planning to do 18 miles around Virginia water lake and the surrounding Windsor park. Got there for 7:30 with the car showing -2 on the temperature. I had learnt my lesson from Thursday night, I went out in my normal winter running kit (sealskin unders and top with shorts and an Adidas running top). I was basically totally covered from head to toe. Had a half decent 6mile run, got home and took my top off to realise I had cold burns all over my body. First time I have ever had this in my life. Basically it looks like a mild burn but is freezing cold. I was covered in red blotches so straight in the warm bath and managed to catch it in time. Being a person who climbs mountains when it's extremely cold I am used to watching out for the warning signs, I had none at all, maybe because I was concentrating on my run. I digress, I was wearing the same as before with an additional pair of jiggers and a fleece. Run was going well, first mile hurt like hell because of the cold but quickly warmed up. I was testing a new water carrier I got for my birthday which is called a camel pack, perfect for long distance running. My first deep cold warning was when my water started to come out as a slush puppy. I got to 13 miles to look at my frozen gloves, I then realised I had a layer of ice all over me!!! I quickly checked my skin, all ok, my theory is that as all the outer items I was wearing were breathable the moisture seeped out and froze on the surface of the fleece and trousers. Very strange being mr crispy for a short period of time. I decided to go to pack it up then head to work and have a hot shower. Again you have to be careful with these things, I didn't feel cold at all. If I remember correctly the final stages of hypothermia is a cruel sense of feeling hot so you start taking layers of. The beginning of the end!

ACME Training Schedule

Hello hello hello, I'm Luke, nice to meet you, have a seat, would you like a biscuit?

No? Good, biscuits are bad.

As are crisps, chocolate, alcohol and coffee and everything else I've been consuming of late.

Due to a knackered knee, my New Year's resolution of 'eat healthy, run more, don't get injured' has disappeared out of the window pretty rapidly, like Wile E Coyote dropping off yet another cliff with a not-exactly-surprised expression on its face.

For some reason as soon as I lay off the exercise all self control and restraint goes out the window (along with Wile E) and I'm shovelling pizza and cappuccinos down my neck at a frightening rate. I think it's my body's way of telling me there's excess energy to burn and it doesn't know what to do with it. It's certainly an excuse.

But now you know all about my dietary habits and weak-mindedness and not a lot else, terribly rude of me.

Back to the beginning. I'm Luke, 27, parliamentary researcher, South Londoner and a general sucker for punishment, particularly if it involves running vast distances for little reward. I've been working in Tooting for the past four years, and have seen up close the difference the St George's Hospital Charity has made to the care and treatment of countless patients (and their families) who've had cause to use the hospital in that time. Simply put, they're ace (there is no higher compliment to bestow).

London 2012 will be my second marathon - I ran the Paris marathon last year and frankly made a bit of a hash of it all - this doesn't diminish any of the fear, or make the training any easier (as I foolishly thought it would when entering...).

Case in point - we're barely two weeks into the New Year and I've already done a bit of damage to my knee through a slightly over-exuberant start to my 'proper' training schedule. Hence the rambling introduction which focuses on food: a lot and running: not a lot.

Still, the knee's working now (I think), I've got some brand new running shoes (thank you Asics sale) and have tattooed 'slow down muppet' on arms.

I just hope I haven't put on too much weight in the last week...

(apologies, I'm not usually this hyperactive, see comments re: coffee consumption).

This is the first post in our St George's London Marathon 2012 blog!  We've set this up exclusively for your use.  Feel free to discuss all things marathon related including training, nutrition, injuries (hopefully far and few between) and of course... fundraising!

We want you to get the most out of your London Marathon experience and as there are nine of you in total taking part to raise funds for St George's this year, with first time marathon runners and veterans alike, we reckon there'll be lots to discuss....

Thanks again for choosing to run for St George's.  We really appreciate your amazing support and please feel free to ask us any questions.  I (Maribel) will be your main contact if you have any questions about the Marathon or simply need to ask a question.  Feel free to put your question on here or send me an email to: maribel.bennett@stgeorges.nhs.uk.  If I can't help then I'm sure I can find someone who can!

Stay tuned for lots of marathon related talk and above all, enjoy!