The Great Brum Half: mixed emotions

Result!

Well, I did it! Completed the 13.1 miles of Birmingham Half Marathon in a PB time of 2:08:41! I came 8056th out of 18,000, which was about 7,000 places better than I had expected! I won't bore you with other details, like where I came in my age group, blah, blah, blah, as if you're a runner, you're not going to be impressed, and if you're not, you're probably not interested anyway!

The day itself was amazing, great atmosphere, thousands of people running, and some fantastic support from the Brummies who'd come to watch. So encouraging and inspiring! Singing, jazz, drumming, gospel choir, cheering, support.... all made the running so much easier. Brilliant! And the day itself was superb for running, really foggy to start with and cold, but gradually warmed up, and although the sun didn't really get to peep out, it was fine and dry. Ideal conditions. 

Warming up

I was impressed with the organisation: getting 18,000 runners going at the start in the relatively cramped space in Birmingham city centre was no mean feat. The start was staggered in waves, depending on your estimated speed... I was therefore in the very last wave to start, meaning I had over an hour to wait  from the start of the elite athletes to our start. Great for soaking up the atmosphere, but not so good for keeping muscles warm! Anyway, we got under way, and I was conscious of not going off too quickly: quite difficult as the initial part of the course was downhill, and with all that cheering and drumming.........

Going strong at 8 miles!

Anyway, I settled into a 6 mph(ish) pace, and really continued with this throughout the race. Most of the course was flat, apart from the start and at about 5 miles at Bournville, where there was a reasonable incline, before descending again. Then, back through Stirchley, Edgbaston and Cannon Hill Park, before a wicked 1 1/2 mile climb at 10 miles, which apparently  even Haile Gebrselassie found hard (that is a great encouragement!). Even though I slowed up this hill, I did remain fairly strong, and was able to finish with, for me, a quicker mile at the end!

So what did I learn through this? Well, I think preparation is key: I couldn't have survived the course, particularly the hill at the end, without putting in the miles for the weeks/months beforehand. I had also planned where I was going to take on water, researched the weather and planned what I was going to wear: I'd even cycled most of the course a couple of times, to help me become familiar with it. I think this helped, mentally, if nothing else. I suppose what this amounts to is that I respected the course: I knew I had no hope of running it without decent preparation. I'm neither talented enough nor young enough to be able to get away with it, without putting in the hours. 

I was also able to set my own pace and keep to it: it might not have been quick, but it enabled me to keep going without stopping, and without feeling that I had to rush at the start. I think I was also stronger at the end because of this. I must admit I was surprised at the number of people I passed who were walking, I don't know why I was surprised, I just was. 

I think also starting right at the back was a positive for me... as I had put myself in the slowest group when registering for the race (at the time, I thought I'd do the course in 2 1/2 hours), I was actually able to run past loads of people, which in itself was a great encouragement. I think if I'd been in a quicker wave, i'd have got left behind and become a bit demoralised.... maybe? or maybe I'd have been pushed to run faster? Who knows.

In addition, I took people's advice and have read a bit (little bit) about running: have had a few sports massages to help my calf, and I wore tights, even though I look ridiculous, in order to keep my leg muscles in the right place.

And things I'd have done differently? Probably I'd have joined a running club to help me keep to a proper training plan and done more speed/interval training: I really need to up my pace. Probably not drunk so much alcohol the Saturday night before the race (the restaurant owner insisted on plying us with free drinks!). Oh yes, and I'd have broken in my running shoes before I wore them for the race (I'd gone to buy some new running shoes on the Saturday for after the race, but was told my current shoes were "shot to pieces" - I therefore risked it by wearing them for just a day, before running on Sunday!)... although they were fine in the end.

Running for great causes

So a great day, and one I will remember for some time: a fantastic run, great weather, and superb atmosphere. So why "mixed emotions"? I was very conscious during the race of the reasons why many were running: in fact I couldn't avoid it. Being among the last to start, a lot of people were ahead of me, so I got a good look at the race bibs on their backs, which had the start of a sentence, "I'm running for..." below their name. Some had written in things like, "Fun", or "Peace and Quiet, but don't tell the wife", or "President"... But most had put the charity they were running for; Acorns, Birmingham Children's Hospital, Alzheimer's Society. I found the fact that people had given up so much of their time and effort for different charities inspiring and a testament to their generosity. But there were also other people who had simply written on their back, "mum", or "Poppy", "dad". Their sense of loss of loved ones and the fact they were doing something positive in their memory, moved me to tears. 

And then the news that a local runner, Kevin Paterson, had died after finishing the course, shocked everyone. Such a tragedy, on a day when so many people were running to raise money for good causes, left me feeling confused. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

Run Fat Boy Run!

I was disappointed to find out that my daughter's boyfriend, who is coming to watch her run the Birmingham Half marathon on Sunday, was not going to prepare a banner with "Run Fat Boy Run!" written on it, in order to support my own running efforts. I will be looking for any support and encouragement on the way on Sunday and I think the banner and expressed sentiments would have spurred me on to even greater glory.

The race is now looming fast, too fast, and I'm scouring the weather forecasts for the weekend weather.... currently it seems it's going to be fine and with little wind on Saturday, but rain with an easterly wind on Sunday. In fact, I think the wind speed is expected to be something like 8mph, which will be fine going out, but on the return half this poses an interesting question. I currently run at approximately 6-6.5 mph (on a good day).... so does this mean that I'm actually going to be blown backwards and never finish?

I don't think so. And the reason why goes something like this. Some speedy sports cars can reach 0-60 in first gear. Land Rovers have a special gear, below first gear, which enables them to go at walking pace, but have a high torque ratio. I think my own personal gearing is fashioned after the Land Rover, as I certainly don't go quickly, but I can pull my weight at around walking pace. So going into a head wind should be no problem.

So, in a few day's time, I will hopefully have finished my first half marathon: if I do complete it, it will have been a challenge. And for me a significant one... however, as always, the things I find challenging are usually put into perspective by the things other people face and do. I've just started reading "Eat and Run" by Scott Jurek, whose idea of fun seems to have been running for 135 miles in the desert at extreme temperatures, on a diet of fruit and veg. That's a challenge (and not one for me just yet!), and as its largely self inflicted, my empathy levels remain low! But what about those who face challenges on a daily basis which they did not choose? Like friends of mine who parent a severely disabled child, or others who are going through divorce, or others facing difficult times at work.... each of these are challenging situations and at times require incredible strength, courage and determination to keep going... I know I've recieved loads of support from others in difficult times, so for these people, I hope I can wave my own "Run Fat Boy Run" banner in encouragement, even if I am standing on the sidelines....

Commitment

Now it's only one week to go to the Birmingham Half marathon, and I'm beginning to wonder why I'm doing this... yes, I know it's a bit late in the day to be thinking about this, but after running 8 miles today, I'm not feeling very good about the prospect of having to run another 5 on top next week! The irony is that having attended Geese Theatre's AGM yesterday, I came away thinking that this was an amazing company of people, doing an incredibly difficult work with some of the most damaged people in society: in other words, I was inspired by what I heard about what they are doing currently and are planning on doing in the future! So, at times like this, when running is a bit of a struggle, it's good to remember the bigger picture, and to remind myself that I'm doing this to raise much-needed money for Geese (see my blog, Geese and The Birmingham Half).

Related to this, one of the things that has struck me this week, is that to complete a half marathon you need a good deal of commitment. I reckon I've run over 95 miles in the last 6 weeks (and that's with a break of a couple of weeks with injury), just to try to get me prepared for next week and at times its been a struggle, particularly at my size and age! So when it's been cold or wet, or when I've not been "feeling it", its been an act of the will to get out there and run. 

Now there are 18,000 people running the Brum Half next weekend, and each of them will have put in similar amounts of training just to prepare for the race: that's a great deal of commitment! I know some of them will be doing this because they love running, but others are running, as I am, to support some fantastic charities and causes. So, as I know a few of them, I thought I'd mention them: some have trained with painful injuries, some have had to fit in training around full time work and family commitments, and some (somewhat annoyingly) are just genius runners! But one thing they have had to have is a dedication and commitment this race and their charity of choice:
Graham - Acorns Children's Hospice; Abs  - Meninadanca; Ayman - Riverside Money Advice; Emma - Meninadanca; Julian - Riverside Money Advice; Amos - ICY. Also thanks to Dave, Dave and Mel for the encouragement! Respect to you all..... and the other 17,990!

Generosity

Recently, I've been struck by the generosity of some of the people I know. I'm not talking about financial generosity, although that has certainly featured in the past; rather I'm talking about people who have a general spirit of generosity in all they do. People who give generously as part of their nature, whether its in showing compassion, love, encouragement, concern, practical help, or whether its simply giving their time or going out of their way to help. Instead of giving grudgingly, they willingly give their time and energy to others.

This has certainly been true of the running "community" as well. I'm certainly no great runner, but people I've met have been incredibly generous in their help, support, advice and particularly encouragement. Whether its people just giving me a "thumbs up" when passing, shouting encouragement, spending time listening to me rambling on (and appearing to look interested!), or simple comments on Facebook. Much of this has been done with a genuine interest in me and in encouraging me to develop my running, even though I'm never going to reach even decent club standard, or any standard for that matter. It's a real lesson to me, as I generally have to fight with my own grudging spirit when giving my own time and efforts to others. How to be generous and not mean: for me, a challenge.

And, as I've always said, another challenge will be the Birmingham Half, although I feel better prepared for this than I thought I would have been a month ago. I've just run 12.7 miles in approximately 2 hours and 5 minutes. I think this is the quickest I've run at this sort of distance. I was trying to push myself and the first 6 miles was fine... but I found the second half a real slog, and very hard going. However, I'm confident of finishing at least and hoping for something around 2 hours 15 minutes. We'll see.