Marwell 10k 12th May 2013

It’s not often you get to run next to wild animals, well it is if you run in Southampton regularly, but Sunday they were really wild at the Marwell Zoo 10k.

The day didn’t start too fantastic as I pulled my car over to throw up on my way to the race, good start, pretty sure my pb has gone out the window, with most of my breakfast alongside. I parked up and waited for the cramps to pass before joining the queue to collect my number. I had already emailed the guy running the race to advice of a name change but this had not been done, so today I will be running as Mr Macarthur, apparently I should be beating his pb today but we will see.

I love the zoo, I like to walk backwards passed the monkeys to confuse them about evolution, today I will be running by them, I don’t even care if one escapes, as long as I can run faster than the guy behind me I should be fine.

Looking around as I always do I am happy that there are a lot of people in fancy dress, seriously if I get beaten by a banana or a meerkat today I will not be happy !!

I meet up with my friend Stephen Keenor, a good sub 40 min 10k runner, I am going to stay on his coat tails to hope for a pb today, I know the course is hilly but that’s what I train for, and seriously how hilly can it be .. stupid question .. one of the marshals advises me it starts on a hill, and it’s pretty much all uphill until 6k, one of the hills lasts for 1.5k, I wish I hadn’t asked.

Heading for the start we inch our way forward towards the front, we don’t want to look too keen but we don’t want to weave in and out of everyone either. Chico the 5 foot meerkat counts us down and we are off. It’s a bit surreal running passed the Zebras and the big cats, and for a moment I am striding through the Hampshire Serengeti. Round a corner and up the hill, round another corner and up another hill, and then its hill after hill. By mile 2 I feel awful, my first mile was 6.19 and the second was about 7 minutes, that’s when the 1.5k hill loomed ahead, the usual rule of thumb in any kind if distance run is ‘if you can’t see the top of the hill, walk’, however this isn’t a distance run so I persuade my legs to keep on going (and persuade my stomach not  to invite Chaka Khan round to play). The hill goes on forever, my watch bleeps that mile at 7.59, this again means no pb for me today, but I can still make it respectable, I am pretty sure I haven’t been overtaken by the banana yet so all is not lost. I set my eyes on a target lady in the distance and stride out to catch her.

At mile 4 I suddenly snap out of it, all it took was a moment of inspiration, I suddenly have clarity, an epiphany eureka moment, snapping me out of a spiralling downward free-fall of self-pity, ITS ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE !!!! I start to reign in runners ahead of me, passing more and more people as I get my minute miles back into the 6’s again, striding long I hit a good rhythm as the km markers come and go. Rounding a bend back into the zoo a marshal tells me its only 400 to go, I come up to the shoulder or Mr Blue Shirt, all he has to say is ‘come on mate’ and we are in a sprint, I am hell for leather in the lead, the crowd are cheering, the lions are roaring, the trumpeting elephants are heralding my triumphant finish, the .. hold up .. the buggers just run past me .. .. with one final effort I pump my arms hard and catch him up, dipping over the finish line exactly at the same time. My wobbly legs carry me forward as my mouth tries to breathe in the world’s oxygen in one big gasp, a handshake with Mr Light Blue Shirt confirms it was close, I really don’t want to lose 2 sprint finishes in a row. I find Steve who has finished in my pb time of 41.35 (which earns him 31^st place) he wouldn’t like to call it either, to be fair I am just glad I haven’t decorated the pavement.

Throughout the day I keep checking the page for results, nothing is coming up, then all of a sudden it is there.. a time of 42.45, not bad considering the hills and a technicoloured yawn, but best of all .. JOINT 49^th place, well it says 50^th but exactly the same time as Mr Light Blue Shirt, now it’s based on alphabetical order and I was running under someone else’s name, Andy comes pretty high in the alphabet so I am calling it 49^th place out of 960 odd people.

This is a great race, scenic and completely different to anything else, all countryside, hills, next year is a definite entry, I reckon a few of the Vixens should come along too :o)

Hampshire Saucony 10k

Well with no marathons planned for this month I thought I would enter some 10k’s instead. The Hampshire 10k sponsored by Saucony is local to me and most important IT IS FLAT !!!! Not many of my races are flat, or even on tarmac, so this is a welcome change, plus I get to run and still be home in time for lunch.

So Gary Cook and I are pondering our times in the VW on the way to the Moutbatten Centre, I am thinking it’s a great day, the legs feel good (mine I mean, I didn’t feel Gary’s), I am race fit, there could be a PB in this one, briefly forgetting the fact that I spent most of Friday night and all of Saturday night being a wee bit tipsy and eating my own body wait in Quiche and Chinese.

Turning up at the track we are greeted with an array of sports events, there is a meet here on the same day which means only one thing .. competitive runners. We grab our numbers and stand out in the sun trying to spot people who we know we should be able to beat. After a nervous wait we reckon we can spot a few that we should be able to pick off, it always makes me feel better knowing that there is a good chance I won’t come last. I have made the mistake of picking out the older runners before, you know the ones that look like friendly Grandfolk but actually turn out to be made of pure muscle and sinew and invariably overtake you at mile 19 and disappear into the distance, only leaving behind a faint smell of Murray Mints and Golden Virginia.

The course is a good one too, incorporating two laps of the track then out for a lap next to the shoreline back for a half lap of the track again then off for a final lap around the lido, finishing back at the track in the final straight.

So we line up, bloody hell there are some good runners here, watches have been checked, GPS confirmed, I’m just waiting for the gun when a faint whiff of deep heat and Murray Mint distracts me, BANG, whatever wind was in me has escaped quickly, which jet propels me off to my first lap. I need to stick to 6 minute 30 second miles if I am going to hit my PB, first mile 6.32, second 6.42, I speed up as I now need to run faster and make up some time. I can see my fartlek victim about 100 yards in front to help me hit my time, as I reach his shoulder my watch bleeps and tells me I’m not going to hit my PB of 41.35, another poor mile at about 6.49 means the best I can hope for is a sub 42.30, however I have made up my mind I am going to beat this guy in the blue shirt who has stuck on my coat tails since I passed him. Running back onto the track the support is great, more events are still going off and families have lined the track in  the sunshine, the bounce of the rubber makes me stride longer and its off again onto the final lap. I pick off a few people that have gone off to fast and generally feel pretty good, then at mile 5 my stitch (which I have been nursing since mile 2) decides it wants to take over my ribs in a Mount Vesuvius of hurt. Blue shirt guy and white shirt guy whizz pass me here, I try to stay with them and I am pretty sure I whimpered out loud like an Chihuahua shot by a plastic sucker arrow. Around the last bend and onto the bouncy track, I summon up the last remaining bit of energy to muster a sprint finish, it feels like I have run into a stadium and everyone is watching the final event, 100 yards to go and I go past white shirt guy, there’s a shout of ‘come on Andy’ (cheers Craig) at 50 and I am on the shoulder of blue shirt guy, sprint sprint sprint sprint, …and …………. bugger he beat me, by one second.

So finishing in 42.12 wasn’t too bad and 40^th out of 132 runners, it was nice to run a short race for a change, Gary nearly run a PB and was only 17 seconds off.

Next one on Sunday, Marwell 10k, it’s a bit hilly, but as long as I can keep off the Quiche and Chinese I reckon I am in with a shout.

Virgin London Marathon

Well if there was ever a marathon to run .. The London has to be it !!

I can’t begin to say how overwhelmed I am at the support that Team Pittman has received. To date this is the pinnacle of my running adventures, even the weather decided to support us for the day.

So after a weeks’ worth of virus and a calf injury which basically side-lined me from running for two weeks, I was going to be running the Virgin London Marathon on the least amount of preparation ever. I felt bad and I hadn’t tested my leg (which I thought would give up in the first mile for sure) but I was surprisingly looking forward to it. This is an accumulation of all the hard work, all the training, all the fund raising, and I sure as heckerslike wasn't going out without giving it a bloody good go first.

The expo a couple of days before hand was great, I got my leg taped up and ate far too many gels, bars, bloks, electrolyte drinks, etc. that’s when the real excitement kicked in. I picked up my goody bag and got my name printed on my shirt. Andy for me and Nelly for my cousin Neal (little did I realise I would get Nelly envy in the first mile of the race ). Everything was ready for the race now, all we had to do was run it !!

The morning of the race and the alarm went off at 6am, jam on toast and porridge consumed we headed for the train station. After a short trip we was at Greenwich Park. Still the enormity of the race hadn't hit me, yes there were a few people milling around but didn't seem out of the ordinary to other races I had ran in. After a queue for the loo’s and some final lunges and stretching we put our bags in the trailers and headed for the start line, again it was very busy but when you are in a bubble of people you can’t see the thousands of other runners around you. A rhino pushed in front of us and a few ladies wearing bra’s stood beside us (who to be fair really should have thought longer and harder about their costume, neither their age, or gravity, was doing them any favours). Batman and Robin, a giant nurse, a peperami stick, a spider, a man in a tutu, several other rhino’s, and a few hundred athletes with itchy garmin fingers surrounded us as the 10 o’clock start was approaching. A whistle sounded for 30 seconds silence for those who lost their lives so tragically in Boston and then a huge cheer as the race started … well I say started, it was more of a shuffle, after 20 minutes we were finally out of Greenwich Park and under the start line and released into Blackheath. It was here that the enormity hit me, not so much the runners taking part, but the crowd, thousands of them, people everywhere shouting, cheering, blowing whistles, sounding horns, clapping , screaming, chanting, beeping, waving banners, high fiving. This was when the first round of emotion hit me and when my calf tweaked for the first time.

Now I won’t bore you with every twist and turn but I would like to cover a few things during the race that are important. Firstly Neal and I both made a pact that we will not get overtaken by anyone in a comedy outfit during the latter stages of the race. Secondly I will chat, whether or not you want to hear it or can answer back, I am still loving a chat. Thirdly whatever happens we are finishing this race, even if we have to drag each other over the finish line.

The twinge in the calf is making me run/limp up and down any hills but the flat seems ok, fingers crossed the deep freeze and pain killers will start working soon, fortunately the London Marathon is pretty flat so I should be ok. We are both running well and are way ahead of our set target, this is where my Nelly envy starts. I just had Andy on my vest which doesn't really stand out so much, Nelly on the other hand is an amazing name to shout out, or so I hear, again, and again, and again. By mile 8 I thought I heard my first Andy, but there is another guy called Andy running next to me so can’t be sure it was for me, in my head I’m thinking of putting Zoro or something on my shirt for the next time. As the race goes on there are cries of ‘come on Nelly and Andy’, it’s the best I’m gonna get so I’ll take it.

We see Kat at the Cutty Sark and Neal and I veer off , boom second wave of emotion, we don’t say much to each other for a minute or so, but I’m guessing I probably broke the deadlock with nonsensical chat. The next big landmark was Tower Bridge, and this is where Justine and Jessica would be, approaching the bridge I was looking around for them until I hear ‘It’s Andy Pittman’ to be fair I think half the race course heard it, I look over and see Alex Jumping about and Justine and Jessica, Jessica incidentally seemed very pleased to see me until I planted a sweaty smooch on her. Half way, on target feeling great !!

Big smiles for the cameras and we begin the countdown to the end.

There are another 13 miles to run, yep we had aches and pains, yep we laughed and moaned in equal measures, more people were stretching, limping and being aided to by the St John Ambulance the nearer we were getting to the finish. Neal had already decantered a bottle of water into the crowd, by this I mean squirted it in the face of a woman by-stander who was not amused (oh how we laughed) and was now looking for his next victim. With 800 meters to go he found her, I heard a woman shout ‘he’s just taken my cider’ and looking round see Neal jogging up with a pint of Koppelberg  pretty sure that’s not in the marathon training book. Karma however threw two legs cramps at him as punishment.

So rounding the corner we can see the finish, the crowds are huge, the cheering is immense, the emotion is running high, we muster every bit of energy we have for a sprint finish (which turns out to be a slightly faster than normal jog) and cross the line in 4 hours 37 minutes. Hugs, kisses, high fives, maybe an odd tear, but we have done it !!

This event is amazing, if any of you get the chance to do it you must. Don’t underestimate it, it’s not easy but the rewards are incomparable to anything else you may ever do.

So we done it, I am so proud of Neal and myself, for the money we raised and the support everyone has given us. What I am not proud of is getting overtaken in the latter stages by a man dressed up as a bumble bee.

Body Combat Marathon

Body Combat 3 Hour Marathon !!

Fighting an invisible man for three hours is harder than it sounds (unless you think it sounds really hard, then you are right).

Saturday morning, 10 am, Havant leisure centre, and about 200 other people, all with one purpose - to raise money for Cancer Research by literally kicking the living crap out of absolutely no-body for 3 hours solid !!

Body Combat at the best of times is a high cardio, intense, full body workout where you are totally unleashed. Its a fiercely energetic program and is inspired by mixed martial arts drawing from disciplines such as karate, boxing, taekwondo, tai chi and muay thai.

So my friend Sam and I turn up with bags of enthusiasm but no change for the car park (sorry hon) and make our way to the hall. The stage is up, the balloons are about and the place is steadily getting fuller. I am strangely really looking forward to this. I casually mention the 3 hours part to Sam, who thought it was 2 hours, but hey whats an hour between friends, she should be fine anyway she teaches Zumba, I do marathons, this is gonna be a walk in the park right ??

Colin grabs a spot next to us and the mega fit and inspiring Master Trainers take their place on the stage, the music starts and off we go. 

Now anyone that has ever seen me dance is very much aware that I have no co-ordination, for me going wrong is just all part and parcel of the class. Colin is very much up there with me and we support each other in flailing arms and legs and misdirected kicks and punches, it takes a certain kind of brilliance to move 'out' of tune to the music.

Within 10 minutes I am wetter than an otters pocket.

The first hour comes and goes and is fine, in fact going into the second hour all is good, legs feel ok, arms are cool, shoulders are brill. A couple of Haribo fizzy cola bottles (good call by the way) and sip of drink and we are back on it. So hour two comes and goes, bit weary but still going good - Most of the people are still in and only a few have retired for the day. The instructors are still going strong and there is still a great sense of camaraderie between everyone.

Wahoo last hour, by the time 2.5 hours hits us I am spent, legs feel tired, arms feel tired, and my shoulders hate me. Just another half hour left. Shouts of 'HEY' on every other punch, and re-assurance there is only one song left motivates everyone to put in a final round of high intensity full on fighting, and then .... that's it .. everyone has done it. High Fives are dished out and a cheer hits the roof.

All different types of people took part in this event which raised a lot of money for an amazing charity. I left feeling heartened and bloody knackered.

Below is a link to a snippet of what everyone achieved. In the photo's my 'after' shot is pretty much what I looked like after 20 minutes.    

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New Forest Ultra Marathon 2013

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr - My first words as I left my house at 7am heading for the New Forest Festival of Running 50k Ultra Marathon. Layers was the key, alongside two pairs of gloves, 2 snoods, and 2 pairs of socks !!
Arrived at the venue nice and early and met with my brother Dave who was competing in the 10 miler, his first words were 'its a bit cold'.
Pre event chat at 8.30 came and went and before we knew it we were all lined up and ready to go. I was feeling pretty confident at this point, I was warm enough and had trained pretty hard, I was actually looking forward to the 31 miles of cross country running to come, what I wasn't so chipper about afterwards was the fact that it rained in the forest on Saturday which meant half of the course was a muddy squelchy messy slurry.
Ready, Steady, Go and we are off.
The first lap was great, I remembered the course from last year and the picturesque views of streams and hills was brilliant, every now and then wild horses ran across your path and even the mud and puddles were just part of the scenery, having a lot of energy at this stage meant that I was jumping and pirouetting over these like a jogging bottomed ballerina.
The first lap was 11 miles and as I passed the start/finish point I felt smashing, heading out to the second lap with a smile and enough puff to chat to my fellow runners.
 The drinks stops were frequent and friendly and every marshal on the course was full of encouragement and cheer, considering they would eventually be standing in the same place for about 10 hours in total in 0 degree's I think they deserved a medal too. I was still having a great time as I ran up the final hill of lap two and down to start lap 3, if it all carries on like this I am going to hit my 5 hours target. A quick look behind and no one to be seen for miles, I don't really care where I come but I kinda wanted to finish in front of the woman in the yellow who was behind me.
So mile 21 came and went and the legs were great, the mood was awesome, the scenery is beautiful, a handshake at the next water stop and well wishing from the marshal, everything was ace .. until ..... mile 22!! Now usually 22 is a good number for me, it means I only have another 4 miles of a marathon to run, I can convince my legs for one last push and before I know it I am over the line, however, at mile 22 of an ultra you still have another 9 miles to go. Psychologically I think my brain told my legs that this was a bloody long way still to go, and we hadn't even reached the bog of doom yet.
I spent the next few miles running down the hills and walking up the other side, sludgy heavy puddle splashing replaced any hint of a pirouette. Any good cheer was replaced with huffing and puffing and staring at my watch willing the miles to be lapped up. A squeeze of my arm as a lady run passed me and told me to keep going was enough to get the legs going again, fortunately this was not the a fore mentioned lady in yellow and a quick look behind confirmed she was still out of view. I was now longing for the final water stop, just two miles to the finish, where the promise of fresh water and a shot blok seemed like dinner at the Ivy. I was day dreaming about how good this would taste and how nice that after race pint is going to be, when, out of no-where a friendly (American) voice told me to' keep it up, there's not long to go', and with this she ran into the distance in a flash of yellow. My protesting legs tried to keep up but all that was left was a slow plod to the finish. I did however have three more defining glory moments before the race was over, the first was finding some left over mini cheddars on a gatepost, I know it sounds gross but at this stage I would have licked a cow for some nourishment, the second was running past a lady on mile 30 who was just finishing mile 20, she had been out there for neck on 5 hours running 20 miles, what an amazing achievement !! Up the last hill and its all downhill to the finish, and my third moment was seeing Justine, Jessica and my brother Dave for the final 100 yards, a quick thank you to the marshal and a shout of wahooo and the finish line was there.
31 miles, 5 hours 23 minutes ..... now where'e my pint !!

Heartbreaker Marathon 2013

Reporting back from a very chilly very hilly New Forest Heartbreaker Marathon.
I am still getting over this virus so left it up to the morning of the race to decided whether I should do it. As the alarm rang out at 6.30am I was pretty sure it was going to be a no, but once I got up and moving about I felt ok !! Nice drive down to Sandy Balls in the New Forest and within 500 yards of reaching my destination .... SNOW !!
I decided I wasn't going to get caught out like I did on the Meon Valley Plod, so I came prepared, Under Armour base layer, technical t shirt, windshield jacket, charity Children with Cancer vest, liner gloves, windproof gloves, hat snood and neck snood, extra thick socks and a sunny disposition !! I thought I looked like some kind of mean running assassin ninja, upon reflection I looked like I was modelling a colourful charity burka.
The race started with a hill, then went up and down some hills then there was some more hills, then it ended on a hill, if undulating means mountainous they got it spot on. My first ten miles went to plan, a nice steady 1.30, still on target for a sub 4 hour, which in these conditions I would take all day long. then it all started to go downhill (or rather uphill). I felt nauseous as I had picked up the wrong flavored shot blok sweets and the course ran in a T shape coming back and forth on yourself, this meant that you knew exactly what was coming, yep .. more hills. Also running on my own for the entire race I had nothing for company apart from Steps 5.6.7.8 song on repeat .. this is what happens when a song falls into your running beat .. usually its Ollie Murs .. a shade better than steps ha ha ..
So as my target time came and went I was on the final stretch, I thought the last 3 miles were all down hill so I would be fine, the knees started to complain and my head had almost given up, then I saw it Mount Everest !! I am pretty sure I let out a whimper, one final push (and a bit of a walk) and I was at the top, literally on the home straight all downhill and the last mile is on tarmac, rounding the corner at Sandy Balls and over the finish line in 4 hours 19 minutes. After I had defrosted my hands with the hand dryer for 20 minutes I felt better.
All in all picturesque, beautiful surroundings, loads of friendly and familiar faces and I am sure the next time I run I will enjoy it a lot more - 2 weeks until the 50k !! sheeeeeeeesh !!

Personal Best and 59th !!

The Sun was out and the legs felt good .. what a difference a week makes .. The Portsmouth coastal half marathon is a multi terrain event covering road, track, boggy fields and beaches. The good weather had firmed some parts up but the beach still claimed a good haul of running shoes that weren't tied on tight enough .. all in all it was still a good chance to go for a pb .. Running  next to the sea for most of the run was awesome and counting back I put myself in about 75th place by half way .. I was sticking to about 7 minute miles which was the plan .. The support was fantastic and the turn out was brilliant .. completed by high fives from 5 benches of pensioners in the last 500 meters .. my final time of 1.36 smashed my pb by 6 minutes and I placed 59th out of over 1300 entrants and 24th in my age group (30-39), narrowly beaten by 2nd placed lady !! Fantastic race and lets hope for more of the same next Sunday with the Heartbreaker marathon in the New forest
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AndyPittman