I have to say for the most part 2014 has gone pretty well from a running perspective. In March for a joke I decided to sprint off at the start of a marathon - i was just messing about,but after a mile & still leading I felt good so decided to see how long I could keep it going & yes I faded but I ended up with my fastest marathon in 4 & half years & 4th fastest ever & that got me thinking. What could I still do if I worked at it, if I trained for it ? I decided to do what many would consider a bizarre move, I decided to run less cut my mileage but increase my intensity - I set myself the goal of trying to run for a whole month at an average pace of 7.30 min miling & I managed it & completed a further 3 sub 3.30 marathons making 4 for the year (my best ever is 5 in 2009 & I had only done one other prior to this year a 3.29 in Malta in 2011.)
In late April I went down to the London marathon as a spectator & decided I really wanted another crack at the big one whatever it took - there are basically four ways in (excluding the Elite & Championship starts) The public ballot, club ballot, a charity place or a Good for Age place (basically running a time quick enough to qualify for your age group) I hadn't looked at the requirements for years but decided to have a glance & for once age was on my side,I had gone past 41 ( I know hard to believe with these looks ?! - now you've snorted tea out of your nose laughing I will continue !!) & the required standard was a marathon quicker than 3 hours & 15 minutes, my fastest in 2014 to this point was 3.19 & I had one road marathon left prior to the cut off date.The Coeur D'Alene marathon in Idaho was my one shot ? How was I going to train up & get that in the space of a month ? I needed to train even harder push the pace even more. I needed to go all out, no excuses no slacking, I really had to push myself. Training at 7.30 pace wasn't gonna cut it, I felt the need "The need for speed" yes it's a cheesy movie line but for me the only way I was going to race faster was to train faster. In May I just decided to go for it I decided to gamble what the worst that could happen ? yes I could go for it & it go horribly wrong seeing me crawl round dejected vowing to never run again,but sometimes you gotta gamble - the week before the race in Idaho I decided to see how fast I could go over 5km, a distance that I had previously only done in under 20 minutes once in 60 races. The goal was 19.30 but I blew it I went out too quickly & ended up somehow finishing in 19.03 much to my amazement.
Inspired by the words of my good friend Traviss Willcox & the words of US Olympian Steve Prefontaine the only way to go for it would be suicide pacing as "Pre" was famously quoted "The only good pace is suicide pace, and today's a good day to die !" I decided that to get the time I wanted I would need to go out harder than I had ever gone & try to hang on.
The week prior to the event I decided I wanted to apply for another shot at my favourite event on the planet the "Brathay 10 in 10" - an event that requires the running of 10 marathons in 10 days whilst raising valuable funds for Brathay a childrens charity helping Children from disadvantaged backgrounds realise their true potential in life, by doing so & committing to fundraise for them I had increased the pressure on me to get that London place based on my time, the ballots for London would be what the Americans would term a "crap shoot".
Race day arrived in Idaho & this was it my one chance all or nothing & to my surprise I executed my plan to perfection something that rarely happens. Had I known how hilly the 2 lap course was in advance I wouldn't have entertained going for a qualifying time but luckily my ignorance paid dividends & I just kept rolling through the miles banking enough time for when I faded at 20 miles, I still had to battle that final 6 & a bit miles but mentally I was unbreakable & wasn't going to be denied, I don't recall being so happy when crossing a finish line & for the Greyhound ride the following day I couldn't get the classic from the Clash "London Calling" out of my head & you'd have struggled to wipe the smile off my face. I was even dragged away from the post race beer garden not once but twice I was 2nd in my age category & 3rd in the overall vets category, I was elated & almost in tears these things don't happen to me & I didn't know how to react, so I sat down with a smile on my face & got the beers in for the rest of the yellow clad team I'd met at the start & continued rehydrating in the afternoon sun ;)
2015 was now all mapped out April I'd be in the greatest capital city in the world & in May I'd be back in the Lake District for 10 gruelling days of hills after hills on the scenic Windermere course.
Ultimately I wanted it enough to work for it & go get it - Sometimes you just gotta believe.
Reminds of a line from a song - can't remember it's title (LOL !) but it had been one hell of a "Journey" ;)
Foxy
PS - I wouldn't be offended if you wanted to donate online towards my fundraising ? please !!! www.justgiving.com/foxyagain
