Manchester Marathon Week 12 - race events are back!

Manchester Marathon Week 12 arrived and it was different. A good different.

Training 5 days a week, week on week, can suddenly get to you. All you want to do is tear up the training plan and run free. Run as and when you want. But instead I remained a robot, running to the training plan. Well, I went slightly off plan but nothing crazy!

I have learned the key to achieving stuff is consistency. You need to fight off the “I am over running to a plan” thoughts and keep focused.

What was the difference this week? A race event! A big shiny event.

At the end of week 12, on Sunday, I was in Newcastle to participate in the Great North Run with 57,000 other running enthusiasts. It’s been 18 months since my last half so I was itching to stretch the legs and see what I had in me.

It was the 40th anniversary of this iconic run, so I knew it would be special.

All my training runs this week felt a bit pointless, running to keep the legs ticking over but nothing too wild – that was until Thursday.

The training week started on Tuesday with an easy 10km, I ran at sunset which was different.  Enjoying the energy from the day ending. I made a mental note to run more at sunset. I forgot how much I love this time of the day.

Wednesday, I went off script and enjoyed a day trip to Millport where I cycled my bike around the island of Cumbria. On my return to Glasgow I glanced at the planned  run in my schedule. It listed an easy 11km. I knew there would be nothing easy about it as my legs were pretty done in from all the cycling.  Off I went for another sunset run but with heavy legs this time. After the first 2km I wanted to turn back but somehow managed to run 8km. Not the 11km planned but I’m pretty sure no one cares, especially as Millport wasn’t in the plan.

On Thursday I rested up until that evening when I went off to run an interval session. On paper the session seemed fine, in reality it was tough. Not impossible tough, just `offttt I need to focus to hit the pace` kind of run. I actually felt great afterwards. Tired but a good tired. This is why we run. Every struggle is rewarded.

On Friday I rested and prepared for Newcastle. My 3411 BIB number guarded like the precious thing it is, short shorts and run vest packed. I glanced at the route map with the gradient outlined and felt that uncomfortable feeling.

I then googled ‘2021 Great North Run route’ knowing what I expected to see. Confirmation it was hilly. Hills kill the run vibe. I don’t mind the odd hill but long energy sapping hills can be tricky. Newcastle seemed to have it all, undulating hills and those long endless ‘I’m crawling’ hills.  Aww man. A bit of fear flooded in. A hilly route needs a bit of thought. If you go all out and leave nothing for that final hill mentioned at the 11 mile marker then you will crawl home.

As I put my bedside lamp out I remembered back to Dublin 2019. Dublin was hilly and I ran a personal best. I will always remember one hill in particular. No idea where I got the energy from, but I went for it. A local man told me before the race “hold a little back in the first half of the race, you will need your energy for the hills”. Noted.

Would this become my approach for Newcastle? All I knew was that I hadn’t visualised hills. Now to update my mind so it was ready for the hill challenge. I soon found out on the day nothing can really prepare you for the onslaught of hills that waited.

Now it was time to get excited. This was all but a dream up until 2019 when I managed to secure a charity place for the 2020 race, then deferred until 2021.

I reminded myself I’ve trained a lot. My body is peaking and this is a nice challenge to break up the relentless marathon training. What will be, will be. But go all in, enjoy the experience and see what happens on the day.

The day arrived. After a fast 5km running a 22 minute first quarter of the race, things got hilly. At the 7.5km mark I kind of worked out this was not a personal best course but a ‘buckle in and grind it out’ run. These are the types of runs that you will look back on and be a wee bit proud that you stuck with it. I tried to surge when I could, huffed and puffed up the hills and kept that fire inside alive.

The Great North Route is out and back which is pretty brutal. For as far as you can see you keep running, up and down hills knowing you need to run back the way you’ve just came but on the other side of the motorway. At one point on the way out I heard myself mutter in my head ‘please can we hurry up and run back’. I was done with the route out!

Then like magic, it came. The turn point. At 10km we started to run back towards Newcastle. I felt I found my mojo, a surge of energy and told myself there was lots still to run for. That’s until I hit my next hill and grumbled a bit. It felt like one long battle with the hills and your thoughts. A little tricky to keep positive as you knew a hill would soon come along to kill your vibe.

The secret to most running is to find and keep a consistent pace. This was impossible, the hills were in control . I kept saying “get to the Tyne bridge then the crowds will cheer you home”.

With 2 miles to go I ran downhill towards the iconic Tyne Bridge as the 'toon' crowd cheered us on. I glanced up and smiled as the red arrows whizzed last. Twice. The last 2 miles were the toughest. A killer hill waited not long after. But all I remember is that downhill!

The bridge signaled the 11 mile mark. This should have been music to my ears. 2 miles to go, through the city center. Surely I could attempt a sprint finish to claw back some time. The answer was presented to me as a I turned the corner and saw the steepest incline known as ‘killer hill’. I would have been quicker walking up it. And yes, more hills came towards the finish. Usually with 1km to go I’ve left a bit to attempt a finish line surge. Nope, not in Newcastle. I practically crawled over the line. You got to laugh now at how optimistic I was even to the end.

All I wanted was a sprint finish and Newcastle soon taught me hills sap all the energy.

Hills kill, but luckily they can’t kill the vibe as the support was awesome. Chants of Oggy, Oggy, Oggy were belted out to keep the Tyneside fun flowing.  Charity buses were parked up with music blaring , DJs popped up when you needed an energy surge and my favourite, the bongo band near the ‘non sprint’ finish.

Due to the COVID measures the run start time was staggered from 10am to 1pm so I took the opportunity to be a spectator for a bit. It was amazing. The warmth, encouragement and humour from the Newcastle crowd was heartwarming. Where I stood was just after the last killer hill and I could feel the pain on people faces. But everyone was digging deep knowing most were running for a charity. For a greater cause than their tired legs.

That is what the GNR is all about. Everyone digging deep! Part of a running community made up of normal people putting themselves out there. All to shine a light on a cause close to them.

For me It was no personal best, but it was some experience. One I will remember for a lifetime.

As I crossed the finish line I mumbled that was hard. Life is hard. We don't stop in the middle of life and proclaim it's too hard. We might throw a tantrum in our heads, but we ultimately work it out. Form a game plan and tackle the hard thing. That's what running has taught me. Keep your head, keep surging forward, keep grinding...as the finish line always appears!

Race events take a lot out of you pre, during and post. Mentally and physically. Now it’s time to get 100% laser focused back into Manchester marathon training.

With only 4 weeks to go, I will definitely enjoy my Monday rest day before I start training again on Tuesday.

I’ve had a sneak peak at my runs for Week 13, this week looks interesting  - I’m feeling tired already.