The last month has been absolutely ram packed with events. I don't just mean running events.
The 10MillionMetre challenge seems to be taking on a life of its own. First off was the Dubai marathon. A wild rollercoaster of media attention spreading awareness of young onset Parkinson's and a triumph and challenge equally for me in taking part in a marathon with my infected toe and passing the 1million metre mark. The road winding out, long and straight towards the world's largest flagpole, running with my friend Brian Garrett was to me the perfect way of starting the year. It's fantastic city, vibrant, energetic, enthusiastic and welcoming; playing perfect host to my 10MillionMetre campaign. The film crews from Dubai One and the hospitality shown by everyone I met was massively appreciated and I am truly grateful for your support. A full write up will be available shortly in Running Fitness!
A result of the trip was the addition of support from the deVere group who have come on board the 10 million meter campaign as one of its core sponsors. This support will be essential in achieving not only the many races such as the Athens and Shanghai marathons but also the realisation of the 1521 mile run across Europe in the summer; an exciting and pivotal point in the 10MillionMetre campaign.
With only two weeks between the Dubai marathon and the Thames Trot, the 50 miler was expected to be a challenge. It was!!! My medication wasn't up to scratch on the day and for some reason decided not to work. This left me in an interesting position of trying to run with an extremely difficult leg and making my gait an interesting spectacle to my co-runners Dave Clamp and Johnny Hall (a.k.a Mr Ultra). But with their help I persevered and overcoming the intransigence of my leg at the halfway point as well as my meds kicking in and making my run easier, made the experience of the Thames Trot that much better. Pushing ahead with the help and encouragement from Dave and Mr Ultra, I crossed the line in 10 hours 40 min and 20 seconds!! I was really happy. To me it was a triumph, considering my leg in the first half of the race! Quietly, I'm pretty proud with the time I took.
Next on the list is the Athens marathon on April 3, followed quickly a week later by the Brighton marathon, which I'm excited to be running with Chris Quint! I'll keep you updated on that.
Training harder and looking forward to getting hold of my tri bike for the forthcoming Challenge Henley this September. My first ironman distance triathlon!! Honestly, I'm a little bit nervous and to be quite frank I need to get my stuff together! To that end, I am working with Russ Cox on my swim technique and it seems to be paying off. Russ is an excellent coach an incredibly patient, (I think I mentioned this before…). The effect of which has been to improve my technique beyond measure. In a short space of time, I have advanced from paddling my legs around in the water to actually swimming, which is amazing.
Concentrating on matters outside of training for the 1521 mile run across Europe, I believe that I've practically got the crew together, which is always a confidence booster. In addition, the 1521 miler is looking like it's going to be an exceptional adventure. Don't get me wrong, there's going to be a lot of pain, a lot of sweat and a lot of silence when the concentration needs to be raised to keep the pain at bay. However there are going to be plenty of smiles caused by the enormous pleasure in undertaking such a challenge and the feeling of elation that I'm looking forward to, when crossing the finish line in Rome. I really hope that I can achieve this as it will be quite a feat with the funky leg!!
Hope you're training too? Please feel free to post on my facebook page 10MillionMetres details of what your training for. Whatever the event, keep motivated, keep making change happen, and keep moving.
Speak soon!
Alex
