I am running both the Paris Marathon (13th April) and the London Marathon (27th April) to fund raise for the Multiple Sclerosis Trust (MS Trust). The MS Trust performs a unique and vital role in supporting MS sufferers and they would really appreciate your support.
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Having spent most of last year trying to recover from an Achilles tendon injury which initially left me having to wear a ‘boot’ to walk, it was a relief to be able to run the Florence & Valencia Marathons in November/December 2024 and starting in the New Year, to put in a decent block of training with 4 runs & 3 gym sessions/week.
I was pleased with my time of 1h 52m for the Hampton Court Half Marathon last month and that I was able to gradually speed up over the course. But I was less happy with 4h 10m for the Tokyo Marathon at the beginning of March. Even though it wasn’t particularly warm at up to 18 degrees, the astonishing brightness of the sun in Tokyo had a very dehydrating effect on all runners with water & drink shortages at the later aid stations. It was very congested with many runners on a course that was too narrow in places. But having run the Tokyo Marathon I do now have my 6th Star : Although technically it was my 7th star as I had run the Sydney Marathon Abbott World Age Grade Championships last year.
And here’s a slightly shaky & skewed video showing what it was like at the finish of the Tokyo Marathon.
After the Tokyo Marathon, we stayed in Kyoto which was much more interesting having been the Capital of Japan until the late nineteenth century. Unlike Tokyo it was a city that you could walk around to see the sites and spend time in. Here are some photos mainly from Kyoto : Unfortunately we were a few weeks too early for the Cherry Blossom but the Plum Blossom was just coming out. As you will see, the Japanese do build a good moat !
Running this marathon again ! But this time with Avril, Mairaid & Emily. Great to have their company for meals at 4 Leoni and Coquinarius and breakfasts at Cibreo.
Weather on the day was in theory great for running but somehow didn’t quite feel like that. ~10 degrees and almost windless : Sky was overcast – it would have been good to have the sun we had on the Saturday.
The race itself went OK for me even though I have been unable to train : Pace began dropping from around the 30k mark with a dig drop after 40k where I had to walk for a minute or so. I was a little concerned that I struggled to walk in a straight line at that point. Can’t complain about (chip) time of 410:12. On to Valencia next weekend !!
This has been a very difficult and frustrating year as I suffered a major Achilles tendon injury at the beginning of March, the detail being Severe mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy & Paratendinitis.
Since then I have not been able to train and for the first few months I found it painful even to walk, with a need to wear a ‘boot’ whenever faced with a walk of anything more than a short distance. Its only in the last few months that I have started any form of running and then only a modest jog on flat ground.
Instead of running, I upped my time in the gym with cardio work (mainly on the bike) and core strength & conditioning work. Recovery from the injury involved quite a few visits to the physio and very slowly building up the rehab exercises from simple heel raises to the more dynamic step based work. its only in the last month or so that I have reached the milestone of being able to hop on the affect leg/ankle without pain or discomfort.
It was only in August that I started with a little running typically 30 minutes of short walk & run reps with running at jog pace, so with mid-foot strike to minimise tendon load & stress. Then came September and …
Sydney Marathon – Age Grade World Champs
I’d booked and paid for the trip in February just before my Achilles injury and while I had insurance it would at best only covered part of what I had paid. So I decided to give it a go and planned to run in reps of 5km @ no more than 6 min/km with 5 min walk. Noting also that there were some significant hills I also planned to walk up hills as trying to run up hills even at a slow pace, risked aggravating the injury. This would have led to a time of 5 hours or a little more.
In the event it went better than I dared to hope : I completed the race in just over 4 1/2 hours of which I ran 4+ hours, while still walking up the hills. And there was 1500ft of uphill too. The last 5km were tough which was to be expected given the complete of running in the preceding 6 months : Indeed I was surprised that I didn’t start struggling earlier in the race.
So far as Sydney itself was concerned, I loved the place. I arrived on the Thursday before the Marathon and stayed in a relatively up-market hotel in the CBD (Central Business District), along with a significant number of other runners : I was with a specialist Marathon Tour for this part of the trip. There was an organised tour of the Sydney area with late evening Harbour Cruise.
Rather than leaving on the Monday after the Race, I had booked 3 days in a AirBNB set back a couple of hundred yards from Bondi Beach and where I had a really relaxing time, taking in the beach life and atmosphere. I jog/walked may way there & back along the Bondi to Coogee trail which stretches along the beaches that line the coast.
Of particular note in Bondi, is the Icebergs Pool & complex : The pool is right on the beach and is fed by seawater where waves frequently crash over the side walls into the pool on top of the swimmers. I was lucky with the weather which sunny & warm during my time in Bondi.
Wonderful to be back for my 11th run in this Marathon. Cool/Cold sunny windless day – perfect conditions. Got round inside 4 hours – most enjoyable.
Small detail but it seems that I came 22nd not 25th in the World Age Grade Championships.
in the chilly windy city ……
Actually OK conditions but very cold hanging around at the start. Given the near complete lack of long training runs, I shouldn’t be unhappy with a time inside 4 hours but disappointed with how it all started falling apart towards the end.
Is being 25th in the World Champs OK ? I think so and even if I had bettered my PB from >5 years ago I wouldn’t have got into the top ten.
And it was good to spend time with my ‘amigo’ Cesar : Here we are at the Expo.
As a footnote, it was good to be part of the Champs as we had a separate area with breakfast and a heated tent. But the post race baggage collection was a farce – they ended up putting all the bags out in the open for the runners to find their own bags !! Not good but it happens all too often.
Day after the Westminster Mile, it went OK and pleased to report that the second 5k was faster than the first 5k. Negative split box ticked and 3rd in my Category.
First of several races in coming weeks : Faster than last year an da club age group best.
