Last weekend, Phoebe A. and Scott lined up at the Battersea Park and Paddock Wood Half-Marathons as part of their London Marathon builds. One last big effort before the big day in a few weeks, testing the legs, lungs, and the mind.
Running, for its simplicity, is riddled with thought and emotion: “This is amazing”, “I hate the wind”; “My legs hurt”; “Can I do this?”; sound familiar? A rollercoaster journey that soundtracks any race or training week.
On their way to Personal Bests of 1:34:09 and 1:15:18 respectively, we take a journey through the minds of Phoebe and Scott - just what goes through the mind when we step up to the line to take on this old challenge we call running.
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Scott (SC) 6:30am: woke up 30-minutes before my alarm, immediately regretting agreeing to join Dad for a curry last night; the local gaff is too good to pass up, but a half marathon 12-hours after might be risky.
- 6:45am: first round of business is done… relief… I expect there could more business meetings to attend to after a coffee or two.
- 7:00am : Dads up, which means his Parrot his also awake, both do their business meetings and we convene for breakfast. I’m excited but apprehensive, parrots are scary. As are half marathons and having challenging goals.
Phoebe (PA) 7:00am: wake up, let’s go baby!!
- 7:10am: shower, coffee, figure out what to wear for the race - should have planned this all better! All I know is that I’m wearing SUMS socks and Saucony Endorphin Speed 4s (bought at Runlimited… obviously)
- 7:25am: outfit sorted… make up done… hair done.. I’m feeling ready to race!
- 7:35am: breakfast - honey on toast, pop some electrolyte drink, fuelling well.
- 8:00am: Got to sit down and relax, get the mindset straight
SC 8:00am: Breaky, business meeting, shower - done, strength of stomach contents still uncertain, apprehension deepens
- 8:05am: business meeting
- 8:10am: In the car to the Paddock Wood Half
PA 8:35am- leave the house … 35 min walk to Battersea park. Breathing techniques and getting some tunes on to get me in the head space… time prediction 1:32!! Nervous, confident, that’s a fast time, can I do it?
SC 8:45am: arrival to car park, warm up jog after race bib pickup. Excitement/anxiety settling-in in equal parts
- 9:15am: business meeting, that’s the nerves, and the curry
PA 9:15am: team meeting with the crew in the event arena - feels like we’re getting our sh*t together! Trainers, bib numbers on, and dropping off my bag! Team photo. This is happening now!
SC 9:30am: Call athletes who are also racing - being a coach is the gift that keeps giving, especially today when the race starts in t-minus 30-minutes and one is still in traffic and the other has arrived, but forgotten their shoes. Anxiety heightened.
- 9:45am: drills, strides, contemplating business meeting. Getting a little jittery. Do I need to go again?
PA 9:45am - team warm up, 3km jog followed by some dynamic stretches. Why are we running so far before the start of the race? And also why am I doing another lap of the park?? We’re setting our mindset… heart rate racing… Warmup heart rate 160… The nerves are kicking in! But what an epic day for a run, blue skies, I can do this! Let’s see what the day brings.
SC 9:55am: go to race start, push to front, forget gels, leave pen and find dad. Embarrassment.
- 9:58am: push back to front of pen and reassure others it was just a business meeting
- 10:00am: lights out, and away...we…go (Yes, you can read this in Martin Brundle voice - editor)
- 10:05am: HR already in the 180s
- 10:05am: panic…
PA 10:15am: walk to start find the pacer for the time I’m aiming for…Another emergency toilet break… fourth of the morning… all nerves
- 10:30am: head in the game - getting my banging playlist on
SC 10:twenty-something am: Panic again. Whole group is getting away on this hill. Just let them go for it. This feels rough. Not got the legs today. Take your first gel, get that glycogen in, hit reset.
PA 10:35am start… 8.75 laps of Battersea Park. Have I ever done that many laps of Battersea? Nope! Am I even able to run that many laps…?
SC 10:40am: Keep the legs moving. Honest effort. Seems to be coming back to me after hitting some carbs. Picking off the group that left me behind on that hill!
PA 10:55am: 5km done, bosh. I’ve got this, let’s keep up and follow the pacer… feeling fresh!! Lap 3 now, take a gel, stick to the fuelling that works for me.
- I don’t know what time it is now: What lap am I on?? Oh no… pacer has gotten away… what do I do? Try and catch up? No, I will run my own race. Getting in the groove: Taylor Swift, you are incredible.
- 11:15am: Lap 5.. See tracksmith cheer squads, giving me some spirt and boosting my mood. Go to give them a high five…speed up … think that was a bad idea …. But I’ve got this, let’s stick this out! Sip sip on some water, second gel.
SC 11:15am: 1:15 on the clock, 21.1km done, big PB - relief washes over me
- 11:16am: I’ll let you guess what happens next (rhymes with “his-niece heating”)
PA 11:25am: Wait … how many miles have I done…. What lap am I on.. am I finished yet….
11:26am: lap 6 and I’ve dropped 20 seconds per mile’. Starting to get hot now, grab some more water.
11:35am Yell to one of my best friends on lap 7 that I have thrown up in my mouth.
11:45am: Last full lap ‘see you at the end … I’ve got this. Push to speed up! On track to a PB!
12:00pm: Cue ‘safe and sound’ - finish with a bang.
12:30pm: Another half marathon done another PB, feeling strong for London Marathon. I’ve learned a lot from the race. Let’s use this towards the next few weeks of training.
…. But wait, there’s more…
7:00pm: Plays hockey match after the half marathon… Rolls ankle…Learn another lesson: rest after a race. Don’t go and play another sport two hours later… The journey continues….
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*Editor’s note re: “business meetings”. If it were not apparent, Scott is referring to his bowel movements, part-and-parcel of the runner’s experience of race day.
Racing. It’s a journey in itself, experiencing all of life’s emotions in 13.1miles. Sometimes we question why we do it, but it’s for the love of the game.