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Derek reveals the secret to running the London Marathon
The Bucks Herald's chief photographer Derek Pelling set himself the formidable challenge of running the London Marathon. Inspired by his mother's fight against cancer, he raised £2,000 for three local charities - The Chilterns MS Centre, The Wooden Spoon Unit and the Friends Of Florence Nightingale House, the Aylesbury Hospice. Here, in his own words, Derek reveals how he trained for one of the most physically challenging events in the world.
It was a moment that sent panic through me, and then a real sense of 'wow, I'm going to get my chance to give something back'. But then the reality starts to hit. I've got about five months to get myself to the stage that I would be able to complete 26.2 miles running the London Marathon. I'd been going to the gym for the past two years, so had got myself pretty fit through that. But I knew road running was a different kettle of fish. The pounding of the road doesn't do much good for your joints, especially your knees.
After I had got over the shock of actually getting into the marathon, a huge challenge in itself as there are only about 35,000 places, I decided to get some idea of a training schedule together, although I am not someone who tends to keep to these kinds of things. Thankfully I had a bit of help as a friend of mine gave me a book about marathon running for Christmas.
One of the first things I did was quit the gym. I know this sounds a bit daft, but wanting to put my effort into getting out on the road, I had to get my legs used to the different environment. I started going out three or four times a week on short runs, around about 10-15 minutes, just over a mile, and I started to gradually build up from there not wanting to injure myself before I had really started. I combined my running with cycling to take the strain away from the problem areas so not to put too much stress on my joints. This was a great way of doing it.
After four weeks I was building myself up to about five miles, which meant I was out for about 50 minutes. This is when things start to get a bit boring. It's a long time out on your own, and I knew the runs would just get longer from here. I treated myself to an MP3 player, a fantastic investment. It's good to have a little company and something to help keep you going; listening to your favourite music really does help. Something else I purchased, purely because I love gadgets and it would mean that I would know exactly how far I have been, was a watch incorporating GPS. From here I would know how far I had run and what my pace was. I worked out I was running roughly 10 minutes a mile which is not a bad pace.
By now I was running three times a week and once on the bike. The runs were roughly between five miles and 10, and the cycling about 15 miles. I was feeling comfortable, it was all going well and I knew I had more in me, so was happy with my progress only suffering odd aches and pains, but nothing to worry about.
It was heading towards one month before the marathon I decided to try for the half marathon distance; 13 miles. This would be on a Sunday morning with my girlfriend riding alongside on the bike, with supplies of water and Lucozade Sport – an absolute necessity. This was the stuff to get me through and it did. I completed the distance, running to my aunt's house so I had a lift home. It took me two hours and 13 minutes. I was really pleased and right on schedule. I would repeat this on my own on days leading up to the marathon. I was feeling very confident at this point, knowing I was going to make it.
Then came the day that all my hard work was almost wasted. Whilst running over a pedestrian crossing, a very kind person decided not to stop and drove straight in front of me. I managed to avoid him just, only to realise at the very last second he was in fact towing another car. I managed to go between the two cars, jump the tow rope and come out the other side unhurt. A scary moment but thankfully no harm done.
After the incident I got straight back into the training. Eating the right kind of foods is most important and for this I have my girlfriend to be thankful. She kept me fed with pasta and potatoes along with chicken and plenty of meat. This all really helped with the energy levels during running and the recovery afterwards.
Two weeks before the big day I decided I needed to go out and do a long run to try and do the furthest distance. So I decided to run the 13 miles and cycle back. In total I covered about 26 miles and I didn't feel too bad afterwards. A real confidence boost for myself. Although looking back now I feel I should have been doing longer distances earlier and the only way I could have done this would have been to start my training out on the road earlier, at least six months before the race.
With a week or so to go until the day itself it's time to wind down. Shorter runs and not so often to let my body recover and build up its energy levels so not risk injuring myself. My last run was on the Thursday before, only three miles, but it was necessary to keep my joints and muscles active. After this was great with no more training. I had done all I could. Now I hoped it was not too hot on the day.
Guess what? It was hot. The hottest London Marathon ever. This was a bit worrying but I knew if I kept my liquid levels up I would be fine. My Lucozade Sport was packed and there is plenty of drinks stations throughout the whole run. I would just go at my pace and if I needed to stop for a break I would. I managed the first half with only one toilet stop. After this is where things start to hurt. Pushing myself further and further, knowing how proud I would be and how proud my family and friends would be. The one thing that made sure I got to the end was my mum. She was my incentive and the reason I had entered in the first place. To raise money for those who had helped her in her final days, and made her as comfortable as possible. This was my way of saying thank you.
The race was tough but with the crowds and the other runners, and seeing how many people were there for the same reason I was, I knew all I could do was get to the end and collect my medal. That is exactly what I did. Longer than I had hoped, due to the weather, but five hours 43 minutes after the start I finished one of the most amazing and emotional days of my life. A real achievement of which I am so very proud.
I hope to repeat this one day in the future maybe. If I do I have learned that training is essential. There is no way you could do it without preparation and you need to be serious about it. The long, lonely hours out on the road are well worth the effort, so if you are reading this and think 'yes I could do that', I say do it. Put the effort in, it is well worth it and it's one hell of a day out.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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