Simon Bath and the Goblet of Water

Simon Bath and the Goblet of Water 

(See, it wasn't a Star Wars reference)     

                               

                                                              

So, there’s a lot to talk about.

The Virgin London Marathon is just 118 (One hundred and eighteen) days away, JFC that’s scary. My training hasn’t progressed very well. I have started a new full-time job and the commuting has taken its toll. My eating has also been affected and I’m now just starting to get a handle on things. However, my training is now my top priority. As this is New Years Eve I am jumping on the bandwagon of going dry and also making sure that I eat better with more vegetables, fish and less red meat. I even started to eat more vegetarian meals which to anyone who knows me and my love of meat will tell you is amazing. But I am now properly committed to completing this marathon and getting myself back into good shape (even though I maintain that round is a shape).  I also now have all the gear, compression leggings, a hat and running tops - so if looking the part counts for anything I'm all over it.
  I managed to get out for a lovely run over Putney Heath on Christmas day and I can honestly say it was the first time I had actually enjoyed running so that has really encouraged me to keep pushing on. 

                                                   

                                                   Putney Heath on Christmas morning. 

I’m currently working out where I am going to go tomorrow morning as I really want to try and stretch my legs and see just what I can do…..It will probably make the rest of the day a write-off though.

My cousin Ian and his incredible moral support continues, he just sent me this meme


                                              

Perhaps most importantly of all, I have chosen a charity to run for and that is Young Minds.

                                      http://www.youngminds.org.uk/

                 

They are a charity who do wonders for children with mental health conditions and every penny helps them to reach out to more and more children who suffer. Those closest to me will know that I feel strongly about mental health as I have had my own struggles with anxiety and if I can do something to help children struggling it means I can give something back.

Please feel free to check out their website to see just how much they do.

If you’d like to sponsor me in my quest I would be extremely grateful and any support you want to give be it messages, recipes or anything else I am extremely grateful for.

This is a link to my Just Giving page, https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SimondoRuns 

Current feeling:  Bewildered 

In the meantime, Thank you for reading. 

Simon

Episode 3: Revenge of the Sloth

Episode 3: Revenge of the Sloth

I promise that every week won't be a Star Wars Reference......maybe.

This is what I imagine I look like towards the end of my runs, It's at least exactly how I feel I look anyway.


It's official now, I have paid the entrance fee and I will be running the 2019 Virgin London Marathon - no backing out now. To be completely honest with you, it's still really surreal and I don't expect that to change until some point during the marathon itself. I still am not quite sure what I'm going to run for but I will definitely have decided by the next blog.

                                               Proof!!! I'm actually doing this. No seriously.


The training side of thing is progressing. The distances that I am completing are increasing and i'm fully expecting to be at the 10k mark within the next couple of weeks -which I'm pleased about. After that I will start to focus on achieving half distance of the full marathon. The runs themselves have their testing moments which is just me getting used to running regularly again (I hope) and with time and improved fitness I don't expect them to be a problem.

The fall in temperature over the last couple of weeks has really had an effect on my running. The cold weather hit my throat and chest and I had some really discomfort when trying to breathe. I have done my research and found what I think is the source of the problem is and that it is actually quite common and I have been able to deal with it a lot better -all these things to think about, it really isn't as easy as just putting one foot in front of the other.

                                                       Greens! A whole bowl of greens.


This week I started to turn my attention to the dietary side of the training. As you can see from the picture I threw myself into a big bowl of boiled greens and have decided to give up kebabs... after Sunday. Those people who have spent any extended period of time with me will know that I am not a big fan of fruit and will probably raise an eyebrow to hear that I have been eating loads of the stuff. I mean bananas, who actually likes bananas??? They taste funny.
The thing I have disliked the most about this experience is the need to effectively cut out beer from my diet. I do enjoy a pint and will very much miss them but the minute I cross that finish line someone better throw one to me!

My cousin Ian continues to be a solid source of knowledge for my marathon training. This week he left me with this little beauty:

  "The only thing standing between you and your goal is a complete lack of talent and failure of will"

I mean it's not quite Confucius but at least there is less meaning to have to decipher. If anyone is wondering why I continue to seek his advise is because after the scathing put downs, he always has great advice and encouragement. He's a runner himself and his support and council has been vital to any progression I have achieved.   


Current feeling: Optimistic with a chance of meatballs greens.


Simon


** All information correct at time of going to press. Any whiney tweets sent may not reflect this article

Part 2: Run Fatboy Run

                                                     Part 2: Run Fatboy Run
                                       

Well fuck. Training for a marathon is tough.

So after enjoying my birthday weekend away in Chester (What a beautiful city) which was full of cocktails, good food and great beer, the first thing I was keen to do was to get into my training.

I've always been told that the first step is the most difficult, I'd argue however that hardest step was the first one getting out of bed the next morning after my first run. But my training is up and running, my first jaunt out saw me bank a comfortable 4K (I was aiming for 5 but the route wasn't as long as I'd thought). I had a lot more left in the tank which I made me feel quite positive about things-  I'm sure the aching muscles will subside once my body gets a bit more used to things. 

In order to prepare for things getting more serious - and to attain some inspiration, I took to getting hold of the Simon Pegg film Run Fatboy Run. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's a story about a man with absolutely no fitness, running a half marathon on a whim to impress his ex-fiance. It turns out to his dismay that the training is extremely difficult and that quite a few people doubt his ability to be able to complete it due to his lack of physical ability in the running department - I'm starting to see a few similarities creeping in.
 As it's a feel good film (spoiler alert) everything works out, he completes the half marathon and lives happily ever after and wins back Maeve. Now I'm certain nothing can go wrong.

My research in this whole endeavour has continued this week. I thought it would be a good idea to see where 26.2 miles would take me from my house. The answer is St.Albans and I found that quite a daunting prospect of having to run quite that far considering it's right the other side of London.

News from my cousin Ian this week (I hope to God this doesn't become a weekly feature of this blog)
"Did you know, since the London Marathon started 11 (Eleven) people have died whilst running it?" .
Thanks again, mate. I'm sensing a pattern forming here. Let's hope any input he has for next week sees fewer morbid stats.

In other news I started compiling a #SimondoRuns playlist on Spotify and that will hopefully grow with some great running tracks - suggestions always welcome.

I'm still yet to decide what cause I want to run for, that's a much harder question to answer than you'd think as there are quite a lot of things I'm passionate about but I will put that in a future blog when I have completed all of the official paperwork and can't actually escape.

Thank you everyone who has read last week's effort, over 360 reads in the first week was incredible. Thank you also to everybody who has wished me well and those who have suggested training methods. This one has been quite short as I'm still trying to find my groove but more informative things will follow.


Current feeling: Naive optimism


Simon

Episode IV: No Hope

These Violent Delights Have 26.2 Mile Ends

Chapter IV: No Hope

After seven rejections over ten years, the last thing that I expected last week was a pack from Virgin telling me that I was 'In' to run the 2019 Virgin London Marathon. After becoming used to the rejection due to  the great mathematical improbability of getting selected through the ballot, last week's sight of confirmation that in six months time I'd be running further than I'd ever run before wasn't the warm and fuzzy feeling I'd hoped for.

This is probably a good time to tell you that this blog will reflect how i'm actually feeling, if I'm having a shit day I will talk about it but when there are good days, I'll speak about those as well. Also probably a good time to mention that there might be the odd bit of swearing so it'll come with a 15 rating.

The immediate reaction quite honestly drained the warmth from my body and then a surreal feeling began to seep it's way into my vision. Then the questions of doubt begin to circle: How the fuck am I going to do this?, "What if it takes me seven hours?" "What if my nipples fall off after seventeen miles?" It took me a few hours of thinking about the consequences of my decision to enter the ballot to come up with the answer to all three question: I simply get on with it.


     The day before the shocking announcement was spent at a family christening where my cousin and I had been chatting about the marathon; him having finished a half-marathon that morning. He was in the London Marathon Ballot for the eleventh time and unfortunately he was unsuccessful. After my Mum and girlfriend, the first person I messaged was him and he immediately called me back. I answered the phone expecting to hear some encouragement and reassurance that everything was going to be ok and I could get through it, what do I get? "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU'RE GOING TO SUFFER HAHAHAHAHAHA"
  Not the reaction I was hoping for, Ian - thanks mate. After he finally managed to stop laughing he did have some good advice for me and some good places to look for information and advice albeit for about thirty seconds before the laughter began again. (The call lasted for nearly nine minutes)

So where is my fitness level? I hear you cry. It's not at zero but it's not much higher so it is a mountain to climb and I understand that. My cricket team mates will tell you that I'm a great slip catcher but I'm not that fussed on running threes when batting (they may mention my bitching about it as well). My affinity for a couple of pints won't help matters either, the very first thing I found when researching into suggested diets was 'Avoid alcohol', why did I want to do this again?

I haven't actually mentioned why I want to do this. Firstly I love proving myself to people who don't believe in me. Most importantly, I want to do this because it's such a vast undertaking, a chance to knuckle down and focus on a goal that takes physical endurance and mental strength to overcome. I'm quite realistic in that I won't be nipping around the course in three and a half hours but maybe I can try and break five hours. I'll build more on reasons for wanting to do this in future updates.

The main point of this blog is to say that if I can do this, so can anyone. Hopefully through sharing everything in a very honest way  it will both encourage people that they can achieve great challenges, but also warn people of the nastier side of training and preparing for these things. Fear cuts deeper than the knife and I hope to show people that this is the case by applying myself to this task.

I will at some point announce that I am running for a cause, I'm not sure which cause just yet but keep your eyes peeled for that.

Finally, thank you for every piece of encouragement I've received so far, please keep them up for the coming month.

                                                 
Current feeling : Bemusement 


                                                                    Simon