Well on Saturday morning I left a sunny Liverpool to head to London to make my final preparations for the Marathon on Sunday. I was feeling ok and relatively good about the race; I had been hit with a chest infection the Friday before and finished the course of antibiotics I was taking on Saturday morning.  The atmosphere in London is amazing on the build up; the city is busy and buzzing with people and athletes.

After a brief rest on Saturday and some broken sleep, Sunday morning quickly arrived and I was full of porridge and on the tube heading to Greenwich to the start of the race. The carriages were heaving, it was like being at the front at a concert and not a very good one, I thought at one point how many more people can fit on a tube that is already full, the answer is a lot more!

At Greenwich station the trains flooded the streets with runners and the sea of people poured to the large flats of the park. All around people stretched off, ate and drank and carried out the all important final rituals. Charity vests and t-shirts covered the landscape, men and women erected weird and wonderful costumes and a small zoo of runners was formed. Probably the most surreal part of the day for me was standing having a wee next to Darth Vader and Scooby doo at the same time!

Before long it was bags on the transport and everyone had to make their way to the form up points, bang on cue the heavens opened and we all became soggy and cold. Richard Branson then pushed his way to the front and we were off at 09.45. It was a real hurry up and wait moment, crossing the line was slow and starting to run was even slower, eventually after a mile the crowd began to open up. The first six miles flew by and the three different start points (Red, Blue and Green) all joined up as the route headed towards London city, the pace was picking up but the volume of people around me was unbelievable!

As the course progressed the crowds of supporters grew and grew, the bands, drummers and screaming mobs all get inside your head and power you forward. I saw my family at 12 miles and hit the half marathon marker at 1 hr 39 minutes. Miles 14 to 20 disappeared as I trotted around the isle of dogs and Canary wharf dodging the water bottles and empty cartons on the road.

When I hit the final five miles disaster struck, I started to cough and my lungs decided that they had had enough. I lost my pace and had to stop, St Johns ambulance smothered me with kindness and offered me O2 but the race official at the roadside explained that if I needed oxygen then I would be out of the race. After a short quick walk away from both men, I cleared my chest out and started to run again, sounding like an old knackered car as I went. The next 5 miles took me 67 minutes of breathless coughing and spluttering to get down to Buckingham Palace and the finish! My overall time was a disappointing (for me) 3hrs 51 minutes. I finished 8840 out of 51000 who started the race.

What next……………………? Another course of anti-biotics, then back to training and who knows! I might do Berlin, Boston and Chicago to complete the marathon major series or  I might just stick to walking the dog in the park...

Back to work and back to training. Although those of us who have entered races in the early part of this year have had no time off!

 

With the london Marathon only 15 weeks away Both Tim and Greg have been battling the bad weather to keep up with their strict training programes. The boys have been so licra clad in the snow and ice, that at times they have been mistaken for spiderman and the silver surfer! Still, the very thought of not getting the times that they have set themselves for the big race has helped to focus their minds and made them push on.

The next few months are very busy with the Helsby Running Club 4 village race on Sunday the 17^th of January and then the first ever UK Kilomathon, that’s 26.2 kilometers (16.3 miles, the perfect race distance for the human body) between Nottingham and Derby on Sunday the 17^th of March, this is 7 weeks prior to the race.

 

We will keep you posted for information on how to get involved with sponsorship and tickets for the Winners Dinner to help celebrate after the marathon, Body Solutions style!!!

Interval training guides runners in developing workouts that are tailored to their particular situations. Interval training refers to workouts in which hard running efforts of prescribed distances or time are repeated with intervals of rest between the repeated hard efforts.

There are three main reasons that interval training is done:

1. Intervals are used to increase anaerobic threshold levels. By repeating sustained hard efforts at near anaerobic condition, the runner improves his ability to run hard without going into oxygen debt.
2. Interval training also increases a runner's endurance. This means that the runner can continue at a certain pace for an extended period of time.
3. Finally, interval training builds muscle strength. Typical distance running exercises the leg muscles in a certain range of motion, with the focus on slow-twitch fibres. By running at faster speeds, the runner exercises all leg muscles and improves flexibility during running, both of which will mean improved muscle performance in races. This makes running at a race pace easier and improves top speed for sprint finishes.

Well done to all the Body Solutions clients who took part in the 10k and 5k races this weekend. Times were: Nicci Davies - 00:49:05(10k), Rose Egan - 00:49:37(10k), Sharon Griffiths - 00:26:26(5k), Karen Morris - 00:25:38(5k). Simon was there for a little moral support, however, everyone was so 'in the zone' they hardly noticed his words of encouragement from the sidelines! This was Karen and Sharon's first race so an even bigger congratulations for doing so well, we're so proud of you all!

 

All the team at Body Solutions would like to see a huge congratulations to everyone who took part in the London Marathon. We are glad to say that everyone completed it and not only that but with some fantastic finishing times!

Fiona Drysdale - 7:25, Rob Kehoe - 4:43, Steve Smith - 3:34, Pam Barker - 5:24, Steph Meredith - 4:55, Nick Kewell - 4:17, Adele Prince 5:19.

We saw the drive, hard work and pure dedication that went into creating these results and are very proud of everyone. So once more - CONGRATULATIONS!

There is no excuse now, the evenings are bright, the air is warm and Body Solutions has a great range of running trainers available to order, so get outside and enjoy the weather! (However, taking into account it is England, we also have some great discounts on all winter wear too!). Next weekend is the London marathon and we are sending out HUGE good lucks to all clients who have been working so hard to get in tip top shape. Fingers crossed for everyone taking part - hopefully it wont rain!

Saturday 28^th March 2009 saw Body Solutions’ clients and personal trainer Tim Barrett dust off those running shoes and take part in Liverpool’s half marathon. Apart from a few minor hiccups at the beginning (like Tim and the Lead Pack being sent the wrong way!!) everyone did really well. The conditions were perfect for a half marathon, if a little windy and the results showed everyone’s training had really paid off. Overall finishing times were as follows: Tim Barrett – 01:27:30, Dave Gillam – 01:40:57, Nicci Davies – 01:51:05 and Alison Black – 02:30:30. You can check out the details including overall positions at www.tdl.ltd.uk . If this has inspired you to dig out your own running shoes then look out for the next running event on the Body Solutions calendar and ask us to put your training into action!

Everyone at Body Solutions would like to say a big well done to Sally Stephenson for completing her abseil down Leasowe Lighthouse! Sally was raising money for the Youth Fellowship Uganda Mission Trip 2009, and Body Solutions clients kindly donated over £200. Check out some of the pictures on our notice board. We would also like to wish good luck to everyone who is taking part in the Liverpool half marathon this Sunday. You can learn more about this by checking out www.runliverpool.org.uk. Get yourself down there to see the World Record Breakers that will be opening the race. And it’s not too late if you want to take part – you can register in person at Up and Running, Bold Street, Liverpool city centre up until Saturday 28th March, 5.00pm. What you waiting for…?