My first Half Marathon

On Sunday 20^th May 2018, at approximately 9:40am in Hackney East London, I started my first half marathon….but how did it end??

Let's wind back a little bit first. How did my pre-race prep go?

The week leading up to the event

The week before the event my left leg was still causing problems. Between 3-5 miles it would tighten up starting from the knee and working its way up to my hip, I would try to fight it but then I would start limping and I would have to stop. I could walk it off and then do short sprints only before the pain set in again. The exercises I found for ITBS mostly helped…the hip and calf were no longer causing me problems but I couldn't fix the left side of the knee.

On Saturday morning, I went for an easy 3 miles run, towards the end of the run I felt the left side of the leg tighten. As it was the day before the event, there wasn't much more I could do, so my plan for the Half Marathon was to run as far as I can until the pain sets in, and then walk the rest of the distance. I kept telling myself it's all about completeness and me entering such an event was a big step for me.

After my run, I went for a Sports massage….don't look at me like that…there was no happy ending! The physio gave me some useful advice by telling me that the stretching exercises I had been doing are better to be done after a run and not before. Dynamic stretches are the way forward. She gave the example of a footballer before the game, you never see them doing static stretches on the pitch, you always see them doing short sprints and lots of body and leg movements.

The Wedding

Its seems like a long time ago now, but Saturday 19^th May 2018 was a very important day…it was Prince Harry's Wedding….oh and Meghan's! I managed to get home from the massage in time to see Meghan's dress….much to my girlfriend's amusement! Everyone was talking about the dress and speculating what she might wear, so I had to see!!…I'm glad she went for the classic look in the end.

In honour of the wedding, my street was having a party. The road was closed to traffic and bunting was hanging from the trees. Everyone attending was asked to bring something savoury and something sweet. I've never seen so much food!! People also brought along some booze. It was amazing! 

After a couple of minutes our Polish Neighbour handed me a large Polish sausage (no giggling at the back!)…I was on a carb loading diet in preparation for my run…anyone who knows me, knows I love a good sausage (Hey! I said no giggling!)…so I couldn't resist…later I also had a cheeky samosa. However, I did manage to stay away from the booze…although that was tempting too as it was such a nice day…but I had given up the booze for the previous two weeks and I wasn't going to break now. Later I even went to my dad's local pub and stuck to pints of water! I kept telling myself, finish the run and then drink as much as you like!

Event Day

I stayed at my dad's as he lives closer to the start line and I needed to be there early. After a bit of confusion of trying to find an open entrance to the Underground I manged to get on the tube to Strafford. The tube was completely full of runners…it was like one of those Flash Mobs…everyone dressed up in their running gear…vests, shorts and trainers (I was disappointed not to see the 118 guys)….as typical with the London underground….no one spoke…there wasn't a sound….it was clear that we all had this run in common….but no one said a word! It was so surreal! Maybe everyone was just focused on what was ahead.

We all clambered off at Strafford and we all just followed each other…cutting through the Westfield Shopping centre. I didn't know where I was going….I just hoped the person at the front did and they were going to the same event!

We made it to the Hackney Half Running Festival on Hackney Marshes. It was quite overwhelming to see so many runners. More than 20,000 runners had signed up for the run…twice as many as the previous year. Walking towards the baggage storage area…I could smell a cocktail of Deep Heat, Energy drinks…and waffles!!……there was a waffle stand which made my head turn but I kept on walking.

I dropped off my bags to the storage area…bumped into my brother Ryan and his girlfriend Emma. It's amazing, out of 20,000 runners I managed to find my brother without even looking….sadly, after I popped to the toilet, I didn't get to see him again on the day. It would have been nice to have shared the experience.

Next I joined the pre-race warm-up…people were joking around me that they will be too knackered to run after this warm-up….I was thinking the same but I wasn't joking! 

We were told to make our way to the Starting Pens that had been assigned to us. I was assigned the Starting Pen J, which was right at the back. When signing up for the run I had to enter my estimated finishing time. I had never run such a distance before, so I had no idea but calculated that it takes me 25mins to run 3miles, 55mins to run 6 miles, so I entered 2hrs 30mins, which explains why I was in the last pen.

The Start

So the race made a start at 9am with a blast….well not for me as I was at the back of 20,000 people queue. We all shuffled along eagerly waiting to get started. There was entertainment on the big screen…we had Harry and Meghan waving at us, nice of them to make their way down from Windsor after their wedding night….but as we edged closer and closer to the big screen, we could see how budget the two look-a-likes really were. There was also a bit advice along the way from the presenters, the one that stood out for me was…"You get the same medal if you finish first, as you do if you finish last.". Good point, I just hope I finish.

I finally made it to the start line and I was off….at a slow and steady speed. I had 13.1 miles to run and I wasn't confident about my leg. As we left Hackney Marshes and got to the street the atmosphere was amazing. People cheering us on, there was steel drum band which really helped with the momentum.

Miles 1 - 6

The first mile seemed to take for ages…so long that I started to think if I had passed the mile marker. I was running slowly but I was still over taking people.

Between the 2^nd and 3^rd mile, I felt my knee start to tighten like it had been during the training. Then I went around a corner and I started to feel some pain and then I started to limp but I didn't want to stop. It was too early to stop now. So I told myself to try running for a little longer…the amazing thing is that the pain went away and I wasn't limping anymore. Now and again it would come back, when running over speed humps and running down hills but I self-coached myself to keep going for a bit longer and then the pain would subside. I think the adrenaline of the race, the cheering crowds and the loud music that was blasting out from people's gardens, definitely helped to keep me going. There were also kids holding out their hands in hope that a runner would give them a high-five…which I obliged from time-to-time. Spectators were handing out Jelly Babies on the route too but I didn't trust these through fear that they might be laxatives (You can see how my mind works!). A spectator was even holding a plate of pizza and offering it to the runners….there were a couple of pieces missing.

When I hit the 6th mile, I was starting to feel more confident and I was enjoying the vibe.

Miles 9 -12

When I got to the 9th mile, this was the longest I had ever run without stopping and I was telling myself "I'm going to do this…I'm not going to stop.". Shortly after this I saw my first causality, there was a young girl being stretched away. Then as the miles went on, I started to see more people pull up and stop, which worried me at first but I was feeling good and I was keeping hydrated…."Keep going Tone"…kept telling myself.

Around the 10^th and 11^th mile, more people started to walk but I was thinking we're nearly there, why stop now…so I kept going. There was even some people stopping to take a selfie of the Olympic Stadium in the background.

The 12^th mile mark, I was looking out for my cheerleaders…my dad, girlfriend (Ananya) and her friend Aga….it was such a delight to see them! It gave me a massive boast. I also had my remote cheerleaders in Bridgwater, Liverpool, Ireland, Dorset, Poland and Paris.

Almost there

With 1.1 miles to go, I knew I was going to do it…people were still pulling up and stopping but I kept going. Strangers were calling my name which was an amazing feeling. I then turned a corner and could see the finishing line, so I sprinted as much as I could and made it past the line.

Mission Accomplished

After collecting my medals (not on the podium), my t-shirts and a tote bag full of freebies, I wanted to sit down and stop. My legs felt stiff but I knew if I sat down I might struggle to get back up again. So I collected my bag from the storage, went to the toilet, got in touch with my girlfriend to arrange a meeting point and then I sat down. I couldn't lower myself to the ground, I just kind of collapsed but otherwise I felt amazing. I had finished my first half marathon. I completed it in 2hrs and 9mins! An amazing achievement for me.

After the event

There was poor phone signal because everyone was on their phones so it was difficult to find my cheerleading squad. I eventually found my Dad and Aga but my girlfriend wasn't there as she went off to try find me….she later came back with 4 glasses of prosecco! 

The prosecco was a very nice touch but what I really needed was a pint. I didn't fancy staying at the festival as it was busy and I didn't want to drink out of a plastic cup. I just wanted sit down in a pub and relax. My dad joked that the nearest pub is a 13.1 miles walk away.

We did managed to find a pub and a beer has never tasted so good!

On the Monday, I felt a lot of pain in my left knee and struggled to walk to the local tube station. I really should have booked the day off as holiday.

Tuesday, the pain had gone and walking was a lot easier. I still felt a bit of stiffness and strains but otherwise I was good.

By Wednesday, my legs felt fine and I even went to the gym. I ran for 25 minutes on the treadmill and I had no problems with my legs. I think the combination of doing dynamic stretches and running a half marathon have somehow fixed my left leg. This week I did my first road run, only 3 miles but it felt great to be back on the road again.

What's next?

In July I'm aiming to run the British 10k, which covers central London. So I will be running around Trafalgar Square and the Houses of Parliament.

In September, I will be running my second Half Marathon in Ealing.

Dedications:

Firstly, I wouldn't have been able to do this run without the World Cancer Research Fund UK, who entered me into the event for free. So I would like to thank them for giving me the opportunity. 

So far I have managed to raise £285 for WCRF...if you haven't already, there's still time to sponsor me. 

I would like to dedicate this post to all the people that sponsored and supported me:

Ananya (Thank you for all the times you had a pint of water waiting for me when I came back my runs)

Mum (Who joked that I was more nervous than Prince Harry on his Wedding Day)

Dad (Thanks for making me walk 13.1 miles for a beer....but it was worth it!)

Liz (Thank you for your messages of support when you were on tour...I think you were in Paris at the time?)

Auntie Helen (Thanks for the talc tip) and Tim
Uncle Joe (Cheering me on from Hamburg or was it Poland?)

Uncle Hugh

Kelly Allan

Emma Groves

Michael The Legend (Sponsored me the day after the birth of his daughter)

Aga (Thank you for dragging Ananya out of bed!)

Ludovic

Lisa

Anna

Thanks to my brother Sean for challenging me to run two Half Marathons. The challenge has helped me to maintain focus on getting fit. I loved the experience of running my first Half Marathon, the crowds were amazing , it will be an experience I will never forget.

Also thanks to my other brother Ryan, for all his running advice and tips. There was a time we would meet up and talk about movies, work, girls and drinking…now we mainly talk about running! We've changed!!

I have also managed to inspire my cousin Neal to run an event. He was tracking me from Bridgwater via the app. We're planning to run the Bristol 10k next year and we will no doubt go for one of our legendary pub crawls afterwards...this time it might literally be crawl.

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