What's your story?

As many of my running friends did, I completed the HBF Run for a Reason on Sunday just gone. I must admit it was a lot more enjoyable than I had expected it to be, after swearing off mass participation, close the city type runs after my one and only City to Surf experience in 2010 I was expecting the worst. By the worst I mean roads congested with people in onesies & tutus, zigging and zagging around walkers who seem to have time travelled. That sort of thing. Sure I saw a bit of that but not nearly as bad as I thought. I managed to arrive at the finish in one hour, thirty three minutes and five seconds. I'm happy with that as at about the 6km mark I was feeling like I would be out there all day. In fact I told myself several times that I was cooked, and was only going to get slower from here. It was only when some parkrun friends came alongside at the 7k mark and started talking to me that I got my act together(many thanks Theresa & Ann). I ran with them for a while but I couldn't keep up, though I managed to keep them in sight until they entered Gloucester park. Why does our self talk, our inner voice give us so much grief, is it creating excuses for not reaching goals? Is it our subconscious trying to excuse us from doing the work we need to do, because after all these things are hard, thats the whole point of doing them. I sure don't know, when I do I'll let you know, but I do know one thing, what we tell ourselves has a massive effect on our success or otherwise. So try and keep your story positive. My next challenge is the Perth Marathon relay, then the Masters Athletics club marathon. I'll be stepping up the training for both but hopefully I'll be stepping up the frequency of these posts, if not for my readers(should that be plural?) then at least for my own continued motivation. I'm also thinking about the possibility of a podcast because I really do love the sound of my own voice, but I'll need some help with that one. Watch this space.

The Magic of parkrun

So although plenty seems to be happening, most of it is not sitting at a keyboard writing down my thoughts. Which seems like a shame because I reckon I've been having some rippers. Can I think of any of them right now, not one. Well thats not quite true, I have a couple that will probably come up during this post but if they don't, trust me, they were off the scale brilliant. Anyway I've been wanting to write about the magic of parkrun, a free weekly timed 5km run at a park near you. And although I don't believe in anything remotely mystical or magical, unicorns or fairies, there is something quite magic that happens when these groups get together every Saturday morning at 8am. I first heard about park run through my mate Jeremy Savage's posts on Facebook, I'd met Jeremy through riding bikes and he's been mentioned on this blog before in reasonably glowing terms. Jeremy loves parkrun so much that he got involved in setting up a new park run at Canning River, then one in Gosnells. I started going along about a year ago when Jeremy was involved in starting up Canning River, it's hard to explain but the vibe is so good at these events, the encouragement, the general feeling of a group of people doing something they really enjoy. I usually attract my fair share of encouragement wherever I go, mainly because I'm a big guy having a crack, but the encouragement I see going to everybody, the applause as someone finishes, whether first or last is quite amazing. Now it seems like there are park runners wherever you go, at events all over the state, high fiving and supporting each other on to greater heights of running stupidity and achievement. I still don't know why it works and probably don't need to, but I'm glad it does. So for the moment it's the only magic I believe in.

From Fatboy to Fitfan

It was suggested to me today that I should be blogging about where I am at currently and the challenge that I am currently involved in: fitfans. Of course it seems so long away from my blog, it feels something like switching off a favorite TV show then not watching it again for two years. You know the main character seems familiar but what have I missed? So the trick here might be for those who are interested to give some updates about the current situation, then by way of flashback bring you up to speed with what's been happening in the interim. These flashbacks scenes will be clearly marked(probably by me staring wistfully into space) so if your not interested you can skip it. So where am I at? I'm currently involved in a competition put on by HBF called fitfans. They've selected 22 Eagles fans(and 22 Dockers fans) to see who can get the greatest weight and fitness improvement over the footy season. The prize(one for the Dockers & one for the Eagles) is a trip to the AFL grand final. So in a nutshell, I have an opportunity to win a trip for something I ought to be doing anyway, sweet Hey? So I've been running, working out with a personal trainer and watching what goes in my mouth. So far so good, It's a long challenge so I know there will be a bit to talk about,not to mention my flashbacks, hopefully the blog will help keep me on the straight and narrow for the duration.

Comeback time

Over 7 months have passed since the Perth Marathon, time goes quickly whether you have a goal or not it seems and here I am at the beginning of February deciding that it's more than time to get back into full training and it's been suggested by some full blogging again. So for those who've missed my Fatboy musings, here I am again, for those that haven't why have you read this far? Really.
So anyway what have I been up to since the marathon, in truth a fair amount of laurel resting has been done, I got a new tattoo reflecting my motto and a little(vey little) training. I've also put on some weight which annoys the hell out of me.
So what next, well about a month ago I posted that I was going to do an Olympic distance triathalon on the 18th of March, I've started training and I reckon I'll be right in time but it just isn't exciting me one bit. Swimming training has been nice, but not great. Running(what little I've done) has been ordinary. Riding has been fantastic, hard but so much fun.
Which is leading me to think, maybe 2012 should be the year of the wheel for this Fatboy, more ride Fatboy ride or even Allez Fatboy.
So what is the marathon equivalent on a bike? Good question, but I'll be looking to find out.Anyone who has any suggestions should let me know. I'm all ears.

Recovery

Well, one week and one day has passed since I completed the Perth Marathon. Every so often I have to stop and pinch myself to realize that it wasn't a dream, that I really did it. Then I walk and my still blistered feet tell me how real it was. Every step I take reminds me of every step I took, I feel more than ready to start training again, but my feet are saying let's have a few more days.
And what to train for, I have a vague idea that I might like to do a half.... Marathon later in the year, but how soon I'm not sure.
As for the future of this blog, well I'm not sure there either, it's served me well, a great way to get my thoughts out about my journey to become a marathon runner, now that I'm there I'm not sure of it's usefulness. I'm sure I'll think of something.

Broken Bricks

Well I said I'd post last night but one thing and another and here we are it's Monday.Of course it's Monday I'm in pain,tired and have blisters as big as Gary Ablett's wallet, but I have a couple of other things, I have a medal that says I've finished a marathon and I have a massive sense of achievement.
I also have a huge amount of gratitude for the people who helped me and encouraged me. Clearly Tracy has been 100% with me, it's just not possible to do these sorts of things without your family onside. Abbey has also been a huge support.
On the day I cannot go past the massive support that Adam Crawley gave, riding along with me carrying drinks & gels and constantly encouraging. My only criticism is that he tried to talk me into a half ironman next, no way mate, no way. Adam also provided awesome assistance to one of my fellow marathoners,Julie McDonald, who was struggling towards the end of the freeway leg, with Adam's encouragement she beat me by 23 seconds in what has to be the worlds slowest photo finish. I just had no energy to catch her, let alone pass her, though if anyone asks I did the right thing and let the lady go first.
Colin Prior, Jeremy Savage & Kelly Underwood all joined me in the last vital stages and all made me feel pretty good on the last few k's(other than the fact that I felt like crap they did a top job)
My fitness journey has introduced me to so many great people and yesterday they where out in force. Kudos to you all.
Those of you who have followed my blog know that I often use White Stripes songs as blog titles, this blog was very nearly called "I just don't know what to do with myself" (it's on elephant by the way) just for the fact that I really don't know what to do next. I know for the next few days I'll recover but after that who knows. But for the record, no half iron mans

When I hear my name

It's less than 48 hours until the start of the marathon(and less than 48 to the finish) and I've now reached the point where besides eating,drinking & sleeping I can do no more to prepare. I had a small run tonight, felt really good just turning the legs over. Now of course I start to wonder if I've done enough, but if I have or I haven't I can't change anything now.
One thing I can do is thank everyone who has pumped up my tires over the last 6 months, everybody who has posted a comment, pressed like on facebook or yelled at me from a passing car(though maybe the guys shouting the other day weren't really encouraging).
So I say thanks to everyone, I'll post again on Sunday night to let you know how I went, Tracy will also post on my facebook through the race(well that's the plan)
If you come down, don't forget to shout at the Fatboy