Benny's Myeloma Diary

Mile 46 – A few aches and pains slowed me down. It’s inevitable that runners will have the odd tumble. I have seen experienced runners kick their toe on a rock and elegantly perform a forward roll, land on their feet, unscathed, and leave the rest of the group wondering if they can believe what they have just seen. To some extent, the more often you trip, the better you get at it. However, there are exceptions, like the time, years ago, when I went over on the South Downs Way at 7am on a Sunday morning and dislocated my shoulder. I had to walk down to the road and…

Mile 45 – Flat and nicely crowded. Some marathons have huge numbers of runners. The New York City Marathon seems to be regarded as the world’s largest with around 48,000 finishers and the London Marathon is not far behind. Among shorter races, in the past I have taken part in a couple that claim global records. Göteborgsvarvet in Gothenburg, Sweden is “the largest half marathon in the world”, for which the whole city seemed to be shut down, with 64,500 participants. It was amazing that my Swedish family members were able to find us in the crowd / starting pen and come to support. My son Tim and I took…

Mile 44 – Made easier by lots of supporters and plenty of food stations. After crossing the marathon finish line, you have to find both your supporters and your way home again. A bit of forward planning can help although these days, with mobile phones, it is probably not quite so necessary. I have been to marathons where big letters are displayed in the meet up zone so you can head for your initial. Not too bad for me, but an “Alan Young” would have to have made it clear which initial he would use. Nowadays the runner might WhatsApp “finished” and receive the reply “see you in the pub”.…

Mile 43 – Nice and flat, although rather muddy. Some people might start running as a New Year’s resolution. For others returning to training and ‘dry January’ seem to be common routines this time of year.  It is probably a good time to at least plan the big races for the year. As for exercise, I feel I have been rather lax this week. I have completed week two of Couch to 5K and started week three but other than that have only managed one static bike session and two physio exercise sessions. I was put off by Christmas and a slight twinge in my right knee but am confident…

Mile 42 – Flat and quiet. Just as races sometimes get in the way of a nice hard training session, so does the holiday period. Would it be alright to go for a long morning run on Christmas day? It would rather assume I’m not helping prepare the dinner. On the other hand, a lot of people go to Church or parkrun. In the past I would aim to complete a half marathon some days before Christmas to give me confidence for a marathon in the spring. Then I didn’t have to worry about putting on a stone before starting training again in January. I’m not at that stage at…

Mile 41 – Easy, dry and I’m building up speed. The NHS developed the Couch to 5k and it’s a common starting point for lots of people who want to take up running for the first time. You can play it while listening to your own music on your headphones, it just cuts in with instructions. The first lesson involves a mixture of brisk walking and jogging: five minutes of warm up, then alternating sessions of 60 seconds jogging/90 seconds walking, before the final five minute cool down walk. It lasts about half an hour. I guess if they called it ‘Couch to Marathon’ it might put some people off…

Mile 40 – Muddy. You can appreciate that, to see the sun rise from the top of the hill, it is important to set out before the sun is up. I have always enjoyed exercising early in the morning: it leaves me invigorated and, somehow, with more energy during the day, although I guess it’s not for everyone. I am so familiar with the local lanes that I don’t bother turning my torch on unless a car is coming and I want to make sure they spot me. My eyes quickly become accustomed to night vision and it’s easy to pick out the road by reflections from puddles on the…

Mile 39 – Smooth and easy, although very cold. I’m sure you have all been at the start of off-road races at this time of year, fully expecting to end up covered in mud. When you reach the first big puddles there may be people in front of you who are trying to keep their new trail shoes clean and dry by creeping around the edges, clinging to the brambles and barbed wire for balance. I am guilty of being the one to run through the middle of the puddle, heralding a chorus of complaints as I soak them. Sorry if it was you. There is little point trying to…

Mile 38 – The hills are becoming easier. I know I have used this analogy before but it is particularly apt for this week too. Whatever race you are training for, hills are the place to go. On Wednesday we tried to push my (and Sue’s) boundaries by walking a bit further, along the bottom of the hill. I felt okay, no problems from the right ankle that bothered me last week. I think the morning physio exercises are helping strengthen my hips and back for this sort of activity. On Sunday I pushed a bit further, going up to the top. It was a solo expedition, Sue opted out.…

Mile 37 – Hillier than expected. You have to decide whether you are going to run a marathon, or whether you are going to run a marathon only if the weather is fine for all your training runs and on race day itself. When you find the right kit to keep you warm (not necessarily dry: you tend to sweat while running), then you can be quite comfortable setting out in the rain, even in the worst conditions. Some of my best race times have been achieved on days with horizontal freezing rain, when I just wanted the run to be over and done with, or by slipstreaming behind someone…