Finished Intact (Just!)

We flew out from Cardiff to Berlin via Amsterdam on the Friday. Lots of anticipation for the big day. We stayed in the Marriot on Potsdamer Platz, an area of such terrible decline and misery during the "Wall years", but unrecognisable in its beauty today. Remnants of the wall have bene preserved and protected as historical monuments, the area is prosperous, clean and happy.

A sauna and a swim on Friday night, were followed on Saturday with a trip to the Marathon Expo on the other side of town, to pick up numbers, rfid tags and new running strip - plus a goody bag. You can't go to Berlin without a trip around the shops and the sights and so by six in the evening, I was knackered - not the best preparation!

I was in bed by half seven! Three bad dreams later.... (one where I missed the start by sleeping in, another where I got lost on the course, a third where I was injured in the first Kilometre)..... it was six in the morning.

Three hours to go.

My calf muscles started to go very tight and I started thinking negative things - injury. So, that had to go. A trip to the sauna, followed by a hearty breakfast of pancakes and bananas, plus two lites of water, saw me heading for the startline by eight, for a nine o'clock start.

Stretching began. Then I realised that I'd been placed in Block H : 4-5 hour finishers - which is what I'd said I'd do way back then in January when I entered. But I was now capable of 3 hours 50 minutes. So, race tactics went for a ball of chalk before the gun was fired. No matter, I'd just work my way through the crowd and pick my pace up after a few kilometres warming up - indeed it would be beneficial to get into the groove, take it slowly, avoid injury in that first critical half hour.

Lots of people were diving into the Tiergarten to pee - lots of people - yes, of both sexes - seems to be a runners code - alles zusammen - everyone together.

We started. It took 18 minutes to cross the start.

By 10Km, I was stuck and I knew it. At 25Km I stopped fighting and just got into the groove. The truth is, the atmosphere was unbelievable - jazz bands, bongo bands, kettle drum bands, tribute bands, cheering (all the way around), history, culture, Danes (thousands of them - why?). The feeding stations were a scrum - water, tea and fruit. Lots of people went over at them - you run through plastic for at least 100 meters too.

It began to get hot. Guages around the place said 25ºC. I realised that finishing was now the aim - if I'd wanted a pb, all chances had gone at the start.

35Km, 36Km, 37Km....count them down. Just get to 17 Juni Strasse, the turn, you'll see the Brandenburg gate, the crowd will roar....yes, see it now, here we go, turning......40Km, 41Km..inside the last Km.

42Km is at the Brandenburg gate. Then there's a small matter of the last 195m.

Finished!!

My watch said 4 hours 18 minutes. My rfid tag timing would be more accurate.

You can search for me here...

http://live.scc-events.com/events/berlin_marathon/2006/ergebnisse.en.php

Follow the link! Or here's the short cut...

http://live.scc-events.com/results06/search.php

Type in my name and let the search engine do the rest. There are 2 "Fishers". Click on my name and the link will take you to my split timings. Boring, I agree, yet an interesting application of rfid technology. (one for the "Techies" there)

I actually kept a steady pace of 6 minutes and 6 seconds per Km going throughout and ran the first half in an almost identical time as the second half (despite stopping for a call of nature!). I'd wanted 5 minutes and 30 seconds per Km - but that'll have to wait until next year (more in a mo..)

Of those who wore an rfid tag (and I was one), I finished in 16,120 place out of the 30,018. There were 40,000 registered to run, so I guess that aside from the "n0-shows" there were a lot of folk who weren't fussed about being tagged. By the same token, I came 14,120 out of 24,042 men who were monitored and 2429th /4147 in my class (blokes between 45 and 50).

Yep, I'm going back! Though I may do Rome in March before that.....

Together, we raised over £1200 for Ovarian cancer research. A huge thanks to everyone. You're all winners.

Thanks for reading my blog! And thanks for the munificence of your support. And the biggest thanks of all to my photographer, Marlize, whom I sacked for the third time at the end of the race. One of her efforts (she took a total 0f 8 photos, all of them before the start) are in this blog entry. Though she did just about deserve a trip to the 40th anniversary concert of the Berlin Philharmonic at 4 0'clock that afternoon, which was fantastic.

And it was all about her.

Kevin Fisher

The training is over...........!!!

I have just three short jogs to do now, more to keep joints oiled than anything else. Everything s holding up.

We fly on Friday to Amsterdam and from there to Berlin. For those of you interested see http://www.realbuzz.com/realberlinmarathon/. Back on Monday 25th and into work the day after.

Hopefully a last push for sponsorship this week will bring in the extra few earth-pounds to take me up to my target of £1000 for Ovarian Cancer Action. Thanks to everyone for their support, whether or not it has been financial - it's just great to have folk behind you, encouraging. Just great. Thanks!!!!!!!

For the record, I started on 22nd January 2006 and embarked, from scratch on an 8-month programme. In that time I have run a total of 465 miles and been injured seven times, five of them to my left leg (calf once, plus a related shin splint injury, knee (twice) and a beautifully pulled hamstring once also). My right knee sorted itself out quickly but I also managed to rick my neck (this one is a mystery to me).

I have lost 11Kg (24lbs) which has led some people to comment that I look a bit tired. In truth, I needed to lose 7lbs, but when you start racking the miles up, the stuff just falls off and eating to keep up becomes a problem. Each lb equates to 3,500 calories and if you're not into American junk food (and I'm not), it can be a problem. I've also managed to stay off the "sauce" - I think I've drunk about 12 beers in the last 8 months - though I've grown fond of Sicilian white wines....Mmmmm. Time to put something back perhaps. Maybe Josephine will start to recognise me again (an "in-joke", sorry).....

The aim? Well just one, but it has several elements. Finish, yes, of course. Without stopping, without injury, enjoy the experience, break 4 hours, then phone John Bosworth to say thanks for dishing out an admonishment to me in my first week of training for setting pathetic targets. Inspirational! Thanks John.

Final blog will just be my result and maybe the odd photo (!!!). See you here two weeks today with all of that then!

Thanks for reading my blog. And thanks for your munificent support.

Kevin

50 more with a 22 miler

Hi,

A hard week with hill work, culminating in a 22 mile run this morning, which I came through really well, in 3 hours and 5 minutes.

Sponsorship hit £909 with a generous donation from Lilly @ Triz. Thanks Lilly!!! And good luck with the studies at Cardiff. And to Jo Green from Philips, a big hi! for her wonderful encouragement when we bumped into each other at Cardiff Uni this week It was lovely to see you again Josephine- you looking great - please look Marlize and I up soon.

All that remains now is to stay free of illness and injury. 14 days to go with 7 runs of varying length and distance, only one of them 90 minutes, most of them between 35 and 60 minutes. Indeed the last week is a breeze.

A meat week, followed by pasta and more bloody bananas.

I'll make a final post next week, then end this Blog after the race itself with a race report, including some photos I hope from my hopeless photographer. Still, I can't have it all.

Thanks to everyone. Especially to Marlize this morning who came out on the bike for 90 minutes to offer some encouragement. She's fast asleep at the moment. Bless.

!!!!

Kevin

50 miles this week

Fully recovered now and running well.

Racked up a 2 hours 35 mins run yesterday (which hurt a bit actually) and will wind down with 50 minute runs and a load of pasta this week, before embarking on the final big training run of 3 hours next Sunday.

I had my youngest off-line donation this week, one Master Dylan Ford, who gave £10. Thanks Dylan! (and Rebecca and Dave, his parents).

I also had my third £50 donation (this one from Bruce and co at MerlinDigital in Cardiff Bay). Thanks guys!!

Just 22 days to go now. I have my number, have paid for a deposit on my rfid tag, hotel, flight and a booking for the 6Km warm-up before the race (the day before). I have a diet to follow and I'm injury and illness free.

More next week! Thanks to everyone for your donations. I'm almost at £900, so one final big push should see the target reached.

Thanks for reading my blog!!

Flu, injury and a race number

A niggling knee injury coincided with a swimming holiday to Sardinia so a week of therapy started on the 19th off a boat on the East coast of this beautiful, Brit-free Italian island.

Two days later, I had flu and an ear infection!

My head's tubes are blocked completely and a return air trip where the captain seemed determined to fly at stratospheric heights really put some nice pressure on the old sinuses and compacted earwax. I'm slowly recovering.

Still, my number arrived! I'm 15580! There are 40,000 runners and another 10,000 power-walkers, roller-bladers and hand-bikers (no, I don't know either), plus the wheel-chair contingent. It'll be quite an event.

I pick up my number proper (the printed thing plus my rfid tag) on Sat 23rd, the same day as the 6Km warm-up jog and then it's the real thing at 09h00hours a day later. In the afternoon, Marlize and I are going to see the Berlin Philharmonic's 40th Anniversary concert, led of course by Sir Simon Rattle. It's my incentive to get around in a decent time! I'm aiming for 4 hours now, I have to be realistic.

I am now at last chance saloon with my training programme and have run out of contingency with 27 days to go. I hope I'll need no more. I ran today for 50 minutes and in spite of my head's tubes being blocked, it felt fine running for that time - I could go on for hours at the moment, or so it feels like.

Thanks for reading my blog! Another post next week.

Kevin

Injury week!

First run after the Brecon race ( I came 199th!) was Wednesday and though I went fast, it turned out I aggravated my right knee. I went out on Thursday but hated it - run went for 30 minutes and I just felt uncomfortable so I came in.

Then on Saturday, intending to do a 150 minute run, I ricked my neck muscles doing nothing in particular and so I've just had to rest. To make things nice and complex, my left calf feels "twingy".

Today, Monday 14th August, I feel better and about 90%. There are 40 days to go. I'm going to have to revise my timetable as I'm just about using my contingency up, with hols and now this injury and I'd like to leave the week before the marathon free of running altogether.

I won't be reporting in this blog now till the end o August - probably on the bank holiday. By then, let's hope things have got back into alignment.

Thanks for reading my blog

Personal Best at Brecon 10 mile race

Boiling hot and overcast - not great conditions. The course was fast - very fast - with loads of serious runners. Not sure where I came yet but I was aiming for 90 minutes and managed a few seconds short of 83 mins. The results will be published at www.brecon10.com when the organisers get around to it. Last year, this time would have been enough to put me in the top half. Not bad for an ageing fella. There was at least one heat exhaustion casualty (at 7 miles), who looked in a bad way. The course was run through country back-roads and the temperature in them, between the hedgerows, must have been in excess of 30°C. As you can see, I was given "42" as race number, which was very meaningful in a "life" kind of way. It made me chuckle, as the last hotel room I was given (when my photographer and I stayed in Torquay) was 101. I can't be binned that easily! The photo shows a tussle between myself and two rabidly competitive blokes in the last 500 yards. Blokes just can't grow up, can they?

A swim to celebrate in Brecon's very fine leisure centre followed and then I bought lunch for my erstwhile photographer who is getting better at her job (!!!!), though I did surprise her at the finish as I was quite ahead of schedule.

I did 30 miles last week and feel great. There are just 49 days to go now. The biggest challenge will be to keep a pace going which will take me around the 26.2 miles. At the pace I did today, if I could sustain it, a marathon would take me just 3 hours and 35 minutes. That's almost a whole hour less than my original target. It'd be nice to do a sub 4 hours in Berlin, so I just need to temper my pace for the long run. That means doing steady 8 minute 45 second miles, not the 8 min 16 second ones I did today. And the course included a murderous hill at 8 miles that went on for 1000 yards.

If I can do that, I'll be on for beating 4 hours with 12 minutes or so "in the bank".

Next Saturday sees a 2 hour 30 minute run, the first in a series of 4 such runs of increasing length over the next few weeks in the run-up to Berlin. On the 10th September, I'll do a 2 hour "stroll" then just keep myself ticking over in the last fortnight with a series of 1 hour sessions.

It's all looking good.

Thanks for reading my blog!


Kevin