No, not that silly bloody London effort. I'm talking about the proper one in October. Abingdon Marathon.
I've given up trying to get into the London Marathon. After 5 rejection letters they can stick it. Yes, I could run for a charity, but who the hell is going to sponsor me to do something I enjoy? And how the hell am I supposed to raise the amounts they want? No chance. London can eff off as far as I'm concerned.
The main reason I want to do Abingdon Marathon is I remember my dad doing it years ago, back when there used to be a half marathon too. And I want to feel like I have actually achieved something before my 40th birthday at the end of the year.
Half marathons are not really much of a challenge now, I suppose getting a faster time would be a challenge, but I mean they're not a challenge so much as I could just put my shoes on now and skip off out for a steady sub 2 hour half without a great deal of training or prep. Only on Sunday gone for example, after only a couple of short (but fairly quick) runs into work during the week, I was able to go out and run 10 miles without much sweat being broken, and if I didn't have to get back, I would have kept going.
Marathon it is then.
Only trouble is, as always, bloody skint. And race entry for this year is £40. I'm hoping there will still be spots available come the 10th, otherwise I will just have to put my name down on the reserve list and hope someone pulls out.
This happened last year, but as had done virtually no training and it was fairly late notice I had to refuse.
This year WILL be different however. I AM going to train for it, whether I get a spot or not. At least I know I will be ready if I get the reserve spot again, and who knows, I might even post a respectable time.
First things first though, I need new shoes! Pops to the rescue here. He has offered to fetch me a new pair to help me get this done!
I've been using Saucony Kinvara's for the past couple of years as I've been trying to sort my gait out and run more naturally. Kinvara's seemed the ideal bet because of the smaller heel-toe drop of 4mm, as opposed to most other shoes that have a 12mm drop. The Kinvara's force you to run more on your midfoot rather than you landing on your heel (which is the main cause of shin splints btw) and "rocking" you into your stride. Only trouble with this is there's not a great deal of cushioning on the Kinvara's so your do take a bit of a hiding, especially if like me, pretty much all your running is done on roads and footpaths.
For this reason, I'm being a bit of a tart as usual, I'm plumping for a BRAND NEW shoe from Saucony- the ISO Zealot.
It's the same drop level and fit as the Kinvara, except it has the new ISO-fit system, but also has a lot more cushioning around the midfoot area, where I need it.
Unfortunately for some ridiculous reason only known to the bods at Saucony, they are only offering 1 colour scheme, for men anyway, in the UK, while the UK women, and men everywhere else in the world get 2 versions. Needless to say I prefer the version that I can't get, as well as one of the women's versions!
I have been advised against getting the women's shoe as it is likely to be too narrow. Bah!
So, I'm stuck with this version:
And who knows, if the men's version is too wide for my gert hoofs, i'ma get myself a girlie shoe and be bloody happy about it too!
I will come back and let you know what they're like and whether I have delicate little lady paws instead of hairy stinking manly plates.
Cheers.
Edit: If you want more info on the ISO Zealot's and indeed Saucony in general, go here: http://www.saucony.com/en/zealot-iso/
The Zealot's are not on the UK website yet, hence the American website.
The shop mine are coming from is Fit2Run just outside Abingdon. They are always very helpful, and usually if you're not an arse, will knock a few £ off the asking price.
The website is a bit weird at the mo, I'm guessing it's being updated and stuff but if you want it - http://fit2rundirect.com
Ta
(Sorry I can't link at the mo, am doing this on my phone and the works computer won't play nicely!)
