The Marathon Blog by Nick Cutts
Music: Nicks running playlist
When I suggested in a fit of 'crazy flu' that I took part in the first ever MK Marathon on 29th April 2012 to raise money for our dear Milton Keynes City Orchestra I was only half serious. When people started taking me seriously, I took it seriously. Little did I know what I had let myself in for.
Here is my Marathon training update, please let it be over soon - Nick Cutts, Operations Manager.
Down the bottom of the page there is a SPONSORSHIP form - please sponsor me. Many Thanks.
UPDATE
20.02.12
The weekend update is here! (on a monday) - this was a big weekend in the running training type thing. The (un)Official training run ( i couldn't get on the official one as it was booked up) . I Designed a course of about 9 miles with hills climbs, some descents and a real test for my already broken body. The actual route took me through thw woods behind woburn, to bow brickhill, then to Woburn Sands and back into Woburn. It was my first real test - me again the clock ! The first few miles were slow, and for some reason agony ! I seem to only warm up after about 20 minutes?? I has my gels with me which really help - one every 25 minutes and a real energy boost, but for the first time I didn't have my usual runningg enthusiasm and vigour - nerves or boredom? Anyway, I managed it all and in quite good time - under 90 minutes which even I can guess is under 10 minutes a mile. Iand again I ran faster at the end than I did at the beginning - another weird running thing? No toilet problems either, so at least that's a bonus. Sponsorship is going well and I am sure justgiving will happen this week, so it will make it much easier to collect all your spare cash that you have for me. I have decided that I am not going to be one of those proud runners who can't walk a bit of the marathon if my body does fail me completely. Its all about the money. Not times, not conquering 26 miles. I am doing this purely for the money for the Orchestra. (inspiring huh?).
Distance: 9 Miles
Music: Can anyone lend me more music ? I am running out. But I did enjoy a lot of Oasis - anything with a good beat !
Effects: Pure boredom at the moment. I am getting into very long distance and my attention span is about 3 seconds. Knees okay. Body tired.
16.02.12
Another long run today, but with hard training comes good news too. So let's start with the bad. I had to run 70 mins today - managed over 6 miles at the gym and I felt very tired after about 20 minutes (no wonder when i start at 7.00am). But I carried on, zoned out, forget about the toilet problems and made it to 70 minutes. I actually had a weird moment at one hour when the treadmill decided to start slowing down - i beat the machine !! So, another training day ticked off. Good news is that sponsorship is going well (thanks everyone!) and that our new justgiving account is nearly set up (so you can sponsor me again). Second good news is all thanks to Interdirect - who created this beautiful website and are also planning to relay race the marathon - the analytics section of the website is fixed, so i can see if anyone is reading this page ! (that could be bad news if I am the only one reading it). So thanks to the lovely people at Interdirect. So next comes my official training run - i've got a 12 mile route planned for satuday. Check back for progress reports. I'll keep you posted on justgiving too. Ciao folks!
Distance: 6.1miles
Music: Rizzle kicks again plus an interesting piece my compoer James Macmillan called 'Sunstone' (choral piece)
Effects: Early morning fatigue and boredom at the gym !
14.02.12
Happy Valentines Day everyone! Interval / Fartlek training today - one hour of 5 mins running/ one minute walking...started easy then got very knackering, but as always I completed it and am better for it. I forgot to mention this on sunday, but any facebook friends of mine will recognise this comment - I have got into the habit of starting to need the toilet halfway through a long run. It can be 1's or 2's buit I am quite perplexed as to why ? My wife thinks it is the change in diet, but I am convinced its all pyschological - i know that there is no toilet (for some reason that comment sounds a bit like a line from the Matrix 'there is no spoon'). Answers on a postcard to the usual email. I got more running gels yesterday, so today I had a burst of strawberry thanks to needing a bit of energy. I also changed my playlist - see below.
Distance: 4.95 miles.
Music: New playlist, including Rizzle Kicks ' Mama do the hump' - fantastic !
Effects: Its all about sore knees ! and my unusual toilet stuff
12.02.12
Sorry for the slow update blog readers - day off today, so I've been relaxing and catching up with my son. So what's happened? well I ran my usual 30 mins on saturday (then worked at the concert at Stantonbury). Hardest 30 mins so far ! The air was so cold that I could hardly breathe! The ground didn't help as it was soo crunchy underfoot I slipped and slid all the way along. But nevermind, I got through it. Just. Sunday as always was the big one - 2 hours this week, so I decided to pick a route that was about 10-12 miles. I woke up bright and breezy (not) on sunday, warmed up, took on some water and went off on my way towards Wavendon. The route basically consisted of Woburn to the Stables roundabout, then back via a slightly altered route to add some mileage. The first few miles breezed by I got to the roundabout just past the stables at 45 minutes. Pleasantly surprised ! The return leg was much more hard fought and some ! I also did my usual trick of getting lost a little in the backstreets of WAVENDON !! The return leg was made slightly more difficult by the amount of huge climbs towards the end of the run...very hard and I almost walked a bit as I thought i'd hit my wall. But I pushed and pushed myself through it, slowing my pace, keeping stong and remembering that with every climb comes a delightful descent...and it kept my mind focused. Impressed? I hope so. I was also pleasantly suprised that most of the Orchestra from saturday night sponsored me pushing the sponsor pot up by at least £200....big numbers coming hopefully Orchestra lovers. I'll reveal the final amount the day before I run the race.
Distance Sat) 2.5 miles Sun) 11/12 miles (got lost and confused)
Music: The final performance of running playlist 2 - number 3 had just been created !
Effects: I wore my knee support, so my knees are a bit better. Fatigue is a big problem, but i comes with the Territory. My Wife needs to learn some serious massage me thinks !
9th February 2012
A day for breaking records today! my run has slightly been overshadowed by Fabio cappello resigning as England Boss though. Anyway, I ran for one hour in the gym and managed it all with relative easy (even after waking up late). I am slightly concerned about my knees blog lovers - they ache all the time and after the Marathon i may have aged about 50 years. Will one of you volunteer to assist me with my daily life when i can't move properly ? as always email me at nick.cutts@mkco.org with tips or just to prove that someone reads this. Mega busy at work at the moment, which adds to the stress of running first thing in the morning then going straight into a very busy office. Pooped !! My wife is very understanding anf takes all my moaning and requests to put my feet up in the evening very well (mostly). Anyway, long run this weekend - made more difficult by the fact that we have a concert on saturday (stantonbury - get yourself a ticket )
Distance: 5.3 Miles
Times Taken: 60-minutes
Music: I must recommend 'Usher - Dj's got us falling in Love' - it makes running so easy + D:ream 'Things can only get better' (time to revamp the playlist me thinks
7th February 2012
Gym again today. 50 minutes of Fartlek interval training. Running for 4 then walking for 1 minute, then running for 4 minutes ...(you get the idea). I enjoyed this much more than i should. Infact I enjoyed this much more than I enjoyed getting up at 6.30am and driving through the fog outside - it was terrible and I couldn't see a bloomin' thing ! Anyway, I managed to run my fastest 4 minutes at the end of the 50 - does that make sense, so feeling pretty chuffed. I haven't changed my playlist yet, so it's still coldplay, 300, etc ...but I will get bored of that very soon. ...
Distance: 4.32 miles
Time Taken: 50 Mins (Fartlek)
Music - Nicks amazing running playlist.
Effects: Off to work now, so it must be good !
5th February 2012
The weekend update is here. Ran twice - first time was my slowrun on saturday for about 30 minutes. I find that one so easy that I cannot discuss it any longer. But my lurgie has gone ! Anyway... Unfortunately it snowed on Saturday night. A lot. A great amount infact. By the time I awoke on sunday, it was at least 15 feet deep !! (male exaggeration - meaning about a foot in reality). Undeterred I told my wife that I would at least attempt the route we had mapped out on saturday: Woburn to Eversholt to Ridgemont, through the Woburn Estate, then home. By the way, I have bought myself some really cool new running gear, it keeps me very warm plus I look the part now (the part being a right 'nana). I have to say that I really enjoyed today's run. So much so, that I took some pictures (follow the link below to see them). I have started taking energy gels along the way to keep me 'energerised', they seemed to work. I ran all the way through the snow, it was great fun. The occasional slip and slide keeping me awake. The big problems started when I got into the estate area - it was all white, no points of reference at all !! I couldn't figure out which way to go ( I even called my wife for help). As you can see from the pictures, it was just a blank canvass. I tried and re-tried routes, but with no luck. Then a van pulled up alongside me - some help you may think ? no. It was someone from the Woburn estate telling me off for running off the pathways!! 'Tell me where the pathways are !' I moaned back...but he gave me a stern look and then drove off. So, for the next fifteen minutes I ran EXTRA miles trying to find my way back towards Woburn (via some nice Deer picture taking). Finally I found my pathway and realised I was only about ten minutes from home ! The snow had removed all my landmarks. Anyway, a very pleasing two hour run with about 12 miles under the belt me reckons. I still had the energy to take the kids down to the park for snowball fights....there is hope yet that I may complete this. So follow this link to realise the scale of the snow and my run through it today. Keep that sponsorship flowing in folks !!
http://www.mkco.org/Support-Us/Nicks-training-pictures
Distance: 12 miles at least !!
Time Taken:30 minutes / 2 hours ( yes a record folks!)
Music: More of Nicks running playlist - Usher, Velvet Revolver, D:ream and Nelly Furtado - good stuff.
Effects: feel surprisingly good. - yay !!
2nd February 2012
Good Golly Miss Molly !! I have the stinking lurgie yet again. I blame the kids for this. Anyway, work has been tough this week, let alone training. I attempted the gym today WHY WHY WHY ?? It was totally pointless. I couldn't even run!! Anyway, Instead of giving up I decided to walk uphill fast for 15 minutes, cycle fast and then walk on the cross trainer (why do I keep wanting to say cross dresser?). Followed by some serious weights and a nice shower. I am feeling pretty down about it all this week - hopefully just the lurgie keeping me at arms length. But I could do with moral boosting sponsorship. Onwards and upwards though. Already planning my long run for sunday. My knees are starting to ache all the time - any ideas blog readers? email if you have any amazing remedies nick.cutts@mkco.org ...have a great weekend folks...p.s. I wore my MKCO t-shirt today for the first time ( positive advertising folks)
Distance: No Idea
Time Taken:1 hour
Music: More of Nicks running playlist - Coldplay, Ting tings, girls aloud (oh dear aren't I sad)
Effects: The Lurgie sweats/ knee very sore..
29th January 2012
The weekend blog update - Impressed yet ? This one is split into two as I had to run both days this weekend. Part 1 was relatively easy - it stipulated an easy fun for 30 mins. I created a new playlist on my ipod, which was fun. I get bored of the same music and the change of styles makes sure I maintain a pace myself rather than to the beat of the music. I ran around the lake in the Woburn estate. It wasn't particularly challenging, but got me home in time for the football (well done Liverpool - two Manchester teams beaten in a week). Part 2 is a totally different matter. My longest and furthest run so far. I was actually concerned about this one as any failure now would really hit me pyschologically. BUT I am proud to report that I made it, sweated lots and pushed myself a great deal. The route I had mapped out (see friday's update) took me across public footpaths (very muddy), fields, roads and through the Woburn estate to Eversholt and back. Due to the uneven ground I twisted and turned my way through the pathways a little. I also got lost, which added to my mileage, and to my concern of being part of some 'victim of the slasher in the back of beyond' horror movie. Luckily I found my way back to Eversholt and got back to the Deer Park (many Deer staring at me as I huffed and puffed past them). Even more amazing is the fact that I had time left to run more. I completed the route in an hour (7 Miles)....how am I so fast ??? anyway I ran around one of the beautiful lakes in Woburn to add a little extra and complete my time/schedule. I should mention (because otherwise she'll feel left out), that my wife Emma cooked me a nice lunch afterwards and has promised to throw the occassional bucket of water over me if I flag (she's lovely really) - please sponsor me everyone - I am starting to believe that I can finish this race after all !!
Distance: 1.) 2.5 miles 2.) 9 miles
Time Taken: 1.) 30 mins 2) 90 mins
Music: Nicks new amazin' running playlist including Music for Royal Fireworks:Handel; Wires: Athelete; Renegade Master:Wildchild; Hard Faster...Daft Punk
After Effects: 1.) None - easy run 2.) Sore, tight muscles. Very dehydrated and my knees are suffering a lot. Unusual terrain causing fatigue
27th January 2012
Gym day again today - I actually put this run off for a day because I was quite concerned that I was finding it hard to completely catch my breath yesterday. Possibly a cold coming, but I didn't wanna risk struggling and also being set back mentally (I am sounding quite professional now aren't i?). So I went today. Nice 6.30am start with a car that needed about 10 minutes of defrosting - why am I doing this again? I went to Midsummer Breakfast yesterday, which actually gave a mention to the MK Marathon and asked participants to stand and take a bow. I also managed to give out a few sponsor forms to some unlucky guests at my table. I am actually more concerned about raising money than I am about the 26 or so miles I need to run in 3 months. I hope i gain many sponsors along the way. hopefully some via this blog. Music was great today - I am dreaming up a movie music concert for the Orchestra for 2013, so put on lots of Hans Zimmer, John Williams etc. It's really good stuff. Anyhoo - loads more running to do this weekend, so am going to look up new routes to run around Woburn. As always any comments can be sent to me at nick.cutts@mkco.org - good weekend everyone (Liverpool v Man Utd tomorrow !)
Distance: 3.5miles
Time Taken: 40 mins
Music: Movie music - Batman, Pirates of the Caribbean, Backdraft, the Fifth Element, Saving Private Ryan
After Effects: Tired, but somewhat elated today ? at one point during my run I had the urge to cry with joy - endorphins? or the music from a Bugs Life maybe?
24th January 2012
Gym day today - my schedule said to run 2minutes and walk for 1 and continue the pattern for 30 minutes. I believe that this method of training has the name - Fartlek. Pure comedy name ! It's actually Swedish for 'speedplay' or english for -'Oh my god that hurts!' - actually the idea is to develop the aerobic part of the body by putting stress on it. But I did it - I really enjoyed it actually. We had a huge family emergency this morning, so i've been up since 4.00am - not great news (no details,sorry) - so it was a chance to get away from it for a while. Very tired now and my knees are killing me ! Anyway, here are the info bits -
Distance: 2.74miles - Fartlek interval training
Time Taken: 30 mins
Music: Mostly pop, rock - I was too tired to enjoy it really. 'Every Tear Drop is a Waterfall' by Coldplay has a good pounding rhythm though.
After Effects: Knees Hurt, Chest aches - feel the deep burn, as Ron Burgundy may say ( rent Anchorman)
23rd January 2012
Well hello everyone! Whilst running yesterday I decided that it would be nice to keep everyone updated on my progress and basically provide a rather whimsical account of all the training that goes into marathon training for a total novice like me. We can all laugh, cry and empathise together. Hopefully this insight will help assist peeple to give me money as they may feel sorry for me. After all, without lots and lots of sponsorship, there isn't any point in all of this.
So, here is my first update. I have been training since September 2011 for the MK Marathon, which takes place on the streets of MK on 29th April 2012. Please excuse the text, content, subject and style. Its all written by me and as I think it.
I am following a beginner training schedule. I have had to learn to run. To teach my body to run and then and only then could I start my Marathon training. Since January 2012 I have been following my schedule. It gradually builds from short distances to much much further (Two weeks before the race I have to run for 2Hours 45 minutes !!). It is starting to feel tiring and very daunting - 26 miles is seriously inside my head. I am scared of the distance at the moment. But the more I run, the more do-able it seems. I really enjoying using my headphones and Ipod - It takes the running element away somewhat and I can 'get out of my head'. I also run two times a week at my gym in MK - Fitness First (tell your friends). I have had two t-shirts specially made up for the event which just state that I am running for 'Milton Keynes City Orchestra' - informative and a bit of free advertising for the Orchestra.
So here is how I am going to top off each entry. I am going to state what music got me though the last session, how far and how I feel. Yesterday was my last run -
Distance: 7.5 /8 Miles - via Woburn Sands, Woods and the Woburn Estate Deer Park( I live in Woburn btw)
Time Taken: 70 mins
Music: Mostly pop, rock - I mostly remember 'From a distance' by Nancy Griffiths and 'Remember Us' from the film the 300 (its brilliant)
After Effects: Feeling quite actually. It's given me confidence to go further, but my knees are starting to ache a bit. Bring on the next session
NC
