All those miles on a bike won’t be an easy ride so training has already been under way. It began in February of this year with preparations for the Samcheok Half Marathon. I know it’s not on a bike (a small technicality) but I needed to get fit before putting in the miles on a bike.
I have always been into running, taking a lot of inspiration from my marathon running sister, but it had been a long wait to actually take part in a competitive half marathon. Always keen to push myself, I set myself an optimistic (maybe unrealistic) goal time of within the 1 hour 20’s.
To get that time meant I had to put the miles in on the tarmac. I took to a gruelling 5-6 day weekly training schedule provided to me by the running legend, James ‘Forest Gump’ Gardener. With his help thousands of miles away back home and after the odd setback with injury and illness, ten weeks later, I was ready to run.
A stunning spring day greeted a large crowd of runners, ranging from fun runners, to Olympic athletes looking to grab some prize money. The route was along a beautiful stretch of road which runs through a stunning Korean backdrop of mountains and ocean.
Cutting a long story short, after a punishing race in which I set off too fast (realised early in that trying to keep up with the Kenyan athletes was a bit of a mistake), I managed to finish well within my goal time, recording a good effort of 1 hour 25 minutes and finishing in 11th place. Exhausted, but satisfied, I knew my marathon running sister would have been proud. Next came one weeks rest before beginning my training for the long road south.
milesforamemory 