Fighting Stage 4

As part of my series to use exercise to control my prostate cancer (Can I get “above average” with Prostate Cancer?) one of my key goals is to improve my running.

I’ve never had a great relationship with running. I did the Paris Marathon in 2011 in an attempt to see if I could get myself to like it. I enjoyed one 10km training run home from my then Girlfriend’s (now wife) flat to my flat in London after couple of beers and a trip to the cinema where we enjoyed some caramel popcorn. Thus began a series of over-carb-loading and under training.

They say you can’t out-train a bad diet. I tried, but ended up with a marathon time that I wasn’t proud of and a finisher’s shirt that was too tight because (a) runners think everyone have their spindly upper bodies; and (b) 16 weeks of carb loading led to me putting on a stone. My friend had kindly organised some T-shirts for us to run in, with our names on. White, stretchy cotton. It was not a pretty sight when I ran, sweating, through the water stations on a hot day in Paris.

But I’ve always been jealous of people like my brother, who can just take off with a pair of trainers and get a tourist 10k done on any holiday he takes. So I flirted with running over the years, a necessary evil with triathlon (I like swimming and cycling) and even taking on the dream of the Philadelphia marathon, before realising that doing an 8k on the Saturday and cheering on my serious runner friends was the better option. Philly is a run city though…

When I got my diagnosis and decided I should get fit I decided to concentrate on things that I enjoyed. Prostate Cancer was a great chance to put running behind me.

But…

For as long as I can remember I have entered the London marathon ballot, even paid extra for the special ballot where you donate your money but get a running jacket. I constantly have to explain that the fact I’ve got a London Marathon top means I haven’t run the London Marathon.

London is my local marathon and I have cheered friend, relatives and strangers on the course. It is an amazing day that makes you want to do it. And it raises a ton of money for charity. I had said that if I didn’t succeed in the ballot by my 50th birthday, I would seek a charity place.

No, I’m not 50

Having resigned myself to giving up running, I saw a link to the London Marathon to fundraiser for Prostate Cancer. I was struggling to walk far at that point due to pain from my kidney stents but figured it would be good to have something to aspire to, so I emailed them with my story and expressed a desire to raise money for them.

I was struggling through a gym session, learning how to do squats, when my phone rang with an unknown number. I almost ignored it but had been getting calls from my treatment centre so answered it with trepidation. There was more than a tear in my eye when they said they would love to offer me a place – the hormone therapy makes me emotional, but I would finally get to run the London Marathon, and for a cause that now meant survival to me.

So, running is back on the menu!

Could I finally become above average? Let’s give it a try! Maybe I can achieve something at 90kg that my 131kg self could not dream of.

How to measure progress?

Obviously, the Marathon itself is an opportunity for statistics galore. But that is going to be a very special day. Made even more special because Anna has now accepted a place with PCUK to run alongside me on condition that I promise not to run to a time. I have a suspicion that she is going to be annoyingly good when she gets into it so I will have to remind her of that promise.

My brother once ran two marathons (Paris and London) on one set of training, a feat copied by my brother-in-law last year. Getting two medals out of one set of training is tempting and I could find a marathon with a less congested/emotional route. But that’s asking a lot of the family, likely another weekend away from the kids and also carries a risk of overtraining, leading to the spectre of inflammation and cancer resurgence risk.

So instead, I’m going to focus on some shorter term goals. I’ve done interval training in the past and do like the feeling of running short, sharp bursts – I was very much a sprinter at primary school, not an endurance athlete.

So I’m going to work on my 400-2k PBs on Strava but build those into training to improve my Park Run time. ParkRun is an excellent institution and inspiring every time I go – I would like to start not being at the back of the pack.

ParkRun also gives an age-graded score for your run time. This compares your performance with the world record for your age and gender, showing how close you are to the best anyone your age has ever managed. A score of 50% represents the average recreational runner, 60% marks a good club-runner standard, and 70% or more is regional or national class. It fits perfectly with my “Above Average” series — aiming for 51% gives me an objective, measurable way to be, quite literally, above average.

Let’s see what I can do!

Where I am and what I need to do

5k – last ParkRun was 32:27 age graded 43.71% – I think I need to get around 25:30 to get to 51%. 🫣

2 mile. 5k is 3.1 miles so I need to run 2 miles in 16 minutes 42 seconds. But that assumes I maintain that pace. Strava has my best 2 mile time from 2021 at 18:01.

1 mile. Needs to be a steady 8:21 pace. Strava has my best time at 8:34 from 2022. But I reckon I need closer to 8:00 for a single mile as won’t maintain that.

1km: I need 5:10 kms, no tailing. PR is 5:07 from 2018.

1/2 Mile: PR is 3:57 from 2022 – need to get back below this.

400m: PR is 1:36 from 2022. Improving this would be good and improve my fitness.

Finally – running VO2 max – currently unsure but around 41.