Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

It could be a member of a family at home or abroad who will need the help and care of a health worker, it could be a grand parent or a child, it could be you and me. It sounds mundane? For them it is all in a day's work, I want to help them do it!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Thank you,

Imad

 

Training:

Summer 2009: started running Sundays in Blean Bird Reserve on Red track, 4.2km incl to/from house, = 10% marathon, slowly increasing distance. Same distance each month, increasing distance monthly by running shorter Brown and Green tracks. Also ran 1-1.5hr mid-week.

Nov 2009: Doing 16-18 km. Hurt my left ankle and had to stop completely. Early winter in England and Sweden with snow, dark mornings and early evenings >>>to risky. Must keep fitness & stamina, joined aerobics and body tone classes.

Feb 2010: started running again.

March 2010: Early March 16km in 2hr10 min, late March 21km(half marathon) 2hr45. Lots of pains and bad ankle back. Rest 10 days.

March 28: long Sunday run, 24km in 2hr57min, 10km with gentle upslope and last hr against strong (&cold) wind. Ankle was fine but usual pains later. right knee and muscle were getting stiff, had to stop every 30-40min to eat, drink and strech. Used 2 energy bars and 2 packs of raisons for fuel, also 0.5L  water with Vit C and glucose. Next long run in 7-10 days depending on recovery.

 

Music

I give you Victory & Viva by British quartet BOND, classics with modern twist, so much better than the new stuff that can cause brain damage -:)

1. Victory, taken from Rossinin Barber Of Seville, 17th century spain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUXWQI5pJIs&feature=fvw

The same again for my German friends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEL-4D8Bnas

Now Rabbit of Saville

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j97EJQ1z7nY

2. Fuego for the warm summer ahead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNy8r-ZgKgQ

3. Not forgetting Viva

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_7BhkGcCis&feature=related

Taken from Vivaldi Four Seasons (Winter) to remind us all of this years' s winter and that poor marathon runners have to do their training in the winter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzCXjDuYQTA&feature=related

Finally I leave you with Bond doing the Hungarian (dance)....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i8-gsVQPfQ&feature=related

 

Or if you prefer it slower have tea with a loved one and watch lovely views of London, places I will pass on the big day

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOVQ_Jwamvw

 

 

April 28, 2010

London Marathon 2010-Imad Jalaly race report

To say it was a “race” for me is a bit of a poetic license, more of a mental challenge and a test of determination and planning. The idea was to reach the finish with what I had and not get carried away. I knew from training I would reach the midpoint in 3 hours. After that it was all unknown. My left ankle and both knees would hurt and muscle cramps set in. Armed with good knee and ankle supports, the rest was mostly guess work. Eating and drinking in advance for the second half was not tried. The advice was to keep eating and drinking in small amounts with the next half hour in mind. I ate too little and drank too much, I think.

 The ankle problem is to do with the way I walk; on the outer edge of the feet and with uneven pressure on the soles. When running, the feet touch the ground on the outer edges first then my weight pushes the feet flat causing a side movement (from the outer to inner edge of each foot) and a movement in the ankle. Also, my feet point to the front at an angle. These are very clear when skiing; I am unable to keep the skis flat and pointing in parallel.

It took me 6hr 28min 49sec to finish. Kedebe (Olympic and world champion), the fastest finisher did it in 2hr 5min 19sec he was about three times faster. When he finished I still had 1hr and 10min to reach the midpoint. My average speed was about 42min per 5km in the first half then about 50min per 5km in the second half, while the top man was clocking 14min per 5km (under 5min a mile), pretty much sprinting all the way to the end. Whether you run or walk, a marathon burns about 4500 calories (depending on weight). That is about how many calories you take in two days. Impressed? Don’t be, to lose 1kg of fat would need you to burn about 7000 calories, one and half marathons. Basically, an hour hard run would only burn about 100grms of fat. Even that is too optimistic, because the fat stays almost intact; all you lose is liquids and carbo, which you must replace to be able to continue.

It all started few years ago when my old doctor retired and the new one (about my age) looked at my chart and told me in the last 20 years I had put on about 20kg in weight. This was in 2007 when my weight peaked at 96kg.  I wasn’t leading a lazy life; I always did some jogging and cycling to work, going to the gym, plenty gardening and other house chores…etc., I must have been over-compensating for my lost carbs, as well as the general slow down in the metabolic rate with age. In the past 2 years my weight dropped to 89kg (I briefly saw 88kg once, but only briefly). The 7kg loss was mainly due to attending spinning classes three times a week, 2 hours each time. Nothing else has worked since so effectively.

When my daughter did her London marathon last year, I decided to go for it. I didn’t get a ballot place but managed to get a charity place through Merlin. I stared running in autumn and reached 18 km (43% marathon) in November when I hurt my left ankle. I had to take a rest. The winter was unusually hard and long in southern Sweden with 3 months of snow cover. We moved to a new house in January and every weekend was fully taken. Uncertain if would be able to take part in the marathon I started running again in March with only 7 weeks to go to the big day. I had choice; pull out or take it easy. At the start of April I managed to do three big runs but not comfortably: 16km (2hr 10min), 22km (2hr 45min) and 25km (2hr 57min). The general advice and aim is to be able to do 15 miles comfortably one month before. After each long run my left ankle would hurt for few days. In the last 2 weeks before the race I only did 4 identical runs, taking 50-40min, the last one was 4 days before the race. Then carbo (pasta & porridge, rice, bread and potatoes) loading started. You can call it the Anti-Atkinson Diet (AAD J). I think I started this a little too early and must have over-done it . There was also some stress; I was in Sweden for 3 weeks unable to get home because of the volcano situation and other things. When I eventually flew back on the Thursday before the race, I had to drive to London on the Friday to do the marathon registration, and on the Saturday did not stop working around the house and in the garden until sunset.

On the day we set out to London (100km) at 06:30, met the older children, gave them stuff to carry for when we meet during the race, then made my way to Greenwich Park. After walking and waiting in heavy rain for an hour, I crossed the starting point just after 10AM. The first half of the run was enjoyable and effortless, I kept my speed low until the 7 mile meeting point, saw the children, gave them back some things, briefly talked, ate an energy bar and took some water and started running again. It was really a great feeling as I approached the Tower Bridge and crossed to the north of the Thames and arrived at half way point at about 1PM. I think I must have forgotten to eat before that. The sun was beating down and the temperature reached 21 deg C (in the shade). I felt happy, lively, springy and really pleased. I met the children at 14 miles, did some stretches, and drank a whole bottle of water (the second mistake). I headed to the Isle of Dogs (a jungle of glass and concrete with London’s tallest buildings and hardly anyone to cheer the runners. My stomach was in big pain, the top part of the right leg started jamming up and needing more and more stretching. Slowly I ended walking and having to stretch and unable to run for next 3 miles, only after mile 18 I could run again. It was getting hotter and hotter and I having to make use of the shower points along the way, every time.

With the stomach problems I could not eat any energy bars, glucose, raisons or anything. When taking water I was mindful of toilet use, at each toilet station there were about 20 toilets and 10 persons queuing for each. Not eating hit me hard after about an hour.

I saw the children again at 21 miles with only 6 miles remaining (10km ), gave them everything I was carrying (energy bars, glucose, knee pads…etc) and made a quick use of the toilet as there was no queues and started on the final part. This is along the Thames down the Embankment to the House of Parliament and finally to St James’s park. Less than halfway down I started feeling hungry, my stomach was letting me know it is empty like never before. I have no food, only water to fill the stomach into thinking it had food, but the hunger kept coming back every 5 minutes, started feeling drained and weak with lots of muscle ache, the soles of my feet were on fire and no longer wanting to be inside the trainers, not forgetting the left ankle. I saw the children at 800m before the end and asked for food, was given a bag of cashew nuts that I took with water; I was unable to stop eating, at the last 200m stopped eating and made a sprint to the end. I was on camera; I didn’t want to be caught walking and chewing a mouthful of nuts! Past the finish line every pain was suddenly gone; I felt no pain, just emptiness and started wondering aimlessly.

In those last painful 5 miles, I asked myself many times if I would do it again. I would look around and see 1000 years of old and new London, poor and rich, a day after St George’s Day and Shakespeare official birthday, on a sunny English spring afternoon, spectators of every shape, size, colour and creed clapping and shouting from balconies and the road side, playing music, roadside BBQs, runners on their Tee shirts pictures of loved ones lost to disease and illness, a young child, a grand parent, a husband/wife, people dedicating their run to their memory and/or charity, I was unable to say No  nor Yes. London will be a different place. Today three days after, and with 95% of the pain gone, I hope I will be able to do it again soon, I hope it won’t be for a family or friend but for someone I don’t know.

Thank you and have a good summer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go7wlUOC5dg&feature=related

Imad Jalaly