In May this will be Andrew!
Shefbase’s Andrew Burgess has just signed up for the Sheffield half marathon and it now starting to ask himself…why?
I must be mad. I have always been a short-distance runner, so why am I doing this? Why am I putting myself through weeks upon weeks of distance training, having to watch what I eat and having to endure the heat and constant stares of the locals as I run? I am not sure if I will ever know the answer to these questions for certain, but this year I am running the Sheffield Half Marathon.
It is now less than two months away, and despite my progress the thought of having to run a distance of 13.1 miles through Sheffield still remains a daunting one. I have walked this distance before – I walk everywhere – but having to run it is just a little bit different, and I have never entered or been a part of any race of this size.
I actually do not remember the exact time when I agreed to run it with one of my university housemates; being a student I had probably had a few drinks beforehand, but whenever it was it has presented me with what is one of the biggest challenges of my life to date.
Being a 3rd year French student at the University of Sheffield and so this year being my year abroad, I’ve had the “luxury” (if you can call it that) of being able to train for the run in the South of France, where as you would expect the temperatures are significantly warmer than those experienced in Sheffield. Such is the increase that I have managed to spot at least one lizard on each of my runs so far…
However, from very early on in my training I saw massive improvements in my general fitness and strength. Way back in January when I started my preparations I ran a route of two miles in 16 minutes, and was in agony at the end. 13 miles seemed a long way off! Now, it’s week eight of my training schedule and I concluded last week with a 7.5-mile run, which I managed in exactly an hour (and was still able to stand and breathe afterwards!).
Every Sunday, the scheduled run increases in length by one mile until it eventually reaches 13 miles. Slowly but surely that marker is getting closer, but I still can’t escape the thought that for my 13 miles training run, I will have to run from one end of Bordeaux to the other – supposedly the fifth largest city in France.
And so, I will be truly overjoyed when I cross that finish line in May, whether I manage to run the whole distance without collapsing, or crawl it, hop it or even walk it! And I am sure that no matter how tired I’ll be, I will find the energy required to make it to the nearest pub for a celebratory drink!!
