BLOG: MY MARATHON EXPERIENCE BY DAVID HONEYWELL
Continuing our series of blogs looking at marathon motivation, this week we hear from David Honeywell who has run several marathons about what drives him to take part…. Please remember everyone trains differently and if you plan to train for a first marathon you should follow a training plan or speak to one of our coaches.
What drives me to sign up for a marathon!
My motivation for entering marathons is partly the challenge of achieving something not so long ago I never thought possible! But also because there is deep feeling that I’ve wasted many years when I could have clocked up hundreds of races by now!
David Honeywell
Looking back to when I was in my twenties running in the 1980s, it was seen by non-runners as bizarre and somehow ‘odd’ whereas now everyone seems to be running! It’s very different now to when I started running back in 1978 just after leaving school and it was the power of a teacher’s words that got me into running in the first place.
One day at our PE (Physical Education) class we were told to do laps around the football field and at one point the teacher shouted “Go on Honeywell! You’ll be a champ one day”! – a tonge in cheek remark but enough to inspire me to keep running!
I never became a champ but I never stopped running and later it even became an essential tool for my mental health when depression began to plague me!
I often wish I could compare my speed in the 80s to now but I didn’t own anything that could record any data at all but I was able to gauge an approximation of distance by asking someone who drove a car to measure my route from their odometer.
There was an army running test that gives me some idea of what my pace would have been as I can recall completing an 8-mile run within one hour wearing the old school rubber plimsolls. I was 23 at the time. I also remember later one of my large toenails blackening and falling off! That was my first test for 21 Special Air Service Regiment selection in 1987 and it was during this gruelling course, I did the nearest thing to an ultra marathon! We had to cover 30 miles over Brecon Beacons including its highest peak Pen y Fan three times (known as the fan dance) wearing a 30lb back pack and carrying a rifle!
It was mid June in the scorching heat and would be where things got the better of me! I was failed and made to join the following selection group months later and do it all over again! That was my ultimate test to date!
What my training build up is like
My training build up is very non-traditional because I run multiple marathons which means my tapering weeks are also my recovery weeks.
I’m not advocating this to anyone but after over four decades of running I’m very much in tune with my own abilities and limitations and have adapted my running as I got older.
With only seven days sometimes between each marathon, it’s important to be really in tune with your body and be realistic about what your body can and can’t do.
What drives me!
I approach each marathon differently. Some marathons for me are races with the aim of reaching a personal best while I treat some as long slower training runs leading up to forthcoming race pace marathons.
My first ever marathon was the now discontinued Liverpool ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ marathon in October 2021 which took me 4 hours 57. My latest PB is 3 hours 42 at Blackpool so over 18 months I’ve manged to shave off 1 hour and 15 minutes, although routes do vary.
The first marathon of 2023 was the second of two back-to-back marathons - New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
This was an experience like no other of my marathon experiences, but I did it! (Although my blood sugars took a hit at the end of day two.) That was a major learning curve with regards fuelling, so since then I’ve been all over my nutritional needs and fuelling during marathons.
The marathon takes a huge toll on the body and can take weeks to recover although we all recover at different rates. Our recovery and abilities all depend on several factors such as our genes, age, running history, health and so on so no two runners are alike.
We are all unique in our own way and that is why advice and guidance – although very important – you have to figure out what works for you!
David’s tips
You need to listen to your body and make your own adjustments to suit your own lifestyle and abilities and never compare yourself to others.
I have followed several marathon plans and done a lot of heart rate training but I have had to tweak my training because there are no training plans (as far as I know) for those who run multiple marathons. The nearest would the ultra marathon plans but I always aim to run the entire 26 mile distance and I am very hard on myself if I walk at all!
One of the most important and essential ingredients to my marathon training other than lots of stretching has been weight training! I started lifting weights in 1976 and have never stopped. Back in the day when I was a young kid in awe of the older, hulking body builders in my local gym, the advice I was always given was not to run. It was seen as a hinderance to building muscle but in contrast to that I was told by my running peers not to lift weights because that was a hinderance. I took my inspiration from boxers who are all-rounders! They had the muscle, cardio, strength and agility!
I honestly believe this is why I rarely get injuries and when I do it’s usually because of my own mistakes or neglect and not through running itself. My injuries are usually a result of my own lack of patience like if I haven’t warmed up properly or not performed a barbell squat technique properly – usually trying to rush things!
If there was anything I would advise any runner whether they are training for marathons, half marathons, 10ks or any distance, is that strength training should be as much a part of your plan as running itself!
Apart from years of weight training, I’m also a qualified gym instructor and always happy to share tips about training with weights!
David Honeywell, Marathoner
Chorlton Runner
If you are thinking about training for a marathon you can find training plans online or speak to one of our coaches.