First Pictures From Siberia

Somewhere over russia

Somewhere over Russia

We have now been travelling for so long that time has lost meaning.
For the last six or seven hours we have been the sole foreigners on a plan heading east across Russia. It is cramped, stuffy and endless. Siberia is so far from civilisation that it is rapidly redefining the term ‘far and exotic…’

We are tired, hot and I have a stiff neck from trying to sleep on the shoulder of the burley Russian next to me. Trevor has enjoyed some airplane food whilst I have had a protein bar. It is, quite possibly, the most bizarre way to prepare for a marathon.

I seem to have cap napped between flights and delays and fell into a deep sleep soon after take-off. Trevor seems not to have slept and is beginning to look haggard…

The thought of running 26 and a bit miles now seems daunting.

Lunch in Moscow

We are now in Moscow and have just had lunch.

The flight over was relaxed and calming, as only BA can be, and immigration was friendly enough so now we are doing some serious hat watching at the airport. I am determined to trade the contents of my pockets for a new hat or two on this trip which Trevor seems slightly horrified about.

On a personal note I am raising a glass of mineral water to the memory of my father who would have celebrated his birthday last week. It seems like eons ago when I took up a pair of running shoes when he was first ill and I can not believe that it has lead me to a café in Moscow with Trevor.

I am sure Trevor cannot believe it either but here we are, one red-eye flight away from Siberia and a cheeky marathon along the ice.

I cant wait now to get there, to get my running shoes on and to get out running. I have not been for a decent run for what seems like a long time now so I have plenty to think about. However, I plan to let myself be absorbed by the experience, soak up the beauty and enjoy every moment of the race.

I just hope that this running lark does not become habit forming.

On Way to Moscow

So here we go…

We are now waiting to board the flight to Moscow. Weeks of training and hard work are now about to be tested in one of the most hostile environments known to man. We are wired, excited and nervous.

The next few days will define a period of time for us and it is a sobering thought to think that there is one proper run left to do. Everything has been leading up to this point and now it is time to get out on the ice and run.

In six hours we shall be in Moscow and then real nerves will kick in.




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Trevor's Update

Last day at work before leaving for Siberia, from going very slowly this week time has flown pass. We have a long day of travelling tomorrow, arriving Thursday morning to a whole new landscape, which I believe will be snow as far as the eye can see.

Training has been very gentle, although 2 hrs of Zumba on Friday night to help raise money in a “Mankinee” probably is not on many training schedules..

This will not be repeated….. A big thanks to the ladies of Zumba on Friday night who help with this..

We are both getting excited and nervous about Saturdays run, why is that the nearer you get to a race that you start feeling every ache??????

Will try to update from Siberia with pictures etc

A big thanks to everyone who has help and donated to our charity

Trevor

Man Flu and Clare Anderson

It is a week to go and I am lying on the sofa with what appears to be terminal man ‘flu.

I feel thoroughly miserable. My nose is running, I am shivering and shaking like a shitting dog, and I have a headache. This is not how I should be a week before we run. I should be feeling supremely confidant and relaxed not like a dead-man walking.

Last night I barely slept. I alternated between feeling hot and cold and ended up cuddling the dog for warmth at one stage. It didn’t help that every time I did fall asleep I had terrible nightmares after watching the film Insidious earlier in the day (and can someone please explain the ending to me…)

I have dosed myself up with vitamins, juiced the contents of the fridge (anyone for fennel, apple, garlic, ginger juice…?) and am now awaiting the arrival of the Grim reaper.

The only positive to the day is that I have the beautiful music of Clare Anderson on the radio. It seems that where rest and vitamins can not reach, Clare can, and I am at least a lot stressed since I turned on the radio as loud as it will go.

I dont envisage getting off the sofa today but plan on making a full recovery around about 4pm tomorrow afternoon….if you know what I mean…

Trevor's Update

22nd Feb 2012

Getting very close now, less than a week to leaving for Siberia, I so wish it was this weekend, tapering is the hardest part of training, all the hard work has been done, you are physically and mentally ready and then you have 2 weeks of very light training, waiting for the event.

I know it's important to taper so that we arrive fresh but it's still frustrating, you keep thinking have I got everything correct, right kit, will I be warm enough, will I like the food there etc, everything becomes a bigger problem than it really is.

This week so far has been an hour of cross training on Monday, 3 miles Tuesday, 5 miles this morning, tomorrow an hour of Kettlebell training, rest on Friday and Saturday, then 8 miles on Sunday.

An easy week!!!!!!!

I have agreed to take part in 2 Zumba classes at The Fitness Company on Friday this week, as have agreed that the ladies and chose my costume for the event, not sure if that was the right thing to do, pictures will be the online soon.

Philip is still doing really well, and is focused on the job ahead..

Trevor

Trevor's Update

Another week nearly completed, 10 miles completed on Thursday, again pleasant weather, we have been so lucky with the weather through the training.

Another 10 on Sunday, then we are down to single figure runs.
2 weeks tomorrow we will be lining up to start the Baikal Marathon, it will be an amazing experience, one that I will not be repeating..

Had an email from the organisers yesterday, they commented that they were hoping that the ice will be stable, slightly worrying, had to reply and ask what happens if not, don't think I can swim 26.2 miles....

They replied stating that there was nothing to worry about and the ice is thick enough,what a result otherwise would have been a problem.

Philip is starting to get nervous now, although honestly I feel the same, it's a massive challenge and not one that we have done before or run in those condition and also on top of all that we are thousand of miles away, unsure about the food, etc.

Not many variables to worry about..

Trevor

Don't forget to donate, click the DONATE button at top of the page..

Some Pictures of Training so far....

13th Feb 2012: Philip on the Scales....

The End of the Row

Trevor's Zumba Class

I hate Monday

Today was a hard, hard run.

I was tired, it was icy and my car decided to break-down as I pulled up outside Trevor’s (which is serendipity for being somewhat less than supportive yesterday of Trevor’s own problems…).

I didn’t sleep well last night as my wife is away and the absence of her snoring, which normally lulls me asleep, was replaced with a silence that was, quite honestly, unnerving. Even the dog seems lost and has started taking herself to bed at 6pm…

I also didn’t sleep well as I am getting a few jitters about the run and I know that time is short. Each and every run now becomes critical and it would be truthful to say that I am really feeling the pressure. Diet has to be right. I have to follow the program with care and diligence and I have to drag my sorry self out of bed at 5am on a Monday morning to go running. Trevor, like the trooper that he is, doesn’t let this really bother him, and makes it seem like it is a perfectly sane thing to be doing on a Monday morning. I shall be talking with his wife, about this later today…

The hardest part now, especially with my wife away, is killing time. The last year has been consumed with training runs, kettle-bell sessions, sprints, slow runs, selecting equipment and dreaming of Russia. With a few weeks to go I have to cut back on the activity so that I hit the ice fresh. For someone like me, who needs continual activity, this is hard.
I think that the next few weeks will be incredibly hard and it will take a lot of fortitude to get through them. It is not like I can go for a run when I have some spare time or head into town for a drinking binge is it?
Russia awaits and come what may, the excellent work that Trevor has laid down over this last year, has put me in a good place, and I know that come race day we will go out there and do all our friends and supporters proud.

Trevor's Update

Really not long to go now, although as training gets into the taper mode everything is conspiring against us.

Due to go out on Sunday for 12 mile run, and my car breaks down,
changes my plans for the day and meant that running was the last thing on my mind.

Not in a good place yesterday.

Rescheduled yesterday's 12 mile run for 6 am this morning, mild weather considering what we have had lately, so it became a pleasant 12 mile run, although I don't think Philip thought that, it's very easy to get complacent at this stage of training but we must remember that
the taper phase of training is as important as the long runs, we must get to Siberia as fresh as possible..

So this week we have a 10 miler on Wednesday morning and on Sunday, it getting close to make sure all the equipment that we need is here, gels are ready, tactics are set in place and trainers are broken in, now is not the time to start playing around with new equipment.

It's getting very close, so I'm sure nerves will start to kick in soon..

Until next time.......
Dont forget if you haven't donated please go to our Just Giving Page at

http://www.justgiving.com/Philip-Blazdell

Trevor

Trevor's update

Getting close now, less than 4 weeks, will be so glad when this adventure is over now, feel that we are both ready now...

Philip continues to prove his dedication to this cause and to his fitness always turning up to training with a smile on his face, regardless of the time of day.

Ironically we missed our last long run due to snow, sounding like British Rail it was the wrong type,more in our case not enough of it. It would have been dangerous to run outside, the paths had turned to a slushy mess early Sunday morning and it would have been too easy to trip over.

We couldn't wear spikes or YakTrax as to little snow.

This is ridiculous as where we are going there will be plenty..

The good news is that we have our Visas now so there is no escape from the challenge.

We have 3 weeks of lite training and trying to keep fresh and relaxed before we complete this marathon.

If you haven't sponsored us yet please go to our Just Giving page at

http://www.justgiving.com/Philip-Blazdell

to donate now, this is a fantastic cause and every penny that we raise will make a difference.
Trevor

I am inspired

When I set out on this epic adventure to run this insane race I had in the back of my mind that it was as good a way as any to get over my mid-life crisis.

I underestimated the demands of the training or the sheer impact on my life that this race would have. Along the way I have made some amazing friends, not least Trevor, who continues to inspire me on a daily basis, participated in some lunacy such as a 16 hour ultrarow, and pushed myself way beyond anywhere I ever dreamed of.

However, last week three young-men from our gym, put all my efforts into context and presented Trevor and I with a donation of £115 that they had raised by running their own marathon.

Everyone’s journey to a marathon is a deeply personal one. The only constant is the challenge and whether this takes place on a frozen lake in Russia or on a tread-mill in Bicester there is no doubt that this is a massive achievement.

Over the last couple of months as our young friends have chipped away at their own miles I have felt a growing sense of admiration and respect for them. Without any fuss or the drama that surrounds my own runs they have simply got on with the miles and made sure that week on week they stuck to their goals. I don’t think that there is a single person in the gym who can not learn from this attitude.

I am fantastically proud of their achievements as well they should be.
They have also given me a well needed boost of enthusiasm for this race and I know that come what may I will be raising the first post-race glass of vodka in their honour.

Philip's Rest Day

Today is a cold day but it is a rest day so I can sit at home on the sofa and reflect on the last few week’s training.

We will soon begin to taper down the training and an idea that formed one morning between sets in the gym is almost coming to fruition.

Through my running I have found a degree of peace and serenity. I have also found that as long as you plan things and get good advice almost anything is possible. I still think that the race itself will be incredibly hard. The temperature in Siberia continues to fall and my nervousness continues to build. I woke up last night in a cold-sweat worried about the physical demands of running 26.2miles across a blisteringly cold lake.

I am beginning to worry about this a lot.

However, my biggest concern now is the lack of money we have raised. We are still a long way short of the target so I would ask you all to give dig deep and give what you can. Please, do something today to help change a few lives….

Another week has nearly passed, will be a happy trainer when the 17 mile run on Sunday morning is completed because we are then on the taper down to the race.

7.25 miles yesterday, Philip without realising set the pace, which is a testament to his increased fitness, although at the end he got hammered, lesson learnt should always stay behind the trainer.

Quick pace 8.53 per mile.

We have 5 miles on Saturday as a gentle warmup before an early alarm call at 5am on Sunday, hopefully no snow, cold is fine.

I think we are both wishing the race was sooner rather than still 4 weeks, training now seems to be going on for a long time. I think Philip is aching to get back to weights.

I'm getting a little worried about the weather in Siberia, had an email from the organisers and they said that it is colder than normal, the temp today there was -34 during the day, -44 at night. I can't get my head round that, I'm sure things will start dropping off in that
temp.

On a footnote, I would like to commend Philip on his dedication to his training plan,especially when he has had to get up at 5am to go running.

It will be worth it in the end.

Although if he does what he said in his previous blog and starts singing on sunday morning then he might not make Siberia....

Happy Running

Another Day..

Another day, another 7.25 miles under my belt…

Actually, my belt is an issue now, as it no longer fits me. The trousers I bought in the US recently don’t fit me, my favourite jacket is too big and even my hat seems massive. Trevor, of course, is still not happy about my weight and will probably demand the removal of a limb this weekend…I shall remind him this in a few month's time when he is commenting on my lack of progress in the free-weights area.

I either weigh too much, run too fast, run too slow, talk too much or try to push him under cars (actually, guilty as charged on that one..but it only happed three times). My jacket is not absorbent enough, I can’t tie my shoe laces and I always turn up too early for runs. Clearly, the man is besotted with me and enjoys every second of my company.

Seriously, although the training has been a struggle for me of late and I am getting to the point when I would rather stick needles in my eye than run, Trevor has been magnificent. Without his clear plan and almost visionary grasp of where I need to be to not die a horrible and painfully cold death out on the ice I would be getting worried now. Of course I am nervous…but then again, every time I pull on the lycra I am nervous….does it make my look like a gay super hero?


Sunday will be the last long run before the race and I plan to make it as fun as possible. So, Trevor, 630am Sunday morning I am going to sing, run blindly into things, ask silly questions (such as are we there yet?) and generally wind you up. It will be, however, as always, a great run and one that I am sure I will thoroughly enjoy.