pop star party

Marathon completed!

Wow it’s been 2 weeks since I completed my 1st marathon in Dublin. How time flies.

So after the marathon I had a week in Ireland and on return had a full week of studio bookings and plenty to catch up on which I guess is why its taken so long to complete the journey of my marathon training and blogging about it on here.

The run itself went went perfectly - I had a plan, I had trained hard, I had been careful with diet and hydration in the couple of weeks prior to the run and I got the mix of everything right on the day. The only thing I hadn’t banked on was the sudden cold front hitting Ireland Saturday meaning the start of the day was a chilly 2 degrees Celsius - so to combat this I had to start my day walking the streets of Dublin in pyjama bottoms and an old orange hoody - i looked very silly but didn’t care. I was 1 of 20,000 others who was starting the race dressed in old clothes.

The race went well. I started the race smiling and enjoyed the first few miles running through the Phoenix park and just taking in the atmosphere of thousands of feet pounding the ground. I saw my supporters at the 10 mile marker, offloading my hoody to them at that point and blowing a kiss to my wife. Really great moment and by then I was warm and just enjoying the vibe. I decided that by running close to the crowd and smiling madly at everyone I got more names shout outs and this gives a little rush of adrenaline helping boost morale for the next hill or whatever - crowd supporters really help. So big big thanks to all the people who turned out to line the street of Dublin in such cold weather.

After 13.1 miles and going past the half way banners I just felt I had got this and nothing was going to stop me finishing. As I went past the 20 mile marker I was feeling tired but not exhausted and definitely motivated even more by the crowds still. I had used 4 of my ‘Torq’ power gels by this point and decided to not take the others as I was getting stomach cramps - probably due to not taking enough water with them even tho i was carrying and drinking water pretty often - maybe just not often enough but the old brain couldn’t work this out after running for 3 hours. But because I had driven the route on Friday before the race I knew there was a nasty hill just after 22 miles so I decided to take a 5th gel just before this point and it definitely worked - i ran up the hill smiling at the crowd knowing there was nothing left to stop me completing now. At 26 mile crowd cheering area I saw the support crew again which was a nice lift to get me down the last stretch - legs were definitely hurting a lot now but I could see the end line. I finished the race with a chip time of 4 hrs 08 mins 05 secs to collect the medal.

So it was done. The rest of the day was a whirlwind of meeting up with the support crew in Sheenan’s Bar for Guinness and pics, then back to basecamp for showers and straight back into Dublin to take my parents around the Guinness factory then out for a meal before finally going into Temple Bar for celebration drinks with my brother who had run the marathon as well despite having an injured right calf muscle. Ian had been a great mentor/coach for a most of the year behind the scenes and had finished it in just under 4 hours - not bad for a 50 year old!

So that’s it for marathon blogs and I want to thank all the sponsors who helped me raise some money for the charity I chose to run for. ChildLine Ireland or the ISPCC (Irish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children) do an amazing job of supporting children who call them asking for help when they feel they are in danger. All charities do amazing work but charities supporting kids are amongst the most vital in my mind. With 40 sponsors in the end I went way past my original target of €750 and finished with a grand total of €1,239.44 - so chuffed with this; so a huge thanks to all those that supported the charity and me through these donations.

A few big thanks to the support crew - Mum & Dad flew over from Cornwall to stand in the cold at almost 80 years old - amazing. Richard & Janice for providing base camp in their house. Jean & Rhys who met us in the pub with Moya, Rachel & Grace afterwards for our winners pint of Guinness.

Also I want to mention Susan Ogden for the Kangen Water in the week leading up to the race, Wendi Sartain for lending me a Kangen Water machine for the week, NewGen Superfoods Plus for their amazing food supplement powder which has kept my body healthy all year really and the bloke in the shop in Leamington (Essential Sports) who did my gait analysis, sold me my Asics trainers and gave advise about all things running - great guy. Also Irish Joe for giving me the inspiration and catchphrase which I would like to pass on to anyone else considering running - just get out the door - the rest will follow! Oh and Sue Roberts of Advanced Healing Therapies who worked a minor miracle by healing my poorly left leg after running the Kenilworth half marathon.

So what next?

Well I did say I was aiming for running 1 marathon before i hit 50 and my catchphrase for all these blogs has been: ‘I run parties for kids all year and am running 1 marathon in October’ but since the leg pains have died down and I have started walking normally again theres been a new challenge open up to me. Ian has invited me to run the Cairo marathon on Friday Feb 15th - the route takes in amazing views of the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx - initially I was not bothered as I had completed the mission of running a marathon before I got to 50, but I have always wanted to see the Pyramids, Ian lives just outside Cairo and it’s a great way to return the gesture of his support for me in Dublin so, I have agreed. To Cairo I shall go go. Don’t worry I won’t be writing blogs about this one!!


Finally a massive thanks to my wife Rachel for putting up with all the pain, suffering & moaning and for her support and my daughter Grace for riding her bike on countless training runs this last year.

A few pics or the day.

Vegetables, Powders & Power Gels

So things are going really well with the training for my 1st marathon.

There’s only 2 weeks left before I head off to Holyhead to catch a ferry to Dublin. Training is feeling great and my daughter is forcing me to do body core exercises (which she learns at dance class) on top of the running - plus I’ve thrown cycling & swimming into the programme.

The diet is proving fun - eating tons of steak & chips, pasta based meals and oily fish as often as I can but that’s the normal stuff. This week my power gels arrived and today I tried running on just 1 - they are a high power energy & caffeine mix (amongst other stuff) which seem to work quite well. I have done all my training naturally but figure that one of the best aspects of amateur marathon racing is that you can use some legal drug assistance - why not!

Over the Summer I tried dropping alcohol out of the equation and we succeeded for a good while especially whilst on holiday but I have to admit I am not entirely tea total anymore - there has to be some pleasures in life!! More recently I have started drinking natural vegetable juices - you know what … they are actually quite nice.

On the day I’m going to be using Kangen water too - this ionised stuff absorbs into the body tons better and so doesn’t get wasted in sweat so fast - apparently. I love a bit of science.

Lastly as I have mentioned in most of my blogs about running, I am using a food supplement by NewGen called Superfoods Plus - it’s a powder added to water & seems to help in being healthy and energised all day. They have a new product launching very soon specifically for athletes which I might just get into if it’s available soon.

So my weight has dropped quite a bit this year too. I started at 15’5” and today am 13’9” - the way things are going I may be down to 13’5" by the time of the run, so losing 2 full stones this year entirely down to running.

Legal Highs!!

Legal Highs!!


Tiny reminder about the marathon relevance to Pop Star Party news:
In October this year I will be running the Dublin marathon so am currently training 4 days a week to build strength & passion for running - I will be running for a charity also and that charity is ChildLine Ireland.
https://sse-airtricity-dublin-marathon-2018.everydayhero.com/ie/roger
I'm taking a food supplement for extra energy & all round organic support to diet:
PopStarFood
If you would like a Pop Star Party then click here
Book Your Best Party Idea Ever Here

Pop Star Party supports ISPCC.png
These are nice - but not as nice as wine.

These are nice - but not as nice as wine.

Running in the Global Heatwave

I can't even remember how long this heatwave has been going on, but it's a long time.

It first reared its' ugly head when I was due to run a big distance training run which I had decided I wanted to do at least 30k on and crack the 30k barrier.  Previous to this I had managed 24k (twice) so felt I was ready.  I was - but I was also a bit unprepared and didn't eat anything like enough the night before.  I set off what I though was early enough but after 2 hours the sun came out and just roasted me - luckily I was close to the sports centre at Warwick University so was able to grab so fresh water, but it wasn't enough and the sun soon won the battle against my will to continue.

So yes I experienced the wall at the end of June - it wasn't nice but I guess at least I know about it now.

Tomorrow I am hoping to succeed and have planned out a 33k run, will be piling in the carbs for tea tonight and will be leaving at 5.30am to start the 3 hour run - this will be my longest run to date and I'm told not to push closer to the marathon distance if 42k before the race in October cos it can be detrimental - Im not sure yet - I might give it a go in a month!

Pic below is from when I did the 2 Castles run in June.  Tomorrow is gonna be like running that 3 times!

2 Castles Run pic.jpeg

Tiny reminder about the marathon relevance to Pop Star Party news:
In October this year I will be running the Dublin marathon so am currently training 4 days a week to build strength & passion for running - I will be running for a charity also and that charity is ChildLine Ireland.
https://sse-airtricity-dublin-marathon-2018.everydayhero.com/ie/roger
I'm taking a food supplement for extra energy & all round organic support to diet:
PopStarFood
If you would like a Pop Star Party then click here
Book Your Best Party Idea Ever Here

Pop Star Party supports ISPCC.png

Cake (just keep saying it!)

Cake - birthday cake in particular - surely the best invention ever!
We get to see so many amazing designs and creations at Pop Star Party because at least 90% of our groups bring their cake to the party.  All cakes are welcome and I do try to make sure I get a good pic of the cake before its cut, smashed, lit etc.  

So why not bring your cake to the party - and just incase you are stuck for decoration ideas here's a few that have been brought along recently.

Book a party with us and the rest is done for you - but don't forget the cake!

www.PopStarParty.rocks

Running for Child Line in Ireland

Just a very quick few words about the marathon in October which I am running and the charity I have chosen to help raise a few quid for - or Euros even.  It is not a requirement of the race to represent a charity like London is, but I have opted to since it is so relevant.  The kids who have a party with us are fortunate to be given a party and not all kids are - but they should be.

My chosen charity is ChildLine in Ireland or the Irish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children ISPCC. Why the Irish ChildLine you may ask? Well the race is of course in Ireland but my wife and all her family are Irish and my daughter half Irish, so that hopefully is enough.  That aside, I think that it really doesn't matter which country since the point is that if a child is being bullied or worse, it's vital they have knowledge of how to call for help and ChildLine charities in general, in any country, all need support.

So here is the link which will be built into all blogs from now (hopefully!):

https://sse-airtricity-dublin-marathon-2018.everydayhero.com/ie/roger

 

 

My half marathon challenge(s)

So I decided when I started training this year that I would do 3 things. Follow a training plan (obviously) but also do the marathon distance every month and do a half marathon every month also - clearly the last 2 can be combined but don't have to be.

Today I completed the half marathon for Feb and the marathon distance for Feb - cos I ran 8.5k on Thursday eve, then 11.5k Saturday and 21k today on Sunday.

'So what?' you may be thinking!!

Well indeed so what, but the thing with running is there is so much too it - it's not just stamina or strength but there's the psychological side to it all as well as the physique and nutrition. And clothes - don't forget them and accessories but that's all another blog.

Whenever you run there is always the temptation to stop, after-all nobody is telling me to run - so what drives me? I guess many things do but possibly the main thing is my daughter.  

Just incase you don't know me I'm Roger, 47 years old and run a recording studio and part of the business involves running Pop Star Party. I'm married to Rachel and have 1 daughter Grace, who I spend a lot of time with and ever since she was born I have encouraged her to do things well and be successful.  She has been taught to swim by me and last year won her schools gala which I was very happy with.  Since the age of 4 she has learned to ice-skate and last year she competed nationally in an ice skating competition which was an enormous challenge.  Part of that required her to be able to do the splits and be very very supple and fit for pulling the moves on the ice and I spent a year helping her (encouraging her cough cough) to do all the exercises and stuff to be able to do the splits - none of us enjoyed this! But she got there and I think her determination impressed me enough to think I should do something to really challenge myself - which is where running fitted in nicely.

A lot of my family run too - there's heaps of runners in my family and we all have our reasons to run.  The things that go through your head when running are hilarious but whenever I'm feeling like I'm knackered I remind myself of how I push my daughter to 'try harder' or 'do it differently' and so I change the pace a bit or do whatever - but I don't stop!

At the moment it seems to work - I think I'm enjoying the psychology of running more than the physicality of running - maybe this will change as I get to be doing harder distances but right now it's all good.

This Thursday I travel to Ireland for my brother-in-laws' wedding and we are staying in Dublin.  I'm intending on trial running the section of the Dublin marathon which goes through Phoenix Park - this is about 4 miles or something along a straight path on a fairly constant incline so I figure is going to be quite dull.  Knowing how long that section takes will be a good help when I do it for real in October.

As soon as that's done I shall no doubt be indulging in all the usual wedding fun and looking forward to meeting up again with all the guys who were on the stag do in Portugal.  Maybe the next blog post will be on that!!

Phoenix Park Pop Star Party.jpeg