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12 Months to Marathon - Episode 44 - Interview with Paul Lowry - Massive Marathon PB at age 45 · 12 Months to Marathon

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_03: Hello and welcome to the 12 Months to Marathon Podcast with me, John Hill, the running podcast for the ever thirty-fives with Marathon Dreams, episode 44.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_03: I have another very special guest on doing an interview with me today.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_03: I have Paul Larry.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_03: How are you, Paul?
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm good, thank you.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_03: I'll uh I'll give a little background on Paul and I'll let him do the rest of it.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_03: So basically, Paul has worked with me over the last 16 weeks or so on his free spring marathon that was in Milton Keynes at the start of May.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_03: Paul came to me at the end of 2024 after running a previous marathon seven years ago and was looking to right some wrongs and improve his time.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_03: So I'll let Paul talk a little bit more about his experiences in a second.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_03: So okay, Paul, what I want to know firstly was talk to me about your previous marathon experience first, and we'll go from there.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_03: So talk to me about your running background stroke your previous marathon that you did.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, uh well, I probably started running it's in sort of 2000.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I did the a few people at work that said, Do you want to do the great north run?
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Yeah, okay.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Never really done any running as such.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: So turned up, did that pretty much untrained uh in top two and a half hours.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: And from there I thought actually quite like this.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh went back, done it a couple of years later.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Fast forward a couple of years, joined a running club.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um got quite involved in that for five or so years, uh, and then just moved house and never really didn't go back to the running club.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: So just run myself and always had the the dream of a marathon after seeing like London marathon every year on the telly and stuff like that.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I it just decided I want to do one by the time I'm 14.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: So in uh 2018 I decided to do the Milton Keynes one.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: I quite like the idea of finishing in a football stadium.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um so went ahead and done that.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Printed off a uh training schedule off the internet, just a generic one, and I thought yeah, I can stick to this.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think there was maybe one 20-mile run in there, yeah.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Which I've done a few, uh I've done a few halves up to there, so it was a little bit of the unknown, but I think there was an 18 and a 20 20, so they were the two longest runs, which which I did okay.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um obviously turned up on the day, it was 26 degrees, something which I hadn't uh trained in, wasn't used to it.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then I just got to about 15 miles and just hit the hit the wall, I suppose, really.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: I was I was under looking back now, I could say I was under fueled.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't rest before the day before or days before.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then I I finished in 503, which wasn't what I was expecting.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: I would I was expect hoping for, I'll say expecting hoping for 420 to 430, which I thought would have been reasonable.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: But once I went over five hours, it was probably something that what I didn't expect, and therefore it was you know, I was just I was um I wasn't overly happy with it.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_03: How how old were you then, Paul, when you did that?
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_03: Uh 38.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_03: 38, okay.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_03: Now some of the listeners may remember that when he says 2018, that was also, as my memory serves me correctly, the London marathon when it was really hot when it was like 26-27 as well.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_03: So uh I remember that seeing a lot of people get leveled out by um that heat.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_03: So what did you do?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_03: So so after that, what happened then in terms of after that?
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I pr I did I kept on, I did keep running, but it was very much I'd lost a little bit of interest in it.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then up until probably last year, I was still running a couple of times two or three times a week.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then last year I decided I was gonna do a half and thought I'm gonna see if I can beat my PB at half.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Which I did, which I did do in October.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then after that I thought I might now I'm in reasonable shape, might be the time to have a go at a marathon.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: But I did always say I'd only do one.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: So after speaking to my wife and saying if I do if I take it seriously, I've got to put the effort in.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think?
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: And she said, Yeah, go for it.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's what you want to do.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously, we had the conversation, the back end of 24.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and then we moved on from there.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_03: What would you say, aside from the heat, uh, and I've said this to a few people recently, I think we've got to the heat's something you can't, it's an uncontrollable, uh, as we've we talked about before, and I think it's one of those things that you can't account for, and there's there's only so much you can do in the pre-race prep different to prepare for heat on the day.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of stuff you can do on the day, you know, hydrate more and you know, maybe slow down a bit.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so aside from the heat, what would you say were the main learnings from the 2018 one that perhaps you you you you didn't do as well as you know you could have done?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, well, looking obviously looking back now, I'd say I never went into the race with an actual plan.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um as much as I thought I'd trained, I hadn't.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Really well, I had, but I wouldn't looking back now, I wouldn't call that training as such.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it was just trying to get through.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then hide hydration, um, fueling.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: I did there was a things I didn't really I didn't pay much attention to.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought I could just I've seen other people do it, and I thought, oh, just get through it.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: But until you've been in that position at 15, 16 miles, yeah, no one can really tell you, can they?
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_03: No.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_03: No, they can't.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_03: So what I want to do now is it I did this in a strange way, so I want to focus on the marathon that you've just done first, and then we'll talk about the training that led you there.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_03: Because obviously, yeah, we've gone from a 503 in 2018 at the age of 38.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_03: You did the Milton Keynes one again at 45.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_03: Am I right in saying that?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_03: 45 uh at the start of this month as I record this May 25.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_03: So talk me through that marathon.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: The actual race, yeah.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, please, yeah.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so obviously I would I went in with it.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I'd a plan that we'd discussed in on our calls and stuff like that.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but I'd actually been I've written it all down, and this is where I want to be, and this is what I want to be at this stage.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and as much as I didn't want to keep looking at my watch, I was very aware that I have to be at certain points if I want to get to a time that I thought was doable.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_03: So what was your goal time?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh my not don't tell me your actual time yet, but what was your goal time for the well you when we first spoke you asked me to give me three times.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, the first one was to beat my previous 503, yeah.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: The second was 415 to 430, yeah.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then the over the moon would be anything under four hours.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_03: Under four hours, yeah.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: So the first the first 10k I was looking just to stay as slow as and comfortable as possible.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I did something which I've never done before on a race with I didn't even pay I didn't pay any attention to anyone else around me.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't even tell you who was around me.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: I was just as yeah, head down and so I was keeping an eye on my watch and I did a couple of K's a little bit faster than I wanted to, so I knew I could I had a little bit of leeway, so I could on my watch I had the average of what I was doing.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it was about 528 going through the first 10 and I thought kilometers for anyone kilometers, so yes, yeah.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I so I just kept on I just kept on going at that sort of rhythm until I hit the halfway point.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: At the halfway point was where the race split and the half marijuana went and finished, and then we went.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_03: So it was a split rate, yeah.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, yeah.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Which that's when my head started to play games with me a little bit.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's like you've got to do this all over again, which was which was fine.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then I was I started to feel tired, but then I had you ringing me your voice in my head going, How much do you want this?
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, yeah, if you want it that much, you'll you'll work through it.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: So after a kilometre or so, I got over that and got back into the rhythm.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then about 32 32k, I tried to step it up a little bit, which which I I did a bit, but not too much.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then with it about three kilometers to go, I I went a bit quicker.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I was I think I was at I averaged 526, but the last couple were 515, 512, and 508.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, so 526 that was in the last that was the second half pace, yeah.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that was that was the overall pace, 526 in the end.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's what it came out in the end.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I knew I knew with about with about uh 5k to go that yeah, as long as I don't stop, I will get under four hours.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_03: So I just that's about eight for those of you in miles, that's about eight and a half, eight forties, I think, roughly.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_03: Give a take.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, give a take.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: So then I just obviously I just put my foot and actually the last everyone goes, Oh, when you get past 20 miles, you're gonna start feeling you don't know where you're gonna feel because you've not trained past that.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: But I actually felt it sounds a bit strange, but I felt stronger towards the end.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: I just because I was coming down if I was coming to the end, but I just thought my body was conditioned and okay, it was better conditioned than I thought, maybe.
• 10:01
  unknown: Okay.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um but and then when I got round the corner, I pressed stop on the watch and it was 3 51 11.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Which obviously I was very happy about.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, of course.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_03: So that's a PB of how much?
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh one hour twelve.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_03: 14 minutes.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_03: So no, nine, yeah, 12, 1 hour 12, 1 hour 12 minutes.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_03: Wow, so you've gone from you you've you've you've you've shaved one hour twelve minutes off at 45 of the time you did when you were 38.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_02: Brilliant.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_03: And how'd you feel about that performance?
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I was I was it was more than I could have expected.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's I I did think I could if I if everything aligned on the day, I thought four hours was in was was in.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like around that four at the four hour mark.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, just at just about like I thought I could maybe just get underneath.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um and without really pushing, I could have looking back now, I could have pushed a little bit earlier, but you never really you never really know when you're gonna when the tank's gonna empty, but I never felt like it was gonna empty.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, brilliant.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_03: What would you put that down to?
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um fueling, yeah.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: I would I would say, and obviously the rest building up to it, like the tapering.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we we went for it quite meticulously and I was I did stick to it, and I think I actually I changed one run run for a walk in the last week, yeah, uh, which we spoke about and you said that's fine.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um but I think the the fueling and I was a I didn't tell you, um didn't tell you, but on the day I was I trained everything to eat two bagels and a banana.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: When I woke up, I just I felt sick and I couldn't really eat, so I changed it to two pieces of toast, and then and then my mind was saying, Oh, you you're gonna be under fueled, you're gonna hit the wall.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: But I didn't, so no.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_03: I mean you see sometimes you see what some people eat, like elites eat before marathon, and you it's like it ain't much.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's quite it's it's it's a funny one, that but again it was you know I had the gels, I think I had six gels, and I drank more water than I thought I was gonna drink because I was just topping it.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: In the run itself, yeah.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: I had my own bot when I just kept topping it up from the water stations, but yeah, the last gel was a little bit of a problem, a little bit come up, but oh right, okay.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, that can happen.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_03: So brilliant.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and going back over the training, then what what would you say were the main differences in the training?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you mentioned a few bits of Bob's already, but what would you say would be the main differences in training this time to the previous time?
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um there was a lot of variety in the training, which we did.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, when you first gave me the plan, I was like everyone does, you look at the heavy weeks and it was a bit like that looks uh a lot.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure when I'm gonna fill that in.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but you know, you you move things around or you get up at get up early, which I tend to I tended to do more than anything else.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Took days holiday from work just to get the long runs in.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um but it that it was like the hill training and the speed work, stuff like that.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: And not just it was intervals fighting, we we was doing all different stuff and it was a good it was a good mix of training to keep you interested rather than because when you're training five or six days a week, you you did say that you might get bored, not bored, but you might hate running at some point.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's a lot, yeah, it is a lot, yeah.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: But I'd never thought I hated it.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: There were times when I looked out and thought you know 5 30 in the morning, I don't fancy it, but you've got to do it.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um but I I really enjoyed it.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was a it was the like I said, all the stuff, the variety made the difference.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, okay.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_03: Anything else or was it just the variety?
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the other thing was like the easy runs.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't realise I'd be doing so many easy runs within the in the training.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said I think at the start I was going out well before I was running at the same pace all the time, where you said, you know, on on the easy runs, just you know, run as easy as you want, pretty much.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: You're just building up the the memory in the legs.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_03: Cool.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_03: How's it changed?
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know I'll say it sounds strange, but the next day when I felt I felt massive relief.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Not relief, but enough to pressure, which I've been holding since 2018.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: It was something that I always wanted to run a marathon, but the disappointment of it, it was I wouldn't say I was embarrassed by my time, but it wasn't what I expected, and the marathon experience wasn't what I expected.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: But this time it was, and I could pretty much tick it off now.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so I've done it.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'll never say never, but if I have to if I never run a marathon again, I'll I'm happy.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_03: So I suppose interestingly, timing-wise, coming off the back of a lot of people are disappointed at the moment with their particularly in the UK here with their London and Manchester times because of the heat.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, because again, we as we said earlier, it's an uh um it's the uncontrollable of uncontrollables, especially when you're training for a spring marathon and most of your training is done in the cold, and then all of a sudden, and I know that for my first one in 2014 did exactly the same thing.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_03: It was all cold, cold, cold, and then the sun came out on in April in 2014.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_03: So I suppose my question is, what would you say to anybody well there's two sides to this question?
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_03: What would you say to anybody who's perhaps like you, say mid-40s, who's got that kind of unfinished business thing going on, what would you say to them?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think if you want something, like if you want something bad enough, you can make it happen.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like don't get me wrong, when we started, I thought four hours was a bit of a it was a bit of a dream, and yeah, you've got to set the bar high.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um I mean if you're willing to put the the effort in, then anything is possible.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean I'm not a I'm not really an a runner or an athlete or just a you know, I've never really been a I've never was in running at school or anything like that.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: Played played in goal in football, so I didn't really run that much.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just it's just sticking to a plan, and that's what the accountability of having you and the and your team around, just to it it made a massive difference and you know when you know other people are doing it and you're out there you say, well, if they're doing it, I should I've got to be doing it.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: So but I think so if you're willing to stick stick to a plan and you know do it properly, anything's possible.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_03: And what how important would you say having a community around you was it might sound extreme, but if I didn't if I didn't have the accountability and I didn't have there were times, as you know, early on about in the fourth week where I got injured.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: If I didn't have them people, I could have easily given up.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: Not given up, but maybe uh at one point I did think oh this I'm not gonna be able to run this marathon.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, but everyone was so supportive in the group.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like we we well about six or seven of us all become become like good friends and we've got an offshoot group now.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: Not just just because it's interested in what everyone's doing.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but everyone was like encouraged encouragement all the time.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And if you had a problem, like if you were running on your own, you've got a problem, you can't talk to anyone if you're just on your own.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but you just go on the group and say, This has happened, or so we've got this, this is what you need to go and do, or yeah, which is a it's a big help.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, okay, yeah, perfect.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_03: What would you say to anybody then who is maybe in their mid-30s, you know, and maybe considering either starting a running journey or even considering a marathon?
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_03: Is there any advice?
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_03: Because you've obviously done both of yours after the age of 35, which is of course the uh the tagline of this podcast.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_03: So what would you say to anybody who's perhaps in that place, maybe a little bit hesitant, a little bit a little bit, you know, unsure, what would you say to them?
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'll just yeah if it's something you want to if a marathon is what you want to do or a half marathon is what you want to do, then uh you go for it.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: As long as you've got the right as long as you've got the right plan in place.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um because obviously if you if you don't if you don't do it properly, as I found out, you can become unstuck.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: But the differences are that this time uh structure um which which was a massive help.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um but yeah, if you don't if you're not sure, if you're undecided, then just go for it.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like what's I think you said what's the worst that's gonna happen?
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like as long as you put the training in.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: That got me through really.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I knew I'd done the work.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: And running for 20 miles in training and then a few other longer runs, it's well I know I can do it.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's just it's you just gotta have the you gotta have the belief, and that was something which you did have to sort of push me a little bit on, um, which I needed help on.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's that's the other big thing, which apart from the physical side was the mental side, how much stuff we did that on a Monday night, how much yeah, and it doesn't just help, I think it makes you look at yourself on everyday life as well.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_03: Anything specific there that you you you you've because I'm very I'm very obviously as you know, I'm very big on the fact of how much training for a marathon, the mental side of it, then translates into life, it's something that I've experienced.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_03: So what would you say specifically there?
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's just things like where you maybe you you talk about yourself or you talk about other people, or you know, we we spoke about when someone says something to you and then you say, but but and then it's like well you're just saying I don't agree with what you're so it's little things like that which yeah make you think about the way you speak to people, the way you act, and and it's also the self-belief in if I can do this, what else can I do?
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't just relate to running, yeah.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um it could it could be anything, but the other thing is it's obviously I've got two younger daughters, and I could say to them, you know, if you put the hard work in, I did it.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think my youngest daughter said to me, You beat your time by an hour and you're seven years older.
• 21:07
  unknown: Yeah.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but this time I've you've seen me getting up early, you've seen me coming in sweaty and stuff like that.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I if you put the effort and you get what you want.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 21:21
  unknown: Yeah.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_03: Is that a big component then of you with the with the kids and being the setting a good example and stuff?
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I I think it's it's important and they can see if I'm doing it, then it's a good role model.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: Not that they're ever gonna want run marathons, but anything, you know, dancing or whatever they do, you know.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, if you want to be as best you the best you can, you you've got to train and work at it.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_03: So what's next for you then, Paul?
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I signed up for a a 10k in the start of July just to see if I can get a PB at that.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because I uh as much as I I don't need to train for the distance, I can do some speed work.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I've got a few on the way for a few weeks here and there in the next month.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it gives me a chance to see, and I'll probably try and do a half marathon at some stage.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've got one books, but not till November, so I'll probably do one before then.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, even if it's just around the local area, just to see if I can have how fast I can do it.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's because obviously it sounds strange, but it's only half a marathon.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_03: Well, it's compared to 26.1, uh 26.2, sorry, 13.1, he's uh he's literally half, so it is uh yeah, it is only half.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_03: Anything else from you, Paul?
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: Uh not really.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'd just obviously like to thank you for and all the team for all your help along the way.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's it's a big part of the training.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, we spoke quite a lot, and there's always questions that come up, and you think, oh, it's a bit of a stupid question.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I'd come to you and within probably 15 minutes you've responded or called me or whatever.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I had the answer.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: Go away and try that and come back and let me know how you get on, which yeah, that's a big thing.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: You can't do that with a bit of paper.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's right.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_03: I appreciate that.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_03: I appreciate that very much.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_03: Well, uh, thank you, Paul.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_03: Um, that seems like a good place to stop.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_03: Uh well done.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_03: So if anybody's listening to this, I think the bit the big thing here, I think the big message to me, the takeaway is that if you are feeling a little bit deflated because you're perhaps unhappy with the marathon performance, you can go again, you can go back to the well, and even if it's a seven-year gap, you can still do that.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, it took me six years to hit my goal, marathon time, um, through labour of love and doing it.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_03: So there's always an opportunity to do it again.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_03: And I, you know, very similar to Paul, I was 45 when I did my you know, target time, uh, adjusting for my Instagram profile and discuss it because it's it's not really relevant in that sense, but it it means you can go back, always go back to the well and try again and you can you can fix that unfinished business.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um so thank Paul for that for sharing that.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's valuable that you know you've been able to sort of right some wrongs as you put it uh and let people give people the reassurance to know that uh even you know, even if it is a seven-year gap, that you can still go back and and do better with the right learnings, and it's just a it's just a thing you can learn from.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um so uh yeah, thanks for that.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_03: I very much appreciate uh very much appreciate your time today.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_03: So as always guys, don't forget to uh like and share this podcast.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_03: I really appreciate that.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_03: The star ratings on wherever you get your podcast from, particularly Spotify, really help.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_03: So if you do like this podcast, please take the time to give me a star rating on Spotify.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_03: It really helps.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_03: And I do appreciate that.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_03: Don't forget to follow me over at 12 months to marathon as well to get all your free daily running content.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_03: And if you want to have a chat about anything, uh including improving your marathon time or fixing your unfinished business, you can always drop me a message and I'll happy to have a chat with you.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_03: So thanks very much for listening again and thanks to Paul again, and I'll speak to you all very soon indeed.