Up to Sun 8 April

FLM is 2 weeks today. Very excited and very nervous now. I feel like I am ready for it (well as ready as I'll ever be given that the taper has begun) and so just want to get cracking.

I'm finally beginning to feel a little less run down. I ran 18 miles today and didn't feel awful at the end. Kept a nice steady 8:20 per mile pace too. That would get me inside my target range of 3:30 - 3:45 as finish times for the marathon, but am now wanting to push for the lower end of that scale.

Last weekend I did a nice 20 mile race in Worthing. I came 193rd out 0f 660 I think which I was pleased with given that most people were club runners. A time of 2:40:40 meant 8:02 splits so that has given me confidence.

Anyway I'm going to enjoy the last couple of weeks of this adventure and hope the weather stays nice - but cools down a little on the day!

Up to Sun 18 March

The long distance runs are now adding up and this Saturday I managed to get round 20 miles at a slow pace. It was a lovely day, bright sunshine and the run took in lots of the beautiful London parks, including Hyde Park, Green Park, St James' Park, Battersea Park and Clapham Common. The last couple of miles were hard but by the time the sleet and hail arrived on the Sunday I was very glad that I had moved my run to the Saturday.

Overall it improved my morale considerably, because I have been missing more runs than I would have liked, firstly through a stag do in Valencia the previous weekend and secondly through having a slight cold.

I really believe I can do it now, although I have altered my target to a more realistic 3:45. Only a few more weeks to go!

Up to Sun 4 March

So a few weeks of updates due, but in truth not all that much running done! The week before I went skiing saw a severe decline in the number of runs, as a mad rush of work before holiday kept me very busy.

Skiing was ace (Flaine in the French Alps) and although I had good intentions to go out running in the evenings or mornings, after putting my running kit on after the first day of skiing and making it as far as the door before the pain from cramp became too much, I pretty much abandoned that plan. Still, at least skiing kept me active!

That brought me to last week, and I decided to really kick in, in a final push for the Marathon. A decent week of running all round, a good speedwork session on Tuesday, a marathon pace 10 mile run on Wednesday, 8 miles slow on Thursday and 15 miles on Saturday. I was aching by the end and feeling it as the week progressed, but my recovery times seem to have got back to what they were before skiing.

So more of the same please. Not sure if I'll get much of a long run in this weekend - a stag weekend in Valencia might put pay to that!

Up to Sun 11 February

Well I am pleased to report that the relative rest last week has definitely done me good and I felt much better running this week - no niggling pains as I was running. I've had a good week of running, I did a hill work session on Tuesday morning, which was was very rewarding going up and down the same hill 10 times, even if I did get some strange looks as I passed the same commuters several times.

On Wednesday I decided to take Lizzy's lead and run home from work. It was just over 10 miles and took me just under an 1 hour and 20 minutes. Not a bad way to do a medium long run now, given my normal public transport commute takes me and hour. I wimped out on Thursday though, couldn't face running in the snow as the paths were very slippery and I didn't fancy it much. Also didn't help that I'd frozen running home on Wednesday night!

Finally, a decent weekend of running, an easy 5 miles on Saturday and a slow 18 miles on Sunday. I'm feeling it a little on my rest day on Monday, but its very encouraging to know you can go that far. Only 8 extra miles! 

I'm going to fit in a few good runs before Friday, but then I'm off skiing for a week, so it will be a while before I write again. 

Up to Sun 4 February

A bit of a mixed week this week. A short easy recovery run on Monday, followed by an attempt at speedwork on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I seem to have picked up a couple of niggling injuries in my knees - nothing too serious from what I can tell - just a bit of over training. So I eased off for the week, abandoning Wednesday and Thursdays training and had two proper rest days, and onle 5-a-side football on Friday.

I got back to it on Saturday with a short 5 mile run, then did my 10K race in Chichester on Sunday. Was a great race, pretty flat, only a couple of hills and a great downhill finish. Was also a fast race - 90% of competitors seemed to be club runners and the organisers warned the finish would no longer be staffed after 1 hour and 15 after the start. I managed a PB of 42:26 so was very pleased - although I think I amused quite a few people with my sprint finish when I was so far down the field, the winners having finished 13 minutes before me! Looking forward to a full week of running this week coming.

Up to Sun 28 January

My weeks and run so far have been pretty good, building up the miles, running about 30-40 miles a week. My longest run to date was 15 miles, which hurt for the last mile or so, but was otherwise ok. Speedwork is a dreadful day every week and I hate getting out of bed early every Tuesday morning to do it. But then I guess that is the point!

The week ahead promises a slight ease back, with a 10K race next Sunday as something to look forward to. My plan suggests aiming for under 43 mins, which would be a PB for me, so who knows...watch this space!

The Running Plan

I am following a sub 3:30 running plan, which I have downloaded from Runners-World onto my Garmin ForeRunner 305 GPS watch (a gadget I now find it impossible to run without!) My schedule is running 5 days a week, which a long with 5-a-side football on two days a week is keeping me on my toes. Typically my schedule is some thing like:

Monday : Rest; Tuesday: Speedwork; Wednesday: Mid Length slow run; Thursday: Short brisk run; Friday: Rest; Saturday: Short slow run; and Sunday: Long slow run.

I am really enjoying it so far, but lets see if I think the same come 22nd April. It certainly takes up a lot of my life!