The Day After the London Marathon
The day after the London Marathon – my plan was to write a post-race review. The reality of my day was a little more like this…
marathon
Training Recap – Two Days Before London Marathon
While I’m no longer having dreams about showing up late and completely frazzled to the start line of the London Marathon, the excitement/ nervousness has upped. Nothing like going to the Expo for a little anxiety inducement! But the excitement of Expo was upped by getting to meet some more twitter folks
London Marathon 2017 – Not Long Now
Not long now … nervous, excited, filled with trepidation – this is how I’m feeling with only a few days to go until the London Marathon 2017 as you can see from the photo! I’ve been a little reflective of the last few days about how far I’ve come in training. The long runs, the races, and the added miles throughout the weeks have not always been easy. I started from a pretty poor base with Parkrun feeling difficult on 1 January. Since then
Is a sub 2:00:00 marathon possible?
Two Hours: The quest to run the impossible marathon by Ed Caesar (2015) I watched the men’s and women’s marathons at the 2012 London Olympics. I was standing in St James Park within spitting distance of the runners as they flew past. It was extraordinary to watch. It was more than just the pace – it was running form, tactics, drama and facial expressions – each runner pushing themselves to the absolute limit. The world record for the marathon stands at 2:02:57. It was set in Berlin in 2014 by Kenyan runner, Dennis Kimetto, and it was the first time […]
Training Recap – 1 week to London Marathon
One week to London Marathon and what will be will be. A few more miles to do to keep my legs ticking over. But the dreams. I’m not one for remembering dreams on the whole. This has been some crazy stuff. Dream 1 – turn up at the start point in a panic as I’m late. I look down only to discover my kit is all wrong – wrong top, wrong shoes and no number. I have also forgotten my gels and jelly babies. I wake up in a panic wondering why I haven’t got my gel belt on. […]
Training Recap – 2 Weeks to London Marathon
Ahh, the tapering runner! I’m so grateful it’s only 2 weeks to the London Marathon. While the miles are down, my legs feel heavy and unresponsive and I’ve got too much time on my hands and way too much energy to know what to do with. Slight irritations are turning into major ones. I’m stuck in sucky thought loops that go something like this ‘This is going to be a disaster…I’m so unfit…I’ll never finish…Nooooo…’ Maranoia hasn’t hit yet so that’s something to look forward to.
Marathon Taper Tips – Getting to the Start Line
Marathon tapering tips…what can I say about the madness that is taper time! Here’s some great advice I got at a pre-marathon workshop with Barry Crane at Run and Become in London. I wanted to share some of the advice given as taper time can be rough. It’s when all the niggles and concerns can get blown out of proportion. There’s a lot of excitement mixed with fear about whether you’ll get to the start line and if you can do this. I wonder if anyone ever truly thinks they’ve done enough? This is only my second marathon with my first […]
Training Recap – 3 Weeks to London Marathon
So it’s 3 weeks to London Marathon. This week has been a great confidence builder as well as a reminder of why I run. My running week starts Saturday. I started the week by helping out at the beginners’ group. My club holds 2 x 8 week sessions a year for beginners. I get to meet some great people and we chat as we run. And why do I go along? I get a lot out of it. I meet great people and every now and again I get to run with someone who is convinced they will fail. But […]
Free to Run – My #reasontorun
So this is my #reasontorun … We all start running for different reasons. For me it was about getting a little fitter, perhaps losing a little weight. This has nothing to do with why I run now and why I’m about to embark on my second London Marathon despite my first being an unmitigated disaster! I’m proud to be raising funds for Free to Run. So why do it? At the heart of it it’s about the people I’ve met, the confidence I’ve gained, and the community I’m now very proudly part of. Running has opened up a new world for me and […]
Training Recap – 4 Weeks to London Marathon
4 weeks to London Marathon and it’s starting to feel real – an 18 mile run, arrival of the registration form, making arrangements to meet up with folks at the Expo, it’s all happening. I’m caught between excitement and paranoia. I had to defer the London Marathon last year 3 weeks before the big day due to facet joint issues in my lower back. This year I’m working it a little differently with regular core and stretching (OK, so it’s meant to be daily…), pilates and the occasional sports massage. Any niggles I’m getting on to straight away. Last week […]
Training Recap – 5 Weeks to London Marathon
This has been a week of irritations, mainly in my left calf and only 5 weeks to London Marathon. After a short set of hill reps last Thursday, I felt a bit of an ache in my calf muscle. On Friday it hurt a little more. I tested it out on my long run on Saturday and it seemed fine – a few slight niggles but no pain as such. If there had been pain, I would have stopped. Come Sunday and Monday, my calves felt tight so off to the physio I duly went. As suspected, I have either […]
Training Recap – 6 weeks to London Marathon
With only 6 weeks to London Marathon, it’s been mixed when it comes to running. There have been highs and there have been lows. But it’s spring so I’m slowly getting over the winter blues. However, on Sunday, things did not go to plan. I apologise now to anyone who came across a very grumpy runner swearing very loudly. That was a bad run that seemed to go on forever. I just couldn’t get it together. I can’t blame the gels as thankfully I didn’t have any issues with them – perhaps doing a fast run Thursday, sports massage Friday […]