London Marathon - Update 1

Some five years after having to pull out of the London Marathon through injury, I have finally got another place. I think I learned my lesson, so this time, I shall be taking my training very gently to start with, to try and avoid any further calf and heel problems.

I also need to shift about 15 pounds of excess weight otherwise my knees will complain. So no more cakes.

It's about 5 years since I stopped running seriously and focused on cycling, so, even though I still do the occasional run, I haven't run any events for over 2 years (last one was the Great Capital Run in 2008). And I haven't run further than about 12k for quite a while. Half hour on the treadmill will be enough for today, then I can see how stiff my legs are tomorrow and get a training plan together....

Wish me luck!

2,375th

I made it! I came a splendid 2,375^th out of over 4,800 runners in Sunday’s Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon. I was pleased with my time of 1 hour 57 minutes 53 seconds – a couple of minutes inside my target time of 2 hours. Although it was cold on the day, the weather wasn’t too bad, but it did get quite windy during the second half of the race. There was a great atmosphere at the start of the race – there always is – but running round the track meant there weren’t many spectators, nor much encouragement, as the race went along. It certainly wasn’t as much fun as the Bath Half Marathon last year. Nevertheless, I’m glad I did it as now my sights turn to the big one – The London Marathon in just five weeks time. At the moment I’m still thinking I’ll be doing it, but I’ll need to get a gentle 25k training run in this weekend, and a 30k run next weekend to be sure. I have moderated my target time though. Realistically I haven’t done enough road running to seriously go at 4 hours 15 minutes, so I’m settling for a target of 5 hours.

Number 4282

Well my number arrived for the Silverstone Half Marathon today. The race is on 9 March. I'm number 4282. I've got one long training run this weekend, then a short run early next week following which I'll be resting before the big day. Sub two hours and injury free means I'll be lining up for the London Marathon in April so there's a lot to race for. Wish me luck!

Getting faster

One of the important things about training for a marathon is to vary your exercise regime. Long run after long run will not help you improve as much as a structured training schedule which mixes different activities. It's crucial to undertake shorter, faster sessions, and to include some hill work. With that in mind, today I was scheduled to do a short fast run. I did a 3 or 4 minute jog, followed by my stretches then set off in the wind and rain to try and get under 50 minutes for 10k. That might not sound fast, but it is for me. I romped home in 48'51 seconds, with plenty of running left in my legs. A couple of days rest before I'm due to do a 21 or 22k road run. That's half marathon distance and I'll be doing it either on Saturday or Sunday, depending on the weather. I'll be aiming to hit 2 hours. Although that's not the fastest I've done, I want to take it easy to stay injury free. The speed will come later.

Join me if you like!

I'm In!

I got my acceptance for the London Marathon in the post yesterday! Fantastic! I can't wait. I've also got a place in the Silverstone Half Marathon in March. That'll be part of my London preparation. My running distances are slowly increasing - see last post - and I've just 2 weeks left before I switch from cycling 4 days a week and running 2, to 3 days a week for each. I don't plan to do any more than that as my legs are too prone to injury. I've also modified my expectations and will be aiming to complete the London course in under 4 hours 30 minutes.

I plan to run in aid of the The Salvation Army Training Centre in Hadleigh which my sister, Shelley, manages. They do great work helping people with disabilities, or who have been long term unemployed, back into work.

Half Marathon time

Saturday's half marathon training run in the gym was pretty successful. I had the treadmill on an incline to try a simulate street running, and I varied the pace quite a bit. I was getting tired towards the end, but nevertheless completed the distance in 1 hour 57 minutes and 34 seconds. That's over 5 minutes better than my previous best. No injuries, or niggles, just the continued stiffness in my right achiles in the mornings and for the first 1k of any run. I had a couple of days rest from running, then today I did a fast-ish 8k - 40 minutes (that's fast for me). Next run is Sunday when I plan an easy 15k, before raising the distances again for the following weeks, with a 22k and a 24k planned.