Tapering

I've been tapering my training for about a week now & with 10 days to go I'm starting to feel quite underprepared for the big day!! 

Having followed by plan to the letter for the past 5 months I'm now adding more runs in to give me that confidence that I can do this. It helps mentally that I have run 20 miles & I keep that in the back of my mind but when I'm doing 40-50 minute runs at the moment it doesn't feel enough. 

I'm also really conscious of how I'm feeling in these final days, picking up on any aches & pains. Touch wood, fingers crossed & all that I've been fine & my injuries all happened earlier in my training.

Emotionally I'm drained & I'm physically quite exhausted which worries me for the day.  

I've asked followers on twitter & a lot of people are in the same boat so this really does help. I'm so glad I've had the support of the twitter community to answer questions about the tapering. It's not something I've ever done before so it's good to get advise from fellow runners. 

Sadly some of the people I've 'virtually' had this journey with have had to pull out last minute due to injury. It's such a shame & leaves me feeling quite emotional for them. I know they'll get another chance but on the day I'll be running for all of them too. 

As a first time marathon runner I really have no idea what to expect & now as the day gets closer I've resided to my plan being to enjoy it & use it as an experience. 

I'd love to hear some other fellow runners final week stories...

More waiting, more worry

After another 4 weeks of waiting on results I finally heard from the hospital on Friday. It wasn't the news I was hoping for. My case has been referred again to the board of consultants & they'll be discussing my results at their monthly meeting on Thursday. It's an odd feeling knowing that something is out of your hands & that whilst you're sat at work going about my daily routine there are strangers in a room at Southend Hospital discussing what will be happening for my imminent future. 
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really worried and hadn't had a few sleepless nights in recent days plus I'm letting the slightest thing get on top of me. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm in really good hands & I that I'm actually very lucky. 

Onwards to the marathon training & with my fundraising now being over £3200 every pound that comes in really does spur me on. So anyone who may be reading this who has donated, thank you, it means so much to me & the charities. 

Touch wood my foot injury is now starting to ease off a little & after doing as I've been told and getting back into the training slowly, I'm now starting to get back on track. Tomorrow I'm aiming for 75 minutes as a short run & if I can accomplish that without stopping or having any pain in the foot then I'll be delighted & really feel like the marathon can be achieved! I'll have my full running confidence back. 

A bad day at the office

I've read on a number of running forums that most runners have a really bad training run before a big event, well mine was today! 

I've been feeling pretty exhausted over the past few weeks from a mixture of worry about results from the hospital, too many early morning runs, arranging fundraising events & generally doing too much with very little down time, so when the alarm went off this morning I just wasn't feeling it.

 

My good friend Dan was texting me about to do his insanity workout & he encouraged me to just go out there & run! 

I got dressed & ready to go feeling much more positive. My training plan wanted a 120 minute run which is a time I've completed a couple of times now so it wasn't like I had to really push myself to the limit - I thought! 

The weather has been horrendous lately with storms & as I run alone the seafront, it's very open to the elements & today's nemesis was wind!! 

We've been battered by these winds for days now & it's getting harder to run in them, today was no exception & worst than any of the other days. I was running into the wind & it might as well have been making me run backwards, it was awful & I used up so much energy just trying to put one foot in front of the other. 

About an hour into the run I became really emotional, all the negative thoughts in my head telling me I couldn't do it and the panic about the marathon being in only 9 weeks had literally hit me like a truck. I just sobbed. 

I kept running but with the wind, the emotion & the pain in my foot (which is always looming) I just couldn't continue. I stopped to catch my breath and stretch out my foot & that seemed to help for a few minutes. 

I decided to start heading for home & the though of a nice warm bath got me through another 30 minutes of very slow running. 

That was me done, 1hour30minutes & I couldn't do another step. It really was the worst run I've done both physically & emotionally. 

I got home feeling very deflated & frustrated with myself. 

It's left me feeling pretty low all day & thinking about what I could have done differently. 

I guess I have to put it down to experience & know that if I've hit a rock bottom run it can only get better. 

I have the osteopath tomorrow so fingers crossed the foot will be fixed & I can get back on it from Tuesday! 

Only 9 weeks to go & I really need to make them count! 

Another milestone

I've been beaming from ear to ear all day after completely half marathon distance on my training run this morning! I managed to complete it in 2hours 9 minutes which I was really pleased with. 

This is the longest I've ever run and if anyone had told me a year ago I'd be running anywhere near that amount I'd have laughed.

I have a foot injury too so that made the run all the more difficult & I've been struggling with my legs hurting since I finished the run but the main thing is I completed it! 

Plenty of stretching & ice being applied now! 

I picked up a new water belt at a local running shop yesterday which came in so handy. It has four small bottles attached so I can carry water & sports drinks with me at the same time, making a huge difference! It was really nice to have my hands free from carrying a bottle too. 

The best is elasticated so doesn't move around like most running belts as you're on the move. 

My latest running aid is banana chips! I now take a packet on every long run. I have a couple before I set off as I find it hard to eat anything much before a long run. Then after around an hour I eat a couple more & again just before 2 hours to give me that final boost! I suppose it's each to their own & now I've found this works for me I haven't looked back! 

I'd love to hear your running tips for hydration & boosting your run! 

Motivation

Titanium by David Guetta was on the radio this morning and the words really stuck with me so I've made it my new Powersong for the end of my long training runs. 
These words in particular are going to spur me on

I think I've mentioned before that my other Powersong is Firework by Katy Perry. Would be interested to hear what your motivational songs are. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I took a bit of a break over Christmas & New Year from posting, instead focusing on spending time with my family and friends. It was a really lovely time & reminded me once again how lucky I am to have such great people around me. 

One thing I didn't take a break from though was training! 

I've been hard at it and upping my times and distances each week, I even ran on Christmas Day!! It was actually really refreshing to be out nice and early on Christmas morning and meant I was feeling really good (if a little achy) even after stuffing my face with all the usual festive treats. This Christmas was a first for me too, I actually lost weight instead of putting it on. It's all the training, it just seems to fall off, I suppose it's my metabolism.

I've decided to do a different training plan now which fits better for me, it was suggested by Cancer Research UK. I'm now running 4/5 times a week and giving myself a few rest days. This is really working for me as I now feel like I'm actually getting somewhere and giving my body a well deserved rest. 

I'm up to 90 minutes of running on my longest day now which feels so rewarding, I never thought I'd be able to comfortably run for 30 minutes let alone 90 so this is really giving me the boost I need to keep it going. 

With only 96 days until the London Marathon the challenge I've taken on is starting to really kick but I'm still as motivated as ever & am definitely already in better shape than I've ever been. 

So although it's a new year, the training continues, the commitment continues & thanks to some great support, the donations have continued to roll in for my chosen charities! 

2014 - The year I run the London Marathon! 

Run The Right Way

My colleague, Ian, emailed this link to me this morning. Two really interesting videos that could make you run more effectively and the right way! 

It's only 3 minutes long & could make a whole heap of difference to your running. I'll certainly be trying out the different stance on my next run. 

http://sanjayguptamd.blogs.cnn.com/category/cnn-lifestream-video/page/2/#lifestream

Nobody said it was easy...

Just a couple of the wonderful things I'm going through this week: 

* Chapped & blistered lips

* Feet cut to bits

* Sore boobs

* Constantly cold

The cold weather is so tough to train in that I'm actually scared now about how hard it's going to get as the winter really kicks in. 

It's currently around 3 degrees when I've been going out in the mornings to start my run & with it set to get colder this week I'm not sure how I will get through it. I'm following the Virgin London Marathon Beginner's plan which has me doing varying distances 6 days per week. 

I can tell you this is a lot & having gone from someone who run whenever I fancied & mostly when it was dry & light to now running in the dark & all-weathers, it's definitely pushing me to my limits! 

I've been told about various remedies to alleviate some of the problems and any others would be really welcomed! Feel free to comment with your suggestions! 

Nobody ever said marathon training would be easy, but then again no one told me it'd be this hard either!! 

Running is a lonely sport

Whilst doing my daily training run this evening it struck me at just how lonely it is being out running on a winters night.

It's hard enough to get ready to run & prepare yourself for the very cold, dark weather but motivating yourself without the help of others is quite a task. I find the Nike app motivating as I have friends on there so I can make sure I keep ahead of them. Whilst running it gives you quite a lot of time to think through any dramas of the day & what's on your mind but once that is out of the way then what do you think about & how do you carry on pushing yourself? 

Music is my key to keeping sane & blocking out the cold & tiredness but even that can get a little boring at times. Plus the marathon training tells you to sometimes run without music as during a lot of races you're not allowed earphones in so good to prepare without them. 

If running during the day it's always nice to run in public places so you can see other runners but the most you get out of them is a nod of acknowledgement. Running at night, even in well lit areas, is a different ball game altogether, you're lucky if you see anyone else mad enough to be out in the cold & when you do they're definitely 'in the zone'! As evenings after work is when I do most of my training, finding ways to keep my mind occupied is hard work. 

I'd love to hear from other runners in the same position to know what you do to keep motivated during your winter training? Or if you have any suggestions to help me along my way please be in touch. I have a feeling the mental strength is just going to get tougher as the runs get longer & the weather worsens.