Miles this week: 19
Still
to go: £627.50
In
keeping with the tradition of past blogs, I’d like to start by saying a big
thank you to Elaine for your donation and to Ali, Steve and Oli who also found
time to donate this week and my work colleague Wassim. It is all very much appreciated guys!
I
Thought I’d start off with my ‘song of the week’, as this week I’m reflecting
on all those weeks of hard training. The song is the Training Montage by Vince
DiCola – Rocky IV. Yer I know… another song from the Rocky soundtrack, but
there wouldn’t be any justice if I didn’t use this song to round up my
training. If you’ve not seen Rocky IV then shame on you!
I
knew it would be hard, but I didn’t think it would be this hard. I guess
fracturing my ankle and being out of action for nine weeks wasn’t part of the
plan! It certainly didn’t help, as I lost the fairly high level of
fitness/stamina that I had achieved from competing in the three half marathon
races last year. Still, no excuses, I will have managed 12 weeks out of the
recommended 16 week training programme. Hopefully when I complete the London
marathon it will make it just that little bit more special.
So
that was the low part of my training. I guess my highlight would be the high
mileage I have achieved, particularly the 20 miles I did couple of weeks ago -
I didn’t think that would be possible. I won’t get ahead of myself in my
self-congratulation though, seeing as I still have a further 6.2 miles to run
on race day which I will need to find energy for from somewhere. However,
thinking about it, I think representing Sense and becoming a volunteer beats
those 20 miles hands down in terms of my highlight.
As
hard as the training has been, I think the fundraising has been the hardest
part. By that I mean training relies on me and me alone, but the fundraising is
out of my hands… I can only do so much. I think I have had a great response
already and I thank them kindly, but I’m sure people could still give more!
We are now in the twilight
zone with only six days before the big day, just writing that is making my
stomach tie it’s self-up in knots!
I’m now into my second week of this old
tapering malarky and I have to say I didn’t think it would be this hard. Surely
running less miles and running them at a slower pace would be a nice thing,
considering the mammoth miles I had been doing. This is not the case. I’m
feeling every niggle and twinge in my legs and have more time to worry about
them, as the runs are talking longer. I can’t even take my mind off them by
looking to get a good mile pace as slow is the key. Saying that, I have dropped
my average pace from about 8 minute miles down to 10 minute miles, but am
finding it really hard to maintain this slower pace and I hope I can up it back up this coming Sunday in London.
The book this week (as I mentioned last
week) has nothing new to teach me. It’s more about reminding me of what I have
learned over the whole training period, as well as sharing people’s stories of
finishing their first ever marathon. I have noticed there is still no mention of
their finishing times, emphasising the achievement of just finishing the
marathon. For me, however, I would have liked to have known what they achieved,
purely because you have followed their journey for the past 16 weeks, from
where they started when couldn’t run a few miles to becoming marathon athletes.
I had a fairly easy running week. It
felt almost pointless lacing my shoes up for 3 miles, but I did it. I did do a
quick pace for my mid-week 5 mile run which felt good.
Day 1 = 3 miles
Day 2 = 5 miles
Day 3 = 3 miles
Day 4 = 8 miles
Total = 19
miles
Having
slower runs is kind of bad for me, as it has lead me to overthink everything I
have done right and wrong over the 11 weeks. Like maybe I should have done
more, trained different muscle groups… I guess I will only be able to
truthfully answer that once I have completed the marathon. One thing I do seem
to have got right is hill-training. Apparently climbing hills builds your
stamina and works your muscles far more than flat running. I say I did it right
as though it were intentional, but it’s just because I live in a rather odd
area where I seem to have to run up hills regardless of what direction I head
in! So I’m hoping that each of my miles
is worth far more than those covered in less hilly terrain. London is supposed
to be a flat course, so you never know, you may see me skipping around it like
a carefree mountain goat (I had to google what animals skip for that!).
So,
tapering… Surely I should start to feel refreshed and full of energy, right?
Not a chance, I feel so tired! Maybe this is just my body healing and
refuelling itself in preparation.
I
have tried to get some much needed sleep, which will help me on my way to
marathon success. I’m trying my best on this one, but clearly Pickle (my cat)
is not on my side. This time of year she seems to be up as soon as the sun is
(not as bad since the clocks have sprung forward) and her current policy is one
up all up! So, she has resorted to some terrible tactics to make sure she achieves
this; currently her favourite tactic involves boxing. No joke!!
I may have mentioned this before but this
generally involves her sitting on my chest (whilst I’m asleep, may I add) and
tapping me on the jaw or mouth to wake me. Not very nice cat behaviour, but we
sort of look at each other, say morning, and then I make a fuss of her. Then
she allows just enough time for me to drift off again before coming back for
round two, where she delivers another bashing wake-up call. If I’m lucky I can
last three rounds before she moves onto new tactics, which normally involve
claws.
The sponsorship
wheel seems like it needs re-oiling by you guys as I still need more help to
reach my target of £1,500. We’re so, so close; all I need is a big push for
the remaining £627.50. Anything you donate is a step toward achieving this massive
target, even if it’s £1. Come on guys don’t let me down, PLEASE!
Leigh
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