Apologies, it has been a while since I last posted a message. I’ve had my hands full with a number of other projects.
I have, however, kept up my running, and the more I run the longer it takes. Preparing for a marathon does kind of take over your life. I’ve continued to run around 20 miles on Saturdays (although last Saturday I only managed 16 miles. I took a wrong turn and then didn’t feel so good, so I didn’t add the extra miles back on and I headed straight home (although this still took six miles). I’m still trying to get used to the strong sweet taste of the Lucozade products that I’ll be offered on the London Marathon. I thought I was getting the hand of it, but not this week.
I am now a slither of the person I was. I’ve even cut out flapjacks (once I saw that most contain around 20g of fat). Now I wonder if I’m not eating enough to keep my energy up and I’m looking forward to carbo-loading. I don’t know whether I’ve lost the 5-6kg that Professor Brewer recommended, but I look better than I’ve ever done.
I must include a quick eulogy to St Alban’s Striders, my running club. On Tuesday and Thursday I leave work on time (early according to every other night of the week) to ensure that I can get out on the track or join in the 8:30 minute pace group as we run for 8 miles in the dark. It is great not having to plan every part of my running schedule. It is reassuring to know that even in the pouring rain there will be others there, with my, putting the miles in.
So, I’ve continued to put together some intensive sessions, running five times a week, including a long run, a steady run, a speed session on the track, what would be a five-mile easy run if it wasn’t for the rucksack on my back, and a tempo session in the gym. Perhaps it is no wonder that on some of these sessions I’ve begun to flag a little. I think I miss the flapjacks most, and hope it all comes together after I’ve done my next few weeks tapering. Almost 4 weeks to go. Perhaps my biggest remaining challenge is to get up to my fundraising target. That’s losing a little momentum too.
