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The Road to the London Marathon: 13 Weeks to Go
I'm still on my regular training plan which involved a 15km run on Sunday, followed by a gentle 30 minute run with the Teenager. She took up Couch to 5k as part of her Duke of Edinburgh's award with a vague plan to participate in a Park Run. This is actually a very vague plan since I think I am keener on the idea than she is. She's certainly in horror at the idea of being among the last few runners to complete a Park Run. I think this is in part because I've told her how encouraging everyone is and she would frankly rather fade into the background than be cheered across the line. At the moment she's running at a pace of about 8min per km and I think we need to get that down to about 7:30min per km for her to be inconspicuous since there are a whole bunch of people who complete Park Run in about 40 minutes.
Went to the gym on Monday without ill effect, which after last week was a relief.
I then ran 10km on Tuesday which went well (managed just over 2km at 4:35 - the target was 4km but that wasn't going to happen) and on Thursday which was a disaster. My target pace was 5:05 for the whole run and I'd thought setting out I might manage it based on last week's run, but I didn't even manage 200m before having to slow down - so I gave myself a kilometre at an easy pace, then managed 5:05 for the next two and then dropped down well below even "easy" (albeit marginally faster than the Teenager can manage). I gradually forced myself to speed up and managed the final kilometre at 5:05 again, but all in all I was pretty disappointed. I have three hypotheses for what was going on:
Still a disappointing run to go into the first week of "proper" training.
I also booked a hotel. I had been going to leave this until after the longest training run in late March on the grounds I didn't want to waste money on a hotel I wouldn't use if I got injured. However![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fififolle had been trying to organise a get together in London that weekend and warned me that hotels were already hard to come by. The London Marathon has arrangements with all the Holiday Inn hotels for miles around which include a bus to the start of the marathon, but these were all non-refundable so after an awful lot of messing around on lastminute, I booked a hotel at a reasonable cost with free cancellation up to 3 days before the marathon. It's 15 minutes walk from the nearest tube station and, of course, the tube and then Docklands Light Railway are going to be heaving with marathoners, so I anticipate a certain amount of stress getting to the start, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it. At least if I get injured I won't have wasted £200.
KM run this week: 38.8km (all last weekend)
KM run in 2018: 58.8km
While raising money for charity is not my motivation for participation, it is a big part of the London Marathon. Shelter have bribed me with a T-shirt and the promise of a post-race massage. People have been incredibly generous already, plus bonus £10 note found in the street* (much appreciated), but you can donate here should you feel so inclined.
*I read your blog post, but then got distracted so didn't comment.
Went to the gym on Monday without ill effect, which after last week was a relief.
I then ran 10km on Tuesday which went well (managed just over 2km at 4:35 - the target was 4km but that wasn't going to happen) and on Thursday which was a disaster. My target pace was 5:05 for the whole run and I'd thought setting out I might manage it based on last week's run, but I didn't even manage 200m before having to slow down - so I gave myself a kilometre at an easy pace, then managed 5:05 for the next two and then dropped down well below even "easy" (albeit marginally faster than the Teenager can manage). I gradually forced myself to speed up and managed the final kilometre at 5:05 again, but all in all I was pretty disappointed. I have three hypotheses for what was going on:
- Sometimes it happens.
- Anaemia. I am prone to anaemia and I had been lethargic getting up. I have put myself back on the iron supplements on the grounds it can't hurt.
- Lack of calories. I'd lost track of my calories the previous day and had possibly over-compensated. I had had a perfectly normal breakfast before the run, but when I went shopping afterwards I was feeling much like I do when I get home from a long day at work and need food badly. I stocked up on snacks and made sure I ate enough.
Still a disappointing run to go into the first week of "proper" training.
I also booked a hotel. I had been going to leave this until after the longest training run in late March on the grounds I didn't want to waste money on a hotel I wouldn't use if I got injured. However
fififolle had been trying to organise a get together in London that weekend and warned me that hotels were already hard to come by. The London Marathon has arrangements with all the Holiday Inn hotels for miles around which include a bus to the start of the marathon, but these were all non-refundable so after an awful lot of messing around on lastminute, I booked a hotel at a reasonable cost with free cancellation up to 3 days before the marathon. It's 15 minutes walk from the nearest tube station and, of course, the tube and then Docklands Light Railway are going to be heaving with marathoners, so I anticipate a certain amount of stress getting to the start, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it. At least if I get injured I won't have wasted £200.KM run this week: 38.8km (all last weekend)
KM run in 2018: 58.8km
While raising money for charity is not my motivation for participation, it is a big part of the London Marathon. Shelter have bribed me with a T-shirt and the promise of a post-race massage. People have been incredibly generous already, plus bonus £10 note found in the street* (much appreciated), but you can donate here should you feel so inclined.
*I read your blog post, but then got distracted so didn't comment.
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I hope you and G's training picks up next week!
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That's my feeling and, as someone on FB pointed out, I can always get a taxi to the start (or at least close to the start).