Dublin Marathon, Mile 3

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Who says marathon training makes life unsocial?

11 weeks till race day.

This week was a big week, packed with not only training but work and a few social events in the calendar too. Last week I asked my training instructor to give me a "big week" as I wanted/needed to experience running on tired legs. I asked for this as I always suffer in the last 15 kilometers of a marathon. I am sure everyone says the same thing! But I can remember last year, running in London and was in absolute torture in the last section, to the point where I had to resort to running 800 meters and then walking 200 meters, just to get to the finish line.

So, a big week was what I got. I had to manage it around our fist ever "The Used Car Guys" company meeting on Tuesday at Saks Hotel in Kaiserslautern, and then a curry and drinks afterwards. Also, it was my wife's birthday on Friday night and we went to a very nice restaurant in Mannheim where we live. That was a late night too, but I still managed to get in 15 kilometers on Saturday, and then the big one was a 3 hour run on Sunday. The idea was to have a few running sessions in the week, a slightly bigger session on Saturday, landing me at the start of Sundays run, already with fatigued legs. The prescribed pace was faster than I usually run but it all went fine and I was pleasantly surprised at how good my legs were in the last portion of the run. All in all a good week!

So if anyone ever tells me that they wont commit to a marathon training plan as it conflicts with work and takes over your social life, I will suggest that they just get up earlier like I do!

Total time: 8 hours (missed 2 sessions mid week)

Sunday, January 12, 2014

13 weeks till London 2014

WEEK 2, 2014

This was my first full week back after the Christmas holidays. First week back at work and first week back training. I had asked my training instructor to send me a calorie burning, high intensity plan to get rid of some of the weight that i gained over the holidays, and I got what I asked for; a good solid 8 hour plan of running, biking and one swim session. I managed to get everything in apart from the swim session, as the feckin pool was closed when I got there after work! Swimming pools in Germany really frustrate me, they are either packed full, have no swimming lanes, or stupid opening hours. Anyway, I finished off the week today with a really nice 2 hour, 20k run in the forest behind my house, and then went for brunch with my wife and some friends.

I thought about completely abstaining from alcohol until after the London Marathon, but thats a long time to go without a beer or glass of wine! So I have made a compromise and told myself that I will abstain all week and have a few glasses of wine only on the weekend, staying away from beer as much as possible as that bloats me big time. We will see how this "compromise" works out in the coming weeks. (Will also have one or two get-out-of-jail-free-cards for birthdays etc :) .

I calculated today that its actually 13 weeks till the London Marathon so that gives me plenty of time to get match fit again. Have to say though, that the 20k run today was pretty good. I kept a good pace of around 0545 per KM and was running faster at the end than i was at the start.

Signed up for the Mannheim Marathon on Saturday too! Thats May 31. :)

TOTAL this week - 7 hours
Weigh in - 91.3 KG.
Target weight for April 2014 - 87 KG.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

2014 - back to work, back to training, back to reality

So the real 2014 started for me this Monday when i went back to work. I had a great two weeks holiday over Christmas; one week at home in Cambridge with my folks and family, and then a week in Austria skiing with a group of pals. Both were great times and surprisingly relaxing. Even the ski week, which is usually filled with Apres Ski and loads of booze, was much more laid back than normal. Maybe i am finally "coming of age" as one of the group suggested! (Nah, fcuk that!)

So got back on the Saturday and decided to head out for a big run on the Sunday to try and burn off some of the holiday calories. I did bring my running gear with me to Cambridge and Austria but manged only two measly runs in the two weeks. But this Sunday i knocked out a good 15k at good pace which got me back in the mood and back in the game.

And game on it is! Only 12 weeks left till the London Marathon and i am determined to do a better job than i did last year. I had injuries and was ill on the run up to the race last year so it didnt work out as i planned, and came over the line in 5.55 or something like that. This year i would like to get under 4.30.

Looking back over last year as one does around these times, i can say that i completed 2 marathons and maintained my training throughout the year, but didnt really lose any weight on the scales, although i know i am fitter and leaner than this time last year. One of my resolutions for 2014 is to eat healthier and not to allow myself to eat what i want just because i ran 10k that morning. Need to also lower the alcohol consumption too!

Off to set up my Just Giving page - gotta raise two grand for the London Marathon entry....