Dublin Marathon, Mile 3

Sunday, April 20, 2014

The London Marathon!

So... a week ago today I ran the 2014 London Marathon! I am very happy to say that I completed the race without any major issues or injuries, and pulled out a personal best too (4.34) so was very happy with the outcome! Here's a quick #marathonselfie of me just crossing the finishing line and collecting a medal:


It was an amazing day; the weather was great, the organization was amazing and the general mood of everyone was good. Its so much better when the sun is shining! We were staying close to The London Eye and got the "Thames Clipper" boat from The London Eye down to The Cutty Sark in Greenwich from where we walked to the start. Here's an AM picture whilst waiting for the boat to arrive:


Looking back, I think I ran the first half well, but then slowed in the second half. I guess most people do that also, but I really want to train more to work on the second half of the long runs; keeping the pace so as not to drop time. Its a hard job but with some work I hope to get a better time. For now though, I was happy to beat my own record.

Some more pics of the day are below. It was nice to have a few beers afterwards - I was off alcohol for a while before the race and saw the benefits, but the pint did taste good! My mum, mother in law and some of their friends were down to support, and my mate Charlie also made the journey up too. We had a nice night in London / Covent Garden afterwards, and I got a discounted dinner for having my medal on. :)



I will definitely look back at this marathon with much fonder memories than the previous London race! Thanks to everyone who donated to my charity. Next stop is the Mannheim Marathon at the end of May. I pretty much ate and drank anything I wanted to this week, but it will be back on form starting Monday. Got to get under 4Hr 30 mins next!

Cheers, David


Wednesday, April 9, 2014

4 days to go...

.......... till race day. Things have been going well in the last weeks and I am hoping that it continues up to and throughout the race!

Its Wednesday night as writing this; I get the train to London on Saturday morning and am getting quite impatient waiting. I just want to get at it now. The plan is to aim for somwhere around 4 hours 30, which would be 9 minutes better than my best time. We'll see how it goes on race day! Weather is looking good - no rain and approx 17 C. If it stays like that then I will be very happy.

On another note, a mate of mine is currently running The Marathon Des Sables this week! Makes my marathon seem like a stroll around the park.

(The Marathon des Sables (MdS, Marathon of the Sands, or Sahara Marathon) is a six-day, 251 km (156 mi) ultramarathon, which is the equivalent of six regular marathons. The longest single stage (2009) is 91 km (57 mi) long.)

So right now, my knees are good, toe/foot is as good as its gonna get, and although my achilees is not perfect, it should be ok. The reason i am writing this is so i can read after the race and compare notes.

I do have a little fatigued quads to be honest. I helped a friend move house at the weekend and the lift was out of order, so we had to move everything down six flights of stairs. Should be ok in a few days with some luck.

Target weight for the race was 88KG. I got to 88.8 on Sunday so that will do me! 

Looking foward to a beer after the race.....