One more sleep
Getting quite nervous now.
Carb loading: Dishes of the day
I'm a big fan of the Marathon Talk podcasts. They kept me company on a couple of my long runs and I've picked up quite a bit of information from them. One thing I learnt from Tom Williams and Martin Yelling nattering in my ear is how to carb load. I had assumed, like many [...]
Thank you
Blogging about my marathon mission has been as much a journey into the unknown as the training for the event itself. I once read somewhere that blogging was a lot like talking to yourself in an empty room - it's only the occasional comments from people that have stumbled upon your words than make you [...]
Marathon training week 14: Taper time
Thirteen weeks ago I started training for my first marathon. If I had known then that the UK was set to experience the coldest winter in 31 years, I may have reconsidered. But I didn't, so I didn't - and now, with all my long runs complete and just 19 days to go before I'm [...]
How to run 18 miles
Richmond ParkIt's with great pride and excitement that I can announce that I, a self-confessed lazy girl and recently reformed couch potato, have completed my first 18-mile training run. Can you believe it? I can't.On Sunday I set off on my own to Richmond Park with just my running backpack full of water and four [...]
Ready to run: kit
The dreams have started - the anxiety dreams. They're centered around the Brighton Marathon but as yet they don't concern the running part. Probably because the running part has been planned and prepared for four days a week for the past 11 weeks. I don't think I can do more preparation on the running front [...]
Pain and paranoia
With only three 'real' weeks of training left (that's three weeks of big mileage before I start to taper) I'm starting to worry - and not about the things you might think. Obviously I have that dull noise at the back of my mind that keeps questioning whether I'll be able to complete the marathon [...]
Going home
This weekend I was flying solo for my long run. I was back home visiting my parents and the schedule called for 16 miles. The change of scenery from my usual Richmond Park route really made a difference and I quite enjoyed plodding along by myself, singing out loud at points hoping nobody would come [...]
Covering new ground – 14 miles done
On Saturday I headed out to Richmond Park for the longest run I've done so far: 14 miles. This was a mile further than the half-marathon I did back in October but, more importantly, two miles further than I've ever run in a non-race environment and it went surprisingly well. I was able to have a [...]
Talk about the weather
England has a reputation for being rainy. One that I had always believed to be true, but running has taught me differently. In the past eight weeks of marathon training I've had to run four days a week and I always run at the same time, thus making it difficult to avoid bad weather, and [...]