Speeding

Speed session - 35 mins
1 min at effort 4 then 1 min jog recovery at effort 1, followed by 5 mins jogging at effort 2, repeat x 5 (4.5 miles in 34:04)
Route: DfES – Home 1

Yet another new training technique – speed sessions!

I’m going to level with you, sympathetic reader. I’m not sure my session tonight was a ‘text book’ example of how these sessions should be done. In an ideal world, I would have done this session on a track, with the running club. But, as I keep telling people in the Treasury, this is not an ideal world and I can’t do everything that everyone wants.

In fact, it’s been a tough couple of days. Sunday’s long run took a lot out of me. My quad and calf muscles are only just recovering, my right ankle is bruised from the pounding and my knees (in particular the one on the right) are still struggling to cope with everything I am asking them to do. Work has also been very tiring the last few days and it’s difficult to find the energy to go training when you finish at 8pm.

But I am not beaten. Oh no. Not by a long shot. When all else fails me, I look at my sponsorship total (over £1400 now!) and at the things people have written and I think about my charity and what it will feel like on the day and I make myself go running. The funny thing is, as soon as I am out there, I start to enjoy it!

And so it was with tonight’s session. I decided to combine it with the run home (it was another late finish) so it was more of a Fartlek run really. I tried to time the sprints to fall evenly and I really did put everything into them. I was flat out – something reflected by the fact that this is the second fastest time I have ever run this route (although still down on my PB by quite a bit – probably due to the jog recoveries).

I have to confess, however, that much of this run was ‘wind assisted’ – there is no way that I should have found those sprints so easy. I could feel the air carrying me along!

I really must try to do the next session at the track with the club. I can’t let those super fit Serpies put me off!! In the meantime, I must make up for sneaking an extra day off training on Tuesday by having another bash at the ‘run home from work record’ tomorrow night and cramming in an extra run somewhere before the Berkhamstead Half this weekend.

Into the unknown…

15 miles in 2:16:11
Route: Richmond circuit 2

This represents a milestone for me. It is the furthest I have ever run!

My previous longest run was the Windsor Half Marathon in September 2005. Today, I went almost two miles further than that – and that doesn’t include the mile warm up jog from the station to the park (but that doesn’t count in the official record!)

I met Stephen at 9.30am (sigh) outside Vauxhall station. Magic FM had promised me a ‘mild’ day reaching 11 degrees Celsius, but it was absolutely freezing once I got outside and I could clearly see my breath on the air (those Magic listeners may be able to decorate with a hangover, but they clearly set low standards for their weather reports).

I had expected rain and was wearing a black cap and waterproof - aka the 'scally' look. Resisted the temptation to fail my GCSEs and steal car radios, even though I looked the part (see left)

Two laps of Richmond Park was the plan. We jogged from the station to Richmond gate, had a stretch and set off around the perimeter track. It was an overcast, cloudy morning – not too cold once you were running and, luckily, rain free for the time being. There was plenty of water on the floor however, and we dodged puddles pretty much the whole way around. It was as muddy as a wrestling match in Las Vegas.

There were plenty of people out running and cycling. I had forgotten how hilly some parts of the park were – one section in particular is very steep. I tried to use my best uphill technique, staying on the balls of my feet and using my arms to propel me upwards. I think it helped a little.

There is one section of the park where the track disappears and you have to follow a muddy path. It’s closer to cross-country than marathon training, but there’s no other way around. It culminates in a steep hill, which was a real killer on the second lap!

We finished the 15 miles after just over two laps of the park. I was very tired, but not completely exhausted. I must take some comfort from that, because about 5 seconds after stopping, my legs became so stiff that I started walking like a robot. Things got worse on the train home and, as I type this, I am pretty much unable to move. This is the most uncomfortable I have ever felt after a long run, but it’s to be expected. We went a long way today.

I will also take comfort from the fact that most of this happened after I stopped. While I was running, I was largely ok. My knees were fine too, but they are quite sore now. I am going to massage my legs again – it seemed to help with my calf muscles this morning. They were much less stiff than the rest of my legs.

Next week it’s the Berkhamstead Half Marathon. I’m looking forward to it. I’d like to set a time of around 1hr 50 – I’d be very pleased with that. I have a tough week of training ahead too, so I need to be strong mentally. Also need to think about working on my sponsorship again – lots of friends to chase up, and I need the money!!

I’ll leave you with a sign that spring is coming and with it, one hopes, warmer, dryer and longer days.

Spring is coming!: Daffodils in Richmond

Hill today, run tomorrow

Hill session – 1 hour
Primrose Hill

Sacrifice. That’s what this marathon bid is about. My Saturday morning lie-in was the first of many, many sacrifices (my social life, my love of fatty foods and my dignity have been the others so far - beer is yet to come).

I cut short a some cheeky drinks with Beeton, Hackett and Dobbin just as they were really getting going on Friday night, so that I would be able to get up and join the club for its usual Saturday morning hill session. This week, we were working on uphill technique. I doubt I will ever improve, but it’s a good workout nonetheless.

This week's group was a litle more challenging. The fat lad from last week was, in a bizarre twist, now assisting the coach (probably the running equivalent of ‘playing in goal’). There were also a few nutcases who seemed to find running up and down the paths a little easy, so ran up and down the muddy slope instead. How I longed for one of them to fall over and end up face first in the dirt. Bloody show-offs.

After the warm up – which was as much about dodging people walking their dogs and small children than it was about getting our heart rates up – we started with two 5 minute repeats up and down the hill, with a 2 minute break in between. I’m pretty accustomed to this now, so it wasn’t too bad. Amusingly, many of the ‘hardcore’ runners seemed to be racing the next day, so they were given an easier session by the coach. Weeds.

Afterwards, some coloured cones were placed in a circuit around the hill and we were each given a card with a corresponding list of colours on them. You had to run clockwise to your first colour, double back to the next and so on, for another session of two five minute repeats. Such fun!

We ended the session with a relay race. We were split into three teams of six, allocated a colour (we were 'Team Blue') and each had to do a lap of the hill at high speed. My team was pretty rubbish and we were well behind by the time it was my turn to run. Readers hoping for a dramatic comeback lead by me won't find one – ultimately, we lost – but I did give it everything I had and overtook the runner ahead of me.

By the end of the session, my legs were like jelly. I kept thinking I was going to fall over during the warm down – standing on one leg to stretch your quads when your legs are wobbling like Rick Waller’s underarms isn’t easy.

This week has been a much lighter one in my programme – less running and more cross training - but I'm still feeling tired. Things are going to get tough again next week. I mentioned my general stiffness after long runs to the Oseto on Wednesday and she suggested that I try massaging my legs in the evening after hard exercise, to help get the bloody flowing and remove the lactic acid and waste products from my muscles. I gave it a go on my calf muscles tonight – will let you know how I get on.

Supplementary Questions

4.5 miles in 37:16
Route: DfES – Home 1

This week is a cross-training week in my training plan. I’m doing less running (which is good because I need a rest) and doing some other forms of exercise. I went spinning last night and am going to try to go swimming before the weekend (if only so I can look up another amusing quote about swimming).

An easy run then tonight – just from work to home and at a steady pace. My legs felt tired to be honest. Not sure if it was the hardcore spinning last night or just the accumulated fatigue of the training I’ve been doing this past few weeks.

Rather worryingly, I have developed the same problem in my right knee as I’ve had in the left. It’s been quite sore since I did my weekend long run on Sunday. I saw the osteopath today and she frowned when I told her. She suggested that I try to get my running style looked at, but even if that is the problem and we can identify where I’m going wrong, there’s little chance that I could adjust my style before the marathon.

She also suggested that I start taking Cod Liver Oil and Glucosamine supplements (supple being the significant syllable here) which could help to keep my joints lubricated. I’m willing to try it – can’t do any harm after all.

Am glad it’s an easier week in my plan, because I’m feeling mentally quite tired with everything at the moment. Work is hard right now as well, which isn’t really helping. Was trying to get a day off on Friday, but it’s looking unlikely. Left at 7.30pm tonight – thought I’d left those kinds of hours behind!

Think I will call Asters over the weekend to get some moral support. She’s the only one I know who has run the marathon and will understand just how hard it can be at times. I know she’ll have some wise words to keep me going!*

* (note to Jen if you’re reading – formulate some wise words for when I call)

A Spinning Sonnet

Spin class
1 hour

A fleet of stationary cyclists, all in motion,
The brave Serpies spin on,
An instructor commanding devotion,
To this class, the next and beyond,

“Position one, position two, position three!”
He holds us through a special bond,
“More resistance, sprint harder, go faster!”
We have no choice but to respond,

My heart beats faster and faster,
What occupies the Serpies’ minds?
Do they enjoy this weekly torture?
Or simply the firmer behinds?

Sweat pours down my face; I’m heading for disaster!
I think of marathon day approaching and start to pedal faster.

Street Life

12.6 miles in 1:43:09
Route: Hyde Park circuit 2

“I’ll play the street life, because there’s no place I can go;
street life, it’s the only life I know.”

Well said Randy Crawford, who was obviously a marathon runner before she took up singing.

Today’s run was the longest one I have done since completing the ’05 Windsor Half nearly a year and a half ago. It was only just short of a half-marathon, but I completed it about 20 minutes quicker than my Windsor time. Next week, I push on into the unknown…

I modified my classic central London route, which takes me down through Camden, Regents Park, Baker Street, through Mayfair, around Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and back through Paddington, Maida Vale and St John’s Wood. It’s a nice route, but I’m slightly frustrated with myself for not trying something new. I have resolved to mix things up a little in future, after I have completed the next two weeks runs with Stephen.

The route took me around the Serpentine (below), the lake which lends its name to the running club I belong to:

Indeed, I was wearing my distinctive Serpentine Running Club top (red with two yellow bands around it – I’ll organise a picture) and got a couple of waves from what I assume were other club members, running incognito.

It’s been a really hard week of training and I started this run with a few aches and pains, notably my right hip (which sorted itself out quickly enough) and my right calf (which didn’t). Thankfully, tomorrow is a much needed rest day and next week is a cross-training week, which should give my limbs a bit of a rest. Happily, my knee has been ok – although it is a little sore now.

I am settling into my training regime, which is following a bit of a pattern. Monday is a rest day (after the weekend long run), Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are mixed sessions, often speed work of some kind or a steady run, Friday is a rest day, Saturday is hill training and Sunday is my long run. I am fairly happy with this approach, so long as my body can keep up.

Incidentally, I have decided that I will give up alcohol after my birthday next month (I’ll be 29 on 16th March!). I’m going to get hammered on Friday 16th, recover on Saturday 17th, get on the wagon on Sunday 18th and stay there until race day. I intend to be very strict about this – I have trained for months now and I want to be in top condition on April 22nd – now only 63 days away!!

Off to the cinema tonight to see Blood Diamond and contemplate my aches and pains, both of which are now a firm Sunday night tradition.

Missing something: The 'Flower' Walk in Hyde Park

Hill Surge-ery

Hill session – 1 hour
Primrose Hill

Long gone are the days when I would lay in bed until lunchtime on a Saturday morning. I was up by 8.30 for breakfast and then made my way down to Primrose Hill (on the bus) to meet the Serpies for their Saturday morning hill session. It was a chilly morning and my legs were still a little stiff after a hard week of training – particularly my calf muscles, which are so pumped right now that it feels like they might rip out of my trousers, Incredible Hulk style, at any moment.

This week, we were focusing on race technique and how you can use hills to shoot your way up the field. I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but it was a really fun session!

We started with the usual jog warm up, and then got in formation for ‘surges’. You’ve probably seen cyclists doing this in the Tour De France – it’s when you run in a small line, say 4 people long, with a gap between you and the next person and whoever is as the back has to sprint to the front, then give a signal for the next person to do the same. In this fashion, you are regularly challenged to put in some extra effort, but can recover while other people are taking their turn. I loved it. We did this up and down a moderate hill for 10-15 minutes. I felt very fit and able to keep with the pace.

After the surging, we moved onto a steeper path, which was marked out with cones a quarter, half and three-quarters of the way up. The same had been done on a similar path back down, forming a circuit. Our coach explained that in a race, when you approach a hill, most people will either keep going at the same pace and get tired about two thirds of the way up and start walking, or slow down immediately and take forever to get up. This is your opportunity to take advantage. Instead of trying to speed up at the foot of the hill, slow down your pace but keep your effort constant – a bit like a cyclist will keep pedalling at the same speed but will change down in their gears. Then when you are three quarters of the way up, just as everyone else is tiring, you start sprinting and keep that sprint up until you are a quarter of a way down the other side, then jog recovery until you are at the bottom, by which time you will have passed half of the field!

Brilliant advice! We did around 6 circuits of the hill, practising this technique (during which, I was able to get past everyone in my group!), and that was the end of the session. I still felt relatively fresh, so I jogged home.

Great fun and a beautiful morning too! I will definitely try and make these hill sessions a regular part of my training. I’m sure that they are helping my stamina and it’s a really sociable way of training.

You know you’re training for a marathon when…

6.2 miles in 50:44
Route: DfES – Home 4a

…you can’t get up out of a chair without wincing slightly;

…your friends ask you how the training is going and then glaze over when you start telling them about it;

…you’re forever ferrying bags of running gear to and from work;

…you are drinking so much water that you need the toilet constantly and are considering writing to your MP about the lack of public toilets;

…you are mildly addicted to Lucozade sport;

…you can’t pass a brick wall without feeling an urge to stretch your calf muscles against it;

…you start flicking through ‘Runners World’ in the newsagent before you even realise you are doing it;

…you know what ‘fartlek’ means and have actually tried it;

…a large bunch of bananas lasts 2 days max.

Love Running

Threshold Run
4.5 miles in 30:56 (PB)
Route: DfES – Home 1

It’s Valentine’s Day, and with little else better to do (marathon training has destroyed my social life) I decided to turn tonight’s threshold run into an attempt at the ‘run home from work record’.

On 16 November 2005, I completed the distance from DfES to the end of my road in 44:45. On 24 October 2006 I set my current personal best at 34:20. Tonight I clocked myself at 30:56 – a massive 3 minutes 26 seconds faster than my previous best and nearly 14 minutes quicker than when I first started training! It’s amazing the difference some sustained, hard training can make!!

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy. I was pushing myself the whole way around and there’s still plenty of room for improvement. If I ran the entire London Marathon at this pace, I would still finish around 45 minutes behind Paula Radcliffe!

Still, I can’t be unhappy with that performance – which is more than a lot of guys will be able to say tonight.

Love and hugs to everyone who sponsored me so far - you’re all my valentines.

JDx

Rain Man

Interval Training - 40 minutes
5 repeats of 3 minutes at effort 4 followed by 3 minutes jog recovery at effort 1; followed by 10 minutes continuous run at effort 3

Well, it had to happen I suppose. Tonight’s session was my first completely in the wet. I’m amazed I got this far through my training without getting a good soaking.

I had a long and difficult day at work today, so I hadn’t even noticed that it was raining outside. The first I knew about it was as I walked through reception at work and saw the pavement glistening in front of me. Great. Nothing like a wet evening to make you feel cheery about going training!

The rain was steady, but not torrential, so I set out around St James’ Park for another interval session, similar to the one I did last week but with an added 10 minute push at the end. I flew through puddles, dodged umbrellas, wiped the rain from my eyes and splashed my way around circuits of the park.

It felt a little easier than last time, which suggests that my body is beginning to cope with the extra effort. My technique has improved a little too. I do wonder whether I have simply learned, subconsciously, to run at a pace I can manage rather than push myself, but if I have I’m not sure what I can do about it.

I finished the session with the 10 minute mini-threshold run around Green Park, ending up just by the Ritz. I was well and truly soaked by now, including feet, so I decided to get the tube home - I didn’t think a further 40 minutes of running would yield sufficient benefits to risk injury/illness.

The Piccadilly Line was cold (unusually) and crowded (always) and I felt like a total idiot standing in the carriage in my running gear – including those very revealing lycra leggings… many people simply didn’t know where to look (others clearly did). I was pleased to escape, jog the short distance back to my flat and hit the shower.

Caroline has just called me (it’s approaching midnight) to ask if she and James can stay over tonight because they have been out in London, are drunk and may have missed their train. I love running, and training for the marathon has been brilliant, but a significant part of me wishes that I had been out with them tonight instead of doing laps of the park on my own in the rain…

Richmond

11 miles in 1:40:28
Route: Richmond circuit 1

I have a long-standing joke with my friend Charlie about going to Richmond. We often used to say on a weekend when we had nothing to do (this was before I took up running) “why don’t we go to Richmond?”, but never actually did. Today, after almost 6 years of trying, I finally made it there.

I was joined by my friend Stephen (fellow York graduate and Serpentine member), which made a nice change from running with my ipod. He is training for the Stratford-Upon-Avon ‘Shakespeare’ Marathon (snigger) which is only a week after London, so we are pretty much on the same training plan. Training is so much easier when you have someone to run with. It’s great having someone to talk to as you clock up the miles and it stops the temptation to lay in bed all day instead of getting up and getting on with it.

We met at 9.30am in Vauxhall and hopped on a train to Richmond. On arrival, after some sketchy map work, we jogged up to the park (about a mile or so) to warm up. There is a track running around the perimeter of the park that is just over 7 miles long, so we had planned to do around one and a half laps. Stephen has a GPS watch – a very nifty device which tells you how many miles you have covered, what pace you are running at and, if you program it, whether to speed up/slow down to reach your optimal pace – so we kept an eye on that to ensure we knew when to turn back.

It was a nice running route – mostly gravel/dirt track. There were so many other runners that, at times, it felt like we were in a small, badly organised race. At one point, we passed someone coming the other way that I recognised as Andrew Smith – the London Marathon ‘Finish Director’ who I had seen speak at the training seminar last weekend. He didn’t wave.

It wasn’t all plain sailing. There were a couple of sections of bad mud, including one up-hill stretch where I was moving my legs but going nowhere. It also rained on us a couple of times, but it could have been much, much worse.

After the requisite distance, we walked back to the station marvelling at the beautiful houses and stopping in Tesco for a banana and, curiously, some chocolate milk. Stephen claims to have read somewhere that it was found to be the best recovery drink for runner. Wish they had found it was a pint of Guinness, or a pie and chips instead. Bloody science.

All in all a very good day: completed the distance ok, felt strong and knee didn’t play up at all. I really feel like I’m ready to push onto the next stage – medium to long distance. Next weekend I am going to do a 12 miler around London somewhere, then probably back to Richmond with Stephen the weekend after that for two laps of the park. The weekend after that, I am going to run a half marathon – slightly less distance than I should probably do, but I think the ‘race’ experience will be worth it.

So here’s to Richmond. I’m glad to have finally made it there.

Chocolate milk-aholic: Stephen in Richmond Park

Exhausting climbs and pert behinds

Hill Session – 30 mins
Primrose Hill

Yes, it was back to Primrose Hill for more punishment on the slopes. The training plan said a 30 minute session was called for, including 8 hill climbs with jog recoveries in between. The early morning Serpentine Club session seemed a bit keen to me, so I did this session alone after my hangover had receded.

I decided to run down to Primrose Hill – forgetting that it’s actually quite a long way across Kentish Town and Chalk farm – so I must have done around 20/25 mins effort before I’d even started. I chose a steep route up the side of the hill which took about 1 minute hard effort to get up and a similar path coming back down, with a short, flat section at the bottom for jog recovery, making the descents last about 2 minutes. 8 laps needed, plus a bit of a jog at the end to complete the 20 minutes.

It was a pretty tough session. I felt like a bit of an idiot running up and down the same paths while everyone watched. There were a few other people at it, so I wasn’t totally alone. I gave myself a 2 minute break after 4 repeats and then completed the set.

On one ascent, a ‘hilarious’ woman who clearly has ambitions in stand up shouted “only a little further!”. I wanted to turn around and kick her in the shins, but I kept going. I’ll be the one laughing when I have a behind like David Beckham and she’s pulling on her elasticated, cellulite-hiding, fat girl pants.

At the end of the session, I snapped the picture you see above, took a long, slow jog down to the corner of the park and hopped on the bus home (felt I’d done enough for one day and want to keep a bit in store for tomorrow’s 11 miler.)

Worth noting that today was the first run out of a new pair of trainers I have bought. They are Asics Kayanos, they cost £85 in the sale (down from £110) and I bought them from the same sports shop in Paddington that I got my other pair of Asics from. I will steadily break them in over the next few weeks, alternating them with my other pair so that I always have a clean and dry pair of trainers to put on. Most runners do this I am told.

As I get closer too 22 April, I will decide which pair I feel most comfortable in on my long runs, and they will become my ‘race shoes’. It will be a bit like X-Factor. Feel free to vote for one pair or the other by leaving a comment!

Off to eat Naomi’s broccoli pasta – have to be at Vauxhall by 9.30am tomorrow to meet Stephen and head to Richmond.

I am as sure as a person can be that it’s going to rain.

Shoe Factor: Asics GT-2110 on the left, Asics Kayano on the right

The Big Freeze

Interval Training - 30 minutes
6 repeats of 3 minutes at effort 4 followed by 2 minutes jog recovery at effort 1

plus, 4.6 miles in 37:13
Route: DfES – Home 1

As Laura Pask used to say, it’s nipsy noo nah outside today. This was the view from my bedroom window this morning:


Not exactly hospitable conditions for a marathon runner, but I have been slacking again (no running since the weekend due to a brief but boozy ‘Lads Tour of Duty’ with Saunders and Bury – welcome back mate!) so I dutifully hauled my kit to work and prepared to go interval training, my second least favourite training activity behind threshold running.

I decided to do laps around St James Park because it’s near to work and has a wide and flat path running around the perimeter. I wore my tasteful new running leggings (complete with London Marathon ’07 logo!) to keep off the cold and make me look like a ‘serious’ runner. Was too chicken to join the Serpentine Club track session for fear of looking like an idiot.

All in all the interval training went ok. It was hard work, but the course around St James Park was good and allowed plenty of room to manoeuvre. I lost count of how many circuits of the park I did, but I lapped a bewildered pair of policemen three of four times before I was done.

Afterwards I decided to jog home at a slow pace. It was ok, but I wonder if I was pushing my luck a little here. The speed training used up a lot of energy so I had to keep it pretty slow and steady. Legs felt tired.

Knee is still only at around 70%. It’s coping better than it did, but it was sore tonight after the run. Saw my osteo yesterday morning. She still thinks I’m doing ok, but would prefer it if I didn’t still have pain. She has identified my ‘TFL’ (can’t remember what it stands for) as the problem. She massaged my knee and bent my leg back over my head again. She also gave me another exercise to do:

Clock squats – standing facing forward, imagine a clock face around you with 12 o’clock directly ahead. Keeping your right leg straight, step forward with your left foot to 11 o’clock and squat down half way, then repeat at 10, 9, 8, 7 o’clock – always keeping your body forward so that you work different parts of the knee. For 6 o’clock, do a single leg squat.

I’ve never known my morning routine to take so long – all these stretching exercises (I think I’m up to 6 now) take ages. I used to be out of bed and to school in 20 minutes, now it’s more like an hour – and believe me people, it doesn’t take long to wash my hair…

In other news, I am thinking of tinkering with my training plan. I’ve followed it pretty closely so far, but I’m worried that I might not be clocking up enough miles. Stamina in my legs is a problem, so am considering adding a long run each week on Wednesday, with the club. Might try it once or twice and see how it feels – don’t want to overdo it.

Planning an 11 miler around Richmond Park with Stephen on Sunday. Will try and squeeze in a hill session before then.

Looking back up my street on the way to work this morning - look at all the snow!

Back on track

9.8 miles in 1:18:26 (PB)
Route: Ham and High circuit 1

Really enjoyed this run. It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining, the air is cool, the route was lovely and there’s not an interval or speed session in sight!

Ironically, this was a re-run of the course which laid me up for four weeks over Christmas. Last time around, I struggled the whole way and could barely walk at the end. It’s a measure of how far I’ve come that, while I’m only doing the same distance I was doing in mid-December, I got around comfortably.

That said, my knee is still only at about 70%. It’s definitely feeling better – the stretching programme has really helped – but it’s still a weak point and I am always conscious of it when I am running. Still, it reassures me that I can get around a route like this – in much better form than the 9 miler I did last weekend too. I had forgotten how beautiful Hampstead Heath is – I really must try and get some more runs out there – and running the Park Way (from Finsbury Park to Highgate) was much more enjoyable this time around. Here is a pic to show you what I mean:

I’m just about getting over the cold that I had – felt awful yesterday, but a bit better today and I’m not blowing my nose every 5 seconds. I think I will be totally gone in a day or two. I asked Bill Black (the Shelter training guy) about running while ill and he said that the general rule was that if the cold is in your neck or above, you are probably ok, but if it is below that (i.e. in your chest) you probably should rest. Not sure I wholly subscribe to that (my own view is that you shouldn’t run when you are ill), but it gave me the confidence to go out today when I knew I was feeling better and the gamble was probably worth it.

A moderate week ahead – interval training again and a hill run (which I will do on Saturday morning with the club, I think). I wanted to try and do a track session, but I think I am booked Tuesday and Thursday this week – will have to be next week.

Charlie is on his way down to London, and ‘the Lads’ will be reunited tomorrow when Andrew comes over (I have the day off!). I’m really looking forward to seeing them both. Training is like marriage. You have to put a lot of time into it, but it’s not worth losing your friends over.

The top of Hampstead Heath, looking back to Highgate

The London Marathon ‘Golden Bond’ Training Seminar

I’ve spent most of today at a training seminar organised by the London Marathon for runner which have ‘golden bond’ places – i.e. those of us that didn’t make it through the draw and are raising pots of money for charity. I wasn’t really sure what to expect - I already feel like I have training advice coming out of my ears – but it was an enjoyable day and almost 1000 turned up.

On arrival, conversations were struck up about how much training you had done and how you were getting on with sponsorship. I heard a couple of amusing phrases banding about, including:

“My wife told accused me of being fat and lazy, so I decided I had better run the marathon”

“I do 30 miles a week” / “Really? I do 50”

and, possibly my favourite,

“I’m asthmatic, and so is my son!”

After the initial mingling, we all filed into an enormous lecture hall for the main programme. Nick Bitel (CEO of the London Marathon, who looked like he is more used to eating 26 pies than running 26 miles) opened the day by showing the highly amusing clips of Jade Goody being interviewed before and after the 2006 marathon.

After that, there was a mix of speakers covering topics including an overview of the course, training advice, injury prevention, nutrition, fundraising and what to do on the day itself. There were also two shameful sessions dedicated to sponsor companies flogging their gear – Addidas with a mock fashion show of running kit and Lucozade doing a section about sports drinks. I’m afraid to say that I fell for the patter.

Most interestingly of all, there were two very familiar names on the programme - Dave Bedford (BEDFORD!) the Race Director who’s letter in December advised me that I hadn’t got through the ballot and Sam Murphy, writer of Marathon: from start to finish, my running guru.

The former turned out to be an extremely witty former-champion-turned-race-organiser whose presentation was 50% good advice and 50% stand up comedy. I had forgiven him within the first minute of his routine – excellent, excellent stuff. He took part in a rather lame Harry Potter pastiche (which was to be a theme for the day) and, later on, returned in a big red dress to give us some unique advice on how to get around the course from the perspective of someone who has actually run it (the dress was to indicate that you should wear something comfortable – of course). He was excellent. I snapped a few photos, which I am pasting in here.

Sam Murphy also seemed nice, but I knew pretty much everything she had to say already, having read her book cover to cover. Most excitingly of all, I caught her in the corridor outside the lecture room and got her to sign my book (how sad am I to have even brought the book on the off-chance she might have a moment to sign it?!) And here it is – she even wrote me a nice message!

Sitting in the lecture hall, I took the opportunity to size up some of the opposition. It was a varied bunch, as this diagram will show:

Away from the lecture hall, there was a chance to do some shopping (Addidas, of course) and I spent my ‘10% off’ voucher on a new long-sleeved running top/jacket and some uber-sexy figure-hugging running tights, which contain enough lycra to pull your body into an athletic shape without the need for any training. Just for Helen Heyden, here I am modelling my new kit. ------>

I also got to have lunch with the Shelter Running Team and got to meet my fellow Shelter marathon runners. We were given a bit of a mad talk from a guy named Bill Black, who Shelter has hired to be our ‘coach’. His credentials sounded excellent, but some of his advice conflicted with things I have already been told, for example, how many rest days you should have in your final week (Bill recommends just one, Sam recommends closer to four/five). I’m not too worried - I think I’ll know well enough by then what my body will want to do.

I chatted to some nice people and it was clear that we all shared the same buzz about what lies ahead. I am getting more and more excited as the date draws nearer. I expect some people are dreading it, but I honestly can’t wait!! Is it too soon to hope for good weather?

Finally, I wanted to record a few of the things that I learnt during the day. Thankfully, most of the advice fitted in with the way that I am already training, but I did pick up a few useful tips/bits of info:

-> The marathon starts at 9.45am, sharp. They wait for no one.

-> The World Record for the men’s marathon is 2 hours 4 minutes and 55 seconds. I will be lucky to get around in double this.

-> There were 120,000 entries for the 2006 marathon. Of these, 34,205 were registered (the remainder got ‘the letter’ from Dave Bedford and didn’t pursue a charity place or just dropped out), 33,578 made it to the start line and 33,222 finished. That’s almost a 99% completion rate meaning that, if you make it to the start line, you will almost certainly make it to the finish.

-> Remember to set the video – it will be a tape you will want to keep for the rest of your life.

-> There is a ‘Marathon Expo’ at Excel in Docklands (home of Worldskills 2011!) between Wednesday and Saturday of marathon week at which you pick up such essentials as your number, time chip and kit bag and where you can also get other marathon goodies, including a ‘lid’ for your Lucozade sport (all drinks in the marathon itself are served without lids, so if you want to carry them for a bit, you need to bring your own lid!). You can also get your name printed on your running vest so that people will cheer you on (need to give some thought as to whether this should be ‘Jon’, ‘JD’ or ‘Duffer’)

-> You should be drinking 2-3 litres of water every day and eating a diet which is around 60% carbohydrates.

-> Eat breakfast at least 2 hours before the start. Drink water early and have some isotonic drink to give you some extra carbs to delay the point at which you hit ‘The Wall’.

-> Take some old clothes to wear at the start line to keep you warm after you have handed in your kit bag, which you can throw away as you begin to run.

-> It usually takes around 10 minutes to get over the start line after the starting gun has fired.

-> You can pre-register for your marathon photos from 1 March, which will mean you get them more quickly after the race.

Illness

I'm ill. It's so frustrating!

It's just a cold - the usual sore throat and runny nose - and while I'm not one to succumb to "the man cold" it has stopped me training. You can't go out running when you're like this - it's risky healthwise and certainly wont make you get better quicker.

So I'm trying to be patient, resting up and drinking plenty of water (and the occasional honey and lemon - with a dram of whisky!). I am also taking vitamin C and Echinacea - a herbal remedy that is supposed to boost the immune system. It tastes like drinking blended house plants.

I have missed one training session (an easy run on Thursday night) which I am not too worried about, but I really don't want to miss my long run tomorrow. It will break the excellent momentum I have worked so hard to built up again after my knee injury!

Am off to a marathon training seminar organised for charity runners - will report back on any hot tips I pick up.