Marathon Training - Week 1

My first week of marathon training at last. Six days of running and 31 miles (sessions of 4,4,5,3,5 and 10 miles). Only fifteen more weeks to go!

I'm glad to have started training. I love running but I prefer having a focus, it's much harder to skip a session if I'm tired or just don't feel like it when you know that all the training goes to how I will perform come October.

My longest run this week was 10 miles this morning (Sunday). The weather forecast was for scorching hot weather so I got myself out of bed at 6:30am so I could beat the heat. I've bought a small, light-weight digital camera so I can take photos when I'm out on a run. It's not too difficult to run with it and when I'm finished I can slip it into my pocket. I took a couple of photos this morning down by the canal. They varied in quality but I didn't stop running to take any photos so had to rely on a bit of luck and hope that they didn't come out too fuzzy. This one was the best quality, it's not too bad if a little bit fuzzy:

My plan has been to cut out alcohol as much as possible except for special occasions such as weddings or fancy meals out. This hasn't been entirely successful. At the moment I'm not drinking during the week which is good but then I'm drinking normally on the weekend which is not so good. The main problem is drinking on the Saturday night before my long run on Sunday morning. Last night I drank a bottle and a half of red wine and then had to get up for a 10 mile run this morning! I managed a decent pace but as the long runs get longer I don't think this strategy can be maintained nor is it particularly helpful for getting up early! I think I will allow myself to drink normally on Friday and Sunday and then restrict myself to two glasses of wine (or equivalent) on the Saturday. The rest of the time I won't drink. Maybe nearer to race day I will actually stop altogether.

My wieght-loss is going well. This morning my weight dropped below 80kg for the first time in over a year. Next step is to get it down to about 78kg and maintain it. I was calorie counting but since I've started running 5 or 6 days a week I've not had to worry too much about it. If I see my weight creeping up again and I may have to rethink what I'm eating and drinking.

Here's my 10 mile run from this morning. My heart rate is higher than I'd like it to be but I think that's down to the extra alcohol!

T minus 1 week

It's now one week until my marathon training starts. I've posted two runs of six miles this week and next week will run a seven miler and eight miler before going away for the weekend before the start of my 16 weeks of marathon training.

Whilst running a nice four mile circuit through a wooded area near my house I ran past a man in his fifties drinking from a can of super strength cider. At 6:30 in the morning! I mean, at 7am I could understand but 6:30 is too early even for me.

On the weekend I went to a wedding in Chester so took the opportunity to get a six mile run around the canals and cycle path of Chester. It's a great place to go running, a nice mixture of history and countryside. I'm looking forward to running the marathon there in 5 months time.

Here's my run from this morning, it's a 7 mile circular route from my house to Greenford and back via the A40. Loads of traffic and people around even at 6:30 in the morning. On Thursday I fly to Budapest for a weekend away, I'm hoping to get an 8 mile run in first thing, although I think this will mean getting up at 5:30!

4 miles, easy pace around Ealing

5 mile morning run, easy pace

T minus 2 weeks

It's two weeks to go until I start my marathon training. Between now and then I will have increased my running to 8 miles. This will be just before I go on a weekend break to Budapest, where I will not be running. Drinking, yes. Running, no.

My marathon training schedule manages to collide with my summer holiday at the start of August when I am going with my girlfriend to the US on a fly-drive holiday. I don't reckon I'll be able to fit in all my training sessions but I am planning to do at least three per week. I definitely want to run up and down the Strip in Las Vegas and I plan to run across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. How I fit in the others will remain to be seen, depending on a) how tired I am from driving and b) how much I can run while keeping my girlfriend sweet. We'll see!

This week I've managed to run 22 miles, including two sessions of 5 miles each. This morning I got up early and went for a 5 mile run that took in a canal and a couple of parks. I find these types of run more interesting than general street running as they take you off the beaten track and I get to see parts of my local area that I just would not see if it weren't for running. This morning I saw a couple of swans, a heron and a rabbit. You don't get to see those on the Uxbridge Road!

Here's the map of my run this morning: