Marathon training in jeopardy with another ‘itis and injury
I regret to say it, but my 3rd London Marathon is in jeopardy. An injury at the beginning of January was confirmed on Monday as pretty much Achilles tendonitis. I'd fallen over on the ice weeks back, and my right heel came down with some force into the ground. Suffice to say I'd just picked myself up and gone on with life, but three weeks of pain and natural healing not showing the leaps and bounds, the doctor was the next step.
It's ironic that it was the heavy snow that had disrupted the training, and put a stop to it. The video below was my first and currently last run of the year, until further notice.
Absolutely gutted. Having lost over a stone in weight from the other 'itis illnesses before Xmas, another knocks me six. Doctor diagnosed with a confident nod before I fully explained the incident and symptoms. At the injunction of the Achilles tendon and the bone, on the heel, the inflamation was causing every footstep to send those pain receptors a nudge. Worse of all, every morning was made worse as the tendon stiffened up overnight.
Faced with another month of rest days, the options were, 1) nothing, let it heal over next 4 to 6 weeks, 2) magic gel, 3) antiflamatory drugs, 4) physiotherapy, and 5) surgery with an injection and risk of rupture and 3 months in plaster. Well the options were obvious, drugs and physio. Question is how long will this all take? One to ask Liz on Friday afternoon.
Will have to make a judgement call in March on whether to run or not. But it leaves 2 months left of training, and a sponsorship target of nearly £500 to raise. Wonder if people will sponsor me regardless at my fundraising page on Justgiving.com. Or if I make it a sponsored walk.
Part of me doesn't want this second year of injury to mean deferrment. Not even sure if you can defer your place 2 years on the trot? This is a guaranteed place and not a Gold Bond place, but raising money for the NCT charity anyway.
Any marathon runners out there with the answers, please leave a comment. I've the parents telling me I don't have to do it, and shouldn't. Any of my friends or colleagues reading this, bloody sponsor me. I'll give you a signed beermat in return.
Week 9 London Marathon training summary
We're officially now into 2nd half of the training schedule. Having reached half way, I've not reached the half way point of the sponsorship target or the distance. Some work to do on these.
However, I went out today for 1 hour 20 minutes in the cold, after a huge Sunday roast down the pub in the afternoon.
I got a donation this week from a family member and inside the card it read, "where do you find the time?". The answer is pretty obvious, whenever I'm not working, commuting, eating, sleeping, being a dad and husband. Yes, that's lots of free time isn't it. Not.
I'm going to investigate the distances from the train stations near to work and home. Maybe I can look at running home or to work from one of these? Although running the entire 30 miles us a bit unrealistic.
I would need to up the weekly milage to do that. This week though, has been pretty poor. I put that down to two evenings getting home late and having a few post drink beers midweek. That didn't help. This week, the plan is not to have any alcohol.
Week 8 London Marathon training summary
Blimey week 8 came around quickly didn't it! At least this week I managed to get out twice and I'm back out running again.
Thursday morning at 5.30am saw me hitting the streets with a 50 minute run. That was really early to be honest, and with a full day of work that followed and delays getting home, it was no wonder I didn't run on Friday or Saturday.
Now trying to get back into the swing of things has been really hard. But the motivation was sparked once again with a couple of donations during the week. Still a long way to go though.
Today I got myself out in the evening and ran 60 minutes which is quite a contrast to what the schedule says. I should be up to 2 hours and 30 minutes today, so quite a way off the pace. But I'm not dejected with that, and realise if you take a few weeks off then it's expected that I'll fall behind.
However it's not a race, and I plan to complete this once again, no matter how much training I do. When you are raising money for charity it's a different perspective. Secretly inside though, I do want to break the 5 hour mark!
Week 7 London Marathon training summary
Well there goes another week!
I am pleased to say that I have managed some physical exercise this week, including some running for the train midweek, but not worthy of adding to this documentation of my training. So the summary of time spent running last week was zero.
The stag do at the weekend actually burnt some calories with the hovercraft racing and quad biking, but I'm sure this netted out after the copious consumption of Corona beers on Saturday night. I don't think that the thought of a long run on Sunday with a hangover after a 2 hour drive home was high on the priorities.
As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, I am suffering from a dip in motivation. With no sponsorship money raised in a month, and the honeymoon period of running the short distances long gone, it seems that this marriage of marathon training is going to be long old slog for another 9 weeks.
With it being pancake day today, another calorific conundrum awaits me. Faced with a love of food, and a hunger to lose the weight, just how many pancakes can I treat myself to, that are sprinkled with sugar and lemon juice? It's torture!
But for every pancake I eat tonight, I promise to run that many miles tomorrow.
Week 6 London Marathon training summary
Another disasterous week of training. They never said it was easy, but it feels like the week flashed by quicker than ever before. I think I may have even promised myself that this weekend I would do at least one short run, however parenthood and Valentine's Day were higher priorities.
So my two weeks holiday from running has come to and end. The week ahead already looks like a tough one, but some motivation is needed. How? Easy, get those muddy trainers out of the garage and aim to raise at least £100 towards my fundraising for the NCT.
I've not seen any donations for a few weeks now, and I think my friends are going to have to receive the begging email from me. If you are one of those people who haven't donated, you know what to do. Make a donation online via Justgiving from the link on the left of this website.
I should expect to receive my NCT running vest this week, so that will be a major booster. Also I might consider entering the Justgiving competition to win £100 towards your charity. This will have to given some thought as you have to upload a video into YouTube. Watch this space, I just might give that a go!
Week 5 London Marathon training summary
Not really sure how to say this, but this week's training schedule was a complete write off.
It began with the worst snow fall Britain had seen in 20 years, the country ground to a halt, and the weather for the rest of the week was cold, icy and more snow fall.
And it ended with some swimming on Saturday night, but only at a party that entailed a lot if alcohol. So whatever calories I burnt off treading water in the heated outdoor pool, I matched with the bottles of lager and glasses if champagne. A cracking party!
As with most of the country, it was hard to lace up the trainers with the snow and icy pavements, and get out there. However I did see some brave folk give it a go.
Now I need to really kick off the stamina training and get back out there.
Week 4 London Marathon training summary
All I can say is that I'm glad there is still plenty of time to train. This week has been a bit of a write off.
Thursday was the only successful day, and with that I ran for 40 minutes and managed a shopping trip half way.
Whilst it was not a continuous run, I did run flat out for 20 minutes, spent some money in Mothercare, and then ran back. All in the space of a lunchtime.
So what happened this weekend? I don't really remember much of Saturday, and today the heavy snow fell. Therefore my only excuse is...
Snowed in.
I will see if I can fit in the due 1 hour 45 minutes run on Monday, but don't hold you're breathe, the cold snap from Russia is apparently staying with us for a few days.
If that is the case, I won't be Russian about much this week!
Schedule: Tue: 40 mins FR, Wed: RD, Thu: 60 mins SR, Sat: 40 mins HR, Sun: 1 hr 45 mins LR
Achieved: Thu 40 mins SR
Week 3 London Marathon training summary
What a week! 7 days ago I found myself running alongside snow and ice in the Swiss capital, Bern, and today I was running in the rain through a forest.
Whilst I managed to do my Tuesday run in Switzerland, I did struggle to do my Thursday and Saturday runs. Terrible I know, but I did get out today and run 1 hour 25 minutes, the longest I'd run this year.
It was a tough run, and it needed to be. Given that two runs were missed, I had to push myself a bit more and decided to run off the beaten track.
I ran through Tilgate Forest to Pease Pottage, on the outskirts of Crawley, and then back through the wooded footpaths until I reached home. It must have been a good 8+ miles through the mud, sodden grass, puddles, and dirt tracks, and my trainers look a right mess!
Surprisingly there were some really odd things lying in the forest, a short distance from the nearest road. I passed a kitchen sink, widescreen television, roll of purple carpet and a fridge freezer. I have no idea how they got there, but you'd think people these days would have some respect for the forest.
Next week I will have to step up the game, as the miles are starting to build. I've not seen any shift off the weight yet, but this will come. As long as I cut out the alcohol and fast food, I'll be okay. On that note, I'm going to make this bottle of Grolsch the last 
Schedule: Tue: 30 mins FR, Wed: RD, Thu: 50 mins SR, Sat: 30 mins HR, Sun: 1 hr 30 mins LR
Achieved: Tue 50 mins SR (in Switzerland), Sun: 1 hr 25 mins LR
Week 2 London Marathon training summary
Wow, another week has passed already. Last week didn't go all to plan, which wasn't helped with the cold weather, or the cheeky pizza midweek, so I really had to pull one out of the bag.
This week has not been kind with the weather either, but determined to get out, I have managed to follow the times / distances as per the schedule although not exactly the days.
Having missed Tuesday's run due to many train delays, Wednesday was the first day out this week. Actually that was quite nice, considering 2 days rest after doing 60 minutes on Sunday.
It was Thursday that filled me with a slight nervousness. Some people at work who regularly go for a run at lunchtimes, invited me out. The 70 mintues quoted on the group email was enough to make a few people find alternative things to do at midday, but I was committed to going out. I went for a run with a colleague which took us into Richmond Park.
Now the pace was a bit tasty on the outset, and didn't really want to raise this in case I looked like a complete novice. The plan was to go out for 40 minutes, but it felt like a 7-8 minute mile pace and I started to doubt whether I'd be able to keep up. "Smile and Wave" was a movie quote that came to mind, but dug in and kept it up.
When we were deep into Richmond Park I almost asked where the turning point was, but it was quickly apparent there wasn't one. I did question why we were running up a steep climb, and it was such a relief to hear that once at the top, it was all flat and down hill from there. Thank goodness for that.
Whilst I was pushed quite hard and the distance must have been about 5 miles, I can gladly say I deserved it. And am thankful for it. Writing this now on a Sunday evening looking back at the week, I then managed to do 50 minutes on a Saturday evening. Already I'd gone more than last week, with the long run still to go.
And it certainly was a long run! In fact, I actually did it in Bern, Switzerland after 8 hours travelling, with -C temperatures alongside a picturesque backdrop of snow. Even more impressive was dodging the frozen ice which was on the paths throughout the city. I followed the river around the city, click here to see in Google Maps, and managed to find a section that was snow and ice free. It was this section I must have ran about 6 times. I must have got some odd comments from people on the Schwellenmätteli riverside restaurant, looking across and seeing me running back and forth for an hour.
I did manage to do 80 minutes non stop with the assistance of the iPod, and even found the energy to get up the steps at the end by the river bank. The milage must have been around 8-9 miles in total, which is great for the confidence.
The special treat to end the week, was a meal at the Kornhauskeller restaraunt. Click the link for the photo gallery from their website. The restaurant sits in the cellar of the former grain house which was built in the early 1700's. The ceilings are covered with amazing paintings by Rudolf Münger, who painted them over 100 years ago.
Schedule: Tue: 10 mins ER, 20 mins SR, 10 mins ER, Wed: RD, Thu: 40 mins SR, Sat: 50 mins SR, Sun: 1 hr 15 mins LR
Achieved: Wed: 20 mins SR, 20 mins ER, Thu: 40 mins SR, Sat: 50 mins SR, Sun: 1 hr 20 mins LR (in Switzerland)
Warm up to the marathon training
This evening I ventured out into the freezing cold and took my first run of the year. In fact, it's more like the first run since I ran the London Marathon in 2007.
I can't believe it's been that long. Dressed for winter and a fleece hat, I can see how the next 16 weeks are going to be really hard work. Tomorrow will be the official weigh in, which will enable me to see how I'm getting along with the weight loss. I've not set myself a target weight, but it's fair to say I've enjoyed my eating and non-physical lifestyle for the last year. Call it somewhat of a 'fitness year out'. I think that's allowed, considering I've been a very busy person.
I saw on the front cover of Runners World this month a feature called Marathon Training Schedule For Busy People. That is certainly me all over!
It's a 16 week schedule, which starts tomorrow. OMG, it's starting to become a reality.
