Going the distance ..........

Welcome back blog fans, it has been a little longer than usual since my last update, but I promise things will get more frequest as we enter the last five weeks of training before the big day on the 17th April.

Five weeks / 34 days  / 816 hours / 48,960 mins however you look at it, not far away now!

Training stepped up over the last week or so culminating in a 17 mile run yesterday, time was not exactly what I was after, in fact 10 mins slower than my ideal target but still 2 hours 24 mins for 17 miles is not bad at all and at that pace is still a 3 hours 42 min marathon so given the adrenelin boost  and "crowd" time I think I am on track for my target time.

This is the route I took

Another addition to my training was the pruchase of a new pair of running shoes, took the old ones into the London Marathon Store and was fittend for a nice new pair of Saucony Progrid 3

The man told me they would help me run "well fast innit" so I was pretty pleased with those.

So really it is all about stying injury free for the remaining few weeks, training distance goes one stage further this weekend where I plan on a 22 miler !

Until next time stay fit and when you are resting with your feet up thinking about how crazy I am to be doing this, please fire up the laptop, have a read of my blog and then dive off to my justgiving page and perhaps donate a few quid to a worthy cause.


http://www.justgiving.com/mrdoylesmarathon

Thanks

Richard

Total Training Miles: 165 miles

Me Run you long time

So, under 7 weeks now and reality bites, can I actually do this for a second time.

Answer........... yes I can, I am confident in the distance I am little sketchy still on the time side of things but I think I will gain and extra 20 secs a mile just from the crowd if last time is anything to go.

Even so, training continues despite a bit of a scare from a slight strain and ache in my left calf, I am keeping an eye on it at the moment and my runs are not as intense, with any luck it is nothing serious and just my legs gasping for air !!!

The strain cut short my planned 17 mile run to a mere 12.5 miles and included a period of walking as at 9 miles it just did not feel right, so a little walk a bit of loosening and a run again followed by a bit more walking and a final run in saw me finish the distance in 1hr 54 mins now given I estimate there was approx 15 mins of walking in that I am very pleased with the overall pace.

So I decided a two day rest on Monday an Tuesday and a 5 miler planned for today to see how the leg holds up.

Update to follow later in the week ..........


Rich

PS Congrats to Kenny S who finished his first Half Marathon on Sunday, Well done mate !!


Total Training Miles: 125.7 miles

I feel the need, the need for speed

I know it has been some time since my last post, and for no other reason than there was little to report.

You can certainly tell the London Marathon is coming up, as there are a lot of people out and about at the moment..

In fact thanks to the last few weekends being very busy and work demands meaning it was tricky to fit in a lunchtime run, I only have 4 sessions to report on since my last post.





I can however report that they are of the very speedy nature, in fact I passed a someone earlier and glanced to see he looked like this!





 
The pace is certainly good and is settling down as I increase the distances whilst trying to keep up the same sort of speed. Planning a 14-15 miler over the weekend with the possibility of a run to work in the next fortnight which is approx 17 miles


15th Feb 7.5 miles 60 mins
21st Feb 7.5 miles 57 mins
22nd Feb 5 miles 37 mins

Running club members are dwindling slightly but I am looking to get a recruitment drive going again just for moral support if anything.

Just another gentle reminder of sponsorship too if you can spare a few pennies then please donate through the following site

http://www.justgiving.com/mrdoylesmarathon

I promise a few more regular updates from here on in with only just under 8 weeks to go will be looking for your continued support

Rich

Total Training Miles: 103.2 miles