Time for the taper

Today was the day of my longest training run, which I took as an opportunity to treat as a dress rehearsal for the marathon itself. I woke up early and unusually for me on a Sunday, had some breakfast. This of course meant that I then had to wait a couple of hours for my breakfast to settle down, so I used this time to take the dog for a bit of a stroll, to simulate the trek across Blackheath park to the blue starting zone.

Today's run was 20 miles long, and it took me up to Tesco in Havant, down to Canoe Lake in Southsea, and then back home.

I'm going to resist the urge to talk about any sort of 'journey', but the last few weeks have been a bit up and down. After completing 18 miles, my legs were absolutely shattered for the run on the following Tuesday, and could barely manage 3 miles. Suddenly the marathon distance seemed very daunting again. Fortunately a few days of rest and they were back to their best. Then the sun came out.

The last couple of Sundays have seen a rise in both sunshine and temperature, and accustomed to cold weather running, my pace had taken a beating and I was struggling to average 9 minute miles on my long runs.

It's not been entirely sunny and warm though. Taking advantage of my works flexible arrangements, I headed out one Thursday afternoon at half two, to get a seven mile midweek run in, and as I headed out into the sunshine, it wasn't long before I was fighting through some incredibly thick fog, good job I knew where I was going because there wasn't much visibility.

I can't tell you too much about what happened in today's 20 mile run, but I do know that I started off averaging a stunningly fast 8:15, and overall this only reduced to 8:22. It was a pace I was feeling comfortable maintaining too which was amazing. I guess that's the difference a drop in the temperature, and no hockey match the day before can make.

After 20 miles I won't say I felt good, but I certainly felt a lot better than I did after the 18 mile run a few weeks back. I was carefully managing my drink and fuel intake today, making a conscious effort to have at least a sip of Lucozade at each mile point, and also a couple of Jelly beans every three miles. It did feel like I was consistently stuffing sticky fruity sugary stuff into my gob, but it did keep me going and the difference was noticeable, so I will certainly be aiming to replicate that on race day.


At the end of the run, I took the opportunity for a cheeky selfie, to capture the effect that 2h:47:34 of running had had on me, somehow I still managed to crack a smile. In honour of the #nomakeupselfie that swept the social networks this week, I also sponsored myself £3 for the privilege. (Feel free to do the same).

So now to the taper, an opportunity to drop down the miles, and give me legs a bit of a rest, so they can be ready and raring to go in three weeks time. Bursting to go.

With the long run behind me, I can now refocus my efforts on my fundraising. My total currently stands at £1088, and I am hopeful that I will be able to raise that up to £1500 before the big day, even if I have to cheat and include gift aid. That would be enough to send not one, but two dairy cows, changing two families lives forever.

I know it seems that everyone seems to be asking for money at the moment, particularly with Sport Relief only just passed, but anything you could spare at all would be very gratefully received, even if it is just £1. I can assure you I am certainly putting in the effort at this end!

It's quick and really easy to do at: www.virginmoneygiving.com/davidjohns