Next week I will be lining up alongside Haile Gebrselassie, Mo Farah and over 35,000 other runners. All nervous, all excited, all about to embark on a fantastic 26.2 miles of running.
Since my 20 mile long training run, I have been embracing my taper period. The first week, my legs were shot after the 20 miler, and I didn't head out until the following Sunday. It was a struggle. The day before not only had I played hockey, but we'd been out for a few drinks to celebrate the end of season. Given that we finished second and got promoted, I thought it only right to allow myself a few shandies.
However, the following morning whilst my team mates were laying in bed, nursing hangovers, I headed out for what would be a gentle 11 mile run. I took it nice and easy, and the fuzzy head and mild hangover did it's best to slow me down and make me want to give up, but I got round and felt a lot better for it afterwards.
This week I have been equally rubbish at running during the week. I know I should be heading out for a few gentle midweek runs at this stage, but I'm really lacking the motivation. I think the marathon has come at just the right time. I'm really starting to get a little bit bored of running now!
To make up for a lack of midweek running, and the lack of any hockey match on Saturday, I headed down to Southsea seafront to participate in the Southsea ParkRun. For those of you unfamiliar with ParkRun, it is a community organised weekly 5k running event, that is free to take part in, with events up and down the country. I really would recommend it for all levels of runners. (www.parkrun.org)
I'd run a few of these a good few years ago in Eastleigh, where my best time was 24:55. Having beaten that 5k time on a marathon training run, I thought it would be fun to head down for a short fast run to see if I could beat my 5k PB, and to give my legs a change from the steady plodding they had become accustomed to. The weather was perfect and I despite starting far too far back in the bunch for the pace I wanted to run, I soon got up to speed and was averaging sub 7 minute miles! Sub 7! A pace I had only ever dreamt of! My previous mile PB was 7:14, and here I was beating that by about 20 seconds, I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest!
Fortunately I remained a cardiac explosion free zone, and despite slowing a little during the third mile, a very competitive sprint finish saw my finish time hit an incredible 21:51. As I finished slightly ahead of my sprint finish rival, I heard from behind me, "lets see if you can do that when you're 60!". Credit to the guy, he put on a good sprint for a 60 year old, I'll be very happy if I can run like that in 30 years time!
Today's run was another slow and steady run, just plodding around 10 miles to spend a little time on my feet whilst avoiding any injuries. The weather was uninspiring greyness, but it made for ideal running conditions. I took some time to just enjoy today's run, it was after all my last long run before the big day.
During a period of reflection, I even thought about how much I was going to miss my Sunday run, and I have to say, I am now determined to maintain the training after the big day, to some extent at least. I may well have to have a week off though!
To put some perspective on the efforts that have been put into the training, I have (so far) covered over 350 miles, and burnt over 50,000 calories. That's a return trip to Plymouth, and over 100 Big Macs!
In fundraising news, my total has been progressing nicely after another push, and lots of donations from many more kind hearted souls, and I am edging closer to the second cow. (Especially if you include Gift Aid!). I know there are a few people who are yet to sponsor me that are intending to, but with a week to go, time is running out, and so now is the time to do it!
If you are yet to sponsor me, (or would like to do it again!), my sponsorship page as always is: www.virginmoneygiving.com/
You can do it baby!
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