This time last year, reporting on the Paddock Wood Half Marathon (full name: Lambert & Foster Half Marathon, which my ex-smoker’s brain insists on calling Lambert & Butler, the name on the first pack of cigarettes I ever bought, age 15, with two school friends. We made it our task, that Saturday night long ago, to smoke a minimum of six each from the magical silver pack), I was reasonably sanguine about my achievement at this stage of the marathon training game.
This year I was four minutes faster, with more weeks of training time to go before my Big Race. I am daring myself to feel a little confident. My time of 1:48 is reasonably good for a woman of 61, but for this Marathon Gran, it represents a big leap forward. Although all my PBs across all distances occurred in 2015, when I was 53, this is the first time since the injury challenges of 2017/18, that I have managed sub 1:50 in the half marathon. I’m pleased.
The rest of the week was a battle of mind and training plan over protesting body. I drooped about Monday, feeling wrung out, went as a snail to track on Tuesday, jogged confusedly round Wapping, Docklands and the Isle of Dogs for a London Marathon client on Wednesday and hauled myself out for Thursday hill training (I managed half the session). Friday saw more drooping and pilates; today was Hillyfields parkrun, which I thought I run quite fast…..
That training in full
Monday 4 March walking tour for London Walks Clients, Hot Yoga, 90 minutes: felt like Stretch Armstrong after the half-marathon DOMS
Tuesday 5 March: 6×600 at 5k pace, with 200 recoveries.Hard but beneficial
Wednesday: 12-mile recce run. In which I had to swerve into Canary Wharf Waitrose to buy sandwiches, banana and smoothie to stop me keeling over
Thursday: Hot yoga am, walking tour for London Walks clients in the afternoon, dynamic, drills and hills in the evening. Never have I been so glad to go to bed with full stomach and good book (Shadowland by Joseph O’Connor)
Friday: Pilates with the always positive Alex Tinney, who despite being radiantly pregnant makes me feel like a heffalump.
Today, Saturday 9 March, Hillyfields parkrun in 25:12. What? Could have sworn it was fastest this year…I am delusional with fatigue.
Sarah wants to do 18 miles tomorrow. Next week is all about the LSRs, having been inspired by the also radiant ultra runner Zuzana Nemeckova, whose talk in Greenwich on Wednesday was very well attended.
Marathon Gran 