Experienced marathon runners like to terrify first timers by muttering darkly about the race ‘starting at mile 20’. This isn’t overly helpful, when most beginner marathon plans peg the longest long slow training run at 20 miles.
For me, March’s five weekends mean that the long runs go from 18, to 20, 21,22 and down to 20 again, before the taper. Ideally. However work commitments and family stuff, most notably my older sister coming to stay, the other one getting married for the third time in April, and having a lavish hen do next weekend, has thrown out my timetable and seen me running at odd times in between events.
The past fortnight, while I’ve been going off piste, and once or twice getting pissed, there’s been the odd hiatus, but two useful track sessions and a couple of good-mileage outings. The first was an 18-miler in deluging rain (it’s official, this past year has been the wettest in 135 years, and the weather rolling in from the Atlantic hasn’t finished soaking us yet). I was running with Best Running Buddy Sarah, up to town by way of Burgess Park, ending up with second breakfast here in Lewisham.
This past weekend my sister was staying, as Rick and I had a choir concert (during which I mimed, having been struck down with another bout of laryngitis) so there was no weekend running. I did however manage 20 miles out to Woolwich along the river and back on Friday.
The picture, by the way, is my new meditative place, near Blackfriars, Richard Kindersley’s tribute to Shakespeare’s All the World’s a Stage speech, feminised in my head: starring the mewling puker, the reluctant schoolgirl snail, the burning lovelorn student, the battle axe journalist, the wise editor and poet , the lean and slippered middle aged marathon runner and the toothless old crone, enjoying her second babyhood, at the top.
So since I last recorded here I’ve managed:
Sunday 10 March 18 miles with Sarah
Monday 11 March 11 miles with first-time-marathon client, sussing out the second half of the London Marathon route
Tuesday 12 March TRACK pyramid session 400, 600, 800, 1000, 800, 600, 400 with 2 miles WU/WD either side
Wednesday 6miles recovery run
Thursday: rest (led Medical Tour with clients)
Friday 15 March long slow 20 miler, which went well.
On track tomorrow, and generally, if I can just lose the fatigue and regain my voice.
Marathon Gran 