The end of the holiday...

I've been looking at the London Marathon training schedule before me (literally before me as it happens, as it's pinned up above the computer) and am now wondering how I'm going to fit some of the sessions in... Changing my rest day from Saturday to Monday may cause a bit of initial confusion, but not as much as having to do longer runs than I'm used to on both Wednesdays & Fridays. Tuesdays seems to be my most mental day - start the day with a 10K run, a 3/4hr coached swim session at lunchtime, and then speed work at the Whitehall track in the evening... But why the change in schedule? Well, for the last 4 marathons (Edinburgh, Wolverhampton, Rome, & Snowdonia) I've mainly followed a Runners World Sub-3hr training schedule - with a few alterations to fit in races. Whilst all of the Marathons, with the exception of Snowdon, resulted in a Personal Best time, none resulted in the magical sub-3hr mark being achieved. So, after talking to several sub-3 runners from the club, (and actually listening to them) I decided to change to an 18-week schedule from a book called , 'Advanced-Marathoning' by Pete Pfitzinger & Scott Douglas, which is affectionately referred to as 'The Bible' by many runners. For a serious long-distance runner the book is nothing short of brilliant, even though it is aimed at the faster marathon runner and those with the time & energy to commit to a 55-85 mile a week schedule... Luckily for me my schedule will max out at about 70 miles per week. This, it is hoped, is enough to see me safely under the 3 hour mark. You see, the thing is that, running isn't something that you can 'bluff'. You can't put in just a few token jogs then toe the start line thinking that you've done enough work to get you round. It doesn't work like that. If you don't train properly then the Marathon will chew you up, normally between 17-20 miles, then spit you back out again.
Train properly, focus mentally, eat a healthy diet, & get plenty of rest and any race distance is achievable.

Saying that, this was my last week of 'rest & recuperation'... Now, I know that, a bit like a kid with ADHD who's had more than his fair share of E numbers, I struggle to stay still at the best of times, but since completing the Snowdonia Marathon I have been taking it easy. Well, easier than usual...
I've had days where I haven't done any exercise (yes, that is true), I've eaten far too many chocolate biscuits, Jammie Dodgers, veggie breakfasts & portions of fish & chips. In addition to my usual gallons of black coffee I've also drunk a lot of Peroni, Moretti, Exmoor Dark, and  Moramari Sangiovese Rubicone. Alongside my early nights & early mornings I've also had a few late nights & late mornings, I've had seconds at meal times & large slices of cake. And now, as from Monday 17th of December, I've saddled up the horses and climbed back on my old training wagon again. Now, that doesn't mean that from hereon-in I'll be nil by mouth', especially over Christmas, but it will mean that I will have to be much stricter with what I eat. Sensible sized portions, no second helpings, no dipping into the biscuit/cake/sweetie tin in the office, nothing deep fried, the occasional small piece of cake, plenty of fruit, and after Christmas - no alcohol. Can't 18 weeks seem like a long time..?

So, how does one spend the final weekend before resuming training? Why, by over-indulging in the company of family and friends of course! Friday night involved a meal with the folks I play badminton with of a Sunday evening. Of course, alcohol played it's part in proceedings with a few too many pints, glasses of red wine and, strangely, glasses of amaretto pass my lips. Suffice to say that the morning saw me nursing a rather sore almond flavoured headache...
Now, I know it may not be everyones idea of indulgence, but I am a man who is easily pleased (ask the wife) and enjoy the simple pleasures in life, and whenever I need to just let myself unwind I like to head for Broadway in the Cotswolds. Luckily, this is a location that is easy for us to visit as it also happens to be where the in-laws live. It just so happened that this weekend was Muvvers birthday so a visit was in order... So, with an overnight bag, and some off-road running kit packed for Sunday morning, the wife got behind the steering wheel of the car, I got into the passenger seat, closed my eyes and tried to sleep off a bit more of my hangover and off we went up the M5. That evening, to help Muvver celebrate the passing of another year, we descended upon a lovely newly opened Italian restaurant called Prego whereby I discovered the best vegetarian lasagne I have ever eaten. If you go to Broadway then eat here. End of...

Early Sunday morning I was up, dressed and out the door for my favourite run - a 5 mile looping off-road run up towards Snowshill then up to Broadway Tower before dropping back down to the village. The overall length of time that it takes me to run this route is unimportant, especially when you take into account the lung-busting 677m ascent in just over one mile... On a steep descent, however, it can be a bit fast & furious and Sunday was no exception where I averaged 4:45/mi on the way down!! Fact of the day: The Tower is also the mid-way point of Stage One of the Cotswolds Relay. It stands at the top of Fish Hill which, at 1026ft is the highest point of the northern end of the Cotswold hills, and, after Cleeve Hill, is the second highest point of the Cotswolds...
After a wash, change, and breakfast back at the Out-Laws, we headed to the Regal Cinema, in nearby Evesham, to watch The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Not only does this happen to be a brilliant film but the recently refurbished art-deco Regal Cinema is exactly how I remember a cinema used to be in my youth. Tasteful decorated with marbled floors in the entrance foyer, good views, and lush double 'love seats' in the balcony... A balcony! The last time I sat upstairs to watch a film in the cinema (I think it was to watch ET) you were still allowed to smoke up there..! The town of my youth, Keynshams, had it's very own 'flea-pit' of a cinema, but it was nice to be able to cast my mind back to my youth to remember such hysterically funny (at the time) life-affirming moments such as opening the fire-exit doors to let in your friends for free, letting moths loose in the cinema so that they would fly up to the projection window & cast huge shadows on the screen, and, best of all, pretending to be sick in the balcony & emptying a can of soup over the people seated below..!! (I still cry with laughter thinking of that one...)

So, here we go then, let the training commence. Onward, ever onward... Straining upon the start. The game's afoot. Follow your spirit, and upon this charge, Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!

Weekly totals:
Run miles: 31.5
Swim lengths/metres: 146/3650m
Sit-ups: 640
Press-ups: 320
Cycle miles: 0