After my efforts in the 1999 Flora London Marathon meant that I finished an unflattering 30,396th out of 30,509 official timed finishers, I felt that I had to do it again just to improve my performance. In 1999 I managed to run the first half. In fact it was just after the 13mile marker that I managed to pull one of the small but important muscles deep inside my hip. This was almost certainly due to not training enough beforehand
This time however, I am determined not to lug a full 16 and a half stone around 26 point something miles of London's landmarks.
I have decided to make a log of my progress (probably week by week) of my training so check back to see if anything has changed
Sites of interest
Official sponsor to the Flora London Marathon
The charity that I ran for!!
My application for the 2000 race went in at the beginning of October.......
I have done a few runs over the last month or two. Only a couple of miles per run really just to check that I wanted to put myself through hell again.
Monday 29th November 1999
I received my acceptance form for the 2000 Flora London Marathon today. I was rejected from the main ballot but was one of the 1000 winners of the Bequest Draw. So........
I suppose it means that I will have to start training properly. There is a training schedule for beginners in Marathon News. There is also one at the adidas website above. They generally start from January so if I get going now I should be able to follow the schedule.
Monday 6th December 1999
I have done a couple of 25-30 minute runs this week. I have found a nice little run around Peckham Rye. From home round and back again takes 30 minutes at a slowish pace (pretty fast for me at the moment). I will be able to change this run so that I can add more time for my longer stints. I have decided that I would go by time at the moment because I found counting the miles very demoralizing last time during training. Later I will revert to mileage but I know that I will be on the road for a long time during the race. I took 7 hours to get round last time, however I miscalculated my fluid loss then and ended up queuing for half an hour to use the loo.
Friday 17th December 1999
Only ran once in the last week or so. Partly due to the fact that I have been on night duty and also because it been too bloody cold. I know that is no excuse but that is the way it is. I have also been involved in the Obs and Gynae revue at work followed by a mega party so the was no way I was going running in those couple of days.
Now it seems that I have picked up some sort of bug because I feel like s**t. I will try to get some running in before Christmas though with this bug I don't want to push it too much.
Wednesday 29th December 1999
I am over the bug now and had a proper break for Christmas. I think that I have put on the 2 pounds that I lost over the previous weeks. Now, however the hard work needs to start. I need to be determined and motivated. Motivation has always been my weak point (for anything really) so the sooner I get with the program the better. I have borrowed my dads trapette so I can do some cardiovascular workouts if I do not go for a run.
One of the problems I have is to avoid eating the scrummy Christmas cake that we have. I have managed to avoid the majority of bad things compared with other years.
Now where did I put that cake knife......
Friday 31st December 1999
Went for a 25 minute run today around the cemetery opposite my house. This cemetery is very old (about 100-150 years old I think). It is very beautiful and although it is still in use, it is quite unobtrusive. As you run around you inhale the odours from the woods and nature reserve that is enclosed within its' walls. The cemetery is about 1 and a half miles in diameter and is on a hill which means it is ideal for running around. There are many paths so you can vary your route as you wish and different surfaces underfoot (gravel, tarmac, larger stones and mud!).
I will try to find out more information about the cemetery and the wildlife in it.
I do not think that I will be able to do any running now until after the weekend of the 8-9th of January because I am working most days between now and then and on the 7th it is my birthday. Serious workout after that though!!
Happy new millennium everybody!
Friday 14th January 2000
Trying to get back into training. I have been for a couple of runs this week of 30 minutes and 15 minutes (the last one was today and I needed to catch a train).
The main mistake that I did last year was that the training runs that I did were not long enough. I was too centred on building up gradually the mileage and thus spent a lot of time doing very short runs. Having problems going around a marathon course really does bring home the realization that I actually need to get a few more miles under my belt this time.
This time I am going to train to time and not distance. I will be out on the course for several hours so I need to know that I can run for that length of time before seizing up.
Again, I went running around the local cemetery. Click here
for
details produced by The Friends of Nunhead Cemetery (Quite a history).
Sunday 23rd January 2000
This is late because I forgot to upload it....
Quiet week of training. I went out at the beginning of the week but towards the end I was on night which makes it very difficult. Coupled with that - I have a stinking cold at the moment and I ache like %$#"£$.
I do not think that I will be running for the next few days but should get back into it towards the end of the week. I remember that this happened last year also
Sunday 30th January 2000
Must get serious now. Loosening run on Friday felt good. I have been out for dinner for the last couple of nights but will go out today for a longer stint - we shall see...
What a disaster that was. I only managed 2 miles before I thought that I was dying. Too much alcohol over the last couple of night me thinks.
Friday 4th February 2000
This was a better week! A couple of runs to pull myself together after Sunday. The problem I have is fitting everything in to my life and still have time to warm up, go for a run and then warm down. Today was a prime example - I had to take my daughter to the hospital for an appointment so had only limited time.
I cycled to work yesterday. I must cycle more because it is very good for my fitness. It is about a 16 mile round trip so it can be quite tiring.
I am working 2 twelve hour shifts over the weekend so no running. I am also going on Oliver's school trip on Monday. This was the day I wanted to do a much longer run but I will have to put that off until Wednesday. I will use Dulwich Park for the longer runs because the cemetery is a little too hilly. I suppose I had better turn in now.
Monday 14th February 2000
I have done much better this week. I have been running several times with 4 and 5 mile runs included in that. I have been running in Dulwich park this week which is very nice. I have actually been running to time rather that distance however the road around the park is marked out so you get a good idea of how far you are doing.
My only real problem is that I think that I have got a bit of a reaction from my calf muscles. They seem to be aching a bit. My right shin is also sore after a run but I am not to worried about that as it is fine once I get going.
I have now joined a gym - at Crystal Palace Sports Centre. I will try to use it as much as possible to increase my general strength and fitness.
Monday 21st February 2000
Another fairly good week. I only ran a few times this week because I was on nights from Thursday. I have learnt one very special lesson this week. I went to the gym , had a good work out and then decided to go for a run. What I did not do was fuel myself enough and got tired extremely quickly whilst on the run. I won't do that again. Did a 6 miler on the day I started my nights which I was very pleased with. I seemed to recover quite quickly so I must be getting a little fitter.
I finished my nights yesterday morning and went to the gym this morning. Had a good workout in the time that I had - I wish that I had longer but there is never enough time in the day.
Sunday 27th February 2000
Total mileage this week was not as much as the previous. That was partly to do with the fact that I gave blood on Wednesday when I would have done about an hour or so. I ended up being too busy on Thursday and was away at my parents on Friday. Saturday was football day and my intention was to run whilst the boys were at football practice however several things that happened put paid to that. We went to Highbury to see Arsenal versus Southampton in the afternoon which was excellent even though we lost.
Went out for a run today. Did 4 miles which was my plan because I will try to step up the length of run this week. My aim was to be doing 8 miles (running home from work) by the end of February but I will extend that by a week. I do not want to push it too much as I do not want to get injured (nor collapse in a heap).
Sunday 5th March 2000
One of my aims during my training was to have run home from work. This is an 8 mile journey as I said last week. Well after a good 4 miler then I decided that I should not wait for a week before running that far. On Wednesday I ran for just over an hour and a half which on the route that I took is in fact 8 miles. During this run I felt quite good except for the last mile or so. It then hit me and I felt myself letting go . Whereas for the vast majority of the run I had managed to keep to a fairly good rhythm, I seemed to be flapping about in this last section. It may be that I just lost concentration but more likely it is because I have not run that distance for a year. Up until this episode I had managed to keep to my mile in 11 minutes pace. This, if kept up, is sub 5 hours for the marathon. It would be great if I could keep that up.
I guess that it is just a case of practice. Boy, was I stiff the following day. On Friday I was still very stiff so I thought that I had better go for another run. This was a short but testing one. Recently I have been running around the local green area (Peckham Rye Park for those that know the area) this has nice gradual hills that do not push you too much. Fridays run I did in the cemetery and blimey was it different . I had forgotten how steep the hill is in there. To keep up with my usual pace I really had to push myself up the hill but it cured my stiffness. I am working two long days this coming week. I have not run yesterday (I was working) or today but I will stretch my legs tomorrow and if I feel up to it I will run home from work on Tuesday. I will cycle in and then decide on how busy we are and how knackered I feel. Otherwise I shall do a long run on Wednesday.
Sunday 19th March 2000
Sorry for the delay in updating. A combination of wedding anniversary (going away) and problems with my modem were the reasons.
Well I did not run home from work on Tuesday because I was knackered. Thursday was worse so I do not think there will be any days that I will run home from work. Even when we went away to a hotel last weekend I managed to do quite a lot of exercise . They had a lovely swimming pool and a well equipped (if a little small) gym. I used the running machine which was very difficult (even though it was very high tec). Following that I used the cycle machines, which were very posh also.
This last week has seen me on nights. I went out for a little over an hour and a half on the morning of my first night. It did mean that I was more tired but I figured that if I did not do it then I would not run until I had finished the span of nights. I felt quite comfortable going round but I must start drinking whilst running so that I can replace lost energy.
I went out yesterday for a shorter run but was not able today. I am working for the next 3 days so I probably will not run however my aim for Thursday is to push a little further and try to stay out for an extra 45 minutes to an hour. This should mean that I cover about 13 miles and I am hoping to do a couple of these before stepping up to 15 miles.
There is now only 4 weeks to go before my next tour of central and East London and so far my training is going infinitely better than last year............
Monday 27th March 2000
In the last 8 days (including today) I have only had 3 days off and have lost an hour somewhere at the weekend. I did not do anything on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday last week because I was working. That only left Thursday and Friday to run because I was working two long days (13 hour shifts) over the weekend. I decided to go for a longer run because this was well over due.
To tell the truth, I do find running a tad boring at times. I am not a natural runner (obviously) and I find it difficult to motivate myself to go out running at all! This time I thought that I would take a scenic route and perhaps take in some sights of London Town. Those of you with a London A-Z can follow this with your finger:
Starting at Limesford Road Nunhead, where I live, I worked my way to the Old Kent Road. I took myself up there until Tower Bridge Road which I followed to and over Tower Bridge. I went round the Tower of London to the left and followed the road and path to Southwark Bridge. I came back across here and followed the path along the South Bank which took me passed the New Globe Theatre, the site where the new Millennium Bridge is being built and most impressive of all the Millennium Wheel or to give it its proper title, The London Eye (<-- click for a picture). I carried on until I came to Lambeth bridge when I turned left and strode down to the Elephant and Castle. It was here that I had the probable misfortune to be interviewed by a crew from the 11 O'Clock Show - we shall see how that came out. I carried on back down the Old Kent road and home. I did not do as far as I wanted to but I did further than before which was the main aim.
Today, even though I was knackered, I went out for another longish run. This one took me along to New Cross then on to Greenwich. I ran up to the Millennium Dome which I found was incredibly impressive. I went back around the Cutty Sark to get the feel for the event in 3 weeks time. I will step it up again on Friday.
Monday 10th April 2000
It is a couple of weeks since the last update. This was partly due to my course work and assignment (which was late oopps!!) and work commitments which included 4 nightshifts.
Did a 14 mile run last Friday week which felt quite good. I needed to go that little bit further and I was quite impressed with myself. Again I needed to run to a place so this time I ran to within a mile of St George's where I work.
Following my nights I went for a similar run this last Friday. Unfortunately after about 11 miles I seemed to pick up a calf strain. It is not too bad and I hope with rest massage and stretching it will recover quickly. I means that I will probably not go for a short run on Wednesday.
Only 6 days to go until the big day so I need to start getting some early nights.
Words seem to have escaped me ......
Saturday 15th April 2000
Well only a day away!! I do admit to feeling nervous which I do not usually feel the day before events. I think that I am ready - it's a bit late now to do any more.
I have not done any running since last week when I strained a calf muscle. I have done lots of stretching so that I do not end up with an injury like I did last year. I went to register yesterday and stocked up on all my carbohydrate supplies. I have been drinking isotonic, high carbohydrate drinks today so that I do not have to eat mountains of pasta (although I did have some). I will have something light tonight and go to bed about 21:30 as I will have to be up at 6 tomorrow.
So... this is the last pre race entry to my diary. I will write about the race as soon after as I can.
A BIG thank you to all those who have sponsored me - I hope I repay that support.
Follow the link below for details about the race...
ãCopyright – Julian Sutton. Not to be copied, published or used in any way without permission.