There comes a point in most marathon training schedules when you move from thinking "this is comfortable" to "wow this is getting hard".  With 9 weeks to go for New York I have reached that point. It wasn't helped by some very hot weather at the beginning of the week which led to a decision … Continue reading 38 miles in a week – training ramps up.

Last Sunday evening I did a quick plan for the week ahead. It was complicated by the fact i had friends staying which while it would be good fun would knock out Tuesday and Wednesday evening. Friday night was out too, so it looked as if i would need to cut down from the scheduled … Continue reading NYM training week 6

Went into week 5 feeling a bit tired from the Sunday run and might have missed Monday. But the weather was good and when Kevin suggested we meet at Hampton hill to discuss the Cabbage patch organisation I couldn't resist the chance for 4 miles with the Star runners beforehand. Being mid August and the … Continue reading NYM training week 5

So after a hard Tuesday last week I thought about giving Wednesday a rest. Not for long! Wanted to get out there and it was a nice summer evening so I set off to run the three miles to Bushy Park for the Arethusa Mile. First mile felt awful and I seriously considered cutting short … Continue reading Tiredness kicks in -attitude kicks ass.

So hummed and hared a bit re running on Monday but it was down as a rest day on the schedule and I was a bit knackered after last week so took the evening off. So probably a good plan as felt reasonably fresh fot the Tuesday evening session at Thames Ditton, As this week … Continue reading Enter week 4

Friday was a rest day and the weather was fine, so I had arranges a boat trip with friends, Dave and Sue Olson and John and Sarah Greaves joined Stella, myself and the dog, Harry Hawkes for a trip up river in Tha Finn. Very enjoyable evening with plenty of wine consumed on the boat … Continue reading Weekend stays on plan (just)

The main meeting night for the Stragglers used to be a major affair and although numbers have fallen in recent years it is still a primary focus for the club. usually we go through a warm up routine followed by various group runs at different distances and pace. But tonight was different with a special … Continue reading Thursday night at The Stragglers

My son Alex is currently living with his wife Lucie in New York, This was the inspiration for entering the New York Marathon. Lucie is coming back to the UK to resume her teaching career from the new term in September, while Alex continues with his job in New York for another six months. So … Continue reading Marathon plan week 3: Flexibility is the key

Its been a good week. Only the second week in to marathon training proper, but I completed 25 miles over 5 efforts and had some good efforts in there. 4 miles on Monday, 5 miles Wednesday, the Wedding Day 7 k race on Friday, Kingston Parkrun on Saturday and an 8 mile long run around … Continue reading Getting into marathon plan

The training programme I use is something adapted from a runners world 4 hour marathon plan which I downloaded ages ago and have tweaked a bit over the years. I tend to view training plans as a guide rather than a straight jacket. If you have any sort of life outside of running you need … Continue reading New York minus 14 weeks