My Marathon Blog Part 2: The Road Ahead

The Best Laid Plans....

Having recovered from the shock of actually getting a ballot place in the London Marathon and sorting out a charitable cause to raise money for along the way (www.forgottenfeet.org), I have started thinking about the next most important bit, the training plan. Now there are a bewildering variety of plans out there, although ones that enable you to get an effortless PB without doing any training at all seem to be a bit thin on the ground. Perhaps I’m not looking in the right place?

Long and Slow

Anyway, the cornerstone of most plans is the long slow run, as this enables a runner to build the necessary aerobic endurance to run the distance in the most efficient way. Looking at my goal of getting a sub 4, that means I need to be running about 1 to 2 minutes slower than marathon pace to stay in that aerobic training zone, so between a 10- minute and 11-minute mile on those runs. ‘Nice and steady’ does it, and a common mistake is running those too fast, although I must admit it does feel a bit counter-intuitive to slow down! So my goal for the next few weeks is to slowly and steadily build up that aerobic base on the long run distance, while continuing the regular runs during the week to build mileage , Park run on a Saturday to kick the tyres and light the fires, and of course the strength training. That should keep me busy until Christmas, by which time hopefully I will have decided which of the myriad of training plans on offer I will be going for.

What do you think of it so far?

What do you think of my plan so far? Are you approaching your training in a different way? If so, let me know in the comments. I am always open to persuasion if someone has a better plan!

By the way, did I mention I am fundraising for Forgotten Feet? This is an excellent charity set up by colleagues and friends to support the homeless by providing footwear and footcare where needed across the U.K. I would love to raise as much as I can so please help me by donating a small (or large!) amount at :- https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TimVeyseySmith

Thank you so much.

Tim

Leave a Comment