Training Update Nice for Warthogs

Training for a marathon throws up so many different opinions on what to do to get the best time. If you google marathon training you get so many different opinions that it is not worth following. So I am going with my gut feeling  and doing what seems right. I will increase my mileage until the end of March and then look at tapering around 2 weeks before the marathon.

The training issue I have come up against mostly of late is that if you go off road in very wet weather like we have been  having whenever you get to a pinch point on the path it looks like a warthog wallow. The volume of foot fall churms the top mud into a sloppy paste which makes traction very dodgy. Not too mention wet feet and of course cold feet. There are some training benefits though. When running across fields the wet clay sticks to the trainer doubling the weight giving you an extra workout.


I tried some hill sprints on Bird Hill at the Discovery Centre this week as well. It is now so slippery that it was a complete waste of time - mixed views on that, first, yippee less pain, second, damn I need the work out.

So I have to resort to pavement training which is a nightmare as the pavements are so uneven and the orange light hides the the unevenness so it is easy to trip or jar your leg.

Well tonight is curry night so I will need an early run to make room - why is it impossible not to overeat when you get a takeaway curry?



Still if I could run like this guy I would be happy.

No Jacket Required

Man,  what a difference 5 degrees C makes. I went out running tonight in T shirt and shorts and I was hot because the air temperature was 7 degrees. So I thought "No Jacket Required" and since I have very little hair I do look a bit like Phil Collins. 
I actually saw Phil Collins play live at Surrey University, I was doing security and it was a great night as all his fans came and sat crosslegged on the floor so we had no trouble that night. 
Ok bit of an irrelevant ramble there.
Had two nights off the training and boy did I feel good tonight there was loads of energy in my legs and I positively bounded along in my 3 mile run. I still have done very little speed work but my knee is responding to the special exercise program I am doing. Basically the theory is that if you are an older person your quads stretch and it means your knee joint is not held apart so the bones grind. we will see what the longer term results are.
There is a a serendipidity to all this traing - I have lost 5-6 pounds in weight since the beginning of January, if that carries on at the same rate I will have lost 1 1/2 stone by the time I run the Marathon.
Saturday is a big day as it is England Wales at Twickenham - I hope England can confound us a soundly thrash the Daffodil people but I doubt it. Still it will require a few pints whichever way the result goes. Vitamin B which  is good for recovery after heavy exercise and beer has plenty of it. Also beer is quite a good isotonic drink as well. The alchohol tends to block recovery and dehydrate you though, so it is swings and roundabouts.