Saturday 12 April 2014

Ready

I can't quite believe it's the day before the London Marathon. For weeks it seemed a distant target and now all of a sudden it's here.

The nerves are jangling. Have I done enough? What should I pace at? Is that a cold coming on? Is my ankle sore?

I'm glad I blogged all those runs and hard sessions. They are a good record of the hard work and steady improvement over the weeks.

The big question is what do I aim for in the race. My best is 3:32 and I want to come in under 3:30. A 3:15 time would give me a qualifying time but I think that's beyond me. So I'm thinking I'll pace for 3:25 which is an average pace of 7min 49secs per mile.

Whatever the pace finally is I absolutely intend to warm up properly and to keep my heart rate under 160 for the first 4 miles. My downfall in 2010 was doing neither of those and I suffered badly from mile 19 until the end. Tomorrow will be different.

The weather looks good. Bright, dry, little wind and not too hot. I'm not sure it gets any better.

This has been a very easy running week. I've rehearsed my warm up and first mile umpteen times  so I'd better not muck it up!

Tomorrow is as much a mental battle as a physical one. When it starts to hurt I'll be thinking of the 70 or so individuals and families who have sponsored me.

I'll also be thinking of my relatives who relied and benefited so much from PHAB. This marathon is for Iain, Grace & Helen MacLeod who gave so much to our family when I was growing up. The memories of them will be driving me on over the last few miles when I'll really need it.

I've broken the race into 4 segments.

Mile 1-4 - keeping it very steady and the heart rate low
Mile 5-16 - relaxing, keeping an even pace and not using up my mental reserves
Mile 16-21 - 5 miles of absolute focus Through the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf. I'll be reminding myself of the 5 mile loops I've been running and keeping the pace on target.
Mile 21- the end - digging in and using all the mental images, memories and mantras to keep me from slipping up.

Whatever happens I'm so thankful for the generosity of friends and family. I've exceeded my target by nearly £1000. I've got back to my 2010 fitness levels and can't wait to dream up the next challenge.

See you on the other side.


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