Mick’s Marathon: Blog Post 4

During April I have been tapering down my runs in preparation for Sunday’s marathon. I completed my longest run of 21.5 miles at the beginning of April, then reduced this to 14.5 miles mid-month, finishing with a final run of 7.5 miles on Easter Sunday. The 21.5 mile run was challenging but as the mileage reduced during April, training became much easier (although still not enjoyable!). Since Sunday I’ve been doing as little as possible to rest my legs ready for the big day. Such has been my dedication to the cause, that I managed to go the whole of Easter without eating any chocolate or drinking any beer.

As the race gets closer, I have found my anxiety level beginning to rise. My longest run to date is still five miles short of the actual distance I need to run on the day. I’ve been training since the start of October and have been (mostly) careful with what I’ve been eating and drinking since the start of April, so I hope this is just pre-marathon nerves.

I’m travelling down to London on Saturday afternoon and plan to have an early night to get as much sleep as possible. On Sunday I’ll get up early to eat and stretch and arrive at Greenwich around 9am, ready for my official start time of 10.48am. I’m looking forward to crossing the finish line (somewhere between 4.5 to 5 hours later) and being able to eat and drink what I want, not what I should!