15 Miles later...

Made it! In a not-too-bad time of 1:52:16 - 15 miles brought me to the end of week 6 of training and closed the January books at 158 miles (my most ever miles clocked in a single month).

My morning started bright and early with a cup of tea and my favourite pre run breakfast of wholemeal toast topped with PB2 and Banana. Yummy and a great combo of simple and complex carbs keeping me fueled from start to finish.

Breakfast of champions

Whilst that was digesting (I always eat an hour before a run) I set about getting all my gear ready to go -and with that I was off...

All the gear (some idea)

Straight into a Sleet shower (marvelous). Needless to say, I wasn't really feeling it for the first couple of miles especially as the pavements were slippery from having not been treated (have a word West Sussex Council). But by mile 4 I was on the road and into my stride, feeling pretty good. Following a hilly section I paused briefly at mile 8 to test out my new energy gels. Historically I haven't got on well with these but after some research I came across Torq promising great taste and more importantly, stomach friendly energy. So down the hatch it went, and honestly, the flavor was great! So off I went into the back section and managed a negative split, credit of which fully goes to Torq. I arrived home feeling great (tummy included), with more left in the tank, which bodes well as there's another 11.2 miles to cover on the big day!

Raspberry Ripple Torq Gels - my new best pals

So feeling pretty stoked right now with 10 weeks to go - lots more miles to cover, including 2 Half's, so stay tuned to see how I progress.

Happy Saturday x

Diary of a trainee marathoner

On Sunday 26th April I am running all 26.2 miles of the London Marathon to raise money for ABF The Soldiers Charity. 

I'm a super keen runner and have run many Half Marathons, but this is my first full Marathon and to add to the challenge, I have set myself a target finish time of 3.30 hours. This is going to be tough and means i'm training 5 days a week come rain or shine (mostly wind and rain at the moment!) in order to stand the best possible chance of getting to the finish in my desired time.

 

So, its Friday evening and it's all about food, as tomorrow morning I have a 15 miler planned.  Fajita Friday is a classic in my household and I have adapted mine to be the perfect fuel for a long distance run. Instead of the traditional white floured wraps, I favour wholemeal in order to sufficiently stock up my Glycogen stores for the morning. Instead of the classic crisp based nacho accompaniment, I have perfected a complex carb-tastic spicy sweet potato alternative. Super tasty (there's never any left!) without any of the saturated fat. Topped with whatever I fancy, it can be as clean or indulgent as takes my mood!

Following this feast I will be off to bed as I like to get up early and out on the road as soon as possible (wild, I know).

Check back tomorrow for a performance report on my run - hoping for a bright, dry morning but it's not looking good...