Tag: marathon-training

London calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared and battle comes down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls

The Clash

March and British Summer Time commences giving us all a well needed extra hour in bed on Sunday morning. Also, the promise of lighter evenings and warmer weather stir our hearts and give us all a massive boost after the cold, rainy, windy, dark days of Winter. Runners and cyclists can save their lights and hi viz for the darker Autumn evenings and be ‘safer’ to practice and follow their dreams. Most runners dream is to participate in the London Marathon and March always evokes many memories of my London training. I was very fortunate as I ran 8 times, 7 as Good For Your Age.

I always used to run 12 miles every Sunday if I wasn’t racing but for London training I would extend this to 15-18 miles during January and February. The first Sunday in March was the Gloucester 20 race and that was my first 20 mile run. I read a book by Richard Nerurkar, a top British distance runner, and he states that if your 5 longest runs total over 100 miles, you are ready for a marathon. This was a mantra I followed and it stood me well. Nerurkar’s last race was Bath Half Marathon in 2000 and was a DNF so I beat him and my time was my half pb at 1 hour 15 minutes .

So I felt March was an important month for marathon training. I always felt like the leash is off, Kiddo, do your thing. You can sneak a daylight run after work and the weather is getting warmer. Maybe you’ve got your race day shoes and kit and trying them out. If your running for a charity life is a little tougher. Combining training and raising money for a good concern is hard work. Friends and family are fed up with being asked for donations and as March training intensifies and has to rise to the the marathon finishing level. This is a really great month though. You’re fitness and running ability has risen to a new level plus confidence and a feel good factor to make you feel invincible. Injuries can still occur and illnesses, bloody hell illnesses. Avoid anybody with a cough or even a sniffle. March training always made me feel like a pro, a proper athlete. Making sure you get enough sleep and rest, making sure you eat the right things, making sure you keep up the training intensity. Crikey, family life takes a hit. Disrupted meals and not being at home when children go to bed. Horrible, but necessary sacrifices for our marathon hero.

March may also be the month when the sheer sameness of training and the extending of the long runs can feel like drudgery and like a boring day at work. Well mix it up. Weekend long runs are still important and have to be maintained but shorter efforts at a faster pace will pay dividends. The long runs will give you the stamina but the shorter fast runs will make you more able to cruise at a faster pace. The lighter evenings after the clocks go forward may allow a runner to run off road a little more and running on differing surfaces can be very advantageous. Add a few hill efforts will be useful. The London Marathon is basically a point to point flat run so those hill efforts are extra speed work in disguise.

Finally, keep your powder dry, run at your pace, and enjoy it.