Back to reality

London Marathon Training
Week 6, Day 1

After the excitement of the weekend it was back to the bread and butter (vile substance, by the way!) of tonight’s club session.

Since joining Ballymena Runners my running has come on leaps and bounds, last week’s tough 45 minute session really helped me yesterday in London and the general advice and support I’ve been getting is invaluable.

This was a ‘step up’ week which was a bit inconvenient because I had intended to drop down to the 30-minute group simply because my legs felt heavy after the weekend plus not arriving back until well after 4pm.

However, once I got there and after talking to a couple of people I decided to stay with the 45s and I was glad I did.

I really enjoyed it tonight. There were quite a few people in the group I knew so it was good to run along and chat with them, and to be able to hold a conversation in the first place without gasping for air! I must be getting fitter.

We tackled the dreaded Princes Street again, and I felt as if I really flew up it tonight. Clearly my weekly hill sessions are paying off.

What was also good about tonight was the sheer amount of congratulations I got after yesterday. It was really lovely of everyone, even though a lot of them have done and achieved a lot more than me.

The simple fact that they took the time to say hello etc. just shows the measure of them and the club. I’m really glad I joined now, although kicking myself for allowing my fears and worries from stopping me from doing it sooner!

A good start to week six of my training and a good indicator of my progress given that it was nowhere near as bad a session as I thought it might be.

London Marathon Training (76.2 miles – 19 runs)
Week 1 – 12.2 miles (4 runs; average 3.05 miles per run)
Week 2 – 9.3 miles (2 runs; average 4.65 miles per run)
Week 3 – 17.7 miles (4 runs; average 4.4 miles per run)
Week 4 – 18.8 miles (4 runs; average 4.7 miles per run)
Week 5 – 14.9 miles (4 runs; average 3.7 miles per run)
Week 6 – 3.6 miles (1 run; average 3.6 miles per run)