Long Weigh To Go...

The final roundabout of Pennine 10k

I completed the Pennine 10k in Brighouse this morning after some deliberation because according to my training plan, I should have been doing an 80 minute easy run so it wasn't really long enough and I probably shouldn't be hammering myself in races at this stage. It's no good telling myself not to race it and use the distance as a training run because once we set off I get a bit overexcited about all the possibilities of the race and start speeding.

The advice I have been given is that it is okay to race on a Sunday from time to time whilst I am marathon training. The measure as to whether I've done too much is if I'm still too shattered to train properly on the following Tuesday. This week, I'll just have to see how I feel because this race was not easy. 'Undulating' I think is the technical term for this race, with a slight hill about 100 yards in, then a killer of an incline at about mile three which lasts for a good mile. The last mile is pretty much downhill though it's one of those races where you pass 9k and think you're nearly there, there were a good few winding streets to get through before crossing the finish line.

At about 3k one of the marshals shouted to me, 'well done, you're 16th lady'. This might not sound like much to the speedier runner but it was really exciting news for me. I knew there were some hills coming so I then got it into my head that my time for the race didn't matter, I just wanted to be in the top 20 ladies. Several miles later I counted four or five women overtake me, and I haven't seen the results yet so I don't know whether I managed to achieve this hastily conceived goal. Still, it had the desired effect of spurring me on during the race and it got me thinking about the words of encouragement we get from and give as marshals - it's certainly better than 'dig in!' or 'you're nearly there', when you're clearly not!

So, the first week of marathon training is complete. Just 17 miles this week but I'm happy with that. I'm feeling quite excited and a little less nervous about the coming weeks now week one is out of the way. I've registered for a new series of six weeks of enhanced training sessions run by Bradford Athletics Network, similar to one I did at the end of last year, which should really help with speedwork and running efficiency.

It certainly helps that the training for London Marathon starts at the beginning of a New Year when everything feels fresh and new so it's an obvious time to set new goals. At the end of last year everything went to pot a bit running wise, and I've also managed to put on four pounds over the festive period (not undeserved - a lot of investment went into that!). I know the jury's out on the extent to which weight can impact on performance but I've been reading a book called 'Racing Weight. How to get lean for peak performance', a Christmas present, (were they trying to tell me something?) which reckons that weight is key to running performance. I think I agree with this from my own experience over the summer when I found that racing got a lot easier when I was a stone lighter. So, it's back on the diet for me as of yesterday.

Fourteen weeks to go today...