This is what I have been doing this afternoon (and also last night);
I have been looking at so many plans (Thanks Rob for the suggestion of getting this month’s runners world mag, I picked it up on my way home yesterday). Out of interest I have also logged my details on the smart coach on the website- this gives me a 16 week plan (it would not go up to 20 which is what I have), although it only gave me 2 runs per week- maybe my half marathon time was too slow!
I am finding it hard, but I am getting closer, and have even started a work document which I am going to print off and tick the runs off week by week. I am trying to plan in advance for when the runs will need to be moved (eg parents evening week, weeks with extra staff meetings and so on) so that I do not have to decide each week, I will just know when my runs will be. I am sticking to the 3 runs per week, and also to the one 20 miler. (I know I keep going on about marathon talk but today the person they interviewed (last UK man to win London marathon) was saying again that newbies and slower runners should look at time on their feet and do a longest run of up to 3.5 hours, which for me would not get close to 20 miles, so I think I am happy in my decision not to do more of the really long ones).
This morning I had decided on 9 miles, as I have been doing the 8.5 ish run for a while and want to take the time to gradually increase. In the end I accidently did 9.6 miles- oops. I thought I knew the route but it turned out it was longer than I thought. I did see a poor little girl forming a phobia- she was being hissed at and chased by some horrible white geese which must have been the same height as her. She was crying and trying to run away but they were chasing her, and the guy with her was not picking her up. I always give those geese a wide berth so no wonder she was upset! My pace again was pretty even, and I even managed to speed up a little towards the end- on average it was 11.14 per mile. I think I might have to slow down a little more as my runs get longer, but we shall see. I want to maintain the same pace all the way through (which I did today) so I am going to see how the training goes. The smart coach has my long runs at a pace of 11.57, which might be more appropriate as they get longer.
I finally got home after 1 hour and 46 minutes, and then had to rush to the post office as I had missed a delivery.
Look what arrived;
A Foam roller
I also painted my nails this afternoon (I never usually use those boots vouchers when they give you £5 off, but it meant that nail varnish was only £2 so I got one, called Beanie, it looks like melted milk chocolate)- this was a good strategy as I really fancied opening a box of christmas chocolates but could not because the varnish was drying haha!
Enjoy the rest of saturday peeps 
Foam rolling is so evil but necessary. It really does aid recovery, especially after running. Mine was invaluable when training for my half marathon.
I wrote a blog entry about the hows and whys of foam rolling and it includes a video – http://www.jagsfitnessblog.com/2010/05/05/foam-rolling-how-why/
Thats brilliant, thanks Jo
I love my foam roller and really need to get back into using it. Like Jo above, mine was invaluable when training for my half. I really needed it to loosen up my IT band which was incredibly tight. Hope you enjoy using it!
I think it will really help as I do get quite stiff,even when I do remember to stretch!
We appear to have the same foam roller
As for the sensation of it, it takes a little getting used to but after a while it’s not so bad, and it’s great for relieving any kind of muscular tension. In addition to Jo’s page, there’s a good post about foam rolling here http://www.beneathitallblog.com/?p=4270
In terms of the training, it sounds like the plan is really stressing you out! Yes, you need a plan but ultimately the marathon is supposed to be a fun and enjoyable experience/challenge. You are clearly a perfectionist so it’ll be in your nature to plan everything rather than just wing it like an idiot as I do, but remember to cut yourself some slack too. And if you miss a run or have to re-schedule, it isn’t the end of the world! It’s about the big picture with marathon training, so please don’t sweat unecessarily over the small stuff. You CAN do this, all you need is some self-confidence about it as opposed to worry.
That experience with the geese sounds exactly like one I had as a child. Scared me to death but I certainly gained a newfound respect for wildlife. And learned that those ‘teeth’ in their bills are sharp and hurt like heck.
Hope you’re having a great week-end
Snap to the foam roller!
Thanks for that comment too- I suppose I panicked a bit and thought that as my training plan started on saturday that I wanted to have it all sorted, and you are right, I will be flexible! I promise!
Foam rolling … apparently the more it hurts the more you needed to use it – OUCH, oh and I usually wait for the kids to go to bed before doing mine ….. never a good thing to see mommy cry
I’ve never run a marathon before (did do moonwalk though) but I think that once you have settled your plan you will feel more settled about achieving it.
Oh no don’t say that!
But does it also mean the more it hurts the more good it is doing? That is what I am telling myself!
Once the plan is sorted I am only going to look at a week at a time, which I think will make me feel more in control and more able to achieve it.
Good job on the run! And awesome that you actually went a little over..not knowing the exact route’s a good way to add a bit a mileage.
Very cool about the foam roller, too!
Love your funky green roller!
It’s definitely true that it only hurts on the bits that need it!
As for method…you know that you need a small child dressed as spiderman in order to do it 100% effectively!
I wouldn’t be without mine now, I’m sure my ITB would have got so tight I wouldn’t be running.
As for the plan, it’s a really good idea to plan in life when doing it. I’ve done that on mine and it’s meant that I’ve booked a couple of afternoons off work to get long runs in when I can’t do them at the weekend. I’m guessing that’s not an option for you though!
Rosexx
I have a sneaky feeling Smartcoach drops you to 2 runs a week not because of pace but because of current mileage. If you put in the next band for current mileage it’ll probably give a 3 a week plan albeit that the third will probably be a 2 mile recovery jog.
All your maratohn planning is v. exciting! It’s interesting thinking about time on your feet instead of actual mileage.. I think that might have been a good strategy for me to follow last year as I got a bit hung up in the milage and think I burnt out a bit right before the race!
Mary- thanks
I was pleased that I managed to add the extra mile on, as I have not increased my distance for ages.
Rose- I told Andy about you getting your child to sit on top! I think if Andy sat on my it might break my legs though! You are right I cant book time off work, but I can arrange things so I leave earlier on certain days etc.
Rob- thanks for the heads up on the smart coach- it did seem to be quite low. I might have another play.
Laura- I have heard a few times now to concentrate on time instead of miles, but I think that if I did my longest run as 3-3.5 hours, then I would maybe cover 15-17 miles, which I think would affect my confidence going into the race. But we shall see!
Wow great run! 9.6 miles is a long way!!
Oooh a foam roller- I’ve been thinking of getting one of those for a while! Where’s yours from?
And what is this marathon talk podcast you like? You’ve got me interested- I want to check it out now!
Hooray! All you do is go to the homepage (www.marathontalk.com) and download the episode. They have all the previous ones so you can listen to them all- they do a new one each week. They last over an hour so are great to listen to while out running.
And I got it from amazon- I put a link in the post
I look forward to the day when I will be able to run nearly 10 miles! Hopefully it won’t be too long but who knows. Good luck with the foam roller, I have seen them on a few blogs but I don’t really know what they are so I look forward to hearing about your experiences.
Thanks Stacey- I am sure it wont be long at all before you can run 10 miles- it is amazing how quickly bodies adapt.