It is Friday after work and I got 2 more nights until my first Half Marathon.
I’m so excited and nervous that the event is finally here, I couldn’t sleep very well last night.
8 weeks ago I decided to sign up for the Oxford Half Marathon, just before my holidays.
The timing was not ideal. It was a challenge, how to fit in training sessions during my holiday:
- Summer holiday in Greece with my family,
- Party weekend in Spain with friends,
- Family and Friends weekend in Germany.
In an ideal runners world you have a training schedule of 12 weeks to build up your muscle endurance and strong mind. I had only 8 weeks to go however I was already going regularly to the gym. When the weather was good I also ran to work and trained with friends from Commando Active in Green Park on the weekends.
On top of that I had a few 10k obstacle races behind me that gave me the confidence to sign up for the Oxford Half.
BLOGGED: London River Rat Race
BLOGGED: The Gladiator Games
I printed a timetable and included the training plan I looked up online, adapted it slightly with my holidays. At the end I had more REST days than usually planned. But that’s how I did it.
- Summer holiday in Greece with my family
Kalamata early morning: I did a few runs along the beach
Enjoying Greek food.
- Party weekend in Spain with friends
Ibiza: One hour steady run along the beach exploring the area.
Passing by a diving school and signed up for the next day!
Ok, yes we had a few drink!
- Family and friends weekend in Germany
Frankfurt: 20 min Interval training in the forest
Back in the UK:
London: Long run in Green Park
Last long run 16k took about 2 hours. (before work)
In my free time I was active and did some strengthening in East London, Brik Lane.
A cool outdoor class called “Flex in the City”.
I ate lots of carbs and vitamins this week. Carb-loading is important. The storage you built up during the week leading up to the race and especially the day before the race will help the endurance. The body will burn and take the energy from the stored carbs first before fat or muscle tissue.
At work, half of the office was ill. I was really concerned to catch something. But vitamins are the key and staying away from the germs. I feel great and positively excited. My longest run was 16k and I’m very keen to find out how I will be able to manage the last 5k on the race day.
Finally the weekend has arrived and I will find out if all my hard work pays off.
I’m traveling to Oxford the day before the race and planning to have a relaxed carb-loaded dinner before an early night.
But before that I have one more 20min jog to complete my training tomorrow. I better go to bed! Night, night!
