My Marathon training starts here in central London.
Very exciting to run along iconic places in the city I live and will run my first Marathon in.
I will pass landmarks and run along parks which I will later on revisit in the actual VLM race. That is my city and I love living here every day.
Green Park Station: After my long run, on my way back to work.
Well known for its exquisite Afternoon Tea:
The Ritz Hotel
Quickly I would like to summ up my regular running habits and also to give a bit of a heads up for my “How and Why ” training decisions.
Committing to a Marathon means being able to run 42km.
Around October 2014 I knew I will run the London Marathon 2015 but at that time I couldn’t imagine how to manage it. My mind was not ready and I was a bit concerned about the long distance as I only ran a Half Marathon once. The reason why I ran the Oxford Half Marathon in October 2014, was a test and to see how I feel, just in case I would get the London Marathon.
Christmas and New Years I spent in Germany with my family and also kept running. We have a running club in Frankfurt and I found out that they have their yearly New year’s run. Good timing so I signed up for a 10km race to test my ability adding another 5k onto my schedule. It was the coldest day -5 degrees C. but absolutely beautiful running though the white forest.
Here is my race report about Spiridon Silvester Lauf:
https://www.mylifemychallenges.com/2015/01/finished-spiridon-silvesterlauf.html
Knowing how much work and time I would need to invest and being not a long distance runner, I decided to book sessions with a running expert in my gym. My personal trainier Ed is specialised in running and he will also run the London one himself. In the first few sessions he assest me and identified my weaknesses.
The right leg and hip is weaker than the other side. I learnt exercises to individually strengthen each side for example single leg dead lift was one of them. If you have weaknesses better get them identified that might prevent you from injuries.
My goal is to have an injury free training and being able to enjoy training and the race as much as I can. Personal training was the right choice. Running I have to do myself but knowledge and guidance from an expert is key for a challenge that will have a mayor impact on your body.
Italian Garden at Hyde Park running direction to Lancaster Gate
WEEK 01 & 02
Run 4 days a week with a gym strengthening session in-between. Personally I added on some Yoga classes on the weekend and a swimming class on Tuesday.
In those 2 weeks it was important to:
- Get the legs used to more running. 4 x a week
- Run different speed sessions @ 10k, Half Marathon race pace
– I found it challenging to hold the pace when I was on the treadmill.
I wanted to stop after the first few minutes as it was too hot and boring in the gym.
- Get your mind into the running mood
-running on a treadmill is a challenge for your mind but not enjoyable, therefor I
decided to run more outside.
- Feel happy and satisfied by including other sporty activities you like which you could benefit from. I liked Yoga (stretching and strengthening) and swimming (relaxing and using other muscle groups).
Overall these two weeks were very good to get started and I could manage them very well. The next 2 are looking quite different…