Day 1 - Training Blog 25th December 2012

Day 1 Training Blog

25th December 2012

Here we go again! 

New challenge of 30 marathons in 30 consecutive days from Edinburgh to London visiting all the Teenage Cancer Trust Units in Scotland, England and Wales starts on 23rd March and finishes with the Virgin London marathon on April 21st.

I have kept a reasonable amount of running going but no distance running since the first week of September! So as its Christmas day I thought it would be a good day to start training up with a marathon! My girls are now 17 and 21 but still love Christmas and up early! Very enjoyable couple of hours and my first bowl of Scotts porridge with a banana and honey consumed followed by a few stretches and I am good to go. My route today is from Kings Langley along the A41 to Tring then right at The Robin Hood through the lanes to Long Marston up to Aston Abbotts, right towards Leighton Buzzard then left to Wing, through Wing to Soulbury, through Soulbury and down to the 3 Locks Pub, turn left to Stoke Hammond and the finish at my Father in laws for Christmas dinner, about 27 miles. Good way to build up an appetite! Started ok piddling with rain, felt good for the first 10k to Bourne End, felt it a bit more to the half marathon point just past Tring, legs tightened up with each step up to 30k last 12k of the marathon distance felt like I had never run before! Right calf very sore over the last 5k push and first training marathon complete just before Stoke Hammond in a very tough but pleasing 3'25"20. A tough 3k run from there to my Christmas dinner, felt great to have completed a marathon again. Having never run distance before September '11, I was worried if I would be able to pick it up again and get my mind on it properly. I have had a few long runs planned over the last few months but have not managed to get to them due to work commitments! Anyway job done, big reminder of how hard it is doing distance running and how big the task is of 30 in 30! Felt a bit dicky for an hour or so afterwards but soon felt ok and managed a bottle or two of red wine, a few beers and a lot of food, on my way home at gone 1am feeling a bit dicky again! Enjoying a few drinks over Christmas but looking forward to training full on with no alcohol from Jan 1st.