Having put DIM-Lanza race to rest I can now concentrate on my next target – the London Marathon, on 17 April. I’m hoping to stretch to a finishing time of 2hr44. This would be a decent PB and enable me to line-up on the championship/elite start line in the following two years.

Since I didn’t complete the double marathon segment of the double ironman, I have been able to get straight back into my training after just one recovery week. I was pleasantly surprised just how strong I’ve been this week and my two mara-spec sessions showed I’ve not lost anything. In fact I seem to be quicker/more efficient than I was before xmas! A couple of things have contributed to this. First of all I’m lighter. I weighed in at 69.0-69.5kg on return from Lanza. I’m now 69.5-70.0kg, which is still the lowest weight I’ve recorded in any previous year (prior to Ironman and DIM racing). The second is my abstinence of alcohol since New Years Eve, which has also kept the weight down.

WEEK 7 session 1 – 12miles @ 6:29/mile pace
Session 2 – 20miles (10m @ 7:25/m and 10m @ 6:45/m)
Session 3 – 2hrs off-road/hilly run @ tempo
Session 4 (optional) – long off-road run, depending on…

…an annoying little injury. It’s not one I’ve had before, probably Intersection or De Quervain syndrome above the right wrist. It’s a popular one with skiers and comes about from excessive use of the wrist under pressure. I picked it up from the double ironman – 224miles on the tri-bars! Just like 90% of my injuries and niggles I train through them at first (with occasional assistance from compression, ice and nsaids) and hope the body sorts itself out. If doesn’t fix itself and/or gets worse then I increase the treatment and head to the GP or local physio. Here’s a pic taken yesterday. It feels a bit more tender today and the hand is a little more swollen. At least it’s a new injury, so from a coaching point of view it’s good to learn from first-hand(!) experience.

Anyway, getting back to the marathon training. I have been reading Advanced Marathoning and trying out the training guidelines therein. I have a friend who’s about the same standard in running terms as me who has achieved 2 x <2hr45 at the London Marathon in recent years by following the programming in this book. It’s pretty basic with it’s guidelines and of course I have to pick and choose sessions to fit around my swimming and cycling. But with the current injury I’m going to be limited in terms of swimming and cycling for at least another couple of weeks.

I currently have the following races lined up as stepping stones to the London Marathon on 17 April:

5 March – Sri Chinmoy 10mile (Battersea Park). I haven’t decided on this race yet, but based on current form it would make a good training session and potentially a new PB.
27 March – Kingston Breakfast (16mile) Run. This is the major race pre-London Marathon. It’s a decent surface and flat, so will provide me with the data I need to pace the Marathon three weeks after.
30 March – CSSC 10km Road Champs. I won’t be 100% but I’d like to get a decent 34min time in.
17 April – London Marathon

In order to get a <2hr45 time at the London Marathon I’ll need to pace to 6:18/mile.  First step is to get around 1hr35 or better at the Kingston Breakfast Run (<6:00/mile).  That will mean I’m on course.