Week 4 and the first month complete!

There is part of me that still can't quite believe I'm writing this. I've just completed week 4 of my London Marathon training! This week has consisted of 4 runs and 2 yoga classes and another painful trip to my osteopath/masseur.

I started the week with a 7.30am Core Flow class at Good Vibes Glow Yoga. This was a pretty tough start to the week. My core strength needs some work and this class tested it to the maximum. The teacher, Choi, is brilliant. Really supportive and friendly, you're never made to feel stupid if you can't get into a pose or hold it for long, just encouraged to do what you can. I'm going to make this particular class part of my regular routine as I know it's one that will really do me good.

Tuesday started with another yoga class. This time a Foundation class with Nahid, the owner of Good Vibes and the founder of Glow Yoga. I love coming to these classes, Nahid is a fantastic teacher and brings humour to the class - something I've not associated with yoga before. This class was at a much slower pace but encourages you to think about your alignment. We held a lot of the poses for longer than in other classes which made it quite challenging, in a different way. I'm so glad I've found Glow Yoga - I'm really enjoying it.

Tuesday evening saw the return of Boutique Running Club which is now starting from the Good Vibes studio in Fitzrovia. We did a 5K run from the studio up to Regent's Park and around the Inner Circle - this was a lot better than dodging tourists in Covent Garden as we used to do. It was great to see the Boutique ladies again and particularly good to catch up with Dash who is running the Brighton half and full marathons this year. We exchanged stories of Christmas and New Year training, compared new trainers and swapped stretching tips to avoid the various niggles that we're both experiencing. Next week we're doing the Outer Circle of Regent's Park which will be about a 7K run. I'm looking forward to it.

Wednesday morning was interval morning. The plan said I needed to run 4 miles so I did the interval session with Audio Fuel and then a recovery mile at the end. Although the fastest intervals are tough I really enjoy these sessions now, the coaching on the tracks is great and the time just flies past. The other thing that made this session so good was the absolutely beautiful sunrise that I saw on the way home. Just stunning!

Thursday morning was a gentle 3 mile run. I decided to run this easy as my legs were feeling tired, this is often the case by my Thursday run. I was really pleased to get home and find out that it was my fastest run on a Thursday since I started marathon training. Progress!

Friday was a rest day and time for another trip to my osteopath/sports masseur. My calves have been very tight since I've had my new trainers and orthotics - I am aware that my running gait has changed, hopefully for the better, but it's making my calves work in a way they're not used to. Most of the session was spent on some painful deep tissue massage - it's amazing how much lighter my calves felt afterwards. I've also been given some different stetches to do so hopefully this will start to resolve itself. It seems to be one thing after another at the moment!

My long run this week was 9 miles. I decided to do something a bit different and run into Central London rather than just around Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs. It was a beautiful sunny day but very cold. I went out in my new running Tee from Run Rabbit which I thought was particularly appropriate for the run.

The route took me past Tower Bridge, through the City to St Pauls, up Fleet Street to Aldwych, up the Strand to Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and past Horseguards along the bottom of St James' Park, over Westminster Bridge and past Big Ben and then back along the Southbank before crossing Southwark Bridge and making my way back to Tower Bridge and then home. What a great route! I'd not taken into account the amount of times I would need to stop to cross the road at traffic lights, or the number of tourists that I'd need to dodge, so it took me longer than I would have liked. However, it's the farthest I've run since the Great South Run back in October and it felt good to get this kind of distance back in my legs.

So that's it - week 4 and the first month complete. 5 weeks until the Brighton Half Marathon and just 14 weeks until the Virgin London Marathon 2012!

Miles this week = 19.1

Total milage so far = 65.3