Week 11 - Done!

So here I am at the end of week 11 of my London Marathon training and I'm pretty proud to report that I can now run 16 miles! Well, I can now complete 16 miles, most of it running is probably a more accurate statement. Either way, it feels like a significant achievement.

This week has been a week of lessons learned for me. Here are some of the things I've discovered this week:

* My Adidas Supernova Glide trainers are not providing my feet with as much support as my Brooks Ghost 4. I think this may have contributed to the ankle twisting incident last week. 

* My knees hurt after wearing my Adidas trainers on a long run. This has never happened with my Brooks

* These two points above are making me wonder whether the Adidas trainers really are right for me. I've decided not to wear them for long runs anymore and may try them again on a couple of shorter runs before deciding whether or not to ditch them all together. It will be annoying if I have to do this as I've only had them for a month. It's just not worth the risk of picking up an injury though if they're really not right for me.

* It took me 2 days to recover properly from my 15 mile run last Monday.  I felt the difference of not doing a yoga class the next day - I think they really help.

* My Deuter rucksack can hold 15 litres, however, I can't run with it on my back if I fill it up completely, it's far too heavy and uncomfortable on my back!

* I like jelly beans as a fuel for my long runs. They're definitely going to be part of my fuelling strategy on April 22nd

* It is possible to complete 16 miles when you've only had about 3 hours sleep. It's really not easy, but it is possible

* My Nathan hydration rucksack is super comfortable to run with, I'm really impressed with it. So much so that here's a picture of me with it on, ready to go out for my 16 mile run wearing my new pink Ronhill top - did I mention it was a size 12? ;-)

So 11 weeks in and a 15 and 16 miler complete in the same week and my total training mileage has now tipped over the 200 mile mark. There's just 7 weeks to go now until the big day and that makes me feel a mixture of nervous, excited and a tiny bit sick at the same time. I only have two more runs to do that will take me beyond distances that I've covered before - an 18 and a 20 miler in 2 and 4 weeks respectively. This is one of the things that makes me nervous but I know my plan has been used by thousands of others to successfully complete their first marathon and I need to trust that it will also work for me.

For the last few weeks for a variety of reasons I've not been able to stick ridgidly to my plan on weekdays but this week I intend to follow it to the letter. I'm also going to add in a Powerplates class as I feel like I need to do some additional strength work and this will really help.

Next week is classed as a stepback week in that my long run is cut back to less mileage - just 12 miles on the plan for the weekend. Listen to me -  "just 12 miles" - I can't quite believe that I typed that but that is genuinely how it feels. How things have changed over this last 11 weeks!!

I am also delighted to report that I've now raised over £800 for my charity, thanks to the generosity of family, friends and colleagues. I still have a way to go to reach my fundraising target though so if you were able to sponsor me and help to get me get one step closer to my target I'd be incredibly grateful. To donate securely online please visit https://www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Jones12 Thank you in advance for your support - I really appreciate it.