Week 17 complete - the start of taper madness

So this is the end of week 17 and I am now well and truely into the taper. Just one week from now I will have completed the Virgin London Marathon!

My training this week has been very much reduced from weeks gone by. 3 runs of 7, 4 and 6 miles and a couple of yoga classes. The runs have been OK in general although I have started to worry that I've not done a really long run in a couple of weeks. Apparently this worrying is totally natural and part of the 'taper madness' that can set in at this point.

On Sunday I went out dressed in my marathon kit to try it all out together for one last time before the day. You may have seen my flourescent vest in a previous post but I have decided that if I've got to wear colour then I may as well completely embrace that so I'm going for an 80s inspried fluoro look on the day.

At least my family should be able to pick me out in the crowd!

I decided to run part of the marathon route on Sunday and made my way to The Highway to run miles 14-18 around the Isle of Dogs. As I was running along The Highway I saw a lorry which was delivering these at the side of the road

The barriers which will eventually line the route! Although I know that the day is really near now, seeing things like this still stop me in my tracks and make me feel sick with nerves and excitement.

So there are now less than 7 days to go until the day that I've been training for for the last 4 months. Part of me can't wait, part of me is starting to feel a little sad that this training will soon be over and so will the day. But I'm trying to keep that part at the back of my mind so that I can enjoy the build up and make sure I'm in the best shape that I can be for the day itself. This week involves a small amount of running but mainly a lot of rest and eating. I'm pretty sure I can handle that!

I'm absolutely delighted to report that I've also reached my fundraising minimum target and have met my Golden Bond pledge for my charity. It has always been my aim to have been at this point before the day of the race and I'm incredibly grateful to everyone that has sponsored me and made this a reality.

I have increased my target as I'd like to raise as much as possible for the charity which I think is a very worthy cause. If you'd like to support me by sponsoring me please visit www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Jones12

Thank you!

Thinking Slimmer - an update

Today something happened which had you told me about a year ago I would have laughed in your face. My Thinking Slimmer and running journey has been featured in BodyFit magazine

To say I'm chuffed would be an understatement and it made me think about how far I've come on my Thinking Slimmer journey. With the London Marathon less than two weeks away I thought it would be good to review my progress towards my current Thinking Slimmer goals.

Goal One - to train for and complete the London Marathon 2012

Although the marathon itself is still 12 days away I know that I have trained well and done everything I could have done to put me in the best position to be able to complete the race on the day. I have never been concerned with how long it will take me, as a first timer this is all about completing the distance, enjoying the experience and finishing with a smile on my face.

I know now from the training that I have done that I will definitely finish on the day, even if I have to crawl the last few miles. That's an amazing feeling for someone who only started running around this time last year.

Goal Two - to be wearing size 12 running gear by the time of the marathon

This one gets a great big tick. I now have a couple of running tops and two pairs of running capris in a size 12. On the day I will be wearing a size 12 top underneath my charity running vest.

Now the crazy thing is that I am still pretty much the same weight as when I ran the Great South Run back in October - give or take a few pounds. But these photos ought to illustrate the change in my size

This one was taken back in October at the Great South Run.

And this was taken last weekend at the Kingston Breakfast Run

The scales haven't moved but I am most definitely smaller!!

Goal Three - To raise £1250 for the Docklands Settlements and meet my Golden Bond pledge

Not all goals with Thinking Slimmer have to be weight related and this one isn't. I have a charity place for the marathon and as part of that I have pledged to raise £1250 for a small East London charity that does community support work in the area that I live.

Thanks to the generosity of family, friends and colleagues my current fundraising total stands at £1180. I am just £70 away from my target with several people who have promised to sponsor me still to donate. I am very confident that I will reach my target, so much so that I have raised my target by £250 and now hope to raise £1500 for what I think is a really worthwhile cause.

So, if you're reading this and have a couple of spare pounds that you could donate to help me towards this new target then please visit http://www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Jones12 and donate securely online.

So I am on track to achieve all of my current goals by marathon day. I've already started to think about what comes next but that's for another day.

For now this is all about the next 12 days and getting to that start line, fundraising target met and in good shape ready to run the London Marathon 2012!

Week 16 - this week I have been mostly.....knackered!

So here I am at the end of week 16 of my training for the London Marathon and there are just two weeks of training left to go before the big day.

This week was the start of the hallowed taper meaning that the mileage of my runs has decreased. Not by much to be honest in the first week of the taper but mentally it's been good to know that the *really* long runs are over and that I have run all the distances left on the plan a good number of times before. There's nothing scary or unknown left to do.

After my 20 miler last Sunday I was pleasantly surprised to wake up on Monday morning and feel pretty much OK. A bit achey but really not that bad considering. I had an appointment with my osteopath in the afternoon which confirmed that I was in pretty good shape given what I had put my body through the day before. Quite a relief.

I felt fine on Tuesday and Wednesday and managed a yoga class and a short 4 mile recovery run. We live pretty much right on the marathon route and on Wednesday morning I saw a sign which made my stomach flip!

On Thursday I started to feel really tired. Like I had no energy at all. All I wanted to do was sleep and eat. Dash told me that it can take the body up to a week to recover from running 20 miles and I put this lethargy down to my body still being in recovery mode.

This general feeling of tiredness continued into Friday but having missed a run on Thursday I decided to drag my sorry legs out for another 4 mile run. We are staying with my mother in law for the Easter weekend so this was a run around a small Staffordshire village and a short way up the Shropshire Union Canal. Very different to my usual running environment!

Although I was tired it was good to get out and stretch my legs and I felt far more energised after the run. Saturday was a rest day and today I have been out for a 6 mile run in the countryside. The plan has a 12 mile run scheduled for today but I'm going to do that on Tuesday once we're home.

I really enjoyed the run today. I rarely run in the country and the views were pretty different to what I experience running in central London!

I'm pleased to say that my fundraising is also going really well, thanks to the generosity of family, friends and colleagues. I'm not quite at my target yet so if you could spare a few pounds to sponsor me I would really appreciate it.

To donate securely online please visit www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Jones12

Thank you!

So although I've been pretty tired for a lot of the week I've still managed to put in a fair few miles. I'm feeling and confident and ready for April 22nd. BRING IT ON!!

My favourite running songs

So on Sunday I ran a  16 mile race on my own. Since I knew that I'd be towards the back of the pack I decided to bring along my mp3 player. I usually listen to music when I'm running on my own, it keeps me going, gives me something to run in time to and when the right song comes on at the right time can give me a lift almost equivalent to having taken an energy gel.

There are some songs on my playlist that always help me to run just that bit faster or help me dig in when things are feeling tough so I thought I'd share those with you

Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over

I remember seeing the documentary on Eddie Izzard when he did his crazy running challenge and this was the soundtrack. How can you not run faster when the song is telling you to?



Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride

An 80s classic which makes me smile as I'm running





The Futureheads - Hounds of Love

One of my favourite ever covers, when this song comes on my feet seem to magically want to move faster.





Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name of

I know this won't be everyone's cup of tea - it's noisy, it's angry and it's sweary. But I love it - it takes me back to my student days and there's nothing better than getting to a tough bit in a run, listening to this track and shouting "**** you I won't do what you tell me" at your legs. Works for me anyway!




Eminem feat Nate Dogg - Till I Collapse

This may be my favourite running track ever - it's especially good when I've hit a rough patch. The first few lines of the lyrics just stop any negative thoughts I'm having and the beat just seems to make my feet move in time with it. One for mile 20 onwards of the marathon I think!

Sometimes you just feel tired, feel weak
And when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up
But you gotta search within you, try to find that inner strength
and just pull that s*** out of you
And get that motivation not to give up, and not be a quitter
No matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face, and collapse




The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

Something a little less shouty to finish with. This song makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It's brilliant.




I am always looking to add to my running music collection so tell me - what's your favourite running track?

Week 15 complete

I'm sitting on my sofa typing this in my recovery compression tights having just completed the longest run of my training for the London Marathon. There are now just 3 weeks to go before the big day and I'm now feeling ready and confident that I will make it around those 26.2 miles one way or another.

When I first looked at my training plan back in October this week was always the one that I stared at in disbelief and wondered how on earth I'd be able to do it. But 15 weeks of training and it's done. To be fair I've not done all the runs that were scheduled this week as I thought it was more important to rest my legs for today but what's 5 miles these days between friends?

This week has been all about building up to the 20 miler. I have run all my long runs so far on my own and at times it's been pretty difficult. So when of of the girls that I've met via Boutique Sport mentioned the 16 mile Kingston Breakfast Run to me I thought it would be a good way to run the majority of my longest run with other people around me. My parents live a convenient 4 miles away from Kingston so my plan was to run the 16 mile race and then run back to their house.

So Saturday evening saw me waving goodbye to Mr J and heading to Surbiton to spend a sober Saturday night at my parent's house. The alarm was set for 6am so I could get up and have my porridge and banana in time for it to have digested before the race which was due to start at 8.35am. It's been really warm all week but had cooled dow quite a lot on Saturday so I had packed both long and short sleeved options to decide between on Sunday morning.

I woke up bright and early, made breakfast and tried to decide what to wear. It was frosty but the sun was coming up and the sky looked pretty clear. I decided while I might be a bit cold to begin with that short sleeves were probably the best way to go. I'd rather be a bit chilly than too warm when I'm running.

My Mum and Dad were also up early so that my Dad could drive me into Kingston in plenty of time for the start of the race. It was strange being at the start of a race on my own. Previously Mr J has come with me and I've been meeting other people before the start but this time it was just me on my own. Runners are a friendly lot though and it wasn't long before I was chatting to a fellow marathon trainee about gels, the weather (it was much colder than I'd expected) and training the general.

The 8 mile race went off at 8am followed by the 16 mile sub 2hr women, then the 16 mile men and then finally me with the rest of the 16 mile women at 8.35. As I was continuing running after the race I had decided to run with my Nathan hydration rucksack so I had plenty of water and somewhere to put my bits and pieces while I ran.

There were two cut off times for the race, one at halfway of 1hr 40mins and 3.5hrs for the whole distance. I knew that I could make the halfway cut off in time but wanted to give myself a bit of breathing space by putting in a fast first few miles. Which is exactly what I did. By 4 miles in I knew that I had done enough to get around within the cut off comfortably.

The course was lovely, running along the side of the Thames on a bright and chilly morning, perfect running weather. On the first lap I felt pretty comfortable, I was averaging sub 12 minute miles and it felt good. I knew that at some point I would pay for it though as I can't keep up that pace over longer distances. I was prepared for having to slow down later in the race.

At around about 6 miles I was passed by the first of the fast men who were on their second lap and on their way to the finish line. It was amazing to watch them run past at a speed I can only dream of. Before long I was approaching the end of the first lap and was pleased to see that I'd made the time cut off with 5 mins to spare.

I slowed my pace straight away for the second lap. I knew that I needed to or my legs would want to give up on me later on. By this time the field had thinned out a lot. I knew that I'd be among the slower runners and was a bit concerned that I'd be last, but that wasn't the case. By the time I got to 10 miles I was feeling quite tired and was walking for more of each mile. Thankfully I'd put in enough faster miles that I knew I'd still make it around in plenty of time.

I eventually crossed the finish line in around 3hrs and 15 minutes - I was delighted with the time given that I was running on my own. I had my mp3 player on the whole way around and that definitely kept me moving at times when it felt tough. I collected my mug - there are no medals for this race and then a well stocked goody bag. I stopped for a couple of minutes to re-arrange the contents of my rucksack and make room for everything and then headed off for my parents.

Stopping turned out to be a bad idea. My hamstrings siezed up and felt really tight. I stopped to stretch them out which helped a bit but I found it very difficult to get running again. So I walked for most of miles 16-18. Then, after a few jellybeans and with my hamstrings warmed up again I found enough energy to run for some of mile 19 and 20. Those last 4 miles were really tough physically and I knew I was paying the price for my early pace.

I arrived back at my parent's house feeling exhausted and ready to collapse. When I did my 19 mile run two weeks ago, which had been far more evenly paced, I felt as if I could have continued. Not today. It was a really good lesson in pacing and something I need to be very careful about on April 22nd. Had I needed to complete another 6.2 miles today I would have done so but they would have been very tough. Much better to get to mile 20 feeling like I have something left in the tank for the last push.

So that's it - the longest run of my training done and I must admit I'm quite relieved. I now enter the hallowed taper where the mileage decreases to give my body time to rest and prepare for the big day.

Just 3 weeks away now! I know I've trained well and I'm ready which is a great confidence boost heading into the final 3 weeks of training, Bring it on!

Week 14 done

So today marks the end of week 14 of my training for the London Marathon. It's been a frustrating week for me. Having finished last week on a real high having run 19 miles relatively comfortably, this week feels like a bit of a come down. I've had a cold for most of the week meaning that I've been feeling quite rubbish and under the weather and that's had an impact on the training that I've been able to do. But I want to finish the week on a positive note as I head into the final four weeks of training so I'm going to focus on the good things that have happened this week, rather than dwell on the training that I've missed.

So despite having a cold I've managed two runs, a yoga class and a Powerplates class. Not too shabby really. The first of the runs was with Boutique Running Club on Tuesday and was the fastest 4.2 miles I have ever run in my life with two sub 10.30 minute miles back to back. It's great to see my speed increasing on these runs - I seem to be able to run much faster, more comfortably when I'm with other people.

On Tuesday my charity running vest arrived back from the printers. Here's me modelling it - it's a fetching shade of neon green, not what I would have chosen to run in at all but it's all in support of my charity so I can't complain.

At least I'll be clearly visible!


On Wednesday this arrived

It's my running number for the Whole Foods Kingston Breakfast Run next weekend. It's a 16 mile run which starts and finishes in Kingston town centre which is about 4 miles away from my parents house. I'm going to take part in the race and then run back to their house afterwards. I figured it was a good way to have some company for most of my longest training run!

And then on Thursday the most exciting delivery of all. The final London Marathon magazine and confirmation of my running number!

I must admit to being quite pleased with the James Bond themed running number I've been allocated!

I've read bits and pieces from the magazine, which has all the information that I need to know about what to do on the day itself (on top of running 26.2 miles!) and felt quite giddy with excitement while doing so.

I am also now 75% of the way to my fundraising target which is a brilliant result with four weeks to go. I need to raise another £305 to get to my target so if you're able to help me get one step closer I'd really appreciate it. You can donate securely online here http://www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Jones12

So while this week hasn't been great from a training perspective it's actually been pretty exciting. I'm now feeling much better and ready to get into week 15, the last week of full on training before the plan starts to taper.

This now feels very real indeed.

Four weeks today I will run the London Marathon!

Week 13 complete - phew!

Yesterday I completed week 13 of my training for the London Marathon by doing my longest run ever of 19 miles. It felt like a massive achivement, not just in that I completed that distance but in that I felt that I could have kept going at the end. A massive confidence boost with just 5 weeks to go before the big day.

But, I need to be honest and tell you something....I will be quite pleased once this training is over and the day itself is here. I think I've got to the point where I know I'm going to make it around one way or another and I'm getting a bit tired of running, thinking about running, stretching after running, eating before and after running, feeling tired from the running and planning what I'm going to wear when I'm running. 

Don't get me wrong, I still love running and the way it makes me feel but right now I feel like my body and my brain have been taken over by training for the marathon. I will be very happy to get back to running because I want to, not because a plan says I should.

So with that off my chest, back to last week. It was a funny week in that I'd done my long run from the week before on the Monday, as we'd been away. I also had to travel with work on Tuesday and Wednesday which always makes things that bit more difficult. I planned to go to my usual Tuesday night run with the ladies of Boutique Running Club but come Tuesday afternoon I felt so tired from Monday that I decided my body needed rest much more than it needed a relatively quick 4 mile run.

On Wednesday afternoon I managed to fit in a run after work, the plan said it should have been 9 but I knew my legs didn't have that in them so I decided just to do 5 instead. During this run I was chased by a dog for the first time ever. I'm not a massive fan of dogs and this one looked quite mean - it was a Staffordshire bull terrier I think

I saw it looking at me and had an inkling about what was going to happen next and sure enough as I ran past it started running after me. It caught up with me really quickly at which point I squealed like a girl and it's owner finally realised what was going on and shouted at the dog which backed off straight away. I'm sure it was just being curious but it's safe to say I didn't enjoy the experience!

On Thursday morning I got up early and did a quick intervals session - my legs still felt quite tired so again I didn't do the mileage as stated in my plan. On Friday lunchtime I fitted in another 4 miles - just to keep my legs ticking over before the 'big one' on Sunday.

On Saturday I went to a 2hr Yoga for Runners workshop at http://www.goodvibesfitness.co.uk/. It was a brilliant session that I really enjoyed and learned a lot from. We started by looking at some joint mobilising movements that can be done before a run and then at some key post run stretches. Some of these were completely new to me and are things that I will definitely add into my stretching repertoire from now on.

We moved through some yoga poses which are particularly good for runners, poses that strengthen and stretch hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes and quads. My particular favourite was pigeon which provides a fantastic stretch for the hip flexors and glutes!

We ended the class with some relaxation and visualisation techniques which I could see could really help before and during a race. The teacher also shared tips on nutrition and hydration and I felt the class feeling stretched, strengthened and more knowledgable - not bad for a 2 hr class.

It's fair to say that for most of the week I have been thinking about the long run. It was scheduled to be 18 miles, the second longest distance in the plan. My longest run previous to this had been 16 miles and I had struggled from about 10 miles on and pretty much walked the last few miles,so I was quite concerned about how this was going to be. I'd mapped out my route, added some 1990s rock tracks to my running playlist, had a very sensible Saturday night with a carb laden dinner and gone to bed at a reasonable time. Full marks for preparation.

On Sunday morning I woke up at 7am, made my porridge and banana, ate it and then went back to bed for an hour or so while it went down. By 9.30am I was dressed and prepared and ready to run. Mentally I was feeling pretty good, I can never tell how I'm going to be physically until I get going. I set off feeling OK but quickly realised that it was going to be one of those days when the first few miles feel really hard. By mile 4 I was seriously wondering whether I would make it to 10 miles, let alone 18. I had an energy gel - a Powerbar gel with caffeine (which are now rivalling High 5s as my favourite), and suddenly things clicked into place. The next few miles felt relatively easy and before I knew it I was over 10 miles.

By this point I was walking for around 2 minutes every 10 and sometimes a bit more. I have realised that I am not going to be able to do my 9 and 1 routine for the whole of the marathon and that 8 and 2 becomes a lot more comfortable after about 9-10 miles. For me, the marathon has always been about getting around with a smile on my face, enjoying the experience. If that means I have to walk a bit more then so be it.

By 14 miles I was heading for home and feeling pretty good. My legs were a bit tired but nothing like they had been on my 16 miler and I was able to run for a bit more of each mile. Some of my 1990s rock tunes chose to play themselves at great points on the route - I never imagined I'd run past St Paul's cathedral listening to Enter Sandman or past the Tower of London with Killing in the Name of ringing in my ears!

By the time my Garmin ticked over to 18 miles I realised that I was still a mile from home and feeling good. I decided to keep going and decided that I would run the whole of the last mile. And so I did. The amazing thing was that as the Garmin showed 19 miles I felt that I could have kept going. It was a fantastic feeling.

At the start of this training I had trouble visualising how far 16 or 18 or 19 miles was. This map of my run shows exactly how far 19 miles will take you - I love how far out it is zoomed to be able to fit it on the page!

Today I have been to see my osteopath for a regular 'maintenance' check and am delighted that despite running 19 miles yesterday I have no significant issues. My recovery routine, yoga and stretching are obviously working well for me and giving me the best possible chance of getting to that starting line in good shape.

The starting line which is now less than 5 weeks away!

I'm raising money for a great little East London charity and would really appreciate your support - if you are able to help me towards my fundraising target that would be fantastic - you can donate securely online by following this link http://www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Jones12 Thank you!