I thought one of the best ways to keep you updated with my training the the London Marathon would be to write a daily post about my training and my progress. It is now about two and a half weeks since I had a place confirmed but in all honesty I have actually be training for longer than that in the hope that I would get a place.
Now I know I will definitely be running it I am not only terrified but also super excited.....
My training has now started to get serious and I need to work on upping my distance week on week. So that you know on the Saturday just gone I ran 17km in just under 2 hours so I’m making good progress.
I also need to get serous about my fundraising! I am aiming to raise £5000 for the Samaritans and you can help me out by visiting my Just Giving Page​ or text 'MASP81 £10' to 70070 to donate £10.
This morning my training schedule saw me running 7km and after doing 17km a couple of days ago I thought this would be easy. How wrong I was!
The problem today was not really physical but more mental. I found I had to fight my brain the whole time and just keep pushing. This actually led me to running faster than I had planned which is also not ideal.
It is probably worth mentioning that I have started running outside as well which is such a different experience to running in the gym. Not only is the ground different, the temperature much colder but in London it means getting stared at by people that think running at 6:30am is some sort of weird torture. I can sympathise.
As is standard when I finish my run I do my daily yoga practice. The intensity of this practice is usually determined by my training schedule but some days, like today, when I am feeling more tired I make it a bit lighter.
There are some things I include every practice and these include hamstring stretches (obvious really) which I do to work into the calf and Achilles’ too. I always do some pelvic tilts and general core work with some focus on hip stability. There is always a Pigeon, to stretch my outer hip, legs up the wall to give my feet a break, some simple twisting and a nice relaxation.
After getting my stretching done I usually go over to the gym to chill out in the sauna and steam room and get myself ready for the day. I seriously needed it today and seemed to spend far longer relaxing then I had planned.
Finally after all that I get to my breakfast and believe me I was seriously hungry this morning. I try and eat most of my carbohydrates in the morning so that I can get the energy back into my body and then reduce the amount throughout the day.
As part of my daily posts I will include what I eat throughout the day so you can see, good and bad, exactly how I’m fuelling myself through my training.
Breakfast - Sugar Free Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal
This is one of my own creations and believe me is the perfect way to start the day. It keeps me going for much longer than you would think.
To make it you need:
- 35g/1/3 Cup Rolled Oats
- 250ml/1 Cup Almond or Soy Milk (plus extra for serving)
- 75g/1/2 Cup Blueberries1 tbs Ground Flaxseed
- 1 tbs Almond Nut Butter (can sub for any nut butter of choice)
- 1 tbs Coconut Butter (sometimes I sub for 2 tbs desiccated coconut, it depends what I have)
- 2 tsp Xylitol
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Baobab or Lucuma powder (optional)
To make it all you need to do is put everything in a saucepan, bring to the boil, mix well and simmer until thickened. Oats can be eaten raw or cooked anyway and they have the same effect on the body so cook to the consistency you like. (My mum likes it liquidised, a bit like baby food - each to their own.) If you know cooking is something you will not have time for mix all the ingredients in a large jar and leave in the fridge overnight and eat cold in the morning.
Lunch - Eating Out
I was teaching yoga at lunchtime today and, as I am not very organised, I had to grab something while I was out. I got myself a small hummus and roasted vegetable sandwich. It was just one slice of bread and was really loaded with hummus. I have to admit I did get a bag of Tyrrells Organic Crisps to go with it, a bit naughty but I don’t eat out often.
Snack - Rye Cracker & Nut Butter
No a lot to say about this other than nut butter should just be nuts. Check the ingredients and the best ones say 100% peanuts or almonds or whatever nut you go for.
Dinner - Homemade Stew
I enjoyed having dinner made for me today and it was a seriously hearty stew. Loads of fresh vegetables, white and edamame beans plus some added pearl barley. If I’m honest this is a little bit high on the carbs for me as an evening meal but it is a nice treat and still pretty healthy. I also finished it off by adding some ground sesame seeds before eating.
Evening Snack - 4 squares of dark chocolate.
So there you have it my full day of eating!
Bedtime Ritual
As with most days lately I am off to bed early and always make sure I do 10-5 minutes of restorative yoga, which usually means just lying on a bolster, following my breathing, a bit more legs up the wall and more breathing. I follow this up with a 10 minute guided meditation. Once all this is done I’m so relaxed I just literally crawl into bed, turn the light off and go to sleep, ready to get up nice and early tomorrow.
Just as a little side note on my training. Physically I am finding it not too bad, the only problem I’m having right now is my left big toe is getting saw and I think I might lose the nail soon which makes me cringe every time I think about it. Plus sticking to feet problems, they have started to smell, not nice I know but it seems to be a side effect to the running. I’m sure once my feet get used to it they will balance themselves out.
Have a lovely evening and I will check in tomorrow with an update.
SUPPORT MY EFFORTS
I am running the London Marathon in order to support the Samaritans. As someone who has experienced my dad committing suicide I know the real harm it can do to an entire family. The more we can raise the more people can be helped and the number of lives this affects is enormous.
