So today was the long run day and I had a set back before it even began. When I went to bed last night I was so anxious about sleeping that it actually made it hard for me to get to sleep.

When I woke up this morning I did not feel that bad but found myself looking for an excuse not to run. I had to convince myself that if I did not run today then I would be too far behind with my training.

So I made sure I had a few dates before running, took some with me and took a bottle of water with me to keep me hydrated.

I tried a new route today as well, running around a few streets to take the long way to get to Finsbury Park and then running around the park a few times.

I enjoyed running in a different location and found my energy levels were fine during the race but I did a stupid thing, about halfway through the run I started to feel some discomfort in my left shin but I decided to keep going, now there is a lingering dull ache.

Keep my marathon efforts on track by donating to the Samaritans here or text 'MASP81 £15' to 70070 to donate £15​

On top of this I am also feeling some pain in my right knee on walking and generally feel like my body is not wanting to do this. I am starting to come to the realisation that I really don’t want to do this marathon but I have committed to the charity so I am going to get round one way or another.

Right now I am thinking of keeping the training light and then walking on the day, the distance in terms of my cardio ability does not feel difficult but it is the physical stress I am putting my body under. I actually think that I do not have the strength to cope with what a marathon demands. I do not really mind that but I am looking forward to when it is over!

So my first plan is to see a podiatrist as my toe is not getting any better and then I am going to see an osteopath to sort out the major problems I seems to be developing.

The other thing I need to consider is that if I am going to walk the marathon then I am going to look at endurance building exercises that will put less stress on my body and mean that my running/walking is actually easier.

My diet for this day was the following:

Pre-Run and During Run Snacks - Dates

I had 3 or 4 about 15 minutes before my run and then 10 during the run.

Post-Run Snack - Rice Cake & Nut Butter

When I started running my last couple of km all I could think about was food, and what I would eat when I got home. Rather than raiding my fridge I decided to have something small and then have a big breakfast after yoga.

Breakfast - Coffee Shop Trip

So I said I was hungry and for breakfast I had 2 pieces of toast, croissant & jam, carrot cake and a soya latte. I am fairly certain this is not the kid of breakfast I should be eating but I just couldn’t stop myself. My nutrition has got so poor since I have started this marathon training!

Lunch - Roast

When I say lunch this meal really comes in between lunch and dinner. I had a good does of vegan protein, loads of veg and a few roast potatoes. It left me so full up that I did not want to eat anything else for the rest of the day.

Snack - Chocolate

As with most evenings I had some dark chocolate.

I was so tired and achy when it came to going to be I could not be bothered to do my yoga and meditation and just got into bed and went to sleep.

Marathon Countdown