Week one of my training plan has been completed, and I don't think I've ever appreciated a Sunday as a day of rest quite as much as today! I went out running 4 mornings of the week, and have covered 27km which I am pleased with. I've never done any kind of regular endurance training before and this is easily the furthest I have ever ran in a week. Although this would be fairly standard for most recreational runners. I also played football yesterday, we lost 1-0 in what was a very close game. I was expecting to be walking round for most of the match unable to run, however I managed to keep a good pace going for the entire match which is something positive to take away from it, and hopefully my running will lead to improvements on the football pitch as well. Fingers crossed.
The morning runs have been cold, which I expected, but also very windy, which I hadn't! Tuesday morning being the worst, the first half of my run was almost all in to a head wind making it rather difficult. I should be receiving a bit of money this week after my Vauxhall Corsa was scrapped, so I am hoping to get some new kit (windproof jacket, running lycra tights and gloves) to battle the elements in the coming weeks.
I've also managed to come up with a breakfast plan before and after a run. I usually head to breakfast at 7.45 to eat a banana and a small bowl of yogurt, giving me a good balance of carbohydrates and water just before exercise, and prepare a bacon and egg sandwich to eat straight after I finish my run, to deliver protein and carbohydrates post-exercise. And all free as I am in catered halls. Just need to make sure I remember to throw away any uneaten food or it makes my room smell.
One thing I have learned from my first weeks training. Train hard, Rest easy. Making the most of R&R is very important to good quality training and performance. As promised, here is my fundraising page set up through Virgin Money Giving, so if you would like to sponsor me it would be greatly appreciated!
A good week, thanks for reading.
Hello and welcome to my Blog, I will be using this page to keep you all up to date with my preparation and training for the London Marathon on the 17th April 2011.
I am very excited to be running on behalf of a fantastic charity called HOPEHIV, if you are interested in the work which they do then please visit their website (www.hopehiv.org). I will also seek to inform you about the charity in some of my Blog posts. If you would like to sponsor me then please visit my fundraising page using the link below:
I will try to keep this updated each week between now and the big day.