Hi everyone, sorry for the late update but the weeks are flying by!

We made the decision in these last four weeks to cut our runs from four to three per week; after 10 weeks of 5am wake ups it was beginning to take its toll and we made the choice to cut out one morning a week. To be honest, the focus of these last three weeks has been the large runs on the Sundays: 2hrs 30, 2hrs 40 and 2hrs 50, and this weekend will be the longest at 3hr 25 mins.

The first one -2hrs 30 mins – went blindingly! I felt really strong, worked well with my gels and managed to run 14 miles. Admittedly I went over by two mins but there was no way I was going to stop at 13.97 miles! I had my first ever ice bath after this run as my legs were killing me and ice baths are supposedly good for recovery…as well as extremely cold!!!

So I thought to myself: with another 10 minutes I can do 15 miles next week! I headed out feeling confident – perhaps a little too confident! I was jogging along happily imagining what race day might be like, imagining perhaps seeing my family, the guide dog supporters and some April Lodge supporters (Is anyone coming to cheer me on? I need it!) and all of a sudden looked at my watch and realised I was doing 10min 30 sec miles, which is fast for me! I felt okay so I carried on as I was, then I hit mile 7 and everything started to hurt. I swear after that I no longer had legs but concrete bollards that I was dragging along! To make things even more awkward there had been an ‘incident’ in Southend and the police had closed the road so I had to change my route. I only managed 14.4 miles that day and I will admit I came home and had a good old crying tantrum about it, everything hurt and the thought of an ice bath had me sobbing too. Needless to say I spent the rest of the day curled up under a duvet feeling quite sorry for myself. Reflecting on things, I know what I did wrong: that first 7 miles was too fast and I used up all my energy reserves. I knew what I had to do the next week!

So, this Sunday I went out with steely determination that THIS would be a great run, despite it being windy and cold and raining. I set off at a much more relaxed pace of 11 mins 16 seconds per mile. My hubby and I didn’t want to go too far from home in case the weather took a horrific turn and we have a nice 5 mile loop that goes by our hometown so he went one way and I went the other! It meant we saw each other every loop and it was a nice little boost and extra support. I ran a very strong 10 miles keeping my pace level, and then I started to flag a little towards the end but that was okay; I am still new to these distances and I don’t expect to be able to keep up a pace all the way through. What was nice was that towards the last 15 mins of my run, hubby came the other way and he grabbed my hand and then ran with me until the end – that was the biggest boost! I managed to hit 15 miles at 2hrs 49mins and 25 secs and I may have done a little celebration! I did ask hubby if he can finish marathon day and then come back for me but I didn’t get a positive answer!

We are now officially in Marathon Month: 25 days to go! This Sunday is my longest run at 3hr 25 mins and I am hoping that I can keep my head and I will cover 18 miles at the very least. If I manage to do this, I might (depending how I feel) just push it a little further and try and cover 20 miles. I will see how it goes and then I am very much looking forward to tapering down, everything getting a bit easier and more relaxed before the big day.

I have now raised £662 (that’s £801.28 with Gift Aid), a brilliant total as both charities stand to receive £400 . I am still hoping to raise it a bit higher this month and do all that I can before April 26^th.

Thanks everyone! Aimee x

We are now entering the four busiest weeks in terms of training volume; this is terrifying as well as exciting and good practice for April 26^th!

My 2 hr 10 min run went really well: I was hoping to complete 13.1 miles and hit that half marathon mark but that Sunday was so windy and slowed me down by about 15 seconds per mile. The result was that I fell short by a mile but I still ran 12.1 miles that day. This took its toll on my knees which decided to cramp up the minute I stopped moving for longer than 30 seconds. This was a bit of a shock when I stopped to cross the road and waited for the traffic; getting going again must have been amusing to watch and I am sure my facial expressions were quite amusing ! Luckily I wasn’t far from home and able to head back and collapse into the bath!

The interval training has got a little easier and I found comfort in talking to somewhat of a running expert recently (who is hoping to complete this year’s marathon in 2 hrs 20 mins) who said that he even finds Tempo running a bit difficult. This is because finding a speed between your marathon pace and a sprint is so hard to do; however, I feel like I’m getting there and there have certainly been no more tantrums by the side of the road!

Last week saw an easier week with just a little 7 mile jaunt on Sunday and I suppose this lets your legs recover somewhat. It also culminated with our first sports massage which was HEAVENLY and has really helped sort my legs out: they are raring to go again.

This Sunday is 2 hrs 30 mins; I have a 14 mile route planned out and am hoping for a less windy day. I am being strict on my diet to make sure that I am fueling well for these runs and we are building up now to our longest run on Easter Sunday of 3 hrs 25 mins. Hopefully that’s only an hour or so less than the time I am hoping to achieve on the day.

Thank you so much for all the donations so far, I absolutely love the ones that have come in from guinea pigs themselves – who knew the little critters were UK tax payers and could claim Gift Aid? See, piggies really are the best pets!

If you are able to donate I would really appreciate it; I have already reached my initial £300 target but I am going to keep pushing and see if I can reach £1000!

The last two weeks have seen some interval training, instead of just long straightforward runs.
I was looking forward to the interval training as it was something different and also I know it’s a good way to burn calories!  There is a reason for this, as I was soon to find out: it is so hard!
My first set consisted of 30 seconds’ fast (sprinting) and then two minutes’ recovery, which I repeated eight times. By sprint five I wanted to cry; I was shattered but I got through it and managed to do all eight before crawling home again. Worse was to come: tempo running! 
Tempo is a sustained cruise pace, it should be mildly uncomfortable but sustainable. The first lot consisted of five minutes’ steady running and then five minutes’ tempo running, repeated three times. Again, by round three I was close to tears. I am not a fast runner; I like my pace but again I made my way all the way through and was proud of myself for it. The interval runs will make my overall pace quicker and will make me stronger. Although I feel sick doing them I know that they are worth the effort!
We completed our long runs at the weekend and I busted out 10 miles in 1hr 45 mins! I was very proud of that, it was a strong 10 miles and I very much enjoyed it (as well as burning over 1000 calories before breakfast!).
Last week went a bit sideways; after a weekend away and some change with hubby’s work we left our training until the end of the week. This turned out to be a mistake. We did 1hr 45 min run and then some more tempo running on Friday (cue tears and sickness) but come Saturday we were both shattered and void of enthusiasm and energy so made the decision to listen to what our bodies were saying and rest up for the weekend. 
We are back on form now and are looking forward to a 50 minute run on Monday morning; this coming Sunday sees a 2hr 10 min run. I am hoping to complete as near to a half marathon in that time as I can: watch this space!

In anticipation of the proper training starting in January, myself and hubby (who is also running the LM) decided to start getting our running and fitness a bit sharper. We spent November getting up at 5am and running three times a week – mostly 2 miles or 5k’s – but as December came and went (and so did various Christmas parties) we weren’t as dedicated as we perhaps could have been!

However, on Jan 5^th and in line with our training plan from the London Marathon magazine, we donned our gear and set the alarm for 5am to head out the door for a 20 minute run.

We have been running four times a week for five weeks now and the runs have been getting steadily longer; that first week culminated in a 1 hour run on the Sunday but four weeks on that was 1 hour 30 mins and I managed to run nearly 8.5 miles, I was very happy with that!

My running is getting stronger, I am getting fitter and this morning saw me run a 10.05 minute mile! I am very happy with the way training is going and this week sees some interval training begin so that will be fun to do. I shall let you all know how I get on next week!