Too much too soon

With two months to go until I pound my way around 26.2 miles of Berlin, you'd expect me to be deep in training. Sadly I'm not.

Determination and stamina often comes with baggage, which haunts those of us who are keen - maybe too keen to succeed. Yes, over-training can be worse than not training at all.

Last year I under went keyhole surgery to extract damage cartilage inside my left knee. The doctor told me that a piece of cartilage is precariously still attached and at some point will fall off. Since then, I've ran two half marathons - the first being only three months after my operation.

What this ordeal has caused is a knee that may give up at anytime.

In recent weeks I've over used my frail knee and it's time to give it a rest. If I want it to perform two marathon - only three weeks apart - I need to respect the injury and admit that continuous strain will exhaust the joint, resulting in two failed marathons.

I'm now offering my left leg the kind of attention that a nurse would give to an injured soldier that she had a crush on.

I can't foretell when training will commence, potentially this week, so I hope you will all join me in wishing my battle scared joint a swift recovery.

What NOT to eat before a run

To get fit for a marathon, you need to eat healthy. And to do so, your intake of fruit and veg needs to increase. Although you need to eat high energy foods before training, your diet needs to be varied and well balanced.


Last night I learned a valuable lesson about food and fitness; I left work at around six o’clock, cooked up a stir fry using fresh veg, mushrooms and chicken, and a few hours later decided to go for a run.

I hadn’t left the house long before my stomach started telling me that too much fruit and veg can be a detriment. What was initially a good idea had become a bad one. I wasn’t sure if the stir fry was to blame or my naivety to run after a vast quantity of fresh vegetables.

Let’s just say my run was cut short. I planned to knock out an eight mile jog but ended up curtailing my attempt because of a dodgy exhaust caused by an engine continuously backfiring.

I learned a valuable lesson last night; he who considers fruit and veg to be the definition of healthy eating will quickly learn that all foods should be consumed in moderation, not just junk.

For advice on what to eat before running, visit here.

Thou shall not use beer as a marathon supplement

With just over 11 weeks until the Berlin Marathon and 14 weeks until Amsterdam – plus being out of training for three months, I really have a schedule that must be followed.

With that in mind, starting the weekend off with an evening of ale wasn’t the best idea. Having said that, it’s full of sugar and runners need their energy. I jest.

On the contrary, this weekend turned out to be successful. Regardless of the bad weather, I took to the hills of the Peak District for four hours of thigh-grilling hiking. The weather threatened at times to turn the muddy ascents into slippery slides back down to ground level, but all in all, a gruelling session towards full body fitness.

With no time to rest, I swapped my walking boots for trainers and pounded the streets of Birmingham on Sunday. The weather was perfect and the streets were clear. After 40 minutes, I returned to my starting point 5.2 miles better off.

The moral of the story, ale may well have been used as a medication in the medieval era, but in 2012, it only works against you – albeit delicious.

My marathon endeavour has doubled

The sun was finally shining in the Midlands when I left my meeting in the centre of Birmingham today. Like most humans who suffer from communication flu, I walked out into the sun and took my phone out of my pocket to see what I'd missed.

An unanswered call from a London number - I'll call it back.

(Dialling)

"Hello, Children with Cancer, Emily speaking"

"Oh, hi, I have a missed call on my phone."

"Hi Robert, somebody has dropped out of the Berlin Marathon and I know you were interested, would you like to run in September?"

"Oh, right, yes, I remember, we spoke back in March. Well I'm actually running the Amsterdam Marathon, so..."

"That's great, you could run both and raise money for us."

"Ummm, yes, well, I guess I could, but..."

"Excellent, I'll email you the form to fill in. Thanks Robert, bye."

So here I am, two marathons: one in Berlin, Germany, on September 30, and the second in Amsterdam, Holland on October 21. I have exactly 67 days to train for my first 26.2 mile endeavour.

Today has proven that it's possible to feel brave, excited and overwhelmed at the same time. What I now have to do is find a running club so I can take inspiration from like-minded people. I need advice, a training structure and technique - and most of all I need support and encouragement. 

My mission was simple: one marathon, four months to train. That was this morning. Now, I have two marathons, two trips to Europe and 67 days to shape up, obtain focus and raise some money for charity.

Time is of the essence. 

Blowing the cobwebs off the trainers

It's been a long break. Too long. Far too long. The last time I tied the laces on my running shoes was in March when I ran a half marathon in Suffolk, England. It was a cross country run - completely different to the TCS Amsterdam Marathon. The ground was soft and the terrain was very versatile. This marathon will be different; an extra 13 miles to complete and a course that's totally paved.

Oh boy.

For me, running means a lot. It's about that feeling it delivers when you stand in the shower a sweating mess after slogging it out for a couple of hours. It's a confidence you can't come-by with any other form of fitness. Yes, going to the gym makes you feel good, but you're training alongside other people partaking in resistance exercise that normally surpasses your ability. Know the feeling? - I'm sure you do.

Running is different. You're not hounded to hurry on a machine; you're not being glared at by hormonal gym buffs; and you're not staring at the same walls three times a week.

Tonight was my first run since March and it felt bloody good. In four months time I will have completed my first full marathon - a challenge I've been wanting to do since I was a lad. I see a marathon as more of a compulsory activity that I have to do. I sometimes imagine being 50 years old and looking back and seeing that I failed to receive a marathon medal.

I won't fail.

I ran 2.5 miles in 24 minutes (or there about). I'm now on the training course to October 21, where I'll run through the finish line in Amsterdam.

What charity shall I run for? How many times should I train a week? Where in the UK will training take me?

An interesting four months is without doubt ahead of me.