Ok then. Four weeks to London Marathon. Four weeks until chocolate, large glasses of white wine, and an entire bag of M&S jam doughnuts – inhaled rather than eaten. I always think ‘taper’ is a fairly vague term, as I’ve already done my longest run (weeks ago) and now my last 20+ miler, yet still have a lot of hard runs to do. However, I do feel like the end is starting to near. And thank god for that.
Yesterday’s last 20 miler was done at Kingston Breakfast Run, a race I thoroughly recommend for those who live near enough. There are 8.2,16.2 and 20.1 mile options, a flat route and great goody bags featuring Lidl’s finest. Who wouldn’t run 20.1 miles for peanut butter?* And who wouldn’t get up at 5am on Mother’s Day, also the day the clocks go back, to have breakfast in time?**
Though the weather was lovely later in the day, it was freezing on the 8am startline, so particular thanks to the lovely policemen at Kingston Police Station – about 5 metres from the start line – who let us keep warm in their foyer, then even took a bunch of ladies to use their loos. Also the cheery marshals who got up just as early. Where would races be without volunteers? Thank you all.
My strategy over the last few weeks has been to do as many hard runs as possible during races. This simply gives me a little shot of adrenaline, a little bit of competitive spirit and some company for those tough long efforts. I don’t think I’d ever have managed 20 miles at not-far-off-marathon pace otherwise. I also stuck to my new strategy of not looking at my watch, relying on what ‘felt’ like marathon pace, on untapered, 70-mile-week-legs, rather than obsessing over split times and slower miles. The result was another confidence-boosting run, albeit legs that feel about 120 years old today.
So over to you. How was your weekend running? Catching some spring sunshine for a parkrun? Racing a pre-spring marathon warm up? As always, share your weekend triumphs and woes below the line.
*Sane people? People who realise you get the same goody bag for the 8.2 miler as the 20.1? There’s a flaw here …
**See first two words above
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