Tick tock, 7 weeks to go and I’m sure almost all of the remaining posts will start with a count down as that’s one of the first things on my mind…

This week kicks off the final ramp up stage of training where I really start to put my body through longer and longer distances leading up to the big day. The theory is pretty straightforward; to condition the body to be able to handle a marathon run but to never actually hit that distance as your body needs time to recover – which would of course be bad for training without the risk of injury.

17km, that was the record breaking run for the week and a mixed but generally positive result. Did I manage to run it at a “steady pace”? No, 13km remains the maximum distance I’ve covered and I can’t quite seem to repeat it. I did however manage to complete the distance within my target pace (8m/km). Further, as I’m sat here almost five hours after completion; whilst my legs and body may ache there is no sign of the dreaded cramps (yet)…

Next week is actually quite an exciting milestone – my first half marathon! Fingers crossed….