The past month has been a mixture of panic as I count down to the big day and fear as I still can’t really get my mind around the idea of running 42 km… Ok I know that panic and fear are not exactly opposing emotions, my point is that race day is beckoning and I feel far from prepared!

To date, my biggest run has only been about 21km in just under three hours so that’s half the distance covered. In theory I can walk the remaining distance which would then put me on track for just under seven hours which whilst not ideal at least means I finish the race…

I’ve run into a fairly busy period in my social calendar – which sounds like an awfully convenient (and crap) excuse for procrastinating but between a week long ski trip and a three day stag I’ve had to make a choice between training and living and ultimately training lost out. I don’t regret the decision at all but it once again drives home the time commitment involved with a marathon. For almost a year now I’ve had to dedicate three to four days a week to running, I’ve not had time to join any other sports or activities and Ive even had to completely change the way I use the gym (wow do I miss leg days…) Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end but I’m glad that the end is near.

Another issue is that Im still having trouble sustaining energy levels beyond 15km and i haven’t been able to test out my revised fueling plan (Gels? Tablets? Powders?) since I haven’t posted any runs above 10km for a while. One of the rules I’ve been informed of is “nothing new on race day” so that means I will have to rely on the back up option of jelly babies and lucozade.

All in all I’m not really that optimistic and to be honest my biggest fear is injury or posting a DNF. With just two weeks until race day I can perhaps fit in another couple of 10ks but if I’m not ready now there’s nothing left for me to do.

Fingers (and toes) crossed, one more update before I post my results from the big day …