Mixing up the marathon training

There’s two months to go until the London Marathon and training is going well. The long runs are getting longer and I have now run half a marathon a couple of times. It always surprises me when training for a marathon how running half a marathon becomes just part of your day, when running that in itself is usually quite an achievement!

When it comes to those long runs I have been trying to focus on finding a pace that is fairly steady over the whole distance. At the moment that is 10 minutes a mile over 16 miles, but I am hoping to lower that time slightly to aim for a marathon time of between four hours and four fifteen (in an ideal world!)

To do that I have been mixing up my training in an effort to boost my stamina. Speed training is a big part of that, and the programme I follow gives me two speed training sessions a week. Lots of this is interval training and so many people have stopped to ask me if I am OK when I’ve been waiting in between intervals!

After the Boxercise class

One of my favourite parts of mixing up the training is doing some completely different training - no running required! The other day I went to my first Boxercise class. I have always shied away from boxing classes in the past as I don’t have a lot of arm strength. But it was the only class on at the gym and I wanted to do some cardio and strength training. It turned out to be exactly what I was looking for! The punching was great cardio, and great toning for my arms and abs (I felt I should’ve had a six pack afterwards!) and in between each punching session was a different bodyweight exercise. It was a great all-over workout and I’m eager to go back.

I haven’t been able to yet, so this week I did my own strength training workout, doing a series of exercises with free weights and a barbell and then cycling on the static bike. I’m going to do at least one of these cardio and strength training workouts a week until the marathon, along with some toning exercises after some of my shorter runs, just to strengthen my legs and abs as much as possible.

The hardest thing I am finding with the training is simply finding the time to do it! I work long, irregular days, and sometimes it can be hard to fit in the running. Luckily though the lighter, warmer mornings are making it a lot easier and for the most part I am really enjoying the running, which is half the battle!

The next month or so is just about reaching those longest runs, and trying to improve my speed and stamina on the shorter ones. I’ll fill you in. Please wish me luck!

(And also, if you would like to sponsor me I would be very grateful! You can here.)