january training summary

the main aim of this month was to get back to training fitness and start putting some miles into my legs in preparation for the marathon at the end of march. here is what i managed to do:

distance: 79.4miles (127.4km)
time: 9hours 50minutes 46seconds
runs: 8 easy, 2 long, 2 tempo

overall i felt good and by the end of the month i had definitely got my mojo back and was really enjoying running again. feel like i re-started gently enough to stop any major injuries. my foot felt fine although my shoes are beginning to get a little tired i think.

first long long run

today i did my first long long run... haha, if that doesn't make sense i apologise! most of the marathon literature i have read suggests that the long run is probably the most important part of training. after my experience in the nagoya city marathon of struggling in the last few kilometres, i can totally understand this advice. i read an interesting article on the mcmillan running website (definitely worth a read - http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/marathonlongrun.htm) about not ingesting any fuel before or during the run and decided to give it a go. here was the result:

time: 1hour 56mins 33seconds
distance: 24.2 km
pace: 7mins 46s per mile.

as my dream for the marathon involves running under 3 hours i wanted to run around 7mins 50s - 8mins 20s per mile (about 1 - 1.5 minutes slower than my marathon pace), so in that sense it was perfect. i didn't need to take on any fuel although by the end my legs were definitely feeling heavier. it was a good workout. it is pretty cold over here in japan at the moment but it gives me the chance to wear my thermals and enjoy it!

a new year and a new aim

i have decided to enter a marathon before leaving japan. if i could complete a marathon over here i feel like it would be perfect, as it is japan that has helped me to appreciate running again. of course i will be coming back to japan regularly in the future and will hopefully live here again one day, but this is something that i have suddenly decided i really want to do.

my foot feels fine now. there is some kind of nerve pain sometimes, but i don't think there is anything structurally wrong anymore. there is no pain on my bone anyway. i am looking forward to getting back into training and doing some long runs in preparation for a marathon, possibly at the end of march.