Friday 19 April 2013

MK Marathon countdown

Marathon poster outside the lovely
Baron's Court tube station
No, not The London Marathon for me; instead the MK Marathon.  That's the Milton Keynes marathon, alledgedly home to concrete cows and the Milton Hilton (HMP Woodhill).   Not on 21st April either - more like 6th May.  I couldn't resist taking this photo though, it just has a nice "feel" to it, hope you like it too.

My running seems quite good now but there is no way I am exactly tapering - still doing the building up and the tapering will just have to come after the race itself.  My strategy has had to change from beating last year's time by getting under 4 hours. This was going to be achieved by skimming 30 seconds off each mile.  The strategy instead is to simply get around in whatever time I can.

You might think this is something to dread but actually I am looking forward to it immensely.  I am also really looking forward to some decent weather replacing the grim horizontal rain from last year.  Also looking forward to treating myself to something like a new pair of running shoes or a new bit of clothing.  Either way I am not sure yet what to get.

I had planned to take the day off from work on the following day as an opportunity for recovery.  Alas something has cropped up at work preventing this so the day after instead.

Every time I see a runner I feel uplifted, especially if it is an accomplished runner and there are more and more around - perhaps all heading for some marathons soon!   Onwards and upwards!

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous20 April 2013 at 09:06

    Looking forward to it is a good sign and I think that on the day you will feel strong.So much of this is to do with mental strength as well as stamina and fitness.I have seen some very fit people suffering because they where losing it mentally during the latter stages of a marathon.
    I have to confess that I'm a bit out of condition right now as this horrible winter got the better of me and I have been doing some hill work to try and claw back some fitness.It's very hard work but I'm feeling good!
    BTW, nice pic. Is that in Petty France?
    Regards, 'H'

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  2. Doug21 April 2013 at 07:27

    Yep you're right H. I think there's also something about the atmosphere of a race which pulls you along and distracts a runner from the hard slog of the run. This last winter for us in the UK seems to have dragged on for a long time and I'm sure it's kept many a runner and cyclist indoors longer than they'd like.

    You asked about the photo - it was taken last weekend at Baron's Court (youngest daughter took an exam at the nearby LAMDA). We have some fine historic tube stations and Baron's Court and St James' Park (Petty France) are among them.

    Regards, Doug.

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