Written by Phil Cairns
I’m a bit short of blog inspiration this week so I’ll keep this post short and sweet.
“It’s time to taper!” London Marathon gleefully announced to me in Monday’s marketing email. A 3-week taper has always felt quite long, to me. Which might be because I don’t run crazy high mileage when I’m in the ‘hard yards’ weeks of training. There’s less for me to taper down from.
But I had a pre-taper week (I’m not sure this is a recognised coaching term) after Riverside 20. After finishing the race on such a high, I definitely felt some wear and tear in the week after, and the fatigue has only just cleared a week later. Nothing serious, just creaky knees and ankles, stiff calfs and hamstrings, and heavy legs whenever I did don the trainers and head out for a run.
So even though I was still 5 weeks out from London Marathon, I decided to listen to my body, ease up for a week, then push myself (very much a relative term) for 2 more weeks, leaving myself a 2-week taper leading up to the big day.
I am a little worried I’ve peaked too soon. Riverside 20 went so perfectly and felt so effortless that I’m worried that’s my marathon performance. Like the England rugby team demolishing New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup before barely getting out the blocks against South Africa in the final. Will I be able to rally myself to that sort of effort again?
(Did I actually just compare myself to the England rugby team? Dear lord…)
One thing that hasn’t happened this time, unlike other marathons I’ve trained for, is that I haven’t got bored. Normally I hit a wall around two-thirds or three-quarters of the way through my training plan where it just feels like ALL I’m doing is running, eating, sleeping and working, and all the joy gets sucked out of it. Not sure why that hasn’t happened this time. Maybe the novelty of training in winter? Maybe the excitement of FINALLY training for my hometown marathon? Maybe the prospect of FINALLY being on the other side of the barrier at mile 23 and seeing all your (hopefully) excitable faces?
I’m not fundraising this time round. But my fellow ballot winner Babs is, for the local hub of Mind, who do brilliant work in the local community around mental health. She’s now surpassed her initial goals of £500 and £750. But typically, she’s not resting on her laurels and is pushing for £1000 by race day. Fancy giving her a few quid to get her over the line?