Adam in Runderland

My first and probably only marathon of 2015 was due to take place in Manchester. I had booked to run it in 2014 but won a place at the London Marathon which occurs during the same month and wisely decided to defer my entry. So it was that I began my training for the event in January having just managed to get rid of a heavy cold that lingered throughout Christmas and the New Year. My plan was to increase my mileage to 100 miles a month and steadily up my long runs to 20 miles a few weeks before the race. I planned in a couple of half marathons in February and March with an eye to a new half marathon PB but also to keep my speed training in line with my endurance work. It was a tight schedule but I knew everything had to go to plan if I was to hit my target. I wasn't taking any chances. During Lent I also gave up alcohol for seven weeks so I was probably the fittest I have ever been over those first months. Eating well, training hard, not drinking and making time for re...

Just two days to go until the Marathon. The excitement and anxiety are fighting one another for dominance in the pit of my stomach as they have been for the last week. I've fought off a migraine, sore throat and a  severe case of Maranoia . The taper is nearly over at last and race day is almost here. So what now? It's time to prepare. Everyone has their own plans and routines during the build up to a marathon but here for anyone who is interested are my top 10 tips for getting ready to run 26.2 miles. 1 - Carb load. Try to eat as much carbohydrate rich food as possible in the days leading up to the marathon. This will ensure that energy stores in your muscles are full up (see 5). I tend to eat lots of pasta up to and including lunchtime on the day before. I'll then have a lighter evening meal on the eve of the race. 2 - Pack and repack. Make a list of everything you will need and check everything off. Then do it again to make sure you haven't ...

One of the best things about a marathon is the support of those watching. The cheers, applause and shouts of encouragement can carry you through those long, hard miles. Children lining up to give a high five or hand out sweets can cause the grumpiest of runners to break into a smile. People also make some wonderful signs. Here are a few that made me smile.

Most runners do it. It may be after 2 miles, 12 miles or 22 miles but at some point in a marathon, and often at many points, we all lie to ourselves. Through pain, tiredness and even injury we are capable of persuading ourselves to push a little bit further or harder. How else do we complete 26.2 excruciating miles? Here are ten of the most common lies runners tell themselves: 1. I'll never do this again.  The most common lie of all, but at the time you believe it with all your heart. The pain is acute, you are running on empty, and you feel as though you will never see the finish line, why would you put yourself through this again? But you will. Two days later you'll be searching the internet for your next race. 2. It's not a blister/calf strain/pulled hamstring.  That awful feeling when a pain shoots through your leg/foot/chest. Is it a serious injury or just a niggle? Should you stop? Of course not. Convincing yourself that it will soon subside you keep pu...

Running can sometimes be a form of meditation. I have often found myself on long runs entering into a state of mind where I feel freed from the constraints of thinking and I am able to just sit in my mind and be. In his book Running with the Pack Mark Rowlands speaks about this. It seems to touch upon the legendary Runner's High that is also spoken about by many long distance runners. He writes about his own experience of what he calls 'the heartbeat of a run'; that place where rhythm and exhaustion come together. The flow of legs turning over, arms pumping and feet pounding the road create a rhythmic cadence that hypnotises and lulls you onto another plane. Meanwhile the physical and mental exhaustion experienced causes the mind to relax enabling thoughts to float to the surface. He describes this as the place where 'thinking stops and thoughts begin.' I love that description. The only other times that I have experienced this form of awareness and det...

I have just finished a book called Running with the Pack : Thoughts from the Road on Meaning and Mortality by Mark Rowlands. The author is a runner and philosopher and although the book is more about the meaning of life it does make some very interesting points about running. One lesson I took from this work is that there are two types of activity; that which has intrinsic value and that which has instrumental value. Intrinsic value = Something that you do for it's own sake. e.g. Running as play; running for fun. Instrumental value = Something that you do to acquire or achieve something else. e.g. Running to lose weight, to win or to get a PB. Rowlands goes on to explore the nature of these two elements and suggests that we can only find true joy in those things that have intrinsic value. He admits that we can find pleasure in instrumental activities but it will never satisfy in the same way as it is not fulfilling in and of itself. My running life started by acciden...

Any good preparation for a marathon includes the taper. This involves reducing the number of miles covered week by week in order to rest and allow muscles to refuel in time for the big event. I have to admit I find it one of the hardest parts of the runners training plan. After weeks and weeks of increased mileage and long runs it seems crazy to reduce that effort so close to the race itself. I find myself getting agitated and nervous, worrying that all that training is being wasted. Of course R&R is just as important as fartleks and long runs. If the muscles aren't topped up and rested my body will be starting with a handicap and this will really show over the final miles as my fuel tank empties. But how do you rest when the biggest race of the year is on the horizon? Having researched the current advice on tapering it seems that a 25% reduction per week is in order. I have been logging 25 miles per week so that would bring me down to 20, then 15 and finally 10 the w...