Final preparations
It has just struck me while I was on the phone to Anthony (calling, very kindly, to give me some advice for the last week before the big day) that I need to update this page with what I have been up to in the last few weeks since the Bath half marathon.
The weekend after Bath I competed in another race, the White Horse half marathon, near Grove in Oxfordshire. It was recommended to me by Mike Sas, a mate from work who also runs for the Harriers. We travelled up there with another Swindon Harrier, Allan Webb, who I know from my Tuesday track session.
This was always going to be more of a training run than a PB race, but it was highly enjoyable, and would have definitely had PB potential had I fully recovered from Bath. Nice and flat, yet scenic, out on quiet roads in the Oxfordshire countryside. I still managed to finish in 1:51:59, about 20 seconds slower than my previous best time at that distance - which again shows how much I have improved.
There was a nice mug as a memento, but also, I was able to buy a race t-shirt which had the names of all the competitors on the back. A nice reminder of an enjoyable event.
As this was more a training run, I decided to head out again in the evening for a 9-10 mile run, which went surprisingly well - in as much as, I expected to struggle (running twice a day normally kills me) but I didn't, I managed to keep a steady pace all the way round. At this point I realised I was probably in the best shape possible for London.
At the Easter weekend I did my last long training run, which at a guess was about 20-21 miles - but a challenging route. Starting at the gym, it took me up the railway path, then out onto the Swindon half marathon route (which I am beginning to know and love) and then back a slightly longer way through town. Best part was, it was such gorgeous weather and I ran with my top off out in the countryside. I later discovered I had caught the sun more than a little!
A nasty shock last week - I suddenly went down with a bad cold on Tuesday and had to come home sick. Many thanks to Kim Parry in my office, who went to Sainsburys and got me some "First Defence" (something I'd never heard of) which seemed to do the trick of getting rid of the worst of it. I was a lot better on Wednesday and went back to work - but not 100 per cent.
Yesterday I competed in the Highworth 5 mile race, which was the second year running for me. Again I travelled up with Mike, and it was nice to see some familiar faces from the Harriers, as well as a few colleagues, competing in a race for the first time. Also running was Ali O'Hara and his girlfriend Becky Weedon - the only Weedon I've met to whom I'm not related!
I was still feeling the cold, so in the end was very pleased with my time of 39:13, again a PB at the distance. Had I been feeling 100 per cent, I might have been able to push on a bit, but it was a good effort under the circumstances.
As I write, I'm feeling a lot better today - a bit of a tickly cough but otherwise fine. Maybe the short, sharp run knocked the infection out of me.
And that's pretty much it. Just a light jog Wednesday, maybe a walk Thursday, and the only other thing I need to do is load up on carbs and stay well hydrated for the big day.
Nervous? A little. Excited? You have no idea.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, April 2007
The weekend after Bath I competed in another race, the White Horse half marathon, near Grove in Oxfordshire. It was recommended to me by Mike Sas, a mate from work who also runs for the Harriers. We travelled up there with another Swindon Harrier, Allan Webb, who I know from my Tuesday track session.
This was always going to be more of a training run than a PB race, but it was highly enjoyable, and would have definitely had PB potential had I fully recovered from Bath. Nice and flat, yet scenic, out on quiet roads in the Oxfordshire countryside. I still managed to finish in 1:51:59, about 20 seconds slower than my previous best time at that distance - which again shows how much I have improved.
There was a nice mug as a memento, but also, I was able to buy a race t-shirt which had the names of all the competitors on the back. A nice reminder of an enjoyable event.
As this was more a training run, I decided to head out again in the evening for a 9-10 mile run, which went surprisingly well - in as much as, I expected to struggle (running twice a day normally kills me) but I didn't, I managed to keep a steady pace all the way round. At this point I realised I was probably in the best shape possible for London.
At the Easter weekend I did my last long training run, which at a guess was about 20-21 miles - but a challenging route. Starting at the gym, it took me up the railway path, then out onto the Swindon half marathon route (which I am beginning to know and love) and then back a slightly longer way through town. Best part was, it was such gorgeous weather and I ran with my top off out in the countryside. I later discovered I had caught the sun more than a little!
A nasty shock last week - I suddenly went down with a bad cold on Tuesday and had to come home sick. Many thanks to Kim Parry in my office, who went to Sainsburys and got me some "First Defence" (something I'd never heard of) which seemed to do the trick of getting rid of the worst of it. I was a lot better on Wednesday and went back to work - but not 100 per cent.
Yesterday I competed in the Highworth 5 mile race, which was the second year running for me. Again I travelled up with Mike, and it was nice to see some familiar faces from the Harriers, as well as a few colleagues, competing in a race for the first time. Also running was Ali O'Hara and his girlfriend Becky Weedon - the only Weedon I've met to whom I'm not related!
I was still feeling the cold, so in the end was very pleased with my time of 39:13, again a PB at the distance. Had I been feeling 100 per cent, I might have been able to push on a bit, but it was a good effort under the circumstances.
As I write, I'm feeling a lot better today - a bit of a tickly cough but otherwise fine. Maybe the short, sharp run knocked the infection out of me.
And that's pretty much it. Just a light jog Wednesday, maybe a walk Thursday, and the only other thing I need to do is load up on carbs and stay well hydrated for the big day.
Nervous? A little. Excited? You have no idea.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, April 2007
posted by Jon | 6:12 pm
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