Overdoing it

Since I cocked up last year's attempt to run the marathon by buggering up my leg, I was determined it wouldn't happen again.

The result?

A summer of physio, and a new cycling regime to keep the fitness up without the pressure on my ridiculously feeble knees.

Fitness-wise, it's going great – 22 mile round trip every work day has got me into fairly reasonable condition.

Unfortunately it's also introduced me to a previously unforeseen problem – carb depletion.

Sometimes I get absolutely drained with the running and cycling at the same time as I'm burning more energy than I'm getting in.

Common sense would suggest I kick the bike into touch, but such was my foresight into my own psyche that I deliberately closed other transport options so I wouldn't be able to skimp on the cycling because I couldn't be arsed one morning.

This seemed genius in the summer and autumn ('fall' for you crazy yanks) but when training for a spring marathon it's definitely got it's disadvantages.

After skirting around and being generally quite male about it (it'll sort itself out once I'm used to it) I've decided to take drastic action.

I'm eating more.

Yeah, I know it's hardly the most outside the box solution, but it's harder than it sounds.

I'd been relying on good sized portions of high 'good' carb meals in the evening to get me through the next day. But these and my breakfast tended to only get me through my morning commute and work and lunch then got me home.

So when I go for a run in the evening and eat afterwards, it was replacing lost carbs, as well as storing some, but not enough, for the next day. Over several days this would screw me over.

So I'm trying to adopt a new strategy.

Breakfast is a good bowl of porridge. Once I've cycled in I'm having a weird Lucozade recovery drink and three or four portions of fruit/veg (bananas, apples, carrots). Lunch is a sandwich with some protein and slow release carbs, then more fruit in the afternoon and a traditional runners carb meal in the evening.

Did this all last week and it's really helping – most noticeably when I missed evening meal on Weds and had to have a gel on Thurs morning to pick me up!

So a bit more discipline and this ridiculously lame body will start to behave so I can stick to the running as it climbs to the daft lengths of this period of training.

Blogging's hard

Last year, in my ultimately unsuccessful attempt to run the London Marathon, I managed to write oodles of posts of variable quality.

I'm somewhat behind this time.

Cycling to work means less time on public transport to write these missives, and more hectic work day means less time to post them – I don't have a dongle...

Last year blogging really helped me reflect on each run, and the overall progress I'd made – as well as get in contact with other like-minded e-marathoners.

I'm missing that a bit this year and I've no-one to blame but myself.

So, I'm gonna try to post something – probably of variable quality – after each run as it's getting to that strange time where it's only a couple of months to the start line in Greenwich Park and I need to stay focused if I'm gonna crack this marathon malarkey.

Muddled week

I've got this week off work so I've had a jiggle with my runs.

Today's normally a rest for me, but I had that yesterday and did my long one on Saturday - which was odd, but a nice change.

I did an 8 miler with 4 miles at race pace (3 easy, 4 hard, 1 easy) and I did it in my new Nike's.

I've had better runs.

Couldn't settle into a rhythm for the first 3 miles - don't know if it was the trainers, or just me being an idiot.

Also saw a dead hedgehog on the path that appeared to have been hollowed out.

The beast of Chertsey Bridge strikes again!

When I picked it up for miles 4-7 it started ok, but it was a bit more uncomfortable than usual.

I also made the strange error of pausing to yank up a slipping sock and ripped the bugger, which got me very wary of rubbing/blister issues.

Obviously all this training has given me killer biceps so I no longer know my own strength.

Or I need to wear less battered socks...

Anyway, the last mile was pretty good. Not only because I got to slow down, but I also found my 'training rhythm' - that comfortable pace where you feel like you could keep going forever.

I didn't though, as I really needed the loo - possibly more info than you needed, but I'm nothing if not honest!

So, a bit of a 'meh' effort, but the new trainers seem to work, and hopefully will help save my ridiculously lame knees!

That was the week that was

Another week over, another battle with my reluctant body won.

Sort of.

Last week was my first go at planning my training in a while, and it seemed to go ok.

I don't mind hill reps at all, so that was all good, though my knee complains like mad the next day.

I've also got back to the place where I can run solidly without my body persuading my brain to walk a short distance, which is a massive boost to the ego to keep me going.

I even managed my long run this afternoon after a morning of cleaning, gardening and making (not assembling, actually making!) a wooden arch for the front of the house (also impressed myself I didn't bleed at any point during the process).

I somehow managed this fuelled only by two slices of toast and honey - not something I want to repeat!

A potential issue to keep an eye on is the big toe on my right foot. It's absolutely killing me and clicks loudly (and painfully) when I walk. Its been going on for a week (since last Sunday's ego run) and is becoming tiresome.

It's not too much of a hindrance once I've got it strapped up inside my trainer, but there it is a constant background pain when I run.

Will keep it strapped up tight and ice it until it either gets better or falls off.

In the meantime, it's time to look at the week ahead.

Mon Rest

Tues 60 mins fartlek

Weds 75 mins steady

Thurs Recovery

Fri 60 mins w/ 4x1 mile @ threshold

Sat Rest

Sun 120 mins steady

The ones to note for me are the fartlek and threshold - both of which I tend to overcook as I have no idea how to pace myself. The steady ones are ok as I've now found a nice pace that I can rock and roll in.

I'll also try to eat better as, whilst I've been eating healthily, I think I need to up the intake as I felt pretty carb depleted a couple of times.

Will see if just eating larger portions helps, but if not I'll think about a five meal strategy during the week.

I forgot my fave side-effect of marathon training was being able to eat whatever I want, so why the hell shouldn't I enjoy it?

Alone once more...

After several weeks of putting up with me (longer than I expected), Sally has unceremoniously dumped me as the protege she was steering towards London Marathon glory.

Or, more accurately, until I can scrape together some cash for a Garmin so she can actually see how I'm doing to personalise my training programme, there's not much more she can do for me.

With payday still too far away, and xmas having blasted a massive hole in my bank account, I'm not entirely sure how long we'll be estranged.

But, the marathon waits for no man, so to keep the progress going, I've had a stab at planning my own training for the first time in ages.

This was my initial plan:

Mon Rest

Tues Rest

Weds Rest

Thurs Rest

Fri Rest

Sat Rest

Sun Rest

Now that looked good to me, but then realised I needed to try to think like Sally to get it right.

After overcoming longings for Yorkshire Tea, an obsession with Guinea Pigs and an urge to draw a map, I came up with this:

Mon Rest

Tues 12 x 1 min hill reps

Weds 60 mins steady

Thurs Recovery

Fri 60 mins w/ 4x1 mile @ threshold

Sat Rest

Sun 120 mins steady

Not bad for my first attempt without the stabilisers. It certainly looks more like a training plan - I just hope it's something that actually works.

First test is hills tonight - will let you know how it goes.

Late update - shock

I've been a busy bee for a few days - I even cleared a load of crap from my garage so I can now almost fit a car in there. Not a proper car, probably one of those hideous G-Wiz things, but still I'm proud of my toils!

My cross training on Thurs was forty-five mins on a bike - piece of piss! The weird squats and stuff afterwards were more an issue as I kept getting Vietnam-style flashbacks to PE lesson as a kid...

Fri was alright, hard work, but good to get in the bank. I'm crap at working out how fast I shouold be running and tend to overcook it (and pay for it as run progresses). Knee was a bit tender after this, but I had a good old stretch afterwards, iced and strapped the whinging thing up.

Sunday was a proper 'ego run'. Nice warm up, then pushed on and it all clikced perfectly. Pacing, bang on. Lungs and heart all groovy. Legs ticking away nicely.

It was almost a shame to stop.

I've been trying to work out why Sunday went so well, and I think I've nailed it.

Shorts.

I abandoned the tracksuit bottoms and opted for the shorts for the last couple of runs, and I don't know why, but it just feels better running in them. Is it psychological? Physiological? Astrological?

Who knows, but it seems to work for me so Surrey road users beware - the palest legs in Christendom are back!

Soggy joggy

Snow kicks ass - it looks good, is great fun to cycle through and generally cheers me up.

Unless I'm running in it when it's a slushy mess.

Tonight's run was a feast of slush.

Preferable to ice?

Yes.

But still a bit too much cold squelching for it to get into the vicinity of a pleasant experience.

It looked pretty straightforward on paper - just keep the legs turning over - but I'm going through a weird phase where my legs just don't feel 'right'.

Not hurting, not tightening up, just not feeling like they're working properly.

I'd be plodding along, head floating away into a world of dancing ducks and trees made of biro's (that's normal, right?) then I'd suddenly stop and have to look at my legs to make sure they're mine.

I'm hoping it's down to improving my normally god-awful stride - a legacy of years of inactivity - with weird stretches and the occasional hill session, and I'll soon get used to it.

If not I can see it becoming another irritating distraction for my already procrastination-prone mind.

In conversation with...

...my trainer, Sally:

For those wondering what it's like having an e-trainer, here's an excerpt from a typical conversation with mine.

S: How did run go today?

P: I ache and bits of me froze off. You're horrible

S: Sounds really, really perfect

P: Can I fire you?

S: Anytime. Am thinking you're probably not fat enough that's why you're freezing

P: You said I was too fat before! I'm zonked

S: Only jokin. You are too fat :-D Yeah, well you've moved up the scale pretty quickly. Perhaps just recov run on Tues then back to full swing Weds

P: I want to get a big cannon to fire you into a wall

S: Yes, understandable. Anyway you're doing well and proving quite reliable. I'm pleased.

P: Oh good. Knowing you're happy makes the pain vanish.

If you want this level of motivational support, send her a tweet.

Not a great start to 2010

If I've started this year as I mean to go on, I could be in trouble.

Last week I was down for about five hours in total on my feet, but the snow - well more the ice - scuppered that.

Bugger.

Doesn't bode well for the rest of the year so I need to get my arse in gear to prevent it becoming a cycle on procrastination.

This week I've got:

Mon: 60 mins Fartlek
Tues: rest
Weds: 75 mins steady
Thurs: 45 mins cross training
Fri: 60 mins threshold
Sat: Rest
Sun: 90 mins w/30 mins @marathon pace and 10 @threshold

This is a bit interesting.

Fartlek tonight was a tad sketchy as there's still a hint of ice rink about my local paths. But, I got round, and I'm not dead, which in my book is a success.

Thursday is something new as I've not had cross-training on my schedule before, but any excuse to get mud on the bike is welcome. Though there was the word 'squat' in the detailed instructions, which conjures up images of the gym which sends a shiver down my spine.

Sunday could be quite an eye-opener/depression inducer as I'm not sure what my marathon race pace is yet, so no doubt Sally will have some insight into it matter.

At the mo I'm hoping for less than my first, and so far only, marathon in 2008 when I hobbled the last nine miles on mangled knees and came in at 5:17 - narrowly beating the first rhino back.

That leaves a nice wide window to aim for - making failure less likely - but goes against the whole setting tough targets (because marathons aren't hard enough!).

I've got a few days to mull it over, so for now I'll put my feet up and try to build up my resolve to turn around the first week of crapness

Obligatory New Year post...

As the Earth has completed another orbit around a gaseous ball of fire, it must mean it's time to look forward to 2010, and knuckle down to my third attempt to run the London Marathon.

I've been laying the groundwork over the last couple of months with Sally but now my calendar says it's the same year as this marathon thing, it's time for the laser beam focus.

My knee is complaining, but holding in, thanks to some stretches that Sally found for me online - will post on them in future as they're both useful, and entertaining to watch!

My schedule for this week looks like this:

Mon: rest

Tues: 60 mins with 4x1 miles at threshold (which aint v quick)

Weds: easy 45 mins

Thurs: rest

Fri: 60 mins Fartlek

Sat: rest

Sun: 2 hrs 15 steady

As you can see, I've already come on a bit since the equivalent period last year when, looking back at old schedules, I seem to be fannying around not doing much. I also need to get the knee-preserving stretching sessions in there too, so it's a busy time for my poor neglected body.

The big test for me is how the knee holds up, and how knackered I get from lack of carbs. This isn't solely down to running, as I'm often cycling to work and back (22 mile round trip).

This is down to my previous car share getting a new job in the summer and no longer being able to drop me off within bus-able distance, and me choosing two wheels over four to get in. It also explains my infrequent posting these days as I tended to do a lot of writing on the bus!

So, I need to get my ass in gear and hunker down for a few months to get this marathon monkey off my back, so look forward to more inane ramblings and drivel from me as we head towards 25 April and another London Marathon.

FFS...

I'm beginning to get the familiar, almost comforting, sense of loathing normally reserved for my own shortcomings or particularly inept colleagues.

This time, it's the former that's the subject of my ire.

After injuring myself before London, I swore I'd make sure I didn't go through that again, so have spent most of the rest of the year trying to strengthen the knee with physio, exercises, and low impact things like cycling.

I started proper training good and early thanks to Sally so there was lots of time to build up to avoid too much pressure on it, and all seemed well.

But then, last week, the unwelcome niggle crept back into my life like an acquaintance from school you never really got on with, and creeped you out a bit when they kept appearing uninvited wherever you went.

So it's a few days rest, ice, knee strap back on and some mashing with a tennis ball to try to get this infernal limb into some sort of workable state.

There's still the thick end of 18 weeks to go (just 124 short days) so I'm hoping that this is just 2009 giving me one last kick before it get's filed into the 'crappy years I need to forget'.

First fart tomorrow

It was bound to happen - as inevitable as southerners making a massive fuss about a little bit of snow.

Ever since I started this running lark it was clear, at some point, I'd have to have a go at "speed play" or, as it's more amusingly (to my juvenile mind) called: fartlek.

Tomorrow is my first session of farting - 40 mins of giving it a bit of welly for a bit, then jogging for a bit, then giving it some more welly, etc.

So, given my lack of discipline, I predict I'll do one longish one to start with, then lots of shorter ones as I gradually knacker myself out.

Even though I know I'll do it, it doesn't mean I'll recognise it and address the problem so I do it properly. I will try, but I know I'm an idiot so it's bound to go a bit wrong.

I put it down to my own special style of learning - I call it 'the hard way'!

And now, back to our feature programme...

One of the rules of successful blogging is apparently that you should never apologise for not posting in a while.

Some people interpret this as meaning you should post often to keep readers coming back, but for my own purposes, I choose to interpret it as glossing over my tardiness in a slightly flippant way.

So, non-apology over, what have I been doing?

A lot!

Sally - the personal trainer I won on Twitter - has had me doing a variety of fun things. Hill reps (gah!), intervals (double gah!), long, slow runs (bleugh!), and other fun things.

She's also been quite cruel about me using my bike so much (something about 'carb deficiency'...) but hasn't called me fat in a while - which is nice.

I had a crap few sessions last week, but had an extra day off yesterday as I gave blood on Monday. This gave me a chance to think a bit about my motivation (thespian that I am) and I realised I don't feel as enthused as I have in the past as I'm doing it by myself.

The double-ace joyness (real word (c) philrunslondon) of my last, albeit failed, attempt, was sharing the experience with others, and I don't think I'm there with it this time round.

So, I'm gonna be talking to myself/blogging more, and actively stalking others who are heading for Greenwich Park in April.

Expect nonsense, banality, crudeness and moaning.

You have been warned!

Marathon pain comparison

I'm not gonna lie - running a marathon is not a pleasant experience.

I've only made it round one, and it was horrible.

But, the ever-soothing passage of time helps erase these painful memories and allows you to convince yourself that it wasn't actually that bad, so why not give it another go?

That is why I tell people that whilst pretty much anyone can do a marathon with proper preparation, they shouldn't.

My thoughts drifted to this topic the other day as I contemplated the symphony of suffering I'd somehow composed for myself.

The dull, monotonous pain of the ceaselessly aching ribs I cracked underlining the ebb and flow of pain from the tooth now ripped from it's mandibular home. All this abbreviated with the occasional crescendo from the now absent distal phalanx from my left index finger as I forget it isn't fully healed and stub it on a range of one of the previously unrecognised obstacles that litter my life.

These musings - quite naturally I'm sure you'll agree - made me think that I needed to draw a graph comparing the different pains over time.

Obviously, for it to stand up to any kind of scientific rigour, you need to set some kind of parameters, so I've gone for a simple 0-10 scale for pain (with 0 being least and 10 being most).

Time is measured on a 0-20 scale, with 0 being the time the incident happened. But, 1 unit isn't necessarily a day. I've gone for 20 being more of an unarbitrary period of general suffering, and subdivided that.


Taking the marathon as a starting point, that hurt a lot at the time (0) and for a few days after, but subsided pretty steadily once I stopped doing stupid things like running.

Cutting my finger off with a table saw was, understandably, immediately more painful than the marathon, but that diminished rapidly and is really only an issue now when I bang it (not as uncommon as I'd like!).

The ribs were more of a bore - not as instantly painful, just diminishing less rapidly than I'd likeand pretty restrictive for things like moving and sleeping.

The tooth is all over the shop. Not the worst immediately, but ebbing and flowing over time depending on if bits are still falling out, whether I'm being operated on, or if I've bitten into something too enthusiastically and forgotten the no go area for solids in my mouth.

So, for all those people out there wondering how running a marathon compares to cutting off a finger, cracking a rib or smashing out a tooth, there's now a convenient graphical comparison.

All part of the service here at PRL Towers...

Pain is relative

Like the really annoying uncle you never want to visit

Regular readers will be giddy as a bunch of street drinkers in the Threshers sale to know I've managed not to accidentally hurt myself lately!

The key word being 'accidentally'.

I have had a minor operation to remove the remaining fragments of tooth that my ill-thought out attempt to stop myself falling from bike with my face didn't fully dislodge.

As ever, my trusty BlackBerry Storm was on hand to document the occasion.

This is my with the sexy glasses on, pre-anesthetic:


Don't know why it's so green, but I'm assuming I was shooting from inside Kermit the Frog.

This is me after they'd sliced into my gum and ripped out the root:


The white bit is the gauze I had to bite down on to stop the bleeding. Five seconds later this was pretty much solid red, and tasted warm...

This is the little blighter the dental profession were so keen to extract from it's natural place of rest:


Nice. Not at all like a maggot that has recently gorged on the inside of a rotten crow...

And this is the state of my gum:
There's just the one stitch in there, that will apprarently dissolve within two days to two weeks. I wish they'd trimmed the end a bit more as there's a dangly bit I keep playing with that's really annoying.

Sorry there weren't any of the actual yanking out, but the doctor and nurse didn't realise I was taking snaps until it was already out. They said they'd have been more than willing to take a few - gotta love the NHS!

So, I can tell you're wondering how, other than helping in my efforts to lose a bit of weight, this impacting on the training?

Not too badly really, other than time.There was a bit of excessive blood during some Sunday morning exursion, but that all seems to have calmed down now (apart from a sandwich incident yesterday lunchtime).

Also, now the ribs are less completely debilitating, I'm now able to get a few non-cycling miles under my belt. So this week will be a test of how this whole shebang has affected the running, and an indicator (for me at least) whether all the cycling has helped keep things from deteriorating into a steaming pile of uselessness.

Phils hills ills

Tonight was my first attempt at 'hill reps' as part of my London Marathon training.

Allegedly...

Yes, I went to the park apres the bulk of my work day, but pres (I'm sure that's right) an evening meeting.

Yes, I had spent the day mentally preparing myself to jog for 10 mins to warm up and have my first go at 5 x 1 min uphill, jogging back down.

Yes, I even ate healthily through the day so I was well petrolled .

Yes, I managed the 10 min jog ok-ish, but that's where the wheels... erm... feet... erm... ribs fell off.

I did manage almost an entire one uphill before the ribs decided this wasn't for me.

I say 'decided' like it was the culmination of a long discussion where both sides had a chance to rationally put forward their arguments before coming to a mutually convenient conclusion.

It was actually more like being smacked in the side by a cricket bat.

So, I bailed.

That's the second time an attempted run has failed due to the cracked ribs. Who'd have thought that they'd keep being so annoying for a whole month?

Oddly, they aren't giving me much jip when I'm cycling. I guess that's because I'm more hunched over, closer to the foetal position I scramble into whenever I feel a sneeze is imminent.

Now, you might think I'd take the hint, but if this marathon attempt is about anything, it's about me putting my body in it's place.

I'm gonna take it easy tomorrow and then have a go at the next task set by the sometimes-lovely-but-also-sometimes-not-quite-so-lovely Sally.

Surely it'll get better soon, but in the meantime I've got a dull meeting.

Bike service resumes

Following a few weeks off the bike due to gross stupidity, it was with mild trepidation that I once again donned the hi-viz and helmet yesterday.

I know this is supposed to be a blog about running, but I've started to rely on the bike as a way of not only getting to work cheaper (and quicker!), but as great for my overall fitness and a good way to strengthen my stupidly lame knees.

First thing to notice was that the daylight seems to have done a runner. So, not only was it my first proper ride without part of my anatomy, but it was also my first time with my lights.

It was also my first time doing the journey on new mountain bike*, so I'd have to get used to gears actually working, and being able to accelerate out of junctions.

Thankfully, I'd gone old school with my light selection and gone for pure out-and-out brightness. I don't need 26 different sequences of flashing, just as much wattage as you can possibly cram in.

This seemed the right choice as I pulled out of my garage not long after 6am and the unlit access road was not so much bathed, as drenched in light.

Hell yeah!

Once I was off, it seemed like I'd not forgotten how the whole cycling thing works. In many ways, it was just like riding a bike...

The slight climb at the bridge was seen off with ruthless efficiency by the new bike which seems to love going uphill - psychotic thing.

Not having been out for a while, I was consciously trying not to overdo it by blasting off, but after a while I was on a nice bit of flat and I thought I'd have a play and slipped into top.

Hell yeah!

This beats the living poo out of my old bike - so light, controlled and fast! It's not something I expected from a humble mountain bike, but it took off.

Pretty soon I realised I was overdoing it a bit and would end up burning out, but there's no doubt that there's some good potential for smashing my PB to work time to well below the 40 minute mark.

Yesterday was, according to the first proper week of my training plan by Sally, cross training day. Was supposed to be 30 mins on the bike. Since I rode to and from work, it was slightly nearer 90 mins. Oops.

Hey ho, got to try to get some hill reps in today - never done that before so could get a bit interesting!

* I just prefer MTB's - more fun at the weekends in the woods etc. Unless you come off and smash your ribs and mouth apart - that kinda sucks. But would probably have been worse on a road bike!

Training while injured

I figured that one of the few benefits of cracked ribs, amputated parts of hand and smashed teeth would be that I can take time out to chill from marathon training.

The ribs are the main problem at the mo – though they only hurt if I do anything requiring superhuman effort like, say, walking.

Or sitting.

If I'm being honest, the last two attempts at the marathon were not exactly built on solid foundations. The first time was my first real exercise in 10 years, the second built on that, but only after an eight-month lull.

This time, after enforced rest for rebuilding strength in my knee, saw me investing in a bike to keep the fitness up, and occasional gentle runs when I felt like it – built up slowly as dictated by the physio who'd spent months getting my knee to stop hurting.

However, not being able to run or cycle for the last four weeks after a series of accidents has started to get on my nerves, so, I have ambitiously started taking strolls.

Last week I started having lunchtime strolls around the park next to work – it's got a convenient marked mile.

When I've used this route for recovery runs before evening meetings at work, I was usually getting in around 7:30 minute miles – prob too fast for recovery runs, but never felt like I was overdoing it over the shorter distance.

On paper, average walking speed is supposed to be c. 3mph. I've always been a bit of a speedy walker so I reckon I get nearer 5 mph,

The first time I tried it, it took me 25 mins to walk a mile.

25 mins.

That's 2.4mph, or a marathon time of just shy of 11 hours.

Hmm...

Clearly there's work to do.

Not being an optimist, I'm not going to claim this will all be good, rather I'll just rely on my usual coping strategy – refusing to understand how bad it really is.

It's not that I don't understand, I just stubbornly can't be bothered to think about how bad it could be – takes way too much effort!

So, as most cardio is off the table for (hopefully only) a week or so, I'm focussing on the strength stuff I often overlook/get bored with.

That's stuff to strengthen my lower back, which I often have issues with, and getting the knees as strong as poss ready for the demands of a marathon training schedule.

This consists of mainly gentle stretching/light lifts/squats etc. but it's pretty boring, and not without rib pain. But, I need to get on with it otherwise October becomes November, becomes December etc.

Hopefully my possum-like reaction will see me through, but it's also backed-up by the least possum-like woman trainer I've ever had Sally.

She's fully aware of my problems, and has been beavering away on exciting plans, an has even had an insight into my eating habits.

So, it's all a bit in limbo here, but all being alright, I'll be getting going soon.

I'm not fat, it's just big bones!

I knew having a trainer helping me run the London Marathon wouldn't exactly be fun, but there's motivational, and borderline mean.

After diligently filling in a few forms about where I am now and promptly sending them off it was dispiriting to see that the opening of the email response from my trainer Sally included the phrase:

“Not really overweight either”

There's nice!

I'm about 11 stone 6lb. I say 'about' as my electric scales died in an incident known in Phil Runs London Towers as 'too much water-gate'.

As I'm only about 5'7” my BMI says I'm borderline obese.

Understandably, I was somewhat miffed when I found that out, but I've been reassured by numerous medical practitioners I'm not.

Being from good Yorkshire mining stock I'm just well built.

When I ran the London marathon in 2008 I lost 2 inches from my chest over 10 weeks of running – which was expensive as I had to get my usher's suit for a wedding refitted quite a lot.

This doesn't necessarily translate well for running – ideally I'd be light and lithe (Gimli wasn't the best runner in LoTR was he?) .

I'm sure Sally's making a valid point, but there's nicer ways to do - last night she proposed that since I'm not able to run at the mo I should try to lose any 'spare lard' now as it'd be better than during proper training.

Don't sugarcoat it will you Sal?

So, it'll only be salad and seeds for me for a while – not the best comfort food when I'm recuperating.

Hang on a mo!

This is exactly what she wants me to do anyway - so, her meanness has worked.

It's almost like she knew what I needed to hear to prompt me to act.

That's either very clever, or - more likely - witchcraft.

Anyone know where I can find some trinkets to ward off evil spirits?

Failing to plan is planning to fail

Unless you get someone else to do it for you

In the immortal words of Hannibal, I love it when a plan comes together.

It's even better when you don't have to go through the hassle of actually making the plan in the first place!

As anyone who has ever run a marathon knows, you can't just rock up on the day and run 26.2 miles – unless you're a freak of nature who's incredibly fit. In which case you probably won't be reading this as this blog doesn't welcome your sort.

For normal – and I use that term loosely – marathon runners there will be months of preparation for the big day, usually revolving around a training schedule you've found somewhere online, in the London Marathon Magazine or from your charity.

Social engagements will be forsaken, days will be planned around a run, and you'll be riddled with self-doubt about whether you're doing enough.

The beauty of the London Marathon is that you won't be alone in this – there's thousands of others out there in the same boat.

Not that they let you do it in a boat – though it did piss it down in 2008, but I doubt there'd have been enough water to keep you afloat.

It's easy to find out how others are doing online – blogs, Facebook, Twitter etc – and get reassurance and motivation. Last year I felt the people I met online and I were akin to a marathon running support group. It was ace.

However, I didn't even make it to the start line because of injury. So, despite being able to enjoy their success and amazing achievements, the overwhelming feeling was of disappointment.

Months of training, carefully planned to get me over the finish line, and hundreds of miles covered, had led to nought.

If you've been following this blog for a while, or have even just browsed some old posts, you'll know I'm not exactly a keen runner. My motivation is based on self-loathing and determination to force my body do something it clearly doesn't want to. So, I was not a little surprised that the disappointment at not being able to run affected me so much.

Thankfully, as my place last year was through the ballot, I was able to defer it to next time so I had a chance to redeem myself.

So I've spent the summer getting the knee working again (currently it's the only major limb on my body that doesn't hurt, but that's a different story) and keeping up some of the fitness I built up by cycling lots.

But, that's not enough to get to the finish line, so I obviously need a training plan.

One of the many physios that have helped get me going again was quite adamant that most of the training schedules available online contribute to injury of those completing them. They were too arbitrary and couldn't take enough account of the individual who was following them. By trying to give themselves some kind of structure to achieve their marathon goal, people were actually risking their success.

But, given limited resources, what else could I do? I've been reading as much as I can to try to tailor my own schedule, but the experience of two ultimately fruitless attempts to run London didn't really feel like a sound foundation for success.

So I clearly needed help, but the prospect of a personal trainer was too expensive, and the thought of pestering some of the actual experts I know online wasn't palatable.

Then, I noticed one of my twitter friends, a personal trainer and cartographer nonetheless, was offering a chance to win online training for the marathon. All I needed to do was pay attention to her tweets of health/training facts over a week or so, then answer some questions about them.

I was busy on the evening the questions were posted, but the following morning I convinced myself it was still worth a go so answered and, somehow, won!

Sally then emailed me a few forms to fill in – training history, height/weight etc. which I've now done and she's formulating a plan for me!

It's a bit eerie that she has already used my responses to identify potential pitfalls I'm already aware of – I suspect witchcraft – but it's reassuring that I'll actually have someone who knows what they're doing helping.

It also means I can absolve myself of any responsibility to plan my training so I make it round - that's her job!

So, weight lifted from mind, I can focus on getting over my current ailments, safe in the knowledge that once I'm good to go, she'll get me round faster and stronger than ever before.

No pressure Sally.