Off and running

Well, my challenge is up and running now - I clocked up just over 11 miles this morning, doing 5 and a half laps of Greenwich park in 1hr56, a pace of 10 mins 25 secs per mile, which is fine for training although a little slower than I'm aiming for in the race. The first two or three laps were a bit of a struggle, but things got a little easier on the fourth and fifth laps. The park was nice and quiet, most of London presumably either still away from home or in bed sleeping off their New Year excesses.


I'm more or less up to date with my marathon training plan, which involves 4 runs per week. It's going to be a bit of a struggle completing 4 runs every week for the next 3 months, since running at lunchtimes isn't really possible at the moment due to work commitments, but I plan to at least do the long slow run on Saturday, a shorter run on Sunday, and the medium length run on a weekday, and I'll fit the fourth run in when I can.


Here's the current state of the plan:



I'll also not be able to do all of the runs on the allotted days due to normal life getting in the way, but I reckon as long as I keep up with the long slow runs once a week and the medium runs midweek I should be right.


If I complete all of the training on the plan, I should be well on the way to 500 miles by the end of April, which should make the remaining 8 months of the year easier, mileage-wise.


So, a good start to the challenge, and I also received my first sponsorship the other day - thanks Mum !