Preparing to prepare (inc. disgusting photos)

Copyright - An awesome photo that i took of the beautiful London skyline

My old A-Level Media teacher once told me “p*** poor preparation leads to p*** poor performance”. I can’t remember if that was intended to be motivational or his brutal assessment of my coursework. In any event, I can’t help but agree with him. Some things you can blag, others, such as marathons, you can’t. I’m glad that Scope contacted me so early and, therefore, have given me 5 months to consider my options before the public ballot is even announced.

I’m a pretty sad individual who actually loves to plan things, especially itineraries, so the last few months have been great! I’ll attempt to categorise and break down the important things that I have learnt and achieved so far.

Where to start?

The pub, of course.

I had already ordered two books to get me on my way, ‘The Complete Running & Marathon book’ and ‘Perfect Fit’ (by England rugby international, James Haskell). Whilst sitting outside on a warm afternoon, sipping on a pint of Honey Dew, I found both of these books very useful.

The Marathon book provides you with a tapered training schedule for beginners for the entirety of your training, as well as other hints and tips. In addition to just running, it’s important to have the right diet and to work on your core muscles, which is where ‘Perfect Fit’ has helped. I recommend both books.

I have my 180 mile cycle to get me in shape for October; November will be about transferring that cardiovascular capacity into running miles; and December will be about maintaining a solid foundation level of fitness. It’s important not to over train and place unnecessary stress on your ligaments/tendons, so it helps to mix-up your training and not to start too early. My official rigorous training programme starts on 31st December 2018.

You’re probably thinking that’s an odd time to start, but I quite like the idea of finishing the last day of the year with my first actual steps towards the Marathon. Fortunately, New Year’s Day is a rest day, but I’d be happy knowing that I had started.

The more eagle eyed viewer may have noticed that the days are written in Spanish. That was purely by accident, but hey, might as well learn something.

My first informal steps

I had already been running on the odd Saturday morning, but I wanted to step up my game and see how fit I actually was. In hindsight, I tried too hard too quickly.

In my first 20 days I’d run 50km, which was far above what I was used to running. I started to develop blisters (to the right), which were nothing serious and I should have just allowed them to heal, but I stupidly carried on running. I can also attest to the affliction of runner’s nipple. Wow, who knew how much a chaffed nip can hurt on a run! I’ve had various tips given to me, from Vaseline, running topless, plasters and a special gel. I’ll let you know how my nipples get on in the future.

One morning I woke up and noticed that my blister had become pretty large and infected. You do not want that, trust me when I say that the smell will become permanently engraved in your mind.

NHS advice is to leave blisters alone. I debrided it with a penknife.

Fortunately, I work for a Medical Defence Organisation and some of my colleagues are doctors. One particular colleague received a set of infected blister photos on his Saturday morning. With his advice and my excellent surgical skills, my foot healed over the proceeding 3 weeks.

Apart from overdoing it, I also thought that my running shoes were a bit tired and had seen better days. I found out that specialist running stores are worthwhile, so I started there. I went to Runners Need in Holborn and had a gait analysis done. I was asked to run on a treadmill with neutral shoes whilst a camera videoed my running style, which checked my gait, to see whether my foot was neutral, overpronate or supinate. Apparently 70% of people overpronate to some extent. I was almost neutral, but had some overpronation, and a range of running shoes that correct your gait were given to me. In total, I tried 6 different running shoes on the treadmill to find out which one felt best for me. I would definitely recommend it, as the analysis is free and I found a lot of benefit in trying the shoes on a treadmill. It was amazing how 6 different brands could all feel completely different. In addition, the shoes felt different under performance. Walking around I found New Balance to be the most comfortable, but they rubbed when I ran. I ended up buying Asics… and some anti-blister socks.

There are a lot of tough obstacles ahead of me. In particular, I have my friend's 30th birthday who wants to go abroad at the end of January; and again, my other friend has a stag in XXX (in case he reads it) in late February. How will i cope with these potential blips..? Only time will tell.

By the time I next blog I’ll have started my cycling training, created an online donations page and hopefully be more adept at bouldering. I should also have received this amazing cycling jersey that I ordered for my tour...