Countdown To the London Marathon
Local runner Rich Baker on the trials and tribulations of training
Happy New Year to everyone, I hope that you all had a restful and enjoyable Christmas and New Year. As you may recall previously, I am attempting to run the London Marathon for Children with Cancer this coming April a week before my 40th birthday.
So the training should be in full swing (less than 3 months away now!), but has been a bit stop start – more stop than start if I’m going to be honest.
I signed up to the Ealing Eagles running club shortly before Christmas, to give me some fellow runners to share my pain/experiences with. Unfortunately due to a busy work schedule (always a good excuse) a lovely trip to Ireland for New Year and the snow that has now come down in the UK my first trip out with my new club has not yet come to fruition.
I have also signed up to run the Wilmslow half marathon (up near Manchester) with a friend at the end of March which will give me a good indication on how I am doing just 4 weeks before the big day.
In between signing up for things and buying new hi-vis running tops, hat and gloves I have actually managed to get out for a few runs. My longest has been a nice 10 mile run along the canal from Paddington back to my house in West Ealing on Christmas Eve and then a few 6 milers around Ealing and Gunnersbury Park over the past few weeks until the snow came down.
Last week I was in Rosenheim in Germany (half an hour south of Munich) and I took my running gear ready to get out there and enjoy the Bavarian countryside. Unfortunately it was -11 degrees in the evenings and there was a lot of snow on the ground, so the risk of injury outweighed the benefit of a run – or that’s how I sold it to myself. Unfortunately the hotel was fairly basic and did not have a gym, so I just had to enjoy the Bavarian food and drink without having a chance to run any of it off – still, it should give me some extra calories in reserve for the long runs.
I will keep you all updated on my progress, which I hope will be increasing over the coming weeks and if you would like to sponsor my effort, then please feel free to donate at my fundraising page : http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RichBaker
This week’s motivational comment to myself: Running is like banging your head against a brick wall, it’s fun when you stop.
Rich Baker
30th January 2013
