El Gordo

Following on from my last blog, I got in the 6.5 and the 9.1 and the times for them were encouraging. Day off on Saturday in preparation......... Alongside that, I was packing in the past, baked potato, jaffa Cakes and doritos and I'm learning to loathe them all......

Sunday, The longest long run. For the last 18 odd hours, everything has been focussing on it, thoughts, food, plans and I was nervous, like waiting for a performance to start and at 1, bang on 1 I headed out. I was kitted out exactly as I will for London. Same shoes, socks, knee supports, shorts, and my official "I-Can" running vest.

 It was cold, but from the outset it also felt comfortable. The plan was four laps of the island (4.6 miles each) and a mini lap (1.9) bolted on. The first two I felt invincible, they positively floated by, the third and a half was steady and it was only the last 3 miles that felt a little stodgy. Timings were very satisfactory, 46, 47, 48 and 48 minutes (46 is the 10 minute mile marker) and the last section was 18 minutes, just inside the plan. Add to that the rolling terrain and cold conditions and to be frank, it instilled me with confidence. Ice packs went on as soon as I got through the door and there was a hot bath to follow.

One thing I very much appreciated about this run over the 18.4 two weeks ago was the psychological side. Last long run my mind was wandering and I struggled to focus on the run itself. It felt longer than it was and though the run itself was fine, it did seem to drag out..... Todays run was so much different and better. The miles ticked by and my mind didn't wander at all. I've just run the third longest distance of my life and spent 3 hrs 27 mins non stop pounding the roads of St Marys.....

It was also something of a watershed. From this point on the training backs off. Officially it's called tapering, the hard work is done and from this point on, you can't really improve your fitness, just increase the risk of injury. Having said that, I do still need to lose about 10lb in weight. I have dropped from 222lbs down to 202lbs which is great for a start, but if I could shift a bit more, it's less baggage to carry round the streets of London.

I feel ready.