You are really lucky That’s a phrase I have heard a few times since arriving in Japan. Distance running is popular here and everybody seems to know somebody who entered, but did not get a place in the Tokyo Marathon. Folks are regarding my prowess in scoring an entry as nothing short of mystical. […]
Archive for the ‘Race Preparation’ Category
Tokyo Marathon Countdown – 5 Days
Posted: 23rd February 2016 by mockjogger in Race PreparationTags: Sub-4, Tokyo
One Toe in Tokyo
Posted: 4th February 2016 by mockjogger in Race Preparation, Training Plan, Training RunsTags: Marathon Training, Snow, Tokyo, Treadmill, Weather, Wind, Winter
You may have noticed that I’ve been a bit quiet of late. I’ve found it hard to find the time to write, what with all the actual running. A few months ago I entered the ballot for the Tokyo Marathon. I didn’t have any serious intentions for the race, but after several failed attempts at […]
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When Will I Fucking Learn?
Posted: 26th September 2015 by mockjogger in Medical, Race PreparationTags: Calf Strain, Great Scottish Run, Idiot, Injury, Running Injured
August was sensational. Back in training, big style. 142 miles on the clock, my biggest month ever. Times coming down to within sprinting distance of my 2014 highs. I beat Arnold Schwarzenegger to it, I was well and truly back. Then, on a routine 10k during Friday lunchtime, I felt my left calf getting a […]
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To #GNR or not to #GNR? That is the question.
Posted: 5th September 2014 by mockjogger in Medical, Race PreparationTags: Calf, Foam Roller, Great North Run, Running Injured
You don’t run with an injury. You don’t try out a new piece of kit or clothing in a race. You can’t “wing it” in a half marathon, the running gods will turn on you. I know these things. Everyone knows these things. Probably I will be doing all of them on Sunday. Recently, training […]
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Edinburgh Marathon Countdown – 6 Days
Posted: 19th May 2014 by mockjogger in Race Preparation, Training PlanTags: Edinburgh, Marathon Bands, Marathon Training, Pace, Training Plan, Weather
Last Friday afternoon we crossed the threshold into long range weather forecast territory for the Edinburgh marathon. Not that there was anything useful to be determined; the weather soothsayers were clearly playing their cards close to their chest at this point by predicting that anything and everything could happen. Since then, the inexorable advance towards […]
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Paris Marathon Countdown – 1 Day
Posted: 5th April 2014 by mockjogger in Race PreparationTags: Paris
I started writing this post about two weeks ago when, fuelled with a class of red zinfandel, I wondered what I would feel like the night before my first marathon. At that time, I expected that I would feel inspired. I expected that it would feel like the before one of life’s more momentous events. […]
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Paris Marathon Countdown – 13 Days
Posted: 24th March 2014 by mockjogger in Race Preparation, Training PlanTags: Hal Higdon, Paris, Taper
I will never be the fastest runner out there but I have found that I am pretty adept at tapering. I am quite enjoying not having to get up at 5.30am for a long solo run. I don’t think I am any more irritable than normal. I feel the odd twinge in a joint, but […]
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Paris Marathon Countdown – 44 Days
Posted: 20th February 2014 by mockjogger in Race Preparation, Training PlanTags: Fatigue, Hamstring, Jetlag, Marathon Training, Paris, Vitamins
The first part of my training plan for the Paris Marathon went precisely how Hal Higdon would have liked it to have gone. Bring it on, I thought. A little early, as it turned out, as when embarking the second part of the plan, several life-factors conspired to rob me of energy, making each run […]
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Paris Marathon Countdown – 66 Days
Posted: 29th January 2014 by mockjogger in Race Preparation, Training PlanTags: Marathon Training, Paris
I signed up to offer my marathon virginity to Paris four months ago with all the zeal of a turkey in springtime, safe in the knowledge that Christmas is a long, long way away. When I started looking at training plans a few weeks back and found that I should have started yesterday, reality started […]
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My marathon training plan has cranked up a notch this week. As the miles start to mount, so, naturally, my desire for calories grows. And grows. I find myself waking up thinking about breakfast. Maybe that’s normal for many folks, but it’s new for me. Toast or crunch? Toast and crunch? If I bring lunch […]
