Despite my claims that after running my first sub 3-hour marathon (2:57:29) this year at London Marathon that I was going to take a year off the marathon and drop back down to half marathon's, here I am again announcing I have entered this race again in what will be the 4th year running. I actually made the decision in my head that I would take a year off the marathon and concentrate on running a sub 1:20:00 half marathon then take on the marathon again in 2016. But after some last minute nudging by my running friend Robert Pratt from Kirkstall Harriers (who has entered the ballot) I took a 360 turn and just had to enter again. I have plenty of time to run a sub 1:20:00 half marathon.
Why London is so special?
London Marathon is the only major race in the UK and maybe even the world where for that weekend, you get treated like a genuine superstar, you feel like a professional almost, it's such a great experience. I just find the whole weekend so addictive. The Exhibition Centre event days leading up to the race (see a picture of me and my sister Melanie from the Expo Centre in 2013) is also a great experience. A combination of the pre race nerves, butterflies, the challenge ahead had the positive energy from organisers, spectators and other runners gets me excited and ready for the challenge of the marathon. It's a once in a lifetime experience in the fact that you never know how many marathons you have in you so you have to treasure the London Marathon experience while you can.
On a personal note, with the privilege of running on an automatic 'Good For Age' qualification time, it is something I have to take advantage of while I am young and in my physical prime otherwise I may regret it.
Although I am officially entitled to an automatic place through my qualification time, I have to be careful not to get too excited just yet as my application is actually still pending. Usually the application is very easy and I just need to send proof of my I.D. and proof of my qualifying performance which I have done. The only worry I have is my name change by deed poll from Richard Joyce to Richard Kennedy-Joyce. I have sent them a copy of both my new passport and my old one, I just hope it isn't a problem. I should find out if my application is successful within the next 15 days..... Fingers crossed .
Originally I was looking at running five half marathons next winter / spring season and running for the charity Mind. I thought running five half marathons would be a good challenge but now I have decided on running London Marathon again I am pretty certain I will be running for the charity Mind which I will announce more about that at the back end of the year. I don't want to go into details as to why I have had this charity in mind but I may do nearer the time.
Another thought or idea me and my sister Melanie have talked about for the next marathon is the possibility of breaking a Guinness World Record for charity but to be honest I think I would rather run and try and beat my time but breaking a Guinness World Record is a huge possibility for one year. Breaking the record for 'fastest time in a monk outfit' sounds interesting to me as I have run a couple of races for Kirkstall Harriers in a monk outfit - & it's not easy !!
See a sprint finish picture below:
The first thing I want to change to my next marathon training schedule is buy a Garmin Pacing watch. I've always been against them to be honest and I have always ran without a pacing watch. But after realising just how important the consistency of your race pacing is, I would be stupid not to follow suit of most amateur marathon runners and buy one, so for London Marathon 2015 I will have a pacing watch.
I have decided in my own mind that I am quitting the gym and weight training which will probably be after this week. This is due to lack of desire for that form of training. I've been weight training for nearly three years now and I've just lost that hunger and desire for this method of training. I would have probably quit a couple of months ago but I have been concentrating on a bit of body building and trying to get the body and torso I desire for my holiday to Malia next week. I am no longer interested in body building for a look, it's now all about performance now.
I do feel that my running has benefited from upper body weight training and some weight training on my legs, it has particularly helped me in the shorter distances such as 5ks and 10ks but sometimes in the longer distances it has caused me aching problems especially in my shoulders. The only form of weight training I will do is wear wrist weights on some training runs, which I swear by, race day feels so much easier when you have done the majority of your training wearing weights.
Core strength is something I am going to concentrate more on as I can do core training at home and I am also going to do some boxing training on the pads from time to time and get the skipping rope out. These are all methods of training that are easy to do, don't need loads of equipment and will most definitely benefit my long distance running more than weight training ever did. My football will mean I will keep my explosive speed without having to train my legs using weights.
Training Ideas
I am content with all of my PB's except probably my 10 mile race record even though I know they could be even better PB's if I picked more flat courses but I just love a challenge. Although I am content with my marathon and half marathon PB's I still have the hunger to improve on them.
I am going to try and go on more training runs - concentrating on intensity, hills and speed in most sessions with a long run now and then for my endurance.
My last run was one of the toughest and most intense training runs I've ever done on my own, although I struggle to run longer distances on my own, I run with more intensity on my own but I struggle to run more than 5 miles on my own. When I run with the running club or other running friends I find training long distances easier as I have company.
Pacing Card
Below is a picture of my London Marathon pacing plan which I thank-fully managed to stick to, next year I hope I can slightly improve:
most recent at top:
All stats from all 5 marathons
Including time, position, age & bill of health
World Major London Marathon 2014
Time: 2:57:29 Position: 1,061 of 34,706
Age: 29 Health: Very good, slight niggle
EMF IAAF Bronze Edinburgh Marathon 2013
Time: 3:18:06 Position: 440 of 8,000
Age: 28 Health: Poor, Achilles tendinopathy
World Major London Marathon 2013
Time: 3:00:41 Position: 1,387 of 36,000
Age: 28 Health: 100% fit
EMF Edinburgh Marathon 2012
Time: 3:04:56 Position: 189 of 8,077
Age: 27 Health: Poor, grade 1/2 Calf strain
World Major London Marathon 2012
Time: 3:26:27 Position: 3,960 of 37,500
Age: 27 Health: 100% fit
Marathon Bragging Rights:
+ Lucozade Sport Elite Top10Percent athlete (2013-present)
+ Three time 'Good For Age' marathon runner
+ One time sub 3 hour marathon runner
+ Top 3% of all finishers at London Marathon in 2014
+ Top 4% of all finishers at London Marathon in 2013