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So with just over seven weeks to go until I run in the London Marathon, I’m in week 9 – over half way – through my 16 week training programme. I’d been planning to write a bit more in way of updates, but as you can see, my weblog writing mojo has taken a bit of a back seat the last few months.

In the general sense, things are going well. I’ve got most of my long runs in – I just missed one – and I’ve been working through the issues that have come up, as I encounter well known endurance running issues for the first time. Until starting my training I’d never run more than about 14-15 miles.

There’s not really a discrete way to say this, but it boils down to three things, first of all chaffing. Run for 18 miles straight and if you’re not wearing the right gear, things that are usually fine start to rub. I’ve learnt to hate cotton. And it’s never nice, so liberal doses of, er, Vaseline or similar (Favourite training quote so far “There’s no problem that Vaseline can’t solve“).

So with that solved, and the distance increasing, I really start to struggle after my first 20 miler. My pace just dropped, and it was tough to get around and hit the 20 mile mark. My body had just run out of energy. A long run can easily burn 2000 calories. Look on the back of your cereal packet, and that’s the recommended daily intake for an adult. In just a few hours! So last week I spent a small fortune on what are best described as “orange flavoured wallpaper paste”: Yup, I’ve got some gels at last. I’ve also “rediscovered” Jelly Babies. Ok, I’ve always liked them (head first, natch), but they were pretty much a long car journey treat. Now they’re a great reward on long runs.

The goal in all of this is to make sure I’ve tried everything out, so that on race day I’m as prepared as I can be. I’ll be worried enough as it, and the weather will no doubt provide enough randomness for my tastes!

My third, and – I’d feared biggest – issue was sore legs, particularly my right leg. I’d begun to worry I’d picked up an injury – a hamstring or calf strain or similar – so had backed off a little. In talking it through with some fellow runners, I was strongly recommended to try getting a sports massage. People seemed marginally surprised I’d not actually had one before.

The reason is I’m a bit funny about massages. Just don’t particularly like people touching me, so whilst Frances is usually first in the queue for a spa massage, I’ll content myself with a run and then a shot in the pool. However, it was such a consistent “you’re training for a marathon, therefore you must have a massage” from so many running friends that I figured I’d give it a shot. As one of my clubs coaches is a qualified masseur, popped along early and had the full ‘Oscar treatment’. Painful? Yes, but in a really good way. I was very surprised by the difference I felt, and where the problem (such that it was) seemed to be located. I’d not actually expected to be able to run afterwards, but felt really good, so I opted to skip the hill session my group was scheduled for and went for an ‘easy’ run around Glasgow Green with a few others. Whilst the pace wasn’t quite as easy as I’d hoped, it was eminently manageable, and my legs felt, and still feel, fine. I may even go for an easy run this afternoon. The last few weeks they’ve been stiff for a fair while after any long-ish run. So, I’ll be most certainly going back!

This weekend I’m running the Balloch to Clydebank Half Marathon as part of the training plan. Not sure what pace I’m going to run it at yet though. Coaches advise is largely “just see how it goes”, which seems sensible enough to me, perhaps as a pacing run for the marathon, perhaps a bit quicker. I’ll be saving any attempt at half marathon PB’s for later in the year. Then it’s a few more weeks of long 20-22 mile runs before starting the taper.

I’ve also rediscovered running with music. I’d stopped listening to music whilst running a couple of years ago, but trying to motivate yourself for a 20 mile run on your own, you do need something! As my running club weekend long runs normally clash with the parkrun, I’ve been running on my own a lot, unless I managed to find a few others happy to get up early on a Sunday morning. But when that doesn’t happen, I’m off on my own with my music, and quite enjoyable it is too.

So all going quite well, and I’m quite relieved my recent worry about injury was, it seems, misplaced. I’ve overcome the challenges I’ve encountered so far, and learnt a lot about my body in the process. It’s far from over though: There’s a lot that can happen even when it’s “just” a case of getting a few more long runs done, but I’m enjoying the experience, and if that’s happening, fingers crossed it’ll come together ok on the day.