So, back to us feeling dejected at being rejected from the London marathon (again). Unbeknown to me, middle daughter Katy got Googling (or was it Instagramming/Reditting - she’s a Millennial/Gen Z?), and the next thing I know she’s got a place in the Amsterdam marathon and is trying to persuade her sisters to join her!
The life-changing message.
Katy can be very persuasive (OK, I admit it we’re all frightened of her, so we just do as she says for an easy life), and before I knew it I had entered too along with our youngest daughter Pippa. Joanna (the eldest) was the only strong one amongst us!
Mental note – I have until 8th Sept to chicken out of this!
The training plan
June 2025 is when my husband became a marathon widow (although he knew what he was in for as he’d run the London marathon earlier in the year in April – so you could say it was all his fault for putting the idea in our heads). But this was worse as there were 2 of us in the house marathoning as Pippa was now back with us after finishing Uni - so definitely out-numbered on all fronts. If we could have entered our cat Neo so he could join in too, we would have. Definitely time for a cat photo for those not really interested in running – see how I sneaked it in for you?
Neo ( a non-runner).
We got ourselves a training plan and, I think I am being fair to everyone when I say that I was the only one who stuck to it. Come rain, come shine, come blisters, come whatever, I got out there and I got those kilometres in.
That was one of the first things I had to do: change my watch to measure in kilometres. Because it was a European marathon, all the distance markers would be in kilometres, and as Pippa said, ‘the kilometres go by faster.’ Although sadly there are more of them.
We got our training plans from the very informative and helpful Marathon Handbook. You can choose how many runs you want to try to survive each week, and they ask you what your current mileage is and a few other questions and hey presto – you have your torture schedule that is going to rule your life until the day of the marathon. Every time we went to the fridge, there the schedules were staring at us:
Notice that the fridge magnets spell out - more or less - our names.
We both chose a 16-week programme, but I modified mine and added an extra week at the start (as it was 17 weeks before the marathon). Mine on the right involved 3 shorter runs midweek with the traditional long run at the weekend that gets longer and longer and then even longer until you hit 2 weeks before your marathon date and you start “tapering” or reducing your mileage back down so that you’re not exhausted for the actual marathon (no kidding!). There was also at least one strengthening and conditioning session per week.
Jeffing and beeping
When I started, I knew I already had a slight hamstring injury and after chatting to a physio to see how I could possibly survive this, decided that I was going to Jeff the marathon.
I was already running with the Jeffing club at my local running club – I have to give them a shout out here as they are the friendliest and most supportive running club in the whole UK who celebrate every runner’s achievements regardless of ability – Marple Runners. Don’t you just love our (very recognisable) Denise the Menace stripey tops?
Some of the Marple Runners in their stripey tops.
I’ve spent the last 10 years getting constantly injured and knew that a marathon training programme would put me straight back there on the injury bench, permanently, if I wasn’t careful. Jeffing is a run-walk-run method developed by Jeff Galloway that involves running and walking in consistent, timed intervals from the start of a run. The goal is to conserve energy, prevent burnout, and improve performance by strategically taking walk breaks, rather than waiting until fatigue sets in. It's used by runners of all levels, from beginners to elites, to build endurance for long distances like marathons.
Not everyone agrees with this relatively new option to running: especially my husband! But I have to say that I have found that my injuries have been less frequent and less severe since I started Jeffing and there’s a growing community out there of “Jeffers”.
Finding the run-walk-run intervals that suit you can take a while. I built up from running 30s and walking 30s. My aim was to get to running 2 minutes and walking 30 seconds. But my hamstring injury got really severe and I decided to stick with where I had progressed to running 1min 45 seconds and walking 30 seconds. Additionally, I always run the first kilometre or so at the start of a race and the last 1 or 2 km.
So here we get to the beeps! You really need an interval timer to tell you when it’s time to start running/start walking. You then run/live by the beeps. And you start dreaming about beeps because on a 34 kilometre run, there are a lot of beeps and they seep into your brain cells, your bones, your soul!
I got used to my (very early before work) morning runs up and down the Longdendale Trail near our office and the occasional lunchtime or after-work run.
What I did last summer ...
In fact, I began to get to know what felt like every blade of grass and every dog-walker on that route. And the long runs along the Macclesfield Canal and then back along the Middlewood Way. Big thanks to everyone that smiled at me or encouraged me when I clearly must have looked like my next step might be my last on some days!
The effect on others
The training plan really does rule your life if you religiously stick to it, like I did. There were times when it seemed that I slept, ate, worked and ran. Not much else existed for those 17 weeks. You should have seen the state of our house! A few thank yous ...
To whom | Thanks |
|---|
Andy | Poor Andy had to put up with my obsession of sticking to the plan on 2 holidays we went on during those 17 weeks, including endless searching of where I could run when we were away in our campervan in Europe to cover those kilometres required according to “The Plan”. Sorry, and thank you to my husband! |
The other Wise Owls | My lovely Wise Owl co-workers had to put up with my smelly, wet trainers by the office entrance and my fellow trainers had to give some extra courses on Mondays because I wouldn’t be able to walk after my weekend long run! Thanks guys! |
My friends | My poor friends had to put up with “I can’t, I’m marathon training”. Sorry girlies! |
My mum | My poor Mum down in Worcestershire hardly saw me except on Facetime. I managed one trip where I (probably very rudely) went off for several hours down the Staffordshire & Worcestershire canal for my long run (and got lost multiple times!). Sorry Mum! |
The effect on us
Everyone knows when you’re marathon training – there’s just no way you could keep it a secret! But you definitely don’t need to hear about any of the following:
How many blister plasters I got through – and still am (I should have bought shares in Compeed)
How many different energy bars, gels and sugary snacks I tried until I found ones that didn’t upset my stomach (Tailwind electrolyte/carb drink, Maurten gels and Misfits vegan protein bars)
How many times I googled how to deal with bodily functions during a marathon – oh did we all get obsessed with this! I was shocked to read that lots of runners take either laxatives the day before or Imodium on the day. We did neither I’m pleased to say!
How much I spent on physio for my poor hamstring (and still am spending).
Here are a few of the medical things which nearly stopped us running:
Pippa and I got flu/Covid 3 weeks before and were on the sorry sofa for a good week.
I’m still coughing (I have asthma so it often stays on my chest).
Pippa's knees went about 5 weeks before the marathon. I had to fetch her halfway through what should have been her longest run and they just seized up and she was in a lot of pain.
Katy's knee keeps dislocating (it has done since she was about 14). It dislocated about 5 times throughout her training so she barely was able to train properly at all. Fortunately, she was already running half marathons so was building up from a much higher baseline than we ordinary folk.
My hamstring started telling me after the flu just how unhappy it was and my physiotherapist was working so hard to keep me running. I know she wanted to tell me I shouldn’t be running, but bless her she never did!
How we made it to the start line I will never know.
