Update....

Saturday 11th April, only 2 weeks now until the big day so this was my last long run and I had to make it count.  Sitting here now in the warmth feeling chuffed that I managed 20 miles.  I'm especially plased as the weather conditions weren't ideal, there was light drizzle rain constantly falling on Richmond Park which made my running clothes very wet (obviously) but also heavy.  I managed to complete 2 circuits of Richmond Park (14 miles) then headed out via Kingston Gate to battle the Saturday afternoon traffic before heading back to Ham.  I ran the 20 miles in 2 hours 53 mins which is exactly the pace that I want to run the Marathon to get me in under 4 hours..  Once I had warmed down, the muscles didn't feel too much in pain but now I'm reflecting on how my legs are going to cope with the extra 6 miles on top of what I ran today.

Sunday 29th March, this was supposed to be the 'big one' as it's only 4 weeks until race day.  I managed to acheive 2 laps of Richmond Park...17 miles in total! I was hoping to hit the 20 mile mark but unfortunately fell a few miles short.  I'm putting it down to the lack of carbs that I had eaten over the last 4 days.  There's good timing...I've got my best mates stag do this coming weekend so will have to take it a bit easy!

Sunday 22nd March - Having just come back from 3 days skiing in Austria I'm just glad I didn't break any bones on the slopes!  I managed to get 15 mile run in the day before I flew out so felt like I had deserved a few days rest.  A couple of 7 milers this week before I go for the big 20 miles over the weekend.  Exactly 5 weeks to go.....

Sunday 15th March - I've just completed my first Half Marathon at Silverstone in circa 1 hour 50 mins.  I hit some trouble at the half way point as I hadn't realised how quickly I covered the first 6 miles and was running out of gas...fast! It was a great experience and the crowd certainly helped to cheer you along.  My brother was also running the same half marathon but we couldn't find each other at the start.  Off skiing on Thursday for the weekend to take a well earned rest!

Sunday 8th March 2009 - Today was a bit of a close call.....following a 10 miler on Friday, 3 miles on Saturday I ran 13 miles today.  However, after I hit the 13 mile mark, I was completely unprepared for the sudden drop in temperature, hailstones etc and started to get mild hypothermia in Richmond Park.  It was bright sunshine when I left home so was only wearing a t-shirt.  I had to stop running, my body shut down and it took me about 25 minutes to walk into Richmond in the freezing cold. I stumbled into an Old Peoples Home of all places, I had slight memory loss and couldn't feel my arms and legs...quite scary! The receptionist looked after me until I regained my senses, 3 cups of tea and I felt ok 2 hours later....Only 7 days until my half marathon at Silverstone...

Wednesday 25th Feb 2009 - There's dedication for you....I'm supposed to be on holiday, relaxing etc etc and I've just come back from a 12 mile run around Richmond Park!  I'm feeling quite sore as I only managed to get in a 7 mile run on Friday night over the last week.  Looking forward to pushing on this weekend and targeting 16-17 miles! 

Sunday 15th Feb 2009 - Exactly 70 days to go until race day so I really had to put some extra effort in today and break the 10-11 mile barrier.  After running for 2 hours and 20 minutes my body completely shut down.  With no mobile phone I limped the 3 miles back home making a lot of groaning noises.  I managed to run circa 15.5 miles....by far my longest run yet but still another 11 miles to add on to that.  I'm still in agony now!

Sunday 8th Feb 2009 - Once the snow had melted, I had no more excuses for putting off the inevitable 'long run'.  Surely the worst part of the week for everyone training for the marathon.  As I had to go to central London to attend a Marathon seminar, I had the bright idea of combining my long run from my house (Richmond) along the Thames into central London!  I wasn't  sure how far Richmond was from Central London but it didn't look that far on the tube map! 1 hour 34 mins later I eventually made/stumbled into Fulham, which, if I'm being generous is about half way between my starting point and destination!  Sitting on a bus trying to change into some dry clothes as well as eat my packed lunch proved to be as challenging as the running but pleased that my base is now up to 11 miles in 1 hour 34 mins......

Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

It may come as a shock to some......I've decided to take on the challenge of the Flora London Marathon, April 2009.

I'm guessing for some of you (especially my footie team mates), the idea of me running for more than 5 minutes, let alone for 4+ hours will be enough to keep you amused until 26th April 2009!  

This is a very special challenge for me, as I will be running the marathon in memory of my Grandad who sadly passed away in December 2007. 

I'm hoping to raise a significant amount of money for the British Heart Foundation, a charity which is very close to me.

Any donations that you can make mean so much, both to myself and also the BHF.  If you would any any information on the fantastic work that they do then please visit http://www.bhf.org.uk/.

My first goal is to finish the Marathon in one piece, but ultimately I have set myself a target of completing the 26 miles and 385 yards in less than 4 hours.

Thanks once again

Si/Fatbloke