Marathon preparation hits the final week

 As the big day approaches, Garmin Ambassador and Bournemouth Athletics Club runner Steve Way gave us his final thoughts on his marathon preparations.

 "Are
we there yet?. 7
days to go and I'm already desperate to hit that start line! Feeling rested due
to the decrease in mileage and the Garmin agrees telling me my resting HR
is at a
new low of 34.

Last
week  went to plan with just 2 short sharp sessions and 75 miles total
(50% max). I thought I'd use a local Friday night 5k time trial as one of
 my last speed sessions and
considering how fresh my legs are starting to feel I was confident of a sub 15
min clocking…..

The
trouble with fresh legs is you always end up going faster than you think you
are (must remember that for 7 days time) and after my trusty 310XT told me I
had gone through
the first mile in 4:37 I had to tell myself to calm down, pushing the limits at
this stage would not be the best move so I relaxed into a good pace and took
the win in 14:57.

Job
done, a nice bit of "sharpening" and a big confidence boost for the
big day. So
the plan for the next week, here's what I need to do before Sunday!

• "Jog" 34 miles over the course of the next 6
  days with a couple of them at target marathon pace on Wednesday 
•  Drink plenty of water and keep my food intake at
  "normal" levels
•  Loosen up the legs with my final pre-race massage
  – Thanks Eamonn!  http://www.sportsmassagebournemouth.co.uk/
•  Bleach my hair to match my Bournemouth AC
  vest………..you ask why?…………..I say why not?
•  Pray every night that I don't wake up the next
  morning with a cold.
• Check the weather forecast for Sunday – ideally on an
  hourly basis 🙂

To all those joining me in some taper madness, don't worry – it's only temporary!"

Steve Way will be wearing his Forerunner 310XT in this weekends Virgin London Marathon. Keep an eye out for him in the Elite field as he challenges the target of 2:18. Steve is also a Garmin Run Club Ambassador, find out more at www.garminrunclub.co.uk