Mez’s Marathon – Pounding the streets continues

Week 6 of the Garmin Training plan has seen me take on the biggest challenge yet of my London marathon preperation, my sponsorship support topping £500 and the Garmin Forerunner 405 adding motivation to my increasingly hectic weeks.

Sunday just gone saw the longest run I've ever attempted showing me how far from the finish line I really am. A half marathon isnt to be sniffed at, and even after 5 weeks of solid 25-30 miles a week training the slightest weakness can see you come up short. Fortunatley I was only 4 miles from home when the tank ran dry but as you can see from my Garmin Connect report the times were looking good. Thankfully I didnt look too out of place in my lycra running gear as the crowds on Bournemouth Beach were distracted by a fancy dress 5km taking place in aid of the local surf club.

This week has been tricky and highlights the commitment you have to give to take on a challenge like London. With work commitments in Dublin its been hard to focus on putting some miles in. But last night I was able to take up the challenge again with a 6 miler. Times again looked good.

I'm also enjoying participating in the community of runners that are live on Dailymile.com. A great new social network of friends and runners who tally up their mileage each week to show who is top of the leaderboard. Fellow Garmin marathon entrant Mark 'Pimms O'Clock' Timms is continuing to set a challenging pace on this site for me to keep up with. Although I've managed to sneak ahead in recent weeks. Nothing like another Daily Mile member Jason V from Coralville, IA though, who is still miles ahead on the leaderboard with his February miles topping 316 miles compared to my 58 so far.

I'm also really pleased to add that our friends at Full Potential are also now adding their coaching support to Mark and my training ahead of London. Their expertise will hopefuly extract the best from both of us as we strive for the times we hope for on that late April morning.  The countdown continues, stay tuned for more news soon.