"London Marathon 2025: Getting in Shape Again for the Ultimate Running Challenge!"

After yesterday’s promising threshold run, it really felt like I had turned a corner. Unfortunately, my back had other ideas. I woke at around 4 a.m. to a gnawing pain in my lower back and then again at 6:30 am just in case I’d forgotten about it. It was back, and it was demanding attention—ignoring it was about as effective as ignoring a tax bill. The Roast That Broke Me Despite this unwelcome development, I pressed on with my pre-Mother’s Day errands, determined not to let a bit of pain disrupt the grand plan. By midday, I was in full roast-dinner mode, cooking up a feast for the family. Now, I suspect that standing for hours over a hot stove, lifting heavy trays and wrestling with an uncooperative joint of meat are not top-tier recommendations for lower back recovery. But if you’re going to suffer, you might as well do it surrounded by gravy and Yorkshire puddings. A Laughable Promise Somewhere in between basting and boiling, I made a bold commitment: I would run after dinner. In hi...

I woke up this morning and, for once, my training plan promised a relatively easy day. This was just as well, since my knee had recently taken up a new hobby: mild rebellion. Nothing too dramatic, just enough to make me treat it with the caution usually reserved for a sleeping cat on a lap—one wrong move and it would make its displeasure very clear. The Perils of Delivery Times A run was scheduled for today, but I decided to wait for my new ice pack to arrive first. This, in theory, would allow me to run with the comforting knowledge that I could immediately strap it on afterwards, rather than having to do the usual precarious balancing act with a standard ice block. However, Amazon had other ideas. The estimated delivery time drifted further into the distance like a mirage, and I was left with a choice: postpone my run entirely or head out and test the knee, hoping it wouldn’t stage a full mutiny. A Test Run (Literally) In the end, I opted for a gentle 30-minute run to see how things ...