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

The Run That Shall Not Be Named As I mentioned at the end of yesterday’s post, today’s run filled me with nothing short of dread. The infamous double threshold run loomed ahead, and, quite frankly, I wasn’t ready to face it. Threshold runs are already my least favourite—if running sessions were a royal court, the threshold run would be the one lurking in the shadows, grinning with far too many teeth. And yet, my ever-faithful Garmin, in its infinite wisdom, informed me this morning that today’s plan involved not one, but two of these efforts. I simply wasn’t in the mental space to accept this reality. So, I engaged in a well-practised coping mechanism: denial. I ignored it, carried on with my morning, and enjoyed a lovely lunch with Kelly and Emilia. We laughed, we ate and for a blissful while, I pretended my running shoes didn’t exist. But, as with all inevitabilities, I had to face my fate eventually. Into the Fire (Twice!) Knowing that a flat route would give me the best chance o...

A Slightly More Civilised Start Another day, another threshold run, and while I’m not sure I’ll ever enjoy them, today’s session at least had a minor variation: a slightly later start. Thanks to staff training, I wasn’t dragged into the predawn darkness at quite my usual hour, and rising at 5:30am almost felt luxurious. Almost. The plan was simple on paper—three six-minute efforts, keeping my heart rate between 165-170 bpm. A straightforward task, surely? But, as with so many things in life, what looks manageable from a distance has an entirely different character up close. The Heart Rate Hokey Cokey The first interval started smoothly enough, but very quickly, I was reminded why threshold runs occupy a special place in my personal hall of suffering. The battle to keep my heart rate within the required range was relentless. Too slow, and my Garmin let out a disapproving beep; too fast, and I risked tipping over into anaerobic madness. It was less of a run and more of an ongoing negotia...

A Test of Speed and Sanity As promised, today’s training took a significant upward turn—both in effort and in sheer stubbornness. It was time to shake things up with an anaerobic-focused run, stretching to a full hour. Nothing says ‘commitment’ like voluntarily gasping for breath before sunrise. After a thorough warm-up, I launched into the main event: seven one-minute intervals at a blistering 4:30 min/km pace. For those unfamiliar with this kind of suffering, that’s about a minute per kilometre faster than my usual 10k pace—so, essentially, the sort of speed that makes your legs file an official complaint with the management. Recovery periods of three minutes in between allowed my heart rate to return to something vaguely human while lactic acid was politely escorted from my muscles. This high-speed torture is proving invaluable for improving my top-end pace, even if it occasionally makes me reconsider all my life choices. Into the Darkness, Literally With the run stretching longer, ...

A few days have passed since my last threshold run, and today felt like the perfect opportunity to tackle it again. As I woke up, my Garmin Forerunner 955 seemed to agree, cheerily suggesting a threshold workout for the day. There’s something slightly unnerving about being bossed around by a wristwatch, but who am I to argue with technology? The Chase is On With my plan set, I hit the streets of Rochester, bracing myself for two 8-minute efforts at a high heart rate. It’s the kind of pace where your body feels like it’s negotiating with your brain, and the conversation isn’t polite. The first interval had me tearing through the streets like I was being chased by an exceptionally persistent tiger—or perhaps just a particularly annoyed tabby. Although the temperature wasn’t as frigid as in recent days, the increased pace meant the cold bit into my face with the tenacity of a terrier on a postman’s trousers. By the end of the interval, I had resorted to covering up, transforming into what...