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

After yesterday’s VO2 Max session – which felt like being chased up a steep hill by the ghost of poor pacing decisions – I greeted today’s training with a sense of deep gratitude. On the plan? A gentle 28-minute recovery run. No heart-rate zones to stress over, no watch screaming at me to go faster, no silent judgement from passing cyclists. Just movement for the sake of movement. After the lung-burning brutality of yesterday, this run felt like slipping into a warm bath. The pace was slow. Deliciously, intentionally slow. I focused on staying relaxed, keeping my stride soft and doing that thing where I pretend I’m in one of those inspirational sports montages! Backchat The ongoing grumble from my back didn’t quite fade into the background today, but it wasn’t the loud, blaring alarm it had been yesterday either. More of a quiet protest, the kind you get from someone reluctantly dragged into helping you move house. It still made its opinion known during the first few minutes of the ...

Running Through the Ache Another day, another run, another quiet mutiny from my lower back. I knew today wasn’t going to be a heroic effort, but determination outranks comfort when it comes to marathon training. I’ve done my research and as long as the pain isn’t making me see my ancestors or forcing me to adopt a new and permanent sideways gait, I can keep going. I set off with a plan—nothing too ambitious, just a steady run to keep my legs moving and my training ticking over. The first half wasn’t too bad, though I could feel the ever-present stiffness lurking in the background like an officious administrator waiting for an opportunity to hand me some very inconvenient paperwork. But by the time I reached the second half, my back decided it had quite enough of this nonsense and staged a small but effective rebellion. Every stride felt a little heavier, every movement required more thought than it should and the idea of stopping became increasingly appealing. Still, I pressed on. Not ...

A Morning of Regret Today did not start well. I am a firm believer that household appliances should remain in their designated spots and not take it upon themselves to launch surprise attacks. Unfortunately, my fridge disagreed and in a moment of sheer domestic betrayal, it attempted to introduce itself to my foot at high velocity. This, naturally, was an experience I do not recommend. Upon waking this morning, I discovered that in my valiant effort to prevent the fridge from completing its assault on my foot, I had also managed to tweak my lower back. Gravity, it seems, has a cruel sense of humour. The Shuffle of Determination With my foot throbbing and my back feeling as though it was held together with hope and misplaced confidence, I embarked on my scheduled run. It was supposed to be a threshold session: 4 x 6-minute efforts at a pace that could be described as "faster than comfortable." What I managed was more of a determined shuffle, the kind usually reserved for peopl...