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

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, today was a scheduled rest day—one of those delicious calendar entries that promises no running, no effort, and ideally, no guilt. They say rest days are where the real training happens and I am inclined to agree, especially when they involve minimal movement and maximum comfort. This one, in particular, came at just the right time. After staying up until around 1am to watch Rory McIlroy finally win the US Masters, it seemed only right that today was dedicated to horizontal living and low-level human functioning. When Breakfast Forgets to Happen I genuinely cannot remember the last time I skipped breakfast. I am someone who, even mid-run, will start planning my next meal with a sort of hopeful optimism. But this morning—or should I say late morning—breakfast somehow didn’t materialise. I stayed in bed for as long as the house would allow, navigating that delicate balance between enjoying the peace and ignoring the increasing calls from the children...

Today marked Day 61 of my London Marathon 2025 training and after a series of runs, a rest day was definitely in order. I managed a slightly later start to the day, though perhaps not quite as late as I truly desired. I still made my way to Rochester to prepare for work. It's funny how even on days when I'm not running, I adhere to my routine of showering and getting ready at work; doing so at home feels strangely disruptive—as though my morning self simply refuses to function without the structure of a commute. The Guilt Factor A common theme on rest days is the feeling of guilt. With the marathon now just over two months away, this feeling is amplified. It’s a struggle to dismiss the thought that I should be out there, logging miles and pushing my limits. However, wisdom lies in acknowledging that excessive training can be detrimental. Overtraining is, after all, the enthusiastic cousin of exhaustion. While pushing during training is essential, allowing the body adequate time...

The Art of Listening to Knees Today marked Day 54 of the London Marathon 2025 training plan and with yesterday’s knee pain still lingering like an unwelcome guest at a party that ended an hour ago, today's run was a cautious 30-minute outing. The schedule suggested a longer run, but sometimes wisdom is knowing when to ignore a piece of paper. Overtraining leads to injury and while some runners pride themselves on pushing through pain, they rarely win medals for stubbornness. A Scenic Tour of the Industrial Estate The run itself was a steady base run around the nearby industrial estate. Base runs are about maintaining a comfortable pace, building endurance, and, in my case, dodging delivery vans with a questionable sense of direction. They serve as a reminder that progress isn’t always dramatic; sometimes, it’s just another quiet step in the right direction. My knee, meanwhile, is still offering occasional twinges of protest. Ice packs and elevation will hopefully keep things in che...

The Luxury of a Saturday Run One of the true joys of marathon training falling on a Saturday is the chance to start later in the day. With no early alarms or work commitments to navigate, I was able to lace up my trainers after 11am—my favourite time to run. A proper night's sleep, a good meal and the daylight hours all make for the perfect combination. It’s a far cry from those early weekday runs, like the misty morning over the Medway Bridge a couple of days ago, where just keeping moving felt like an achievement. The Perils of Pizza and an Anaerobic Session Today's session, however, was never going to be an easy one. An anaerobic workout was on the cards, and I didn’t do myself any favours with last night’s choice of pizza. While carb-heavy, it always seems to leave me with a sluggish, food-hangover feeling the next day. I knew from the start this one was going to be a battle. The plan: a 15-minute warm-up followed by 7x1-minute hard efforts at around 4:30 min/km pace—far fa...