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

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...

Well, here we are at Day 38 of the London Marathon 2025 training plan. This morning featured a 5 am rise—not strictly necessary for a 40-minute run, but a useful exercise in conditioning my body for the early starts ahead. There’s something oddly reassuring about being awake before even the most enthusiastic morning birds have started their complaints about the cold. Training is, after all, about balance: work, life and the perpetual quest for more sleep. Slippery Slopes and Careful Steps The temperature has taken another nosedive and the ground was less than cooperative. Any downhill sections required the kind of careful foot placement usually reserved for tightrope walkers or people trying to quietly sneak past a sleeping cat. With icy patches keeping me on my toes—sometimes quite literally—I had to take it easy where I’d usually enjoy a carefree descent. Today's session was a threshold run, featuring one 17-minute effort at around 165 bpm. Not the easiest target to hit when ever...

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...