Training for the 2010 London Marathon: Week 1

The first four months of this year are going to be nearly entirely focussed on getting fit enough to run the Virgin London Marathon on April 25th. I’ll be running for Shelter, the homelessness and housing charity, and my fundraising will be getting underway in earnest in the coming weeks. To keep me motivated and track progress I’m going to be recording my exercise regime and thoughts here until the big day.

This week
I’ve been hampered a little by a tender achilles tendon in my right leg. Contracting this injury in 2007 put me out of the Great North Run, so this time I’m determined not to aggravate it. With this in mind, other than following the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate) philosophy, I’ve changed my workouts, switching to low-impact Body Pump classes and rowing instead of running.

Body Pump is essentially weight lifting to music, aiming to improve core strength. If you’ve ever seen one of these classes you may be mistaken in thinking they are an easy option. With the right weights though, these are pretty bloody tough work. The sheer ridiculousness of doing bicep curls to the sound of Bon Jovi with twenty other people (and the peer pressure) never fails to amuse and motivate.

I also discovered this week that I’ve gained 12lbs in weight since September, not all of which can be muscle, so I’ll be looking at my diet to cut out a bit of the fat.

  • Days to go: 106
  • Eating: porridge
  • Listening to: the slightly marvellous Running Trax compilation by Ministry of Sound
  • Sleeping: lots

2 comments

  1. You’re right about Body Pump being hard work – I went to classes in the summer of 2008 and they were unexpectedly brilliant. It was great seeing evidence of progress by moving on to heavier weights. Wish I’d managed to find an alternative class after changing job; must get round to looking again!

    Good luck with the training 🙂

  2. Edith thanks for the luck! I will need it (and a lot of gin at the end of the race). Body Pump classes run all over the place – worth looking around for.

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