In the past few months, I’ve put more than 500 miles into two pairs of shoes, at least twice as many on the Felt tri bike, and many yards in the pool. On April 28, I’ll be knocking out my third full marathon, and the second of the majors (Chicago last year). Last year (around end of April, for those interested in trying), I was one of 386,050 people to enter the lottery for the London Marathon and was approved around October as one of only 40,000 or so. From that point, I immediately built out my training plan for the next six months, cut out most of the fun races I slot in, and focused on the A race.
During Chicago, I relied too heavily on tech, which appears within the first few miles you hit a tunnel and it will 100% mess up your GPS watch, combined with a messy start and way too many people, and didn’t hit my goal as a result. Those are all excuses, which is why I’ve better prepared myself for London. I’ve put in the miles, increased the pace, focused on more sleep, and a better diet (less chicken and waffles + beer). In the past week and a half, I’ve even adjusted my schedule so that I can better acclimate to the five-hour shift in time because I never sleep the night of a big race.
As a mid-packer, I don’t have any crazy goals for this race, but I will enjoy every one of those 26.2 miles to wrap up another journey. It’s easy to appreciate the badasses that I train with, but for me it’s just about putting in the work, the mental therapy each run provides, and the healthy routine it forces you into.
Goals and Expectations
- Break the 4-hour mark
- Run the entire time (sans potty break)
- Enjoy the journey and smile more
- Cross the finish line with little to no injuries
I’ll do a quick race report, too, but after the race, I plan on eating endless fish and chips, grabbing a few pints, and exploring the rest of the UK with Grace. Then, it’s on to Ironman Augusta (70.3) training, which I’m fucking terrified of (the swim, the stupid swim). I’ll post updates on Insta while out there.