Tag: training

 

Training Summary

Day 1. 10 K

Day 2. Rest day

Day 3. 23 k

Day4. Define class by Ashley Yeater

Day 5. 10 k + 2.5 km @Midnight Runners

Day 6. Rest day

Day 7. 10k Run

Day 8. Rest day

Day 9. 24 km

Day 10. Bikram Yoga (60 minutes)

*Detailed update starts on Day -13, 1st January 2017…

My marathon training started on the other side of the Atlantic…all the way at Los Angeles, CA, on a visit to my best friend during the festive season! I managed to start my training with two runs, a 10k (5:30min/km) and a 12k (5:57 min/km). Running from Santa Monica to Venice Beach, apart from the beautiful view the warmer temperature made them really enjoyable!

January 9th – 15th 

Coming back to London, I decided I would have to face the rain and frost but at least I would enjoy running in favourite city! Last week started with two 10km (5:41 min/km, 5:50 min/km) runs on Wednesday and Friday, followed by a 23 km (6:10 min/km) run on Sunday with my running buddy, Giulia!

Giulia, (a very soon to be Dietitian from KCL!) is running the Rotterdam Marathon on the 9th April, which is two weeks before the London Marathon. We have decided to keep each other accountable and train together! On our long run we passed through Tower Bridge, the London Eye, Westminster and headed to Battersea Park were we did two laps and then headed back. The view on the early Sunday evening was beautiful and made us feel like we were part of the La la Land crew!

January 16th – 22nd

This week started with a DEFINE class by Ashley Yeater. DEFINE is definitely one of my favourite classes. It combines elements of dancing, ballet and strength exercise! Stay tuned as I will be posting more about this class on my next marathon update.

On Tuesday evening, I joined the Midnight Runners crew! Tuesday runs involve a 10 km run with stops every 2 km for group exercises! There were around 170 runners on Tuesday, which motivated me to keep on going! As if that was not hard enough, I decided to run to the meeting point from home to add an extra 2.5 km. I am not going to lie, the exercises were tough…but by the end I managed to log a 12.5 km (5:50 min/km) run for the week and also strengthen my muscles! 😉

Wednesday I took the day off from running. Did some foam rolling in the morning and then headed to uni for lectures and library studying! 

Thursday was a busy day. Started with work from home, headed to uni for a 3 hour class on the management of obesity, followed by a Nutrition and Dietetics Society event. On my way home I ran 10 km (5:49 min/km). Back home, as I was stretching and foam rolling, I tuned in to BBC2 Horizon to watch Giles Yeo talking about Clean Eating.

The final run for the week was on Saturday, a 24 km run (6:21 min/km). Giulia was away this weekend so I knew this would be a tough run, however, the sun was shining and the blue sky filled me with happiness and motivation to run! I have decided to vary the routes of my long runs so that the training is more exciting. As I had never visited Greenwich Park I decided to explore that side of London. The run there was very good, however I realised how hilly it was only when I reached the park and at that point I had run only 11 k. With  13 km left to run I slightly panicked…Reaching 20 km I thought I would pass out but thankfully with you in mind I picked myself up and completed the run! Following the run I had a lovely lunch with my father, which gave the chance to refuel! 

 

Currently, I am trying to decide on a half marathon race. If you are also a runner (cyclist, swimmer etc.) and can’t decide which race is for you, make sure to check out Racecheck, a great resource for finding races in the U.K. and abroad. On Racecheck you can read athletes reviews in order to pick the race that best suits you!

DIET

In terms of my diet I haven’t really changed much, however, I am making sure I drink lots prior to my runs and I have noticed I have a bizarre new craving for milk post my long runs. I say bizarre, as I am the type of person who would never consider drinking milk on its own unless I was forced to…

I am looking into protein supplements and whether protein shakes is something I want to consider, but haven’t reached any conclusions yet. As I look more into what works for me I will be updating you! I will most likely be asking the expert opinion of dietitians before making any changes.

 

 

 

 

 

I would like to thank my dad- John, Vangelis, Eirini, Freya, Masha, Michael and Teresita and Takis for their generous donations!

If you wish to sponsor me please visit Elisabeth’s Virgin Donation Page!

All donations will be greatly appreciated and will contribute to the development of the research on spinal injuries.

I am hoping to complete the marathon in 4h30m! I know this training will be really hard for me and I need your help! To keep me accountable, I plan to post an update of my training every 10 days, so stay tuned for the next post on 80 Days till the London Marathon!