I was very happy with Sunday's long run.  I feel like my running plan is bearing fruit.  I kept a steady pace and felt good throughout the whole hour.  I even felt better towards the end, which is consistent with my theory that I tend to take at least half an hour to warm up.

It was a rare sunny day in London today.  I still wore my long pants and double layers, but got a bit overheated so I took my gloves off.  I warmed up by walking around the dock area and doing a little jogging.  I took a slow pace throughout the whole run.  My legs felt a bit leaden and heavy and a bit restricted by the long pants.  It felt like a hard run, but got better towards the end.  This seems typical for my long runs: it really takes me about an hour to get into these.

Today's run went better than other runs have recently. I experimented with a few things. I tried to do a more thorough warm-up and warm-down, by walking around for a few minutes before and after the run. The idea is that you lessen the shock caused by your body going from full running mode to stillness. During the run, I tried out different speeds, including sections of just walking: something I wouldn't usually do on a 9km run. Despite the walking, I still broke 45 minutes for the run.

The weather is dampening my enthusiasm to run.  When I get home from work each night, it's dark.  It has been really cold these past couple of weeks too.  I stayed close to home for last night's run: I did the triple out-and-back at the Royal Victoria Dock.  My right hamstring felt strained from the start and my knees felt cold and stiff.  I kept my strides short and got through the run.  It felt like work.

I think that I just need to keep to the schedule and keep exercising.  These runs will feel better soon, I hope!

I went for a half hour row in the gym tonight.  I just wanted to row for the whole 30 minutes, because I found it hard to sit for that long rowing last time and it would be an easy move back into training.  I wasn't worried about making a distance target.  As it happened, I got over 7,400 metres, which is still ok for this row.

I prepare for the row mentally by breaking it down into 15 x 2 minute pieces.  It doesn't take much to row for two minutes and I only need to countdown 15 of these, so it feels manageable.  Similar to long distance running, part of the method is mental.

Last Sunday, I ran in my second Amsterdam marathon. This was my first marathon, back in 2003, when I got a time of 4 hours and 28 minutes.  I was happy to be going back to the same place, 9 years later, to do my 6th marathon.

I was very happy with the result: 4 hours 1 minute and 47 seconds.  I felt like this was going to be a turning point for my marathon running.  If I were to have a race similar (in performance) to the recent Paris marathon, then I may have thought that I would never break 4 hours again.  As it turns out, I improved my time by over 40 minutes and I am in a confident frame of mind as I get back into my training.  I am planning to run the Vienna marathon in April next year and I will be targeting a personal best.

The course had changed from what I remembered.  Barely 2km into the race, we were running through Vondelpark.  We would run back through the park at the 39-40km mark.  There were also parts around the 30km mark that I couldn't remember.  I was telling myself about a hairpin turn that was coming up, but it never came.  The main section of the course - the long section alongside the Amstel river (and back) - hasn't changed.

I set off at a slow pace: I covered the first 5km in just over 30 minutes.  I think the only reason why I ran at this pace was because I had told Angel that I would be running at a 6min/km pace so she could predict where I would be on the course at what time.  Aside from right at the end, that was the slowest part of the race for me.  I would maintain a steady 27-28 minutes for each 5km from that point on.  Throughout, I had been targeting a 4 hours 14 pace (which I think is almost exactly 6 min/km pace) and I would work out how much of a time buffer I had at each km mark.  (This was easy because I just needed to remember the 6x table.)

Unlike the Paris marathon, Angel saw me a few times in the race: at around 7km, 27km and 37km.  It is great when you recognise support in the crowd and it gave me a boost each time.

From around 15km, I noticed a girl in a yellow top running at what seemed like a good pace, so I decided to pace myself against her.  She steadily passed people, so I kept up with her.  I kept up with her until the 30km mark, when I went to the side of the track and did some stretches.

From the 30km mark onwards, I tried a psychological trick of pretending that I was out on a 10km run.  I literally kept saying to myself "This is a 10k run... this is a 10k run, so you will run at 10k pace and pass all these slow runners".  It definitely worked.  In the last couple of marathons I had hit the wall at this point, but I seemed to maintain my pace, perhaps run even faster than I had in the first 30km.  Sure, my legs were sore, but I wasn't mentally affected by the run, which is the greatest danger in the second half of a marathon.  I passed the girl in the yellow top at around the 36km mark.

Just as we got into Vondelpark, at around 39km, I hit the wall mentally and pretty much decided that I couldn't run further.  I had cramp across my shoulders and my calf muscles felt like they would burst.  I walked for the next 200m, resigned that I might be walking for the next half an hour, at least.  But a runner past me called out for me to keep trying, and then the girl in the yellow top caught up and told me to "come on!".  That was the push I needed, so I started running again.  It was a slow jog, more like 6'30 or 7min/km pace, but it was still much faster than walking.  Also, it was probably better for my recovery to keep running, rather than walk and get cold.

I checked my watch at the "1km to go" milestone and saw that I had taken 3 hours 55 minutes and 30 seconds.  I decided that it was too hard to try cracking the 4 hours and I just maintained the same pace.  I wasn't too worried that I didn't beat 4 hours.  I was just pleased with the big improvement from last time.

While I was waiting for Angel at the agreed meeting spot, I kept my legs moving and did stretches.  I could still walk properly which was another great improvement compared to Paris, when I didn't do this after finishing that race.

I had a couple of good Sunday runs leading up to my week of tapering for the marathon.  I bought a special belt which can store a small amount of wine gums and I wear it on the long runs.  I am very pleased with this purchase.  I hardly notice that I am wearing it and it doesn't move around while I run.  It looks small, but I can actually cram in a lot of things.  This belt full of sweet snacks and a small bottle of water have combined to make my long runs more manageable.

I did the Tate Britain run under these conditions last fortnight and my time improved by a full 20 minutes.  I am still surprised by the variation.

The marathon is in two days.  I will be happy if I can run the whole way.  I am still undecided about my strategy to do this.

I had a very enjoyable run on Thursday night. I did my Bromley-by-Bow run which is 9.3km. I started conservatively, as usual, but there were long stretches where I felt good stretching my legs at a decent pace. The stretches were good afterwards. I had no discomfort in my knees.

In contrast, Saturday's run was dissatisfying. I did the run to the office and back. It felt like the sun was shining too brightly. My top got heavy with my sweat and it felt uncomfortable. Even the stretches afterwards felt like a burden. I won't be running in that particular black top again.

The marathon is only 3 weeks away.  I went back up to the Tate Britain run - my longest run.  I need to do this run at least a couple more times before the marathon.  One of those times was today and the second time will be next week.

I carried a small bottle of water - the one that I got when I did the JP Morgan run a couple of months ago.  It is an ideal size.  Big enough to carry a decent amount of water, but small enough to not be a hassle for me to carry in my hand.

The run was ok: legs were not too tired, but I noticed that I was a bit down on energy from 7km left to go in the run.  I think I need to get a running pouch/bag of some sort, so I can carry some sweets with me to boost energy levels when I need it.  I don't care about the style, so long as it doesn't take up much room and doesn't move around when I'm running.

I noticed that I had done this run in around 2 hours 47 minutes when I ran it in April this year and today's run took 3 hours 8 minutes.  That's quite a big variance!  Granted, there were a few times during today's run when I fully stopped and did a range of stretches for 3-5 minutes, but I still thought that it would even out in the end.  I am aiming for a sub 3 hour run next week.

I am still working on the strength of my knees and the muscles that support them: the quads.  When I'm waiting in a queue, I will balance on one foot and raise the other leg, bent at the knee, or I will do some gentle squats.

Someone vandalized the apartment block gym, so it was closed off for the past week. I have been doing a half hour run along the side of the dock instead of the usual half hour bike ride or row. The half hour run is a simple "out and back" done three times. I have done this run twice now and I am running times slightly on either side of 29 minutes. I haven't felt my best on the runs, but the times appear to be quite good: around 4 mins 20 per km. It made me suspect that I undermeasured the run, so I took 200m off it when I added it to my spreadsheet.

I had a week off from my exercise schedule because I was recovering from a sore throat. This is frustrating, particularly when it is only a month out from the marathon. I got back into the schedule on Saturday.

I ran slowly on purpose as it takes me at least a km or so before I am warmed up. I chose to follow the benchmark run, hopeful that they had taken down the fence around the Excel arena. I was unlucky: the barriers won't be down until Tuesday. So I ended up doing an extended run. I was a bit out of breath at the end, but I had a good round of stretches in the gym. I wandered over to the grass outside the new Crystal building, but that was also closed off.

I decided to do the Tate Britain run on Sunday. This is my longest run and I estimate it takes 3 hours. I notice that there are sections of my long run where I always feel a bit drained (Commercial Rd) and others where I always seem to feel fresh (running down Kingsway, towards Aldwych).

I bought a 500ml bottle of water from a convenience store near Westminster bridge. It was a quarter the size and double the price of the bottle of water I got last fortnight. In any case, it was probably the right size for me on this run. I had a third of it immediately, then drank the rest in bursts until I had finished it after London Bridge. I felt better for having the water, but it was offset by feeling a little bit bloated.

At Wapping, my legs were tired but ok. But my back felt funny and it was uncomfortable to run. I ended up walking much of the rest of the way home. The time was 3 hours and 15 minutes. I might need to do more exercise that strengthens the upper body, and also stretches for my back.

I did the Credit Suisse and back run on Saturday. I had had a very sweet crepe for lunch earlier, so I was full of sugar. But I crashed from the sugar high and felt a bit low on energy on the way home. I forgot my watch and estimated the time.

I chose the Westminster run on Sunday, so it would be my longest run for a few months. Last week, I noticed that my legs were ok but I needed to be more hydrated. I haven't noticed any drinking fountains on my long running routes. I took some change with me so I could buy a drink during the second half of the run. I got a two-liter bottle of water for 47p from the M&S near Southwark. It was obvious that this was way too much water! Another runner was coming past, so I offered him some of the water which he accepted. I had a few big gulps myself and there was still almost all the water left.

It's a hassle to carry 1.8 liters of water with you while running. The long shape of the bottle is awkward. I swapped it from hand to hand as it got uncomfortable. Nearer home, in a park, I took another big drink then poured the rest of it over my head.

The last half hour of the run was the best I have experienced in a long run for a while. It was a good step on my training. I iced my legs extensively when I got home.

I knew that I need to go on some more long runs before the marathon, so I did the Holborn loop run on Monday.  I went out with a very measured pace, just intending to keep it steady the whole way and try to spend a lot of time on my feet.  I wasn't too concerned with getting a fast time.  I ended up with a time of around 2 hours 20 minutes, which is slow for a 25km run.  I noticed that my knees and ankles were not too sore at the end so I'm happy with this.  I think that if I had been able to drink something mid-run, then I would have had a better run and found it more enjoyable.  There may be a link between keeping hydrated during the run and how sore your muscles feel at the end?  I need to research that point.

I had a rest on Tuesday and went for a one hour run on Wednesday.  I noticed that the last 3 times I have done this run (Isle of Dogs loop) the times have been within a few seconds of each other.  Very consistent!  Again, I started off slowly and did a short stretching session just when I turned the corner in to the Isle of Dogs.  I maintained the measured pace throughout and took shorter steps when I was getting short of breath.  I could pick up the pace towards the end, which was pleasing.  I had a good session of stretching back at the apartment gym.

I was happy with today's run.  I did the Bromley-by-Bow loop and it took just over 45 minutes.  This is a reasonable time.  I started off slowly on purpose and intended to hold myself back whenever I felt any strain.  There were times when I could stretch my legs to capitalise on this restraint earlier on.  It is interesting that I ended up with a time similar to what I would get if I had gone out stronger from the start.  This further supports my theory that I start of slow and need to get warmed up before I can run these long distances.

We went to Barcelona in the weekend, so I didn't go for any formal runs, but we did do a lot of walking around.  It's not quite the same, but good to spend some time on my feet.

Whenever I can (e.g.: standing in meetings, waiting for the DLR), I have been doing squats to exercise my quads.  I am noticing some change, but I think it will need a month or so before the change is significant.

I am concerned that I haven't been on many long distance runs as part of this marathon training.  There is only two months to go and I would want to run at least 3 times greater than 180 minutes.

I am concentrating more on strengthening my knees.  It seems that the best way to do this is to strengthen my quads (because, in turn, they protect the knees).  I have found some exercises to do when I'm at home watching tv, or just waiting in line somewhere.

I decided not to go on any runs in the weekend so I wouldn't put more pressure on my knees from the impact of running.  I did a half hour row on Saturday and a half hour bike ride on Sunday.  The Olympics coverage is usually on in the gym, so I'm not missing anything.

In the last two days I have done my Bromley-by-Bow run twice.  I like to do this run at the moment because I get to run around the Olympics area and see people walking along the Greenway.  They have felt like average runs, but they have ended up being close to 5 min/km pace, which is ok for a 9km run in training.  My knees and ankles are still a bit tender.  My stretches are better.

I will watch the Olympic marathon this weekend, for some extra inspiration.

I have been for a few runs, now, while the Olympics have been on.  I have done the Bromley-by-Bow run twice, which follows much of the DLR route to the Olympic Park and includes a section along the Greenway.  Things are different now that the Olympics are on.  There are some road checkpoints near West Ham station, lots of cones and lots of volunteers in their purple and pink jackets helping people find where to go.  Along the Greenway, they have a few high chairs (like for a tennis umpire) and the people sitting in them have loudspeakers.  It has been a good atmosphere to be running in.

My times have been ok, but I have been feeling a bit bloated.  I still need to make some adjustments to my diet.

Last Sunday, I ran the Holborn loop run, which is 24.5km.  I was a bit low on energy at the start, which has been the case for many of my Sunday runs this year.  I am disappointed by this and I think it is to do with what I am eating immediately before the run.  I noticed that my right knee was tender at the end of the run.

At the end of this week, it has been my left knee which feels tender.  I was scheduled to go for a run on Thursday night, but I decided to do a half-hour bike ride so I wouldn't put too much pressure on my knee.  I had a rest day on Friday, but I still note that the knee feels tender.

My last couple of weeks of training have felt disappointing.  I missed my scheduled exercise each Thursday.  The first time, I rationalised that it was good to have an easier week to help with recovery.  The second time, I was being a bit lazy.  Particularly this last week, the mid-week exercise has felt disappointing.  I struggled to complete the half hour row on Tuesday: it was just uncomfortable to sit that long while rowing!  I don't know why this happened, I have usually had no issues with this.  On my Wednesday run, I felt a bit dizzy and had to walk for a section of the Greenway.  However, I finished strongly on that run.  It has been inconsistent.

I had an ok weekend of runs: a reasonably fast 5km on Saturday and a good 19.7km on Sunday (at around 5.2 min/km pace).  My schedule says I should be running 120 mins next Sunday.

I suspect that I am eating too much.  I'll try to keep an eye on this and not succumb to snacking.

I did my London Bridge run today, which is around 19-20km. I did three-step breathing all the way and I wasn't short of breath. I'm pleased with that. To be fair, I was doing short steps and my time was just under 1 hour 50.

I am icing my ankle while writing this post.

I had a 100-minute run planned for Sunday, but I changed my plans because I started after I had finished watching the coverage of the Wimbledon final.  According to the Runner's World advice, it may have been a good idea to shorten my run anyway.  They recommend that you build up your mileage slowly each week, but regularly have a week where you do less mileage as a means of recovery.  I ended up doing my Isle of Dogs run (11.4km) in an hour and 47 seconds.

I am concerned about my breathing capacity.  I intended to run easily with a three-step breathing pace, but it felt laboured.  I managed this until the half-way point, then I stepped down to two-step breathing.  Even then, it wasn't as easy as I would have expected.  In the final stages of the run, I was feeling bloated and a bit annoyed about the circumstance.

Stretches are going ok, but it has been hard to do my hamstring stretches my usual way because my support hand is slipping across the floor in the gym.  I ice-packed my knees and ankles as usual.  After waking up this morning, I am noticing the top of my right foot is tender.

I ran a shorter version of the Olympic Park run that I have done before. I have settled on a good course for this, so I will formally measure it and put it on my running rotation. I think it is about 9km, which is a good distance for my Saturday run.

I felt good at the start, but soon developed a shoulder stitch which stated with me for the rest of the run. I also feel a bit labored with my breathing, so the run wasn't as fun as I would expect.

I have reached the point in my running plan where I am doing four runs per week. I do an extra run on Thursdays, instead of going to the gym, to take advantage of the summer daylight hours.

I went for an hour-long run on Wednesday: the first time that I had done a run of that duration on a weekday since I have been in London. I followed this up with a fast-paced 5km run on Thursday night. I am making good progress: I can touch my foot now when I stretch my hamstring and I don't notice any tender muscles or joints when I am running.

My last long Sunday run took an hour and 50 minutes, which is slow for that distance (just under 20km) but I am not too concerned with this. I will run the same distance this coming Sunday.

I noticed that if I eat a banana right before my run, then I don't experience the energy lows which I had on recent runs.

I have had a recent series of runs where I have been low on energy.  It has usually hit me around 10 minutes into the run, then I have had to slow down and be determined to keep moving until the energy levels slowly built back up to a normal level.  I have kept the distances low until I feel like I am ready to do a run of over an hour.

I think I have reached that point.  For today's run, I ran to the Olympic Stadium and back.  It's not a run that I have settled on a formal route for and I was making up the return part as I was going, this time.  I got a good section along path next to the Lea, near Bromley by Bow.  The total run took me just under 56 minutes.  I might cut out a bit of it (to make it a circuit) and have a 50 minute run.  I felt really good today.  I started off slowly as usual and quickly got into a good rhythm.  No complaints with my knees or ankles today.  It was overcast and cool.  It was gently drizzling by the time I was coming home and this felt good.  I managed to get in a good sprint with long strides, right up to the apartment building.  It's very satisfying to end the run like that.

I had a couple of weeks off running because of the trip to Hong Kong for the wedding and our honeymoon in the Maldives.  This has made me a bit rusty.  I realised this for certain after my two runs this weekend.  I did the Royal Docks loop on Saturday, which has typically taken me 41-42 minutes.  This time, I took over 46 minutes and it felt like hard work.  I adjusted for the Sunday run, only intending to go at a slow steady pace for the whole way.  It was better than Saturday's run, but still plenty of work to go to get back to where I was before the holiday.

My legs are really unstretched: I can barely reach my ankles when stretching my hamstrings.  The icepacks are doing their job, however the biggest one split on the sides which was disappointing.  I'm not sure if it's safe to touch that blue gel, so I discarded the icepack and the teatowel I had been using the wrap it.  I still have another big pack and the little one, so I'm fine for now.

I have updated the running schedule to cover the period up until after the Amsterdam marathon.  Ah, I still need to officially enter that event!  Should get onto doing that this week.

I had a good run today: 11.4km around the Isle of Dogs.  My pace was consistent, albeit slow: still around 4hr marathon pace, but I was satisfied with it.  My left ankle feels tender when I run, but nothing that would make me stop.  It just feels noticeably more tender than the right ankle.  I iced the ankle and it feels good.

In long distance runs, once you get to a certain distance, is it better to spend less time on your feet than being afraid of running too fast?  I am thinking that if I run at a pace where I can have a comfortable conversation, then that would be the best pace for a marathon.  Any slower than that, and I would just be spending more time on my feet for no reason and would be more likely to hit the wall in the later stages of the marathon.  Getting enough water and sugar shouldn't be an issue in these well-organised races where there are tables with food/drinks every 5km or so.

The icepack worked well.  The ankle almost felt too good for the period after I stopped using the icepack.  Perhaps it's because I remember my ankle always being tender after a big run, that when I walked downstairs I was still expecting it to be tender and I was surprised that it felt good.  So I will be following this practice from now on to see if it gives some lasting improvement.

I went on my Wednesday run looking for a steady pace.  I was wary that I had gone out a bit too fast on that same run last time and I didn't want to make the same mistake.  I ended up with a similar time but felt like I had used less effort.  It was a more balanced run.

I had a good turn on the rowing machine tonight.  From the start, I was expecting an average row, so I was surprised that it took me longer to get tired.  I focused using the power of my legs in the last six minutes and ended up with a distance of 7,528m over the half hour.

I still haven't formally entered the Amsterdam marathon.  I should do that soon and look for accommodation too.

I had a couple of runs this weekend.  The Saturday run felt disappointing: I felt a bit off and unstretched.  I took it easy for the Sunday run.  My schedule had me down for a 100 min run, but I decided to do the Isle of Dogs run (11.7km).  I kept a steady pace with 3-step breathing (3 steps for each inhale, then 3 steps for each exhale).  I took just over an hour, which is the same pace as a 4-hour marathon.  I felt a bit sleepy in the first half, but I had had a bowl of oats and bran for breakfast, so I knew that I would pass that stage and feel better eventually.  I was pleased that I kept the same pace even at the end, and I wasn't distracted by being close to the finish.

As I'm typing this, I have strapped an ice pack (wrapped in a tea-towel) on my left ankle and it has been there for about 15 minutes.  My left ankle is typically the more tender.

I had a break from the fitness schedule over the weekend while we visited Norway.  We still ended up walking a lot around the streets of Bergen so I got to spend some time on my feet.

I missed the Tuesday bike ride because I got home quite late from work.  I did the 6.7km run to work and back, yesterday.  It was an ok pace, but my left foot is still feeling a little bit tender.  I will need to be careful with this foot during training.  I'll try out the ice pack on it after exercising in the weekend.  But, back to comments about the Wednesday run!  I had an upset stomach with around 2km to go and walked a little until I was comfortable.

I did half an hour on the rowing machine tonight.  I rowed consistently and never felt out of breath.  I got a distance of 7,570 metres, which is a PB.

It had been raining for what seemed like all of the past week and there was no change in the weather when I was getting ready for today's long run.  I wore long polyprops under my shorts, a long sleeve top, gloves and a hat.  I haven't worn this combination for two months.  I wasn't long into the run when I felt too hot, removed the gloves and tucked them into my shorts.  Another ten minutes later, I did the same with my hat.  The sun had emerged and it had shaped up to be a nice day for running.

I read an article online which recommended a shorter stride as a way to reduce the impact on your knees.  I tried this during the run to judge for myself.  Sitting on the couch now, my knees are feeling alright.  I will continue with this experiment.

The particular top I wore for this run seems to soak up all the sweat and the back of my neck felt chilly.  I actually had to remove the top and wring it out. It was heavy with moisture and quite a lot came out!

I walked most of the last 3km because my left ankle felt tender.  This seemed like the ideal opportunity to try an ice bath, but it ended up being a failure.  I could only get warm water running in the bath (not sure why I couldn't find cold).  I added the ice and all of it had melted within minutes.  I sat in a coolish bath for a few more minutes, realised it was pointless and just had my usual shower.

The time was a couple minutes over two hours.  This is below average, but at least I am learning more about what I need to focus on: my left ankle.  I think it would be good to ice it after a long run.  Does a running shop have a type of bag where I could hold ice cubes and strap on to the ankle?

I went for my first run in 10 days on Wednesday night.  In spite of the light rain and the moderate breeze, it was not too cold.  I started off a bit too fast and wasn't able to kick into the final stretch.  However, my time of just over 25 minutes was pleasing for the 5.4km run (Canning Town loop).  It was an almost identical time to the last time I did this run, a month ago.

I did half an hour on the rowing machine tonight and made 7,468 metres.  I expect that I will soon be above 7,500 metres for this.  I have a good focus when I am rowing.  I have found that if I break the half hour down into 2 minutes pieces, then it is easy to manage.  Even when there is 10 minutes to go, I don't get distracted by how close the finish is.  I just think about there being 5 more segments to go, and I continue rowing as I have done for the 10 segments before that.

I have thought about getting a more precise measurement of my longest Sunday run, then setting out some markers for each km.  They would need to be big enough for me to see, but not conspicuous enough for the council (or whoever) to take them down.  Then I can judge my pace during these runs, just like on race day.

I have started exercising since the Paris marathon.  I haven't been on any runs yet.  I went for half hour bike rides in the gym on Sunday and Tuesday.  It has been good to get back into it, although I won't really know how my legs are until I go for a run.  I plan to go for a half hour run after work tomorrow.  As we are heading into the summer and will have more daylight hours, I think I will go on more runs on weeknights.

Last Sunday, I ran in the Paris marathon. It was my first marathon in 5 years and I was unsure how well I would do. My training had been going reasonably well, although there were a couple of gaps when I didn't go running for a couple of weeks - around Christmas/New Year and also when I went to Hong Kong. I only had the one run of around 30km when I managed to run the whole way. For other long runs, I had hit the wall in terms of energy levels and ended up walking much of the way home. In that context, I wasn't sure that I could run the whole marathon, but nonetheless that was my goal.

I wasn't feeling nervous about the run at all. I really only became excited about it when we were on our way to Paris and when we got to the running expo on the Saturday. It was amazing how long the queue was at the running expo, just to get inside. It must have been a kilometre long.

On the race day, I woke up at 6am and ate a breakfast of All Bran and a couple of bananas that we got at a convenience store the night before. It was hard to eat the All Bran mixture with the very tiny spoon I found in the hotel room. I had a coffee downstairs at the hotel lobby, because I needed the caffeine hit to wake up and my experience is that coffee is good to have before a long run.

We left the hotel to get to the starting line well before the start time. I soon appreciated how it was good to stay in a hotel not so close to the start: we could catch the metro when it was not so crowded. When we reached the stations close to the Champs Elysees, there was no room for anyone else to get on.

It was overcast and a bit chilly at the start. It never really changed from that for the rest of the day. I was wearing long track pants and a jumper over my running clothes, which was a good idea. I also had my black gloves which I wore for the rest of the run. After applying Vaseline on the high-risk chafing areas, I said my goodbyes to Angel and made my way to the starting area. There were fences blocking off the footpath from the main street where we would start and it seemed to take ages to get there. There were only a few openings and people seemed to just be standing around. When I was in the starting area, I noticed all the old clothes strewn on the ground. I would notice it all again when we were running down the road after the start.

I kept a good pace for the first half of the run. To help me maintain a focus, I tried to run each km in 5 minutes and 40 seconds. When I got to each km marker, I would recalculate what my target time should be for when I got to the next marker. Looking at the split times online after the race, I realised how consistent my pace was: almost exactly 28 minutes 30 seconds for each 5km split, up until the 15km mark.

There was no issue of not having enough food or drink. There were generously stocked stations every 5km, where you could have water, orange pieces, banana and sugar cubes. I never felt thirsty or hungry, but it is sensible to have food and drink before you reach that point. When everyone had finished the orange or banana, they threw the leftover peel on the ground. I was surprised that I didn't see more people slip over on that stuff. 

The support of the crowd was a highlight. Except for the park sections, the whole course was lined by the public supporting all of the runners. I noticed lots of flags for France, the UK and Australia, but I didn't notice any NZ ones. It wasn't until the 38th km that I noticed someone with a poster with a kiwi message.

Each runner had their first name on their number, so I heard a few calls of "Allez James!" during the race. This was nice to hear in the earlier part of the race, but a bit embarrassing once I was on Avenue Foch and all I could do was walk gingerly towards the finish line.

My feet started to feel painful around the halfway mark and I did my stretch routine at around the 22nd km. I set myself a target of reaching the 30th km before I did any more stretches which I almost achieved. I started walking more than I was running in the Bois de Boulogne. Whenever I found a bench where I could stretch comfortably, I did so. It was disappointing to have to walk so much at that point.

I got to the 30th km in around 3 hours and I was aiming for a 6min/km pace of just over 4 hours 10 minutes. But as I walked further, I had to readjust my goal. I was at 38km when I passed 4 hours and I remember calculating that I would need to walk as fast as 7.5 min/km if I were to break 4 hours 30 minutes. One kilometre further on and I had taken another 9 minutes. So I wasn't going to beat 4 hours 30 minutes; I would just need to walk until the end and see what time I would end up with.

The last 200m had the most supporters and it would have been awesome to be running at that point. Instead, I shuffled over the finish line with a time of 4 hours 43 minutes and 17 seconds. This is my 2nd worst time of the six marathons I have completed so far.

I picked up my medal, t-shirt and a powerade. I walked over to the agreed meeting place to wait for Angel, but I had missed her. After about ten minutes, I made my way back to the LV shop on the Champs Elysees which was our back-up meeting spot. Angel was indeed there and I got into my track pants and jumper which Angel had been carrying with her. I had cooled down a lot and it was difficult to walk. It was the most difficult to walk downstairs: I had to twist my body 90 degrees for each step and I relied a lot on the handrail.

We got back to the hotel at around 3pm and I was allowed all the time I needed to have a shower and get pack up our stuff. I was pleased with the hospitality, because the actual check-out time was 12pm.

It has been a week after the marathon and the pain in my legs has gone away. I am still not going to do any exercise this weekend, but I will be ready to do some next week. It is the London marathon tomorrow. We are going out for lunch at 12pm, but if there is time beforehand, then I would like to help support the runners.

I wonder how effective an ice bath would be? When is the best time to have one? I assume that you wouldn't want to have one after every one, surely only after the very long runs (say 25km or more). I am going to do more research about this.

I am tapering for the Paris marathon. Yesterday's Sunday run was a relatively short one. I ran 19.7km in the run I have named the London Bridge loop. I was pleased with the time: 1 hour and 40 minutes. If I can run this time for 19.7km in a normal training run, then I am confident that I would be getting near 100 minutes in a half marathon, with its water stops and the adrenaline that comes with race day.

I am pleased with the last month of running. I have been on a very long run each Sunday (for around 3 hours each) and I can tell that I am building up the stamina to approach the Paris marathon next fortnight. Ideally, though, I would have another month for training. I am still not certain that I would be able to run for the whole 42.2km. I also need to practise my focus - when I am past 3/4 of the way through the run, I haven't been able to avoid thinking about how much further I had left to run. I would like to be in a state where I didn't have this at the front of my mind and I could enjoy the run more. Or at least, not get distracted by my sore legs. When I am at the running expo in Paris on the Saturday, I will have a look for other marathons that I could enter for the end of the year. I would have a rest period after this marathon, of course, but then I would like to pick up with some medium/long runs as soon as practicable. I am estimating that I will get between 4 hours 20 and 4 hours 30 for this marathon. It sounds average, but at least it will be a better time than the last time I attempted a marathon - all the way back in 2007. It seems like such a long time ago.

It's Dad's birthday today. So I think it is appropriate that I have gone for a run. My throat was burning for most of the run and I kept a good pace. A good rhythm of steps to breathing. I was surprised when I checked the time on my watch after I reached the door to the apartment building. 24 minutes and 22 seconds for the 5.7km run. It's the best time I have done for this run, which is pleasing. My schedule told me I should have been running for 40 minutes today. I have been lazy by not designing a 40-minute run. I'm not sure where it would go - perhaps a bigger loop out east? I should really design one to be done next weekend. As usual, I enjoyed the stretching after the run. It is rare that I can have the whole apartment gym to myself, so I can turn off the tv, sit on the floor in a peaceful atmosphere and do my stretches in my own time.