I have a new song title for The Kings of Leon, 'These legs are on fire!'

With the completion of York marathon I have been mulling over whats next.  Quiet week for recovery then begin again with core and upper body.  My running will begin short and every other run will be with a pack gradually increasing in weight.  I want to continue with doing the interval training as really felt the benefit from this and think it will serve me well to continue.  I will also be including trail runs to start getting the ankles strong.

What did I learn from the marathon?  Fisrtly, the main thing that became obvious was my socks, when my feet or toes swelled they became very uncomfortable so I need to address this quickly. My second main observation was my recovery rate, since I ran pretty much in my comfort zone, my recovery has been quick and fairly unrestrictive so very pleased with that.  Thirdly, no chaffing what-so-ever this time so lubricating well at the start paid off.  Stomach muscles began to get sore after 20 miles or so which seems to be the norm so more core work needed, legs felt strong the whole time just tightened up and began to get sore near the end.  Lastly, shoulders, these are aching now two days after as forgot to do any sort of stretching for the upper body.

Whats in the pipeline? How am I planning the next few months?  Well with just under 6 months to go till the marathon de sables and less than 3 months till The Spine Challenger it is important to begin training out on the trails and with a pack.  The plan is to select about 5 dates to get some time out on the Penine way for the spine and try to cover the distance that will be either in darkness or towards the end when exhausted.  My gym work as mentioned earlier will be based around core and upper body strength whilst continuing with short runs doing intervals and speed.

I have signed up for an mds training run in December which is 20 miles with kit which I am looking forward to for a number of reasons.  Meeting up with Lynton my mds buddy, meeting other runners and getting some kit advice.  I am also looking at the White Rose 60 end of October to have something to train towards and keep the mentality right, its a mind game aswell as a physical game!

So far I am really pleased with my progress, positive thinking and planning prove to be the key!