In a little over three months time, I will be taking on the toughest physical (and probably mental!) challenge in my life.
I have agreed to run in the Virgin London Marathon 2013 on behalf of the Jigsaw Trust.
The Jigsaw Trust aims to improve the lives of those affected by autism through the provision of high quality, accessible, educational, vocational and wellbeing services to children at the Jigsaw CABAS School and adults attending Jigsaw+.
I’m relatively new to running.
After years of inactivity, I went for my first run last April and since then have become addicted; completing six races last year ranging from 5k to a half marathon.
I have no doubt that completing the 26.2 mile London Marathon will represent a huge challenge.
Whilst I am doing everything I can to prepare my body for the effort required, training during the winter months is already proving to be very hard.
I got off to a good start in December only to need a three week break thanks to the usual winter bugs and colds.
Restarting my training schedule last week, I managed to run for two hours on Sunday morning covering the half marathon distance and picking up a horrible blood blister on my big toe as a result.
This is what a 2 hour, 13.2 mile training run looks like:
The next three months will (hopefully) consist of progressively longer weekend runs, with a couple of shorter runs during the week. I’m really looking forward to lighter and milder evenings.
When the big day arrives, I want to complete the marathon in under 3 hours and 45 minutes, which means running at a steady 7 miles per hour.
More importantly, I want to raise at least £1,000 for The Jigsaw Trust.
Any words of encouragement or advice are always welcome. I also welcome and appreciate sponsorship at www.justgiving.com/VLM2013-Martin-Bamford.
