Week 15 - Less than one week to try to put the pieces together

It's hard to believe it is less than a week to the Flora London Marathon. It certainly has been an Adventure. Many highs and an unfortunate amount of lows.

This week has been tough again. I wasn't able to run during the week as my Achilles remained swollen. I did get to the gym three times though and did some cross-training and cycling each time. I guess it was good to do some cardio work. I have to confess to feeling very jealous whenever I saw random people running on the road though - that should be me! After a bit of trepidation, I went for my first run today, exactly two week since my last and one week to the Real Thing. I am extremely pleased to say it went OK - I got 7.5 miles done, almost half of it accompanied by Priya. We are in Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, for Easter weekend. It is always nice to run with company and it is something I'd recommend to those thinking about training. Both my feet/legs are a bit sore but not that bad.

The plan for this week, according to my book ('The Non-runner's Marathon Trainer' (Whitsett, Dolgener, Kole)) is 2 x 3-mile jogs and 1 x 3-mile walk. Then rest, lots of carbs and mental preparation for positive mental attitude. I have to confess that I was struggling with the latter but after today's run I am feeling a bit more positive going into next Sunday.

So, I can count down in days and not weeks or months now. 7 days to go. It almost feels like an exam, I just want to get on with it... bring on Sunday, April 23rd '06 - I'm just about ready to go.