It’s hard to believe but I’m writing this nearly three weeks after the event. The time has flown by and been very busy (must be doing something wrong as I managed to fit in a fair bit of running as well as everything else before the marathon!).

After not a bad night’s sleep, the hotel laid on a continental breakfast. There were a few other nervous runners trying to build up some enthusiasm for eating. Forced something down – plenty of time to go.

A last kit check, taping various parts of my anatomy then out into a sunny London morning. The revised forecast suggested it might be warm – not suiting my game plan at all. I opted to walk to London Bridge station and passed the course set up teams hard at work.

Across Tower Bridge, passed the elite runners walking to their VIP coaches – rather shamefully I only recognized Andi Jones from Salford.

Even though I was early, the platform and train was packed full of runners heading to the colour-coded start areas. Mine was Blue, Blackheath. A short walk, checked in through the security cordon into a huge area filled with thousands of people applying Vaseline, checking safety pins, eating, drinking, counting down the minutes until 09:45.

Despite being there a good hour and a half before the start, I think I still missed being put into my assigned start pen because of queuing for the urinals (the challenge to this was to find the end of the queue which had wound itself around inside itself!). I didn’t think much about this at the time, having bumped into Club-mate Martin and received a few welcome words of encouragement, but when forced to negotiate about 20 people roped together in the first few minutes I thought I probably shouldn’t have been there!

The start itself was a bit of an anti-climax. Suddenly clapping started but because we’d been moving forwards for quite a time anyway, nothing seemed any different but the start barrier was getting closer. After only two or three minutes I was across the chip timing mat, starting the watch and off we went – at quite a pace! I’d heard so many stories about getting held up at the start but we were really moving ….. for about a quarter of a mile then we stopped, dead. The rest of the first mile was like being in a motorway queue. No obvious reason to be going so slowly but stop-start, bumper to bumper. After a while it did ease slightly but with so many feet concentrating on side stepping and avoiding being tripped or tripping someone else was all consuming, and was something that carried on for the rest of the race. An anguished cry from the right put things in perspective. A guy, headlong across a sleeping policeman, glasses off, two feet in front of him – concentrate!

Even round the start area the crowds were out in force, the warm sunny weather no doubt helping, but they cheered everyone running past, calling out names. It would be hard not to enjoy this environment and the atmosphere certainly lived up to what I’d expected.

Time and distance were passing really quickly. I knew I was slightly behind the pace I wanted to run at but expected, as the crowds thinned, that I could pick up a bit. The sun was out, the cap was invaluable, the shadows were harder to find and it was warming up. Water stations were plentiful and I was drinking at most of them. Forced a few energy gels down at regular intervals.

I don’t honestly remember much before Tower Bridge. There were thousands of people lining the route and even though I knew roughly where some of our supporters would be standing and what balloon they would be holding; there was no chance of spotting them (Liz had a plan but I really didn’t expect to see her).

This started to change at Tower Bridge. Landmarks I knew would be coming along. Wave to the camera, onto the north bank, almost half way, massive crowds here. Just before the 13 mile marker, the male leaders went the opposite way at about 22 miles. Spotting the Club flag was easy, although we only managed to get it on one side of the road.

Canary Wharf was reputedly a quiet area for spectators but this year they were really out in force – in fact I don’t remember a gap bigger than about ten yards around the entire course. Lots of twists and turns and with the crowds spilling on to the course itself, some quite tricky maneuvering.

After 18 or 19 miles my thighs started to tighten, just an awareness and not really affecting my running although I was sure I was slowing down slightly. Despite trying to drink regularly, I suspect dehydration was setting in, and I couldn’t face taking my fourth gel at this point.

Back on the Highway, coming to 22 miles seeing the thousands of people still going the other way at 13. It was hard to imagine they had at least another 3 hours to go. Suddenly I heard ‘Andy’. Liz was stood up on a wall. Amazingly she’d literally got up, looked around and seen me but in seconds I was passed.

Beyond Tower Bridge the route dropped through a short ‘tunnel’ – nice to be out of the sun – but I knew I was slowing and decided not to look at my watch now, just get round as best I could. The Embankment is a blur but I think I was probably still moving through the masses. As I rounded the corner into the Mall I was determined to raise a bit of a sprint finish and I’m sure I heard the tannoy announcer saying something about finishing in 3:30, so sprint finish I (sort of) did.

Across the line, press Stop on the watch, quick glance to see 3:29:17 – happy (no idea what the race clock was saying). The rest was military precision: medal, photo with medal, goody bag, drink, find baggage lorry, recover kit bag – 15 minutes! And it was during this time that I noticed the watch was still running, so I stopped it at 3:36.

So that’s it. Marathon completed. 26 miles, 385 yards. Feeling good, a bit stiff, but good. Shuffled my way down towards Horseguard’s Parade and found a patch of grass to call my own for the time it took me to throw some clothes on and raid whatever food I could find in the goody bag. Having texted everyone my time I gingerly made my way to Trafalgar Square to meet Liz, now sporting my ‘I finished the Marathon’ t-shirt and medal.

It was only later that my official time was made known. 3:33:49. It’s still a mystery what happened but I seem to have stopped the watch partway down Birdcage Walk (the GPS tracks me cutting straight across St James’ Park, including the lake before turning onto the Mall) and restarted it as I crossed the line.

Playing at tourists but trying to avoid too much time standing/walking. Managed to get into a show in the afternoon. Very warm again – maybe the showers forecast for today will hit tomorrow ….

In the evening we met up with just about everyone else from the Club in an Italian near to Russell Square. The place was packed, probably exclusively with runners. Anyone not running would be advised to try an alternative culture the night before the marathon.

Plenty of pasta and talk of the forthcoming race. A few braved a beer but water seemed a better option for me.

Took the day off work and had a leisurely journey down to London ny train. Dumped my bag at the hotel then set off to the marathon expo to pick up my number.

Being early afternoon the crowds weren't too bad and I didn't need to queue at all for the id stage, number retrieval or chip collection. Very well organised

Not sure what I expected from the expo itself but probably not this. Having got lots of running gear and travelling by train shopping wasn't on the agenda so after a quick walk around, it was back to the hotel and put the feet up for a bit before meeting Liz, who travelled down later in the day, for some food.

It was really warm and, despite what the weather forecast said, I bought myself a cap to wear … just in case. Also queued to have my name printed on my new Club vest.

Just a couple of easy runs during the week and now resting until Sunday and trying to eat plenty of carbs

Off to pick up my number tomorrow

After a week off, just what I needed, a very busy week to ease me back into work! Fortunately, the marathon wasn't at the end of this week.

Tuesday was catch up then a multi-terrain run at the Club. Fairly comfortable pace and nice to be out in good weather and hitting the fields.

There followed three days of travelling and sitting in meetings: Edinburgh, Normanton and Birmingham, although I did manage a quick session before leaving for Birmingham on the Friday. Shattered by the end of the week.

Fortunately, with the rest of the family away for the weekend, I had a bit of peace and quiet to put my feet up a bit and watch some sport (both rare events in themselves!). Still up early for a fast (almost) 5 miles on Saturday then a gentle 11 miles through the Cheshire countryside with some of the Sunday morning crowd. Very gentle pace but still two hours on my feet.

So that's pretty much it in terms of training. Just a couple of runs mid-week to wake the body up again during the countdown to marathon day

Easter Saturday, just over two weeks to go and the last big run, scheduled to be about 18 miles, but still in Scotland I had other ideas (and didn’t want to repeat a run I’d done earlier in the year). I planned a route that was shorter but included some serious height gain over its advertised 13 miles (it’s a recognised walk / cycle path that I walked / cycled many years ago).

Liz wanted a long run so we ran it together which meant I could keep the pace low and, where necessary, loop back for a bit extra distance and / or effort.

It’s straight up right from the start on a series of hair pin bends to a track above the dammed Glen Finglas reservoir. A metalled road for the first mile or so but after the last farm building the surface changed to a rough track. Steady pace and feeling good, enjoying the scenery on another fine day north of the border. The route follows a track around a hill eventually reaching a height of about 2000 feet climbing relentlessly past a series of blind corners and false summits before plunging steeply downhill then undulating back down to the floor of the glen and the loch side.

Even in the valley bottom there were some steep climbs to contend with and these proved to be the only points at which my legs got a bit heavy but the last run in went smoothly and Liz completed her longest run ever (16 miles) in about 3 hours 10 mins. I’d managed almost a mile extra in looping back.

Route details

After the long run the hardest part of the training should be over so I wanted to relax, get some exercise (but not necessarily running) and not eat/drink too much – always a challenge when visiting the in-laws!

Had an easy run, with a few efforts thrown in, with Liz in the local forest, a very sedate 13 mile cycle ride with my daughter and eldest nephew (both 8) and a walk in the Ochill Hills to view the lie of the land as I’m considering entering a fell race in the summer (all the 2000 foot summits in an 18 mile run).

The Ochills are characterised by steep ascents but quite rounded and level summits, meaning that after a very steep initial climb, it should be a reasonably straightforward to cover the tops before the bone-jarring descent back down.

On the final morning of our stay we also took in the top of Ben A’an – a 1500 foot, very accessible summit with excellent views over the Trossachs.

As for nutrition, probably ate too much and pre-loaded with large amounts of anti-oxidants (red wine)! Two week taper to go .....

Up in Scotland for a week’s R&R I’d identified this route as a suitable long run for 3 weeks prior to marathon day early on in my training. Mapping it online I expected it to be about 22-23 miles and, having cycled part of it before, I knew it was quite hilly so would be a tough test.

The route started at the car park at the Callander end of Loch Katrine and for the first 3.5 miles I was accompanied by Liz, who wanted to get a run in early in the holiday and would also keep my pace in check for a bit. It’s a private road along the loch side and despite being very remote, is a metalled surface the for its whole length on the east side. It also studiously avoids the contours of the loch and rises and falls continuously but the clear skies gave great views of the loch itself and the surrounding hills, the vista stretching to Ben Lomond, the Arrochar Alps and smaller peaks around the Trossachs.

Although I knew the route fairly well I didn’t have the familiarity of it that enabled me to tick off chunks of the route in my head unlike a regularly run route closer to home. This made it quite a challenge psychologically as the GPS never seemed to have measures as far as I’d expected!

After 13 miles (tough half marathon anyone?) the road passed through Stronachlachar from where it is possible to return by boat. I’d expected it to be further to this point so was expecting to be running a shorter distance and even considered doing a bit of an extension at this point. Fortunately, a mile post at the next road junction (by now the route was on a public highway) stated 11 miles to my destination in Aberfoyle. This would make it 24 miles so any thoughts of an extension were quickly forgotten!

I’d expected the road back to be less undulating but there were several testing ascents, particularly when passing by the ends of Loch Chon and Loch Ard, to test weary legs. With the end in sight, and thoughts of food from the Aberfoyle coffee shops I was making good progress until forced to stop by some lost tourists wanting to confirm that they were, in fact, on the wrong road!
Finally reached my destination after 24.25 miles in just under 3.5 hours. The GPS recorded ascent of about 3400 feet. Not sure it was actually that much, but it’s certainly a lot more than the expected terrain in London.

Last night's Club run (in daylight along country lanes in fairly warm conditions!) of just over 7 miles took me to over 500 miles since the start of 2009. Quite an increase when compared to last year's total mileage of 800 miles.

Hope it pays off ....

Due to family commitments I needed to get my long run in on Saturday, but the physio and the stretching that I was doing on Friday seemed to make my groin problem feel slightly better.

After rain in the night I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to a bright morning, although a bit chilly. Suitably prepared I was out of the door and on towards the slopes of Mow Cop. It's easy to use up all the local routes and I didn't really want to drive to a new starting position, plus, running up to the summit is going to be far harder than anything on the marathon but that 'Killer Mile' is tough, especially after about 7 miles! Once again I skirted the steepest section, turning left at the Cheshire View pub (to make the route longer!!).

Great views from the top and a nice downhill stretch to recover on. Once through Kidsgrove it was another ascent up to Talke before the undulating roll in to get home. That's another long run in the bag, feeling pretty good. 20 miles in under 2h 50m.

Strangely, I felt as though I hadn't actually done much this week but with last Sunday's race and Saturday's run it's a 55+ mile week.

Eating and drinking Sunday. Groin tight on Monday - so much for rest days!

A bit stiff on Monday but hardly surprising after the exertions of Milford. Had the day off, training that is.

Headed out on Tuesday for a short, fast session. Mile warm up then 3 miles fast before a warm down. Only managed 2.5 miles fast, a combination of going too fast, heavy legs and a bit of a hill towards the end.

The usual Wednesday night routine had to change this week so I was out of the door by 06:30. A comfortable 9 miles before work - a great start to the day. Still feeling the groin a bit although it always feels better after some exercise but then tightens up when sitting and overnight. Although it wasn't getting any worse, it wasn't getting any better either so I thought I'd check it out with a physio although I was sure it was just a bit of tension caused by the increase in mileage over the past couple of weeks.

Thursday evening. No run today and just back from some deep massage on my adductor muscles (right inner thigh). As I suspected, just a bit of tension in there. A couple of days stretching and not running should do the trick .... if only I can manage to avoid the lure of the great outdoors and more wintry showers ...

Having been pounding the streets in the cold, dark winter months, I was really looking forward to a long off-road run over Cannock Chase in south Staffordshire. By all accounts it was fairly hilly but with good conditions under foot so ordinary trainers would be suitable.

I'm still experimenting with pre-run nutrition, getting enough carbohydrate and fluids taken on board without too much bloating or not feeling like running. I think I ate a bit too much on Sunday morning, even though it was about 4 hours before the race. The Science in Sport energy bar went down well an hour before the start though.

This race was included in the Club's Off Road championship with eight of us competing although most were treating it as a long training run before spring marathons/triathlons.

From Milford Common we were off - immediately uphill on loose gravel but after a couple of undulations we were spread out and running through a mixture of forest, moorland, open trail. The weather was great too: dry, cool but some sun, a bit too much wind at times and after a dry week, conditions under foot were good too.

I managed to keep my starting pace fairly steady despite the lure of three Club members slightly ahead of me. At about half way my cautious approach seemed an even better option to have taken. Here we left the main trail to start up a steep, loose climb. I managed to run it all and overtook a few walkers. At the top was a steep descent, followed by another steep ascent, another steep descent then a further two climbs - a real roller-coaster of a ride. I did manage to run it all though (the Mow Cop runs seem to be paying off!).

After a short easier angled section there was another steep climb we were onto the more familiar forest trails, although amazingly I don't think we covered the same ground twice apart from the run in to the finish. After about 20 miles, with the end within touching distance the route went up a near vertical hillside (not even a path?). It was loose under foot and probably the steepest section we'd faced and, although I did manage to run all the way up, it hurt. Some welcome support at the top though.

Almost there but after that climb the legs got heavy and the last few minutes of effort on still undulating tracks seemed to go on far longer than they should have. Finished in 2:57:00 with my GPS recording just short of 21 miles.

A great race and a very welcome change from the roads. Well worth considering as a long run!

Having survived the wedding without eating or drinking too much, and obviously avoiding dancing with the risk of injury being far too high, Liz and I were out for an easy six miles on Sunday morning. A couple of circuits of Port Sunlight were a pleasant start but soon deteriorated as we ventured into the seedier parts of Merseyside.

Later that evening I started feeling a bit of a twinge in my groin. Nothing serious but enough to make me think about it.

Consequently, made Tuesday's Club run fairly easy but still about 7 miles. Similarly Wednesday was a comfortable 10 and then on Thursday, another Club run, faster than I intended but no serious side effects.

With a long race at the weekend I needed to rest up a bit. Easy swim on Friday and carb loading on Saturday!

Thursday night saw me down at the club and a group of us set out for a steady hours run. This was sustained for the most part until the last couple of miles where we really wound it up a bit. A good workout but feeling it in my legs a bit at the end.

With the 'every day' sequence ended and another day out in the car, Friday was a rest day.

This weekend's long run according to my training schedule was to be a raced half marathon. With a wedding to attend (congratulations Scott and Emma!!) this was not going to be able to be slotted into the weekend's timetable so I'd already planned to run the 13 mile loop from home on part of the South Cheshire 20 course (Oakhanger, Barthomley, Englesea Brook, Audley, Barthomley, Oakhanger) and aim to complete in under the scheduled target time.

With the Virtual Partner set on my Garmin we were off. Straight out of bed was perhaps not the best preparation and for the first mile or so the occasional glance at the watch led me to believe that I was behing the target pace. OK, plan B is to aim for the best I can. It's an undulating route with a few bigger hills so I wasn't surprised to see the gap increasing but it wasn't long before a longer look at the watch (eyes now slightly less bleary) that I realised that I was ahead. Back to plan A .... and keep going.

This is the third time I'd run the route and I do enjoy it. Hills to make it interesting. Very quiet roads.

Managed to keep ahead of the pace all the way round, losing a bit on the hills and getting it back on the downhill and flat sections. In the end managed the 13.1 miles in about 1:34 (faster than my half marathon best from 2008!)

Tuesday 10th saw the end of the sequence of doing a minimum amount of exercise each day since the beginning of January.

It had been a hectic start to the week. Down to Redhill, Surrey on Monday. The rest on the train may have done some good and managed a short recovery run when I got home.

Tuesday was another early start and another train journey, this time north to Edinburgh. Arrived home at about 8:30 and couldn't face heading back out again so collapsed in front of the football on TV.

Back on track on Wednesday. Another 11 miles and feeling good .... although a few additional hours in bed wouldn't go a-miss!