January
I am not going to lie, January has been hell. Coming back to full training after a couple of months of doing a whole lot of not much due to my knee injury has been sheer torture...Of epic proportions; for this month signalled the start of my journey to the Virgin London marathon, my 'virgin' race at this distance.
It was clear from the start there was zero chance of my being able to follow a traditional marathon schedule; running 6 times a week for 4 months would spell the death of my knees forever. So I started with baby steps, running 3-4 times a week, supported by a ton of cross training. Running has been supplanted by sweat sessions on the cross trainer, rowing machine, indoor bike rollers and my favourite of all.....Skiing. It is fair to say that at the end of January I had only run a paltry 74 miles; however with plenty of supplementary training, I am confident that I am building a good base of endurance.
Alongside the knee threat, January has been a challenge in Geneva due to the snow, ice and sub zero, freezing temperatures of up to -12. Running in this has not been much fun, although I am sure it will give me some kind of mental edge knowing that I am sadistic enough to carry on regardless. I may look like I am about to commit bank robbery in my balaclava but I'll be damned if a little cold snap is going to stop me in my tracks.
There have been a few things that have helped me get through the tough month of January:
Seasonal Sniffles
For one week I had a stinking cold that turned into flu, which obviously put paid to my training as my days were spent sleeping and generally moping around feeling sorry for myself. I honestly think I would not have survived without either Neocitran or Mebucaine...My winter medicine of choice. Neocitran is a hot liquid medicine that treats all symptoms of flu including headaches, sore throat, runny nose, body aches...You name it. If it were possible, I would have had this on an intravenous drip as I instantly felt relieved the moment I drank some. To supplement this, I also self medicated with Mebucaine throat lozenges in mint flavour to help my scratchy sore throat. I know some people will just tough it out when they have the flu....Not me, I am weak and all about the drugs.
Body Armour
As aforementioned, the sub zero temperatures were unbearable in January, although they were a lot more bearable when I wore Odlo's thermal underwear. In particular I cannot rave enough about their 'Extra Warm' leggings. These have gone under everything from work trousers, running tights to salopettes. They are without doubt the best thermals I have ever purchased and I fully believe that by wearing them they have helped my knee as it always acts up in the cold. Skiing in Morzine in -30 was a walk in the park with these babies.
I have also fallen in love with their new 'Evolution' range and wear these under running jackets and on the mountains. They make such a difference, and both are wicking so the sweat is taken away from your body and they help regulate your temperature. Go buy...
Face facts
I can only cover so much of my body and often the bit that is left exposed to the elements is my face (when not using the balaclava). As a result it tends to get a bit of a battering by the elements. Lucky then that my lovely sister works for Clarins and gave me their face treatment oil for dry skin. I'm not going to lie, often my face is so red and dry to the stage where it almost looks scaly; which I am the first to admit, is not a good look. This seems to calm it down and feels pretty luxurious. I tend to slather it on at night and sleep in it. Definitely a skin saviour in the winter months.
A Little Light Reading
My motivation tends to flag a little at the beginning of the year. To try and overcome this and get some much needed inspiration I read Andy Holgate's 'Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run'. It's a pretty good read and has the tag line 'From common man to Ironman'. It basically tells the story of Andy's adventures into the world of triathlon culminating in competing in the holy grail of competitions: Ironman. It reads more like a fictional story and has some amusing snippets that many athletes will be able to relate to, mine being acclimatising to clipless pedals and failing to disengage your foot in time.....Culminating in a nasty and embasrrasing fall to the ground with there being nothing you can do to prevent the inevitable.
So that was my January journey into marathon training.....Let's hope February is a whole lot better!
