Well we're getting ever closer to the big day now. This time in 4 weeks, I will be in the process of recovering from the longest run of my life, having been on my feet for over 24 hours straight. Eek! It's all going to be completely worth it though, and the sponsorship grand total is already at over £1,700! It truly is phenomenal the response that I have gotten, and everybody has been so generous. I just hope that everybody knows how much I appreciate it. If you would like to add to the total and push me over the £2,000 target, please sponsor me at www.justgiving.com/sam-robson.
It has been a week of logistics, and making sure that everything is sorted for the big day. The first important thing was equipment. My kit bag is now all sorted, and I have found the gear that performs best for me. My main criteria has been comfort and reduction of chaffing. If you have ever suffered from rubbing during a long run, you will know how uncomfortable this is. I have taken to wearing Nike DriFit Pro compression shorts and Nike DriFit Pro hypercool base layer top under my normal running gear, which (together with a generous supply of Lanacane) prevent all of the nasty rubbing that could make things very unpleasant. Plus my Salomon Advance Skin S-Lab hydration pack has now pretty much paid for itself, and if you're running long distances and need to carry plenty of liquids and food I can thoroughly recommend it.
Also this week, I have finalised details of the route with my support crew, uploaded the route to my iPhone and Garmin Forerunner 305 (technology makes it much harder - but not impossible - for me to do something stupid and get lost), and arranged a finishing line for when (if?!) I arrive in St. Ives. This started off as just a couple of people holding a ribbon, then collecting donations from whoever is around, but has now turned into something of an extravaganza! Well, okay, maybe that's an overstatement, but it turns out that it will be market day during the Easter holidays, so there should be plenty of people about. The Town Mayor is even coming along to meet me which is really nice of him! I just hope that he doesn't mind shaking hands with a very sweaty man... If you're about, I am aiming to get into town for midday on Monday 18th April, and it would be great to see you! Although I'm not entirely sure how good company I will be...
Being so close to the race, it is getting towards the time in my training program where I need to start thinking about tapering. For those not up on their running slang, the standard way to train or a marathon is to build up your training over the 4 months before the race, but for the last 2 or 3 weeks you reduce the mileage to pretty much nothing to conserve your energy stores for the big day. This week has been my last full on week, with a good number of miles put on the clock. This week will be a bit more chilled, then there will be just under 3 weeks to really reign it in before VLM day. It's going to feel very strange...
Monday:
Cycled 2.5 miles (Park and Ride to Work)
Cycled 16.5 miles (Work to home)
Tuesday:
Ran 2.5 miles (Park and Ride to Work)
Ran 16.5 miles (Work to Home)
Wednesday:
Cycled 2.5 miles (Park and Ride to Work)
Climbing
Cycled 16.5 miles (Work to Home)
Thursday:
Ran 2.5 miles (Park and Ride to Work)
Ran 16.5 miles (Work to Home)
Friday:
Cycled 2.5 miles (Park and Ride to Work)
Saturday:
Ran 28 miles
Played badminton
Sunday:
Ran 28 miles
Total:
Running 94 miles
Cycling 40.5 miles
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