Hi all!

Sorry I've not been updating you all as much as I know I should. I've been stupidly busy with moving house, work stuff, as well as spending time with friends and being a bit more social than I usually am!

So, what have I been up to? Well I'm in my 2nd week of running now, and starting to feel half-fit again. I did 45 miles or so last week or so and was supposed to do more this week but for twisting my ankle on Monday. Luckily I got away with it a bit and only missed a day or 2. There was some swelling and loss of movement but I've done much worse and did a run on Wednesday to test it without any problems. I did my first double day yesterday and also did a brisk run at 5.50 miling or so which felt alright. I'm not enjoying living in such a hilly area these days though!

I have met with Nick and sorted out my training plan up until Barcelona. It's pretty similar to my London build up in terms of structure but with some minor tweaks.

1. The long runs are less 'intense' as I am carrying over a lot of my London fitness, I don't need to batter myself so much on these and we're very conscious of over-tiring myself with obviously having less of a break than I normally would before my next marathon
2. Heat acclimatisation. I will do some steady runs in a heat chamber if I can and in the heat of the day. This does NOT apply to long runs and sessions though as we feel that I'd lose so much in electrolytes and fluid that I could well be taking more out of my body than I should be.
3. I will also spend 3 weeks at Font Romeu at altitude and also warmer weather. I'll come back 2 weeks before the race as I'm unsure about dropping straight down to sea level directly from altitude. IT's not something I've done a great deal of so I'm treating it with a bit of caution.

Generally though, decent mileage with plenty of threshold running. Standard!

In terms of races, I think I'm doing the Poole 10k (then legging it back for the Rage Against the Machine gig!) on the 6th June, folowed by the Guernsey Half marathon on the 20th June, where Lee Merrien is trying to get the GB guys together for a blowout. I think I'll be doing it at marathon pace, as I want to train hard up until Font Romeu, where the first week will have to be easier as I get used to altitude. I think that if I run flat out, and then train hard on top of that, I may take too much out of myself. I'll probably supplement this with a few low key 5ks on the grass/track as part of threshold sessions.

I'm also speaking to a sports nutritionist at Lucozade Sport to get my plan right in terms of hydration/salts before the race and on race day also, which has been very valuable. He thought my current routine was pretty good but he's checking things like how much fluid I lose per hour so I can assess before Barcelona how much I need to take on on the day.

I'll be more vigilant with my updates from now I promise!

Ben