Marathon update - 4 weeks to go

I can't believe that it's less than a month to the marathon and I'm still having to contend with snow. This past week was a cutback week, and so the longest run was only 12 miles, but it was 12 miles done in what can only be described as blizzard conditions (unless you come from somewhere like the Midlands, Cumbria, Scotland, Norway or Canada - in which case: let's just say there was a bit of snow and quite a strong wind so the occasional snow flake found it's way past my glasses and into my eye; and the pavements were a bit slippery).

No idea who or where this is - but it's not me :)

This past week has gone well, and a couple of the runs were actually run faster than planned with no ill effects. I did get the marathon shoes out and did a couple of runs in those - I've put them away again now because of the snow. My plan is to do a couple of longer runs in them at some point to ensure that they are comfortable and broken in but to try and keep them in as good a condition as possible for the big day. In terms of fit etc they are exactly the same as the shoes I normally run in so just a bit more cushioning from not having already pounded out 500 miles like my current shoes.

In summary, this past week was 5 runs, a total of just over 34 miles with a long run of 12 miles.

This coming week will see my final long run of about 20 miles. Depending on how I feel I might push this up to 21 and will try and do the last 5 miles at marathon pace. This will be done the day after 10 miles at marathon pace. The other three runs are a mixture of speed and taking it easy. Total predicted mileage this week is 47 miles - which will be more than I've run in a week before, and by the time we get to the end of March my monthly total will be 180 miles which beats my best previous monthly total by 14 miles. After this weekend there will be one 12 miler and then everything else is in single figures until 21 April.

Training is going well, but sponsorship has stalled a bit with about £500 to go until the £2000 target. If you would like to sponsor me you can do so at www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring