“Alrighty Then!”

Ace Ventura, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

So, here we are. Week 16. The end of training. By Sunday afternoon, I’ll either be a Marathoner or a DNF. Either way, I know I’ve done my best. I’ve followed the Club plan pretty much to the letter, give or take one or two sessions.

If it goes tits up on Sunday, then it goes tits up. It won’t be for the lack of trying or prep, it’ll just not be my day. What I have done over the last 16 weeks, is give myself the best opportunity to make sure it does go my way. And you can’t say fairer than that.

Philosophical bollocks out of the way, it’s time to look forward to the big day. Over the weekend, London and Manchester Marathons both happened. The vast majority of my Club Marathon WhatsApp group were either doing one or the other. I mean, none of them were doing both. That would be nuts.

If you live in the UK you’ll know that Sunday was the start of a mini heat wave. So, unfortunately, both runs took part in slightly unseasonably temperatures. And lots of people suffered in it.

The WhatsApp support group starts to be the complete opposite. I’m under no illusions that next week is going to be hard, but hearing horror story after horror story coming in on the Sunday starts to put a dent in my confidence.

That evening I decide I need to shut out the noise. So I lock the chat, whilst also making a conscious decision to stay off Social Media. I think proper athletes call it ‘being in the zone.’

Ah, that’s better.

On to week 16. I already feel like I have a bit more in the legs after the slightly lower milage week, especially with a two day rest. That means the weights session feels quite good. Another bit of good news, the Weather is looking like it won’t be too gruesome. The Met Office is predicting sunny spells, 11c when I set off, about 13-14c when I predict to finish. I’ll take it.

Back to this week, Tuesday sees my final Club session. I’m quite looking forward to it as well. No 5 mile warm up required, and I’ve to drop to a slightly slower and less intense group. Lovely.

It means I’m back in my old group that I was ‘promoted’ from 15 months ago. The session is 4 loops around the estate where I did some of my Threshold sessions. It’s a warm one tonight, the warmest it’s been all year.

There is something quite cathartic about it. Thinking about the cold and dark Thursdays I was dragging my arse round here, then tonight I get to sit on the back of a slower group and trot around on a glorious evening. The only negative is that there are a lot of greenfly in the air. I hope they’re full of protein, as I must have swallowed hundreds of them.

What is also lovely about this session is that a few people approach me and wish me good luck for Sunday. These are genuinely nice gestures, and I’m actually quite touched by it. It’s been a good night. My legs felt good, the run was enjoyable, and it’s given me a great confidence boost.

Wednesday is due to be even warmer than Tuesday. In fact, the next two days are the peak of the heatwave, before it thankfully dies off. The warmer weather means the sea front will be packed, so for my Easy 6 miles I’m going to head down the Wagonway.

It’ll be much quieter down there, plus there are pockets of shade. This will be much easier than my usual easy as well – I’m going to slow it right down. It’s a beautiful evening. It’s like it was meant to be, if you believe such stuff.

My knees are a bit stiff, but the legs are noticeably less heavy and tired. I enjoy this run, especially on the turn and back for the last 3 miles. The mood is good, and so is the playlist.

And then, it was over. It’s Thursday. It’s the last run of my Marathon training. Should I be emotional or something? I’m not sure how I feel. Maybe I’ll re-read all of the past weeks the night before and it will sink in then.

For now though, the end involves an easy 4 miles with some hill reps. It’s going to be peak heatwave day and evening, hitting 22c, so I’m again going to avoid the sea front.

Well, that was the plan, until around 4pm ish, when the clouds and a breeze roll in and it drops to a much more pleasant temperature. Ironically, I’ve spent the last 16 weeks slagging off the weather coming in off the sea. During a heat wave though, it’s a beautiful thing.

I do some half arsed hill reps down the Quarry to start with, then head down and along the sea front. The biggest thing I notice, is that my legs aren’t tired. In fact, they feel the freshest they have in months.

The sea front is busy, but not too busy. Between the weather, my legs, and the coast being fairly quiet, this is a perfect way to finish it. And finish I do.

I’m not sure how I feel. Maybe it will sink it later, but the answer to ‘will I feel emotional’ when I finish is, well, no. I feel nothing. What a cold bastard.

The important thing is that I’ve got through it injury free. Nothing pulled, twisted, tweaked, or torn. Getting to the Start line healthy should never be sniffed at.

So, there we are. The next time you hear from me will be the Marathon review. The tone of that review is unknown.

I’ll leave you with this in the meantime though..

When I first agreed to take up the Marathon plan, there were a set of rules to adhere to. Firs one was ‘no fucking walking.’ Fair enough. Second, was ‘be confident.’ No problem. The third, was to listen to the below. I’m Joe Cal-fucking-zaghe.

See you on the other side.

Mood: Joe Cal-fucking-zaghe