I Drink, therefore I Run

The race is run, the miles toiled through. Marathon number 5 and a personal best. 3h 18m 09s is forever mine in the annals of Marathon running. OK, it's not exactly a Kenyan pace, and I did just miss the 3h 15 which would be a Boston Qualifier standard. Doesn't matter. What does matter to me is that I ran it well.  I've always struggled to hold back the pace for the first few miles, the excitement of the event usually getting the better of me - and of course, having tapered down in the weeks prior, you feel springy, alive, like you can challenge the world. I know enough, now, to know that the feeling of elation can slip away from you in a heartbeat at about mile 16. It really is save now, spend later, where this race is concerned. I did find myself chasing a man dressed as a monk at mile 3...and then had to have a strong word with myself to slow, slow, slow... I am getting ahead in the story.  Sunday morning. 06.45am, Marriott, South Ken. Poor night's sle...

It's fair to say that my wine consumption habits are probably not the ideal pre-marathon training - however, in my pursuit of good-for-age running times, I am not prepared to don the hair shirt, which therefore tells you enough in the way of revealed preference for the amateur psychologist amongst you about the relative importance of the goal to me...ie important but not a 'be-all-and-end-all' kind of thing. So, the weekend prior to the marathon, two lovely wines to titivate the palate.  First up, Petaluma Riesling 2011 (Waitrose, about £11?). This was so perfect with a stir-fry, all lovely ripe citrus and lime fruits, juiciness personified in the mouth, and with a clean finish that just lingered on. These cool-climate Rieslings from Australia (Clare Valley this time) are just sensational. And, whilst they are not exactly unknown to the wine drinking community, still, I think that too many people are put off by a tall brown bottle - some kind of Pavlovian reaction ...

9 days to go to the marathon. Perhaps what I did not to have to deal with was a sharp, continuous pain in the right knee after about 3 miles... Today's treatment is the glorious 'dry needling' which is every bit as unpleasant as it sounds. It's like acupuncture without the soothing music... We shall see if it does the trick!

I am in curious time right now. 16 days to the marathon, so the running plan is definitely in taper mode. The usual plan is to cut the miles, but maintain the intensity. My last two weeks of training have been compromised by going to Italy (pasta, house, heat, wine, mozzarella di bufala, hills, time..) and a knee problem that seems to come on at mile 3. So, I have missed my last big long run and the one before that wasn't perfect. I've read enough to know that the right approach is not to panic, most people rarely hit 80% of their plan, and I do have a lot of the fitness banked. And on the day I will be able to manage, it feels like this is in the category of 'painful but not damaging'. However this stage of training is all about the mind - trusting in the work completed, relying on years of experience that says your muscles need 3 weeks to feel fresh, and knowing that you cannot 'cram' the training now, even if your knee was fine - which is isn't. So, a...