3.22 :-) Over the moon. I was max'd at that but chuffed :-)

SO..... All done and dusted. Its Tuesday now and the legs are still a bit tender. I'm still on a high though. Such an amazing experience and the people of the town who suport are the ones who make it. I went out hoping to beat 3.43 from last year and aiming for 3.30 but was quite nervous and unsure if I would make that - I knew it was in my legs, but just depended on everything going right on the day.....I'll post my time here shortly :-)

So there you have it! My final taper run before the big day was tonight. Total rest now until Sunday. The pic attached shows my 4 month dedicated training plan statistics. 59 activities, 651.71 km ran, 53.5hrs of running, almost 50,000 calories burned. Thanks to all who have donated in support. Roll on Sunday...

Its creeping in....!!!!

One week to go!!! Only couple short taper runs this week. This weekend I designed up and printed a special purpose running top for the big day :-) Having your name on the shirt makes a huge difference on the day as the crowds are amazing at shouting your name and pushing you on!

Rocky is my best buddy #redsetter He never refuses my company on these long runs and I love having him with me through the tough miles. Great company. This is us after the 20km yesterday. He slept most of the afternoon!

So, 2 weeks to go. On Saturday I was relaxed to think I was "only" running 20km the next day as part of my long run!! I've also recently invested in another new pair of runners on advice from a pro runner. Nike ZoomFly FlyKnit. They are lighter and for race type events, and I am loving them. They have some additional spring and it shows in my times.

Tight run yesterday. Body still feeling the effects today (a day later) My longest training run though. It tapers back now in these last 3 weeks.

This is my biggest week in my training plan. 4 weeks to go before the marathon and the last 3 are taper weeks. Its 8km tonight, 16km tomorrow night, 8km the next night, then a rest day in prep for my longest long run of 34km at the weekend, just 8.5km shy of a full marathon (ye never run a marathon before your actual marathon!) Time to hydrate....

Was in Aranmore island at the weekend with my cycling club and got a good training session in. The cycle over and back, but the run of the 2 laps of the island on Sunday morning was the highlight. Some serious hills to tackle - without doubt the hilliest training run I've done. 1 lap just wasnt enough!!

I've started back at the Yoga now in the run in for these last 6 weeks. Not what you'd imagine - its hard going and the sweat be's lashing off ye. But its great for core strength and flexibility. Nice early morning sessions too!!

Out with the old and in with the new. My 3rd pair of Brooks runners - this was back in mid August when I was in the Isle of Man working and training.

So, this being my 1st update I thought I would share the cumulative training efforts since I began my Hal Higdon training plan. Basically the plan means you run 4 times a week, with 2 recovery days and 1 day of gentle activity such as hiking or cycling. It builds and there are a few step back weeks. Mid weeks runs are short runs with the long runs at weekends. I did 32km last Sunday there - tight going!! Today I looked at my comparison for the same period last year - not much in it - similar distances, similar pace (a little betetr this year) and a bit down on total elevation gains (running up hills!) - so might try and focus on that for these last 2 weeks before taper begins. I've added my Strava account link so hopefully that works so you can see the regular training run progress.