Hey guys. I'm sure thoughts for some of you are turning to spring marathons. What are you signed up for, and how's your training going?

I'm in for Brighton after missing it last year through illness/injury. There's a nice training plan in Runner's World magazine this month, which is a lot more structured than my usual regime. I'm going to try and follow it as closely as I can, and hopefully manage to break that elusive 4 hour barrier!

Kate, interesting that you knocked so much off your London time. How do you think you managed it? Did you do anything in particular different?

Mark - Bath Half sounds fantastic as it's such a beautiful place, sadly nowhere near where I live!

Just done my 15m slow Sunday run. Started at a much slower pace than usual averaging around 9.45m/m, and found I had loads more energy and stamina over the last third than usual, and really picked it up for the last few miles. Usually I set out at a faster pace, and find I'm really hobbling for the last few miles. Feeling pretty good about it!

Kate, I also ran London 2009, which was my first and last marathon. I finished in 4.12, and although I've improved my half marathon times since then, I've pulled out of two more marathons in 2010 with injuries. I'm keeping fingers crossed that Brighton '11 will be third time lucky!

I think you're right that the psychological element is huge - for me the biggest thing I learnt was that the last 6 miles are an entire race of their own! I'd done a few 21-mile training runs, but on the day those last few miles seemed absolutely endless!

Kate - that's good news! Hope I find the same!

Hi Matt,

Speaking personally, once you get beyond 20 miles you're in unchartered waters. Your body starts reacting differently as it's burnt through its sources of energy and that's the major physical reaction that people call The Wall - which is why practicing your in-race nutrition and hydration is important. Plus your core temperature is high, and your joints and muscles have taken a pounding, so there are a lot of things shouting at you to stop!

I wasn't aware of hitting 'the wall', because mentally I still felt sharp and there was absolutely no way I'd drop out - it was just that over the course of a few miles my legs couldn't move as fast as I wanted them to any more!

The biggest lesson I've learnt is that it's better to start slower, conserve your energy and then pick it up for a strong finish than to go out too quick, and find you've got nothing left, because then the psychological hurdles become huge. Also make sure you take on board fluid and energy BEFORE you start feeling drained, because by then, it's too late!

When your training runs get up toward the 20-mile mark it'll give you a good indicator of the pace to aim for on the day.

Good luck and let's keep each other motivated on here! On the subject of which... off to do 7 miles of hills. :-/

Hi Allison, I couldn't agree more! I can honestly say that running the London marathon 2 years ago was one of the very best days of my life. The atmosphere is amazing, the feeling of personal satisfaction at all the hard work paying off, having friends and family cheering you on.

Good luck with your training - there will definitely be times when you wonder "is this all worth it?" - but when you cross that finish line, you'll know it was!

Feeling pretty pleased with today's effort. Managed to get through 19 miles at a slow but steady speed, about 45 second per mile slower than desired marathon pace overall. I also did manage to pick the pace up for the second half of the run so was very happy about that. 

Making sure I took on some salted water/erergy drink mix and gels every 5 miles or so made a really noticeable difference. Not sure I can say the same for the dreaded ice bath afterwards!