The Secret Ingredient

Hello Blog Fans,
So as a quick catch up, I now have 75 days until the London Marathon 2014!
If I was a the kind of person to get nervous about things right now I would look like this;

I left the oven on!

Luckily I am a relatively passive, level-headed, straight forward Kinda guy and I know that I am on the right track to run this Marathon and so instead I look like this;

"what a neat hair cut Nic" said Nic's Mum

ah, when you look at it I am almost exactly the same. I tell a lie of course, I have only got the point where I have one hand on my face!

Even so, I am cracking on with my training and I would say its going very well. In the last week I have ran not one but two 10KM runs.

Obviously  10KM is a good 20 miles short of what I will be running on the 13th of april but what has made me happy is that I have ran this with little difficulty and I feel like I have got my body into a real Long distance running position. Also, as these two 10Ks will show you, I am picking up pace.

RUN 1

So Run one was on my day off last friday, I had a bit of a Lie in (after a slightly drunken night) got up, had some shredded wheat and set off, no idea where I was going but aiming to keep myself at sub 10 minute miles the whole time.

 I ran along the canal for a bit, ended up nearer Heathrow at one point and then headed home in a big loop.

I achieved what I set out to do and completed the run in 59 minutes and 40 seconds!

WIN!

I had stopped at one point and walked about 100 yards, THIS WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

Run 2

Little did I realise at the time, but I actually drew a Giraffe

My second run was today (28/01/14), once again I had a lie in (but no drunken night last night), I had Marmite on toast and set off. This time I ran with a purpose, My house is at a T junction, so I ran 1 mile in one direction and back again, then 1.5 miles in another direction, and finally 1 mile in the other direction to finish my run (leaving me a mile to slowly jog home as a cool down)

This I did and it was very succesfully as I ran this 10k in 50 minutes (and an annoying 25 seconds)

I shaved almost 10 minutes off my overall run!

"BUT HOW? what is your Secret Ingredient Nic?" said everyone with an average amount of curiosity

Well, time to be a detective about this

Maybe not Sherlock but... I'm at least Watson Level

The main differences between my two runs were the following,

• In the first one I was a little hung over
• In the first I didn't know where I was going or how far I was from home whereas in the second one I knew exactly where I was at all times,
• The confidence I gained in the first one motivated me in the second one
• The first one improved my fitness and jogging skills which then obviously improved the result in the second one.

These are all valid points and it was probably a bit of all these things. 

BUT there is one vital difference between these two runs that we must not forget. in the first one my breakfast, was the measly, pathetic, "good for your heart" Shredded wheat

Is the single ingredient "sucking at jogging"?

Whereas in the second one I breakfasted like a king, I had the breakfast god would have wanted me to have.

A simple slice of bread, lightly toasted and spread with the magical, wonderful spread that is...

How can you not love it?

Lady's and Gentleman, I introduce my Secret Ingredient, MARMITE!

It will certainly be my breakfast on Marathon day, hell Marathon and Marmite start with the same three letters!

If you agree that Marmite works, or you are worried my sanity is being slowly diminished by my marathon training the please support and motivate me with a donation to Asthma UK here

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NicMunday

Thanks Blog Fans,

Nic