deprivation. Don't stay up late either: "Have as much sleep as you can before midnight and aim to be in bed by 10:30," says Dr Roger Henderson, a GP and marathon runner. "Even if you're nervous or excited you are still resting and any sleep you manage before

forum. One morning another forumite suggested we do an Ironman. Not really knowing what it was, I signed up. Then, when I discovered I would have to swim 3.8km, bike 180km and run a full marathon, the enormity of what I had agreed to do hit me. My

enough in most races but, to my mind, far behind where she could have been. I would urge her to add a little interval training – speedier running for short distances, interspersed with recovery jogs – to her daily work-outs, but my advice always fell

. The 50-lap Sleek is a good-looking and easy-to-use watch. It has almost everything you'd expect of a good running watch – a stopwatch with a lap/split feature, a countdown timer, an interval timer that can count down work-out and recovery times

For one brief moment, probably while endorphins were still pumping through your body after a good run, you flirted with the idea of doing a marathon. Then the endorphins disappeared and the reality of training for four months and trying to squeeze

quicker as it's not used to the surface."Barden offers Paula Radcliffe's experience in the marathon at the Beijing Olympics as an example of what can go wrong. "She had not done much road work - she was forced to cross-train due to a leg injury - and she

within two to three minutes (though I do live in a more rural area and built up areas can be a bit longer wait). The PC software also allows you to either download a training plan (e.g. the RW marathon training schedule) onto the calendar or create your

shortfall in nutrients, especially carbohydrates. Ironically, feeling dizzy can even be a sign that you’re over-hydrated. "This isn't nearly as common as dehydration," says Dr Lewis Maharam, medical director of the New York City Marathon, "but it can strike

carried on from there. I have been training with running coach Keith Anderson (fullpotential.co.uk) for three years now. I'm four stone lighter and closing in on a sub-three-hour marathon PB. In the last three years I went through the tough

wool ball and tape it under the painful area, then I can run marathons with no pain at all. See full thread... and can relieve toe painYentz boogman - Numb feet can be caused by Morton's Neuroma, where the nerves in between the toes get pinched