heroic status.I left work at 38 weeks. It felt like the tapering down period before a marathon. I’d, in effect, done my last long run. I was fit and full of energy. My hip pain was now bearable as long as I didn’t place any undue impact on it. I’m sure

is mid-October) Mike Gratton You probably want to inject some fartlek and hills in June, then change this to intervals about 10 weeks out so you get an eight-week build up and two weeks taper.How Janice Moorekite jumped from 3:10 to 2:48DipsyMike, do you

of racing. At the start of a race, everything feels good; you have tapered and are running on race-day adrenaline. After the first mile or so, the pace becomes harder and you start slowing down – unless you've prepared properly with race-specific sessions

- and relieved - that I'm getting towards the top of the marathon-training "mountain" now, and will soon be heading downhill for taper time.Nick says: Dan ran well in the Bath Half-Marathon, clocking a new PB and steadying the ship slightly at a difficult time

the Training Plan Survey thread because she reckons she’s nosey, but we think she’s being very hard on herself. This is a Serious Running Website, after all. Anyone that’s put in months of hard training before a major race will understand taper madness

I will do half a dozen next time.I will also make sure that I do one, maybe two, runs of full distance. I will also make sure I follow a taper correctly and don’t do 10k in 42 mins on the Friday two days before race.So to next year, and I will enter

me a kick up the backside to start my training after the Christmas excesses and guided me through the whole training programme.Respecting the distance. Speaks for itself but many underestimate it. Do those 20-mile training runs and taper properly

. Take on your longest run three to four weeks before the event. Some people like to do a half-marathon race three weeks before the marathon, so their longest run is a month before. Your last three training weeks should be the taper, so I try to run

, steady build-up starting as early as possible. The early stages require a lot of mindless running of steady miles. It needs to be this way, but there is no harm in running a few races to keep short-term interest. However, it is important not to taper

and positive self-talk to help get me through any rough patches. I did all the right things, tapered properly, kept hydrated, carbo loaded, rested well the day before and felt confident, if apprehensive. The night before I ate my evening meal with two friends