Finish in darkness possible

stats of the week: run 27 km, cycled 76 km, zwift cycled 28 km, walked 14 km, gym 1.5h

Back to slow jogging, and I was really happy to complete a 10-mile workout this week. With just four weeks left until the London Marathon, my modest goal for next week is to complete a 20K training run.

Since last year, participants have been allowed to finish the London Marathon until midnight. The start time varies between 9:30 and 11:30 AM, depending on your start corral - giving me plenty of time to walk at least a third of the distance. Maybe I’ll reach The Mall in darkness, just like these two happy ladies.

With the London Marathon aiming to become the world’s largest, with at least 56,000 participants, I probably won’t be the last to cross the finish line!

Doubts coming up

stats of the week: run 7 km, cycled 39 km, walked 10 km, gym 1.5 h
stats of the previous week: run 17 km, walked 36 km, gym 1.5  

Five weeks until the London Marathon, and I still can't run even half the distance. To make matters worse, I caught a cold last weekend and had to stop training completely.

At this point, my modest goal is simply to complete one 25K training run before race day. Realistically, if I manage to finish the marathon, I have to accept that I'll be walking nearly half of it. If it weren’t London, I wouldn’t even consider taking part right now.

I also have to acknowledge the risks of starting a marathon without proper preparation. I've seen exhausted runners collapsed along Victoria Embankment before, and I definitely don’t want to end up like that.

Head down and finished

stats of the week: run 9 km, walked 36 km, gym 1.5 h
stats of the previous week: run 37 km, walked 62 km

The good news is that I finished the Lisbon Half Marathon! The start was quite fast, as the course went downhill for several miles, but from the 14K mark onward, I had to alternate between walking and slow jogging. The final stretch was tough, to say the least. That said, just a few weeks ago, I couldn’t even run 10K without walking in between. So, my time of 2:15 wasn’t a disappointment—it was simply a reflection of my current reality.

As for the event itself, it’s not one I’d do again. The start on the bridge is spectacular, but after that, it’s just a matter of keeping your head down and pushing through to the finish. The entire route runs outside the city with no crowd support. That’s fine for me, but what really shocked me was the bottleneck just 20 meters before the finish line—I ended up stuck in a jam, taking at least a minute just to cross the official line. To make matters worse, I then had to wait nearly an hour to collect my kitbag while it started to rain.

The takeaway from my trip? I’ve fallen in love with Portugal. As for the half marathon, its only real purpose was to tick off another SuperHalf event.

Photos: start on the bridge

Happy finishers

The scene at the kitbag lorries

Some improvement - also with the temperature

stats of the week: run 24 km, hiked 43 km
stats of the previous week: run 19 km, walked 13 km, gym 3 h
stats of the week before: run 23 km, walked 5 km, gym 3 h

I had a little chat with a pulmonologist, and not surprisingly I’ve been diagnosed with exercise- and cold-induced asthma. So now, I’ve got a daily inhaler, and I noticed some improvement.

To further stack the odds in my favor, we wisely decided to swap chilly air for some Portuguese sunshine, spending two weeks warming up (literally) for the Lisbon Half Marathon next Sunday.

The good news? I’ve managed to push my distance up to at least 13 km. The reality check? My half marathon will still feature some strategic walking breaks but I am confident that I will finish.