With the training going well three of us are heading to Anglesey on Sunday to take part in the marathon. I’ve done a few half marathons but never a full one so it will give us all a taste of what it’s like in terms of the start and getting the pace right and hydration/gels etc..

The aim is to run for 2.5-3 hours so hopefully get in 18-20 miles. We’ve then got 6 weeks to go until New York, so 3 more long ones then taper down.

I was talking with Mike Gratton who provides all the training advice for 209 Events yesterday about tapering. He suggested going down by 25% per week so I guess we’ll look at reducing the mileage to 15 then 12 then 10. He also suggested doing a couple of short 5k runs in the week before we go which I thought was good so that we don’t stiffen up and a very short run the day before the marathon to loosen things up after the flight.

I’m still a bit unsure of the best strategy regarding hydration. It all depends on the weather I guess. The last 2 years in New York have been warm so a good amount of fluids will probably be required. As we sell them and I use them myself, I’m going to take some Science in Sport (SiS) GO Electrolyte and some GO Isotonic Gels with me to New York. I have previously never really liked Gels as they are normally a bit too sweet and thick and can make you feel a bit sick but the SiS GO Isotonic gels are quite nice. They are not too thick and taste quite nice.

Off we go then, not long now. We’ll see how it all goes on Sunday….