Day 3

I was so shattered last night that I almost fell asleep on the 3-tube-stops journey to the gym, where I was scheduled for a personal training session. Joao (my PT) clearly got the message that I am seriously running this race, and changed my training from the usual iron pumping to some sort of brutal boot-camp-style enterprise :) So, after having lazily cycled on a bike for 15 mins, he made me do a nasty set of jumps, push ups, and weight lifts, plus some running up-hill on the tread mill at 12 miles an hour. It woke me up for sure! That being said, I was useless when I got home and fell asleep right after my bowl of pasta...

Evidently my body has started realising what is going on, and yesterday I felt my appetite increase, and was also thirsty and drinking all the time.

And this morning. Aaah, this morning. I woke up with every muscle in my body completely stiff, and as I started my warm-up jog, I felt that, funnily enough, my abs were the sorest muscles of the lot.

Today's session was my first taste of Fartlek training. Nothing rude there, ladies and gentlemen. Fartlek is actually a (Swedish) training method that involves, roughly, short-to-medium distance bursts of effort where you run like a maniac to get your heart racing, interspersed with cool-down jogs. Sounds bloody awful I know, however I have to say that I much enjoyed learning how to make longer strides and control my breathing (which goes bonkers when I run like that). It takes some practice to breathe in consistently through your nose instead of swallowing big gulps or air. There are also some chemical benefits to this form of training, apparently, to do with your body reusing some of the energy it produces, or something of the sort.

The setting was incredible this morning: I got to do my sprints on Tower Bridge (beautifully lit - check out the picture below!) and London Bridge (which involved a bit of slaloming between city people walking to work in the early hours).

A bit more luck with the GPS application, but not quite perfect yet. We'll work it out!

I am looking forward to my only night of relaxation tonight and intend to rest completely at last. Bring on the hot bath, scented candles, big dinner in front of the TV, and hopefully an 8-hour night of sleep...

Also this morning, one more very generous donation from my dear friend Cyril, who has also left a 'wonderful' comment on the Just Giving site (in the classy style that can only be recognised as his). Thanks Cyrilito.