Checkout some of the official marathon pics. NB: Some photos omitted as they may have caused great distress. I had a great time, believe it or not, and thanks to everyone who sponsored… your support is hugely appreciated.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Last weekend I attended the VLM "Meet the Experts" event aimed at people running this year's London Marathon. The notes I took are below, they're extremely rough but are a good reminder of what was discussed.

Preparation:

• Write a list of everything that you'll need beforehand
• Pack loo roll. Lots of toilets, but no loo roll supplied
• Pack a bin bag to protect you from the elements
  

On the race:

• Marathon registration at the running expo on April 13-16th @ ExCeL centre (Docklands Light Railway)
• Name can be printed at the running expo but expect a big queue. Avoid queue by mailing your running vest.
  
• Start colour: same as the colour of the number on your bib. Probably red.
• Travel: Avoid going by car. Best to use national rail from Charing cross or London Bridge to Greenwich or maze hill. Free travel with race bib. Arrive nice and early.
• Race start: 9:45am.  Wear old clothes after kit bag drop-off or bin liner to protect yourself from the elements. Discard to bins at side of the road at the start.
• Drink stations every mile after first 3 miles. Proper drinks bottles with sports caps, not cups. Lucozade sports drinks at 5 miles intervals.
• Carbohydrate gels available at 14 & 21.5 miles. Toilets every couple of miles. Will need to take own gels, 1 between 1-5 miles and another between 5-10 miles.
• 6 cold showers available. Nice on hot day. Don't cool down using water from drink stations.
• Spectators: Busy bits. Greenwich.  Tower bridge. Embankment. Finish. Spectator guide on vlm website. Information point can tell spectators where runners are if they have bib number.
  

Finish:

• Remember to smile for the camera (Hint: take a second, make sure you've got some room around you for a good photo, remove sun glasses and smile… so many people have pain etched on their face… if you're smiling people will think you're amazing :P )
• For spectators at home BBCi (red button) has option to watch the finish line. Good if they know roughly when you'll be finishing.
• You'll receive a goody bad with t-shirt, space blanket & plenty of jelly babies (factoid from vinny: "Jelly Babies" first released as "Peace Babies" after the end of WWI, renamed to jelly babies on the outbreak of WWII :P)
  
• Horse guards has meet & greet area with letters of the alphabet to use to meet relatives / friends. Tip: meet at X or Z… usually not many runners there.
• Allow 30 – 40 mins to get through finish area.
• Results on www.london-marathon.co.uk

Injury:

Top 10 mistakes from Sam Murphy:

1. Too much too soon. Increase mileage no more than 10% each week. Don't try to make up for lost time by pushing too hard.
2. Too little rest n recovery. You get fitter when you rest. Running when tired incase chance of injury. A short and very slow run can be better than doing nothing on rest days. It's ok for a hard cross-training to replace a run in the week.
3. Ignoring niggles and running through pain. Bad pain is pain that lingers for a few days. Don't just rest and do nothing. Stay mobile. Do swimming to take stress off the joint. Consult an expert if pain persists.
4. Poor running form. Run tall. Keep good length through the front of the body. Run light. Don't over stride, foot should land below the knee. Increase pace by quickening strides not lengthening stride. Keep relaxed. Stick to small changes.
5. Neglect strength training. Don't use weights, use own body weight.
   One legged exercise. Stand or squat while balancing on 1 leg. Keep everything balanced. Pelvis should be straight. 10-15 mins 3 times a week.
6. Neglecting flexibility. Stretching - stretching used to keep flexible. Stretch after run not before. Hold stretches for 20-30 seconds to maintain flexibility, to increase 60 seconds.
7. Not bothering with a warm up. No stretching. Get joints working through full range if motion. No jerking. Walk and a slow jog. Should last a few minutes.
8. Too much concrete. Every other long run should be off road. When off road maintain same effort not the same pace. Track is ok, like a treadmill - little and often is fine.
9. Wrong shoes. Shoes last 300-500 miles.
   
10. Losing your nerve. Don't panic. Mask sure to taper training 3 weeks before. Too much training in last 2-3 weeks will make you tired. Stick to what you know. Don't make any last minute changes.

Recovery: need to eat 1g carbs for 1kg body weight within an hour after run.

www.realbuzz.com - find a running partner through "share your passion"
www.runbritain.com - loads of articles and events

Hydration and Nutrition:

• You will lose 4-5 litres through sweating during the marathon
• Focus on carbs: have plenty. Pasta, bread, cereal.
• 5 Ps - poor preparation produces poor performance. Learn: What to eat? When to eat? How much?
• Figure out the routine you need. Listen to body and document what works.
  
• Before running: carbs. Pasta, bread. Even simple carbs like jam, marmalade, honey, wine gums, ,jelly babies (yum).
  
• During: be comfortable with how much food and fluid you take in. Practice and don't make any late changes to your routine. Take in isotonic drinks. Body can only store enough carbs for 18-20 miles. Must take on carbs before to keep stocked up. If you lose more than 2% of body weight through dehydration mental and physical performance will suffer. Carb gels are energy replacements but you must practice in training. Jelly beans are good too (and yummy).
• Whilst running, you need 30-60 grams of carbs per hour of running
• After: refuel and recover properly. Eat carbs after training to replace energy. Drink 1 litre for each kilo of weight lost on a run.
• For late runs you must have carbs after the run for recovery. Try easily digestible food even liquid carbs eg lucozade. Avoid late meals with high protein and fat content coz they're hard to digest.
• Race day: prepare the week before. Don't eat or do anything different. Plan plan plan. Carry carbs around with you for the few days before. Keep stocked up. write a list of everything that you'll need.

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I'm training for the Virgin London Marathon on 17th April 2011.

You can follow my training on RunKeeper, a very cool service for tracking your activities.

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