Training round up for my second marathon

Two weeks after my marathon and now six weeks until my next one I have been working hard to hit the next race harder and faster!

My training in the last two weeks has included a lot more strength training and circuit training in my attempts to be even fitter and stronger.

Heres a leg circuit I have done a couple of times recently to work on strengthening my legs: 

I have also done a bit more gym work including more weights and mixing up ab exercises, upper body work and some leg exercises into circuit routines.

The main exercises I have been focusing on are press ups, squats, lunges, crunches and leg raises.

Over the last fortnight a main focus has been on building up my press up capabilities as this has been something I have let slide recently. So on top of my training I completed a press up streak of 100 press ups on seven consecutive days, a pretty good achievement for me and I feel so much stronger from it already. 

Diet wise things have slipped a bit as I have enjoyed not watching what I have been eating so carefully.

A few foodporn highlights from the week include :

An awesome ham and BBQ pizza

A delicious strawberry and banana smoothie

And my epic post run Sunday brunch breakfast wrap last weekend

Today's run

Today was my first longer run since the marathon as I completed 27.5km on a route out along the London Loop to Purfleet. This is a route I have been very keen to run as this was the route I had planned to run a few weeks before the marathon but had to abandon after 2kms due to my foot injury striking.

My route took me through my usual course through the Ingrebourne valley country park but further out to Rainham village, over the train tracks, through Rainham marshes following the London Loop trail all the way out onto the Thames. 

These pictures are the view from when I came out onto the river, firstly looking East out towards the Thames estuary, if my camera was better you would make out the Dartford crossing. 

The second photo is then looking West towards the City, again if the photo was better quality you could make out the skyscrapers in the far distance.

Unfortunately I had picked a poor day for this run as it was very overcast and cloudy not to mention windy and battling the wind coming off the river was challenging to say the least!

A few highlight along the route include the sculpture of the diver in the photo below which is supposedly the only sculpture actually in the Thames. 

My personal highlight though is the concrete barges which were used as part of the D Day landing in World War ii, they inspire and fascinate me every time I see them and I continue to be perplexed by the lack of interest and information available on them and the lack of recognition they receive. 

My half way turnaround point was the RSPB bird sanctuary at Purfleet which is the base for bird watchers on the Rainham marshes and an excellent provider of refreshments and tasty cakes. Not today unfortunately as today I only had time for a quick toilet break before turning around and heading home. 

After 2 and three quarter hours and over 27 kilometers I was pretty knackered and was in need of some refuel nutritional sustenance which I consumed in the form of a tortilla wrap with peanut butter, jam and banana, delicious!

As always thanks for reading and I welcome any comments, feedback and suggestions, thanks!

I am now on bloglovin as well, its great way to keep up with your favourite blogs, well worth a look if you haven't already checked it out.