Flyte energy drinks - providing a boost to marathon training

Only a few short weeks ago I received news of a last minute entry into the London Marathon, cue much excitement and frantic training preparation.

Luckily at a similar time I was also approached by Flyte to try some samples of their energy drink. What good timing, what a good combination, marathon training and energy drinks.

When I first started running I wouldn't even contemplate going out for a run without swigging a bottle of lucozade beforehand. I eventually weened myself off these but ended up moving on to energy gels as I tackled longer distances. 

Then as I got older and the pressures of adulting started to hit home I grew to depend on coffee, with its warm caffeinated glow to get me through life, work and training.

However my search for an ideal energy drink to fuel my running has continued.

Flyte sounds promising, its natural, it contains caffeine, its fruity and it isn't a regrettable horrible experience such as a red bull or monster type energy drink.
On the flip side Flyte comes in a glass bottle which isn't ideal as it makes it less convenient than a plastic bottle or even a can.

Trying it pre run it definitely gives you a nice energy boost and without the sicklyness of most sugary sweet energy drinks on the market.

The word that comes to mind when tyring to describe how Flyte tastes would be 'clean' it tastes exactly as you would expect it to with crisp, fruity flavours from a drink that doesn't feel overly carbonated and fizzy.

Tasty as it might be, the drink being used for the London marathon is lucozade sport so I will be going back to my old sugary friend for my last few long training runs as I prepare to get my body ready again for drinking the sickly sweetness that will hopefully power me through 26.2 miles.

I am running the London marathon for PARC Essex and you can sponsor me here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gareth-davies109

Flyte drinks were supplied to me for free but all opinions expressed are my own.

Ten weeks until London

Ten weeks until London.

First off I hate it when people refer to a marathon just by the name of the city it is in but predictably I have become one of those people.

The London marathon, a race I will be running in ten weeks

Ten weeks until the Virgin Money London Marathon then.

London, it is a city, it is here, it is not ten weeks away

The headline news is that I am actually following a marathon training plan, it's quite a change in my whole running ethos.

I always had the notion that if I ever got into London (FFS I've done it again) then that would be my impetus to follow a plan/train harder/lose weight/eat properly/do more strength and conditioning, all the things I feel would improve my marathon performance but haven't quite had the motivation to implement before.

So far it's working.

I'm following a training plan, the asics target 26.2 sub 4 plan (there would be a link to the relevant webpage but it has been wiped from the internet and now replaced with asics frontrunner) to be precise.

I'm eating a bit better, not loads better but trying to cut back snacking and controlling my portion size.

And I'm putting an emphasis on incorporating some strength and conditioning work into my routine, mainly plank based exercises and techniques from James Dunne @kineticrev.

Time will tell if they all make a difference but early signs are encouraging.

Training recap:
I really enjoyed a great interval session on Tuesday hitting 5x10K paced 1K intervals.
Last night I tolerated a bitterly cold steady paced 14 miles, so demanding maintaining a slow pace when it's so cold!

The week ahead:
Some marathon paced running and maybe a hill session mid week.
Greenwich 10K on Sunday, following the plan this will be HM paced.

So far so good.
Trust the process.
Enjoy the ride.

Thank you for all the sponsorship so far, to donate to my fundraising efforts for PARC (Essex) please click here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gareth-davies109 Thanks!

A long overdue update and exciting news

Well it's been a while since my last post, so what's been happening? 

Running has kind of taken a back seat or at least had to just squeeze in here an there. The demands of an increasingly busy job, an energetic 16 month old and moving house 6 months ago have meant that I have not been so free and easy to run whenever I wanted. 

I have still been running though, Chelmsford marathon in October and I had runs planned for December but ended up not doing any due to bad weather and ill health. 

Moving to Colchester last August has affected my running in a number of ways. Firstly I'm more limited with my running options as my days start at 5am to get to work for 8, so no more pre-work runs. And getting back later in the evening means it's tougher to get out in after work. However on the plus side Colchester has a really vibrant and active running community in the form of running group Running Colchester. They are a group not a club, and are really just a way of local runners to come together both virtually via the Facebook page and physically through a number of organised runs through the week. Both these factors were instrumental in my decision to kick off 2018 with 100 miles in January challenge. A great way to get some mileage in at the start of the year and as many members of running Colchester were doing it as well it was a great way to stay motivated. I even madly volunteered to help manage the spreadsheet for tracking everyone's miles! So a busy start to the year, all being well I will finish nicely just over 100 miles. 

But all this intro and catch up on the last few months pales in significance to my real reason for writing this post. ***I AM RUNNING THE LONDON MARATHON***

Yes that's right! How I hear you ask? Well about two weeks ago I saw a post on Facebook I think in the running Colchester group looking for runners to fill some last minute marathon spots for a local charity. So I got in touch to find out more, expecting the places to have all gone but no a few days later my place was confirmed! So here we go, yesterday was day one of my twelve week training plan building up to London. (I have been training for a half marathon this weekend so I'm in decent shape)

To be honest it hasn't even began to sink in, I have always wanted to run London but after several ballot rejections and sky high fundraising targets I could never see myself ever getting the chance. But here I am planning to run one of the greatest marathons in the world, I will be running through the crowds around the Cutty Sark and will be part of the iconic scene of runners passing over tower bridge. I think I'm going to need twelve weeks to get my head around it, so stay tuned for following my training and my journey to the London marathon start line.I am fundraising for PARC Essex, who provide support to families who have a child or children with special needs. All donations gratefully received: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gareth-davies109 Thanks!!!