“I’ve learned that it’s what you do with the miles, rather than how many you’ve run.” – Rod DeHaven 

Fast forward a week today and I will have landed in Berlin, checked into my hotel for the weekend and picked up my race number from the expo.

Even though the marathon is just over a week away it still doesn’t feel like it’s really approaching! Maybe I’m in denial due to how unprepared I am for this race! I say unprepared in the sense that I’m no where near where I wanted to be in terms of training but I’ve only got myself to blame for that. Still, I’m making the most of what I’ve done and can only hope to get through it injury free! The main aim of course is to enjoy running one of the most iconic marathons in the world and to savour every moment of the weekend. It will be amazing to run through the streets of Berlin alongside so many other amazing athletes.

Speaking of amazing athletes, I’m also planning to meet some other runners for pre marathon coffee and cake and post race victory beers which will be fantastic. We’ve created a group chat on Twitter where we’ve unleashed our maranoia on each other. Running is such a fantastic community and an amazing way of bringing like minded people together.

Anyway, back to the training I’ve been doing. I recently completed a fantastic 18 mile trail run which was lovely on the legs although it felt as though I was moving for hours! My legs definitely thanked me for completing it off road though. The weekend before that I did another 18 mile run with 12 miles on the road and six on trail which felt really good. I haven’t however managed to hit the 20 mile mark yet which I would’ve really liked to have done for both my legs and for a mental boost as well. People aren’t exaggerating when they say the race really begins at mile 20! That said, I’ll just have to dig deep and use my grit and determination to kick on towards the end, Mo Farah style! #onemomile

Aside from running I’ve been keeping up with my strength sessions as best as I can thanks to a specific programme from Dane. Here’s a snippet of just one section of my latest programme:

• Barbell hip thrusts  with a band around your knees 3 heavy sets of 15 reps (I did 70kg)
• Superset with lateral banded side steps 10 each side (feel those glutes burn!)
• Incline bench YTWs 5 rounds (1 round is a y, t and w) with a light weight if you can.

Calf work has also been programmed as well as plenty of core work and I have to say I am feeling really good after these sessions. I feel stronger and, touch wood, it’s injury proofing me! Really hope that hasn’t jinxed it now!

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Away from the roads, tracks and the gym I’ve also found some time to get in some fun rest day movement with Dane.

Last weekend we headed to Brimham Rocks, near Harrogate, for some rock scrambling and a picnic in the sunshine. Rock scrambling quickly turned in to hill sprints, pull ups on trees and even some strong man work from Dane! See the video evidence on his Instagram – @danemitch.

It was so nice to be outside moving in the sunshine and to see other people doing the same too. Seeing people outside enjoying themselves makes me happy!

Here’s a few snaps of what we got up to..

So that’s pretty much all of my random training updates for now! The plan from now until the marathon is to look after myself and keep well for the start line- oh and locate my passport! I’ve also joined periscope so you can follow my Berlin journey live throughout the weekend. My user name is the same as my  Instagram @hbryan91 so make sure you follow me!

🙂