In the second of her weekly journals, our Sport Academy runner describes her London Marathon training regime. I am now in week eight of my 18-week marathon training program, and so far everything is going pretty much according to plan.
The training schedule I am following is designed for novice marathon runners, and it's made up of long weekend runs, midweek training, cross training and rest.
The key to the program is long runs on weekends, which build from six miles in week one to 20 miles in the climactic week 15, after which there is a taper in preparation for marathon day.
There is flexibility in that the odd work-out can be missed, or the schedule rearranged owing to other commitments, but the long runs cannot be cheated on.
 |  Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon is training for her first marathon, and I'm filming her video diary |
Although the long runs get progressively longer, every third week is a "stepback" week, where the mileage comes down for the next push upward. As the weekend mileage increases, so does the weekday mileage.
Runs on Wednesdays build from three miles to 10 miles, with similar small advances on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
In addition to this, my gym sessions with my trainer Dan are focusing on strengthening my body as a whole, and upping endurance levels.
Sunday is my day for cross-training.
Cross-training is any other form of aerobic exercise working slightly different muscles to those involved in running.
Good cross-training exercises include swimming, cycling or even walking, and I've found an hour of this on a Sunday to be a great way to recover from a long Saturday run.
Rest is a hugely important component of any program.
Research shows that it is in the rest period (the 24 to 72 hours between hard exercise sessions) that muscles regenerate and grow stronger. Any coach will tell you that you cannot reach your full potential if you're constantly exhausted and my schedule includes two rest days, Monday and Friday.
My training has not been without its setbacks.
In week four, I did my first real challenging long Saturday run, nine miles.
Plugged into my Ipod, I was ahead of my anticipated time, and took the genius decision to sprint the last 100m or so.
Big mistake!
The pain in my knee was still there on the Monday. Terrified I had blown my chances for the marathon, I got in touch with Dan, who told me to stop panicking.
Firstly, some new running shoes were in order. Running shoes need to be changed regularly, and mine hadn't been since I ran my first marathon two years ago.
I had my technique analysed at a specialist running store, where they filmed my gait on a running machine. I now have a pair of shoes with great shock absorbency, and they have made such a difference.
As a precaution I stayed off feet for a few days, and I'm glad to report that my knee is much better and is holding up well. But it is still a worry in the back of my mind.
I ran 11 miles on Saturday, mostly along the River Thames.
Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon is training for her first marathon, and I am filming her video diary, so we ran together for seven of my 11 miles, filming as we went. It was such a fun day.
This week I will be facing my biggest challenge so far as I run 13 miles, the half-marathon distance, this Saturday.
Find out how I get on in my next diary, and don't forget that you can chat about your own marathon experiences on our messageboards.
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
