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Hello All.

Would you believe that I promised family, friends and work colleagues that I would train for a year and possibly run a marathon. My father in law died of cancer, my wife suffered last year and I had a small scare before Xmas.

I am relatively fit having been to the gym on and off for a year and I do use a mountain bike with my daughter periodically.

New Adidas running shoes, shorts and a top later I follow day one. The second day of week one (today), I run again only to end up with the tightest right calf ever. Unfortunately I cycled 6/8 miles on the rest day and wonder if that has caused issue.

I feel pretty damn pathetic and never once believed I would struggle in the first week. I soldiered on and finished today at 5pm. I feel fine now but wonder how I will be Sunday. Any views or help would be appreciated. I am 37 and average/slightly overweight by the way.

Thanks, John.

Stretching....

Its vital to do the right kinds of stretches. Plus if you are generally active as it sounds, then make sure you are eating enough salt. Lack of salt in active people leads to problems like cramps, and muscle aches.

Finally remember to not over train, doing too much can cause its own set of problems.

Hope this helps

Hi Johnny,

Lots of respect on going for a marathon! I've not even considered that yet, and I completely understand your cause.

Okay – don't get disheartened, is my first bit of advice. Much less fit people do this, and you're going to too. Toilet Duck has got some good advice there. Remember that running is using different muscles in that you are not used to, so you do need to do those stretches, and make sure you're warming up and down well.

My extra advice is to really take it easy while you're working through the program. I'm guessing you didn't promise everyone you'd finish under three hours, right? So, let yourself run slowly. If you feel comfortable, then maybe speed up a little. Play about with it as you run, but in general, swallow your pride for now and let yourself jog along slowly. You can build up your speed later on, once you've got endurance and stamina.

I really hope that will help you! Let us know how it goes!

Happy Running,
Benjohn