My name is Jamie Flanagan. This year I'm going to be running in the Rome and Berlin Marathons raising money for Vasculitis UK. I am a Wegeners Granulomatosis patient and am looking forward to raising money and awareness to help beat this disease. You can read more about me at my Just giving page below:
A big thanks to everyone who has donated, you're in my thoughts during the runs!
Here is blog number 2:
13/02/2012 - 33 days to race day!
Wow, the days have really been flying past! Can't believe the hard part of training is nearly over. Only one more long run before I'll be hammering the streets of Rome.
This weeks training involved a 40 minute interval session, a 9k run on the treadmill, a split day with a (very early) morning 5k threshold run, a 10k easy run in the evening, an 18 mile run on Sunday and a 30 min easy warm down run.
The interval session was ok, shattered by the end, but completed it. The 9k treadmill run was meant to be a 10k run. Didn't go so well! Every muscle, bone, joint (even my ebay beard!) was telling me to stop. So I did. I went into a mini strop and even slammed my locker door! "WHO STOLE MY LEGS?! THESE AREN'T MY LEGS!?" This was actually good therapy and a manoeuvre I'll remember for future tenuous work outs! A day off was very much required!! Day off lasted until 00:20am when I zipped up my glow in the dark thermal man-suit and thrashed out a speedy 5k. Later that day was a 10k on the treadmill - none of this 9k nonsense and no lockers were hurt in the aftermath of this run!
Sunday was supposed to be an 18 mile, uneventful, easy run. It wasn't 18 miles, it wasn't uneventful and it wasn't exactly easy. My plan was 9 miles out then run back the same route. Simple eh?
Well... it went so well that I missed a turn and ended up running 18.7 miles before I noticed that I wasn't back home. Instead I was staring at a road sign telling me that I was 7 miles from home. To make matters worse I was due to be at work in 30 minutes time! Needless to say it didn't take me long to realise that that wasn't going to happen! Thankfully I had a mobile phone on me and gave my boss a phone let him in on my little predicament. The laughter was deafening! Next call was organising a taxi to come pick me up - "Can I have a taxi somewhere on the B9154 please? Just look out for a guy in running gear... Not running"
It was actually a really good run and I was delighted that I could have easily ran marathon distance that day.
21 miler coming up this week! BRING IT ON!
PS. The pic is after my last marathon. The marathon du Medoc was so hard it turned my hair green! Hope it happens again... I liked having green hair!
John and I look forward to reading your training blogs. 
