Marathon Training

I went running today in Hyde Park with Papa. We ran about 4 miles and it was great to be able to breath fresh air and feel the cold wind on my face. I ran at 1pm in the afternoon – an absolutely impossible time in Kampala. There I have to wake up at 6:30am to get a run in before it gets too hot, or time it perfectly to when the sun is going down (and cross my fingers I don’t get run over at the end when it’s dark). The beige dirt on my running shoes was replaced with angry chunks of black mud. It reminded me of the cross country runs I used to compete in when I was doing my A-levels. We used to wear little polyester shorts and tank tops complete with woolen hats and gloves – such a ridiculous sight. Not only that but I had to tie my shoelaces completely under my shoe so that they wouldn’t get so stuck in the mud that I’d leave them behind. I’d finish the race with raw, red skin every time, splattered with black specks of mud everywhere.

I meant to email everybody on my birthday asking for donations for my marathon run for Educate! I’m hoping to raise enough to sponsor one Educate! scholar per mile that I run. I’ve run a half marathon before but never a full marathon and I’ve always wanted to. But to be honest, I’m a little worried. I’ve been training for a month now and I know (as I knew before) that my muscles are strong enough, my chest is strong enough, my mind is strong enough. What has been freaking me out for the past month is my knee joints. I’ve never had problems with my knees, even when skiing 7 hours a day. But over the past month, both knees start to ache after 1-3miles, depending on how much rest I’ve had since my last run. I’ve been trying to stretch. I tried taking IB profen. But I still ache and I’m not sure what to do about it.

Any recommendations?

P.s. Just found out that the official distance of a marathon (26 miles and 385 yards) came about at the 1908 Olympics in London, so that the race could start at Windsor Castle and finish in front of King Edward’s & Queen Alexandria’s royal box at Shepard’s Bush stadium.