Prepare to succeed?

I've been out all day since 9am at yet another football tournament for my son's Under-10 team. They reached the semi-final which was really good. I feel frazzled by the heat and haven't taken on enough fluid. Nor have I eaten very well today. I hope this doesn't handicap me tomorrow.

In the morning we have the London Marathon. Good luck to the 36000 people who are expected to start. Apparently around 500 of them won’t finish. That's a pretty good success rate...only about 1 in 70 dropouts. It would be different if they imposed a strict time limit but that would detract from the sense of this being a marathon 'for the people'. I'm sure that not one single runner will read this blog entry before the start, but if they did my advice to them would be to pace yourself and don't run too hard in the middle section of the race. Take onboard appropriate fluids and some nutrition. I hope their training has been sensible and thorough. My 60 year-old brother-in-law did it last year, 5 days after discovering that he had lymphoma. That's cancer of the lymph nodes/lymphatic system. What an achievement. A bit Lance-ish.

When I did my one and only marathon I set off too fast, and then had a fantastic feeling from about 13 to 20 miles when I fairly zipped along the Dock Road overtaking hundreds of people. I was silly, but exuberant. Then predictably at the 20-ish mile mark I hit the dreaded wall. Bonked. I was absolutely shot away and the last few miles were a nightmare. My speed dropped to something like 12 to 15 minute miles which meant an hour of agony for the final four or five paltry miles. I finished in 3 hours 36 mins, which is not too bad, but the pain and distress of the ending ruined my enjoyment and memory of the event.
I desperately want to ensure that the Etape is not only a success in terms of my completing the route within the time limit, but also a happy memorable day. I want to savour the ride, to be part of the peloton and to enjoy descending fast and safely. I want to chat to fellow cyclists from around the world, to engage with the spectators and to relish the Frenchness of the event. I want to enjoy the scenery along the way, and get some great photos from the top of the Cols. For sure, I’m going to be digging deep, it’s going to be very tough, and there are going to be some sections where I’ll be reaching my limits. I’ll persevere. The pressure is on, and now people are sponsoring me, I absolutely must finish.

So, at 6 am I’ll be creeping out the back door for a 90 mile session around the bumpy Island roads. I’m not looking forward to it. I'm tired, and I haven't felt well this week. No matter. I’ve made a fresh batch of homemade flapjacks so I’ve got some tasty nutritious snacks to savour. My drink bottles are prepared, and I’ve even hidden a big bottle of water in a ditch along the intended route for when I anticipate I’ll be running out of water. I've checked the bike over. My clothes are ready and I’ve loaded a good playlist and some podcasts on the Ipod.

What do those cheesy American coaches say? Fail to prepare..prepare to fail.