I did it! I completed marathon no.2 in Bournemouth last weekend. After a slightly experimental approach to training, I think it's fair to say that this marathon was a success. Finishing in 4 hours and 8 minutes, I was initially disappointed to have not managed a personal best, but in hindsight, I'm not too worried about the extra 3 minutes over a much more undulating course. Generally, I ran much better this time around, I felt strong until just over 20 miles whereas last time I was feeling it by mile 14, so not hitting quite such a vicious wall was pleasing! First time around, I ended up doing quite a lot of walking in the later stages, but this time I only walked through the later water stations so as to avoid the drowning sensation of drinking out of a cup whilst running. I kept to my goal splits fairly well, maybe running up to 10 seconds per km faster but still feeling comfortable. After a slight drop in motivation after realising, with 3.5 miles to go and only 20 minutes to beat my time, that I wasn't going to set a personal best, I managed a strong last mile to power over the line.

So, my different training approach was, for me, a success. Slightly lower training mileage meant that I avoided any injuries or even niggles, I wasn't tired by race day - in fact, I felt strong and ready to go - and I was suitably restrained during my taper fortnight. In future, I think I'll continue with this style of training plan and continue to tweak it, until I really get it right!