Redemption Arc: Forest of Dean, Peak Day, and 13 Days to Brighton

Andrew Caine
Mar 30
4 min read

Monday, March 30th — 13 days until Brighton Marathon

When I wrote the first blog in this series back in February, Brighton felt like a long way off. 64 days. Plenty of time. The training block was fresh, the legs were fresh, and the redemption arc was just getting started.

Now there's 13 days to go. And I'm sitting here writing this feeling genuinely excited.

Let me catch you up.

Forest of Dean Spring Half Marathon — March 22nd

This was always the tune-up race. The chance to test where my fitness was at before the big one in Brighton. A checkpoint, not the destination.

What I didn't account for was the course absolutely kicking my arse.

The first 2km was steady enough. Then the next 2km dropped from 177m down to 75m — all downhill. Not a bad way to wake the legs up. But what goes down must come back up. The following 6km was a slow, grinding incline up to 204m that completely wiped me out. I had to slow right down to get my breathing and energy back under control.

The second half had two more climbs but nothing like that first one. Managed to claw the pace back towards the latter stages and had a Tommy Fury finish over the line.

Sunny, hot, muggy, and absolutely beautiful. Not a bad day to run through a forest.

Chip time: 1:51:07.

Now — on paper, that might not look like an incredible time for someone targeting a sub-3:50 marathon. But context matters. That course was brutal. Hilly, off-road, energy-sapping. My Strava-predicted marathon finish based on that effort came back at around 3:48. Which told me what I needed to hear: the fitness is there.

More importantly, I came out of it healthy. No major issues. Just confirmation that the training was working.

The Week Between

I kept things simple after Forest of Dean. A 4.4k easy run on Wednesday to shake the legs out. A 10k tempo run on Friday to keep the engine ticking.

The only niggle worth mentioning is some pain on the outside of my right foot — probably from repetitive strain more than anything serious. Tapering down the intensity should see it settle. It's not something I'm worried about, but it's something I'm aware of.

Peak Day — 33k at Pitsford Reservoir

Then came the big one. The biggest run of the entire training block.

3 laps around Pitsford Reservoir. 33 kilometres. Done in 2 hours and 55 minutes.

That's an average pace of roughly 5:18/km.

For context, here's what I'd need to hold on race day:

3:40 finish → 5:13/km
3:45 finish → 5:20/km
3:50 finish → 5:27/km

My peak day pace of 5:18/km sits right in the middle of that window. And that was without race day adrenaline, without fresh legs from a taper, and without the crowd energy that Brighton will bring.

Based on that run and with better pacing — I'm thinking a 3:40 to 3:50 finish is realistic.

That would be a significant improvement from December where I finished in 4:14:40. Poor fuelling and preparation led to me cramping up badly after 30k. I spent the last 12km in absolute agony, watching my goal time disappear.

Not this time.

What's Changed Since the First Blog

Back in February I was running two Olympic lifting days and two strength days alongside three runs per week. That's shifted.

I've laid off Olympic lifting for the time being. Still doing compound movements to keep my legs and body strong, but the focus has shifted to three whole-body workouts per week at a reduced intensity and volume. My body has responded best to that setup. The goal now isn't to build — it's to maintain what I've built and arrive on race day feeling strong and resilient, not beaten up.

Calorie intake has stayed the same. I'm eating enough to fuel the training, recover properly, and hold onto muscle. No point smashing sessions if you're not backing it up with the right nutrition.

The Next 13 Days

All the hard work is done. The miles are in the legs. Now it's about coming in fresh and ready.

Here's the plan:

Running: Taper down. 5 more easy runs with distances ranging from 5-13k at a steady pace. No heroics. No long runs. Just keeping the legs ticking over.

Strength training: Continue with the three whole-body sessions but at a lower intensity. Keep the legs strong and resilient without beating them up.

Nutrition and recovery: Locked in. Eating enough calories with a good split of carbs, fats and protein. Staying hydrated. No alcohol until after the race.

Mobility: Yoga and mobility work every other day to reduce tightness and stiffness.

Sleep: At least 7 hours a night. Which if you know me — is easier said than done.

How I'm Feeling

Excited. Properly excited.

After December, there was a part of me that wondered whether the first marathon was a fluke. Whether I'd set an unrealistic target. Whether I just wasn't built for that distance.

But this training block has shown me otherwise. The fitness is there. The preparation is better. The fuelling plan is smarter. And the biggest lesson from December — don't go out too fast and don't neglect your nutrition on course — is burned into my brain.

The goal is simple. Arrive on that start line in the best shape possible. Run a consistent pace. Don't repeat the mistakes from last time. And see what I'm actually capable of when the preparation goes to plan.

3:40 to 3:50. That's the target. Let's see what happens.

13 days.