Soccer AM

Tom and James: kitted out

The London Marathon is just over four weeks away and Soccer AM has not one but TWO runners... we hope!

Each week they will be giving us an insight into how their training is going, as well as revealing their thought and feelings... well maybe not the last bit!

Tom

In terms of my training this week has once again been a complete write-off because I'm still injured. To make matters worse I've got a bit of a cold and just can't seem to shake it.

Even drinking copious amounts of alcohol on the weekend didn't help and that normally always sorts me out! All in all I'm pretty fed up, but I've set myself a date to decide whether or not I'll be taking part in the Marathon.

Monday 17th March has been pencilled into my diary as judgement day, because that's when I will be attempting my first run in over two weeks.

I'm still suffering from "jogger's knee" and after seeing the physio on Friday it turns out my entire problems stem from the fact that the shock absorbers in my trainers are knackered, so a new pair of runners are number one on my shopping list.

If I can get through Monday without too much pain I'm back in the game, if not it looks like my Marathon dream is over!

My Week

SATURDAY:
No football for me this week and I feel like I'm coming down with something, but it's Saturday night and I'm not going to stay in because I think I'm getting ill, besides I find alcohol is often the best medicine!

SUNDAY:
It's 5am and I'm sitting in a restaurant in China Town after a night out in London and I start feeling very ill, and it's got nothing to do with the food or the alcohol. I realise that going out wasn't the best thing to do after all!

I wake up at 1.30 having missed Sunday Lunch with my family and I try to get out of going to the Laurence Olivier Awards with my girlfriend because I'm feeling really rough.

My mum gets wind that I not going because of my cold and questions my manhood... I go to the awards.

One and a half bottles of wine later and I've forgotten all about my cold and I'm having a great time. I look across my table and I think I see Gandalf... I decide it's time to stop drinking. Turns out it actually was Sir Ian Mckellen!

We realise that the Empire Movie Awards after party is in the same building and finish the night by schmoozing with the likes of Rob Brydon and my Robin Hood look a like Jonas Armstrong!

MONDAY:
I'm feeling really ropey so decide to spend the day at home.

TUESDAY:
I struggle to get into work but some over the counter cold medicine (which I won't name because let's be honest it's just free advertising!) gets me through the day.

I watch the football in the evening and resist the temptation of the beers sitting in the fridge.

WEDNESDAY:
I learn that I will most likely be getting into a bath full of ice on this week's show! Not a good day.

THURSDAY:
Four days in and I still feel terrible but a professional never stops, so I drag myself into work albeit a little bit late!

James

Despite the weather's best attempts to de-rail my training schedule I managed to get in some solid training this week and I feel great.

The constant fatigue that was plaguing me during the first few weeks of training has almost completely gone and if anything I feel healthier each day.

My secret weapon has been my Family Guy DVD's although I've had to give up the leggings because the chafing has become unbearable! On the plus side I get to wear my lovely short shorts!

My Week

SATURDAY:
Our kick-off time for football has been changed to 2.30 which is brilliant because it means I'll never be late again!

I get to the pitch with plenty of time and get a full warm-up for the first time in ages and am raring to go... then I'm told I'm on the bench! Gutted.

A new club opened in my town on Saturday night so I made up for not starting at football by getting in some good cardio work on the dance floor.

It was a bit messy and I contemplated running home but decided that a taxi would be the safer option.

SUNDAY:
Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest but with the Marathon just over four weeks away I decided to get up early and hit the gym! A round of golf and a trip down to the cinema to watch Semi-Pro completed a pretty good day.

MONDAY:
My big run of the week! With the weather as miserable as ever I put my secret weapon into action for the first time... Family Guy! I've already spoken about the fact that I hate using treadmills because of the pure boredom involved so on Monday I set up my DVD player in front of it and just ran.

I covered up the control panel so I wasn't constantly checking how long I'd been running for and I must have watched about six episodes in a row... I was like Forest Gump!

At one point my mum came up to find out why I was making so much noise and I roped her into reading the paper to me! There's nothing like a bit of family support.

When I finally stopped and had a look at the clock it had stopped at 99.000 so think I must have run over two hours and I reckon I could have gone on for longer so that was really encouraging.

TUESDAY:
The day after a big run I'm normally a wreck but I feel fine, in fact I decided to go to the gym so I reckon the 'special' tablets my aunt gave me are working their magic! Don't worry they're not performance enhancing just plain old legal glucose tablets.

WEDNESDAY:
I start the day with a full English breakfast because if I'm honest I'm losing more weight than I want to be with all this training. Still I think I've been infected by the training bug because ended my day with a couple more hours in the gym.

THURSDAY:
Rest day? Not a chance! More gym work.