Smoke .. drink ... training ... marathon ...Ohhh not good 4 u, read about me plz :-)

Hi all, I attempted the london marathon in 2007 & had never ran before in my life before i started training for it, unfortunatly I got a stress fracture in my Metertarsal 4 weeks before the start & it put me out for 2007, since then I recovered from my injury & in the 3 years since ive competed in over 17 triathlons & 3 Half marathons ....I am no saint either I smoke 5 roll ups a day & drink a glass of wine or two a night....

Anyway I have a great running buddy of mine who's daughter lost all four limbs to Meningitis (Google plz, Ellie Challis) & now I AM going to run the marathon for the Meningitis Trust that helped her family through this.

I started my training again on 1st Jan 2012 & completed a 4 mile run & on added 2 miles every week & am now upto 12 miles by the end of Jan, but i'm only doing about 3 runs a week !! Is this enough ???

I am doing the Gt Bentley half marathon this weekend & the last run I done was a rekky of the 13.1 mile course & havnt run since !!

Just seems like everyone is running lots more than me ... should I go out more ??

Sounds like you're doing alright to me, and with that many triathlons & 1/2s under your belt, you've got a good idea of what you're doing. If you feel like you should be out more regularly, & you've got time for it, go on and do it. You've gone very quickly though from 4 miles up to 12, 2 miles a week is a lot to add - be mindful of whether you might be doing too much too soon, which puts you at risk of injury. Remember that 10% rule.

Three times a week? You'll be fine. Just as long as you get in some longer Sunday runs as you get nearer the event. My longest run for last years event was about 23 miles & I got around with no problems. Just make sure you enjoy the day as weirdly it seems to go past very quickly.

I don't think you're drinking enough 

Well, it depends on what kind of result you want to see when you come in to the finish line.  if you have a high goal, you should do more I think.   I live in Sutton and work in London City.  I run home at least 1 a week in winter and several times in Summer.  The distance is exactly 13.1mile which takes just about 2 hours.  My running home gives me a mideum/long distance training on a farely regular basis.  When I go to gym, I either be on the running machine for 90 mins to sprint or on spin bike to spin off to build more leg muscles.  My target is to finish my marathon in 3h40m but doubt whether I could do it as my current training is not enough.  I quit drinking 2 years ago and smoking a month ago hoping for a better result.  I ran a couple of ultra runs (over 60 miles) in the past  years and can tell you that Marathon can be just a warm up.  Keep going!  your body can go as much as you push.      

one more thing, if you could find some free time, go and have a quick check up on your VO2 max to find out how healthy or weak your lungs are.  it's better to know your score as a smoker.  I smoked for 20 years from the day I got into uni and have just quit.  when I finished my 62mile run last year, I looked for a shelter to smoke....what a dedicated smoker I was!!  Good luck.