Training has been going ok recently, although there hasn’t been much of it to speak of…..I’m not really sure why but having reflected on the sixteen mile run and the half marathon, I am feeling slightly happier about the prospect of the marathon than I have done in a while. I have been browsing websites and running magazines for marathon advice (must always be taken with a pinch of salt) and it has put my mind at rest, rather than GIVEN ME THE FEAR, which is how things were previously. As my husband has been saying from the start, a lot of marathon preparation appears to be mental.
I am probably fit enough to get round the marathon course. I wouldn't get there quickly, I certainly wouldn't be “racing”, but I'm fairly sure I could do it without collapsing (fingers crossed). This is (obviously) the point of the long runs in a training plan: to give you confidence. They have done just that; I never thought I’d get through sixteen miles, but looking back on here (another thanks to Running Yoda for emphasising the importance of recording training), I can remember that whilst I couldn’t have knocked out another ten miles there and then, the thought of carrying on didn’t terrify me. The half really helped because it was a “race”; I would have much preferred to have run around the streets of London early in the morning rather than hammering around Dorney Lake in the roaring wind before lunch trying to escape creepers, but it was good practice as *shock horror* the Barcelona marathon isn’t being run around near home. It was good to get out of my comfort zone (as comfortable as running can ever be) and run somewhere where I wasn’t completely happy. Well, somewhere where I was actually fairly angry at the wind and the creepers, and would have quite liked to stop, but I didn’t because then I would have been even more angry at myself, and that’s just crazy talk.
So training has been average, but instead of beating myself up about it, I ran five miles when in Paris for my birthday and the rugby last weekend (hence the name of this post….) and it was awesome. It was also the first time I have EVER woken up, looked out of the window and thought “wow, what a nice day for a run, I’m going out”. Really, the first time ever. Normally I force/trick myself out and then surprise myself that I enjoyed it. It’s as if I’m programmed to think that exercise is rubbish and unenjoyable, which is a whole other post, but on Sunday morning, I seemed capable of remembering that actually, it was great. These were the rewards:
Pretty awesome.
So the L-O-N-G run is planned for this Saturday with a cheeky four/five miler tonight as a warm up. The plan for Saturday is to get up at about 7am, eat, and then run twenty miles in a loop from home. BOOMTIME. I know I said I hate the loops, but the thought of running twenty miles from home and then having to get a train/tube makes me shudder, so I’m running a bridge-to-bridge loop with plans to be back by lunchtime. Bizarrely I’m looking forward to it. Either that, or I’m looking forward to the obligatory “LOOK WHAT I’VE DONE BEFORE YOU GOT OUT OF BED” photos I’ll be posting all over twitter once I’m back*….
(*I’m aware that I am a running loser, but I’m happy to do whatever it takes to keep on trucking….)
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