8 weeks to go - the highs and the lows
So, with only 8 weeks to go the end is in sight. The trouble with planning and training for something so far ahead (4-5 months) is that it becomes all consuming and with a marathon being the aim, one is in danger of becoming a 'running bore'! One day you're feeling high with how fit you feel and the mileage creeping up, another you're resenting having to get up early and go to bed earlier than your friends who you left enjoying another drink at the pub!!
Motivation cannont be sustained consistently for such along period without a blip - those 7am runs with a head torch in the cold, dark and freezing termperatures are harder to get up for when you loose sight of the reason why you're doing it in the first place.
I had to remind myself to take a chill pill and a, stop boring other people about my running details and b, remind myself that actually no-one is making me do this, I chose to do it, because I want to, there's no pressure to raise funds or get a decent time and hey if an injury put paid to the running i'm still going to get myself a weekend to Barcelona with a group of friends!!
So with that in mind a dragged myself out on Sunday morning with 16miles in mind. Thank heavens for my good friend Helen as she is great company, we're in it together (we registered our marathon entries together) and it was a beautiful sunny morning with a gentle mist rising up between the fields and trees in the distance - and we were running in Watership Down territory - I mean hey what's not to love - this is why i run (and to combat the 6lb i gained in the week before xmas and new year - pretty impressive i thought- but you have to work seriously hard at eating entire selection boxes washed down with wine - proper carb loading but i'll write another piece on diet don't follow that example!!).
I'm also pleased to say that we've no injuries to report. Of the 7 of us going to Barcelona together we're all following different programmes, and we're all injury free but I'm well aware 8 weeks and counting we're into prime injury time. Will keep you posted.
