Marathon Training

Its always been a goal of mine to run the London marathon.. Pah you might say! If you know me then you will scoff once again. At school I did everything I could to avoid running, first of all it took alot of effort and I didnt like the taste of iron I got in my mouth after once around the track. Second I developed way early and had big boobs at school. Back then no one one thought of getting me a sports bra and the boys thoroughly enjoyed watching me run. So I stopped. Regrets? Yes that was mine. I was awkward teenager and felt ridiculed not complemented by the attention I got. So I learn t to hide it and avoid track. I played team sports, Netball, Hockey and Soccer.

Today I'm far more in love with my body, It could be in better shape but I like my basic form.

So yes Im in training. I have been running with a friend most mornings for the past 2 months. We meet at 6.30 am and walk/run for about 1/2hour. I love it, I really do. I love getting up early. I love how I feel afterward s and I love feeling my body adapting and pushing my physical boundaries.

This is the first week of running training. Previously my friend and I had been running / walking for fun and exercise but we never really monitored ourselves to see if were making any progress. We would see a stop sign and say lets run to that, then the next day we would go a bit further or faster. Most of the time we chatted and ran at our leisure.

Recently I had the chance to spend several blissful hours in boarders a rare treat with my busy schedule. I gathered a impressive stack of books ranging from marathon training, stretching to the journal of a reluctant runner. Actually I was first to run by a novel I read about cycling, a middle aged man parents had died in a car accident. He broke down one night after a drinking binge, got on his bicycle and just started riding and kept going. He ended up traveling across the states and one day he noticed his reflection. He was no longer this pudgy over weight man he was trim, could see his defined calf muscles and no longer had a belly. The book is about his encounters and his state of mind as he rides, there is a sub plot and he is looking for his sister who would disappear when he was younger as she was schizophrenic, so we are taken back in time as we learn about his family, his past and his regrets. it’s a very inspiring book.

But back to Boarders., amid the stories of chaffing and hitting the wall, were great reminders that this is the best thing I could be doing, Personal accomplishments and uplifting experiences. I also found my schedule that I am now following. I saw it and thought hey! I can do this..and in 10 weeks wow… The first week. Run for 2 mins and walk for 4 mins, repeat 4 times, by week 10 your running for a full 30 mins. Run for 2 mins anyone can do that right!

Wow running for 2 mins on the first day was hard, how am I going to run for 30mins I thought.. Arghhhh! Thankfully after the first 4 minute walk I was rested enough to attempt the next 2 mins, but I needed every second of those 4 minutes. The second 2 mins was a little better and I recovered faster within the 4 mins of walking. The third 2 mins of running were the hardest, my body felt like lead, it was a struggle to lift my legs of the tarmac, my head was literally screaming out NO I CANT GO ON! But in my world the word cant is banned so I screamed back YES YOU CAN THIS IS EASY, and I did, I did it.. The 2 min signal was such a relief, I was breathing so heavily I couldn’t talk but my body got its self together and settled by the end of the walking. The last 2 mins was had arrived.. I started up eyeballing the trail up ahead of me looking for a land mark that would possibly be the target for when we would get to stop. As I ran it got easier.. So much so that when the 2 minutes were called, I said “is that it?”, I could have kept running and running. Hitting that wall and pushing through seems to be the place were it all just comes together. For some reason I hit that wall every third run and every time I feel like im going to die but that last run where it all feels so good makes up for it. So does standing on the scales every morning and watching the pounds melt away..