Cool Runnings Ramblings – New Year, new challenges!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Well since recovering from injury and embarking upon a 23 week beginner’s marathon training plan at just eight weeks in I’m already realising just how big a commitment this marathon lark really is. I’m pretty sure that by now anyone who is following a similar plan will have encountered most if not all of the following:
Hauling yourself out of bed an hour earlier than usual
Running in near freezing temperatures with a sub zero wind chill ripping your face off
Not seeing the dog muck in time to avoid stepping in it
Dirty looks from grumpy dog walkers despite your cheery “good morning” and beaming smile
A sort of modern day joust involving you speeding up to get past a puddle before the early morning white van man coming the other way can splash you with it
The heavens opening in biblical fashion, doubling the weight of your running gear and chilling you to the bone
Running with a hangover
Running with a cold
Running much further than you have ever run before
Waking up on a Monday with your legs feeling like a herd of wildebeest stampeded over your bed in the night
These are just my “highlights” from the last eight weeks but I’m sure there are plenty more to be added to this list so please drop me a line so I can add them in future blogs.
I think the hardest things for me are fitting the long weekend runs around your life. For instance, the day after boxing day I had to fit in an 11 mile run with a two hour drive to Kent to see relatives. I also had to do three mile runs on my birthday, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Come January I’ve got to do 14 and 15 mile runs the mornings after a stag do and my sister’s wedding respectively, bad planning or what?!
Okey dokey, so that’s all the bobbins stuff, but what about the good bits? Whilst the long runs have been painful to do the feeling of achievement once they’re over is probably the closest I’ve come to feeling the fabled “runner’s rush” that people speak of. And the smug feeling of getting home after three miles on Christmas morning knowing that the training regime is still intact. But best of all, apart from gaining a pound or two over Christmas I’ve still lost over half a stone in the last eight weeks.
So congratulations to everyone who has shiveringly kept the faith over the festive period and for anyone who’s training has lapsed due to icy roads and the odd sherbet don’t despair, after a couple of weeks back in I’m reliably informed by a seasoned pro that you’ll have made up for lost time and be back on track. And if you’ve still got any doubts then just think about all the good the £500 you’re raising for the foundation will be doing, but more on that next week.
Now, anyone got any good ideas for a successful begging email to loosen my mates wallets?…
