It is Monday, it is not raining, and the day has been full of clear blue skies.  I have worked productively all day.  It has been a good day.  All of this is secondary though to one thing… first day of London Marathon training build up is done!

I am running to raise awareness and funds for MapAction.  You can read more about them on their website and in my brief post here.  Please help support this amazing charity – please raise awareness, tweet, like and share, and if you feel able, please donate here.

There are only 20 weeks until the marathon itself, and although this may seem a way off, it isn’t really once you break it done into training sections.  I am not overly worried about the timescale, but I do wish I had maintained a better base over the last few months!  This week I am setting out carefully and holding myself back a little… a marathon is not a sprint… and neither should the training be.

I am spending this week:

  • trying out my new trainers for the first time (who doesn’t like new ones!),
  • reviewing my diet (not that it is too bad, but lockdown has allowed a few too many negative habits to form),
  • sorting my training plan (scheduling this in my calendar as a mental and physical prompt, and use this to hold myself to account).

I do have to keep telling, and regularly reminding, myself that I need to enjoy the training above all else.  I think we can get too carried away on stats and metrics, and comparing ourselves to others.  We run for a reason, what ever this may be for you, but above all we need to enjoy our sport.

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