Episode 3: Revenge of the Sloth
I promise that every week won't be a Star Wars Reference......maybe.
It's official now, I have paid the entrance fee and I will be running the 2019 Virgin London Marathon - no backing out now. To be completely honest with you, it's still really surreal and I don't expect that to change until some point during the marathon itself. I still am not quite sure what I'm going to run for but I will definitely have decided by the next blog.
The training side of thing is progressing. The distances that I am completing are increasing and i'm fully expecting to be at the 10k mark within the next couple of weeks -which I'm pleased about. After that I will start to focus on achieving half distance of the full marathon. The runs themselves have their testing moments which is just me getting used to running regularly again (I hope) and with time and improved fitness I don't expect them to be a problem.
The fall in temperature over the last couple of weeks has really had an effect on my running. The cold weather hit my throat and chest and I had some really discomfort when trying to breathe. I have done my research and found what I think is the source of the problem is and that it is actually quite common and I have been able to deal with it a lot better -all these things to think about, it really isn't as easy as just putting one foot in front of the other.
This week I started to turn my attention to the dietary side of the training. As you can see from the picture I threw myself into a big bowl of boiled greens and have decided to give up kebabs... after Sunday. Those people who have spent any extended period of time with me will know that I am not a big fan of fruit and will probably raise an eyebrow to hear that I have been eating loads of the stuff. I mean bananas, who actually likes bananas??? They taste funny.
The thing I have disliked the most about this experience is the need to effectively cut out beer from my diet. I do enjoy a pint and will very much miss them but the minute I cross that finish line someone better throw one to me!
My cousin Ian continues to be a solid source of knowledge for my marathon training. This week he left me with this little beauty:
"The only thing standing between you and your goal is a complete lack of talent and failure of will"
I mean it's not quite Confucius but at least there is less meaning to have to decipher. If anyone is wondering why I continue to seek his advise is because after the scathing put downs, he always has great advice and encouragement. He's a runner himself and his support and council has been vital to any progression I have achieved.
Current feeling: Optimistic with a chance of
Simon
** All information correct at time of going to press. Any whiney tweets sent may not reflect this article
