Well, here I go again. It's been a while.
I go through phases when I love to write and then I don't do it for months or years. A big event or decision is usually the catalyst, and this time is no exception. I have been successful in my application for a place in the London marathon and have decided to write about the lead up to it. I hope it will help with my training and motivation, as my running mojo hasn't been great recently.
I think there are a couple of reasons for that, both related to each other. I'm heavier than I was this time last year, having gained gradually since I made the decision two years ago to start maintaining rather than losing weight. I was 144lb then. I will weigh in on Monday morning, when it will be eight months to the day to the marathon. It's on Sunday 26th April. Eek! So I'll know exactly where I stand then. I'm hopeful that writing about it will keep me accountable. It worked before. I also want to eat properly, good, regular, possibly paleo (coz it makes me feel "clean" if you know what I mean) food and less red meat in general.
Being heavier has made me slower. I haven't been close to my PBs in a year. My parkrun best is 22:28. I'm lucky to get near twenty-five minutes these days. I got a 10k time last April of 45:46. I've never got near to touching that! My Belfast Marathon time last year was 3:46. This year 4:12! My best half was 1:51 last year. In fairness, at least I've stayed sub 2 for a couple of halfs this year, so all is not too shite :-)
This is all very whingey. In the grand scheme of things, I know I'm damn lucky that I can run at all. For someone who was 287lb at her heaviest, I am in bloody good nick. And I'm fifty, for fucks sake, so I should cut myself some slack. I had some arbitrary times that I thought would mean I was a "good" runner.
- sub 30 5k
- sub 60 10k
- sub 2hr half marathon
- sub 4hr marathon
I've smashed all of those. So I just need to think positive, be kind to myself (how touchy-feely is that!) and stop eating badly.
This successful marathon place should be motivation in itself. I qualified Good For Age, i.e. I ran well enough in a previous marathon to be considered for a place on merit, not just in a lottery draw. I'm well chuffed with that. Imagine being thought of as quite fast within your age group! That's me, that is.
I've never wanted to do London. I've always thought that it had an inflated sense of its own importance. Who wants to enter a draw for a race when the odds are so against you getting in? Nearly half a million people for almost 20,000 places! What is that, about one in twenty-five? Perhaps it was a touch of sour grapes, but I was just not interested. Even after Good For Age was explained to me, I resisted. Up to a year or so ago, GFA guaranteed entry, but it too has recently become a bit of a lottery draw. Who wants all that build up, just to be disappointed? But I don't know. Maybe a bit of FOMO set it. Watching telly coverage of London this year I got caught up in the excitement of the atmosphere and thought, "What have I got to lose?" Before you know it, I'm in the regular ballot. Then I'm noting in my diary the date that GFA entry goes live. Then I'm going through the on line GFA entry process, jumping through hoops to meet the criteria. Finally, then I'm waiting on tenter hooks for the date to find out if I was successful. I didn't spend all day yesterday checking my emails every twenty minutes. Okay, I did!
Anyway, the upshot is I'm in. I am the envy of many. I got a golden ticket. What am I going to do about it? I'm going to train my balls off, that's what. And I'm going to write about it. If all goes to plan, it will be marathon number seven, with Dublin in October being six. I know I can do the distance, I just need to work on an enjoyable experience. It's said to be a once in a lifetime gig. I might as well make the most of it and go for a PB!
