Wednesday 15 April 2015

The time has come to face 26.2 miles

I did it. I've finally mustered up the courage to give a marathon a go. It's been on my bucket list for the last four years and after four failed London Marathon ballot attempts, I have opted for a marathon where entry is guaranteed. 

My chosen marathon is Brighton April 2016. After seeing all the success stories of this years runners on my Twitter feed and even hearing of some incredible times from fellow club runners, I think I have made the right 'runner up' decision. Everyone tells me of the marathon high you have afterwards and dammit I want to feel it! I already feel ecstatic from just entering.

Now, I will put it out there. Just like the triathlon, I'm entering unknown territories here. The furthest I have run is a half marathon (although have completed three - so not too shabby) and one time I did join a friend on a 15 mile training run. So it's not like I am totally unfamiliar with long distance running but I am totally unfamiliar with 26.2 miles. At the moment, for my triathlon training, I'm running 3/4 miles three times a week. That's nothing!? How I'm going to eventually take on 20 mile training runs is beyond me but hell, I'll give it a bash!

That's the attitude to have for your first marathon right? To go out there, no expectations and simply enjoy the experience? I hope so - I'll lose my mind if I don't adopt this mentality. Mind you, I like to set myself a challenge - or boundary shall we say. I'm going to make it broad as I have no idea how well I will do but I think anything between 3.45-4.15 would just be incredible for me! The closer to 4 hours the better.

Anyone else opting for a Spring marathon next year? Are you also debuting at the distance? Any advice from marathon runners for the road that lays ahead?


Lipstick Runner. 

2 comments:

  1. Good on you! I did Edinburgh marathon in 2010 and the guys I trained with still laugh at me for questioning why we were struggling on a long run - I honestly said "why is it so hard, it's only 18 miles"! That was shortly after we treated ourselves to a sports massage, we all suffered from jelly legs on that occasion. Can hardly believe it now, 10k's my usual distance. Just build up gradually - we aimed to run at least 26 miles a week split over 2 short runs and a long one. Be warned, you get a whole new perception of distance! Good luck, it's totally worth it!

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    1. Thanks for the wise words Becci! I will definitely increase the distance gradually.

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