Mind Games

Well I normally start each week with some reference about how hard the training is getting but I'm not going to say that any more.  I think I have got the idea now, there are no easy weeks, it's only going to get harder.  I did think that there would be a 'eureka' moment when suddenly I was a jogger and I could just go out and jog for as long as I fancied or had time for but that isn't the case.  I'm coming to realise that all the training isn't about making it easier, it's about getting your body to accept the pain for longer and longer.  So, I'm at the end of week 2 of the Marathon 24 week beginner training plan, and what have I learned?  Well lots this week....

I have come to realise that the start of the Marathon isn't on 22nd April next year, the gun has already gone off, April will just be the final stage.

I've learned that the pain comes in waves, five minutes in I can be really struggling to breathe but ten minutes later it passes, so when it really hurts it's always worth hanging on.

I've learned that occupying your mind is just as important as getting your breathing right and that there are positive brain fillers and negative brain fillers.  Contemplating this blog is a positive brain filler as is imagining sprinting down the Mall next April, but thinking 'I have a huge pile of ironing to go back to' or 'what can we eat tonight' is not a positive brain filler and the one brain filler that causes total chaos is 'breathe properly'  this is guaranteed to start me gasping for air and the more I think 'don't think about breathing' the more I think 'I can't breathe'

Today I've learned that I can 'lope' for 30 minutes which is a whole lap of our little run which is a huge landmark.

I've also learned that I could not have got this far without my gorgeous Madi, even if she does look so much better than me in a headband!

This week will play havoc with the programme, I have to go into the office tomorrow and Tuesday so I will be forced to lope around the lounge when I get home, I really don't want to go out in the dark, I shall be back on the road on Wednesday and hopefully all will be well.