Just When You Think . . .

Ok, I'm determined I'm not going to use the 'D' word today . . . I have had a 'most inconvenient week' - how's that, well extremely restrained I have to tell you.

Almost from day one of this adventure I had tomorrow fixed as my first major goal, I researched local races and decided on the Reedham 10 mile race, it's not a fun run, it's a real race for real runners.  I wanted to do it for many different reasons, it would be a course I didn't know a long way from home, I would be surrounded by 'professional' runners in all the right gear, doing all the right things at the right times, I would have to run without music and attempt to run my race (very slowly) among people going at all different speeds (most faster than me).  More than anything I needed to finish, to feel what that felt like and to have one major achievement under my belt.  Following last weeks less than convincing run I had planned the lead up to tomorrow very carefully to give myself the best possible chance of success . . . and then everything changed and I found myself in the office four days out of the last six, as each day went by my hopes of success faded.  I run at lunch time because I don't feel safe running around country lanes in the dark so I just couldn't get out at all.  Last night I decided that to go and crash out after a few miles would be the worst thing I could do.  I need to build confidence not more bad experiences.  So I'm not going, I've been out today and done 3 miles which was hard although I think I went a little faster than I usually go.  Tomorrow I'm going to do 8 miles, if I can finish that I'm going to be very, very pleased with me.


Now, changing the subject, I have added another 'expert' (well several actually) to my team.  This time it's a book.  There is a course that runs at the University of Iowa called the marathon course.  It's for non-runners who want to run a marathon.  Of the hundreds of people who have taken the course only one failed to run the marathon at the end and that was because he didn't drink enough.  There's a lot in there about what goes on inside your head which is really why I bought it.  It's a 16 week programme and as I only have 12 weeks left now I'm having to read fast to catch up. At the moment I'm trying to 'change my reality' using visualisation? I have to imagine myself striding along like an Olympic athlete rather then the heaving mess that lopes along the road, that way, evidently, I will start to believe this is possible.  I have to be honest, I do think there is some truth in these techniques, just need to read on a bit further before the morning!.

I shall let you know how I get on tomorrow.