'Why?" - a question I have been asked a handful of times since sharing that I was training for a marathon only a year and half after starting running.
I can understand the concern and bafflement. I'd have thought I was daft as well if you had told me I would be doing this a couple of years ago.
I didn't start running thinking that I would be heading towards a marathon.
I started 6 months after having my first son.
I started, in all honesty, because I felt lost.
I have always worked out and had been a personal trainer for over 12 years. Fitness was my life. I loved nothing more than a heavy gym session, lifting weights.
But I just couldn't find the strength, energy or time to do what I used to love.
I couldn't spend hours a time at the gym and I didn't really want to. Lockdown forced us all to workout at home and I became a little anxious when it came to stepping back into a gym - bizarre right, seeing as I managed gyms for so many years.
I didn't get what I used to get out of a gym workout and a friend suggested running.
I was at such a desperate point I was happy to try anything.
I had very little expectations of that first run, it wasn't fast and it wasn't far.
But I discovered this head space I hadn't felt in so very long.
As parents, we all need a breather and mine turned out to be running - it was often at times quite a heavy breather, but a breather non the less.
I got a running buggy and managed to fit runs in with the baby whilst the eldest was a preschool and I developed a slight routine.
I set one negotiable run a week.
I looked ahead at our weekly and monthly schedule and figured out where I could make time.
It's all about finding the right balance and setting priorities.
Communicating with your partner, friends, or family to ensure you have the support you need is also incredibly helpful.
There will be days when parenting demands take precedence over your running goals, and that's perfectly normal. My training plan for the Marathon is not set in stone.
Prior to children I would not have ever set a wishy washy routine but my life is different now.
I am 7 weeks away from the marathon and my non negotiable goals are one long run, one shorter consisting of intervals or as a recovery and two strengthening workouts.
I am over half way through the plan and I have been able to stick to that work load. Some weeks I get another run in which is great but I know it won't always be the case, plus I still want to make time to have fun with the boys.
It was my decision to run a marathon and even though there are selfish elements to that, parents are allowed to do something for themselves. On the flip side, your children are still owed your love and attention.
I am not looking to be a professional marathon runner so sacrificing too much just doesn't sit with me.
If eating pizza with my kids on the sofa on the weekend instead of going out for another run makes me run that marathon slower, then I really don't mind.
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