Never did I ever think I would be typing or saying the words 'I am training for a Marathon' but here we are.
Let's revisit life 18 months ago to get some context.
After the birth of my youngest, I was struggling to find time for the gym. Balancing two under two and work left very little time for getting to the gym, waiting for equipment, resting between reps, travelling back home, trying to find parking and then catching up with home life.
Running, despite my loathing of it, seemed to be the best way to get movement in without pressures of time.
I would simply need to pop my trainers on and head out the door at a time that fitted into my day. The second my feet stepped out of my front door, I was getting it done.
Now, that sounds easy right but I had always considered myself 'not a runner'.
Running was not natural for me and it sucked to not be very good at it.
I don't like not being very good at things.
Post partum forces you to start from the beginning so the timing was just right for me to suck at running, because I sucked at most things I had previously been good at.
Being my second round of post partum I felt like I was able to be gentler to myself as I entered my running journey.
I started slow and without pressure or expectations.
I just tried.
I would take the jogging pushchair out with my youngest who was 6 months at the time, when my eldest was at nursery in the morning.
I would run for 15/20 minutes, alternating between walking and jogging.
I initially didn't bother tracking distance or pace, I just wanted to get to a place of comfort.
Fast forward a few weeks and I set my goals on a 5k.
I didn't know what to expect or if I would be able to continuously run it but I did.
And that's where I fell in love with running.
I let myself suck and kept going until I sucked less.
From here I discovered that actually, I can run, if I tried.
I started tracking my runs and running with purpose to get stronger and more efficient.
I then set myself a goal of doing The Great South Run as a way to progress and give me something to work towards. It was 10 miles but in my home town so I had comfort in being in familiar surroundings.
I could only fit in 2 runs a week, one 5k and the other being a longer run. I initially started just increasing by 1k each week but this jump to 10k felt huge.
There were a lot of walking, running intervals until I managed to complete my first full 10k.
It was not fun.
It hurt.
To this day, I still remember this first 10k.
It was a big moment for me and with every 10k I do, I always reflect back to that first unbroken 10k.
So far, no jump in distance has felt so challenging and rewarding as that 5k to 10k.
I have gone on to complete the 10 mile Great South Run and loved it. I then completed my first trail half marathon and crossed the finish line wanting to do it again.
Now it's time for a marathon.
Still sounds crazy to me that I am writing this, commited to this and am excited about it.
But it sounded crazy at the time when I said I was going to start running.
It sounded crazy when I said I was going to aim for 10k.
Even crazier when I completed 10 miles.
And even more crazier that I crossed the finish line at a half marathon, desperate to do another.
We have 16 weeks.
Is it crazy that I am excited?
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