Small setbacks

So I missed three days of training this week. Totally my own fault. I've stuck to my only drinking at weekends rule. However, Sunday night's couple of drinks in the pub ended far messier than intended. I blame good company and the fact that we buy drinks in rounds on totally losing track of my alcohol consumption. That, and the bottle of vodka that is now no longer in Emma's freezer...
So Monday turned into hangover day, as did Tuesday... And now I'm really paying for it because I have to make up for the missed training.
But it's not the end of the world. I hopefully won't make the same mistake again until after the marathon! Which will be made a lot easier by Lent beginning soon, when I'll be going alcohol free.
Training is a huge commitment, which I'm not sure I fully appreciated beforehand. It's not just the 30-60 minutes of exercise I now have to do each day. It's the lifestyle changes, the not staying out late with my friends, not accidentally getting drunk with those friends, ensuring I eat proper, healthy meals and many other things... It's a healthier lifestyle, granted, but it can be hard to stick to...

Time to Marathon: 2 months and 4 weeks

Progress and achievements

Anybody who knows me well, knows that I have problems with anxiety and panic attacks. So I have no problem admitting that I see a counsellor weekly, to learn how to cope when panic strikes (I personally think more people should have counselling, it can be so useful to talk things through with an objective, non-judgmental person). This week we were discussing some of the harder times that I've gone through in life, and how actually, I've always done my best. It's so easy to trivialise our achievements, but we really shouldn't. When I tell people I'm training for a marathon, the most common response is about what an amazing thing it is that I'm doing. And every single time I just brush it off with something like "oh, it's really nothing". But it's actually not nothing. It's a lot to do for a good cause. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I'm trying to start actually praising myself, and recognising my achievements. And I recommend that everyone does this, even if its only to yourself. Actually giving yourself some credit for the things you do, even if they seem little.

This journey towards running a marathon has already changed me so much. For example: it's Saturday night and I have coursework due on Monday.

Me before I was training for a marathon:
I'll have a nice bath, get my pjs on early and curl up in a blanket on the sofa for the whole evening to get this work done.

Me now:
I'll go and do a quick 2 mile run followed by some stretching and completely exhaust myself after a long week before having a short shower and curling up in a blanket on the sofa for the rest of the evening and getting this work done.

The route I ran tonight I ran 2 whole minutes faster than I did back in November. Measurable achievements like that make me feel like I'm actually achieving something.

So from now on, I'm going to give myself credit for my hard work and celebrate the small victories I have along this journey.

Time to marathon: 3 months and 2 days

Running with Asthma

I've been asthmatic for as long as I can remember. I have had to take daily medication for almost my entire life. Even as a competitive swimmer I was medication dependent. I've gone a couple of winters with back to back chest infections and multiple prescriptions of antibiotics and steroids. So when I started running a year and a half ago, I was concerned that it was going to be too much for my poor airways.

At first, it was hard, and running for more than ten minutes made my chest feel like it was on fire. But over time it got easier. I've now not had to take regular medication for an entire year. My peak flow is the best its ever been in my entire life (although still lower than a healthy person). Running has actually improved my breathing so much, so that I rarely use an inhalor these days.

However, as winter drawers in, the risk of chest infection increases, as the cold air really irritates my airways. On the really cold days, this means I'm simply unable to run outside, and have to use the gym instead. But mostly it just means being careful. Wrapping up warm is all I really have to do. I have a buff that I put round my neck and pull up over my mouth to warm the air before it hits my airways. This makes running in the cold much more manageable. It still hurts sometimes, especially the first 5-10 minutes while my body is warming up, but compared to two years ago when I couldn't even walk to uni in the cold because I had an asthma attack its a huge improvement.

I may always be asthmatic. I accepted that a long time ago. But it seems finally to be under control. It just shows what can be done with perseverance. I'm not saying that running is the cure to all asthmatics, everybody is different and there are many people out there whose asthma is far worse than mine has ever been. But for me, running has completely transformed my life for the better. And although I'll always be a swimmer at heart, I couldn't imagine my life now without running.

Time to Marathon: 3 months and 12 days

Winter running

It's getting rather chilly outside these days. Meaning that running can become less enjoyable, especially if it's also windy... But I got lots of lovely new warm running gear for Christmas which should see me through. As an asthmatic, cold air can be very difficult to breathe and rather irritates my airways. The key is to wrap up very warm, especially making sure the chest area is warm. And if it's really cold I put a buff round my neck which I can move up to cover my mouth; this warms the air before its breathed in and makes running a lot easier in the cold. Gloves are another must, I have some lovely ones which I can use my phone and ipod with. So really, cold weather is no excuse to not go running. And I'm now into the no nonsense, no excuses time of training. Unless I'm literally dying, I cannot miss training sessions. Or I will actually die attempting a marathon!

Time to Marathon: 3 months and 2 weeks

Training Begins

Today is officially the start of my training plan. I have five months to get myself in decent enough shape to attempt to run 26.2 miles. So when I saw this on Pinterest I thought it was rather appropriate. Because during training I'll be accruing hundreds of miles of running as well as hours of strength and flexibility training. So the race itself really is only the last 26.2 miles of this journey.

Over the next couple of months I'll be training for around 5 hours a week, and this will increase steadily after Christmas to around 8 hours a week. As well as the hours of training, I'll be following a nutritional diet (though as training increases I get to eat more :D). There are many things I will not be able to do over this period, the things I am giving up are significant. A few things I am going to have to give up are:

• Late night chips after an evening in the pub
• Cheeky takeaways when I'm too lazy to cook. Especially pizza. No pizza allowed.
• Alcohol on week days (except for very special occasions e.g. Christmas)
• Binge drinking on weekends (not that I ever do this anyway...;))
• Late nights out in the pub or bars
• Sunday morning lie-ins
• Junk food. If it doesn't have nutritional purpose, it cannot go in my stomach.

It may take me a few weeks to fully abide by these rules, but I'll get there. And it will make all the difference come race day, and I'll be very thankful that I trained hard and ate right. So when I start bugging you for sponsorship in a couple of months, please bear in mind the sacrifices I'm making ;)

Time to Marathon: 5 months, 3 days