Things marathon training taught me

I’m a runner. I may not be very fast, I may not be very competitive, and I may not be very disciplined about it, but if you ask me what activity I probably turn to the most to keep me sane and fit, it would be running.

I’d rather say ‘plodding’, though. Although I’m a regular runner, a sub-30 minute 5k is not a comfortable one for me, and I’m fine with that. The advantage of being a plodder is that I can plod for quite a long time very happily, and because I seem to have masochistic tendencies, am not getting any younger, and might be having some sort of life crisis, I decided to enter a road race.

Now, entering the marathon is slightly out of bad impulse control on my part. On the same day, the metric marathon is running along half of the same course. I ran this course a few years ago and my dear friend Natasha, who is an incredible athlete and would leave me eating her dust, will be running it, so I thought I might have another go at it myself. I clicked on it and was disappointed to find it was sold out. But the marathon wasn’t.

So, for some reason, I ended up tapping in my bank details and entering the full distance race.

Wait! What?!

The race is in one month and after weeks of training, I’ve learned a few things, and hopefully, if you’re an un-fast, uncompetitive runner considering a 10k, a half or a full marathon, maybe these things will help you feel less intimidated.

Good runs exist

Bad runs happen to good runners, which is important to remember at the beginning when every run is a bad run. One day though, maybe because the sun is out or your playlist shuffles to the perfect song, you’ll feel like an antelope frolicking across the savannah. You might want to scream along to your jam as you run, or dance, or cheer ‘HELLO!’ to every doggie that crosses your path - I have done all these things many times when the endorphins lift my feet off the ground like I’m made of feathers and I don’t care, because the euphoria of those moments while running is hard to beat. And I don’t care if people think I look like a lunatic.

You can break the rubbish run curse

The other week I increased my run to 16 miles. I didn’t drink heavily the night before (I had a couple of Friday night wines), I slept well, I was comfy, uninjured, hydrated and I took my gels appropriately, and I still ended up walking for considerable stretches of route due to my body just saying ‘NOPE’. Sometimes it’s more about what’s going on up there than it is the physical mechanics of the activity, but I didn’t let the next run get me down by making some little adjustments I thought might help. I picked a new route, packed some sweets and gave my playlist a refresh – and all of these things helped when I went back out to conquer a new distance.

You may cry

Many of us choose to run in races for personal reasons. Raising money for a cause that supported loved ones is a popular motivation for runners entering events, so don’t be alarmed if you find yourself swimming in your own emotions while out on a run. Running for even 30 minutes gives you a lot of time with your own thoughts that you wouldn’t get otherwise, and sometimes the things you hadn’t realised you had been holding under the surface bob up and take over your thoughts without the barriers of family or work to keep them submerged. Rather self-indulgently, I sometimes fantasise about what it’ll feel like crossing the finishing line when I complete my first marathon in a few weeks. I’ve blubbed while running just thinking about what finishing will feel like after weeks of training, and how this ridiculous activity (because long-distance running is ridiculous) helped direct more funds to a worthy charity.

Never skip the warm down

Sometimes when I’ve been worried about getting changed quickly to get back to my desk on time, or if I’ve had to rush inside because of an over-hydration-related emergency, I’ve skipped the warm down. I’ve always lived to regret it and sometimes it’s led to historic injuries creeping back, like the old shin splints. Always walk it off and have a good stretch. If you have to rush back inside then try to stretch while you go about your day. Normally after a run I’ll walk to get my heart rate down, then I go through all of my favourite stretches from bottom to top, but if I’m back at work after a lunchtime run and I have to shower and change in record time, then I try and give my hams and quads a good stretch at the very least, even if it’s while I’m making a cup of tea in the kitchen.

Look after yourself

Running is great for your health, but without rest and fuel, it’s doing more harm than good. The marathon has given me a great excuse to ensure I’m eating properly and listening to cravings, and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am for my three-day carb-load in the final week before the marathon – I have already planned a menu that is 90% pasta in all its most glorious forms (mac and cheese, lasagne, tagliatelle covered in ragu and parmesan... mmmm). In addition to eating extremely well these past few months, I'm also staying in more. I’m a very sociable creature, but sometimes I should really learn to say no to late nights in the pub, and for the next few weeks I am shamelessly camping on the sofa, sparing my energy, my insides and my wallet from overexertion. I am allowing myself to be a bit more selfish for a while and to give my body what it needs rather than focus on the things I feel I shouldn’t have or don't really need. It's taken training for a marathon to allow me this, but it's a good habit I'll keep after the race is over.