The Edinburgh countdown

Five weeks from tomorrow, I will be running the Edinburgh Marathon. I am, to say the least, unprepared. But I’m not about to let a lack of training stop me from finishing. That would just be silly. Plus that, I owe it to my number benefactor to finish, and to finish strong!

I would like to say that my lack of training is down to circumstances beyond my control, but that’s not completely true. Sure, a few ups-and-downs with my platelet counts have kept me from running at times over the past few months – which is a legitimate reason to not run – but it’s not really fair to blame the weather or the cancellation of races. I mean, those aren’t things that should prevent me from lacing up and hitting the pavement. Running, after all, doesn’t require good weather or organised events.

My lack of training is because I’ve not taken my running as seriously as I should. I’ve allowed the stress and uncertainty about things beyond my control to affect my motivation, which should be well within my control.

Yes, my lack of training is my own fault. And I will be paying dearly for it after completing those gruelling 26.2 miles on May 26.

But, to ease some of the misery, I am working to motivate myself to train better – to train harder! – over the next five weeks.

I managed a jaunt out today at a very nice pace (I broke my route record!) and have already set out my running gear for a run tomorrow. I will also aim for two (or more?) short runs before work over the coming week, with the hopes that next Sunday’s 10K will be a bit easier if my legs are back in a regular running routine.

I’ve also managed to get back into a healthy(er) eating pattern the last few days and have increased my water intake. (Gotta stay hydrated!)

I know that it’s too late to do enough training to break a 5-hour marathon, but I’ll do my best. And hopefully, I can keep the motivation going so that I can run a sub-5 Loch Ness in September!

So, if you were wondering how my marathon training was going, now you know!