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Daisy’s Half Marathon Training – Life’s getting in the way

25 January, 2015

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This week did not go to ‘plan’. That’s one way of looking at it. The other way is to say a) I was really naughty and b) I made the best of a difficult week. I’ll let you take your pick.

I started my MA Social Work placement this week at Lewes Prison full-time. I have to start work at 8.30am in, well, Lewes of course. Now, I am an early morning runner/ gym-goer and I hate training late in the day. After work all I want to do is sit on the sofa with a cup of tea. I get up early and I go to bed early. Yes, I know I’m hugely rock n’ roll.

So in order to get to Lewes on time I need to be on a bus by 7:35am. This RUINED my training plans. I had to change my early morning habit and I aimed to go to the gym and to run in the evenings (in the dark). Well it’s safe to say that didn’t work. I went ONCE on the Tuesday. I ran 5km and completed my gym workout. Well done, Daisy. Hmmm… not so well done, as I then didn’t go again this week!!!!

What a lazy, need a rocket up my bum, waste of space? I’m running a half marathon in 4 weeks – just incase you’d forgotten and I couldn’t be bothered/ too tired/ too late/ not able to go in the mornings/ too much going on/ new job/ exhausted/ two hours a day on a bus blah blah blah. Whatever the excuse it couldn’t go on…so I decided…this is a perfect practice for a pre-race taper! An accidental gap in training. So for my long run, 8am this morning I decided to practice 10 miles of the half marathon route. I set off. My hip flexor hurt at mile 4. I thought this is awful and hard and serves me right for missing a run and a gym session. I had a 20 second walk and then thought… “YOU ARE DOING A HALF MARATHON IN A MONTH YOU SILLY WOMAN!”

So right there and then I made my mind up. I’m going to run the whole course. I’m doing the full 13.1 miles. And I did. The whole lot. It was great. I don’t regret it. I know it was stupid and if I felt any IT pain or even an inkling of IT pain I would have stopped. So… I completed my first half marathon distance today. 13.1 miles in 2.00.35 seconds. We won’t talk about the 35 seconds.

I had hip flexor pain the entire time but it was bearable and so far I feel ok! I walked home. Nobody was in to celebrate with so I text Kev, at Honest Fitness, who quite rightly told me it was a daft thing to do.

So… next week, I’ll go back to my normal plan. I will get the train to work from now on so I have time to run/ train in the mornings. I am NOT an evening runner and I will just have to accept that.

At least now I know I can do the distance –my IT band just needs to hold on for 4 more weeks. And I need to adhere to my training plan to the letter.