One month in

It’s fair to say it has been a mixed month. I’m very pleased with my progress but it’s gone anything but to plan.

It all started off great. In my first week I ran exactly 26.2 miles, a good omen I thought! My first long Sunday run was truly exhilarating. As I pushed through the 6 mile mark I had a moment of realisation that I may actually make the start line this year.

Another good week then a chest infection struck. Very little running for two whole weeks. It’s so frustrating seeing what I should be running every day on my training calendar and not being able to. However, I learnt to be patient during my recovery last year, so just took the opportunity to get a good lot of rest.

Chest infection beaten and back to the training! I’m spoilt for choice for routes in south London, which is great on my long Sunday runs. Mixing and matching different parks keeps things varied and interesting. So far I’ve managed to tick off Battersea Park, Clapham, Wandsworth and Tooting commons (not all in one run… yet).

The Monday after a 12-mile Sunday two weeks ago and my left foot started giving me gyp. A few shorter mid-week runs went ok, but it finally gave in later that week half way through a run, which saw me finishing off on a Boris bike instead of on foot. Oh, and to top it all off I now have a nasty cold.

This may all sound overly negative but I’m actually in very good spirits. It’s always going to be tough ramping up the training. A few hiccups along the way are all part of it and it’s really important to stay focussed and upbeat, especially in the first month. After all, there’s still over 2 months to go. I’m incredibly pleased that I’ve managed to rack up 30 miles underfoot in one week; this time last year I couldn’t manage a minute’s running before having to call it a day.

The foot feels like it’s on the mend, so a little more rest and some cycling in the meantime when I’ve shaken this cold should see me back on track.