Sorry for the title -'Marathon Queen ' - JuicyJu handed me this title a few weeks ago - and it amused me so much - I just felt the need to repeat it here today. I missed posting last week - i was really down in the dumps - - had a very stressful/busy week at work and felt my running was not going well - and confidence at very low ebb.
But I have just looked at my week 4 running diary:
1x 4 miles - confident zippy hill run
1x 7.5 miles good confident long run
1x 3 miles - miserable on a hangover - not to be repeated
1x3 miles-not completed.
So not as bad as i feared - just a general reflection of my low mood.
Week 5 - I started with a whole fresh attitude of "you can do this'- something along the lines of if you behave like you are 10ft tall and "I can do it' - then you actually can do it!! Big milestone this week - My first double figure run- and 20+ miles for the week.
Run 1 - My tidy/sprinty 3 mile run - lovely day - good.
Run 2 - Gym session - 3 miles on cross trainer and 3 miles on tread mill. (Dull but focussed session).
Run 3 - 3 miles - good confident run
Run 4- 10.5 miles. My best long run yet - confident and striding out- in a groove.
I feel very pleased with this weeks progress- particularly my mental progress- because most of what we can achieve is our heads and what we think. So I am trying to bash all negative thinking and concentrate of just the good and positive.
Books read - Phil Hewitt - thanks for recommendation - interesting read - particularly his father in law who started running Marathons in his 60's. Also read a womens running book - nothing new but neatly summarised. So I am as ready as I can be - I just hope I can sustain it. Have new trainers as joints starting to protest- will have to do some cross training to ease off pounding on roads
So I leave you with my mental imagery for this week is that I am a Tiger - Cue Katy perry - can you hear me 'Roaaar' ......