Week Thirty Eight - Just Keep Swimming!

There’s a real problem with this weekly blog writing shenanigan (and it’s not just the fact I had to google how to spell shenanigan)! When things are good we can celebrate, you all have to endure sweaty pictures of me looking happy as I cross some finish line or other. When things are tough the motivational quotes come out to play and you’re supposed to get to the last line buzzing with a new sense of enthusiasm (that’s the plan anyway)! When I have had too much to drink on a Friday night all you get is a picture as I am too hungover to type (cue the Redway Runners Christmas Party week) and when I am feeling soppy, tweedle gets a love song!

So what happens when the chips are really down, when I want to curl into a ball, stay under the duvet and eat more than just one family grab bag of peanut M&M’s? I wasn’t going to blog today, despite subjecting you all to my incessant babble week after week I like to think I am a fairly private person, so I won’t lay bare the facts (you can save those tiny violins for the morning after marathon day when I plan to whine with the best of them about every tiny twinge), but not doing what I set out to do just because things get tough is a slippery slope to failure.

There is no doubt in my mind that some severe mental strength is going to be needed come marathon day and maybe even more so in these last few weeks leading up to it. So whilst the rest of my Saturday is probably going to be spent with my head under a duvet calmly pretending it wasn’t just me that ate all those M&M’s, tomorrow I will be back on the road, getting the miles done and feeling good!

Week Thirty Seven – Don’t Quit!

This week has been a toughie, after last Sunday’s twenty miles left me buzzing with a new sense of “I can totally do this” the rest of the week the followed was somewhat less than enthusiastic.

An aborted recovery run Monday and very little running to follow for the rest of the week has made me have to come to terms with the fact that actually I am not invincible (I am truly gutted at this discovery)! I hurt, in places I didn’t even know existed, I miss my partner in crime who’s got far to used to staying in bed on a Sunday morning under the pretence of an injury (I am joking tweedle don’t punch me) and it’s all starting to take it’s toll (get the tissues out)!

Alas, let’s remember why I am here, what I am determined to achieve and how far I have come with such an amazing bunch of total nutters! Us Zero’s are in this together and when the going gets tough we won’t give up, we’ll just fight harder!

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out-- 
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, 
And you never can tell how close you are, 
It may be near when it seems so far, 
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-- 
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

(Author Unknown, but it definitely wasn’t me)!

Amanda

Week Thirty Six – What Am I Thinking?!?

Sometimes when things are going well, but more often when they’re not I find myself wondering why I am doing all this, usually with a large groan and exclaiming “what am I thinking?!?”! Well you’re in for a treat this week folks, here’s what I’m thinking …….

Oh crap it can’t be Saturday again already

I haven’t written my blog yet

I really don’t have anything to say

I’ve exhausted all options

Haha oh yes it’s Saturday

I’m glad I’m not at XC

It looked hilly and muddy

OK and a little bit fun

But at least I will be fresh for tomorrow

Which I think is also going to be hilly

It’s the MK Dons Run

I haven’t done that one in ages

It was our first ever 90 minute run

How things have changed

We laughed at the madness of people running beforehand

That will be us tomorrow

At least we’ve learned how to get our socks on the right feet now

I think it might be my longest ever run

We’ve all come along way

36 weeks of training

Only 11 more to go

11 more blogs

Not long to convince people I am genuinely not insane

I think it’s too late

They all know the truth

Best run!

With love (as it’s nearly Valentines)

Amanda

Week Thirty Five – Every Second Counts

This week was ‘Rest Week’ and after the disasters of last week it was almost welcome and I think, very much needed. I am pretty sure however, if we turned back time a year there is no way I would ever have considered two nine mile runs a rest, how things have changed!

I managed to share one of my restful runs with my comedy counterpart Tweedle, we set the world to rights whilst encompassing two laps of the Monday club run route getting round the first in daylight, a sure sign that spring is on the way! We followed our run with dinner out of a costa coffee cup, an oversized tea and a brilliant Marathon Clinic, we know how to live it up!

Lots of things have kept me away from Parkrun since I last took part in August, a broken foot, lack of childcare, long Sunday runs and actually the fact I don’t like running 5K as fast as I can (yes I am aware I don’t have to run as fast as I can but I am yet to actually pull this off once I get over the start line)! So with a planned lay in tomorrow (the last I expect until May) I decided to brave it!

Conditions would be best described by a five letter word starting with M but as I can’t bring myself to use it let’s just say it was wet, windy and generally pretty grim. After a gentle warm up (tweedle will be so proud) we got down to business with the ‘main event’. Within the first mile I remembered how much I hate the feeling of running hard but managed to remember something Faith had said to be as I was leaving, it’s easy Mummy, just one, two, three and then DONE. This circled round and round in my head as I tried to make my legs carry me along the side of Willen Lake which had decided to imitate the world’s greatest wind tunnel! I stumbled over the finish line with a watch that said PB by 1 second, alas Parkrun had other ideas and according to their clock I was 5 seconds off my PB from August!

Next time Parkrun ….. I’m coming to get you!!

Amanda