Week 2 Marathon Training Thoughts
19 Weeks to go (Week 2 of programme)
week 2 - after a cold and wet run in storm Claudia!
Week two complete! And a very autumnal week of running it has been. I was lucky to be able to get out for a run with my best friend on Friday, who is also doing the Rome marathon! It’s always great running with her as we don’t get to do it very often due to having mis-matched timetables of when we can run. We usually send each other a post run de-brief though, which leads me nicely onto my first thought this week…
Having accountability helps with motivation.
Having something or someone to keep you accountable for your training programme really helps to keep motivated to get out there and do the sessions. For example, as I have mentioned above, my best friend and I like to send each other a short video after each of our training runs, to talk about how we found the run, how far we did, any positives or negatives of the session, and generally any thoughts we had whilst running! She started sending them to me at first, which makes sense as I am her running coach, but I liked it so started sending them back as well. And it genuinely helps keep you going during each run, because it means you can think about what you are going to say in your post run debrief whilst running, giving you something to think about, and it means you get a little pat on the back when they reply, or encouragement and reassurance if it was a tough session. So maybe if you have a friend or partner who wouldn’t be bored by hearing about your running, you could ask if they would be up for some post run debriefs to help keep you accountable. It doesn’t need to be a video, maybe just a little text update. And if not, that’s where I can help! Anyone who signs up with a running programme with me gets their programmes delivered on an app called TrueCoach. At the end of each session the runners put their results and any thoughts or comments about the session in the comments section for that session. And I can see these and always respond to the runner to give my feedback. My clients have said this helps to keep them accountable and is nice to have some feedback and reassurance and praise for their accomplishments! (Something which AI generated apps don’t really do so well).
I have also noticed that writing this blog is also helping me stay accountable. If there are any pre-run thoughts about not going (like on one day this week where it was windy and raining – storm Claudia was NOT good running weather!), having this blog made me think – no, I need to go because otherwise it will affect the writing of my blog!
So if you struggle with motivation – find something or someone that helps you stay accountable!
I got to run with my best friend!
Autumn is pretty but not ideal running conditions.
I don’t know about where you are… but there have been SO MANY LEAVES EVERYWHERE!!! It makes for such pretty pictures (like the one here, taken by the talented Karen Porter – my step-mum) but when running it’s a bit scary! Not knowing if what you’re running on is going to be really slippy or uneven underneath the leaves or if there are hidden rocks or roots. It means the concentration during the run adds a layer of mental fatigue on top of the physical! Thankfully they’re starting to clear now. In these instances I tried to either run on the road where possible, or slow down my pace a touch. As much as I’d like to work on pacing, in the long run I’d rather stay injury free!
Gorgeous picture taken by Karen Porter
Plan your route around your social commitments!
This weekend I had a very busy Sunday planned - but I also knew I needed to fit in a run and my only window was in the morning. I also had a get together with some friends on Saturday night which I knew was going to involve a few wines and therefore had the potential to lower my motivation to go for a run the next morning…! So I purposely drove to my friends house on Saturday night, and left my car there, so that the next morning I’d have to run to get my car! I actually looked forward to doing this run, because I like to have a target to run to and it was just in one direction. It also meant there was no possibility of changing my mind or cutting my run short because I had to go and get to my car. I don’t tend to give up or cut short my runs anyway but just in cases, this ensured I'd have to get it done. It was good! I enjoyed it! So try to work your runs into your week if it might be a struggle to fit it in. Perhaps you could run to or from work, or on your lunch break. Perhaps you could run to a friends house like me, and rather than have to collect your car, you could have a brew and a catch up when you get there! Maybe you could run to pick the kids up from school and then walk back together. Whatever works for you! It’s definitely nice to have a target in mind to get to as well. Even better if it’s the pub ;)
