Unfamiliar Territory

This time last year I was in the final training week of my first half marathon and I remember feeling very excited and nervous at the same time. A year on, I’m in the final week of training for my third half marathon and, as much as I’m excited about taking part in a big running event, I no longer feel the same nervous anticipation that I had a year ago.

I think back to my training last year and the overuse problem I had with my hamstring. I remember doubting if it would improve and spent months frustratingly building up my mileage using a run/walk technique to give my leg a chance to heal and adapt. I continued with the run/walk technique during the half marathon at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival in May, as I still didn’t trust my leg, and had almost convinced myself that at 40, I was probably asking too much of my body to endure the mileage I was putting it through. 4 months later I’m stronger, wiser and can pinpoint exactly when the tightness starts in the hamstring and have a technique of stretching it out without the need to walk. I’m now confident that I’ll be able to complete the Great Scottish Run half marathon this Sunday without any pain and I’m even hoping for a personal best.

I never would have imagined that I would say training for a half marathon has become relatively easy. This may come across as incredibly arrogant, which I certainly don’t mean it to be. I respect the distance and I know if I was to try to run as fast as an elite runner it would be anything but easy. I think what has happened is the distance is no longer daunting. It has become very familiar and with this comes a comfort and ease as I know it's something that I can manage, with correct training and nutrition.

But after Sunday, it will be on to the next goal: the full marathon. I’m daunted by this as I've never done this before. When the miles start creeping past the half marathon mark I will be entering unfamiliar territory and at present I don’t know how my body will respond to the new demands put on it. I can only hope that the experience I've built up over the last year and a half will help. I’m glad I didn’t attempt to do the marathon this year and have given myself time to build up resilience to endurance running rather than pushing myself to do something I was not strong enough for, and potentially succumbing to injuries that would take a long time to heal.

One thing I've learnt over the last year is that people are capable of things they never thought possible. Running any kind of distance, whether it is a 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon or ultra marathon is achievable by respecting where you currently are with your running and by building up gradually and sensibly. I hope to remember this when I set out for my first long run that takes me beyond 13.1 miles.