1st May 2025
I’ve just got through the door after running a marathon and I feel pretty good! No wobbly legs, no delirium, no collapsing on the sofa with the shivers.
It’s the longest I’ve done in my training so far, and I’m quite chuffed. It’s confirmed for me that my training is going well, and there were definitely a few things I got right today, too.
1. Having a rest day the day before.
2. Taking things steady. I walked up any steep stretches and just took my time.
3. Fuelling. I opted for little and often, and took with me a cheese and mayo sandwich cut into four squares, two homemade oat ‘power’ cookies, and a packet of sea salt lentil crisps. I also bought a KitKat mid-run, too.
4. Hydrating. Up to now, I’d only been taking a litre of water with me, which I’ve realised is waaaay too little. So on this run, I’d factored in a water refill stop.
5. Not checking my watch. I roughly knew the route and that it was 26 miles, so I decided that I wasn’t going to check my watch at all. I was just going to press stop once I got home.
You can really get into your own head on long runs and torment yourself with how many miles you’ve got left, or how little you’ve run so far, or how long it took just to cover that last mile. On this run, I didn’t go there, and it was quite a light-bulb moment.
Running long distances is such a mental game, and I think what makes the best ultra runners in the world the best is their mental resilience over anything else. I might try this strategy again next time…
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