If only it was easy........

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all well & thank you for checking in with me!!

Yes.....as the title says.....if only it was easy......

Yesterday I was meant to cover 15 miles. At this late stage in the game with only 4 weeks to go till marathon number 1 I am WAY, WAY, WAY behind. This time last year I was at 18 miles & I am currently at 13. Ok, so I know I have been injured & I have had 5 weeks of bloomin snow tha kept me behind but I am finding this running lark EXTREMELY tough at the moment.

This is where I am realising that my "challenge" is actually going to be much more of a "Challenge" than I antisipated!!! Thats ok though as thats what challenges are all about and as the title says.....if only it was easy....well if it was easy then it wouldn't be much of a challenge would it???!!!!

I suppose I want people reading this blog who maybe don't run to realise that actually its flipping hard work this running lark! So much time & effort goes into going out & running 15 miles you just wouldnt believe!!! for example....

For starters you have to make sure that you are properly hydrated & fuelled for the run. This is known as carb loading, you get your levels of carbs up so your body has lots of energy for what its about to undertake. Also with the hydrating, making sure you are well oiled basically. Your muscles & organs need to be well hydrated as believe me I sweat alot over 15 miles!! Mmmmm nice!!

You need to make sure you are well rested.

You need to have everything ready for the run.... so checking weather so think about what you are going to wear so you are not too hot/cold etc etc... not just how big your bum is going to look in lycra...its much more indepth...honest!!! ;o)

If you take gadgets with you, they have to be charged....ie IPOD - my essential piece of equipement, I would die if some one stole my IPOD!!!! My running watch.... this tell me how far I have gone & how slow I am!!! hehehe

You have to think about when is the best time to go...for me it needs to be middle of day as it does actually take me 3 hours.....yes 3 hours to run 15 miles so that is a massive amount of time!!!

Make sure that you fuel properly before the run, not too much so you feel bloated & full but enought to give you energy!

You have to pack a little bag.... I use gels for energy so they need packed & a few sweeties..any excuse....mobile, incase I die/or need ambulance.....

You have to sort your head out too..... This may seem a little odd but its probably one of the biggest factors as to how my run will go. I need to feel positive & tell myself that its going to be a strong run & I am going to feel great etc etc........

This I think is what went wrong yesterday. I didn't want to run 15 miles even tough I HAD too! I wore comepletely the wrong stuff & got very hot & over heated. I didnt fuel properly & generally kept tellng myself I couldn't do it....so what did I do...... I didn't do it!! RUBBISH!!!!!!!!

Felt/feel extremely disapointed as I dont have time for missing runs. Still, onwards & upwards. Don't think for a second this will stop me! So many people say to me "you are doing so well with your running I dont know how you do it" and I smile and say thank you but really sometimes I dont know how I do it either!!!!

I have been to see my lovely physio today, why I still call her lovely I'm not sure as she inflicted mucho pain my way!!!! But am hoping that I will stop hurting while running soon & that will be a big bonus!

See pain & suffering I am going through..... if you haven't sponsored me yet, can you at least feel sorry for me & do it now!!!! hehehehehehehehe

Will update you very soon on how I intend to drag my sorry butt back into training :o) x x x