With the London Marathon looming I have to say that I am getting more focussed but with that focus comes doubt. Optimistically I have always said that anyone can complete a marathon, it is just about pacing, mental strength and a 'can do' attitude. Having completed it twice before, with very little training, I felt that I could simply do it again without too much stress.
The problem comes when I start thinking that the last time I completed a marathon was in 1999 when I was a sprightly 22 years of age. The only training I did for that marathon was a 2 mile run 7 days prior and a 26.2 mile run about 365 days prior (the 1998 London Marathon). I completed the marathon in 5hrs 5mins and my legs felt every minute of that the next day. Being 35 now and constantly being told that the last marathon was over 10 years ago when I start complaining of achy muscles, some doubt has begun to creep in. I know that I'll easily be able to complete the course, I have no doubt of that, but my aim is to complete it in a good time, a time of less than 5 hrs and preferably closer to 4hrs30. At the beginning of this challenge I had thought this was easily possible but having left the training a little late I now have my doubts.
Training is now focused and going well, I know I can run a half marathon in 2hrs10 at an average pace of 6mph but I had planned to increase my long run distance by 2 miles each weekend with my last long run being 20 miles on the 31st March. The problem with this is that yesterday I completed a 14 mile run, it started off well but after 10 miles the speed dropped below my desired 6mph. There wasn't much I could do about it either as my legs felt really quite heavy and by the time the 14 miles was up I was saying "it was too far". It is now the next day and although my legs feel achy they feel no worse than they did last week after a 12 mile run. Was it really too far?
So, when is "enough" enough? Last night I was contemplating doing no longer a run than the one I did yesterday leading up to 22nd April, the London Marathon, because in my head I was thinking that way I would complete half of it comfortably. Now though, I'm thinking that I have the Colchester Half Marathon next weekend and that maybe the "it was too far" feeling I had yesterday was because I knew I was at the end of my run.
To answer my title question, when is "enough" enough? Is it when I can comfortably run the marathon distance, is it when I can run the distance in under 4hrs, is it when I can run two marathons only a month apart and still want to do another the following month?
It's time to plan my training for next week and to continue increasing the distance because now I feel...
ENOUGH IS NEVER ENOUGH! You've always got to push yourself.
These are the thoughts of a Wannabe.
