This road is on going due to the current situation with many races planed for 2020 being cancelled. I applaud those of you that have kept up with the training cycle and have ran your own marathons. I wish I could but its just not for me.
Edinbrug Marathon Festival was going to be my second ever marathon. Its taken me since I ran London Marathon in 2016 and become 1 in a million to get the desire to go for round two.
A quick back story of 2016, I didn't train and I fully know that was a stupid thing todo. Two weeks before the race I had a hockey ball to the ankle that left the bone bruised and a nice lump. Anyway, I managed to get at least 16 miles or something like that ok then BOOM I hit that wall and the pain was insane in my hip (over compensating for the ankle). The final 10 miles was a horrible walk run that consisted of many tears, but pure join to cross that finish line. I then ended up on crushes the following week for a month, but this is a story for another day.
So EMF 2020 was going to be my introduction back to the marathon world, with the idea to head for an ultra later in the year.
I found a training plan that I was working my way through, with a slight interruption with three week holiday where I ran but no more than 4 miles. It was just too hot. I came back to the UK and a week later we where in lockdown. Mixed with a spell of feeling miserable about everything running was on hold till I realised that I needed to run to get out of my won head.
EMF date was moved to October, so I just started running for me. I ran for as long as I needed and as much as I wanted. It turned out I was going out most days. I started Runderwear 60 day challenge to keep me motivated with strength work, and made note when I needed to start my training cycle again.
Mid May came and it was time to start the program again, I had more time to get out running as work was a little easier to plan around due to shift changes and reduced numbers in. I slowly started to increase my weekly milage, started to introduce easy miles (well I tried I needed to be slower). Loved introducing intervals into the week, I was actually enjoying the process. Then the news came EMF cancelled, but I decided that I would carry on the journey and see what happens but not being overly strict.
With the news still fresh, but the excitement of being able to run somewhere else was driving me to keep the miles up. I was finally getting to go home (I work away, I normally work for a few weeks then head home for a weekend or longer), the first time since before I went on holiday in February. I was so excited to see the family and my friends. July was also the start of the Virtual 10k I had set up for Knickers 4 Knowledge so I had planned to run with two different people during the two weeks I had home. I ran along the local cycle path close to my parents, the same place I used to struggle running 5k when I was a kid. I ran over Dartmoor with one of my best mates and took a none runner for a not so easy 10k along the South West Coastal path (when for the views).
By the time I got back to work I felt good for the milage I had clocked up and the different terrain I had covered. Im not sure what happened after that, I hardly ran at all. I felt horrible, I found breathing hard. My calfs and heal where giving me problems.
Well now I am two weeks in with the Physio team, just starting back with Walk/Run sessions no longer than 30 minutes feeling grateful that I don't have a marathon to train for allowing time to recover. This dose mean that the road to 26.2 miles is still on going, and the new road to fighting fit has begun.
I will come back stronger, and I will be running 26.2 miles just not in 2020.
I welcome you to follow my journey, the ugly and the beautiful it will all be laid out in front of you.
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