2006 - August

[marathondan]

It's not getting out the door that's the trouble. I've done that at least a dozen times now. It's that something isn't sticking. Every outing is a discrete mountain. Nothing I did yesterday seems to help how I feel today.

Maybe you need to make the mountain smaller. If at first you don't succeed, redefine success. Try walking for a month instead of running? I know that walkers are a lower class of lifeform than runners, but we all have to slum it occasionally.

I guess the problem is that running's as much about the sense of progress and achievement as it is about actually doing it. So make the goals achievable.

All this talk of Running as a sentient being has familar echoes of past discussions. It's been said many times that Running finds you out. If you're injured, if you're undertrained, you can pretend that you're fit but the Running will bring home the truth to you. One statement that leaps off the screen at me is that you're two stone heavier than Zurich. Imagine doing all your Zurich training while giving a piggy-back to a small child - no wonder you're a long way off where you were. I know you're aware of all this, as you say "I can't run because I'm so overweight, and I'm so overweight because I can't run" - but it seems that this is what the Running is telling you. I think the reality is that if you want to get into training for Two Oceans, you need to go back to square one - very modest goals, walk/run routines, etc.

Forgive the bluntness - it's the Running talking.

PS - people might get the wrong idea when you talk about learning to love your little fella again.

PPS - interesting you mentioned Julie Welch; I've just read 26.2 (and have a very brief review sitting on my hard drive) and wasn't over-impressed. I thought the runners' backstories were fascinating, but I felt it was light on running content. I preferred The Looniness of the Long-Distance Runner, which starts somewhat knockabout but becomes wiser and more serious as the runs get longer.

Good luck, man.