The most surprising thing about marathon training for me was just how long it takes and how much time it takes up. I felt very committed at the start of the training. But the reality of it was still quite a surprise.
There are a few things that I did which I think helped me to keep going, as well as a few things I’d probably change.
Setting goals
I set myself goals for long runs at the weekend, but not for training during the week. At the time, this worked well as I was fairly anxious about goal setting. If I was to train for a marathon again, I’d be much tougher on goal setting as I have now realised that goals are achievable.
Running outside
Living in Sheffield, it’s very easy to access the Peak District. Once I got my distances up, I could run from my house out onto the moors. For long runs I drove to various spots in the Peaks to run. It seemed like a good idea to make the most it as it’s so close, and I think now it’s something I’ll always do.
Audiobooks
I’ve always run with music, though since the marathon I’ve learned to get past this. I changed my running playlists frequently, but when running for 3 hours I got bored pretty quickly. So I tried out audiobooks, which I’ve always wanted to do. I absolutely love them. I got through three of the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books, and three of the Harry Potter books. I went for books that I’ve read (many) times before, but in future I think I’d try out some books I haven’t read as well.
Eating plenty
I’m a vegetarian, which I doubt is very unusual, but it did give me an extra thing to think about. My training book had some information on food. I also bought a book on nutrition so I could look up what foods contained things like protein and certain vitamins. I think this was a good call, and meant I thought a bit more about what I ate as well as increasing how much I ate. I didn’t give up drinking until a week before the marathon, but the thought of a long run on a Saturday morning was enough to keep me to one or two glasses of wine on a Friday night anyway.
Trainers and kit
I love my trainers, and replaced them with the same model. I don’t think I’ll ever change that. The one thing I would do is buy some more new kit. I found that anytime I had bought something new, I enjoyed testing it out on my next run so it gave me something new to think about. If I were to train for anything like this again, I’d buy myself some new kit every so often.
So overall, there were a few things that I did that made it a bit easier to keep going. But I think the main thing that helped was to tell people about it. I found I quite enjoyed talking about training, and colleagues, friends and family were all very kind in listening to what I had to say.
