Day 1 - Going on an Adventure!

In 138 days I'm going to be doing a marathon.

It's going to be the Great Wall of China Marathon, which I have recently learned is the third toughest marathon in the world. I had always planned on getting fit enough to take on this kind of challenge, but learning that fact has made me take it all the more seriously. This is my training journal.

I'm determined already but I'm writing this in the hope that it will keep me on track and allow me to stay focused on what I've planned as a very rigorous and tough training and diet regime. My two thoughts on entering this plan are 'No Regrets' and 'If something is worth doing, it's worth doing well'. They both tie together because I don't want to regret not having tried my hardest. I'm also going out there with a good friend and I don't want to let her down.

I'm not entering this race with my eyes closed, it's going to be unbelievably tough and I certainly haven't been idle the last year either. My goal for the last year was to get back to normal; I lost weight, got fitter, thanks mostly to walking to and from the office (4 miles each way and around 2100 miles in total). This means that I have a foundation to build on and the next four and a half months can be used to become better prepared.

So where am I now? I'm not ready but I will be. I can confidently run a 5k, steadily, with enough left in reserve to go further. It's not fast, usually about a 9-9.5 minute mile but that's improving each time I go out. I want to increase the distance I can do comfortably, then I can work on the speed.

My other goal has to be changing up the type of training. This marathon is not going to be just about the distance and stamina, it needs different type of strength and agility training too. Whether that's HIIT or some other kind of class I haven't decided yet, but I'm interested in doing anything I can. I'll keep you posted.

I'll be filling in this race diary every day to check on progress.

Day 1 - 138 Days to go
Distance : 2 miles (10:36 per mile)
Comments : After a few weeks off and the excesses of Christmas, I was pleased to find out that I could still go without stopping, albeit at a slower pace. Absolutely freezing though.
Weight : N/A