I got my head down this week and tried to get things back on track, with some success.  @YorkMarathon tweeted “10 weeks to go!” this weekend – it seems like a long time away and frighteningly close at the same time.

Here’s my training for week 14:

• Monday: jog 20 – 10 minutes to the gym, 1 hours weights (legs), 10 minutes home
• Tuesday: sprint 60 seconds, recover for 3 minutes x 6 at York racecourse
• Wednesday: swapped a 30 minute jog for a 40 minute spin class
• Thursday: ran 7.5 miles with some small fartlekking
• Friday: jog 20 – 10 minutes to the gym, 1 hour weights (chest), 10 minutes home
• Saturday: rest
• Sunday: 15 miles in 2 hours and 37  minutes

Sunday’s long run felt a bit ‘make or break’ after last week’s disastrous long run.  I did 2 laps of a 7.5 mile circuit and felt pretty good.  I ran with my iPod for the first time in years, and I think it took my mind off the distance so I’ll be trying that again in future.

Proper planning also helps for a successful long run.  I’ll blog about how that works for me on Thursday.

Happy running this week!

Last Sunday I ran 9.5 miles in just under 95 minutes.  For me, that’s amazingly fast and strong.  At the end of the run, I felt okay and was able to run again the day after.

So why, in all of the half marathons I’ve done before, have I never managed to get past 8 miles without stopping and walking?  Physically I’m clearly capable, so maybe it’s time to think about my attitude to running.

I am a classic self-sabotager.  In all of my half marathons, I’ve never once followed a training plan.  I’ve run junk miles with no real structure, and told myself I’m slow, I’m not very good at running, I’ll do my best which is pretty poor.  I set myself up to fail, or to finish within the window that I feel comfortable in.   If I don’t push myself too hard, I can’t disappoint myself.

For the York Marathon, I’m following a training plan.  I’ve changed my diet, and the results are showing – I’m getting better.  But even now, I feel worried to say that.   What if getting better is too prideful?  Will I invite the universe to give me a smackdown and put me back in my place?

I need to learn to have a better mental attitude towards my running.  I need to believe in myself and what I can do, and stop telling myself I’m slow.   One of my friends that I’ve done many 10ks with told me I need to stop checking my Garmin and slowing myself down to what I think it ‘my’ pace – just run, she said.  I’m self-sabotaging by running as I think I should, not as I can.

To get through 26.2 miles, I need mental toughness as well as physical toughness.  That’s one of my goals to work on now.

By the way, the night before that 9.5 mile run?  I stayed at a friends, drank beer, ate curry and got very little sleep.  Classic self-sabotage!