Pressure's on

Sixty-seven days, nineteen hours and twenty-four minutes until the 2019 London Marathon. I have a countdown installed on my phone. The timer is staring me in the face right now, as I type these words. The seconds are dwindling away. Fifty-four, fifty-three, fifty-two...

I'M NOT PANICKING.

I am starting to feel the pressure. A knot has begun to settle in my gut, a knot that slowly tightens and grows heavier every time I think about the enormity of the task that still lies before me. The days seem to be racing past, bringing me ever closer to the day of destiny - but, conversely, not that much nearer to payday. Hmm.

Even though the weather is starting to improve and the temperature is gradually picking up (and snow is expected to return later this month), it's getting harder and harder to find the time to squeeze in my training. Sure, I can run for thirty minutes after work like I used to, way back in the long-ago, but thirty minutes of running isn't going to help much at all.

A Monday night run, good start to the week.

The last two major runs have seen me picking up the pace more than usual. I used to be happy with a simple six mile run per day - it works out to around an hour's effort, roughly 10K. Not bad, right? Now a little voice in my head whispers, Not bad ain't good enough. This is the London Marathon, sport, six miles ain't gonna do squat. (The voice in my head has John Wayne's drawl, for reason I've never understood).

So now my 'standard' runs - i.e. the short runs, where I don't put in too much effort - clock up to ten miles, or between ninety minutes to two-plus hours. Training takes time now. Real time. Working forty hours a week doesn't leave much time leftover in which to train - if I finish work at five and head home, I'll be running by six and finished by eight thirty, but when do I eat? If I eat after a run, that takes it to nine o'clock before dinner. Rest is hugely important to help the body recover from such strenuous activity, so I want to be in bed around ten... Balancing everything is becoming a much more delicate act than I ever expected, even though my training is only two or three sessions per week. I can run on the weekend, but it's a good idea to keep some days totally free to truly relax and unwind.

My run last Saturday. Half a marathon!

So how am I looking for the future? My earlier aim was to reach twenty miles by around this time. Due to the unexpected knee inury last month, that's been pushed back to March. Happily, my knees are now strong enough to support me and I'm back to running good, lengthy distances without any pain. The trick is to stretch like crazy afterward!

So here I am. Sixty-seven days, nineteen hours and six minutes until the 2019 London Marathon. Nervous. Scared. But confident in myself. I can do this.

Fifty-four, fifty-three, fifty-two...