week 10!

Week 10 of marathon training - I'm past the halfway point. It's going fine I think.. In all honesty, I probably could have been a bit more assiduous with the training - I'm skipping some of the strength work and, when tired, am taking the cross training days off - but I did that when I trained for Chicago and it worked out OK. My first marathon training schedule (for NYC 2005) was much too intense for the standard I had at the time, and I arrived at the marathon exhausted from all my training. Roughly following Hal Higdon seems to work, for the moment, and at the moment seems to fit in with the rest of my life. Because as most runners will know - it's not always easy to prioritise training when there are so many other demands on our time and attention..

However, look at this gorgeous drawing I found on my daughter's desk the other evening. Before you think I run over bodies to achieve my goals, my daughter reassures me the figure on the ground is a doll (?). But I just think it is amazing that she sees me like this - I still sometimes can't get over that I have changed my life so incredibly from 4 years ago and yet, looking at this picture, it's real and it's happened and my daughter is growing up with an active, fit mother and doesn't even know what a chubby couch potato I used to be! So I have to say that this sort of thing does confirm that I'm doing the right thing by running and that I am entitled to take the time - even if sometimes it means I can't be with my family - because when I am with them I am so much healthier, happier and fitter than I would otherwise have been.. Not to mention that both of my children like to come out running with me (for short distances) and think that exercise is part of everyone's life. What a great expectation for them..

Finally, what a difference some sleep makes. After last week's post I promised myself it was in everyone's interest to be a bit more firm and persistent with my son and - cross my fingers - things have improved. He slept till 7 this morning and life just feels a lot better.. Which is good because I'm heading into the really hard work this week - got my 10K race this weekend and so have got to decide where to move Sunday's 17M to.. It's either going to be Friday afternoon or Wednesday afternoon, and I'm saving up all my podcasts this week..

Till then, happy running!