Sat watching a bit of the marathon today
Actually made me feel a bit lazy considering im having a rest day (although may run later now…wonder how many of you will do the same)
But watching those guys compete in a gruelling 26.2 miles may have got you thinking
Got you inspired
Seeing all those runners on tv
All those spectators
The music
The cheers
The euphoria
The high fives when they cross the finish line
Maybe wishing you had the endurance required
Or maybe the natural ability to be able to run that far
It all looks like something you could never do though right?
But what you don’t see is the miles put in
The training done
The cold dark nights running the streets
Maybe in the rain or snow as training is usually done over the winter
Swollen ankles
Saw knees
Maybe even runners nipple (if you don’t know look it up)
Blisters, plasters
Long boring runs when you’d rather be sat on the couch
The journey these folks have undertaken
Reminds me of something else
When you meet up with someone you haven’t seen for a while, or a celeb pops up on tv after giving birth a few months earlier
And they’ve lost weight, got into amazing shape, toned, looking healthy
It can only have been 6 months since you saw them
All that weight loss in that short amount of time
But that 6 months for them was hard
Training 4 or 5 times a week
Pushing themselves beyond where is comfortable
Training when they don’t feel like it
Eating clean
Watching calories
Resisting temptation
But you know what
Every time they see someone who comments about how good they look
Or every time they go shopping and can buy clothes that are much smaller
Or wear fitted suits rather than the bulky ones they have been limited to
Or the first day of their holiday when they are happy to strip off to their swimwear by the pool for the first time ever
Or when they can play with their kids in the park for the first time without getting out of breath after 5 mins
All that hard work and slog
Is a distant memory
The effort pales into insignificance
The pain almost forgotten
And an overwhelming sense of achievement,
Pride
Accomplishment
Wellbeing
Maybe even smugness
So make the first steps on your marathon
Make those small changes first in preparation for the long haul
And put in the work
Because at the end when you can afford the celebratory meal or drink without worry
You will thank yourself
Hope you’ve had a good weekend
And a special shout out to Dani for taking part in her first marathon today, a couple of park sessions in the rain and dark in preparation but hopefully it was worth it after nearly deferring and sticking in there
Paul
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