Agreed, I may not have thought it through as much as I should have when I signed up for my first ultra marathon. In fact I am starting to wonder if it was a good idea at all. Then again, I asked myself that same question after signing up for my first full marathon and I finished that without too many problems. No, I’m not the fastest – nor will I ever be, I know my limits – but that’s not why I’m doing it.
Like I already mentioned on my introduction page, I never used to like running. I thought it was boring and couldn’t be bothered. It wasn’t until I found out that actually, running can be so much more than just the same jog around the block by yourself that I really started to enjoy it. From joining Parkrun, meeting lots of like-minded people to discovering trail running and doing sightseeing while I run, all those things taught me to really appreciate how running can change your life.
When I started doing a couch-to-5K some years ago, I never thought I’d be running races, let alone 10K, 10 miles, half marathon distance or marathon distance. And now I’m registered for an ultra-marathon at the end of February.
I’ve come a long way (literally and figuratively) since I moved to the UK at the end of 2015. I ran in places I never even imagined I’d go – places I never even knew existed!
After a lifetime of being a non-runner, it sometimes feels like I’m playing catch-up all the time. I started way too late to ever be very good at it, but I accept that’s something I won’t be able to catch up with. I’m OK with being in the middle of the pack at races. For me, it’s more about challenging myself, getting out of my comfort zone and developing new skills along the way. And that’s what I have been doing – especially these past two years: from map reading and plotting routes over running in all kinds of weather conditions to learning how to run downhill on a rocky surface at a decent speed, they were all things I wasn’t very comfortable with but I now feel much more confident.
So after tackling marathon distance in 2019, there are a couple more marathons coming up in 2020. The two biggest challenges this year, however, will be the Castles and Islands race in June (which doesn’t only involve running but also sailing) and first of all: the Endurancelife Northumberland Ultra Marathon on 22nd February: 35 miles along the East Coast between Alnwick and Bamburgh.
These past few weeks and months I’ve gradually been building up by going out for runs on an almost daily basis. I spent most of the Christmas holidays running, doing a training run every day for 16 consecutive days, gradually building up distance. I’m planning to do a couple of XXL-distance runs in the upcoming weeks (mainly to build confidence) while also making sure I do some cross-training (strength training and swimming).
Fingers crossed it’ll all go well next month . . . Watch this space for further updates!
Confessions of a Running Freak 