My rocky journey on the road to running the Virtual London Marathon
This time last year I was just starting to get back into running and the thought of doing a marathon was the furthest thing from my mind. I started running regularly back in 2016 in order to complete a half marathon for charity. It was something I’d always wanted to do and that was the catalyst in me realising it’s a sport I love and something I hoped to dedicate more of my time to. The London Marathon is the first marathon I’ve ever trained for and it’s been a very uncertain journey. It’s been 10 months since I started training for what I planned would be a 16-week training cycle but Corona had other plans.
Some people find refuge in running, it can support your mental health and aid with destressing; for me running helps me clear my thoughts. It provides a chance to not overthink allowing me to completely switch off. When people ask me what I think about when I run I always struggle to think of an interesting answer — I find it peaceful to just have very little chatter in my head and just focus on my goal for the session.
Pre-lockdown
Marathon training started a week before my birthday and I felt a real buzz from ticking off each training run. I vividly remember running into the city of London on Christmas day and experiencing my first runners high for years. Who knew the city of London would still be so busy even with most things shut. I’ve always struggled with motivation when it comes to lacing up and getting out the door for a run but something felt different this time. I’ve been through ups and downs with running and the downs sometimes meant not being able to run at all for weeks or months.
As momentum picked up in March, with training and covering longer distances. I was starting to feel confident about race day and ran my longest distance in a long time in March just as rumours of a lockdown came to the surface. When the announcement was made I felt quite lost and disappointed, what was I going to do now? I had to figure out how to readjust my goal and delay my training to a new date. I went from running 3/4 times a week to running maybe 2 times.
Lockdown
During lockdown, I continued running but without a training plan, running just for fun. Mainly doing what felt right for my body and that’s what helped keep my motivation going. I was running different routes to keep it exciting. This was great for about a month but during Ramadan, it was definitely hard to keep the motivation going, I participated in ASRA run club’s Ramadan 10km Challenge and it was comforting knowing everyone else was also feeling the same way. It was my first time trying to run during the holy month and although I ran less than previous months, I’m happy that I even ran at all!
Post Lockdown
My relationship with running has changed a lot throughout the year. I was put off running and so I decided to walk or cycle more so that I was still getting outdoors and moving. The uncertainty definitely affected my relationship with running but around June and July I started to get back in the swing of things. I started to train and focussed on October 4th as race day, even if I wasn’t going to run a marathon I knew at least had a date I could work towards. At first it was really difficult to get back to my routine but being part of Nike’s Project Fearless boosted my confidence and the community of other runners who’d been going through the same things over the past 10 months.
This year has taught me not to be so hard on myself when I struggle to get out there for a run, I think because how crazy this year has been and this is really out of our control so we can’t really blame ourselves too much for lack of productivity or fitness.
Race Day
“Do nothing new on race day”
My day started at 5am, I woke up and ate breakfast. I decided to go with some peanut butter and honey on toast and a cup of black tea. To say I was feeling nervous was an understatement. I then prayed fajr and after prayer, I realised that whatever would be would be and that I had been putting in the work and training so all I could do is try my best. Trust in your training! I wore a kit I felt good in and nothing that I hadn’t worn before and off I went to my race location ready to run my first marathon.
October 4th was forecast to be wet the entire day so I made sure I wore some waterproof shoes because wet feet and shoes are best friends with blisters. Race day essentials: runnings gels, Lucozade/water, a battery pack for your phone, earphones, blister plasters and chaffing cream. I started my run just after 7am, it was still pretty dark but I felt energetic. I had a 10 lap route of a local park planned, I’m not used to the repetition so I knew mentally this would be a challenge. The thought of friends and family joining later to cheer me on was keeping me going.
Half way through my left calf started to feel uncomfortable, at that point I started to think of the worst scenarios. I stretched it out and kept moving as stopping for too long would make it more difficult to continue running. Thankfully the feeling went away and I tried to just focus. When I crossed the finish line I felt a mix of emotions but the main one was how immensely proud of myself I was!
The marathon journey this year hasn’t been easy but training has been a rewarding challenge.
Things I have learnt along the way
- When training for a marathon it’s important to follow a 16–20 weeks training plan, there are loads you can find online and a lot of running apps that can automatically create a plan for you.
- Not to be too hard on yourself for missing a session and also not trying to cram in too Amany runs just to catch-up. Life gets in the way but I’ve learnt that it’s normal for life to get in the way sometimes and having a bit of a balance is important.
- Nutrition is vital, I never used to fuel up properly before and after a run, and I’d feel this particularly with long runs and wondered why I’d lose weight when I picked up my weekly Km’s. Now nutrition is definitely at the forefront of my mind and it should be if you’re wanting to train for a marathon.
- Mixing up training with different types of runs & incorporating strengths training a couple of times a week is really important, take it from someone who would just run and then call it a day.
- The importance of recovery runs and going slow to help you go fast! Things like foam rolling, stretching, taking a bath, putting your legs vertically on the wall can help after a long run training days.
- It’s been a challenging year and it’s ok to switch up race and training plans in order to listen to our bodies more.
- Doing too much too soon can increase the chances of injury so although it’s important to push yourself, acknowledging when you need to hold back is important.
- There will be days where motivation is very low on a run, you might stop and start more than usual or not feel like your usual self on a run. This is normal and it can just be a mental block that day. Do what feels manageable that day and don’t forget to reward yourself.
The journey continues
I am more passionate about running than I’ve ever been and I’m not sure that would have been the case if we weren’t in exceptional circumstances. 2020 is the year I really found running.
