I didn’t see much of the London Marathon yesterday as I was at church but I did listen to some of the coverage on the radio as I was driving there.

I was struck, yet again, but the amazing capacity people have for hope, for good and for generosity.

People who don’t run wake up one day and decide that for some reason running 26.2 miles seems like the kind of thing they want to try. Some are motivated by loss, others by a second chance or the need to make a difference, raising millions for charities. Some do it just to prove to themselves that they can.

Watching 40,000 people do something hard is inspiring. We have become a little used to the distance. We are little less impressed because we all know someone who has done run a marathon.

What’s more, we know the people who run are not special, at least not in a physical way.

The only difference between them and the 99.9% of people who will never run a marathon is that they have chosen to do it.

As you watch the whole range of humanity from superfit Kenyans completing the course in a staggering 2:04 to the 101 year old completing yet another marathon with every kind of person in between it’s hard not to think ‘I could do that!’.

I heard Helen Skelton, tv presenter and someone who has taken on some incredible challenges, remind us that challenge is relative. For some running 26.2 miles isn’t hard. For some walking 0.2 miles is a dream. Running isn’t for everyone, but there is something out there for you.

There is a woman walking the marathon course this week who is paralysed from the chest down. Yes, I did just say a woman who is paralysed from the chest down is WALKING. She is using her brand new exoskeleton to help her get round the course.

There were amputees, transplant donors and recipients, people with all kinds of things that others call limitations or disabilities who all joined that 0.1% club of people who said ‘I can do that!’.

There were people who have lost someone special, who have recovered from illness or accident and people who just wanted to see if they were up to it.

They are all proof that we should never let someone tell us that something is impossible, that you are being silly or that you couldn’t do that.

They did meet their challenge… and you can meet yours.

What are you waiting for?

If I had to give marks out of 10 for runs then it might seem odd that a 2km run at slightly faster than walking pace should get a 10…

but when it’s your first run for a month after a painfully pulled gluteus medius then 10 is most definitely deserved.

(the dip in the middle was due to some nice people out for a walk who needed all of the path and weren’t for moving!)

I have another trip to the sports therapist today but so far I’ve had no reaction to the run and I’m hoping that I’ll get the all clear to return to training for the Edinburgh Marathon at the end of May.

I never thought I’d be in a place where I missed running but I have.  I was so pleased to get out running in the cold winter sun yesterday.  It’s good to be back.

It’s been two weeks since I hurt my back.  It’s improving slowly.  I can put my own socks on and everything!

When I set out on the road to a marathon injury was always my biggest concern, even more than the time commitment needed for the training.  As I’ve been hobbling around for longer and longer I’ve been getting more and more worried about the training runs slipping past.

I’m missing the runs.  I miss that feeling of getting outside, of pressing myself to go further or faster and just feeling good after a run.  I feel tired.

I suppose that means I’m getting better because last week I was just pleased to be able to stand up!

In some ways it’s ok that I’ve had a couple of weeks out.  I’ve got miles in the bank and I’ve still got plenty time until the end of May.

But… there’s always that niggling doubt.

Two weeks off the road is a long time.  It doesn’t take long for fitness to start to fall off.

I’m off to see a sports therapist tonight but I’m not expecting miracles.  My back is getting better every day but I’m not going to be running 20k tomorrow.  It’s going to take a while to get back to where I was this time 2 weeks ago.

That’s assuming the sports therapist doesn’t ground me…

I rarely make New Year resolutions but I resolve that 2012, my 40th year, will be all about the miles.

1. I will run the 5 mile Olympic Park Run in March.
2. I will run my first marathon in Edinburgh in May.
3. I will run the Great Scottish Run half marathon in Glasgow in September.
4. I will beat my 5km parkrun PB.
5. I will run more kilometers than in 2011.

So, those are the races and venues… what about the detail?

1. I will run the 5 mile Olympic Park Run in March in under 40 minutes.
2. I will run my first marathon in Edinburgh in May in under 4 hours 10 minutes.
3. I will run the Great Scottish Run half marathon in Glasgow in September in under 2 hours.
4. I will beat my 5km parkrun PB (23:50) by more than a minute.
5. I will run more kilometers than in 2011 (915km).  I will run at least 1200km in 2012.

That’s the plan.

Last week I was just one week into my marathon training, and already lacking motivation.

This week my running has been better, even though the weather hasn’t been.  My runs have felt good.

The Monday long run felt comfortable and I’m getting the hang of running a little bit slower.  The idea is to run at or slower than your marathon pace.  Having never run a marathon I have no idea what that pace is.  I’m guessing it’s somewhere around 6min/km which is a pretty gentle jog these days.  It wasn’t always like that.

Tuesday is another slower run.  30 mins to promote recovery.

Things speed up on Wednesday with some short sprint intervals. 1.o5min recovery jog punctuated by 8 x 25 second full pace sprints.  My legs were burning towards the end but it felt great.

A day off on Thursday and another recovery run on Friday brought me to the focus of the week… parkrun.

This week the pacers were out at the Strathclyde parkrun.  It seemed like a great chance to break my PB but the weather has been pretty poor so when I woke up on Saturday I wasn’t even sure it would be worth going.  The sky was dark and the trees were blowing.

At 9am the sun came out… game on.

I was following Anthony, the 24 minute pacer.  A couple of weeks ago I slipped off the pace towards the last kilometer, but this week I was determined to hang in.

We set off and I felt the pace immediately… Anthony was going out a little quicker than last time.  I took me ages to settle in and get comfortable with the pace.  At 2.5k Anthony looked round to see I was still there and I was struggling.  A quick word of encouragement and I did something I wish I had done earlier… I took out the headphones.

Sometimes it’s great to have the computer tell you how fast you are going and a song keeping you bouncing along but today it was a distraction.  As soon as I took the earphones out I felt more comfortable.  I could hear my breathing and my feet pounding the tarmac. It has it’s own rhythm.

In…2…3…out…2…3…

I moved up next to Anthony at 3.5k to try to avoid dropping back like I had last time.  At 4 k Anthony announced that I’d done it.  I was less convinced.  I was breathing hard and my legs were starting to burn.  But it was only 1k to go.  Hang on for just a few more minutes.

Just then Sarah Joyce came bursting through, determined to get a good time.  I almost tried to follow but a wise word of caution from the pacer held me back until closer to home.

At 200m from home the small group being paced by Anthony went for it.

I thought the line would never come.  I was gasping for breath, legs on fire…

I was shattered but delighted to know that I was under 24 minutes.  I had finished ahead of Anthony who timed his run at 24 minutes dead.  All that was left now was the wait for the results text.

23:50.  A new PB!!!  56.85% on the age grading scale.

When I first ran a parkrun I’d been running for 6 months and completed a half marathon.  Getting under 24 minutes seemed like a far off dream.  8 months ago running 5km in less than 30 minutes seemed like a bigger dream!

According to the runner’s world race pace calculator my predicted marathon time is now 3:47:28.  Yeah, I laughed too… but you never know… 5.24min/km for 42km… I mean there is 174 days of training to go…

Totals: 30.64km in 2:56:34 with an average pace of 5.57min/km for training and 4.46min/km for the parkrun using a total of 2353 calories.

I’m a whole week into my marathon training and the weather is already testing my motivation.

I’ve been soaked, blown about and cold.  I’ve also had some really good runs.

I ran with someone for the first time in years on Thursday and enjoyed the company.  Anthony is also training for his first marathon and he’s also blogging about it.  We ran a couple of laps round Strathclyde Park, 7 miles or so, at an easy pace, chatting as we went.  The miles passed really quick and it was good to get to know Anthony a bit better.

I skipped the parkrun on Saturday because of the weather but it’s not in my training schedule so I didn’t feel guilty!

On Sunday I couldn’t be bothered.  I’d been swimming with the boys in afternoon, the rain had come on and it was cold but I’m glad I dragged myself out of the house and had a great 6km run.

So, one week in and all is well.  Apart from a minor case of runner’s nipple…  That hurts!!!

This week’s (21-27 November) totals:  32.79km  in 3:16:08 with an average pace of 5:57 min/km using 2533 calories.

Ever wonder just how quick an elite marathon runner is?

HT Ross Goodman