So, this is what rejection looks like.
Well, rejection from the Virgin London Marathon ballot. 3 time unlucky for me.
To be honest I’m stuck somewhere between disappointment and relief.
The disappointment comes because London is one of the big 4. It’s a world marathon major. It is one of the marathons on most runner’s lists to run. One day I want to do it. I could try for a charity place but I don’t fancy trying to raise the £2,500 most charities demand for a place.
The relief comes from the sensible part of my head that says, ‘You’ve been injured, again. What on earth do you want to sign up for all those long runs in the winter for?’. London comes early in the year. The end of April might be well into spring down south but it can still be cold and wet here. Long runs in that kind of weather are absolutely no fun. I’m pretty sure I came close to hypothermia a couple of times when I was training for Edinburgh.
And I know that part of my head is probably right… but…
Targets… goals… those work for me.
I ran 6k today. That’s my first proper run for nearly two months. I’ve missed it, much more than I thought I would. I feel better when I run. I feel more alert, I sleep better, I eat better, I drink more water, I can concentrate better and I get more done. It gives me time to think, to process, to have ideas and to work off frustrations.
So, I’m going to continue the rehab. I will do my exercises. I will train through the winter and next year I’ll set out to run PBs over 5k, 10k and half marathon (I’ve still never run under 2 hours for a half!). There will be no 26.2 mile runs for me in 2014.
But I might put my name in the ballot for London again next year… maybe 2015 will see another crack at a marathon. Maybe…