{"id":25862,"date":"2019-04-15T10:06:17","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T09:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pinkoddy.co.uk\/?p=25862"},"modified":"2019-04-15T10:06:17","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T09:06:17","slug":"how-not-to-train-for-a-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/2019\/04\/15\/how-not-to-train-for-a-marathon\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving Health Habits and How Not to Train for a Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"

When friends said we could just walk a Marathon I thought what a lovely idea and then we can say we have done one. I guess I didn\u2019t really factor in that a Marathon is still a Marathon and going to be hard work either way!<\/p>\n

I guess it is true that if you just keep doing the same thing then things will never change, and so this year I have been working harder on making changes for my health. Hopefully making my first Marathon easier. I am not getting any younger<\/a>, and yes turning forty has brought with it things I just wasn\u2019t expecting. They have made me question what I do and what may happen in the future if I do not address things.<\/p>\n

Good Sleep Habits<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I have always been great at sleeping and I do fear what happens if, or when, there comes a point when I may struggle with sleep. I currently do practise sleep meditation (try it even a fifteen minute power nap can do wonders). More importantly I have been trying to regular ensure I go to bed at 10 pm. It is quite shocking how much I feel so drained if I go to bed even as early as 11 pm now – considering how late I used to stay up.\"boy<\/a><\/p>\n

Giving Up Alcohol<\/strong><\/h3>\n

My children aren\u2019t big on alcohol – probably seeing the effects of my binge drinking. Our teen particularly makes lots of comments about it. So this year I decided not to drink. I was going out drinking every Friday with my friends so this has been quite a change. I have been out a handful of times this year where others are drinking and I have not. I know I use it as a crutch and there have also been so really difficult times when I really would have just turned to drink. The only time I was really tempted was when there was a close death in the family<\/a> – but my husband put the can of cider away before I opened it, telling me how well I was doing.<\/p>\n

I had read a book last year – The Unexpected Joy of being Sober by Catherine Gray. The author overcame a really bad drink problem and it was a crossed between a self-help book and autobiography. Thing is it made me really stop and look at alcohol and society\u2019s attitude to it in a really different way. The whole idea that drinking is the only way we can have fun, be confident and deal with things – when actually all we are really doing is not really enjoying ourselves, becoming more anxious and certainly not having fun!it doesn’t help that drinking has been part of normal culture for me since I was small. Growing up around people who would dip a dummy in whiskey and I have been drinking since I was 8 years (and a lot more than an odd glass of wine at Christmas by around 14 years at the very least; to throwing up paralytic at 17). \"Underage<\/a>I need to reread it and if you fancy it too it is \u00a38.99 ISBN 978-1-912023-28-7<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I guess one of the big things for me was suddenly realising how people were perceiving me. Like the guy who told me his heartbreaking story and I was too drunk to remember it – and then drunkenly asked him to tell me again! It is interesting watching people drunk when sober, thinking about if that could be me and what others around me could have been thinking. Obviously I haven\u2019t been alcohol free for long and I am not sure I will last the year but it will be interesting to see what a difference it makes on me. The first one being sleep (see above) as I am not coming in at silly o\u2019clock Saturday mornings and running Parkrun<\/a> with a hangover. I also do not have much caffeine, (I start the day with hot lemon water and if I have tea we use decaf bags), but if I go out drinking I have far too many jager-bombs and feel my heart thumping out of my chest all night.<\/p>\n

Improving my Running<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Now I am sleeping better and not drinking it means I am better able to concentrate on running. I guess this is the area that I am probably pushing the most (if not too much). Firstly I am running Parkrun<\/a> more efficiently each week as I am not always hung over with too much caffeine inside me. We take it in turns to run with our under 11 now (and often helping encouraging a friend\u2019s teenager round) and the other week we run faster. In fact my husband even often comes back to run with the under 11 when he has finished, allowing me to run the last bit faster too. This year I have cut off 29 seconds from my PB (personal best) and just this last weekend hubby has taken off 31 seconds.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Joy Gloucestershire UK (@pinkoddy)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n