A marathon, and a half / Training: The beginning
Running a marathon has been a vague dream for years; something to complete in the far distant future when I become a proper runner. For the past few years I've watched the London Marathon wistfully, never seriously contemplating signing up, but dabbling in shorter races. I've managed a 10k every now and again, and even a half-marathon over three years ago. But I always found myself letting the training slide, picking up an injury, or just not committing. New Zealand is obviously a beautiful place to explore, which has its own impetus in making me run. But there were two main things which finally inspired me to sign up for a marathon: the BBC programme 'Mind over Marathon' and the podcast 'Tough Girl Challenges.' Hearing about the goals others were accomplishing around their daily challenges was inspiring, whether those challenges were related to mental health, family, work or physicality. I currently have the ability to prioritise my own goals and it'