London Marathon – Take Two, 2019

It’s a long time since I added anything to my marathon blog, but the time has come…

I decided post marathon to do the Vitality 10km at the end of May. I ended up not training it for it and used “marathon momentum” but really enjoyed it. I’d avoided going to physio post marathon as I thought they’d put the brakes on the 10km, so it was then time to sort myself out.

“Sorting myself out” took far longer than expected and I was only allowed to return to gentle running on 22nd October; a long time on the physio bench! Various challenges including weak glutes, a hip issue and the ongoing foot/ankle issue which needed sorting. Lots of hard work and exercises saw me more than double my calf length, strengthen my glutes and improve all round.

I realised I was missing my outings, and back in August joined a local gym doing a mixture of gym work, swimming and classes. That’s been going well, and I’d applied for the marathon ballot again. I started to consider if I’d run for charity again and decided yes, but only if it meant something to me. I feel I have unfinished business with the marathon which is what made me start about having another crack at it.

During October, my “sorry you’re not in” magazine dropped but I was offered a place by Dementia Revolution. Dementia Revolution is the official 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon charity, and is the Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK teaming together to power groundbreaking research at the UK Dementia Research Institute. With close family members affected by such a devastating disease, I accepted their place.

April really doesn’t seem too far away, so whilst I’m still only on gentle jogging as interval sessions, I’m continuing to work hard in the gym to cross train and build strength. I make sure I go at least three times a week, including two personal training sessions a week, to build up my strength and use the knowledge I learnt from 2018.

I’m excited to tackle the marathon again in 2019. I’m less nervous this time round, and I’m not concerned about some of the negativity I experienced in 2018; it’ll only spur me on.

Dedicated marathon training will commence in a few weeks but for now regular gym sessions continue ready for the challenge 28th April will bring.

If you’d like to sponsor me for the London Marathon 2019 for Dementia Revolution, you can do so here.

You can also watch a short video I’ve put together here.