Global Sport Stories

Here we go again, another blog starting out by talking about New Year’s resolutions. However, this time I’ve actually taken steps to pursue one, but more on that later… 

For the second time in the space of a few days, I had my wetsuit back on and a surfboard underneath my chest. An early morning surf session was on the menu today as, if Surfline was to be believed, the waves looked too good to be missed. Granted there were some monster waves, but both my girlfriend and I couldn’t help feeling a little lied to by Surfline – unless of course you counted “good” conditions as choppy, relentless, foamy waves. 

Nevertheless, it was still a lot of fun. I had found that when I was going out recently, I had headed straight for the back with the bigger waves and was experiencing less success as a result. The whitewash on Tuesday offered a great chance to honestly just put vital work into my popup and concentrate on the feeling of standing on the board. The conditions combined with a different board still didn’t make it an easy affair, however, overall we still had a lot of fun and it was worth getting up and out for. 

Wednesday was a very nice evening, and coincided nicely with my desires to get back into my running. A mix up with my Strava means I actually don’t have much clue as to the distance I ran – all I know is I ran from my house to the quayside, as I anticipated a scenic, sunny spectacle across the Tyne. As you can see, this was definitely the case and honestly, not knowing the distance didn’t matter to me. I knew it was far enough to be satisfied with and I theorised that the enjoyment factor would be what gets me back to more consistency.

I think I was correct, as the next day I was back out running along the coast. Again I didn’t have a target distance in mind, although I did at least track myself this time, going 8.5km. I have to say this was one of my most enjoyable runs to date. Whether it was the sunny evening; the new, unexplored route; or the sea dip at the end, I found myself caught up in a real running euphoria. So much so that I was highly debating pulling the trigger on booking a marathon.

You see, I had been briefly researching local marathons on the metro journey out to the coast, and it just so happened that Gateshead marathon was taking place on May 4th. Feeling in need of a bit more purpose recently, for the remainder of the day I was toiling with the idea, with the euphoria experienced on my run only pushing me towards pulling the trigger. 

I need to explain more about the run because honestly just small changes made it so enjoyable. I decided to explore more of the coastline just North of Newcastle/Tynemouth. This was a new area for me, and one that displayed great landmarks such as wacky buildings and lighthouses. These offered great visual representation of the distance I was running, and on returning back from the lighthouse to my end point it added an extra sense of achievement, seeing as though the lighthouse looked so far away. If you find yourself doing an out and back run, picking some noticeable landmarks to run to is definitely a new tip of mine. 

Finishing with a brief dip in the North Sea I returned home pretty sure in the knowledge that I had to get the marathon booked. Throughout my run I was thinking about it and giving some additional motivation to get out and exercise was a big factor in my decision. This, coupled with the fact that one of my New Year’s resolutions was to enter at least two events before June, was all the encouragement I needed to eventually pull the trigger for sure. Because after all, the hardest part is signing up, right?

However, because I am now signed up – and given myself little over a month to train – I am not really in a position to chicken out of a long run when a friend from work invites me on one. Sunday morning at 8am was not enticing at all let me tell you that; especially when you’re told the group you’d be running with sometimes like to double the planned length of the route just for ‘fun.’ My friend that invited me along is a boxer, therefore, I knew he would have tip top stamina and his counterparts that we’d be running with would be similar. Mix into this the outrageously strong mental state (if a little crazy) that you, I believe, have to possess to be a fighter meant I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous. Yet, with some persuasion from my buddy, I was there at 8am and the group of us boxed off a 12km road run.

It was perfect. The distance was exactly what I was planning to do if I had not joined the group anyway and, in being with the group, I definitely pushed myself more than I normally would have. You see this right here is me already reaping the benefits of signing up for the marathon. It has given me that extra push to go for that tough run, think more consciously about my diet and equally give more priority to my sleep. 

I feel like I could be in the position that once, should I complete the marathon unscathed, I have completed it, I will really have enjoyed the training period in reflection, and left me wanting to do more.

But that is me totally getting ahead of myself. Check back in next week for an update on my first full week of marathon training… that sentence is as exciting as it is scary!