Paris Marathon in 9 days.
Brighton Marathon in 23 days.
And right now the last thing I feel like doing is running, let alone for 26.2 miles.
It’s safe to say I really haven’t been committed to this training cycle. Up until March 4th I was hitting all my long run targets but the midweek stuff…well, it just wasn’t happening. The hill sessions, speed work, tempo runs; all the stuff that makes you fitter, faster and stronger so you can cope with the rigours of 42,000 steps in quick succession, I just wasn’t doing it. I couldn’t get excited about it, any of it, and I think that was because it was always part of a larger plan that had me concerned. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t enjoy a run just on its own merits, I was always thinking about how it fitted in to the bigger picture, and it became harder and harder to force myself out the door to get the training done. Running wasn’t about having fun any more it was a depressing means to a terrifying end.
When I signed up to Paris I was coming off the back of a marathon PB at Edinburgh and my first ever ultra a few weeks later. I was buzzing; fit, fast and excited about running long distances. Then I got injured, my back went, and for 2 months I wasn’t running at all. As soon as I was cleared to run again I signed up for Brighton, figuring if I was marathon fit at the start of April it would be a shame to miss the opportunity to use that stamina in mid April as well.
But the truth is that coming off the injury list and straight in to a prescriptive running plan with a huge end goal, and starting from a long way behind where I thought I’d be, I’ve never given myself a chance (or permission) to just enjoy running again…
…until now.
I’m still going to Paris. I’ve never been and I’m excited to see a bit of the city and spend time with some great people. When I line up on Sunday morning though I’ll be aiming for nothing more than a finish and I don’t care what combination of run, walk and crawl it takes to get me round. I’ve heard that in the last few miles of the Paris marathon locals hand out wine and cheese…I fully intend to cross the finish line but fully expect to do it drunk with cheese hiccups! Now I’ve accepted this is the best I can hope for it takes all the pressure off and I can start to look forward to it again!
And as for Brighton…I haven’t paid out for a train ticket yet, so let’s see how I feel after Paris. If I can happily take 5 hours to finish a marathon then maybe I’ll head to the coast, but the desire to test myself by doing the double is no longer there, so I’ll commit to that second marathon when the time comes.
So, I’d better dig out my passport, pack my nipple tape and some lycra and head to the land of vino et fromage, guidebook at the ready!
January saw a great start to the year with a PB at the Almost Athletes organised Linda Franks 5. It was a month of consistent running and strength work getting ready for the rigours of a marathon training schedule, and also featured one of my favourite weekends of the year, 
In February I fulfilled a dream and ran my first foreign race, the Torremolinos Half. There’s no blog post for this because I was so disappointed at it only being 12.9 miles long and not counting as a PB! That aside, the weekend was incredible fun and we’re going back again in a few weeks time! There was the consolation of a 10k PB at Bourton. I also wrote one of the most popular posts of the year, a collection of 
March and I celebrated my birthday with a 15 mile solo run along the Cotswold Way from Painswick back to Cheltenham. Then came my second trip to 
Reaching the business end of marathon training in April, one of my favourite runs was 
The madness continued in May with 20 miles up and down the same stretch of tarmac, but it was perfect preparation. That was proved at the end of the month with a 
In June I took on the 
July can only mean one thing, a return to Catton Park and the glorious 
Throughout August I was coaching a ‘Beginner To 5k’ programme through my running club. 16 participants all graduated with ease and as a result I’m now signed on to do the next level of coaching qualification this year. I love sharing the joy of running with newbies!
September and although I was running plenty myself, once again it was sharing the love that proved the highlight. I hosted the 
October, a new parkrun PB was swiftly followed by the most incredible pain, as 
Not running myself in November I took to assisting the club coach with speed training sessions and on the track. Trying to control a couple of large groups, especially in a track environment with other users around, was a steep learning curve but should hopefully help me when 
Finally, December, and a gentle return to training culminating in 4 runs in 4 days over Christmas. The highlight here has to be the new faces I was training with, people who share my passion, my desire to improve and in some cases my planned diary of races. It sets up 2016 perfectly…let’s make it the best year yet!
WHAT JAMES DID 