I’ll be starting up my weekly blog in the build-up to this year’s London Marathon and my last ditch attempt to qualify for the Olympics at the age of 41! Why on earth would I divulge all my “secrets” in the build-up to such an important race? What’s in it for me, I hear you ask?
Well, for starters, I’m pretty certain that no other GB runner would change the way they ran their race having kept an eye on my training. When you are not competing for the win at the London Marathon, the best tactic is to race at the pace you feel you are capable of for 26.2 miles and ignore everyone else.
On the other hand, the benefits from going public with my training are massive. Having a community of runners that are monitoring and supporting my progress does wonders for the motivation; it’s like having thousands of coaches that you don’t want to let down. You just need to be careful when taking advice from so many others that your own voice remains the driving force in the decision-making.
My journey to qualify for the Commonwealth Games was made all the more satisfying thanks to holding a public poll on my blog to ask whether I should actually race London that year. Training for a 100K race at the time, I had suspicions that I was in marathon PB shape. When 98% of my blog readers agreed with me, it made it very easy for me to change my plans and race London! Sharing my subsequent successes with my blog readers made it all the more sweeter when they were able to play a part in the story. Whatever your level, going public with your training can really help.
Follow Steve’s blogs at steveway.co.uk
