Hot! hot! hot!

I had been struggling with the arrival of summer. Not the sunshine, which I adore, but the heat. Running is so much harder when it is really, really hot. As you all know, old injuries have proved a challenge for me and new injuries have cropped up. I think my body was in shock at the extra work I was putting it through, particularly as I am now embarking on an actual half marathon training program.

The hardest thing I have had to learn is the difference between pushing myself enough and pushing myself too hard. I do need to push myself hard otherwise I would still only be able to run for about two minutes before stopping. This running lark does involve a lot of trying to push myself that extra bit harder all the time, so that I can improve. But there is a line and I have to be realistic. One lesson that I have learnt is that it is better to rest an injury instead of running on it and taking even more time to recover. That was a hard lesson. Ouch!

It has also been hard realising that I do have a life and there is going to be the odd missed run. I've got to stop berating myself when runs are missed because of other genuine commitments. But I also need to remind myself on a regular basis that Eastenders isn't a genuine commitment!!!

It has been really tough to date. But Ladies and Gentlemen, something strange happened this week. I had my FIRST EVER good week of running. The first week where I have felt that I could actually do this half marathon. I actually enjoyed some of it.

I'm sure there are plenty of lows to come, but it is nice to report a big high for a change.

I'm very proud of how we are all doing. Look at where we started and how far we've come. We've still got a long way to go, but the time has come to take a look back at what we have achieved so far. The most important thing to remember is that, even on the bad days, we're not giving up. Go us!!!!