Period of reflection

Now that the bulk of the hard work and preparation is done, and all that is left is a few 'short' taper runs and carb loading initiatives (burritos and cupcakes are the food of champions, you know), I've decided to concentrate wholeheartedly on mental preparation for the marathon.

I'm starting by reviewing the whole training process and how it's affected me mentally rather than physically. An ex-colleague of mine told me that the training was character-building, which left me thinking, 'Did I have no character beforehand?' 'What kind of character does lots of miles, lots of cereals and multiple laundry loads of lycra build?'
Or, as my chav teenage West London hecklers would say, 'wot fings did yer lern running, innit?'

Lesson # 1 - cereal is boring. Even when you try a different one every week (or on a bad week, two different ones), it is utterly dull. Someone please think of a more interesting way to eat carbohydrates at breakfast. Soon.

Lesson # 2 - as above, but replace 'cereal' with 'pasta' and 'breakfast' with 'dinner'

Lesson # 3 - Lycra dries really fast, so fast there is no excuse not to go out for a run on two consecutive days

Lesson # 4 - if you know there is a toilet nearby, you will want to use it

Lesson # 5 - people are mean (especially when they hurl abuse at you from car windows or try to trip you up

Lesson # 6 - people are lovely (especially when they sponsor you huge amounts of money or let you use their toilet)

Lesson # 7 - there's always going to be days when you don't want to run. The trick to get out of the house before you realise it is one of those days

Lesson # 8 - after a certain amount of training, your face stops turning a purple colour when you run

Lesson # 9 - after the same amount of training, it is impossible to get out of a chair without making an 'oof' noise

Lesson # 10 -  I have a nice bum

(I think the last one is the most important, don't you?)

LON