My Marathon Blog

Week 7 & 8 (18 Feb - 3 March)

At last the sun has began to shine! This makes running so much more enjoyable, although it has left me with the dilemma of how to keep my headphones in when I’m running. Recently, it's been so cold that I have been running with my hat on, but as it was sunny this week I decided to run without it! This didn't last long as I had to put my hat back on to stop my headphones from falling out! I have tried several different kinds of headphones but none of them have been very successful yet. If anyone has any tips on which headphones are best for running then please let me know or I think I will have to buy a sweatband, 1980's style, to keep them in as I can’t run without my music!

This week I managed to run three times with my longest run being 5.5 miles. I am finding that running is getting easier and I am managing to run up steep hills very slowly rather than going backwards! I went running with my friend this week which really helped keep me motivated as I find it easier to stop and walk when I am alone. I have now downloaded the endomondo app which is good for keeping in touch with your friends who are running  and seeing different maps in your area.If you have this app as well let me know and we can connect via it and check out each others progress.

Other Scottish Adoption runners have also been training, Colin Grant went out for his second run in his marathon training and managed an amazing 6km in 25 minutes. Well done! I think you are going to be the fastest Scottish adoption runner at the half marathon. Dave McGregor had ordered new running trainers in the hope that they will make him run faster and he can catch up with Colin! They arrived and look amazing and he is very proud of them, just wait until his first run outside and they get all dirty! Alex McDonald is continuing to train with his children and he managed a 6km run this week and felt that he could have kept going.

David's new Adidas Boost trainers that he is so proud of.

There appears to be some rivalry between the male team members as to who is going to run the fastest on the day, I'm keeping out of it but secretly hoping it's going to be me!

My Marathon Blog

Week 4 (28 Jan – 3 Feb)

Ok it’s week 4 of my training and everybody that is running on behalf of Scottish Adoption has now begun their training and fundraising. Between us all there is a mixture of road running and treadmill running going on although with the weather I think the runners using the treadmill have the right idea!  This week I have managed to get out for three runs, one 8km run and two 4km runs. The wind has been a killer and at times I felt like I was running but not getting anywhere!  It’s difficult to feel motivated when the weather is atrocious and I have to keep telling myself it is all for a good cause!

Alex McDonald who is participating in the relay with his children is becoming increasingly concerned that he is going to let his children down as they are going to the gym every night and following different running programmes whereas Alex has a more sporadic training schedule!  Alex used to run marathons many years ago and is relying on his level of fitness to return quite quickly.  Well done to his daughter Nina as she has managed to raise £140 so far which is fantastic!  

Our Scottish Adoption running  t-shirts arrived this week and look very nice, so please look out for some of our Scottish Adoption runners on the road or in the gym and let us know if you see any.

My Marathon Blog

Week 3 (20 -26 Jan)

Unfortunately the snow did affect my marathon training this week.  Although secretly I was quite glad I had an excuse not to go out running on Monday after I had ran 7.6km the day before!!  I wasn’t able to make it out for another run until Friday morning where I managed a short 3.7km run.  I did struggle with this run and I think this was because it had been so long since my last run and I was too busy concentrating on the zombies chasing me (this is from the zombie running app, not actual zombies) that I was not thinking about breathing correctly, which is when I began to come into some difficulty

However on Sunday morning after a come dine with me evening with friends I was persuaded by my husband to go out on another long run 9km this time! My husband promised me it was mainly downhill, however after we set off I quickly realised it was all up hill with a short steep down hill at the end!. I should have realised this as we were running in the town where I live and it is built on a hill! To give him his due I think this was his attempt at getting me over my mind block when it comes to hill running, however after struggling and having to walk parts, my mind block is very much still there! I also learned a valuable lesson that day ‘never go running with your partner’.

This week other members within the team have been continuing their training; Trish has now gradually built up to running 5km on a treadmill! Well done Trish.  Dave made it to the gym but realised he had forgotten his headphones and quickly headed home vowing to start his training next week. I call that a cop-out Dave!.

It would be great to hear from anyone else who is running for Scottish Adoption to get in touch and let us know how your training is going.  Also any tips and advice from other runners for me and our team would be appreciated, leave your comments below and I shall try out your tips and report back on how I got on with them.

If you would like to support our runners you can do so by donating to Scottish Adoption by clicking here.

My Marathon Blog

Feeling enthusiastic about my new year’s resolution to get fit I decided before Christmas, along with several of my colleagues, adoptive parents and adoptive teenagers from Scottish Adoption to sign up to the Edinburgh Marathon. I also managed to persuade several of my friends and family members to sign up to the marathon to raise funds for Scottish Adoption.  They all agreed that it was a worthwhile charity to run for, or in other words put themselves through months of torture for!  We could choose to run in the Full Marathon, Half Marathon or the Relay Race and as this is my first race I chose to run the Half Marathon.

I agreed that I would start my marathon training after the New Year.  However, in the meantime I began to look at training plans and guides and began to feel anxious about the amount of training I would have to do!!  All the plans I kept looking at assumed that you already had a level of running ability which I don’t!!  I also bought some new running shoes which involved a horrific visit to a running shop where they made me run on a treadmill twelve times before they found me the perfect trainers!  I was exhausted after that.

Week 1 (7-12 Jan)

After an unhealthy Christmas and New Year I started my marathon training on the 7^th January.  I managed to run for 2.7 miles with the occasional walk.  I was quite pleased that I had not collapsed after the first five minutes.  Feeling quite good about my run on my return to the office a colleague had also been out for his first pre-marathon run and had managed 7 miles!! Now I was starting to worry.  By Wednesday of this week I had developed a really sore back and could hardly walk down the spiral staircase in Scottish adoption.  I was really disappointed to have to delay my training after getting in the frame of mind to run.  By Saturday it had begun to loosen off and I managed to run an impressive 3.5 miles! (Impressive by my standards).

Another colleague who is taking part in the relay race with his children went out for his first training run this week and ended up damaging his knee after running 3 miles, he recovered in a few days.  He has now decided to delay his marathon training until nearer the time.

Week 2 (14-19 Jan)

My back and legs have recovered from week one and I am determined this week to increase the distance I run although it will be at a very slow pace.  After a discussion with my hairdresser who recommended I downloaded an app which allows you to listen to your music and be chased by Zombies I set off on my first run of the week and managed again to run 3.5 miles at a slightly faster pace to avoid being caught by the Zombies!! 

I have decided for my training to run on a Monday and Friday and complete a long run on a Saturday or Sunday and attend my Krav Maga class on a Wednesday.   By Friday I decided to change where I was running as running around my town was proving difficult as I live on a hill and at this stage in my training I am not up to running up hills.  After changing to a flat route I managed to run 7.6 miles and outrun 5 zombies! I managed to repeat this run again on Sunday.  I am just hoping that the snow stays away next week so that I can continue with my training. 

My Colleague who is running the relay race is beginning to get concerned as his children have been attending the gym on a regular basis to build up their fitness for the marathon and they are giving him a hard time as he is going to bring their time down on the day.  He is now feeling the pressure to not let his children down.

This week I have also managed to persuade another two friends to run the half marathon in aid of Scottish adoption.  Scottish adoption is raising money for various funds and projects within our children’s work.  Please click here if you would like to donate to Scottish Adoption and support all the runners who are taking part.