Team Today FM are back for the VHI Women's Mini Marathon 2017 and we promise to be with all 35,000 of you each and every step of the way....well, maybe we'll just get to the 10k first and go from there.
Last year, we walked, ran, jogged and most importantly had the craic and all for a brilliant cause.
(We can assure you, the after pics were less smiles, more sweat)
And on Weekend Breakfast, we'll be following the entire Mini-Marathon story with interviews, playlist suggestions and training tips.
Alison is taking part for the second year in a row, and this week, she started training.
Here's how she got on...
I think that is safe to say, the first is the hardest. It is the idea of the first run that is the tricky part, just getting yourself into the head-space of getting out there again. I kept my training up after last year’s mini marathon until October then like a lot of people once the weather worsened and the days got shorter, it is just not that enticing to get out there and hit the pavement.
But as last year as it was my first mini marathon since 2008 I took my training very serious. I was honestly nervous about running again, because I was so out of practice. A lot of women I spoke to on Saturday Breakfast last year in the lead up to the mini marathon were in the same position. They were getting back into running after having children and their confidence just need that little extra push.
I started my training last year the 3rd week in January and used the couch to 10K app. I really enjoyed it, the app set realistic progress goals and eventually a few weeks into training I got to the point of, if I missed a few days, I really craved it. So having this in the back of my mind, you would think I would be dying to get out there again this year at the first sign of milder weather and sunshine. Yet there was something inside my conscious that said “tomorrow!” everyday, instead of today.
Then this past week I got a shock realising it is only just over 10 weeks until mini marathon. So on Tuesday morning, I got up, had a big glass of water, got dressed in my running gear and out the door before I could talk myself out of it. I was almost 2k into the run before I think I realised I was out for a run! And I enjoyed it. I chose the same route as last year, paced myself but also pushed myself too. I honestly felt great and it was a feeling that lasted for the rest of the day. I immediately felt stronger and actually more confident in how I carried myself, after one run! So I am back, on my training path. I know there will be days that I won’t feel like it and that is okay too. That is what is great about this event, it isn’t exclusively for elite athletes, it is for the mom who has had three kids and wants to feel like her old self again, it is for the recovering cancer patient, it is for the woman who wants to forget about that jerk of an ex, it is for everyone. Let’s do this and happy training.
