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Well here it is. The very first Melita Fitness Guest Blog. Chris thought it would be a good idea. We’ll see…
Hi, I’m Katie, the stereotypically loud American in the group. Mum to Carter and Sienna, married to Paul and part time worker in the world of tax. I signed up to Melita Fitness just shy of 18 months ago, first training with Chris 1:2:1 and then joining the fun of the group sessions.
Well, I’m training to run the London Marathon. I must be mad. Yes. The joke on the street is that I only entered in the hopes of meeting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. They are the patrons of Heads Together, the charity I’ll be running for. If last year is anything to go by, it might happen! Or not. Run 26.2 miles. Raise £2,000 for a charity that I feel passionate about. Realistically NOT get to meet the Princes. It’s OK. Still #winning.
Of course, there is another side to the story. I’ve always enjoyed running. I tried basketball at school, but never made enough free throws. So, the coach had me do shuttle runs for the whole practice as punishment. I soon hung up my hi-tops for a set of cross country spikes and never looked back. Fast forward to 2009 and there I was lining up at the London Marathon. It was an incredible day – top 5 in the life experiences bucket for sure! But, I missed my target time by 16 minutes. Deep down, I knew I would probably try again. Except, life/kids/work got in the way. Running and exercise generally went down the priority list.
Enter Melita Fitness. Chris helped me re-focus my priorities and showed me how rewarding strength training can be. But I couldn’t shake off the running bug, so I asked Chris to train me for the Surrey Half Marathon. She helped me smash my goal – I was stronger and faster than I ever imagined at this stage in life. So, when the London marathon place came up, I couldn’t turn it down. And Chris agreed to be my trainer again. Yay! So, here we go. The goal, of course, is to beat my 2009 time. AND shave off a further 15 minutes. Yikes, lots of work to do.
So, how’s the training going? Wow, week three already and it’s hard work. It’s been a shock to the system off the back of Christmas and a busy time of year at work. Physically, my legs have been pretty fatigued while I get used to the intensity again. British weather is not fun to train in. Mentally, it’s a rollercoaster. One day I smash a session and feel like I could conquer the world. The next, I’m battling to just finish the run without stopping.
There are some positives, though. I have this nervous, excited energy in anticipation for my speed and hill sessions. I’m ready for the challenge, and it’s fun! There is a sense of accomplishment every time I tick off another completed session. Chris squeezed two group sessions per week into the programme, which means I still get to see all the lovely Melita Fitness ladies, as well. The long runs on the weekend give me time to clear my head away from the chaos of family life. And despite the weather, so many people are out on the roads training for other Spring races, so I never feel alone out there.
As for the sessions that didn’t go to plan? Well, I finished them. I can learn from them. I made a note of what worked mentally to keep me going all the way to the end. I have a feeling I’ll be needing a few of those tricks up my sleeve in the weeks to come. Stay tuned to hear how things are progressing later in the programme!
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