Training for Surf T Surf 10k and Cadbury Marathon

This is just an update to let people see how I am approaching the upcoming Cadbury Marathon in Hobart, given I have a local 10k race the weekend prior, it has presented a few challenges!

It's no joke, 2013 will be a challenge, I've never ran this many events ever before, but I do believe the training I've put myself through for Comrades has me more than prepared for the tough challenges ahead!

A summary of 2012 and the goals for 2013!

I don't want to bore you too much and since many other bloggers have already posted the same stuff, I just want to close off 2012 with a summary of my running achievements for the year!

I was impressed that @paulrunslong was able to cover this same information with a single tweet - well done mate, who needs a blog!

Total running distance for 2012: 2012 km

It became apparent that I would break 2000km for the year, which quickly changed to a goal of 2012, so I made a point to stop running for the year at that total exactly!

Here I am being all happy with my 2012th kilometer for the year!

Racing schedule changes... Wedding beats GCM!

So I recently had to drop the Gold Coast Marathon off my list for 2013. This is because my mate @beefysworld is getting married, and as much as I would love to do GCM, I love this guy too much to miss his wedding!!

The lovely couple (left of picture) rocking out Stampede Melbourne this year!

This means I've had to shuffle my schedule again, now I will be taking on the Brisbane Marathon instead! Head on over to my schedule page for the latest details.

There were quite a few people I had planned to meet up or run with for GCM so I'm sorry we won't be able to this time around! As an aside, this gives me a chance to remind you that if you are planning on running or spectating at one of the events I will be at, please get in touch as I would love to catch up with you sometime around the event. I would like to organise a dinner the night prior to each race to catch up with twitter and Facebook friends.

First off will be Hobart, so if you are going to be around for the Cadbury Marathon and would like to meet up with me (and my cute little daughter) the evening prior to race day for some steak and chips - drop me a line on fb, or twitter or leave a comment below!

Virtually Racing a Half Marathon

So I noticed the chatter on Twitter recently around the hashtag #VirtualHalfMary and curiosity got the better of me!

Now aside from the fact these wacky internet people have shortened marathon to mary (come on its mara, just because your iphone autocorrects doesn't mean its right), it did sound like a fun thing to be a part of!

It's not virtual running, it's a virtual event!

Organised by @marathongrl71 and @runnermommy2008 for the 22nd Dec 2012 with the simplest rule. Run 21.1km (they keep saying 13.1 miles, wacky imperial system) sometime on the 22nd Dec and tweet your time to participate!

Running against your will

I recently went for a run with a friend of mine who is really just starting out.

We managed over 6km at slower than 8min/km but, there are a LOT of people out there who would be envious of a 4km walk.

Now I know I'm a regular runner so I might seem a bit pushy, but my friend could run so much harder than she believes, I can honestly tell!

So I spent the whole time trying to talk over her in an attempt to overrule her strong will for defeat.  What shocked me was how well she has herself convinced that she is unfit and how much she can't run!

Her self doubt and expectation of defeat is so strong that it almost seems to permeate every facet of her life.

Now this is my point of writing tonight: we all want to give up at some point, but pushing passed that mental barrier really builds up your self confidence.

I hadn't realised this before, but it can have a ripple effect on your entire life; next time you struggle pulling on your runners, try to remember you're running for life!


So what are your suggestions for motivating someone who is mentally strong but negatively charged?