Edinburgh no more...Cardiff here we come

It’s been a tricky few weeks, not in any real sense of course, I’ve been going to work, coming home, and repeating over and over. Compared to the lives of two thirds of the world it’s been absolute unbridled bliss and luxury.
However, in my own little corner of the world, I have been struggling over what to do regarding the Edinburgh Marathon, looming large on the horizon.
Basically, for reasons I can’t quite understand, the momentum in training I’d built up during the harshest winter for years, which saw me losing more than two stone and getting up to 15 miles in distance, has fallen more flat than George Osborne’s plan for economic recovery.

How I would probably end up during the marathon

The last few training runs where I’ve attempted to step up to 17, 19 and 20 miles have all ended badly, hobbling home, and consoling myself with a bag of chocolate Buttons and a bottle of wine. I don’t know what’s more tragic, my pathetic whining and failure in training, or the fact I’m morphing into some kind of male Bridget Jones.
So, anyway, I’ve made a decision based on what I think is the best option in terms of what I feel I can actually achieve, at the same time as honouring my commitment to Cancer Research UK and St Peter’s Hospice.
Having already run a marathon in 2010, I know that I’m not ready to go the distance on May 26 in Edinburgh, and I don’t think it is going to do any good to try to run it and knacker myself halfway through because of a lack of training, and end up hating the idea of running for another three years.
The whole point of applying for the marathon in the first place was to give myself the motivation to get off my backside and start running again to get fit and healthy. Not to break myself on the Royal Mile.
So instead of the Edinburgh Marathon I have decided that I am going to keep training through the summer and run the Cardiff Half Marathon on October 6.
I am still determined to raised £1,000 for Cancer Research and St Peter’s Hospice, and to uphold the memories of all those who initially motivated me to do that. It also means that all of you who have sponsored me so far, and I thank you all for your amazing support, can rest assured your donation will still count towards me pushing myself to the limit and running until I chunder.
In the parlance of management speak, I am realigning my long-term objectives, having seen what success looks like, and going forward will be drilling down to a more realistic achievement scenario.
So, it’s Edinburgh no more, but Cardiff and a summer of training around Bristol, here we come.