Well, it's official! We're 90 days out from the Swansea Half Marathon, which means that it's time to get down to the nitty gritty of training and preparation for the big event. As many of you who have read my blog before will know, I'm a sprinter through and through and have never run this type of distance before. But the reason I'm doing it is quite possibly one of the most important reasons why I've ever run...
When I started athletics 15 years ago, the only person I'd ever heard of with diabetes who did sport was Steve Redgrave. Which was great, but he was a rower and not someone I was likely to be able to train with at my local athletics track. Back when I first started athletics there was not that much information on managing elite level sport and type 1 and I would think nothing of travelling over 3 hours from where I lived to see a specialist who might offer some advice or information in this area.
Fast forward to today and much has changed. I've met a handful of athletes in athletics who have type 1 and are smashing down the diabetes barriers to compete, I've met a coach and even had my first experience of running in a relay race with a fellow type 1. Communities have sprung up all over the place online and include the Parkrun diabetes running group for people with all variations of the condition. But when I was working my way through the minefield of managing diabetes and sport back in the day and feeling quite alone in terms of community, if you had told me that there would be a group of over 100 runners planning to race together in a half marathon I'd have hoped, but I might never have believed it, but this is amazingly where we are today and this is why I'm getting involved.
I don't know all that much about long distance running, so this really is going to be a community effort where I'll be drawing on my previous knowledge from the track and learning from the hints and tips of already established runners. My initial plan at the moment is to divide my week into long distance runs for endurance, shorter more intense runs for strength, light weights for strength endurance and core training too. But all comments and encouragement will be welcome and I'll do my best to document my journey from 100m to half marathon on here and on my social, so remember to check it out.
When I started athletics 15 years ago, the only person I'd ever heard of with diabetes who did sport was Steve Redgrave. Which was great, but he was a rower and not someone I was likely to be able to train with at my local athletics track. Back when I first started athletics there was not that much information on managing elite level sport and type 1 and I would think nothing of travelling over 3 hours from where I lived to see a specialist who might offer some advice or information in this area.
Fast forward to today and much has changed. I've met a handful of athletes in athletics who have type 1 and are smashing down the diabetes barriers to compete, I've met a coach and even had my first experience of running in a relay race with a fellow type 1. Communities have sprung up all over the place online and include the Parkrun diabetes running group for people with all variations of the condition. But when I was working my way through the minefield of managing diabetes and sport back in the day and feeling quite alone in terms of community, if you had told me that there would be a group of over 100 runners planning to race together in a half marathon I'd have hoped, but I might never have believed it, but this is amazingly where we are today and this is why I'm getting involved.
I don't know all that much about long distance running, so this really is going to be a community effort where I'll be drawing on my previous knowledge from the track and learning from the hints and tips of already established runners. My initial plan at the moment is to divide my week into long distance runs for endurance, shorter more intense runs for strength, light weights for strength endurance and core training too. But all comments and encouragement will be welcome and I'll do my best to document my journey from 100m to half marathon on here and on my social, so remember to check it out.
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