This weekend I received a ‘Keep On Running’ journal from Paperchase, it could not have come at a better time! In less than four weeks, I will begin training for the Berlin Marathon. Last year I completed my first marathon in London and it was tough! I trained for fifteen weeks, a combination of endurance training, hill session, strength / resistance workouts and LOTS of stretching. Throughout my training, I experimented with different ways to fuel before, during and after long runs. This is the part that went wrong on the day, I didn’t take on enough fuel during the first few hours of the race, so I hit the wall at mile 19 and the rest of the race was a struggle.
This year I’ve adapted my training plan and I’m meeting with a dietician for advice about fuelling. I’m hope that the second time will be slightly less painful than the first. This time I have a twenty week training plan and I can’t wait to get started!

I absolutely love journaling! Every Sunday evening, I review my goals and write a plan of action for the week ahead. I plan my work commitments, personal/ family time, training schedule and short term / long term goals. Writing in a journal helps me to stay focused and motivated. I often ask ‘Do your actions match your ambition?’ If the answer is yes then I believe, you can achieve anything! But if the answer is no, then you have to make a choice. Either change your actions or change the ambition. With my eyes fixed on the finish line of the Berlin marathon, I know I’ve got a lot of work to do!

The ‘Keep On Running’ journal is brilliant! It has pages for you to write your own training plan, track your progress and record your personal best times. It’s also really useful for keeping all of the race info in one place. The location, flight details, contact numbers etc. I’m going to add all of my other races for this year to the journal too.

If you’re running a race this year, I encourage you to get a journal. Just by writing out your plan, it will make you are more accountable to yourself and ultimately this will help you to get to the start line feeling ready to take on those miles. Remember that a plan is just a plan, you can adapt it if you need to. Sometimes life get’s mega busy, you might be ill for a week or you may get injured and need to take a few days off. Making changes along the way is okay, as long as you ‘keep on running’.

If we are not connected via social, hit me up @adrienne_ldn, let’s chat and let’s run!

This blog post is a partnership with Paperchase