Just 51 days till the London Marathon and Lorna has discovered a new, more positive, attitude is helping her in the gym.

Name: Lorna
Age: 30
Goal: To finish better than last year!
Marathon history: One marathon under belt – London 2013. Finished in 4hrs 54 mins
What I learnt this week: To quote from one of my favourite films ever – Wayne’s World – when it comes to strength training its best to “Live in the now”. 
 

Lorna displaying a PMA!

I’ve got to up my game. There are just 51 days till race day and I’ve got to MOVE. The problem with this being my second marathon is that I often lull myself into false thought – “I know I can go the distance” , “I remember what it all felt like”, “I know I can do this” and so on, and so on… here’s the thing – if I maintain that attitude I’ll barely make it past the first few miles.

Yes, I’ve done it before, but if I want to do it again I need to approach it like it’s all new each and every time I train – whether it’s out for a run or throwing weights around in the gym. I’ve used  excuses (stress, work, diet etc etc) far too much this time round, and as I started a new training week I decided to walk in with a new attitude – one that’s way more positive and ‘in the moment’ than I’ve adopted previously and one that holds me fully accountable for my actions. (Yes, that’s always been the case, but I’ll hold my hand up and say I’ve often looked to blame other things/circumstances when my training has dipped!)

This week I’ve focused on bringing my new, improved attitude into the gym. My confidence with weights still needs some work, and I need to face my fears. I train with two different trainers and this week they both noticed a difference in what they got out of me – they had a more honest, less stressed Lorna who was way more accepting of ‘failure’ and way more excited to push a couple of boundaries. Something clicked and strength training became a little more honest rather than competitive. It was about how to improve in that current session rather than focusing on what I did previously. Feeling this way made me feel like I’d achieved so much more than in previous sessions – I cleared more inches on my box jumps, I  beat some personal bests with my upper body workout  and I continued my stretching regime all week. That’s the thing about strength training, the second you start appreciating what you’re doing in the moment is when you start really improving. I was continuously focusing on needing to improve on the past week, always asking if that weight was better/those reps were stronger etc etc – and this week I realised that that has been a big part of what’s been  holding me back. Live in the now, train in the now!

Weekly training stats: 30km run this week

Friday 14 Feb
60 min strength session with a personal trainer. Stress levels were high, body was tired, so this was more restorative than anything else. Lots of assisted stretches and some light upper body work.

Saturday 15 Feb
A windy, rainy, slow 25km

Sunday 16 Feb
A little 5km run in the park to stretch out the legs

Monday 17 Feb
An Active Rest day – 50 mins yoga at lunchtime.

Tuesday 18 Feb
60 mins strength training with a Personal Trainer. Today this included core work, plyometrics, some leg strengthening work, stretches and swearing.

50 mins of more core blasting yoga at lunchtime

Wednesday 19 Feb
5km run with Nike+ Run Club Holborn

Thursday 20 Feb
Rest day

Follow Lorna on Twitter @shoebird
Read Lorna’s previous blogs here