Training for any race takes a tremendous amount of commitment, not only on running the various sessions in a programme, but often in just planning them! This can often be just as difficult, life just gets in the way. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all just eat, sleep and train, and let other people sort out the rest of our lives?
Unfortunately we cannot live the life of an elite athlete and we have to fit our training routine into everyday life. Becoming a committed runner means it is easy to let things get out of hand. Dedication to the cause is both necessary and rewarding, but it is also very easy for dedication to slip over into obsession, and that is never a good thing. It is very easy to neglect family, friends, and your job.
You need to ensure you do not forget the people around you who are supporting your training. This happened to me when training for my first marathon. During the final 4 weeks running the marathon was ALL I could think about. It was the most important thing in the world to me, and I would never tire of talking about it. What I sometimes forgot was the fact that some people may be less interested than me – as work colleagues at the time would no doubt testify – or even worse, they may not be interested at all!
It is important to focus on your training and be dedicated to your running. But beware of the fine line between that and obsession.
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