How to overcome marathon fears

How do you overcome marathon fears? Good question.

October has been tough. The fear of the marathon is very real and I've been struggling to focus on any of the positives. My head is filled with worst case scenarios -waking me at night and giving me adrenaline filled palpitations during the day.  What if it rains heavily? What if I get cramps? What if I hit the wall? What if I get stuck behind 22,000 other runners? What if I don't make it to the finish line? What if, what if, what if...

So, in a bid to remind myself of some of the good stuff, I'm doing what I always do in these situations - writing it down. 

So, how to overcome marathon fears? Remember that...

1. I actually like running. 

I need to remind myself of this fact. The 6am rises on cold, dark mornings have almost knocked it out of me. 3 miles out, 3 miles back, up that godforsaken hill day after day after day has left little love left. But those weekend runs along the seafront or taking on a new trail that I've never done before - that's where it's at. The space and time and endorphins and energy that I get from running are all good. I just need to remember that. 

2. I've done the training.

I couldn't be more prepared than I am now. I've put in so many months of training, following the plan to the letter. Hundreds of miles clocked up. Three 20 mile sessions and countless other 'long' runs. I'm as ready as I will ever be. 

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7/30. If you need me I'll be on the floor. 🥵 . . . #30daysofme #30daychallenge #marathontraining #ipbig #epig #trailrunning #dublinmarathon #running

A post shared by Kate Gunn (@katetakes5) on Sep 7, 2019 at 10:17am PDT

3. I'm lucky 

I have no injuries, no coughs or colds. 

4. Visualisation

I've been mentally visualising myself running over that finishing line. Whether it's 4 hours, 5 hours or 7 hours - I will get myself over that line one way or another. And I'll still have done a marathon. 

5. Support

I've had incredible support over the past few months. So many messages of advice and positivity. Not to mention the incredible donations I've received to the charity I'm running for. I couldn't be more thrilled and humbled. Thanks to every one of you. I'll be picturing your hands on my back pushing me along at the tough points. 

Ok that's all I've got.  Hopefully it's enough. We'll see in about 3 days time...

I'm running the Dublin Marathon on Sunday 27th October 2019. If you'd like to support me and help the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People in Dublin - you can donate here