Road to Sydney: Marathon Training Diaries – Week 4
When The Weather Tests You.. and You PB Anyway 👊🏻
If Week 3 felt powerful, Week 4 felt… soggy.
Relentless rain. Cancelled plans. Aborted runs. Staring at the sky like it personally owed me something.
But sometimes training isn’t about perfect consistency — it’s about sticking around long enough for your moment.
And mine came on Sunday 💚
Monday: HIIT & Heavy Skies
Another wet day.
15 minutes HIIT on the treadmill (thread life continues 🌧), followed by a strength session focused on legs.
Nothing glamorous. Just solid work:
Leg strength
Conditioning
Keeping momentum
When the weather won’t cooperate, you adapt.
Tuesday: A Window of Sunshine
7k.
Cold, but the sun actually showed up. The rain paused just long enough and I practically sprinted out the door before it changed its mind.
Those winter sunshine runs hit differently. Crisp air. Bright skies. Instant mood shift.
Short but very sweet.
Wednesday: Run Club Cancelled
Too wet.
Run club cancelled.
Honestly… will this weather ever improve? It’s starting to feel personal at this point.
Sometimes the smartest session is the one you don’t force.
Thursday: Life Happens
All-day off-site meeting.
No time to train.
And that’s real life marathon training. Work commitments don’t disappear because you’ve entered a race. You juggle. You adjust. You move on.
Friday: The One That Got Away
Running kit on. Fully committed.
Then the rain started.
And didn’t stop.
Then the wind joined in.
I spent most of the day peering out the window between meetings, convincing myself it might ease off.
It didn’t.
I just couldn’t face the treadmill again. Another run aborted.
And you know what? That’s ok too.
Saturday: Reset
Recovery & Rugby day.
A gentle lower body stretch session.
No pressure. Just movement.
Sometimes the body needs space before it can fly. Well done to Ireland who smashed England at Twickenham today, my lucky socks did the job.
Sunday: Burghclere 10K — Community, Family & A PB 💚
The local Burghclere 10K Fun Run.
A proper chip-timed 5K & 10K organised by the village — and we made it a family outing. Sunny and Iyla both ran too.
There is something very special about racing on roads you train on most days. Even more special when they’re closed to traffic and filled with your community.
One very tough hill at 7k (rude).
But overall?
I PB’d.
50:36 (watch time)
51:34 chip time ⏱️
7th female to finish.
But the stat that made me smile the most…
🥇 1st in my age category 👊🏻
After a week of rain and cancelled runs, that felt particularly sweet.
And the best part?
Sunny and Iyla both ran PBs too.
Team Chind showed up 💚
Week 4 Reflection
This week reminded me:
You won’t always get perfect training conditions.
You won’t always feel motivated.
You won’t always tick every planned session.
But show up when it counts.
Run in your community.
Run with your family.
Push through the hills.
And sometimes — after a very wet week — you’ll surprise yourself.
Very grateful. Very proud.
On we go. 💚
