Be careful what you wish for

October 17th:

Sadly some runners will be desperate to run the London Marathon & bite the charity bullet. Where as in previous years I'd entered, been turned down & said I'd wait another year, this time around I want to run a marathon. I want to see how I can perform over 26 miles so in 2015 I'll find a race, sadly it won't be London.

November 20th:

Just after that October blog was posted, the Berlin ballot opened, I wanted in to the Marathon party so signed myself up. A mere four weeks later (something London should really take on board), I get back from my lunch break & see that Joel posted his acceptance on Facebook. It dawned on me, D-Day had arrived.
The sense of anticipation grew as I launched into my email. Sure enough there was something there from the Berlin organisers, I couldn't be sure if it was good or bad news from the subject so opened it up & scrolled down to the English section.
I was in, I'd drawn a spot in the ballot and would be running my first marathon. The news took a while to sink in, a full marathon to run. It was a prospect that held both fear & excitement. The joy of finally making it through a marathon ballot & the chance to test myself over 26.2 miles & the fear that I had made it through the ballot & now had to prove myself over 26.2 miles.
Joel & I chatted through the afternoon, getting flights & hotels booked before availability got snapped up, both of us trying to take in what we'd signed up to.
And with everything now booked, there's nothing else to do for now. The marathon is just under ten months away & the best thing I can do is embrace this period of rest & recuperation until Christmas. My current goal is to recover from the multiple training plans over 2013 & 2014, not consume too many mince pies & start 2015 feeling injury free & mentally refreshed.
My 2015 schedule is essentially in three parts. January to March will be all aimed at the Cambridge Half & potentially a 1:50 attempt. Then, from mid April the marathon training will begin, to also include the Endure 24 hour race in June that'll be a completely different experience for me. The final phase will be post September 27th, where with a marathon medal to hold I will be taking another break, a chance to take in what looks to be another good year of running.
I wanted to run a marathon, now I have the opportunity to. Be careful what you wish for indeed.