I wouldn’t say it’s been ideal preparations building-up to my first marathon.
The half-marathon down in London went really well a couple of weeks ago and I was happy with how I felt and the time I posted.
But I’ve not been able to do much since then because of a niggling injury around my shin.
After I’d had my last physio appointment on Friday, though, I was always going to give it a go.
I’ll be at the start line on Sunday morning and whether it takes me three-and-a-half hours or six hours to complete it, I’ll push as hard as I can to get it done.
Finishing a marathon is something I’ve always wanted to do.
I’m sure that if I do get round, I’ll come away thinking there’s a better time in me.
Having to pull back rather than push on over the last fortnight has been a shame.
But whether that means I’d want to run another one, we’ll have to wait and see!
Even though the competitive side of me will kick-in at the starting line, the thing I’m most looking forward to is being a small part of such a huge event.
Take it from an Olympic champion… 🥇@evemuirhead picks the three songs that supercharge her @londonmarathon training runs 🏃♀️
— BBC Sounds (@BBCSounds) April 15, 2023
There was an amazing atmosphere on the streets of London for the half-marathon and I know Sunday will be on a completely different level to that.
Most of the runners will have their own stories of doing it for someone else – and putting themselves through a lot of pain in the process.
Seeing the sense of achievement when people are raising money for charity or running in memory of someone who means a lot to them will be so inspirational.
Mind you, if someone dressed in a fancy-dress costume goes past me, that’s when I’ll know something really isn’t right!
- To support the Doddie Weir Foundation click on the link to my fundraising account here – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/eve-muirhead
I was back home in Blair Atholl at the weekend and Dad and I were talking about St Johnstone after the result from Livingston came through.
It doesn’t feel long ago I was at McDiarmid Park watching Saints beat Rangers so for Callum Davidson to lose his job and the team to be struggling is a real shame.
Every sport has its own way of doing things and it’s absolutely in football’s DNA that if things aren’t going well it’s the manager who pays the price.
While it’s pretty brutal, the fact that it works a lot of the time means you can’t realty argue with that policy.
It certainly isn’t a thing in curling.
Very rarely will a high profile team or country make a change at the top in the middle of a season. It would nearly always be at the end.
The players are the ones in the spotlight.
Mid-season coaching changes would raise eyebrows.
Mind you, all it takes is for it to have a big, positive impact for one team and you might see others following on.
That’s how it works in sport.
Whether it’s changing a coach, a team line-up or something else behind the scenes I do think fresh ideas and fresh voices are crucial.
For St Johnstone’s sake, hopefully Steven MacLean will prove that theory over the next few weeks.
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