17/06/2026
Road to 13.1
Sometimes the smart decision is the hardest one 🤦🏼♀️🏃🏼♀️
Sunday was supposed to be my longer run.
The plan was simple: start increasing the distance and begin building towards the half marathon.
What actually happened?
I got up late.
Changed my route at the last minute.
My knee decided it wanted to remind me it exists.
Hayfever suddenly turned up uninvited (where that came from I’ve no idea 🤷🏼♀️).
And after 9km of a mixture of running, walking and massively questioning my life choices, I found myself with a chest that felt ridiculously tight and wasn’t improving.
Eventually I did something I really don’t like doing.
I admitted defeat and called Mr W for a lift home.
Disappointed doesn’t even begin to cover it.
I was frustrated, annoyed and convinced I’d let myself down 😡
But after a much-needed pep talk from Mr Westwood AND Mr Walker, I was reminded of something important.
Sometimes discipline isn’t about pushing through.
Sometimes discipline is knowing when to stop.
One of the things I love about our martial arts family is that we don’t just encourage each other to step outside our comfort zones. We also provide the voice of reason when needed.
We push each other to be better.
But we also remind each other to be sensible.
To respect our bodies.
To trust the process.
And to remember that one bad run doesn’t define the journey.
So I took a few days off, reset mentally and physically, and focus on building consistency before chasing more distance.
And because of that…
This morning I was back out there.
A steady 7km.
In the rain.
(Which was actually quite warm, because apparently British weather has completely given up making sense. 🌦️😂)
The pace was slower.
I walked when I needed to.
I listened to my breathing.
I respected what my body was telling me.
And because I did that, I kept moving forward.
No PBs.
No heroic distances.
Just a reminder that progress isn’t always about going further or faster.
Sometimes it’s simply about showing up, being smart and living to run another day.
🥋🏃🏼♀️💪🏻
