GP Mind and Body Fitness

02/09/2026

Road to Dublin Marathon | Week 10 | 8 Weeks To Go

A lot of marathon runners quietly sabotage their training... without even realising it.
As your fitness improves, your easy pace naturally gets quicker.

The mistake is thinking every easy run should get quicker too.
Easy runs have a job to do.

They're there to help you recover, build your aerobic base, and arrive fresh enough to get the most out of your next threshold session, interval workout or long run.

If you turn every easy run into a steady run, the quality of the sessions that actually make you faster starts to suffer.

Coach's Rule: Easy runs don't make you fast. They allow your hard runs to.
Coach's Challenge: On your next easy run, forget about the pace on your watch. Finish feeling fresh and ready for your next quality session.

Be honest... what's harder for you: running fast or slowing yourself down?

01/09/2026

Road to Dublin Marathon | Week 10 | 8 Weeks To Go

One of the biggest mistakes I see runners make is turning every threshold session into a race.

Threshold training isn't about seeing how fast you can run.
It's about spending quality time at the right intensity.
Go too hard and you might feel great for a few weeks... but eventually the fatigue catches up, recovery becomes harder, and progress can stall.

The best threshold sessions should leave you thinking:
"I probably could have done one more rep."

Coach's Challenge: On your next threshold session, leave your ego at home. Finish feeling like you had one more rep in the tank.

Do you normally finish threshold sessions feeling controlled, or completely empty?

30/08/2026

Road to Dublin Marathon | Week 10 | 8 Weeks To Go

The next eight weeks aren't about getting dramatically fitter...
They're about becoming more marathon-specific.
The first half of your training plan builds your fitness.
The second half should start preparing you for race day.

That means using your long runs to rehearse: 🏃 Marathon pace 🥤 Fuelling 👟 Race shoes 🍌 Race-day breakfast

Don't try to change everything at once. Pick one thing to practise each week and build confidence from there.

Coach's Rule: Stop just building fitness. Start rehearsing your marathon.

Coach's Challenge: What's the one thing you'll rehearse on your next long run, your pace, your fuelling, your shoes or your breakfast?

29/08/2026

Road to Dublin Marathon | Week 9 | 9 Weeks To Go

I think a lot of marathon runners are asking the wrong question after every long run.

Instead of asking: ❌ How far did I run? ❌ What pace did I average?

Try asking: ✅ Could I have kept going for another 20–30 minutes if I had to?
The purpose of your long run isn't to leave you exhausted.

It's to build endurance, practise your race-day strategy, and leave you fit enough to keep training consistently.

Coach's Challenge: After your next long run, don't judge it by your watch. Judge it by how well it prepares you for your next week of training.

How do you judge whether you've had a good long run?

27/08/2026

Road to Dublin Marathon | Week 9 | 9 Weeks To Go

The weather is changing.
The mornings are darker. The evenings are wetter. And for a lot of runners, this is when consistency starts to slip.

The runners who stay consistent over the next nine weeks won't be the most motivated.

They'll be the best prepared.

Lay your gear out the night before. Charge your running light. Have a towel and dry clothes ready for when you get home.

The hardest part of most winter runs isn't the run... it's opening the front door.

Coach's Challenge: Get tomorrow's running gear ready tonight. Make it as easy as possible to get out the door.

What's the biggest challenge for you when the weather starts to change?

26/08/2026

Road to Dublin Marathon | Week 9 | 9 Weeks To Go
If you're starting to doubt yourself...

You're probably exactly where you're supposed to be.
Nine weeks into an 18 week marathon plan is often when the excitement wears off. The training has become routine, the long runs are getting longer, and it's normal to question whether you're doing enough.
Don't judge your marathon by how you feel on one random Wednesday.

Judge it by the weeks of consistent training you've already put together.

Coach's Challenge: Forget race day today. Just focus on completing this week's training. Stack another good week, then another.

How are you feeling with 9 weeks to go, confident, tired, excited, or a bit of everything?

26/08/2026

25/08/2026

ROAD TO DUBLIN MARATHON

Week 9 – 9 Weeks To Go
The Biggest Mistake I Made As A Marathon Runner...

For years, I believed every good session meant I had to push even harder the following week.
A great tempo? Run the next one faster.
A great long run? Make the next one longer.
I thought I was building fitness.
I was actually building fatigue.

The biggest lesson I've learned over the years is that marathon success doesn't come from winning one training session. It comes from putting together months of consistent, sensible training.

Coach's Challenge: The next time you finish a brilliant session, don't ask, "How can I do more?" Ask, "How can I recover well enough to do it again?"

Have you ever fallen into the trap of pushing harder after a great session?

RoadToDublinMarathon DublinMarathon MarathonTraining RunningTips ConsistencyWins

20/08/2026

Some of the best training days aren't the ones that go perfectly... they're the ones you almost didn't do.

Today didn't go to plan.

Work was busy. I was coaching the juniors. My own run got pushed back.
A few years ago, I probably would've written the day off.

Now I just adapt.

Because consistency isn't about following the perfect plan every single day. It's about finding a way to keep moving forward when life gets in the way.

Coach's Challenge: The next time your day doesn't go to plan, don't skip the session. Adjust it, then move on.
Have you ever nearly skipped a run but ended up being glad you got out?

18/08/2026

Road to Dublin Marathon | Week 8 | 10 Weeks To Go

Missing one run won't ruin your marathon.
Trying to make up for it might.

One of the biggest mistakes I see is runners adding extra miles or extra sessions because they feel they've fallen behind.

The reality is, marathon fitness doesn't work like a bank account.
You can't make two deposits tomorrow to replace the one you missed yesterday.

The runners who succeed aren't the ones who train perfectly. They're the ones who accept the occasional missed session, get back to the plan, and stay consistent over time.

Coach's Challenge: Missed a run? Don't try to earn it back. Focus on making your next planned session a good one.

Have you ever tried to catch up on missed training? What happened?