Spring marathons or autumn?

On my run today, whilst being blasted with gale force wind and stopping to pick out bits of dust that kept being blown in my eye, I started reminiscing about training during the summer. Last year when I was training for Athens I did the bulk of the work during the long days in July and August, when I could head out for a run at any time that was convenient and always knew what to wear (i.e. something cool). Now, whilst the weather has given us some amazing runs lately (see my photos below for evidence!), these last twelve weeks of training for London have been much harder going, and harder to stay motivated for. Who wants to head out when it's cold, wet and windy? I never know what to wear on long runs because it fluctuates so much between sunny and sub-zero, and my runs have been affected by gales, hail, slippery roads, floods, snow, and having to plan routes around well-lit areas on dark winter's nights. Thinking back over it, I think autumn marathons will be the way forward for me in the future. There is something about a sunny day that makes me feel excited to go on a long run, hell I'll do it just for an excuse to be outdoors, so my training over the summer goes more smoothly, but in the gloomy days of February I sometimes found it hard to even get going.

I also remember how hot it has been on occasions when I've been to watch the London marathon. If there is a heatwave on the day (which is apparently likely for this year too, yikes!) then it seems to me you get the worst of both worlds with spring marathons- slogging through training in the miserable cold and then risking your performance and health in the heat on the actual race day. At least if there is a heatwave while you are training in the summer you can choose to run in the coolest part of the day, but in a race there is no escape.

We're still a month away from the marathon, but as you can see, I like to get my excuses in early!