What I talk about when I talk about the Melbourne Marathon.

In August 2010 I was 10kg overweight having succumbed to a sedentary lifestyle in my late forties through working as an IT Architect. In my twenties I'd been a professional ski patroller and mountaineer. Although I'd done some running, I'd never taking it seriously. In April 2010 while nursing my new born son Angus late at night, I watched a documentary of an overweight Russian film maker's journey to running a marathon, despite his friends derision.

By August I found myself up at 6:30am feeding Angus everyday with time in hand afterward before beginning work. With no more notches to let out on my belt I figured I'd either have to get moving, or start buying some new clothes. I also wanted to be around as my son grew up. So I started to run in the mornings after feeding Angus - or to be more precise - walk. I followed a 6 week program of walking leading up to running 10 minutes with 5 minutes of walking either side as a warm up and cool down. In the next month I built up to 30 minutes of running. In November I began training for the Mo Running 5km fun run.

Around that time I also picked up Haruki Murakami's "What I talk about when I talk about Running." Equal parts travelogue, training log and reminiscence, the book covers Murakami's four month preparation for the 2005 New York Marathon. Here is a Buddhist quote from the book that has become my running mantra:

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."

Inspired by both the Russian film maker, Angus and Murakami, I began considering running the Melbourne Marathon in October 2011. I kept thinking about running the marathon as I staggered over the Mo Running finish line. I then embarked on a gradual build up over the last six months before making the commitment of registering for the marathon on October 9.

I begin my 18 week training program leading up to the marathon on the 6th June, this is a blog about that journey.

Sri Chinmony Running Festival 10km - 29/5/2011