London Marathon #3: 18 weeks to go

Training proper has commenced. I've spent the past week running (mostly virtually) all over the world:

• Tuesday: Tempo run in Aguti Reserve, Costa Rica

• Wednesday: Recovery run in Tanzania, at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro

• Thursday: Interval run in Ngong Hills, Kenya

• Friday: Recovery walk/run in Mai Chau, Vietnam

• Saturday: Long run along the ancient Nakasendo Trail, Japan

• Sunday: Easy, progressive run around the streets of town

• Monday: Walk to Rubicon Lighthouse, Lake Tahoe, California

One of the pearls of wisdom that grabbed my attention this week was about managing stress through focusing on productive stressors and letting go of those things we have no ability to control or influence. Productive stressors are the things we can take action to change, we can set a goal, make a plan, create a new habit or routine. Many of the stressors in our lives today relate to our health. So often we hear people say, I should eat better, I should exercise more, I should go to bed earlier, should, should, should....

We want to do these things to ensure we optimise our quality of life, not just for today, but for all the days to come, to prevent even bigger stressors coming into our lives. This is not just to benefit ourselves, but also those we love and those who love and depend us. There we have it: Creative tension - there is a gap between what we want to be doing and what we are actually doing! This causes us stress! The good news is this is the type of stress we can do something about.

The interesting thing about reducing the stress gap around our health is that it creates a positive loop. The healthier we are the better placed we are to manage all stressors in our lives, mental, emotional and physical. The trick is to start somewhere, decide on a goal whether that's going to bed earlier, or eating more fruit and veg. Make a plan to achieve that goal, be specific and use "I will..." language i.e. "I will eat at least one piece of fruit every day for six weeks." Monitor your progress towards your goal (this is your output) and also any changes in how you feel (your outcome).

I was also reminded this week of the importance of choosing to add fun to the equation, when my son sent through a screenshot of his SANTA run...how cool is that?

Embracing creative tension, and choosing to have fun with it, is what inspires me to get up each day and do the "work" to achieve the goals that are important to me.

"To have the view from the mountain (your outcome) you need to spend time in the valley (your output)" - reinterpreted from Andy Andrews