Day -178: For Shadow

After 1,800km completed over 20 weeks, we’ve done it. Shadow and I have completed our training for the London marathon. 

A marathon that Shadow will never complete. Not that I think she wants to. Shadow doesn’t like people or crowds. She doesn’t like having to be on her lead or not being able to stop and sniff. She also finds it hard to run on the roads - the tarmac hurts her paws. 

So she doesn’t mind that she’s missing the big day. 

But I do. 

Aside from a few sessions that I have had to do on the bike, one long weekend in the Lake District and a training run in Windsor Great Park, Shadow has done every single session of my 20-week marathon training block. 

She encouraged me out on the cold, hard winter sessions; me in a head-torch, her with my bike light blinking (until I decided to buy her a light-up collar). She raced me in the pace sessions and humbled me by sprinting after a bird or a stick (or away from a dog) after eight intervals at 3m/km. She trotted glumly behind me at the end of 36km, having not realised earlier on in the run that she should have perhaps conserved her energy, or maybe eaten her breakfast before heading out. 

She’s slept off the aches and pains, barked at me while I’ve attempted to swim out the lactic acid in a freezing cold North Sea, and shared the odd burger or bacon sandwich. 

Shadow has been the best training partner in the world. I’ll run the 26.2miles on Sunday for both of us. 

And on Monday (or maybe Tuesday), we’ll go back to our quiet runs on the beach. I’ll listen to a good podcast and she’ll hunt out big sticks. And afterwards we’ll share a bacon sandwich.