Don’t tell Richard I said that! So that was
really surprising, then I started to think
maybe I can do this!
How has your sister and everyone else
reacted to you being in print?
My sister has been brilliant, she’s my
number one fan. She is a runner and she’s
wanted me to be in her little running club
for the longest time, and I just think she’s so
happy that finally we can do this together.
Because we don’t spend that much time
together [usually], she’s got every long run
between now and April scheduled together
one way or another. Everyone’s been really
supportive, actually. I thought a few people
would be like, “You’re crazy!” but everyone’s
been really positive.
What have you found toughest? You’ve
blogged about how getting the little
things right has been tricky...
Definitely that. I’ve got to the stage now
where it has to be... maybe not my number
one priority but certainly my number two
priority and that realisation has been tough
for me. Also, in terms of the training, coming
from a tennis background where I’ve been
so competitive, the thought of being a not-
very-good runner is hard to take. I have to
fight that competitive urge all the time and
then I get really disheartened. Changing my
mindset has been difficult.
How do you deal with those negative
thoughts?
You just have to get on and do it. As soon as
you start to think on it and brood on it, for
me, that’s when I start to procrastinate. I just
have to do it almost without thinking about
it. I really didn’t want to do it yesterday but I
took my daughter to school and left myself
no alternative: I walked to school so I had no
choice to get in the car, I just had to walk to
the gym and do it. So I don’t give myself an
easy way out.
What are you enjoying most about your
training at the moment?
There’s a sense of accomplishment, the
feeling that I’m pushing myself to do this,
that’s given me a little confidence boost. I’m
enjoying the time, getting out and having an
hour of thinking time to myself. I’m really
enjoying keeping up with the others and
being in our little team. We’ve got a little
Facebook group where we keep in touch.
I run vicariously through Alice!
How’s your fundraising for Save the
Children coming on?
We’ve got a couple of things in the pipeline;
we want to do a couple of big community
events, both where Kim lives – she’s really
involved in her tennis club so we want to
do something there – and then where I am
with the mums’ groups. We’ve got big plans!
At this time of year people get bombarded
[with marathon fundraisers], so we wanted
to do something different where you’re not
just giving money, you’re going to an event
or something.How did you find the shoe fitting?
It was really good, I felt a bit like the bionic
woman. I really enjoyed it, it’s nice to feel a
bit like a professional runner and have thingsTwitter: @LeanMcdaniel18looked at properly. When I played tennis I
used to get my shoes fitted, and I’ve been to
a couple of Up and Running stores and had
my gait done on the treadmill, but not with
the bionic dots before!THE COACH’S VIEW
Leah had a difficult time over Christmas and New
Year with her daughter being ill and then
catching it herself. She’s recovered now and
getting right in the thick of it again. She’s showing
admirable tenacity. In our training session, she
did really well with 4 x 3 mins off 90secs
threshold, although she went off a little too fast.
Leah is very tight in the hip flexors so we went
over some good stretches that she can do to
mobilise her hips. This will help her to run easier
and faster. Some good consistent weeks will get
her back on track.womensrunninguk.co.uk MARCH 2017 89