|
No-Excuses-Vember
Time to put thoughts of monkey suits and the like to one side for a while. It’s November, and marathon training needs to start.
Mon 2nd Nov
Faced with a week of 5+ hours travel per day, the only option this week is to get some running into my journey. So this morning I ran down to the station, and then later from Paddington to King’s Cross, with full pack (including laptop), and work shoes tucked under my arm. It felt pretty awkward and unpleasant, posture and gait seemingly all over the place, but it was ultimately satisfying and a good way to open my training account. I repeated the same in the opposite direction (shoes mercifully left at the office this time), a total of somewhere in excess of 8 miles over 4 legs. That’s already exceeded my total for October.
Tues 3rd Nov
The shoulders are sore today, but hopefully I’ll manage the same again tomorrow. By hook or by crook, 3 runs per week is now the target.
Weds 4th Nov
Same again this morning. Again, the gait felt awkward to start with, but soon settled down. Calves and quads felt tight as I pulled uphill out of Paddington, but I think that’s a result of stopping and then restarting (and no stretching, natch).
Then I spectacularly fell over along the Euston Road – fortunately, on a wide and empty stretch of pavement. I managed to stagger wildly for about 5 yards, before rolling onto my side and almost cushioning the impact. I even remembered to put on a reaction of self-anger, palms slapping the paving stones in disgust – you know how we elite athletes get angry with ourselves when we fail to perform – in case anyone was watching. But I don’t think they were.
It’s a nice novelty to be running though London early in the morning, particularly just as the sun is coming up on a crisp autumn day. And the first leg, straight out of bed and out into the dark, isn’t so bad either. Maybe this time round I’ll embrace early morning runs a little more.
|
