The rest of 2011 - between marathons

[marathondan]

Enjoyed a couple of barefoot 1 mile runs last week. Hard on the calves and Achilles but I can feel it doing me good. I can see, as advised by all those who know, that this however needs to be a very gradual buildup, and not something that can be taken on in a big way at the start of a marathon training programme.

So, with a marathon 5 months away, I need to build some mileage. I'm convinced that my recent ankle trouble has been exacerbated if not caused by plodding the same circular route on concrete in heavily cushioned shoes. So I want to get off the concrete and to a lesser extent get out of the cushioned shoes.

My best option for offroad running is a patch of (flat) heathland fairly close to home, which is about 1.5 miles around. Three reasons for running here: 1. reduced impact on the joints; 2. variable surface for ankle strengthening; 3. soft enough that I can try a short run in flats maybe once a week to try and gradually reduce my heel-cushioning dependency. (I found an old pair of imitation Converse in the back of the cupboard which will serve the purpose well.)

I feel that I won't get too many arguments against these goals around here.

But I do almost all of my running after dark, and I have never run offroad in the dark before, and to be honest I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to pitch blackness. So last night I borrowed a head torch and went for a lap around the green.

And it was fine. Really you're never out of sight of the lights of cars or houses (including one particularly fine one with a well-lit conservatory that wouldn't shame Kew Gardens) or indeed the general atmospheric glow of South-East England. It's no remote fell or moorland, that's for sure. It was a nice night, cool and still with fine drizzle playing in the LED beam. And having walked up on the pavement, I finally appreciated that phrase well-loved of a certain nearby diary, "yielding turf".

So for the time being, it looks like the offroad, organic, no artificial additives, VLM 2012 training plan is on. Very gentle outings for the rest of the month to rehabilitate the ankle. Build to a modest 15 miles a week through December. Hit the plan at Christmas.