Retrospective seasonal felicitations to all!
Week 1 of 18
The first proper week of the training plan. I skipped the interval session due to that little suggestion of flu coming on, but a couple of days' rest did the trick and I was feeling fine again by Christmas Eve, ready for a couple of beers. I made it out for a tempo session on Boxing Day morn in the flatlands of my youth (3.33 miles, 33ft climb). The frost had returned, and it was a joy to be out.
To maintain my policy of never running on consecutive days, I finished the week a day late, this morning. Again, a beautiful crisp morning, the rising sun turning the frosty field pink as it rose in its own sweet time. In the lug 'oles was, as is becoming my custom again, the
Marathontalk podcast. This was a mini version for Christmas, comprising nothing more than an interview with Simon Freeman of
Like The Wind magazine, which I've mentioned before (although never actually purchased). There was much talk of running stories, authentic voices, quality prose, etc etc, which of course set off some wistful thoughts about how the fabulous body of work that is RC could somehow be shared with a wider audience. I've recently worked my way through the
Serial podcast (which I highly recommend) which has beautiful production, and which momentarily inspired me to think about the old podcast idea again. But I think the bottom line is that we need a charismatic presenter, just to link it all together if nothing else, and we just don't have that. Anyway, the interview is worth a listen for anyone who still harbours any of those hankerings.
I noticed that I was progressing at a decent rate, 30 sec per mile faster than last week. Possible explanations:
- hard ground
- started 45 mins later in the morning - slightly more awake
- possibly coming down with something last week
- I'm actually getting fitter
Probably all four made a contribution. Anyway, I was bowling along nicely, and then the podcast was cut short on account of it being Christmas. All I had left on the player was some tempo tunes, so I put them on, and then of course I was forced to run at tempo pace for the last couple of miles, which I must say was good fun and I finished with plenty in the tank. In the end, I finished 6 minutes quicker than last week, which is quite a lot over 6 miles, and included a couple of minutes walking to fiddle with the player.
So, any winter infections allowing, I'm back on the trail, ready for the gentle ramp-up and ready to build some fitness.
Late '14 - Lightly Limbering Up for London
