Far From Flabby February

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I have another three runs to report since my last entry, a sapping, nearly-didn't-get-it-finished 8km toughie, a long slow 14km that went well but left me sore and tired, and today's zippy little 5.4km effort up in the mountains of Arcadia (actually the Blue Mountains, but it was damned nice).

The first of the three was a street run and surprisingly tough to complete. To tell the truth though, I probably set myself up for a bad run following my overly optimistic smugness after my previous run which went so well.

The long slowie was done on sore, tired legs, but completed well enough. I was shocked, and genuinely so, upon entering it into my running log to discover it was my longest run in 21 months! I mean, good God, I knew last year I had been a little slack, but I didn't realise my decrepitude had lasted so long. Nothing for it therefore but to roll up the sleeves and get stuck in again and try to make amends.

The making of amends however was going to have to wait an extra day, as sore quads and shin ligaments (whatever they are called) were serious enough to require an extra days rest. A weekend of R&R at the family cottage in the Blue Mountains was just the ticket, and this morning a 5.4km jaunt in the cool mountain air proved that everything was right again. Mission accomplished: rested and recuperated. Time now to move on.

The long slow run scheduled for later this week has stretched out to 16km, and with race day currently just a tick under six weeks away, this is about where I wanted to be. Sore legs or not, I am pretty much on schedule and having a blast, so it's looking good. I just need a few more hills to be feeling really good about it all.

Oh, look what I have right on my doorstep ... hills!

Sigh.