"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." - Albert Camus
We are not yet in the depths of winter. In fact, we have only just today brushed the dust off the heaters and readied them for their first use of the season, almost certainly this evening. For today it is cold, wet and windy: a more winter-like day is hard to imagine. Harder still to imagine is how Albert Camus managed to find his inner 'invincible summer' as quoted above. But good luck to him. Perhaps I should read more of his work, for I'm sure there's much to be learned from his wisdom which can be applied to the humble distance runner.
So very far from finding my inner 'invincible summer' was I this morning, that my planned early long run didn't get underway until 10 o'clock, an absurdly late time, but it was so cold that I remained in bed far longer than intended. No matter, it's a day off with no major commitments other than the running schedule and the usual list of domestic chores. The cold does tend to sap my enthusiasm as well, but once underway a little motivation returned. It was to be a repeat of my previous two long runs of 90 minutes at a slow pace, followed by half an hour at race pace. I thus spent 90 minutes dreading the thought of upping the speed to what seemed just then to be nothing more than foolishness, but of course, knowing that it's entirely possible having successfully done it on both of the previous two weekend long runs, I had little choice but to stick with the plan. Of course, it all went just fine and another two hours plus session gets put in the log.
Thus endeth my third consecutive week of over 40 kilometres, this one being the longest. It's also my final long run before the half marathon tomorrow week, with just a week of mini-tapering to come. Tapering for a half does seem a little unnecessary, especially as I'm unlikely to set anything resembling a decent time, but I am due a step-back week anyhow, so it seems to fit well.
While the last twelve weeks of training has gone very well, any thoughts about inner heroics or invincibility a lá Albert Camus, is definitely out of place. Last year I prepared for the same race by running over twice as many kilometres as I have managed this year, and still I failed to break the two-hour mark (albeit by just 17 seconds). So it will be a case of just seeing how I feel on the day and trying to get around the course without doing anything silly and without being physically sick.
No, my sight is fixed on other races, further ahead, and the long, cold, lonely, winter of training to come...
"Nothing burns like the cold." - George R.R. Martin
Mighty May
