The Ups and Downs of Running

[Nigel]

Encouragement to run can be a good thing, SP, but only if you're not still sore after your marathon. What is it - just six weeks since Dublin ? A mammoth, legendary effort then in the closing miles, as I recall. It takes time to come back after such heroism.

Your disinclination to run far at the moment sounds reasonable to me. Long slow training runs are survivable but racing is different. All that running when you're burning muscle past 20 miles in a marathon causes physical damage you need to repair. Not to mention the mental anguish of counting down the yards to the finish and your first Guinness.

How many marathons are you going to run in your lifetime ? Probably not that many. Are you Paula Radcliffe in disguise ? Probably not really. So taking an extra week or two after such a mammoth achievement looks like far less of a risk than coming back too soon.

Taking Liz's suggestion of scheduling some 15 minute jogs on sunny days sounds like a good way to ease yourself back in before Christmas - and avoid speedwork or long runs until the New Year at least. Then it's resolution time, and you'll be up and running, rested and round as a plum pudding....!