March 2013

[Sweder]

March madness looms. Long runs joust with work travel and care plans on my ludicrous calendar. Cloning can't come soon enough in Swederville.

February ended with a bit of whimper. Following Sunday's monster effort I squeezed in a couple of mid-week circuits in the field behind our house, working the hills in a series of leg-stretching 800 metre loops.

March is where the hard yards lurk. Adi and some of the JSJers scheduled a 20 miler this Sunday, along the seafront from Brighton to Worthing and back. Ideal prep, fairly flat, all hard-top. I'd planned to bag a new pair of road runners for the occasion, but fate has decreed that I head to Amsterdam on Sunday, returning on Monday afternoon. Hell's teeth.

Saturday is my turn bedside so my choices for this weekend's long run are a) start super early on Sunday or b) run on Tuesday. I'm thinking of a) for several reasons. First up, the obvious one: it'll be done with. One idea is to leave home at around 6.30am, head straight up the W and on via the Snake to the Marina to meet the rest of the JSJers at 8. I can run with them to the top of the YBR then drop down into Kingston Village and home on the road. I tried this pre-Connemara and it worked out well. I just need to figure out my run time to the Marina. If I get back home before 10 I'll just have time to shower, grab my gear and head to the airport.

Another option is to go early, run to Ditchling and back, then take the hounds up to Blackcap. That only gives me fifteen miles, but if I push the pace it'll be a decent work-out.

Can you hear the cogs spinning?