May the road rise to meet your feet...

[marathondan]

Woo hoo RCers - a week on from the half mara and things are still smoking in MLCM Town.

Huzzah!

Personally I have another week to go of extreme busyness, which is preventing any running. But as soon as the dust has settled I'll be taking inspiration from your progress and hitting the road again.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I've worked in my current place of employ for nearly three years now and it was only yesterday that I discovered that there is a running group here! (I should say that there are over 2,000 people in the building, and after 3 years I've met hardly any of them). So today I did something very unusual for me - I packed some running gear along with sandwiches and my book (for the train of course) and snuck out at lunch time for a run with the running group.

Wow, what fun! A mix of all sorts from rank beginners to 3:30 marathoners plodding various length circuits around Darling Harbour, which I've previously written about. And a great running venue it is, too.

So a new source of fun for MLC Man and another way of squeezing in an extra run or two.

About 7.5km in about 40 minutes. Top fun!

Added bonus - the employer quite generously subsidises the group's entry into various races and provides corporate logo'd tech running vests!

Score!

[ladyrunner]

Well done MLCM - glad you enjoyed. How often do the running group meet?

Julie

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Well done MLCM - glad you enjoyed. How often do the running group meet?

Julie

The group runs on Wednesdays, but apparently do ad hoc runs on other days as people are free. I'll be keeping spare running gear in my locker in case from now on.

[glaconman]

That's the ticket.

Funnily enough there's been a few runs at lunchtime where I work recently. Just a few of us doing about 4 miles once or twice a week. But I think it's a good approach to get lots of short or low-intensity running in with maybe just one big weekly effort.

Nothing quite as spectacular as Darling Harbour but a good mix of fields, woods and tracks. And as long as you don't push too hard it's a great way to spend your lunch hour. Anything to stop me reading newspapers.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

The schedule called for an easy 5km. But dammit, I stopped by RC first and read Bierzo Baggie's training blog and well, I just sort of kept going. BB is an inspiring kind of guy. Not only does he write great stuff about his own running but he writes phenomenal pieces about other runners and races, and it kind of just gets under my skin and makes me want to run too (and run in Spain)...

...and so I completed 17km instead of 5 and made a bit of a mockery of my carefully prepared, planned and spreadsheeted training schedule.

But it's nice to know I can do that kind of distance virtually on a whim. And I did feel bloody fabulous for hours afterwards.

Thanks, BB.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Rounded out week 10 of serious training with another reasonably rapid 10km hilly circuit in 59 minutes, giving me a total of 44 km for the week, which is one of my better efforts. Nice to see quite a few other runners out there this morning, too. Nice range of runners from newbies to serious athletes, and all of them pretty friendly. And you can include in that list of newbie runners my #1 sprog who took up the challenge and came out with me yesterday to complete his first ever 5km effort. He has his eye on the half marathon in September and should get there easily at the rate he's progressing. It's great to have another runner in the family!

As for me, well so far, nearly 300km into this round of training everything's holding up pretty well. The knees are a tad sore but nothing worrying.

Still need to do more hill work though. Never mind, this coming week sees the first entry into the schedule of hill repeats.

Can't wait.

[marathondan]

Sounds like you're going great guns MLCM. You're ploughing a bit of a lonely furrow at the moment, sorry many of us aren't around much to cheer you on. But I'm sure I'm not alone in lurking with avid interest, even if I don't get around to posting much.

Good to hear that you're ready to take it up another notch and hit the hills. This is inspiring stuff!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I'm sure I'm not alone in lurking with avid interest, even if I don't get around to posting much.

Quite alright Dan - doubtless you're busy preparing your next major running costume..?

[Sweder]

Definitey other lurkers about.
Fo sho.