February 2015

[marathondan]

Week 9 of 18

Half term break for me this week, so I've had the luxury of some slightly later runs - the start time has tended to begin with a 7 rather than a 5. And for this morning's 13 miler I treated myself to a full-on mid-morning start. But first there was the matter of breakfast.

No 2 daughter (6) has been doing her cook badge for Beavers, so as it was a Sunday morning, what better task to set her to than a full English breakfast. So I instructed her in the ways of bacon, egg and beans, while no 1 daughter added hash browns, mushrooms, sausages and black pudding, as well as copious tea, which she's become expert at this week. I decided this wasn't the ideal pre-run meal for me, so I sat and ate my bowl of cereal while watching the family tuck into their groaning platefuls.

The run started well, despite the later hour the ground was still firm from the frost, and I covered the first five miles in less than 45 minutes. But as the morning wore on, the surface cut up more and more, the frost was a distant memory, and I was sliding all over the shop. So the final third was a real effort - the poor conditions must have been worth an extra couple of miles. For the first time this campaign, I encountered the urge to stop and walk, but pushed on through and finished in 2:04. Stretches done, I peeled off my barely recognisable shoes and socks outside the door, then made for the kitchen. Two minutes in the microwave, and I inhaled my portion of the fry-up, making a considerable dent in the 2000 or so calorie deficit from the run. 

That was the first really challenging run so far. I get the feeling that the real training starts here. Not sure how much longer I can put up with the muddy slogs. Having said that, they're probably doing me good. And ironically, if I'd gone out at 6 this morning, the ground would still have been hard.

Interval session this week saw the run / recovery cut to 110s / 70s. I'm struggling to get up to a real max effort during these sessions. 

In fancy dress news, I'm probably going to take the fairly straightforward option and go for the gorilla. It's 5 years since Gus made his marathon debut. The step-back 14 miler in week 14 is pencilled in as a full "heavy gear" session - triple layers, ski mask and gloves, woolly hat, etc. Just to remind me of the sheer joy of it.