Ape-ril

[marathondan]

Week 16 of 18

Not very much to report here. As soon as the last long run was banked, my motivation went into shutdown as my subconscious knew that the hard work had been done. As a result I was unable to get my arse out the door, and ended up skipping my two midweek runs. After a pleasant weekend I was sufficiently with-it again to go out for the tapered long one last night, 12 miles offroad. It's lovely to have reached the point where such a run feels like little more than a brisk stroll. If only I could maintain that level of fitness all year round. 

After a sunny day, the conditions were relatively balmy and I was in t-shirt and shorts despite the late evening hour. Going underfoot was firm, possibly even a little too firm for my liking. The moon wasn't yet up, the stars were putting in a decent effort through broken cloud, but by the end it was the darkest out there that I can remember; there were a few stretches of complete inability to see my feet. A serious fall or twisted ankle would be the icing on the cake right now, of course. But that will probably be my last dark outing on the rutted paths.

This is by far the most relaxed I've ever been, two weeks out from a marathon.