As predicted, the weekend was a running-free zone, so I sacrificed my rest day today to do the long run that was scheduled for Saturday. Fortunately it was a ‘step-back week’ this week, so the long run was only 5 miles.
I ran the canal towpath again, though this time I found a way back around the block rather than just stopping and running back the way I’d come. It meant running a couple of miles along the A4, the antithesis of the canal, but the variety was welcome. The time for the 5.57 miles was 59:14, which works out at 10:38 per mile. That’s pretty good for me, especially as I started off at a very leisurely pace. With about 2 miles to go, I decided to try and get home in under an hour which meant a sudden acceleration. I could feel myself striding much faster, and with a kind of bounce in my step that you don’t get when you’re running slowly. It was tough, but I made it with 46 seconds to spare. I have to be a bit careful in these situations however. I had a pronounced pain in my left calf as I got home. I don’t think I’ve done any damage but I need to be aware of the dangers of pulling a muscle. But overall, a great run.
Had a fab weekend. Saturday was spent in London. Saw the matinee performance of My Fair Lady at Drury Lane – a great production, with Trevor Nunn back to his best RSC form. After a wander round Covent Garden we meandered over to St James’s for an excellent meal followed by Louise’s 40th birthday party in the smart bar downstairs.
Sunday: FIFA had considerately arranged the World Cup Final to be played on my birthday. A good game too. Rather rashly I decided to have a bet on Germany to win. They lost. Then we had a long lunch with some friends who’d come down from Yorkshire for the weekend. Lots of cheese and pate and wine, which I suspect are not recommended in Nancy Clark’s new book on marathon nutrition that I keep reading about. But you don’t have too many birthdays each year, so again, the words “what the hell…?” spring to mind. In fact it was a “what the hell?” weekend from start to finish.
I remembered while chatting to one of our friends yesterday that the last time we’d seen her, just before we moved south, I was feeling elated because I’d just managed to run my first 3 miles without stopping. That was last December. Since then I’ve run a marathon, a 20 mile road race, two half marathons, and am training for a second marathon. Amazing what the body, even one as creaky as mine, is capable of.
