The plan said six miles today, but I settled for 4.2. My excuses were pretty watertight: a hard day in the garden, and a few beers the day before. It would have been unwise to place further stress on a man in such a delicate condition.
Yes, after two weeks of alcohol deprivation, it seemed only reasonable to visit the pub yesterday, to ensure that standards were being maintained in my absence. I’m pleased to report that things were pretty shipshape.
Today I was up early, half-intending to run before breakfast, but I was just too hungry to survive another hour without food. Grapefruit, banana, honey, homemade bread and freshly squeezed apple juice. As breakfasts go, what could be better?
Hmm, how about bacon sandwiches with ketchup, and strong sweet tea? Or fried eggs on toast with HP sauce. Sausages and tinned tomatoes with fried bread? Beans on toast with Worcester sauce? Or…
The trainers finally emerged after 6pm, just as the sun vanished for the day. With a 10K race next Sunday, the plan was to run the same distance today. It’s a few weeks since I’ve run 6 miles.
It was a struggle. There was no real pain – no stitches or cramps. But I was hot and dehydrated, and on a windless, heavy evening, I seemed to be fighting for breath from the start.
I was ready to stop after three miles, but pushed it on to just over four. Pretty small beer for someone intending to run another marathon this year, but I’m still regaining lost fitness, and am happy with the progress so far. The distances aren’t increasing much yet, but I’m running around a minute a mile faster than I was three weeks ago, so I’m happy. I’m also ten pounds lighter than I was then.
Funny how you can sometimes pick up the best information from a footnote. I’d been looking for another race in early August, and came across a half marathon trail race in Liphook, West Sussex that looked interesting. The description did mention that it was a fairly hilly race, but tucked away at the bottom of the page was this rather vivid snippet of information:
Important note: There will be no advanced life support ambulances at this event, and be aware that the nearest hospitals are some way away.
Hmmm….
