Monday, 22nd February – 62 days to go

When I get up on Monday morning I’m feeling remarkably chipper. No particular aches or pains or after effects from yesterdays exertions. I don’t get complacent though; previous experience suggests that if I get away with no ill effects the day after exertions then they may catch me up the day after that. I don’t understand the science of this but know it to be true. Another bit of science that I can’t get my head around is the recovery run. I would think an extra hour in bed would be far better for me, but there’s no point in getting someone who knows about these things to come up with a programme if you’re not going to follow it.

The snow has almost disappeared from the pavements and road, but I still choose my trail shoes as there may well be some tricky bits. I set off on a familiar route up Church Hill and Old Lane then round Hilton Grange. Briefly onto Harrogate Road, back down Old Lane to Occupation Lane, Moorland Road and home. About four miles in about 40 minutes. Can’t be more precise as I didn’t wear a watch.

In the evening I go alone to Tony’s as Liz is away with work. Warm up then a mixed circuit of upper body and core. I’m knackered at the end of it, particularly my arms.

When reflecting on my long run I was pleased I’d done it in spite of the weather. There were mixed reports from others who went out. Liz Memory Mapped the run for me and it turned out to be 16.3 miles. One hour twelve out and one hour twenty two back.

I was completely surprised to hit the wall at only 15 miles. I thought this happened around 20 miles and wasn’t allowed on a training run, just reserved for a proper race. In retrospect I should have taken out gels and drinks but I don’t like carrying stuff. I’ll not make the same mistake again. I should have kept up with Marathon Talk. Due to incompetence I only got round to downloading the first six podcasts last week. I was going to follow Tom’s Venice Marathon tactics and catch up slowly over a few weeks but have realised that the advice is time specific as well as generic. Will catch up in this week.

Even though I’ve done both my long runs quite slowly I’m not discouraged by progress to date. I’m a little behind schedule but should be able to get back on track without pushing too hard.