The long miles...

The long slow run... the hours eaten...  the trainers worn down... hydration juice slurped... instant carbs chewed down...

Today was only a half marathon, 13 miles, a nice gentle pootle up and down the calendar... I was tired from my trip to London, running around playing at being a spy, and then the cramped conditions on the train back.

And the rain was beating against the window...

And I'm enjoying reading the Millennium Trilogy again...

And I have an objective... well I have a couple of immediate ones...

First up is the Excalibur Marathon - 26.2 miles 4750 ft, 12 hours... That's a walk, not a run, not for me...   That's on 31 March... So not far away...

After that its the Belfast Marathon...

which will look a bit like this:





Just your bog standard 26.2 miles.  That's 7 May... So not long away at all...

That gives my training a certain focus...

So I plodded out today, with only a couple of objectives:

1) Don't walk, shuffle if you have to, but don't walk
2) No Heroics - long and steady
3) Try and enjoy it...

And I did... all of them, even enjoy it... Splashing through the puddles, mud splattering up my legs (and somehow my face), never going fast, but with a steadiness I don't always run with...

Ok, the first 1000m out of the traps was a little fast, and a bit of a kick on the heart rate... And then I'm in the groove:-)

So, the long miles begin... and carry on for the next 7 weeks... My reading may have to wait a bit...

TFFN

Paul


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