76 days to go…

As is befitting for someone with my condition, the last couple of weeks of training have been up and down. A 34 mile week, then 6 days off with a strained quad, then 30+ miles again, topped off by a fairly quick 15 miler yesterday.

The 34 mile week was a particularly good one, with a strong hill sprint session on Tuesday, and a beautiful, life-affirming Sunday morning run up into the Cotswolds.  Icy and clear, through a nature reserve, across fields and  on quiet country roads.  Along the way I spotted a muntjac (not my first running experience with a deer), and was worryingly followed overhead for a little while by a buzzard.

I also did part of the route with another runner, which never would have happened in London.  Like on the Tube, you don’t talk to strangers in the city while out running, whereas here it seems to be mandatory to talk, or at least say hello to others out on the road or trails.

Although that other runner was the cause of my six-day injury layoff.  We met near the bottom of a steep hill, and we were so busy chatting that I didn’t notice how fast we were going.  It was only after she revealed at the top of the hill that her next race was the National Cross Country Championships that I realised that I’d pushed it far to hard.  We went our separate ways not long after, but by then the damage had been done.

Still, the one benefit of the injury was that it allowed me to try out my new training strategy.  Unlike in previous years, where I had a meticulously structured training plan and obsessed over keeping to it, this time I’m just going to listen to my body, push it harder when I feel up to it, but also give myself time to rest if it’s not feeling right.  So far it’s working.

My fundraising has also started to gather pace. I’m now just under £900, with plenty of time left until race day.  If you would like to donate, please follow the link https://team-mq-london-marathon-2017.everydayhero.com/uk/updownrunner.