My pretraining aims were simple and few. Run faster over shorter distances, conquer my fear of hills, gain control of the asthma, and lose a few pounds in weight. In varying degree, I’ve done all of them.
It isn’t strictly true to say I’ve lost weight. I haven’t. But I have definitely changed shape a bit, and for the first time in over 20 years, I find myself contemplating a pair of little hollows at the base of my neck. If I tense my jaw muscles very hard, and sort of grimace, I can deepen these hollows until I can see my collar bones. Isn’t that lovely? I’d completely forgotten I had any. I shall track their re-emergence as a sort of bony barometer of my new-found athleticism.
My first week of training hasn’t exactly gone to plan, but I’m not too despondent. Today, I was supposed to do a 6k cross-country in lieu of a long run, but I made the mistake of looking up last year’s results. Assuming a similar field, I estimated that I would have been last by around 10 minutes. I don’t mind being last (it often happens) but I do like to be able to see at least one other runner’s back in front of me. As it ‘appens, it would have been even worse – this year’s field was smaller and faster, and I had no regrets about my decision. Kudos to speedy club-mate Ali, who came around 6th, and to the chaps, Dave, Tom, Chris and Rick, who between them took 4th place in the men’s team event.
My sensible decision (aka total wimp-out) means I have to find another long run. So tomorrow I’m off to do a slow trot round Eccup in the early morning. Eight miles (ish), so not exactly enormous, but better than the big fat zero currently sitting in the spreadsheet. As long as I get another 10-12 miler in on Friday, I’m pretty much back where I should be.
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