Day 9
Breaking the rules of the Beginner Half Marathon Bible by swapping our rest days. Childcare and family life are getting in the way so no run tonight. Spend the time googling stuff about running injuries and adding more and more unneccessary items to my online shopping basket.
Day 10 Wednesday
Feeling fantastic! Apart from the small issue of soaking feet and terrifying a man staggering back from the pub. I am fairly sure he though he was being stalked by a serial killer as I kept what I like to call sniggering, but what probably sounded like the hysterical keening of a psychopath to him. Details to follow.
We managed an epic 8.8km tonight with no stops. Need to plan our routes better though as we aren’t tackling very many hills. A great feeling run though, it turns out the strategy of lowering the pace to a more manageable level until we can comfortably do a 10k, is a winner. It’s when we come to add in speed and elevation gain that we’ll be screwed.
Back to the stalking incident. We come back to our starting point at about 7.5k and decide to press on for a bit longer. V is a native and therefore it would be safe to assume that she knows her way around these parts. Apparently not. Our throbbing metropolis – pop. 4200 – may as well be twinned with Beirut when the way is led by someone with the navigational skills of a teaspoon. We take a turn into an area I don’t know at all but which she assures me she walked through to get to school…FOR 7 YEARS. Her memory is clearly in need of a little something from Paul McKenna, as we take not one, but four wrong turns down dark lanes and blind alleys, as well as one memorable jaunt across a pitch dark, boggy, dog doo laden park. Much hilarity ensues. V confides that her pelvic floor is not what it once was and admits she… “may have wee’d a bit back there”. While joyfully reliving the moment on my run home, I inadvertently scare a chap half to death by yelping and snorting while I am two steps behind him. The noise he made was even funnier.
Day 11 Thursday
Frustratingly, no run again. Children and family life really are getting in the way of my training schedule. The freezing temperatures and the fact I’d be running alone had absolutely nothing to do with it. At all.
Day 12 Friday
Again no run. Had hoped to get out today but all it took was a call from an old friend and the offer of a lunch date to wipe the thought from my mind in favour of a couple of hours of calorie laden pleasure. N is out tonight so no chance of an evening jaunt. Instead I pour a gin and plan our route for tomorrow. We have a one hour window between hungover husbands and children’s activities. We’re aiming for a 10k in that time.
Day 13 Saturday
Hungover husband staying in bed. Children plonked in front of telly. Wife and mothering duties complete. Absolutely lashing rain and freezing. I hate this. Am losing ability to form proper sentences also it seems.
Our plan is a 10k – ish, around the loch. We power on through to the park and are hit by icy wind as we turn the corner to meet the lochside trail. Curses! Charles Charley Charles and the Admiral of the Fleet (or other similar toffs) are visiting the big house and spending their leisure time killing stuff. Path is closed for estate shooting. Damn you landed gentry!
We are cold, soaked, losing the will to live and both have other places to be in an hour. Have definitely found that having a planned route in advance is highly preferable to faffing about during the run trying to ascertain which route would give us the best distance/gradient/challenge. Feel free to interchange the word “best” with “easiest”. We plough on for 8k or so and head home a bit deflated and very wet. There are many more highs and lows associated with running than I ever imagined. Today was a low.