Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

Back On The Road – For Real

by Russell Turner - 16:06 on 02 March 2018

Today was the day when I made a second attempt to resume my marathon preparations. This time the outcome was more positive.

My effort began this morning with all the usual stretches. Then I togged up to meet the Siberian wind in vest, T-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, jacket, running tights, jogging bottoms, hat, gloves and Buff. And shoes and socks, of course. Then I performed some bonus stretches, as directed by Coach Matchgirl. Then I stepped outside into a landscape barely sprinkled with snow (Matchgirl is most unhappy with its lack), hoping I could run for at least 20 minutes.

The plan was to do a warm-up walk to my usual starting point then walk a further half mile along a straight and mostly sheltered stretch of road to ensure that my calf muscle was completely ready for action. It was.

Five six-minute back-and-forth runs returned me to my starting point where I resisted the temptation to run on and turn 2.6 miles into three. I would have had to run past the point of my breakdown, which felt like pushing my luck. The icy wind gusted only occasionally and by the end I’d removed hat and gloves. The calf remained fine. My London hopes are intact.

All being well I’ll still feel fine tomorrow and on Sunday will be ready to do a slightly longer run, maybe 40-45 minutes. (The official training schedule will now have to serve as a guide while I make up a new programme as I go along, in consultation with Matchgirl and Adam the Physio.)

Fifty days to go. The Cats Protection runners have arranged a get-together at the Expo, the day before The Big Day, and some time next week my final instructions will arrive in the second marathon magazine. It’s getting very real.

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