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.

Listening To My Body

by Russell Turner - 17:07 on 11 May 2021

No-one can call me inflexible. I’ve ditched the four-week 10k training plan, before I even started it, in favour of a nine-week half marathon programme. On reflection, I decided that the 10k plan was too intense when what I needed was something easier. Matchgirl keeps telling me to listen to my body, so I have.

This means that today, rather than seven miles including intervals, I ran an easy 5k as the first step towards the Leamington Spa Half Marathon on July 11. And, as the last week of the plan is also the first week of the next marathon programme, it was the first step in 24 weeks’ training for Yorkshire on October 17. It will be here before I know it. Sub 4:30 is the target, or faster if all goes well.

Life might get in the way of the athletic preparation, though. The final long run weekend before the marathon includes two wedding gigs – a problem my training’s not faced for more than a year – and there’ll be more gigs along the way as life gets back to normal. Not that I’m complaining too much. It will be good to play – and earn – again.

A more immediate obstacle might be a summons for jury duty in June when, if needed, I could be one of 15 angry men watching proceedings in Inverness Court from a socially distanced remote seat in Eden Court. My last summons, to Dingwall Court, found me superfluous to requirements so there’s a good chance it will happen again. If not, training will have to take place early in the day or in the evening, almost as if I were a 9-to-5-working runner. I don’t know how they cope.

Even more immediate is the result of some surprisingly successful applications for remote tickets to BBC shows. Next week I’ll be able to watch on my MacBook as Mock The Week is recorded, then The News Quiz two days later. A week after that I have another News Quiz ticket. Either I’m very lucky or not many people apply in the Highlands. Fortunately it will be no problem scheduling runs around my cultural activities.

Best of all, I should be full of health because on Friday I’ll receive my second Oxford-Astra Zenecca jab, just before the Highlands goes down to Level 2. Matchgirl and I will be able to dine out again. It’s long overdue.

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