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.

Tweaking The Plan

by Russell Turner - 15:44 on 05 September 2021

The running life was a lot easier when lockdown meant everything was closed, there was nowhere to go and nothing else do to (except watch TV and read, of which I did lots). Now City Limits is busy again, marathon training has to fit around some late nights and long-distance travel.

The last two weekends found us travelling to Alness and Inverness, which were easy enough to work around, but this weekend was more of a challenge: Inverness on Friday night, when I got home at 1am; Wick last night, a 200-mile round trip and home for 3am. At least the gigs were worth the travel.

My plan called for modest runs on both the following days before an 18-miler on Monday. That was the plan, anyway. I could have put in a run yesterday, between lie-in and 4pm departure for the Far North, but couldn’t find the enthusiasm, even though I knew I’d feel better for one. Today, the cumulative effect has left me even less inclined to venture out.

As we’ve another two-gig weekend coming (both in Inverness, fortunately) a revised plan seems to make sense, so long run day for the rest of the programme is now Tuesday; tomorrow I’ll do one of the two runs outstanding from Week 12. Week 13 begins on Thursday and ends with my longest long run, of 20 miles (maybe), the following Tuesday. Then it’s a gentle downhill to Loch Ness Marathon day on October 3, a year and a day since my last 26.2 miles when I netted my 4:37 PB in Virtual London.

I’m still optimistic that the 4:30 barrier can be breeched. We’ll see. The Rural Retreat remains Covid-free but the plague has made several appearances around the Black Isle. How close to it I’ve been in crowded pubs and wedding receptions I’ll never know.

Four weeks to go, if I can stay healthy.

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