09:44 20 miles 2:35:51
1 7:35 2 7:31 3 7:33 4 7:33 5 7:43 6 7:38 7 7:40 8 7:35 9 7:43 10 7:51 11 7:50 12 7:50 13 8:04 14 8:11 15 7:45 16 7:55 17 8:23 18 8:04 19 7:53 20 7:36 Average 7:48 min/miles
Eureka! I have solved the law of marathon training! It can be explained through the following simple equation, LR=bw2. That’s if LR = Long Run, and bw = bad weather. Einstein eat your heart out, E=mc2… rubbish!
I didn’t run yesterday. I was going to do a steady 4 miles, so that, if the weekend went to plan, I would achieve 60 miles for the week. There has been talk on a few blogs recently regarding setting targets, such as weekly mileage etc. and running for the sake of attaining these targets. I have fallen into this trap over previous weeks, but not now. What would have been the benefit of four slow miles? That’s just making unnecessary washing, and believe me, we have more than enough washing in the pacepusher household… we keep Persil in business!
So yes, another weekend, another long run, and another atrocious days weather! Wind, Rain and even a little sleet… thank goodness for my new Gore-Tex jacket! Michael (The Headless Chicken) joined me for my run today and made it look a lot easier than I did. I didn’t have a great run. By half way I was feeling great, and the splits were pretty much what I was aiming for. However, the second half of the run was uphill and into a headwind, thus the split times suffered (just see miles 13 and 14!), and I was slower overall than two weeks ago. Mile 17, 8:23 minutes, didn’t involve me losing a limb and hopping. Yes I was tired and sore, but traffic actually held us up for a good while!
I think my legs are still feeling the effects of last weekends antics, along with a couple of relatively hard sessions during the week. I’m glad ‘The Chicken’ joined me today as I don’t think I would have made it out of the front door if I’d been running alone. The weather was that bad.
The Headless Chicken had a lesson in the art of the French language during the run today, after I was forced to have a discussion with a taxi driver regarding his driving ability. Speeding up towards two people running across the road, and then sounding your horn aggressively whilst finding the time to wind down your window and engage in conversation, is a fine art… but a flippin’ stupid one! You guessed it, today’s ‘How Annoying?’ award goes to said taxi driver. Please attend 123a St Vincent Street, Glasgow City Centre, at 08:00am tomorrow morning. I won’t be there, neither will your certificate, but you’ll be mighty annoyed at losing a fare… unlucky!
Half a mile into the run, we were passed by Comedy Dave’s vehicle from their Radio 1 Sport Relief Challenge. Their aim is to run a mile at each Scottish and English Premiership football ground. So as we headed off for 20 miles, Chappers and Dave were heading towards Love Street (St Mirren’s ground) to run 1 mile. Yesterday, while they were live on the Radio just before running a mile at Kilmarnock. Chappers was receiving a sports massage in preparation. Does anybody else think this excessive? It’s only 1 mile, 4 times a day, with significant rest. I ran 20 miserable, painful miles. Did I get a massage? or chauffeur driven to my next destination? No. I drove The Headless Chicken home, then went to my Brother and Sister in-laws to help tile their bathroom. Welcome to the real world eh?
Finally, well done to Barnsley FC who have just beaten Chelsea 1-0 in the FA cup! Being a Bradford City fan, I’ll support any team from Yorkshire. Oh, except Leeds United… and maybe Huddersfield Town!
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