The Big Catch-up

Hello everybody! Is there anyone there? Maybe “everybody” speaks of a plurality that does not exist. Oh, it has been a long, long time since I last posted here. Hence the title. It has been quite a challenging start to the year with bugs and a persistent feeling of fatigue. This may be partly linked to having a lack of focus for my training, but even when this was rectified (more in a later post, I’m not ready to go public yet with my next running venture!), it still proved difficult to get going. For the sake of completeness and as a toothing stone for my next post, this is what I have been doing training-wise since my last reported dreadmill run on 13th January…

20th January
I spent most of the morning doing some energetic housework. Later, I went for a swim. Gentle session, with some nice stretching in the pool.

27th January
Still feeling poorly. I made the effort to do a bit on the treadmill in the gym – a gentle 2.88km, but with quite an incline, so I climbed the equivalent of 109 metres.

3rd February
Nothing.

8th February
Back on the treadmill – 3.34km, ascending 129 metres. Like an angel?

12th February
Treadmill again – 3.25km, ascending 126 metres. This is starting to sound like the shipping forecast – I’m veering south-west and losing my intensity.

3rd March
Starting to emerge from feeling quite poorly. A gentle swim. That’s all. But felt nice.

[I had another gentle swimming session between these two events, but I can’t remember the date. It was a bit further and a bit more energetic than on 3rd March.]

15th March
At last, out in the fresh air! It is difficult to describe the sense of freedom I felt, letting my legs just take me wherever they wanted at a pace that felt good for them. The sun was shining too. I chose a stretch of the Brampton Valley Way (going south from the Draughton crossing) because it is soft underfoot and relatively flat. This was after all a “recovery” run, so no time for heroics. Returning to imperial measures – 2.66 miles. I saw daffodils and horses. On my way there, I heard “Run for Home” on the radio. Auspicious.

8th April
The same route as on 15th March – a little bit further (2.76 miles) and a little bit faster. One needs patience to recover.

My next post will pick up from here with today’s (12th April) run. I’m sure my fellow runners reading this will identify with the frustration of not being able to run, the joy of being able to run again, and the struggle (physical and psychological) to regain those lost levels of stamina.

As ever, run free and enjoy!