14 October: Short Long Run

Compared to a 10K race, a marathon is a long, long way to run. Most people think of travelling 26.2 miles on foot in one go as a tough ordeal, which certainly helps the 8-hour jogger/walker raise enough charity money to buy entry to the London marathon, and good luck to them too.
On the other hand, compared to a long trip out in the hills, the marathon is a relatively short and intense outing. The terrain is the easiest, the gradients relaxed, there's no need to navigate or carry much in the way of emergency equipment, and certainly no time to have lunch. With any luck, it won't even be necessary to sleep out.

I'm reminded of that today on the club run from Rudheath. It's still overcast and humid, and the opening miles at about 8 minute pace are a dawdle. Running through Carey Park, one woman stands aside to let us pass, and comments that we'd be better off saving our breath for running instead of doing all that talking. She has a good point!

Later on, running back alongside the canal, the pace steps up. After the long easy miles, it feels hard to put the pedal down. There won't be much time to take it easy in two weeks' time, and too much dawdling at the start is going to make it much harder to get to work later on in the race. The miles done over the last 9 days have caught up with me a bit, and it's harder work than usual getting home on the bike, so it's nice to have a gentle afternoon walking around Little Budworth park and a couple of pints afterwards. I think tomorrow better be a proper rest day!