I don’t get it

What’s so offensive about whales? Any anyway, Niamh still has a sense of humour. I tried singing a whale song to her, and she merely told me to “f*ck off” rather than beat me to death with a frying pan, so I guess all is still in order.

Recovery from a marathon is probably my least favourite part of running, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels like that. All the immediate aches and pains are gone, including the one that had manifested itself deep inside my left calf muscle. A few stretching sessions seemed to get rid of it for good. But out on the road it will take a lot longer until I can honestly say that I’m fully recovered.

Despite all that whining, recovery is actually going very well. There’s definitely something said for being well prepared for a marathon. Not only do you have a much better time during the actual race, the time afterwards is also a lot more agreeable. Since I can honestly vouch for the fact that I had been very well prepared for my latest race, recovery should pass by reasonably quickly. Yet I still don’t like it. Running 5 miles at slow pace isn’t exactly the most exciting way to spend your early mornings, and I yearn for slightly faster stuff. However, so far I have by and large managed to hold myself back. I think I’ll hold out for a bit longer.

Sunday’s run went remarkably well. I was surprised when I checked my watch at the end; I had only intended to cover the 5 miles at very easy pace, but got close to 8:30 instead, which was a bit faster than expected. Not that I’m complaining. In contrast, today’s run was both slower and at a slightly higher heart rate, which I blame on the conditions. I woke at 6 to hear the wind and rain outside and decided not to go running. I was even proud of the restrained I showed. However, half an hour later I couldn’t hear anything, so I decided to get up and run after all. It wasn’t until I opened the front door, kitted out and all, that I realised that the rain was still as bas as ever. Having come so far I decided to run the 5 miles anyway. It wasn’t too bad. I thought Niamh would say something along the lines of “why are you running in the rain? What are you training for?” but she didn’t. Maybe she’s too used to that behaviour by now to even notice it.

14 Oct

5 miles, 43:19, 8:40 pace, HR 145

15 Oct

5 miles, 44:12, 8:50 pace, HR 146