Typical

This was entirely predictable. We had weeks of nice weather, so what happens on the first official day of summer? The storm clouds take over! Just how typical is that. This took me completely by surprise yesterday morning, and I did delay the run by an hour until the conditions seemed a bit better, meaning that the wind wasn't quite blowing at gale force, and the rain was slightly lighter. I only did 6 miles, which was manageable, but I've run in better conditions.

Today was even worse, though at least this time I was forewarned. Again, I delayed going out until there seemed to be a window in the storm. I managed almost 1.5 dry miles, then the weather returned and within 5 minutes I was soaked through to the bones. Running along Caragh Lake in those conditions is out of the question, and I chose two out-and-back loops to Ard-na-Sidhe, which is the only somewhat sheltered road in our vicinity I know of. Turning around at our driveway after the fist loop to head out a second time is a bit of a test, but I managed to pass.

Apart from the weather, the run was just about perfect. I feel great at the moment. I keep thinking that the effects of the Cork marathon must be out of my system by now, but I thought the same last week, and the way I'm feeling even better today points to the fact that there was still some more recovery to do. In any case, I feel more than ready to take on more training load. One look at the schedule tells me that this wish will be fulfilled.

One thing I learned from last night's strengthening exercises is that broad jumps are no easier than squat jumps. I'm looking forward to the day when I've got enough power in my legs to bounce around like a kangaroo, but so far all I can do is try to avoid collapsing in a heap after each jump. Make no mistake, those exercises are tough, and I'm not the only one to have made that experience. I just hope they will indeed improve my running, because there's no races that feature bouncing.

There's another person who's developing at quite some rate in our house, though Niamh and me are not always of the same opinion on the exact level of progress. Niamh insists that Maia is saying “Dada”, while I think she's just babbling random syllables. Niamh also insists that she's able to wave bye-bye when I leave in the morning, while I think she's merely waving her arms about, like babies always do. However, there's no doubt about her one tooth, and the fact that there's a second one about to break though (which unfortunately doesn't improve the peace at night). She's also able to crawl across any room within seconds, is able to find the smallest pieces of dirt/food/toys on the floor and put them in her mouth, an she's starting to pull herself up. Niamh keeps telling me that she's well ahead of the average development schedule. Having three older sibling in the house does that to a baby, but I don't want to disagree with Niamh assessment that we're dealing with a baby genius here.

21 Jun

6 miles, 47:49, 7:58 pace, HR 142

22 Jun

10 miles, 1:17:08, 7:42 pace, HR 150

Weekly mileage: 50.5