After returning late from a party in London and crawling into bed around 3am this morning and then getting up just after seven, I think it’s amazing that I even thought about going out for a run. But I sleepily climbed straight into my running gear to help me prepare mentally, thinking that despite it being a bit chilly outside, at least the sun was shining cheerfully.
Then the sun went in.
So instead of going out for a run in the cool overcastness of the fresh air outside, I opted to visit my friend’s running machine.
It started gently enough, but realising that Radio 4 could keep me going only so long this morning, I dialled up the speed a little and settled for a shorter time-span.
Short of recounting what I heard on the radio, I’m afraid that there’s not a whole lot to report, although this will no doubt please Cliff. Once you’ve realised that the initial gentle warm-up pace meant that the first mile took over 10 minutes and that the speed indicator now shows 8mph, most of your focus is required for merely staying on the whirring narrow band of black beneath your feet. While the rest contemplates the philosophical meaning of the only scenery there is within sensible eye-shot, pictured below.
So 7.5 miles in one hour, which if I could keep it up would give me a marathon time of three and a half hours. This is great until your consider that my closing heart rate was over 180bpm, which is too high to sustain.
So, more training required…. much more! And now I come to think of it, more sleep too!