Back to the hills

... or, more accurately, the Launton railway bridge. The tapering may be in full swing but the hills, threshold and pace training continues. Today, twelve repetitions of the same hill I ran up and down ten times on Friday. Twenty-two repetetions of the same hill within just a few days, exciting stuff!

Not the most dramatic of runs to post about - my only battle was with the now constant stream of pasta, having planned to run when I got home I polished off some pasta at work at 5pm, and then on changing my plans back home, it was pasta for tea at 6:30. So I battled stitch, and apathy, as I ran on into the dark up and down the same stupid hill ...

But mission accomplished. Motivation is a little difficult as the marathon looms so close, and my only focus is on getting first to the start line in one piece and then over the finish line a few hours later. As I finished my sixth repetition, I really did wonder what the point of another six was, in the grand scheme of things. But training schedules are devised for a reason and I owe it to myself to put myself through mental challenges as well as physical ones, so I continued to go through all twelve scintillating repetitions.

I am lucky to have made it so far unscathed, as the most supportive of friends in the online community are facing their own injuries and challenges, some insurmountable, whereas I, the complete novice, am so far heading for that start line to schedule. Just eleven days now ...