Well, the Christmas cake is done. All my own work and throughout the process the wonderment of quite how I'm going to burn off each and every calorie I've pumped in to it. In other words, Christmas and New Year running around opportunities. There are two on the immediate agenda. The traditional Christmas Eve Shuttlinsloe Sunrise run with the boys who will be challenging the date, time and destination, and the club Christmas Handicap which is already attracting argument.
It's been a good week of running around, by my own standards. After last Sundays thrashing, my legs felt quite springy on Monday and certainly during Tuesdays sprint drills. I think a huge contributing factor to our group coming away on Tuesday feeling good and upbeat was the degree of camaraderie and mutual support during the sets. Same focus, same headspace, same pain. But by Wednesday, my legs were spent and my decision to run up the bypass and back was questionable.
It was a battle. The footpath was so narrow in places, leaves leaving a marginal gap of Tarmac on which to run, but too close to the road for comfort. And then there was the light. The Council have decided to turn some lights off here and there to save a bit of cash. I'm fine either way. Light or dark. But this perpetual on and off leaves little time for the eyes to adjust. It was almost a hallucinogenic experience with street lights, cars and my head torch. I felt a bit spaced out.
Thursday was pure off road head torch running. That was fun, if not a little ambitious at times, but my companions enjoyed it...in the end. Had to be done! I've done about 46 miles this week and once again my focus of the week turned to Sunday. Last week I joined Sharon. She told me what she was doing, I joined her. But this weekend I had requests to join me from here and there. I said what I was doing, then began a kind of negotiation.
Can we go here, this far, this fast instead. An awkward feeling of compromise began to dominate. I usually try hard to encourage and accommodate the others, but occasionally I like to do my own thing. I may not have a proper schedule like those who to take their training seriously. But I have aims and ambitions and on Sunday I wanted an early start and to see the sun rise and spend a moment to enjoy that...and think of my cake. I'm away all this week. Shoes are packed!
