I'm keen to have a long slow build up this year especially with my main target, the Lakeland 100, not until the end of July.
This morning we needed to get home by 10am as Yonas, Emma's boyfriend, was flying back to Indonesia and we wanted to see say goodbye! We left at 7.35am which gave us 2hrs 25mins to run as far as we could.
It was dark as we set off but unlike last week it was a really clear morning with an almost full moon so we ran without head torches.
As we got to the top of the hill Katrina commented how nice the sky looked so out came the camera for a photo ....
The ground was nice and firm with the frost so it felt a lot easier to run on than last week when it was really muddy. I do love this weather. Cold but not too cold, no wind and the air feels so fresh and healthy.
On the picture below you can just about see the moon behind the tree ..
I followed Katrina for a while after this photo and I must say I was really impressed with how she runs off road. She is very light on her feet and effortlessly finds the right place to put her feet. She reckons it brings back memories of being on the hills in South Wales as a child.
Katrina is still a bit apprehensive about whether she'll be able to complete the 53mile Fling but I have no doubts. She is running well in January, coming off the back of a great 2011 and we still have 3 long training runs to come to build up her stamina and confidence.
We were chatting today about this time last year when her only goal was to complete a half marathon and she really wondered whether that was too ambitious. She ended up running 2 half marathons and a marathon.
Now at the start of 2012 her target is a 53mile Ultra!! I was saying to her that the moment I knew she moved from being a 'fun' runner to taking it more seriously was when we were driving down to Troon for the 10k in May last year and Katrina said to me, 'I'd really like to get under 50mins.'
Up until then she'd always said her only aim was to finish. This morning she asked me to keep a list of all her races! She's smitten.
On our way down we met Bobby Quinn from Kilbarchan with his dog out for his Sunday morning run. I often see him at the same point showing how we runners are creatures of habit!
We completed our big loop and I reckon we could fit in another 15mins of running before heading back to the house so we added on another 1.5mile loop which brought the total to 12.36miles.
As we made our way back to the house we met a guy heading up to the Braes with his dog for a walk so we stopped and asked him to take a photo ....
So another good run. I love being able to run with Katrina on these long early morning runs. It gives us a chance to chat and share the experience together. Sorry if that sounds soppy!!
This week I've ran 37.7miles which is about the same as last week. Next week will be a bit more as we are going on the whw training weekend where we plan to run 30miles on Saturday. Balmaha to Inversnaid and back.
We are really looking forward to it. We've never stayed in the Oak Tree at Balmaha.
1 comments:
Running with your wife, that's definitely something I envy you for.
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