January 2014

[Sweder]

Tough going out there this week. The weather hasn't helped, but for the most part seasonal sloth has taken a heavy toll. This morning's gentle four mile outing took far too much effort, leaving me battered and weary. I'm sure this will pass in time but right now it all feels impossibly hard. I wake up feeling like burglars have worked me over with lead pipes.

Worse still is the knowledge that the Almeria Half is a mere four weeks hence. I booked my flight yesterday - still remarkably cheap, plenty of seats available - before sitting down to reflect on my race plan. Frankly, there is none, aside from 'get round'. It feels as if P2P still lurks in my legs, yet that can't be right. Work aside I rested well after the Mountain challenge. Maybe it's old age, perhaps I'm off-colour, harbouring a new year lurghie. I hope it's the latter; at least that would explain the 'empty tank' feeling I get when I try to drop the hammer on the hills.

This week sees a return to midweek workouts, mostly core work. Planking, squats, push-ups, sit-ups, burpees, all good honest, sweaty stuff. Add to that a resolve to cut out a few old favourites - bread, beer, pasta - and we have a recipe for improvement. Yet I can't help feeling all I need really do is keep getting out there and, like pure rainwater squeezed out of the Downland mud, my form will ooze through.

On, on.

   
Sunday sunrise over the Lewes floodplains
Photo: @russdacrow