Lung Freezing Half Marathon

When I set off this morning it was freezing, literally. There was ice on the road and it almost hurt to breathe but it was also gloriously sunny and dry. I decided to do another 13 mile run just because I had the time to do it. I had a very enjoyable run which included going through the lovely little village of Aldbury and up the infamous 'Tom's Hill' which is one of the steepest hills in the area. I managed it without stopping. Total time was 1 hr 52 mins again. Not bad but I want to get it down to at least 1 hr 42 min before the big day in June.

As I was running I started doing a little bit of philosphying today. It occured to me that doing marathons is probably predominantly a middle class sport just for the reason that it takes a lot of time to train for marathons and a degree of knowledge (and finances) to get your marathon nutrition worked out. Its an indisputable fact that most of the world couldn't concieve of running a marathon for pleasure - they're just too busy surviving to think about wasting all that time and energy on such a stupid thing as running a long distance. I don't feel guilty at being part of the very privileged minority who are able to enjoy this sport but it did make me feel incredibly blessed.

By the way, I went to the pictures last Saturday to see Will Smith in 'The Pursuit of Pleasure'. Go and see it. It will inspire you.