Marathon Long Run Successfully Completed!

Sunday was an awful day for anyone except gardens and fishermen. It rained heavily from morning until late afternoon. My wife and her running partner, who are also running in Stockholm, both went for their long run in the morning and arrived back like bedraggled kittens about half past two in the afternoon, tired, wet ...but happy. It was over for them.

Andrew and I were planning to go at four in the afternoon with another friend who was running in Stockholm as well. The three of us met at the usual bridge and lo and behold the rain stopped. We ran 10 miles out, not along the canal tow path because it was flooded, but along the main road to the M25 and then turned and repeated our steps.

Out was easy and my dodgy hamstring held up well. We probably averaged 7.5mph on the way out and I felt I was running well within myself. The way back, as you would expect, was a bit tougher and our average speed dropped to around 5.5mph by the closing stages. Over all we completed the 20 miles in 2 hr 57 min which would bring us in at under a 4 hour marathon.

I felt certain that I could have gone faster but did not want to risk tweaking my hamstring again at this crucial stage in my training so I did not push it at all really. Two days later and I am pain free, blister free and joint pain free. All in all a good run.

I'll try to get a shortish run in today but my wife and I are going to see Il Divo tonight at Wembley which will make any run this evening an impossibility.

Looking good!!