Brussels training

We were in Brussels this weekend, meeting old friends and making the most of the long weekend with the bank holiday today. I'd caught an awful cold last week and I was having trouble getting rid of it, coughing during the night and losing sleep. I was hoping that the weekend away and relaxing away from work would be beneficial in getting me over the cold. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy.

Laurence and I set out for a run together this morning. The appart'hotel where we were staying was just under a kilometre away from the park, and we set out in this direction. By the time we got to the park, it was obvious that the tendon pain that Laurence had contracted under her foot post-marathon was not getting any better and she told me to push on while she eased off the pace. This is very frustrating for her as it would seem that the only way that she'll get over this is by resting her foot for a while. Having completed her third marathon in a record time and looking fitter than ever, this is not exactly part of her plans.

I ran on and felt happy to be back out, with the worst of the cold behind me now. I sped up a little and saw the Garmin showing 4:16, 4:22, ... so I knew that I was running well again. A quick toilet stop in Brussels park after 5k and I carried on at my previous pace. When I left the park after 9km, I could feel my thigh muscles aching again. This is the after-effects of the marathon and it's easy to underestimate the damage that this race does to your legs and the time necessary to repair the impact. I won't push my training levels too hard until December now and try and complete a race before the end of the year, to finish this year on another high.

10.2k all up in 46:51 or an average of 4:37.

Just finished reading Born to Run by Christopher Mc Dougall. This was a really good book and discusses the likelihood that mankind evolved and survived Neanderthals by our ability to run long distances and to hunt down other mamals by running them into exhaustion. He also discusses the impact of shoe manufacturers on running injuries and basically states that most of our running injuries today are caused by the comfort of modern day shoes. This encourages inefficient running styles and exacerbates heel impact on the lower half of the skeleton. Great story, well told with some larger than life characters. Makes me want to take up ultra-trail running ! I'm definitely running with a big smile on my face at the moment.