Highs and Lows

I’ve had a bit of an up and down week this week.

An upside was going to Stratford-upon-Avon overnight and not taking my running gear. It’s not that I hate running, on the contrary, I’m really enjoying it at the moment. It is just good to give myself a couple of days off and enjoy a couple of (well, technically three) glasses of wine and some luxuriating baths (not at the same time, this time). We don’t have a bath at home, just a walk-in shower, so this was a proper treat and I had a splendid wallow.

We went down to watch an RSC production, The Tempest, starring Alex Kingston as Prospero. She played the character as a woman, not as a man, which is important if you know the play. The dynamic of a father and daughter almost alone on the island for 12+ years is very different to a mother and daughter. There was more of an emotional bond displayed here between these two, whereas before I’ve always felt him to be aloof and egocentric. It played up the colonial aspect of the story as well which was refreshing.

A downside was getting a really low mark for one the pieces of coursework I had handed in. It was a piece about the 10K race I did last November, and although the comments were kind of helpful, the mark was much lower than anything I got last year, and technically I think I’m improving on then. I was quite upset for the rest of that day, but with a bit of sobbing and a night’s sleep I was able to put it in some sort of context. I’ll try and put the marks to one side and focus on the parts of the comments I think are valid – as it’s not always about pleasing other people but there is still much I have to learn. It’s a long journey I’ve put myself on which means it won’t always be flat and smooth.

Another upside of the week, was completing a sixteen mile run this morning (I think I was still in the a.m. when I completed it). This was not often flat, and rarely smooth. If I compared it to a run at a similar stage during the last time I was training for a marathon it may have looked like a downside because I’m much slower this time around. However, that was 2015 and I was younger then. What I’m enjoying at the moment is that feeling of strength that is slowly beginning to build up again in my legs. I have to mention that I was also slower because, twice, I needed to hunt for a suitable location to have a wild wee (and one wild number two). In the second instance the hunting did involve a whole lot of steps which was hard on the legs at that point, and in both instances, the chosen location was a bit dicey as these dog walkers get everywhere.

This is not an end-of-week report as I may try a little three-miler tomorrow for a recovery run. I have this idea that the long run should not constitute more than half of my weekly mileage – not sure how long I can keep that up but it’s still possible. And now, I better get back to my studies.