Getting back to normal

Yesterday was a good day for running. The weather was perfect... cloudy, a tad cold with a bit of wind. I'd gone out with shorts and a t-shirt and my Camelbak in the hope I could achieve around 10 miles. My new featherlite Montane jacket was also put into the Camelbak, which turned out to be a good decision as this ended up getting put on at 5 miles because it rained heavy (although only for around a minute or two). It's the first time I've worn it, and I have to say I'm very pleased with it.
So, I ended up doing 11 miles, which is good considering I was running a marathon last week. The weeks total came to 24 miles, which is the most I've done post marathon (I normally have the full week off). My dad shook his head disappointingly when I informed him of this... apparently "some 'ald granny is running 26 marathons in 26 days"... he is of course referring to Rosie Swale Pope. I told him this woman is phenomenal and ran around the whole world, and I have no hope of being in her league. Bless him, he really has no idea about these things.

I'm contemplating my future running goals. I don't know how I'm going to feel/cope doing 2 marathons in 3 weeks. Will I be knackered... injured...burnt out... or will I do just fine? I've recovered so quickly after VLM and if I manage Windermere OK (apparently this is one of the tougher road races in the UK), then I may consider keeping marathon fit and doing a marathon every few weeks. I now see the charm that so many marathoners talk of, when they say you never need to do long training runs as you're always running another marathon. There is of course the possibility that I am not one of these resilient types and doing this will break me. However, there is also the possibility that all of the long training weeks I've done may not have been possible for someone less resilient???? I don't know... the proof will be in the pudding that is "Windermere". After Loch Ness I was injured because of all the downhill running, and yes, I'm fitter now, but that's not to say it won't have the same effect to do another difficult course. I shall have to see how I get on.

Yesterdays run showed a small 1% incline on mapmyrun, however I deliberately chose an easier route so I could test how I was feeling without the influence of massive hills. Today, Graeme and I are doing a route around Filpoke Lane. It's very pretty and rural but a bit tough too. I remember the first time I ran it (in 2008) I had to stop and walk 5 times. It's amazing how far I've come on really.

And I'm wearing trainers with no "black" on the heel. They've only done around 230ish miles and so far they haven't given me any shin pain, so I'm going to keep going until they start to hurt. I have a second pair with only about 70 miles in them, so need to try and get the most out of the other pair as we really can't be spending £135 on my next new pair when Graeme has so much uncertainty around his job. As soon as he gets some good news I'm ordering myself some snazzy gorgeous new editions of the Kinsei 3's. They look paper thin on the sole, but promise the same good cushioning but much more lightweight. I'm such a sucker for the whole hype around the latest shoes. I'm a product makers dream person really!