Lessons

Lesson #1

Big hill = shredded thighs

The huge green hump in the chart above was the middle section of my long run on Sunday and is Priest Hill joining Old Windsor and Englefield Green in Surrey. I felt I had no choice as returning the way I'd come meant a cross-country swamp dodge due to the effects of the flooded Thames and that wasn't much fun either. It really is incredible how doing something you're not used to despite all the fitness training, in this case running up steep hills, can have unexpected after-effects and as such I couldn't walk comfortably let alone do my swim yesterday. Lesson learned - hill running remains for loonies (and Iain) and London Marathon long-distance training MUST be flat.

Lesson #2

Artificial fabric running top = room-emptying stench

When Iain started shutting my Nike long-sleeved running top in the bathroom to dry alone I knew I couldn't wait for it to wear out before I replaced it so I am now the owner of two Smartwool Light long-sleeved tops. I wore one out on Sunday and can say that it's certainly warm and absorbent (see soggy post-run picture below), didn't chafe and doesn't smell bad so far. Merino wool has myriad benefits in a garment in addition to being environmentally sustainable so it gets the thumbs up from me.

A final thought and reference to my last post about doing our best to avoid Type 2 diabetes is that most things are ok in moderation so long as there's a balance:

13 Mile Run (approx. 1400 calories burned) = Alison Gets to Eat a Pile of Cake

Yum :) and thanks to everyone who told me on Sunday at the aforementioned cake-eating extravaganza at Great Fosters in celebration of Francesca's (Mark of TEAM!'s partner) imminent child-birthingness they've been reading our blog over the last few months. It's great to feel supported. x