“Marathoning is just another form of insanity.”

Post Juneathon, and post-half marathon, I’ve been pretty crap at both running and blogging. Well, I’ve done a bit of the former, and none whatsoever of the latter. But I got my Loch Ness Marathon magazine and race number (205) through this week, and have booked our B&B accommodation in Inverness, and it’s now just a short 12 weeks away, and I’m starting to get excited. Not nervous yet, but I know that will come nearer the time. Spent time today reading blogs from last year’s race and poring over the race website and wondering if I am, in fact, mad to be planning this. But I’m committed now. So I guess it’s happening.

I felt fine, to my surprise, after the half marathon – a bit achey later that day, but A-OK the next day and even the day after when delayed onset muscle soreness can suddenly set in after you've been lulled into a false sense of security. But 26.2 (undulating) miles is of course a very different proposition from 13.1 (also undulating) miles and I know I won’t be feeling fine after that, or indeed after the first 18-20 miles of it. Or at least, I shall be very very surprised if I am.

Didn’t do a lot of running last week – just an easy 3.5 miles on the Thursday, and then a 5k race/fun run on the Sunday, which I finished in 26:45, which I would be thrilled with were it not for the fact that I’m pretty sure the distance was not actually 5k. But still, I knocked two minutes off my time for the same event last year, so happy enough with that. It was a nice run anyway around the trails of Hazlehead Park, though with a slow start due to all the people who start at the front, sprint 0.1 of a mile and then immediately start walking really slowly right in front of you. There were quite a lot of those people. Excellent goodie bag, though, and it was nice to for once see husband and daughter waving to me near the finish line, and sit with them afterwards watching all the walkers slowly filter back.

Started my marathon training this week with an 8 mile run on Tuesday, which was a boiling hot day so it was a fairly hot and sweaty experience, but I listened to the first hour and a bit of the second of the Audiofuel mid-intensity long run mix and that kept me going, as did regular drinks of water from my new Stonehaven half marathon water bottle, courtesy of another goodie bag. Still don’t like carrying anything while running, but I guess I’ll have to get used to it as the long runs get longer.

12 weeks – 11 and a half in fact – to marathon day. Eeeeeeek.

Distance: 8 miles
Time: 1:18:36
Splits: 9:44, 9:37, 10:18, 9:43, 10:00, 9:32, 10:06, 9:36
Average pace: 9:50

Days till marathon: 80