Pre-training

By my normal standards, December 2014 was a quieter month for training, especially for swimming and cycling.   Lot of marketing activity at work and the holidays, plus I lost some focus as I hadn’t entered any events.  I managed a few trail runs near Ledbury, Herefordshire when we stayed with my parents in law over Christmas, but I was sluggish.  I wasn’t concerned; a lot of getting into shape is about consistency and you have to start somewhere.  The Frith Wood is beautiful throughout the year, but on a frosty winters morning there is a perfect stillness about it that makes me feel privileged to be able to run there.  May be it’s the endorphins talking.

On 1 January, I unexpectedly found myself in a 2 point something mile fun run in Makeney, Derbyshire with my brother in law Matty, who is a mad fell racer.  The race finished when you knock on the door of one of my favourite pubs, the Holly Bush.  (Sells great beer).  Superglue mud along the top fields had me imitating the running style of Shaggy in Scooby Doo, although Matty had long been a distant speck on the horizon by then.  (Next time, would it be socially acceptable to hide one of his trainers or his race number before the start)?  Still, I came 26th.  New Year’s Day runs are always good fun though, with a great atmosphere amongst runners and spectators.  Someone ran in a top hat and tails.  Not convinced his suit was going to be the same again afterwards.