A marathon in 16 weeks...

And so today I ran 9 miles. In truth, it was more a run for one and a half hours. My cardio was, of course, not pushed. I tried to push it, and it didn't even feel painful, let alone bordering on the levels of suffering.

The biggest fall for me has been, as usual, my lack of muscle stamina. However, if I should not speak too soon, my legs have played football, done a 19 minute HIIT on Saturday, and a long run yesterday.

Speaking of football, I have the perfect reason to avoid playing, for the near future at least. While I'll miss some of the banter, when it is banter, I'm determined to avoid getting a kick or a knock.

Right now, and I mean at this moment, my health is interesting. I am probably not as fit as I once was. However, my muscles are at least as hardy as they have ever been. After Christmas I might have been injured extensively. In the past, I have been injured extensively having run too much. However, I have played my cards well. And the money I pay for the gym is well-spent.

Part of my training is a 10k race. The Dewsbury 10k has come up soon. It is, sadly, very early in the morning. 9am. It will mean waking up very early, even if I stay in Leeds somehow. It is also expensive. It is also, apparently, very fast.

Looking online, there is only one example of where someone has tried to beat 40 minutes. He did so with a very fast first mile (sub 6 minutes?) And me? I remember running regularly above 55 minutes. And now? I am down to 41:30 minutes. And I am aiming for... 41:18. That is more than achievable. The question is, of course, whether I can run a sub 20 minute 5k for the second half of the race? If I can do that, then my spirit will be good.

The reality is this - the race is training. And I am in training. And the marathon training is where I really am. The idea of hitting the sub 40 minute 10k and running a marathon are two things that will lead onto other things.