One of the hardest parts of doing this particular race, at this particular time, is that I've been traveling so much since I decided to participate. So far, I've missed 5 of the 7 Saturday group runs. These are designed to be our long runs of the week, which is good thinking, as I'm much more likely to actually complete them when I'm with other people. I've tried to do them on my own (with mixed success) but I know I'd be doing better if I'd been in town every weekend to run with the group.
Plus, traveling just makes it that much harder to do any kind of a workout. Between spending long days in an airport or in the car, jet lag, and just the general inconvenience, it's all too easy to find excuses not to train. But no griping! I know I have more opportunities than I realize, even while I'm here in England, and I'm trying to put them to good use.
So in that spirit, I rose early this morning and spent about 40 minutes on the footpath that runs alongside the River Wear, which curls around Durham Cathedral and the Palace Green. (The picture on the right is the view from where I began.) It was cool and windy, just perfect. I saw ducks and daffodils, and watched Durham students rowing crew in the early morning calm. I could hear the cathedral bells calling people into Morning Prayer. I wandered up the path and found myself in an old churchyard, surrounded by tombstones from the early 1800s. That's the thing about doing something on foot -- you never know what hidden treasures you'll find just off the beaten path.
Does all this make up for the fact that I didn't have a particularly good run? I think so. Even though my shinsplits were grumbling a bit, it was still a good 40 minutes.
No comments:
Post a Comment