Week 4 - Up the hill backwards.

For some 5 miles is a long run, it certainly is for me on some days, but in preparing for a marathon I'm given to understand that the weekend long runs (getting longer by the week) are the key to success.

Hal's model suggests progressively longer runs, with a step back evey third week - so 8, then 9 then back to 6, then 11, 12 and back to 9 and so on. This week's long run was 12 miles and we ended up doing 13 over the back road round North Third and down through Bannockburn. In a fit of enthusiasm, I elected to go the tough way round this well worn course - anti-clockwise where the hills are steeper. They were steeper than I recalled, but the run was done without too much of a problem on the day, but the old knees are beginning to show wear and tear and I'll need to be a bit more careful about taking rest days. Still, halfway there.

Other than that, the week's runs went fine, I did 3 miles as a figure of eight round the campus loch at Stirling University on the Friday which I haven't done for years, too short a distance for us finely tuned athletes, don't you know.