Window-Gazing

My university department has recently relocated to the newly constructed Jessop building in Sheffield, which can be found just off the university roundabout. If you’re familiar with the city, you might recognise its love-it-or-loath-it multicoloured façade. One of the main effects of this move is that I now have a desk from which I can see out of the window onto the streets below. I can also see what the weather is like. Today it is grey, cold, the roads are visibly smeared with surface water and the window lightly spotted with raindrops. And what do I keep thinking? I’m running 9 miles tonight.

For the last few weeks, my routine has mainly consisted of a short run on Monday, mid-distance run on Tuesday and a longer run on Thursday. The shorter the run is, the more I try to push myself. Recently, I’ve been running with my housemate and another friend (both of whom completed the Sheffield Half last year). This has largely (and thankfully) nullified the inevitable moment of indecisiveness that takes place upon returning home from work, sticking the TV on and drifting into a state of inaction.

I’m a little nervous about tonight's run though, as I haven’t done 9 miles in about a year. Although my general fitness is improving, my higher-mileage endurance is as yet untested. My legs have also started to show signs of mild aches and pains and, although an inevitability of the impact of road-running, I’m a touch paranoid about it since my injury last year.

Other than running (and looking out of the window), I’ve been keeping an eye out for Internet communities related to the Sheffield Half. Although there doesn’t appear to be a messageboard on the marathon’s official site, this Facebook group is a good alternative: (http://tinyurl.com/aagj8p). It’s good for quelling fears, knowing what to expect and all that. www.mapmyrun.com is also a favourite of mine, and great for planning training routes, discussing stuff and even uploading runs via GPS devices and Nike+. I’ll write more on this geeky stuff in later posts (sorry in advance!).

Will report back on how the 9 miles went if i'm still alive.

PS: My Twitter feed for anyone interested: www.twitter.com/philrich