Hill today, run tomorrow

Hill session – 1 hour
Primrose Hill

Sacrifice. That’s what this marathon bid is about. My Saturday morning lie-in was the first of many, many sacrifices (my social life, my love of fatty foods and my dignity have been the others so far - beer is yet to come).

I cut short a some cheeky drinks with Beeton, Hackett and Dobbin just as they were really getting going on Friday night, so that I would be able to get up and join the club for its usual Saturday morning hill session. This week, we were working on uphill technique. I doubt I will ever improve, but it’s a good workout nonetheless.

This week's group was a litle more challenging. The fat lad from last week was, in a bizarre twist, now assisting the coach (probably the running equivalent of ‘playing in goal’). There were also a few nutcases who seemed to find running up and down the paths a little easy, so ran up and down the muddy slope instead. How I longed for one of them to fall over and end up face first in the dirt. Bloody show-offs.

After the warm up – which was as much about dodging people walking their dogs and small children than it was about getting our heart rates up – we started with two 5 minute repeats up and down the hill, with a 2 minute break in between. I’m pretty accustomed to this now, so it wasn’t too bad. Amusingly, many of the ‘hardcore’ runners seemed to be racing the next day, so they were given an easier session by the coach. Weeds.

Afterwards, some coloured cones were placed in a circuit around the hill and we were each given a card with a corresponding list of colours on them. You had to run clockwise to your first colour, double back to the next and so on, for another session of two five minute repeats. Such fun!

We ended the session with a relay race. We were split into three teams of six, allocated a colour (we were 'Team Blue') and each had to do a lap of the hill at high speed. My team was pretty rubbish and we were well behind by the time it was my turn to run. Readers hoping for a dramatic comeback lead by me won't find one – ultimately, we lost – but I did give it everything I had and overtook the runner ahead of me.

By the end of the session, my legs were like jelly. I kept thinking I was going to fall over during the warm down – standing on one leg to stretch your quads when your legs are wobbling like Rick Waller’s underarms isn’t easy.

This week has been a much lighter one in my programme – less running and more cross training - but I'm still feeling tired. Things are going to get tough again next week. I mentioned my general stiffness after long runs to the Oseto on Wednesday and she suggested that I try massaging my legs in the evening after hard exercise, to help get the bloody flowing and remove the lactic acid and waste products from my muscles. I gave it a go on my calf muscles tonight – will let you know how I get on.