A Winter Run

It's been a mostly Marcothon week including a double at midnight on Christmas eve, with Lynne and Skye of course.  A sore throat and chesty cough has appeared which threatened my 20 miles today.  I almost decided on the minimum Marcothon 25 minutes before forcing myself out the door for three and a half hours.  I decided against heading for the hills, I don't have the time for driving to and from Bennachie just now.

I'm posting this earlier than usual due to a night out tonight which will put tomorrows 10 miles in jeopardy.  Anyway, here are some pictures of today's run -

A sprinkling of snow as I left for the local roads and Buchan disused railway.

Rainbows in the distance meant the weather was closing in, it wasn't long before I was running through a blizzard.

Some nice sunny spells gave good light for photography.

 Fedderate castle ruin, the night out just happens to be near here.

Onto a frozen disused railway track, the roads were sheet ice, extreme care was required.

The light caught this pony beautifully.

Ruined railway sheds are dotted along the line.  This one is made out of railway sleepers and once sheltered the fan of a certain Irish band.

Another railway shed further along, this time made out of concrete.

The tree was my last photo of the day.  The weather moved in so I pocketed the camera and got stuck into a cold and icy 6 miles back home.

I'll include tomorrows 10 mile run in my weekly total, this will make sure I get out and complete it.

Mon 2, Tues 4, Wed 6, Thurs 2, Fri 2, Sat 20, Sun 02.  Weekly total 38 miles.

Training Continues

A quick update with not much to report.  Mixing Marcothon with the training program has proved harder than I thought.  I'm slightly down on miles for last week, completing 28 miles instead of the program's 30.  Nothing to worry about but I'm determined to complete the mileage of the training program so I have confidence finishing the DC110.

It's now Christmas eve and it looks like I'll be slightly short this week once more, there's no way I'll manage the scheduled 6 mile run on Christmas day.  With 20 miles to complete on Saturday I'll head to Bennachie and the Gordon Way, weather permitting of course.

Mon 2, Tues 2, Wed 2, Thurs 2, Fri 2, Sat 10, Sun 8.  Weekly total 28 miles.

Marcothon Continues

Almost half way through December and I'm happy to report the Chalmers Clan are still in Marcothon.
It has not been easy fitting the week day runs in during the evening once home from work.  Most evenings we are sitting down for something to eat at nine o'clock after rushing out to do the minimum 25 minutes.  The weather has been a mix of cold wind and icy conditions making some slippery outings.  On the plus side are the constellations and moon giving some very scenic night outings.

It was a lovely evening on Friday the 5th, there was a hard frost and a full moon.  With a busy weekend in store I decided to do my long run then, after Marcothon with Lynne and Skye.  I completed a spectacular run to the Braes and back, all alone in the frosted woods except for a fox and owls.  I tried to photograph the moonlit scene but the iphone 5 just wasn't up the the job.

The training program is going to plan, I'm well aware of mixing this in with Marcothon which doesn't give rest days through December but so far so good.  According to the program I have a recovery week coming up, I'm looking forward the easier miles before upping them again over Christmas and new year.

Week ending 7th Dec - Mon 2, Tues 4, Wed 5, Thurs 4, Fri 17, Sat 2, Sun 7.  Weekly total 41 miles.
Mon 2, Tues 4, Wed 4, Thurs 4, Fri 15, Sat 2, Sun 10.  Weekly total 41 miles.