David Carruthers

Keep on Running, come Rain, Hail or Snow!

A marathon training progress update:

I have just completed my first 6 days straight of running outside! It feels great to leave that treadmill behind.

The decision to move outdoors was taken to get some badly needed hill work into my old legs.

Well, I was mentally ready for the hills but boy did the weather surprise me. For the last 6 days I have been grinding out tempo runs of 8 miles at a time in temperatures below freezing (around 26f). This cold air combined with wind gusts, some times above 40mph and even snow flurries, gave me the shock of my life. On two of these days I had to negotiate a 2 inch carpet of crisp snow.

A real baptism of ‘Fire and Ice’, the fire from my burning thighs as I attacked the steep inclines of St Louis Forest Park and the ice from the blast of cold air from the Arctic.

My training schedule is on track and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can stay injury free for the last 6 weeks in the lead up to race-day. I have enjoyed the journey so far, however, my body is probably close to its limits. The objective now is to get as much work in as safely as possible and arrive at the starting line with a chance of getting round. I hope the adrenalin can kick in and make up for age and any gaps in my preparations.

David Carruthers 28th February 2008