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Hi Tony, just popped by to catch up with your thread and training! Into the last 4 weeks now, eek... You've really nailed everything so far and your sub4 target is looking pretty damn achievable now! As Sam said 2 20s nailed, all LSR's done and PBs aplenty, cracking stuff.
BIG congratulations on the Kingston Breakfast 20 and a fantastic negative split again! A negative split in the Paris marathon would be fantastic as it's the Holy Grail of marathon running. You look really well placed to achieve it, and in your 1st marathon too, seriously impressive. Keep up the great posts, I love reading them!
Well said BRB (above)!
Thanks Brb and Ruth! Brb, you're not doing so bad yourself bagging those new PBs. You must be growing in confidence about posting a sub-4 time this year.
Running-wise, it really is all coming together now and I can honestly say that in the four years I've been running I've never felt fitter and more confident about my running than now. As I mentioned in my reply to Sam, I think a big danger for me now might be over-confidence and thinking I might do 26.2 in under 3:50. I actually think it's possible but there's a risk of messing up and missing out on sub-4 if I'm not careful. I suppose I have to keep to my strategy of a steady 8:50-ish and see how I feel come mile 20 or 23 about upping the pace.
Week 13 midweek update
Wednesday already? Really? Ok, it's time for a mid-week update then.
Monday: (4.78 miles) this was supposed to be a rest day after Sunday's 20-miler but I knew that Tuesday was going to be busy and so had about 5 miles of mixed but still fairly slow run-commute (e.g. 9:38, 8:50 min/mi). I felt good after the exertions of the weekend and was happy to have this de facto recovery run just a day after a long hard run. I'm not sure what the expert advice on this is. Sam, would you recommend a post-race recovery run the day after?
Tuesday: (0.71 miles at 9:03) I had a few appointments on Tuesday that kept me away from running but I did manage my PT session with Musty at Fitness First off Tottenham Court Road (and a short run there and back). A tough but enjoyable hour of core, leg and glute strengthening exercises and a bit of stretching. Interestingly, no DOMS today so either my muscles are getting used to the new forms of exertion or Musty went easy on me (or a bit of both).
Wednesday: (7.69 miles) my absolute favourite running day of the week as this is the 'hero' run. I did 7.69 miles in total (more than the 7 scheduled as I just felt so brilliant and couldn't stop) in 1:01:36 at an average pace of 8:01 min/mi. I had just a great time and it was really only my 10am class stopping me from staying out all morning on the Regents Park track! That said, I didn't get my pacing right at all. The idea was to alternate between marathon pace (say 8:50 min/mi) and 5km pace (say 7:10 min/mi). However, I ended up doing both much faster. A result perhaps of the 2 minute rests between 1 mile laps and no DOMS?
Here are the stats:
Start jog:1 mile at 9:34 and 0.24 mile at 9:06 which included 2 x 100m strides.
Alternating 400m laps (5km pace in bold)
0.23 mile at 7:10
0.27 mile at 7:54
0.25 mile at 7:01
0.49 mile at 7:37 (I forgot to press lap button so time is a combo of fast and slow)
0.24 mile at 8:12
0.24 mile at 6:57
0.24 mile at 8:14
0.25 mile at 6:53
0.28 mile at 8:02
0.25 mile at 6:39
0.25 mile at 7:50
0.26 mile at 6:36
0.22 mile at 8:14
0.24 mile at 6:59
0.23 mile at 8:25
0.24 mile at 7:17
0.22 mile at 7:45
0.25 mile at 6:59
0.12 mile at 8:23
End Jog:1 mile at 8:23 and another 0.68 at 8:16. The jog bit was supposed to be slower but I found it really hard to slow down. I really just couldn't get my body to stop running at that sub-8:30 pace. Weird.
That's it for now. A nice, relaxing 7 miles easy tomorrow.
Week 13/Thursday
Not much to report today - a relaxing 7.13 miles in 1:03:25 (8:54 min/mi avg). These are the mile splits:
8:32 - 8:45 - 9:27 - 8:58 - 8:33 - 8:56 - 9:08
I had a bit of bad news on the run: they're installing gates at the gents toilets in Regents park (20p to enter) - oh no!
Another quick observation: my default 'chug' pace seems to be under 9:00 min/mi now. I had to force myself to slow down as I had wanted to do the 7 miles at the slower end of the 8:30-9:30 easy pace band. I think this is good news as it's the pace I'll need to keep to for Paris.
That's all today - work beckons.
Apparently rather that 'spending a penny', you will be spending 20p in Royal Parks toilets when they get round to installing the mechanism. I think I read that the only ones which will be free will be the ones near playgrounds.
Wish I had your chug speed Tony!
Re: chug pace, it could be an illusion on my part but I definitely think the hundreds of varied miles, stretches and strengthening exercises I've done since December are beginning to bear fruit. I do feel unconsciously faster. I just hope it lasts until 12 April!
Hi Tony,
Many congrats on the Kingston Run, well done!!! You must be going into taper soon! Less than a month to go!!! Any concerns regarding taper? Training wise, that was the toughest part for me because I was missing something, the running!!!! On the other hand, it's good that you have more time to enjoy yourself.
I really agree with your feeling that it's all coming together and that's a great feeling. And I think that's what makes running the marathon a pleasure because you get to enjoy it rather than struggle through it. And I do believe you are aimed for a great sub 4!!!
As for me, not very good news I am afraid
I am injured and must quit running for 3 months at least. Very bad luck, actually. Back in September I suffered a stress fracture in my right foot due to a bad driver. Apparently I had not healed well and that fracture reopened. It is in a very useless area of the foot called navicular so I didn't realised I was injured again. But that caused some other problems on the same leg. I have a teared hamstring and a fracture on the kneecap, the area which protects the knee.
So, obviously no running for me. It's been a very tough week because I am in crutches now. The kneecap is an area which provides stability to the knee so I may need them for a few weeks. But the good news is that I had another MRI done and I saw the doctor today and he ruled out any back injury, which was his biggest concern.
Apparently I have been injured for a few weeks but since I could run, I didn't think there was anything to worry about. It is true that my running has not been good and I was feeling odd, so maybe that's why.
So Madrid Marathon is obviously gone now but, aside from recovering well and as soon as possible, I have my eyes on the Zaragoza's marathon, which takes place at the end of September. Zaragoza is the city were I was born so it will be very special as well.
Monaco was nice, although obviously not as nice as last year
But I still think it is one of the most beautiful races in Europe. This time the weather was really bad, very cold and sometimes raining, even hail. The sea was strong but still so beautiful to run along the coast and through those beautiful villages. Soon after the start, I realised something was not good, and after the first three miles I could only run-walk. But, I will be back next year!!!
I will be still following you closely!!!
Hi Isabel, really sorry to hear about a three-month layoff from running. It must be frustrating and depressing for such a keen runner as yourself. I've no doubt that you'll come back all the stronger and run a great Autumn marathon. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and for much better weather when you run Monaco again next year. On a positive note, I love that you have a target - Zaragoza in late September - to aim for. 8 + months to recover and regain marathon fitness sounds a tall order but I think you can do it. Maybe don't try for a PB though!
I don't want to write much about my health in case I jinx things and pick up an injury. At the moment, I've been pain, niggle and injury free. I think that Sam's training schedule for me has been more cautious - although it's had a couple of revisions - and the more staggered increase in intensity levels and mileage have played a big role in keeping me out of harm's way. I've read that many runners pick up niggles and worse during marathon training as their running routines become more challenging, hence the importance of keeping to a structured and progressive programme. As you may know, I haven't always done this - one Sunday I did both moe miles and much faster miles than I should - and Sam's had a go at me for it. I think I can see her point much better now.
I've one more tough weekend starting tomorrow - a 10 miler on Saturday and a 16 miler on Sunday (a marathon over two days) - and then my mileage starts to dropping. So, taper starting proper at the start of week 14.
Have a great weekend and I hope you don't find the crutches too painful!
Week 13/Weekend Roundup (Saturday)
This weekend's a funny one: I've got to run about marathon distance at about marathon pace but over two days.
The shorter run's on Saturday: just 10 miles easy. Sunday's a tougher proposition: 16 miles (10 easy and 6 at marathon pace).
My easy pace is the 8:30-9:30 band which is kind of where my marathon pace sits too (8:45-9:05). I guess the idea behind the runs is to get my body into that marathon-pace running groove. The weekend runs then, seem to be more about conditioning or developing a kind of ease at running at a certain pace rather than taking me somewhere brand new or extra challenging (a longer distance or faster speed).
So, Saturday then. Ok, I left the house at 6:30 to be back in time to take the kids to skating and swimming lessons. I'd sort of planned to do the 10 miles at the slower end of the easy pace band (something beginning 9:xx).
In total I did 10.68 miles in 1:34:51 at 8:53 min/mi avg. Here are the mile splits:
9:00 - 9:03 - 9:27- 8:47 - 8:58 - 8:54 - 8:31 - 8:52 - 8:40 - 8:37 - 8:54 (last .68 of a mile)
I started off really well concentrating on a slower, energy conserving pace. As with my Thursday run though, my body defaulted to a pace a bit below 9:00min/mi once I relaxed and lost focus which I suppose is good as this is what's needed for a sub-4. No time for proper stretching after so will have to warm up and do lots of stretching this evening.
Better do a bit of carb loading for Sunday's 16 mile run.
Sometimes you have to do the run you can do rather than the run you should do. That's certainly my story today.
It was my daughter's birthday today and we had lots of things planned and not much room for a run. Btw, this is Eve proudly wearing the teeshirt Pocket Rocket Amy (aka adopted big sis) bought her:
Fortunately, Eve being an organised 10-year-old, she had a schedule for the day: 6am present opening; 6:30am mum makes pancakes for breakfast etc.. One of the things she had scheduled mid-morning was a few hours just with mum - no boys allowed - to do their nails and watch Mamma Mia.
That was my excuse to drop my youngest son off with his grandma and sneak in a quick two-hour run. This was in Dorking, a nice town I've run a couple of races in (e.g. Bacchus HM) but don't know very well as a runner. I hadn't really taken into account the hills - there are loads of them - or, around Ranmore Common, the churned up muddy or stoney tracks with tricky cambers. Caution took over as I ran a bit slower to avoid twisting a ankle so close to race day. Here's a photo of one section - far from the worst in terms of easy running surface.
This led to some mile splits that are all over the place (not my fault, honest
). Anyway, I manage just 13 miles in just under two hours at about sub-4 pace. Here are the stats:
13.01 miles in 1:58:06 at 9:05 min/mi avg.
10:36 - 9:43 - 9:37 - 9:57 - 7:53 - 8:32
8:35 - 8:29 - 8:43 - 8:50 - 8:53 - 9:06 - 9:06
So, an ok run although I feel a bit bad it wasn't longer as the taper starts tomorrow. A decent week's running too - 44.64 miles in total. More importantly though, I got back in time for lunch, a film and the rest of the day with my birthday girl.
Week Fourteen (39M) w/c 23 Mar
Here it is, the Week 14 schedule. Still a fair few miles to do with the Sunday 15 miler a bit tricky for me as I'm visiting friends with the family in Harrogate. Fortunately, they're runners - and park runners - but 15 miles on a Sunday morning could be too much of an ask.
Mon: Rest
Tue: 6M - 1M jog, 4M at marathon pace, then 1M easy
Wed: 7M steady
Thu: 6M of 1M jog then 3 x 60M strides, then 8 x 800m (3.20-3.30) with 2-minute jog recoveries, then 1M jog
Fri: Rest
Sat: 5K parkrun
Sun: 15M easy
I am getting that vest Eve! Brillant.
Monday: rest day and I did what I was told and rested. That said, I had birthday cake (sort of a big slice) the day before so maybe should have sneaked in a fat-burning 5 miler.
Tuesday:??(0.49 + 6.02 miles) a gentle start to the running week of just 6 miles - 4 at marathon pace (8:45-9:05) bookmarked by 1 mile jogs. Kind of a weird and badly paced run though.
I start ok with a warm-up jog and sub-9 minute mile (the new chug pace). However, then I fall asleep and do a really slow mile (9:40 - dunno why as no traffic or fatigue) and over-compensate with 3 speedy miles (one of them should have been a gentle jog). Terrible but last 3 miles were fun. Tomorrow, I will be Mr Focused. Here are the splits:
9:22 - 8:59 - 9:40 - 6:47 - 8:06 - 8:15
Hi Tony, sounds like you had a good weekend and enjoyed the birthday cake. Wonder what the taper will be like? I don't start mine until next week as Manchester Marathon is on 19th April.
I have a question for you if I may. What is your opinion of Shot Bloks? I am fed up with High5 gels and they don't sit very easily on my stomach. Not bought them yet but from the descriptions, it seems like there are six in each pack, and you take about 3 per half hour? Do you eat the 3 altogether and then water, or spread them out over the half hour. Gosh, this sounds like a really geeky question, so sorry!
Hi Sally - I'm secretly very happy you've asked a geeky, techie question which tend to be posted on the forums of the superfast runners!
Ruth is very keen for us to consider carefully our pre-, post- and on-run nutrition and we've been experimenting with jelly babies, Shot Bloks and gels during our longer runs. Although my stomach can tolerate the gels (I've tried both SIS and Torq), I find them fiddly to open and to consume when on the move. For me, a solid, sweet-like object seems to be a much easier thing to pull out of a belt/bag/pocket and consume when running. So, for Paris, I'm sticking to a combination of jelly babies and Shot Bloks. SBs are a bit like the cubes you pour boiling water over when making a children's jelly in terms of consistency but I find I can chew my way through 3 of them in 5-10 minutes without the need for water. Some flavours - e.g. black cherry - are caffeinated (watch out for the espresso cup logo on the pack) which you may find more difficult to stomach. Certainly worth a try and mainstream shops - e.g. Boots - stock them as well as specialist running shops.
Hope your running is going well.
Thanks Tony. On the strength of your comments, I will pop in to Sweatshop when I am home (in Port Isaac for a few days), prior to my 17 miler at the weekend.
Training is going well. I managed 22 miles last Saturday but feeling a bit nervous that 4:30 is aiming a bit too high, particularly with my dodgy knees. We shall see. Did some hill training (much easier to find a hill in north Cornwall! than SW London!) today, and tomorrow will try a brisk walk/run along the Coast Path. It is so beautiful around here.
You may find the highfive isogels a bit better on stomach but shot blocs do same job as the gels so as Tony mentioned it comes down to personal preference. Each SB has 8g of carbs so aim for around 3 every 30minutes as a start guideline. You should have a little water with these just before or after so plan and take then as a water station is approaching. Cornwall = lovely running!!
Hi Ruth, thank you for your comments. I will try the shot bloks at the weekend and see how it goes. Not too keen on the idea of isogels as they are heavy presumably since I can take them without water? Interested though that you think they are better on the stomach.
Have had two lovely days here in Cornwall. The weather has been glorious and it only seems to rain at night! Yesterday, I walked the Coast Path between Clovelly and Hartland Quay, only 10 miles but a lot of ups and downs and the views are spectacular and the cliffs a geologist's dream. Today I took the car down to Wadebridge and ran up the Camel Trail towards Bodmin. Very flat and fabulous scenery. Would recommend it to anyone coming down this way. The Camel Trail is about 17 miles from beginning in Wenfordbridge, to the end at Padstow. Here endeth the tourist information!!!
Back home tomorrow, and a 17 mile progression run before the taper - yay!!
Hi Tony, many thanks for your good wishes. I am on week 2 of recovery which means, two weeks less to go!!! I went to the physio yesterday for the first time and I asked her about Zaragoza marathon and she said "doable". After hearing that, I was happy to sustain a very painful sesion!!! For some reason, I had always related physio to massage, but it's quite painful!!! I have to do some simple exercises at home and visit her once per week and also do ultrasounds. She said it will become more painful after I start to feel a recovery, but after hearing that Zaragoza is doable, I am ready for everything. I am on one crutch now. Actually, I can perfectly walk without the crutches but I need them in case my knee gives way again. My legs are like a canvas: red, purple, blue…
It's really good that you have remained pain and injury free. Are you going to take a massage before the marathon?
What a lovely picture of your daughter!!! I love the vest!!! I think the cake slice is allowed
Any cravings by the way?
I hope you are doing well with the beginning of the taper. It's funny how we get used to 15 miles, 13 miles, etc as a normal run when at the beginning of the training they are big milestones!!! Two weekends to go and then Paris
Have you already started planning?
Sally: I trained with gels and introduced shot blocs at the end of the training only but I loved them. Since they are light to carry, I took them to the marathon just in case and although I was mostly on gels during the whole marathon (Torq, very gentle!) I had one or two blocs around mile 22 as I was very tired of the gels and they were great. So I think bringing a few of them to the marathon it's a good idea.
Hi Isabel. This is great news: you're halfway through your recovery and your physio is making positive noises about your next marathon plans. Brilliant stuff!
Yes, touch wood, touch wood ... I'm still niggle, pain and injury free. Please let me this stay this way until 12 April at least! I did a 14 mile run today - it wasn't in my schedule but I think I may struggle to do it on Sunday because of social commitments. Anyway, rather embarrassingly, I had another case of bleeding nipples or, to be more precise a bleeding left nipple, by mile 12. I will definitely need to do something about this before Paris. My apologies for mentioning this embarrassing affliction, but this is the extent of my marathon training injuries. Thank you too for the lovely comments about Eve - she does look sweet in her running top but then I am biased as her dad! The vest was a present from Pocket Rocket Amy who she loves. Eve has even recorded a homage video rap in the style of Amy's Asics campaign YouTube video (sample lyrics: "She's on a mission/With perfect nutrition/She's going with team Asics/And she won't forget the basics" Finally, I know this sounds rather sad but I have started to pack a little bag of shot blocks and jelly babies as well as some of the running gear I'll be taking to Paris with me. I know, I know I've got over two weeks to do this - it's just I'm so excited already! I think that Sam and Ruth may well have to sedate me the night before.Week14/Midweek update
I'm struggling a bit time-wise this week and missed a fun-looking 7-mile steady (7:55-8:30 min/mi) run on Wednesday. I think I may struggle to do the 14 mile-run - Sam chopped a mile off - on Sunday because of social commitments. We are away visiting friends in Harrogate and it's Sarah's, my wife's birthday weekend too. The friends are runners too but they are not in marathon training and so might not be willing to join me on a 14 mile run on Sunday morning! Sarah's ok about me running on her birthday (Saturday) as it's only going to be a quick parkrun.
Cutting to the chase, I decided to do the 14 mile run today because 1) I had time and 2) because yesterday was an enforced rest (from running) day. Because I'd missed a steady-paced run, I decided to do most of the 14 miles at the slower end of this pace band. Here are the stats:
14.02 miles in 1:56:56 at 8:21 min/mi avg.
The splits went like this:
8:45 - 8:07 - 8:14 - 8:05 - 8:10 - 8:15 - 8:10
8:24 - 8:19 - 8:25 - 8:36 - 8:21 - 8:21 - 8:34
That's it. Gonna do the Thursday run tomorrow hopefully.
Hi Tony
Shot blok report. Definitely like them better than the High5 gels. As you say, its a bit like eating jelly cubes. I did a 17 mile progression run (following Andrea's plan), finishing off with Kingston parkrun. I only took one pack with me (so 6x cubes), but it felt enough although I am sure Ruth will say otherwise! I will probably take about 3 packs for the Manchester Marathon. I went far too fast, particularly during the parkrun, but to be honest, I felt good and thought what the hell. Definitely going to taper now though.
Re your (cough) nipple situation. I am sure I read on another thread (although it could have been this one) about a product called Nipguards? Apparently they are expensive, but may be worth it for a one off. Goodness me, who would have thought I would be talking about such things when I started this training!
Hope you have had a good weekend away and are tapering well!
Hi Sally - it sounds like you've had a pretty productive last few days running. Do you feel in good shape for Manchester? I'm glad the Shot Bloks are working out for you. I think I've already put 3 packs in my Paris bag in preparation (including one pack of the super caffeinated turbo-charged black cherry ones). They're an odd thing but you get used to them and I find I can get them out and consume them when running more easily than a gel.
Thanks for the Nipguard tip - I'm going to Google them as will need to do something absolutely that pesky left nipple. Btw, I know what you mean: if my non-running self from 5 years ago were to meet me now talking about the advantages of tights and nipple protection accessories, he'd probably think I was mad!
Hi Tony. Some seriously impressive runs in the bag. You must be really pleased with your progress.
Re Nipguards you can get them in Sweatshop.
I am regretting entering the Spitfire 20 tomorrow as the weather forecast is dismal.
Enjoy the taper.
Hi Merilyn, thanks for the thumbs up and yes, I'm quite pleased at some of the runs (the PBs and the pace held at some of the longer distances). There must be something in these running and nutrition plans
.
This week was a bit of a washout: terrible weather in Harrogate, where we spent the weekend, and not very much better down south. Not great for the Spitfire 20 - how did it go in the end? I felt sorry for Gareth (@beoutrunning) and the other runners on the Hampton Court Palace HM too - nice route but not great weather to enjoy the views.
Thanks for the tip re: Nipguards and Sweatshop. Only did 7 miles in Harrogate on Sunday morning and my left nipple bled again - arggh!
Week 14 Roundup and look ahead
A bit of a messy week running-wise. It was the last week of term which meant a few unexpected issues to resolve (and no time for some of the runs). We also spent the weekend with good friends in Harrogate celebrating Sarah's birthday. All this combined meant that the scheduled running - not to mention the controlled diet and nutrition - went out the window a bit. It wasn't too bad though and I managed 37.49 miles (the schedule said 39).
Monday: scheduled rest day.
Tuesday: 6.51 miles including the 6 mile scheduled run
Wednesday: enforced rest day due to work pressures
Thursday: 14.02 miles in 1:56:56 at 8:21 min/mi avg. The splits went like this:
8:45 - 8:07 - 8:14 - 8:05 - 8:10 - 8:15 - 8:10
8:24 - 8:19 - 8:25 - 8:36 - 8:21 - 8:21 - 8:34
Friday: 4.11 miles of messy run-commute but all marathon pace: 1.6 miles (8:56 min/mi) 2.05 miles (8:42 min/mi) .46 (8:33 min/mi).
Saturday. 5.84 miles which was essentially the Harrogate parkrun bookended with 2 x 1.38 mile jogs. Here are the stats: 1.37 (9:58 min/mi) + 1.38 (9:59 min/mi) + 3.09 (8:12 min/mi avg)
I enjoyed the Harrogate park run: 300+ runners on a chilly morning in The Stray, a stretch of green public space on the edge of Harrogate town centre. I had thought it might be nice to get another PB in the bag before Paris. However, it was a drizzly and blustery day with some waterlogged and muddy grass in places underfoot (one of the runners ahead of me got his trainer stuck in the mud). I didn't fancy going for PB given the conditions (mainly my fear of slipping and picking up that dreaded injury only two weeks away from marathon day). Anyway, I changed my plan alternating between a sub-9 min/mi marathon pace with 9 x 100m strides on the paved sections of the 3-lap course and then a sprint finish at the end.
Sunday: 7 miles at 8:53 min/mi avg. I needed to get back to friends and family so couldn't really do more than an hour's running first thing in the morning. I followed a really simple plan which was to get some more marathon-paced miles in the legs.
That's it, my running week. We are now less than two weeks away from the Paris Marathon and the taper looks like it's beginning properly now. Have a look and see what you think:
Week Fifteen (29M) w/c 30 March
Mon: Rest
Tue: 5M of 2M jog, then 10 x 400m (1.50 ish, so much slower pace with shorter recovery) with 1-min jog recoveries, then 1M jog
Wed: 6M steady
Thurs: 5M - 1M jog, then 3M at half-marathon pace, then 1M jog
Fri: Rest
Sat: 4M – last 10 mins do 5 mins brisk, 5 mins fast
Sun: 9M easy
Sally
Not going to say otherwise! At the end of the day as long as you dont let you blood sugars run low (so take fuel on before this happens) then it is fine. Get a plan that works for you but remember the fuel is more about the last 6-8 miles. I would probably aim for no less then 30g per hour (4 SB per hour). Race day nutrition is personal - find what works for you and practise this.
Running and the Easter Holidays
The hols are nearly on us and I'm going have to think about how I manage the last few days of my running schedule with taking the family to Italy.
I've already posted Week 15's schedule, but here's the final week's including Race Day:
Week 16
Mon: Rest or 2 x 2.5 M slow commute running
Tue: 1M easy 2M MP, 1M brisk, 5 mins cooldown jog
Wed: Rest
Thu: 4M easy with 3 x 100m strides at marathon pace
Fri: Rest/travel to Paris
Sat: 2M easy, in racing kit, with 3 x 100m strides at marathon pace
Sun: The race - 26.2 miles at marathon pace
The good news for me is that the runs are all quite short now with this Sunday's 9 miler the longest. We're on a plane to Rimini on Thursday 2 April which means sneaking the 5 mile run in before the flight or once arrived. The Thursday of the last week will be interesting as we're in Venice; I'm pretty sure it's possible to run there - the Dorsoduro looked a quiet area when I was last there - but I'm not entirely sure I'll find my way back to the flat we're renting! If I need to up my pace, I might pretend I'm being chased by the malevolent red-coated creature from Don't look now!