Aiming for Athens - week 7

Summer is really here and we've just celebrated midsummer. Running is going great and I'm getting used to think, plan and run marathon training. A year ago I never could have imagined that I actually would consider and train for a marathon. Now I think it is a lot of fun and in my head I can see myself crossing the finish line at the Panathinaikos stadium in Athens. In my  imagination I'm running the last bit inside the stadium very strong, looking like an experienced marathoner. Well, we'll see what happens when the day comes but there is nothing wrong with having the dream.

Wednesday: I started out thinking this would be an ordinary, 7km or so, run but enjoyed myself so much that I extended the planned distance with a couple of kms.

Friday: I was forced to go running in the midday sun to not miss out on my exercise as we were going to celebrate midsummer with friends in the evening. It was much too warm to make this a pleasant run but I tried to stay in the shade of trees. It was still quite warm. For the last half of the run I was running in an area with fields around me and there were no shade but instead there were a steady breeze which brought some cooling. It was still very warm. The idea of extending this run never crossed my mind.

Sunday: The plan called for a magic mile trial today and I started by warming up and also transport myself to the mile that I've measured up on the bike path. When I got to the starting point I walked for 5 minutes and then restarted my Gymboss and set off. Wise from my last attempt I started out in a more moderate pace. I took the one minute walkbreak after running three minutes which occurred quite close to half way. Then I ran to the finish point and stopped my watch. It showed 7:49, 5 seconds faster than last time. After my "sprint" I walked for 5 minutes before I headed towards home. When I came closer to the village I thought it was a shame to just go back home and "waste" the beautiful summer evening so I turned left and ran/walked a loop of 6-7kms. Running went well and I had a great time. The nature is beautiful now and the scent of clover flowers followed me most of the way. That is a scent that I connect with my childhood summers. I only wish I had found some wild strawberries, that would have made the memories complete.

Total distance for the week: 30.6kms/19miles. A great week.