Winter training plan, a walk on the wet side & a scare

I was sent this photo by Susan, a clubmate who was taking photos at the XC race in Irvine. It's doesn't quite capture my handsome features but it's a vast improvement on the last one! At least I look like I'm moving. ;-)

In last Thursday's message I mentioned that I was thinking of cutting back on my running. Well, the current plan is to try and stick with 4 runs a week. A long run at the weekend(10-15 miles), an easy run on Mondays (^-8 miles), a speed session of some sort with the club on Tuesdays and my 6.2 mile tempo run on Thursdays. Rinse and repeat. ;-)

Having no sooner devised my plan, my long run this weekend got sacrificed on the alter of marital harmony, a sacrifice I was happy to make as we'd decided that we'd walk another section of the River Ayr Way from Stair to Oswald's Bridge. We not long set off when we were passed by Drama Queen himself, out for his long run, obviously determined to drive me crazy with envy. ;-). He did sort of succeed but as I've discovered, walking isn't just slow running, it's a darned sight harder! I'll never forget how easy the first 17 miles of the River Ayr Way seemed when we jogged it in 3 hours back in August. Walking the same stretch with my wife later

took six and a half hours and I was knackered afterwards. So, one way or another, it's probably doing something for my fitness and endurance, if not my speed.

Anyway, after all the heavy rain on Saturday the river was in spate but overall, the conditions underfoot were pretty good and we enjoyed it. Best part though was driving back up to Stair to recover the "sacrificial" car and then going on to Failford for some excellent beer and a bite to eat.

The horrible fright was due to a tragic accident and involving the death of a local club runner in a motorcycle accident. By one of those horrible quirks of fate, he shared the same name as another runner in the same club who I know. I didn't know this at the time though and it was only later that I found out that it was the one I didn't know who had been killed.

Of course now I feel a bit guilty at feeling hugely relieved that it wasn't the person I thought it was but we can't spend our lives feeling devastated about the deaths of people we don't know. My sympathies obviously go out to his family, friends and clubmates. Having travelled this road so recently I can imagine what they're going through.