Toe Tickling

A late night in from college on Monday made a chore of the easy run in the first morning light today. I’m trying to build regular doubles into the week to help me cope with the building mileage needed for solid marathon training in readiness for the final programme in the New Year. Its gonna be hard in the dark.
College started with an hour of mind-numbing health and safety but we then progressed to the 'salon' where all the magic happens. It was my first massage of a stranger last night. Yes, they let me loose on a real living person. It was initially tense as I encountered a near-naked stranger under a thin and frayed peach towel. But, ever the professional I effleuraged my way through the evening, providing a not-too-bad-though-I-say-so-myself leg massage. We learned all sorts of moves including a weird cupping technique that I clearly need to work on before I’m set loose on a member of the public again. It was fun despite my own longing to have a leg rub as I worked away happily in my scratchy navy uniform.
So, back to the land of work and running. A steady 8 or 9 miles planned for tonight. The legs are stiff but not too sore though I’m sure that fatigue sits in wait. I’ll possibly attempt something a bit more taxing on Thursday but will wait and see what the legs feel like. Recovery is just as important as the hard work as I keep being reminded. It’s great to be back to full training though.