Thoughts and happenings from a life on Malta

It’s gone down and my fingers are the first to notice. Whereas last week I could still put on a T-shirt for work, this week the sleeves have lengthened. While until recently a sheet and thin blanket provided enough warmth in bed, the past few nights I have found myself curling up into a cocoon to preserve body heat. It’s only a few degrees lower but by my standards, the cold has definitely arrived.

The season of butterflies has fluttered by. Powdery wings that contoured the countryside have been folded away to prevent the rains from caking them into slivers of coloured mud pies and proboscises rolled up to stop the cold from turning them into icicles.

And yet ….. ?

And yet I feel those creatures still, even if I cannot see them. The race might be a good seven months away but when my thoughts occasionally turn to that longest climb, I feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach. It’s been years since I had this sensation prior to a sporting event and then never so much in advance. On the one hand it is satisfying, motivating me and actually making me look forward to waking up at 5am for pre-dawn sessions. On the other hand I am slightly perturbed by the prematurity of a nervousness that could easily eat away at my enthusiasm, leaving me emotionally drained on or before race day.

Training hours: 7 / Weight: 71.0kgs / Body fat: 12.4% / Muscle mass: 69.5% / Water: 57.7% / Bone mass: 3.0 / Resting heart rate: 46

It’s certainly good to be back, even if it means struggling at the back of the pack. Saturday was the first trail run and the longest from the time or distance aspect since September’s injury. Back then, my shoes scrunched on the baked soil and my calves and ankles got coated in a mix of sweat and dusty earth. This time, as Ruben led our small group around and through the Burmarrad plain, shoes sloshed over muddy pathways while feet splashed in milky brown puddles. In my absence, a fashion-conscious countryside discarded its burnt brown outfit to slip on a verdant coat.

Trail Burmarrad 12-11-2011

For the GPX file of this trail run, click: here

As I work towards re-establishing a regular exercise regimen, I have started setting my daily alarm for 0500hrs. I was going to write “five in the morning” but the absence of natural light makes that time of day seem and feel more like night. It’s hard sometimes to roll out of bed so early when I know that I could comfortably spend another two hours of slumber. In recompense though, I get to complete a training session thereby leaving the rest of the post-work day free for many of my other hobbies. Or, if necessity dictates, I’d have had enough time to recover for a second, evening workout.

Training hours: 6 / Weight: 71.1kgs / Body fat: 12.3% / Muscle mass: 69.6% / Water: 57.8% / Bone mass: 3.0 / Resting heart rate: 51

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