Day 60: Sprinting into the Day with Sherlock Holmes and a Hearty Stew

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After a better night's sleep, I was up at 5 am, feeling far more refreshed and motivated than yesterday. The knowledge that today's session wouldn't involve a threshold run certainly helped to put a bit more of a spring in my step. My ever-faithful Garmin, a device that occasionally feels more like a demanding personal trainer than a watch, treated me to a sprints session in Rochester. I set off with something resembling enthusiasm, though I was aware that by the end, it might more accurately be described as grim determination.

The Sprint Plan and the Curious Case of Uphill Running

The plan itself was straightforward enough: 9 x 15-second efforts spread over a 45-minute session. I tackled three sprints with three-minute recoveries between them, focusing on maintaining form and actually resembling a runner rather than a flailing scarecrow. After a longer five-minute recovery run, I repeated the cycle twice more. These sessions are invaluable for building speed and power, so I was determined to make every effort count—even if, towards the end, 'effort' started to look suspiciously like 'desperation.'

To keep my mind occupied during the recovery periods, I listened to Stephen Fry narrating Sherlock Holmes. It certainly added an extra element to the session, though I must admit that attempting to solve a complex Victorian mystery while keeping my pace steady proved challenging. There’s nothing quite like trying to deduce the villain in ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’ while simultaneously attempting to convince your legs that, yes, they can keep going.

The final two sprints took me up a rather unfriendly incline back towards school—an uphill battle in every possible sense. By this point, my legs had started to register their formal complaint, but I gritted my teeth and pushed on. Uphill sprints have a unique way of making time slow to an excruciating crawl, but at least they build character. Or, at the very least, they build stronger calves and an extensive mental thesaurus of mildly inappropriate words for hills.

Triumph Over Workload and the Joy of Stew



The rest of the day went surprisingly well. That first day back after a break always brings a flood of emails, tasks and general chaos, but with it being the second day back, I managed to get back on top of things—mostly. There’s something satisfying about tackling an overwhelming to-do list and emerging victorious, even if only temporarily. Teaching, like marathon training, is largely about endurance and strategic snacking.

The true highlight of the day, however, awaited me at home. As I walked through the door, I was greeted by the sight (and more importantly, the smell) of a large pot of beef stew simmering on the hob. After a tough training session and a busy day, there is no greater joy than discovering that someone else has taken care of dinner. A proper stew, the kind that has been left to burble away until the flavours practically shake hands with one another, is the ultimate refuelling option.

Marathon training may require dedication, discipline, and more early mornings than I care to count, but at least it also justifies eating an extra portion of stew without a hint of guilt. And really, what more could one ask for?

Location: Sittingbourne, UK

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