odd, isn't it..?

7m at 7:10 - early morning run across through Lewisham, across Blackheath, around Greenwich Park and back via Blackheath Park, Lee and Hither Green. beautifully clear morning, but cold.. colder than i expected when i peeked out of the window before leaving. i should have known so, the last thing i watched before turning off last night was the weather report. i even threw a few more clothes into the pile after watching it. [i make a pile of the stuff i need to drag on in the morning so as not to disturb anyone unnecessarily. this wasn't necessary this morning, as Joe was awake already, but at least it made getting ready and getting out quicker.] i ran in my old Asics 1100 Gel's, as i'd already taken the Mizunos to work. my form was all over the place as i started off the run, and at first i put this down to the fact that i hadn't moved much yet and my body was just adjusting to running, but after a while i started to suspect that the shoes were playing a part. then my mind changed again.. i'm not on best form when i go out first thing. an empty stomach makes me feel weak, i pretty much always need to stop to use a toilet (the guy in Greenwich Park this morning almost turned me away for being too early, but begrudgingly changed his mind when he saw the desperation on my face..), and the hill out of Lewisham always puffs me out completely - takes me a while to recover my breathing.

then i thought.. maybe it's none of this. maybe i'm still tired from the marathon. it was a strange thought, cos it felt like it - as a thought - had been waiting around for me to think it for a while. like i knew it already, but just didn't think it yet. that the race went so well, and that i've been feeling so good - mentally - has buoyed my spirits and made me want to train harder and more. but i didn't give myself a great deal of time to recover at all. you read up on the marathon runner blogs (Lemoncello, Moreau) and you find that they have about two weeks away from any intensive training after a marathon. i'm not saying my commitment to running is anything like theirs but there must, in principle, be some comparisons. i should check this out..

so i'm kinda doubting myself at the moment. should i carry on enthusiastically jumping at the chance to run harder and more and faster to improve on this success? or should i back of for a little time and let my legs properly recover? the latter supported by the fact that i don't think i've turned in a barnstorming training session since the marathon. i don't think i've come back with that feeling that it's all gone right and i was totally on top of the run. it could be that more often than not, lately, i've felt that the run got the better of me..