stretching the legs

For any of you interested in pork rather in my attempts at running, I can tell you that butchering even half a pig is a lot of work but, boy, do you get a lot of meat. Chops, ribs, belly, hand, roasts, loads of stock for making soups, brawn, rillettes and a ham currently sitting in salt, soon to be air dried. And our chickens have had a feast of all sorts of dollops of odd little bits and excess fat to eat. Sometime in the next couple of months we shall slaughter our two lambs and by then we'll probably have more meat in the freezers than we will eat in the year. Very satisfying!

Over the last week I've carried on hacking up to the post office with parcels on my back - not huge amounts, I have to say. I wouldn't want anyone to think I was running with massive weights but enough to feel the difference once I've dropped the parcels off in the post.

I teach english sometimes at Plougernével Hospital - to the staff (it is after all a psychiatric hospital) - and it's a handy 15km from door to door. So today Jane took me in and I managed to run back in1 hour 33 - the first two lots of 5km in 30 minutes each and then a slightly slower last 5km. The run is uphill overall and felt like it and it's also my longest run in recent times. My calves are the bits that are feeling tired. I'm trying to vary my running style to give my calves a change and it helps a bit but they are just going to have to get used to it. The good thing is my lungs are fine - they at least seem to have decided to get on with it and settle into a rhythm.

One problem is managing my temperature. I tend to start out a bit over-dressed and, once I've got hot, it's too late to take a layer off because I've got sweaty and I'd get cold. I'm going to have to trust that I'll just get warm as I run and risk starting off a bit cold. That might work better.