The Rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain

Unfortunately it’s Sunday morning and its chucking it down with rain. Its typical Belgian weather as the clouds are almost touching the roof. It’s my turn for the papers and croissants this week. I fantasized about doing it on my mountain bike on Saturday as I fell asleep reading a cycling book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Blood-Secret-Life-France/dp/0224080229/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232299437&sr=8-1


In reality I'm last out of bed on Sunday around 9:30 and I drive to the shop and the farm to get the papers and the breakfast....

I have breakfast and settle down with the papers in front of the now lit fire...Its now raining with violence outside. I'm flicking between the channels on SKY watching war stuff on the history channel, dozing off and listening to Radio Scotland....a great Sunday is in the making.

The team manager appears....thankfully she reminds me of my goal and that I did nothing on Saturday. I reluctantly head upstairs. As ever I take ages to find all my stuff, my Heart Rate Monitor, my watch, my distance meter. I can't find my special running socks. I impose chaos on the house and I have all hands looking... The sock monster has obviously eaten them as I end up using a pair not specifically for running.....Its time to hit the road. I've got a swift 10km in my mind.

I'm about 1km out and it turns to hailstones...at least they just bounce off. I laugh into myself as I wonder what the people in the passing cars are thinking. The front of my legs are bright red, I foresee corned beef legs are on the menu upon my return.

At the 5km mark there is a big hill, I call it the hedgehog and it’s just as painful to tackle. It’s about 300m long and steepens drastically towards the end and worst of all it’s at the half way mark of my normal run..I'm eventually up it and my heart rate is at 190...very high as normally in training I'm around 150 to 160. I'm totally out of it at the top as I have tried to keep my pace at my normal 5:30 per km. Doing it uphill at that pace is like sprinting. I'm totally wiped out. However I don't stop, although I definately slow down on the flat section after the hill as my watch is saying a 6:30m per km pace, this is slow. It takes about 5 minutes to get back to normal. I'm pleased with this as it shows I can recover whilst keeping going.

I decide to go the long way back as the weather has improved and I'm getting that strange high I sometimes get when I'm running. It’s a mix of the velvet glove sensation in your head and that flush you get from the first glass of wine. It'll probably be illegal in a few years.

I'm at 12km and my left ankle is starting to feel a little delicate. I've been having problems with it since I started running last year and on any run of more than 10km it usual makes itself known. I decide to start to head for home, my MP3 blaring in my ears. The pain eases off a bit on a downhill section and I take a slightly longer route and finish with a hill. 16km in 1hr 23.... Mostly in the rain...My running capacity has held up well to the festive season.

Any suggestions for music on my MP3 whilst running are gratefully received.