Holidays

I'm writing this from a balcony in a hotel in Cyprus. So far I have not missed a single training session but this may well change over the next 10 days. Running on holiday is a curious thing. The intention is always to get out and carry on with the schedule as if nothing has changed but as more drinks are consumed in the evening it becomes more and more clear that things are not the same. Namely that I wouldn't normally be waking up at 6am nursing a hangover in order to go for an 8 mile run to avoid the heat of the sun.

Here in Cyprus there appears to be a very small window in which it is comfortable to be able to run (for me at least). The humidity is incredible. I have put a pair of swimming shorts out on the balcony to dry and by the morning they are still damp! The temperature is around 24C at 6am and this rapidly rises to 30C by 9am. This means I have to either a) get up in the middle of the night to go running or b) adjust my expectations of what I think will be achievable while I am here.

I am sure that if I can get out and run 4 or 5 miles every other day (or more) then my fitness will be maintained and I can get back on the schedule when I return home next week.

There is always the option of using the running machines in the hotel gym but I'm not a fan.

As I write this I can see a path between my hotel and the beach that is being used by many runners. I'm not sure if any of them are training for a marathon or not but at least it's a popular route. It's always good to run on holiday when possible as it gives you a different viewpoint of the place you are saying (I'm pretty sure I've said that before on this blog somewhere). The problem is getting the legs out of bed to do it.

Up until now my training has been going brilliantly. I've got two 20 mile runs in the bag. The second of which I ran 5 minutes faster than the first one which is always a good sign of progress. Last week was my biggest training week so far, 55 miles. Even the mid-week medium long runs don't seem that long anymore. Which must mean my fitness is building up. Lets just hope that I don't lose it during this holiday!

Location:Pafos,Cyprus