Anyone got jumper cables?

And so begins the first in a little round up of the last few days, on Friday morning I was up and out early doors for an easy run. This included checking out what was going on at 'The Bridge' (which incidentally has it's own twitter page now)... mostly lots of workmen getting ready to start for the day. A good 5 mile circuit at a decent pace. I was pretty pleased and hoped that after a tiring week this would give me the boost I needed to get me through Friday - a kick start to my system, it seemed to work although by 6pm I had well and truly flagged and was looking forward to getting home and chilling out!

Keeping regular

For the first time in almost a month (for a variety of reasons) I made it back out with Petts Wood Runners tonight, and so glad I did, it was definitely what I needed. Whilst I have been out and about running in the meantime, Tuesday have just been a bit tricky of late.
Arriving early - I was pessimistic about the bridge closure and allowed far too much time for the alternate route - I had a little time for my recruitment drive for next years Thunder Run 24 hour relay. There is now a team of 5 from Petts Wood and I will get the entry off this week. The event isn't until next Summer but I am pretty excited already!
I was unsure whether to drop down a group after my poor run on Sunday but I decided to stick with my regular group and was glad I did. About half way through I dropped to the rear to catch up with the sweep and a couple of others. having a lovely chatter - mostly myself and Chris T - we trotted away the miles without really noticing them as they clocked up. I did feel sorry for one point for Ruth, sandwiched between two chatty northerners for so long, but it must have kept her going if only to get to the end and away from our incessant jibber jabber!
Great run tonight and I must try and make sure to get along more often on a Tuesday night, it really is good to run with the club and have a natter.

8 mile

Yesterday morning I sort of realised that whilst I have been doing regular long runs they have been of a different sort which has meant a bit of stop starting and not so much of a continuous long run. So I decided to go for a nice 8 miler and lose myself into a bit of distance running, long enough for a long run but not too long if I struggled and struggled I did.

Less than a mile in and my legs felt like they had syrup running through the veins it was tough going and my route included a long slog uphill from just over 1 mile to 3 miles into the run. I decided to change my route slightly to try and inspire myself and my legs from stopping, still on an incline but just a different route I hadn't run before. I made it to the top of the hill and with only a momentary walk break as I slowed to cross a road I managed to keep going for the full 8 miles. When I returned home I saw that my pace was pretty good for a long run but it had felt tough. It's strange how a sometimes a pace can feel so natural and another day it feels so much slower and more painful but looking at the numbers it could be exactly the same.

Today I woke with aching calves and to be honest I was more than a little disappointed with myself. This run shouldn’t have beaten me but I feel as though it might have done as I certainly didn't feel satisfied when I had finished.

Lucky Number 7

This morning I was back at the Petts Wood Runners beginners running group, after being volunteered to lead one of the groups in their first outings from Willet Rec into the roads of Petts Wood I decided to arrive early to test out my route.... tasking with a 2.5 miles route to lead I measured this perfectly taking in some gradual inclines, flats and a couple of good downhills.
Just before 9am the runners began to assemble, ready for the group warm up and dynamic stretching led by Emma and Richard. Then we spilt into 3 smaller groups to walk 1min, run 9 mins (and repeat). I was paired with Mike R to take out a group and off we went.. but much to my dismay not on the planned route I had tested this morning! Instead we headed towards Jubilee Park over the railway bridge with the 1 minute walking coming a just the right time for most so we could walk over the bridge without disrupting our plan. The runners are progressing really well, now 7 weeks into the plan and with only one more training week before the 5k parkrun to end the course. I look forward to seeing them all achieve their first 5km run.

Getting the cross back into training

Not sure where the week has gone... cannot believe it's Friday already. I have managed 2 swims, 2 treadmill runs, a bit of gym work and a body pump class between Tuesday and Thursday so I think today will be a day of rest. That and the fact that it has been raining for about the last 24hours at a ridiculous level and I don't fancy running in it after work.

Running on the treadmill is (as I have probably mentioned before) great for pacing or intervals but using for a hilly workout was pretty tough. In normal conditions when running up a hill you would naturally slow your pace a little as you go up but on the treadmill the pace remains the same - pretty tough! Still I gave it a good go and got through the session doing my warm up on the cross trainer and cool down a 10km cycle on the exercise bikes. Just trying to shake things up a bit, as marathon season is fast approaching I have remembered how much my speed and endurance benefitted from cross training last year so I am making a conscious effort to keep up with these activities.

So far I am managing 2-3 swims per week, mostly doing about 1km in breast stroke. Throwing in the odd length of my questionable front crawl. The next step is to reintroduce regular classes, at the moment I am trying to get Body pump back into my routine and then when that’s settled I intend to go back to pump.
On top of that I am hoping to get my mileage to average about 25 miles per week as I reach Christmas to put me in good stead for the increased mileage that a Spring marathon requires. Wish me luck!