95%

Last week started with me doing a fairly long day at work on Monday, in the hope that would free up some time later in the week.  Optimistic and perhaps foolish, going by past experience!

On Tuesday I still didn’t manage to leave particularly early, but at least was able to go for a 5 mile run that evening.  Wednesday (bit of a theme) I didn’t leave super early but was able to do a 9 mile run with some strides.  I still harboured hopes of leaving a bit earlier on Thursday, but it was not to be, and it was another 5 mile run.

It’s never ideal doing your 3 shortest runs on 3 consecutive days, leaving your 3 longest runs to be done on consecutive days, even if that does include the weekend.  This is how the next 3 days panned out:

Friday: 14 miles steady.  My legs felt pretty ok and the pace was good (around 8m/m).

Saturday: 11 miles steady.  My legs felt alright, and the pace was ok (around 8.20m/m).

Sunday: supposed to be 18 miles.  Ended up being 15 miles.  My legs felt tired from the start, although I was just about moving reasonably comfortably for 9 or 10 miles, and then my legs felt tighter, and tighter, and tighter.  I gradually got more and more slow, and ultimately at 15 miles, with the option of one more 3 mile loop or just bailing, I bailed.  Frankly, 15 miles on super tired legs is about the same as 18 miles on fairly fresh legs, as far as I’m concerned!

I’m going to look on the positives in terms of that training block: yes, ideally I would have done the 18 mile run and logged the full 62 miles I had planned.  But I still ran 6 times last week (which beats the 3 previous weeks hands-down!) and I ran 95% of the miles I intended to.  I’ll probably try and do the 18 mile run in 2 weeks’ time, when my schedule otherwise says to do only 15 miles.  But if I don’t, I reckon I still got a big training benefit from that tough 3 day block (and I’m quite glad I got away with it and didn’t end up with a sore Achilles tendon or worse!).

Here’s hoping this week is a bit better structured, although I had planned to front-load a bit, because the weekend is busy.  Fingers crossed!

Advertisement

Half Way There…

On Monday last week I worked late (as in not home until gone 9.30pm late). No cross training was done as a result! On Tuesday I fared better: a 45 minute swim after my sports massage.

On Wednesday I plucked up the courage to cycle to and from chambers. After something like 10 years of no cycling it was a bit nerve wracking – and my quads grizzled on the hills on the way home – but it is quicker than walking or the bus. I did anot her swim, too, just to ensure achy arms and quads!

On Thursday my new trainers arrived, and I couldn’t resist taking them for a spin. 5 miles easy done. The ankle is still clearly a bit weak, but not anywhere near as bad as January. And hopefully the better grip in the newer shoes means I’m less likely to lose my footing again and the better cushioning will look after my muscles. I repeated the cycling, too.

On Friday it was just cycling. I had a long day in court and was pretty knackered.

I felt a bit more refreshed on Saturday morning and tackled 9 miles. I erred on the side of caution and did flat loops so it was easy to bale out if needs be. With limited running this week my legs were fresh and bouncy: sub 8m/m felt easy peasy!

That just left Sunday: another morning of flat loops close to home, but 15 miles was done. An afternoon in chambers meant more cycling, too.

This means a total of 29 miles v a plan of 58, but with the cycling, swimming and daily strength and conditioning that’s good enough. Hopefully this coming week I can finally accomplish 6 training sessions as planned. And continue to improve my uphill cycling skills!

Something Old, Something New

Well, it’s been a busy 2 weeks.  Last week I moved house.  As a result, I did skip a race and a run to prioritise the move, but still got 5 runs in for a total of 43 miles (unfortunately the skipped run was an 11 mile run…).  But everything got unpacked and sorted, so T and I can just enjoy living together without guilt inducing unsorted boxes looming in a corner!  All of the sorting and shifting definitely used muscles I don’t usually use, so my running was a bit ploddy for a few days afterwards!

I started this week with a rest day and then 5 miles plod on Tuesday morning.  It was a beautiful, sunny, fresh morning and it was a delight to be out.  On Wednesday evening I ran 12 miles, and although it took my legs a while to get going, the pace was ultimately ok.  Thursday saw me squeeze 8 miles in ahead of a clubmate’s amazing wedding reception.  Does Ceilidh dancing count as cross-training?!  On Friday I ran 5 miles with some strides in and then yesterday I did my long run: 16 miles.  It started ok, although I felt fairly tired, and I gave myself a slight scare a couple of miles in as I went over on my left ankle a tiny bit (the one I sprained earlier this year).  I headed off over the Clifton Suspension Bridge and into Ashton Court to continue, and as I turned right in the woods I went over on the ankle again, but more this time.  I jogged cautiously for 5 minutes and decided that although it was marginal, I could probably finish the run.  The pace wasn’t great, but it got done.  I iced the ankle and put on a compression bandage (plus compression tights, as I had a league track race lined up on the Sunday).  I went on with my day’s plan, but couldn’t help but notice towards the end of the day that the ankle was a bit sore.  When I finally took the compression bandage off to go to sleep I realised the ankle was actually a bit swollen, and realised that I might not be able to race the next day after all.  I had an anxious night of poor sleep and woke up to find that – without the bandage on – standing on one leg was painful.  As a rule of thumb, if you can’t hop on a leg you shouldn’t run, and certainly shouldn’t race.  Feeling guilty, I contacted our team manager to break the bad news, cursing myself for not taking a cautious decision the day before.  Later I headed off for a swim and then finally got around to buying a bike for commuting to/from work and cross training (although I think the ankle needs a day or two more of swimming/rest before cycling is a good idea!).  The sprain is nowhere near as bad as January’s, so I’m hoping that a few cautious days will see me back jogging/doing steady runs soon.  There’s still almost 4 months until Valencia, so no need to panic yet: but I might not rush to book my hotel, either!

So there you have it: over the last fortnight, an annoying return of an old problem, but most importantly of all a wonderfully happy new section of my life with T has started.  Perhaps that is what is helping put this latest niggle into perspective 🙂