FOMO

As Monday was a bank holiday, I decided to still run even though I was probably due a rest day (my legs were still sore from Saturday’s run + hilly walk!).  After a steady 6 miles I then spent a not very exciting day in chambers doing some preparation for the week ahead.  I took my rest day on Tuesday because I was in court in Salisbury which meant an early start.

On Wednesday I did my ‘medium long run’ for the week: 9 miles.  My Garmin decided to go a bit crazy when I was running along the Towpath at the bottom of the Avon Gorge, and claims I crossed the river twice (which means I swam, at about 3 mins/mile: amazing!  Proof that (a) Garmins do sometimes get things wrong and (b) mine has never seen me try to swim).  I think it credited me with an extra 0.25 miles, so ran 9.25 miles according to my Garmin by the time I got home (having done the same route which was only 9 miles on Sunday).

On Thursday I did 6 miles with some strides.  Thursday night was a bit uncomfortable, with another IBS-style flare up, and so my 6 mile run on Friday morning was very steady.  I felt quite a lot better on Saturday and did 6 miles with some strides.  Despite the best efforts of Storm Hannah the pace was pretty reasonable compared to other similar runs recently, which was encouraging.  I’ve been doing my runs with strides in lightweight trainers to help prepare for the return to speedwork in due course, and hopefully the legs are starting to get used to these again.

Annoyingly, on Saturday night my tummy started feeling uncomfortable again and I was actually sick a few times.  I slept really poorly and decided that although I felt relatively ok, albeit rather wiped out, I’d better not eat anything until lunchtime to err on the side of caution.  The toast and banana felt fine all afternoon, so I laced up my trainers and did 10 miles before dinner (double digits!  Yay!).  A grand total of 43 miles for the week, which means April is set to be my biggest month of the year.

As for FOMO (fear of missing out), it was of course the London Marathon today, and had I not had the two bike accidents and then further tendon/ligament issues to contend with in the last 6 months, I’d have been there, and even quite fancied my chances of running a respectable time, given I was getting nicely into shape back before the first bike accident.  But life had other plans, and so I was watching the elite race online, flicking between that an athlete tracker to see how my running friends were getting on.  It was the standard marathon mix of the sublime and the ridiculous, with triumphs in the face of adversity, results which really didn’t reflect the training which had taken place, and richly deserved PBs paced to perfection.  Every now and then I did feel a bit wistful, but I made my peace with this decision the best part of 2 months ago, and so by and large I was just able to sit back and enjoy/commiserate.  Maybe next year.

Advertisement

A Time To Be Thankful

I started the week with a rest day and then ran 8 miles on Tuesday. Having had a decent 48 hours break between runs my legs felt pretty springy and even the drizzly weather didn’t dampen my spirits.

I ran 6 steady miles on Wednesday and then 6 miles with some strides on Thursday morning. Somehow I think I got my hydration and nutrition badly wrong on Thursday as I had a really uncomfortable tummy: I’ve suspected for a few years I get IBS-type flare ups sometimes and this was a bad one. I slept really poorly that night and was relieved it was a bank holiday on Friday so that I could doze a bit more before doing a cautious 6 miles, doing short loops close to home…

By the afternoon I felt a bit better and so T and I joined the world and his wife at a garden centre before heading off for a short walk and some wild garlic foraging.

Yesterday it was an early start to squeeze in 6 miles with strides and food shopping before heading off to the Welsh borders for a lovely walk from Monmouth to Tintern along Offa’s Duke. There were plenty of undulations and stunning views on what was a glorious day.

Today saw a more leisurely start (aka lounging around reading) before a 9 mile run through Leigh Woods and along the towpath. The tide was in, which always helps the River Avon look at its best, and it was a day to forget what might have been had injury not struck yet again, and simply enjoy the pleasure of an easy run in beautiful surroundings. T suggested a pub lunch, which went down a treat, and then this afternoon I embraced both my British and Russian heritage by baking kulich and making paskha to eat on Western Easter Day rather than Eastern Orthodox Easter Day.

41 miles for the week. Getting there, although I’m not sure I really mind too much what or where there is!

39 Steps?

I started this week with a very long day in Plymouth, leaving at 6am and getting home at 10pm. Funnily enough, I didn’t train!

I did 6 miles on Tuesday, 7 miles on Wednesday, 6 miles with strides on Thursday and 6 miles on Friday.

On Saturday I was doing pupillage interviews, so didn’t run until the afternoon, when I did another 6 miles with strides. I rounded the week off with 8 miles today.

So it really hasn’t been a very exciting week: 39 miles, almost all of them steady. But my legs have been ok, which is the important thing. Next week my mileage might even start with a 4 🙂

Seventh Heaven

Blimey, somehow the best part of 4 weeks has passed with no blogging.  I guess that’s because it hasn’t been the most exciting 4 weeks, running-wise, and certainly the first couple of weeks post-holiday were crazily busy on a work front, so there was little time for blogging.  It was probably lucky I wasn’t having to squeeze 70 mile weeks around all of that!

So, the first week I just stuck to run/walking, and built up from a cautious 3 miles to a slightly more daring 6 miles.  The second week I gradually increased the length of the running segments, but still kept the distance at 6 miles.  The third week I began to do continuous steady runs of 6 miles.  It was clear that this was right on the edge of what my body felt comfortable with, as the tendon began to feel slightly sore again, so I resolved to keep at that distance until there were no issues.  That took the best part of a week and a half, and my last few runs this week (the fourth week), were comfortable and niggle-free, to the extent I felt able to add some strides (80-100 steps of faster running) on Thursday and to extend today’s run to 7 miles.

The spring marathon season started in earnest today, with Rotterdam and Manchester to name just a few.  I should have been doing my final really long run ahead of London, but it wasn’t to be.  But fingers crossed that, as long as I am not greedy, and accept that I shouldn’t aim to do any long races until the autumn at the earliest (and by long races I mean half-marathons: I’m setting no date for a return to marathons, sadly), I can build my fitness back up and get the muscles and tendons back to where they need to be.  I think the cycling I’m doing most days (albeit it’s only a few miles) is helping to strengthen my non-running muscles (and going up steep hills certainly helps with the cardiovascular fitness: it’s like a mini-HIIT workout every day!).  I’ve no plans to increase my mileage radically, because I learned the hard way in February that with all the injury layoffs I’ve had of late, and perhaps with age, I can’t increase mileage rapidly any more.  A mile or two each week by way of increase, keep the strides in place once or twice a week, and then see how the body is holding up at the end of the month before I decide what the next change should be.