It’s Life, But Not As We Know It

Was it really only 2 weeks ago I last blogged? I guess it was, but that was a world in which we all still came and went as we pleased and things were fairly normal.

The next day I went for an 11 mile run. I felt a bit lethargic but assumed it was from not running the day before. However, on Tuesday it became clear I was ill. Tired, achy, maybe feverish (although we don’t seem to have a thermometer we could find…) and in particular a tight chest. T was away for a few days and we took the tough decision he would postpone his return date for at least a week so I could self isolate but he could return to work (medic, so kinda important he could do so). Until Saturday I continued to feel tired and achy and able to do very little. Over the weekend I began to improve, although the fatigue was pretty fierce: just doing some housework left me exhausted!

This week T was able to return on Tuesday and I was able to go and collect the stuff I’d need for remote working. The next few days were a blur of downloading and learning to use various bits of software, and getting back into the swing of working – and even some easy running. The post viral fatigue didn’t clear until about Thursday or Friday so I was glad that most of the week was quiet from a work perspective, although it has to be said that at the moment I find remote hearings are more tiring than in person hearings. I guess it’s because nothing feels normal and can be done automatically.

On Saturday I had a virtual catch up with some clubmates: strength and conditioning followed by breakfast, all thanks to the wonders of tech! Today was a run, brunch and then work. A bit of normality, I guess.

40 miles for the week, but mileage is pretty irrelevant right now. Running is for sanity and health at the moment, not chasing PBs.

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Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?

This week feels like it has been long, mostly because it has been so eventful!

Way back on Monday I did 2 X 5 miles, to and from chambers. On Tuesday I was in Yeovil, so couldn’t run in the morning, and had too much last minute stuff to read in the evening, so it was a rest day by default.

On Wednesday I ran 7 miles into chambers and 3 miles home, after a late finish. Thursday was 15 miles and then a sports massage.

After the excitement of waiting in for the dishwasher engineer on Friday morning, I checked my phone and saw rumours (from pretty reliable sources) that the marathon was likely to be cancelled. I was meeting running friends for dinner and the news had been confirmed and broken whilst I cycled to the pub. I can’t say I am/was surprised, but it’s still gutting on a purely selfish level (on a more rational level it makes total sense).

I did 6 miles on Friday and 6 miles on Saturday with half an eye on today’s Bath half marathon, one of a limited number of mass road races that went ahead today, although I’ll be honest my motivation was slipping: I’d planned it as a marathon pace effort and not really tapered as a result, but now there was no marathon to train for. It felt a bit pointless. And so when the alarm went off this morning and it was windy and rainy, I fed the cats, made a cup of tea and went back to bed. Perhaps I will come to regret that decision if racing is off the menu for months, but today I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to make my body hurt, so I was never going to race well. Instead, my skills as a cat cushion have been in demand.

There’s a lot about the coming weeks and months which is now very uncertain. We’re all going to need to be kind to each other and kind to ourselves. As long as I can, I will run a bit, but I’m not going to be squeezing 70 mile weeks around full time work with no marathon on the horizon. I may blog, I may not. Take care, folks!

Anything Could Happen

Monday’s run was a steady 6 mile recovery run. Tuesday passed in a blur: my alarm didn’t go off, and had the boy cat not decided to nibble T’s toes at 5.45 I doubt I would have made the early train to Plymouth… I got home at 6, fed the cats, inhaled some reheated leftovers and then rehearsed until 9.30. I finally stopped at 10pm. I wasn’t in court for the rest of the week as the Plymouth case had gone short, so I caught up on sleep, admin and violin practice. Plus some training! I ran home from chambers on Wednesday which was a bit of a trudge, but still 15 miles done. On Thursday I did 9 miles with some strides and on Friday a very steady 7 miles.

On Saturday I had a tougher workout: 12 miles with 6 X 1 mile. The aim was half marathon pace and they were all under 6.40s, which is probably about right just now.

That just left a concert – which included an amazing soloist for the Sibelius Violin Concerto: a real treat! – and then 21 miles to do today. I could really feel Saturday’s miles in my legs once I tried to run uphill, but that run made 70 miles for the week. And I can’t remember when that last happened. Probably either spring 2017 building up for London or autumn 2018 building up for Valencia. Onwards! #7weekstogo

Hail, Jorge aka Everywhere I Go/Always Take The Weather With Me

It’s fair to say that my motivation took a bit of a hit last week with the continued poor weather.  I did a 5 mile recovery run on Monday, and had all sorts of good intentions to do 15 miles on Tuesday, especially as I wasn’t in court, but after a disrupted night’s sleep I felt sluggish all day, and every time I contemplated lacing up my trainers the heavens opened for another downpour.  Being able to see the trees bending due to the gusts of wind didn’t exactly help my mindset.  So Tuesday was a rest day.  Wednesday was a chance to reboot, and so I did 8 miles with strides early doors.  I still felt a bit lethargic, but much better than I had the day before.  The weather still wasn’t great, though!

On Thursday I finally got my medium long run (15 miles) done in the morning, and had a sports massage once I was finished in chambers.  My right hamstring and glute were still a bit tight, but better than the week before, and the massage certainly helped.  I love the feeling after a massage that all the muscles which have been a bit tight, pulling you out of line, are now working together properly!

On Friday the weather was not great, and the forecast for Saturday was even worse.  I’d hoped to finish in court early enough that I could get my long run done, but it wasn’t to be, and by the time I’d ploughed through a mound of admin tasks it was about 6pm, freezing cold, drizzly and windy.  My mojo got up, left the room, and I took the decision that one missed 5 mile recovery run was not a make or break issue for this marathon build up.  I went home, had my tea and then spent 2.5 hours laid on the sofa in a state of incapussitation (the girl cat seems to need a lot of lap time at the moment, and I’m not complaining: I had a nice mug of tea and some lightweight fiction to distract me!).

Saturday morning was not quite as bad as feared, and I headed out to do my long run.  The schedule said 17 miles, but I dozed off slightly and didn’t turn on an out and back route until I’d done 9 miles, so I ended up with 18 miles.  Seeing as my legs were a little fresher than planned, that’s probably not an entirely bad thing.  And thankfully the wind was in my face for the “out” and behind me for the “back”, which is always easier than hitting a strong headwind when your legs are at their most tired!

I was rehearsing on Sunday (10-5, so out of the house 9.30-5.30: almost like a full day’s work) and then T had a concert in the evening, hence the desire to get the long run banked on Saturday.  But I headed out for 9 miles before the rehearsal, and put some strides in.  Ideally I should have done a chunk at half-marathon pace, but the weather was grim yet again (yes, strong winds and rain).  At the 6 mile point, there was even a hailstorm.  Maybe nature’s way of helping me exfoliate?!  Anyway, I was properly cold by the time I got home, and needed a long, hot shower to defrost ahead of my rehearsal.  55 miles for the week, so short of the prescribed 59, but a solid week’s training nonetheless.  8 weeks to go.