Last week feels like a long time ago, and was rather busy, hence I didn’t blog.
I started it with 5 miles easy on Monday, and then 10 miles on the Tuesday. Although I was notionally not working, I had a lot of reading to do ahead of my one hearing of the week, and that filled Monday afternoon, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday morning I squeezed in 5 miles easy in the morning and a strength session in the evening.
On Thursday, I had a long day, albeit with no running. I had to go to my solicitor’s offices in Barnstaple to support my client attending a hearing by video link, which was a rather longer journey than I’ve become used to (seeing as my commute is now kitchen to living room!). We didn’t finish in Barnstaple until gone 5pm and it was then a slow journey home, so I was pretty exhausted. I just did 5 miles easy on Friday, and then tried to sort out some work admin, although failed pretty miserably. On Saturday I did 7 miles with some strides and then some more strength work. In the afternoon T and I met up with T’s parents at Westonbirt. In typically British fashion, we traipsed through the pouring rain and sheltered in a barn to eat our picnic. But it was very lovely to see them for the first time since Christmas. I rounded off the week with 18 miles on Sunday, and was pleased that the lighter week (not much quality running) meant I was able to do my long run at a faster pace. Sunday afternoon was spent preparing for the week ahead, which looked like it would be a busy one… 50 miles for the week.
This week started with a rest day. It probably should have been a cycle ride, but it was absolutely teeming it down with rain, and I couldn’t quite face it. Plus the girl cat was aggrieved that she was a soggy moggy and quite fancied a snuggle on my lap to dry off (hey, towelling dressing gowns are pretty absorbent!), and that was rather lovely. On Tuesday I did a nice easy 5 miles to recover, and then on Wednesday I ran 11 miles at a pretty reasonable pace. Once again, it’s amazing how fresh the legs feel with just a little cut back from harder/faster running! I did a strength session that evening.
On Thursday I went for a short, easy cycle ride in the morning and then to my club session in the evening. I’m still not managing anything like the paces I used to manage at my best, but I am very slowly getting faster (so to speak). It was pretty warm on Thursday, too, which adds to the toughness of the workout! I did an easy 5 miles on Friday morning and the same again on Saturday, followed by some strength work. I worked on Saturday afternoon to keep Sunday free. I was out fairly early to get my long run done, although not quite as early as I should have been! I felt really lethargic throughout, and think I was a bit dehydrated so ended up cutting back a rather ploddy long run where I was dry mouthed throughout at 16 miles rather than the planned 18. That meant 48 miles for the week rather than 50, but I’m not going to pretend it really makes a difference. Although the London Marathon have again postponed their decision about whether the rescheduled race will go ahead on 4 October, the recent decision to postpone any further relaxations to lockdown mean that it seems pretty unlikely the event can go ahead, certainly not for 40,000 runners. We will apparently get a decision in another week or so, but they said that about this week, so I’m not assuming we’ll know for sure. And even if they have found a way of allowing some people to take part, there’s always the risk that a spike in Covid cases will prevent some or all of those runners taking part. As someone who likes certainty and being able to plan, it’s not an ideal situation, but there it is.
On a happier note, I’d kept today free because T and I went out for lunch, to a lovely pop up restaurant in tipis on the Clifton and Durdham Downs. It was all very well organised, with temperature checks and plenty of hand sanitiser, and felt very safe. More importantly, the food was very tasty! We tried to remember the last time we went out for a date-type meal, and failed. It might even have been 2019, what with a busy start to the year and then lockdown. The afternoon has been lovely and lazy, too. Just what I needed.
running home for christmas 