Well we'll start with Sunday's long run, after the bitter disappointment (and a few tears) of Andy Murray losing I was feeling utterly deflated! I meant to get out first thing in the morning but I hadn't actually realised it'd still be dark, the prospect of a Looooong road run sent me straight back to sleep :). So I watched the tennis first and by the time I got out the door it was midday and all I'd eaten was an apple and drunk energy drinks. Needless to say it didn't take long for my glycogen stores to deplete. Thankfully I was armed with jelly babies and sesame snaps!! I did pay the price for not eating a proper breakfast though and every mile was a bit of a slog and was permanently playing catch up with the carbs. I was determined to do the scheduled 11 miles (on the same route as last week) and when I reached halfway and it was time for me to turn around I carried on a little further and completed 11.6 miles overall.
The run took me on about 3 miles of trail running too but I still managed to finish, in a good time and without any walk breaks (except for water stops which are essential when managing your fluids carefully). I really wasn't working at all on speed this run but my general long run pace has sped up!
On top of that the shorter runs pace has got quicker (away from speed work) so I am getting faster as well as being comfortable with endurance levels. Had a nifty little 5 miler this evening which was at a decent pace considering I had sleet, hail, snow AND rain thrown at me on a 45 minute run and it was a bit of a recovery run. My ankles were still a bit sore from the trail running on Sunday. I am hoping to maybe get a 13 mile run (half marathon) in next Sunday.
Talking of half marathons I have signed up for Grantham's Half Marathon on the 7th March. At the moment if I ran it at Sundays pace I would finish in 2 hours 2 minutes.... but me being me that wont be good enough, with it being so close to the 2 hour mark I am aiming for a sub 2 hours time. This is a warm up for the marathon and will be 'racing' not just going the distance! 2 Weeks after that I have the very popular Lincoln 10k, This will be a dramatic drop in long run distance BUT I think I may race it as a time trial.... not thought about times for this one yet but possibly sub 55 mins (which would be 4 mins off my 10k race PB)
Anyway, I am really getting into the sciencey stuff with running and exercise in general and it's probably taking over my life :) BUT it has made me realise how much I would love to teach people what I have learnt in the form of personal training and I think once training is done (well not so regimented, I will still be running after the marathon with the Newark half in August) I need to get studying for my personal trainer qualification. I wont bore you now with the sciencey stuff though but it IS exciting.......Promise!
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