Running report, 25 June-2 July

After my recovery run last Monday, I took a couple of rest days because I was feeling under the weather and not sleeping well. I slept better on Wednesday night, and did an easy 4-miler through the park on Thursday lunchtime. It was sunny and warm, but also really windy.

I took another rest day on Friday. Saturday was parkrun day. S. and I cycled there and back, which is our new way of getting to parkrun since I got my bike. I prefer it to driving there because it’s less stressful – there’s no getting stuck in traffic or worrying about not being able to park; and, of course, it’s better for the environment. Bushy parkrun is a popular event, attracting over 1,000 runners each week, often from far afield. While this is a great thing, it also means that on Saturday mornings there are lots of cars coming into the park and vying for parking spaces. It feels good to be able to lessen that impact a little.

I did a decent run, anyway, although I slowed after the first mile. It was a hot day – already around 22 degrees at 9am.

On Sunday it was slightly cooler and cloudier. I ran down through the park and along the the towpath; then back through the park. I finished at a nice new brunch place for California-style eggs benedict and a latte (and much-needed ice-cold water). It was still warm, and nice enough to sit outside. I ran 9.86 miles before brunch; and then 1.53 miles home with S., so a total of 11.39 miles for the day.

2018-07-10 19.35.34 — This was taken in Bushy Park last summer. Definitely need to snap some new photos!

Yesterday I took another rest day. This morning I did an easy 5k – the first run in my training plan for Abingdon Marathon. I wasn’t feeling great so kept the pace really slow. It was already warm; but thankfully not unbearably so (Saturday was definitely too warm).

I’m still feeling under the weather, and currently not super-motivated to get stuck into marathon training. I think it’s important to take each day as it comes, and not push myself if I don’t feel up to it. I know that running can often help me feel better, so I’ll keep that in mind too; but I also need to be aware that it is a fine balance.

Post M-word limbo

It’s now just over three weeks since Hannover Marathon. I’m still in a post-race limbo. I’ve done several short, easy runs since then. I’ve had some knee pains which oddly seem to turn up on every other run and feel like faint echoes of the last few miles of the marathon.

Today, I ran six miles, which felt hard, even though the pace was easy. It is baffling that three weeks ago, I ran (okay, ran-walked-hobbled) that same distance after already having run 20 miles. I also watched some of the London Marathon on TV. For the first time, I felt like I knew how the runners’ legs were feeling when they crossed the finish line. A noble club to be a new member of.

Right now, I feel like my fitness has disappeared. I am trying not to think about this too much. I am hoping that if I keep plugging away, gradually bringing back some faster and longer runs, the fitness will return without me realising. One day, it’ll just be there again, and I’ll greet it like an old friend (“Oh! Hi, Fitness! Great to see you again”).

In other news, I have ‘given back to the community’ in the last few weeks. Instead of running the usual 5k parkrun on Saturday mornings, I volunteered. In the last few years, I have run parkrun so much that I accidentally forgot to volunteer. Last Saturday and the one before, I was a marshal.

2019-04-27 09.01.29 — A ‘giving back to the community’ selfie

Last week was a cushy assignment. The weather was beautifully sunny. I bagged the first marshalling point where all the runners/walkers charge/stroll up the path and are all gone in the space of about five minutes, signalling the end of the marshalling duty.

The second one, yesterday, was less cushy but arguably more rewarding. It was windy and cold. After a short while, I could no longer feel my toes. I was stationed at a turn around 1.5k from the end of the run, where the field thins out considerably so there is a long gap between the first and last participants. The first speedy runners came through at about 9.10am; the last ones at around 9.50am. My fellow marshal and I clapped and offered words of encouragement. We received many ‘Thank you marshals’, waves, high-fives, and a selfie with an Australian parkrun tourist. I felt tired but thoroughly cheered by the end of it. It was refreshing to experience the weekly run from a different angle.

This week coming, I am, in theory, getting back into training again for the few shorter races (two relays and a 10k) I have coming up in May and June. I’m not feeling massively geared up for it at the moment, but, as I told myself on today’s run: just focus on the steps you’re doing and don’t worry about anything else. Sorted.

Week 15/16: Best laid plans

After I last wrote, I did my third run of Week 15: a parkrun. It was a beautifully sunny Saturday morning, with light winds and dry ground. I wasn’t sure what pace I was going to run at. I ended up running the first mile by feel. I looked at the mile split on my watch. It was an 8:05 pace, so I carried on with that. It felt fairly hard, but not as if I was going all-out; and I kept a steady pace until the end. My official time was 25:05.

I had a busy but good Saturday afternoon and evening. I met up with old friends, went to the theatre, wandered around Covent Garden in the sun, and ate and drank lots. I didn’t get home that late, but I felt rough on Sunday morning. However, I told myself I needed to get out and do a six-mile run.

The weather was much worse than on Saturday – cold, cloudy and windy, and I felt underdressed in a short-sleeved top. The prospect of six miles around the park felt like too much, even though it was only a fraction of the distance of my long runs. I jogged through a small local park on the way to Bushy Park. When I got out of the gate, I ran down the pavement leading to the main road, and then – BAM! Fell over. My knees and hands slammed into the ground. I lay there, stunned, for a bit; then picked myself up. I decided to walk back home rather than complete the run. I tried jogging but my knee hurt.

2019-03-31 10.47.35 Back at home, I assessed the damage. The biggest casualty was my left knee. I ripped a hole in my running tights. There was blood and bruising. I had also knocked my right hand, right knee, elbows, and right hip.

I spent the rest of the day feeling annoyed and sorry for myself. I still don’t know why I tripped – I’m guessing it was uneven pavement that I wasn’t paying attention to because I was tired. I iced my knees and put a dressing on the knee wound. Today, I can walk, although stairs are painful, and my left knee feels very sore and stiff.

And there are only six days until Hannover Marathon. It is frustrating to have put in so much work, only to possibly ruin it all because of something silly. These things happen, though, and I can’t do anything about it now except rest as much as I can, and see how I feel on the day. Onwards and upwards.

Week 13: Longest run and the taper begins

I finished off my running last week (Week 13 of marathon training) with a very short, easy run on Friday evening, and then a long run on Saturday morning. Friday’s run was good – I felt a lot better than I had on Thursday’s tempo/speed effort.

Saturday’s run involved an early start. I had to be out of bed by about 5.15am so that I’d have enough time to get everything ready and be running by 6am. To say it was difficult to get up is an understatement; but I managed it. I did leave the house five minutes or so later than intended.

My run started off tentatively. I had ankle pain again, and was worried that it was going to get so bad that I’d have to stop running. For the first mile or so I did a walk/run, which seemed to ease up the ankle a bit. Although the pain didn’t go away, it didn’t get worse, so I was able to complete my run.

I stayed in Bushy Park again. It was still very windy, and also rained a bit. I managed to keep up an easy but steady pace. I felt daunted by the distance, as it was going to be my longest run ever; but I tried a tactic of breaking it down into parkruns – so every 5km (3.1 miles), I would mark the time by taking a gel or drinking water, and then start the next 3.1 miles. This seemed to work well.

I got to the parkrun start for 9am, which I was pleased about, as I’d thought I was going to be late. I had done 17 miles at that point. I kept up my pace for (a very windy) parkrun, even increasing to 9-minute miles by the end. I stopped my watch at 20.1 miles, feeling tired but good. I never thought I’d be able to handle doing long runs three weeks in a row (I did 18 miles last weekend and the one before), but marathon training is definitely teaching me a lot about the amazing adaptability of the human body.

2019-03-16 09.50.48 — Me with S, feeling pleased after we both ran 20 miles (separately).

I’m having a couple of days of rest now. My ankle is still sore, but I’m hoping that some stretching and strength exercises will help (and foam rolling, if I can bring myself to do it). I am glad that it’s now taper time and that all my runs from now until the Big Day are shorter ones. I might try and get in some faster paces too, ankle permitting.

20 days to go!!

Week 11 of marathon training: Building up

I’ve managed to cram in four runs since I last wrote. The first of these was a tempo run last Thursday evening. I don’t have any strong memories of this, so I’m assuming it was a reasonable run. I did a mile warm up, three miles at tempo pace, and a mile cool down. I do recall now, actually, having to stop and walk for a bit after the third tempo mile, as I was feeling tired and had pain in my side – so, perhaps unsurprisingly, I probably wasn’t quite recovered from the previous Sunday’s half marathon.

I don’t normally run on Fridays, but last Friday I decided to run home from work. I took the shortest route (after walking for a bit to warm up), which worked out at 2.6 miles. Again, I have no strong memories of this (this is why I should update more regularly), but I managed to get myself home so mission accomplished, I guess.

Saturday was parkrun, which is more memorable (running with 1400 other people helps with that). It was a grey day and muddy underfoot from rain on Friday, but it was also mild. I had planned to do an easy run, but on the day I felt like I could get away with running a bit quicker. I started at a steady pace, then sped up for the last half and felt strong. My watch time was 25:38. I’m pleased that what not long ago would have been a very hard run for me is now a lot more manageable. It’s good to be reminded sometimes of how much progress I’ve made.

2019-03-03 07.47.37 Sunday’s run was the grand finale of Week 11. As with all my long runs, I felt apprehensive about it. The weather was rubbish: wet and very windy, but also still mild, which makes it hard to dress because you want to be protected from the elements, but also not get too hot. In the end I went for my favourite pink running jacket with a short-sleeved t-shirt underneath, and long tights. I did get quite warm, but was also glad to have a barrier against the wind.

When I started running, I felt lacking in energy and had really tight lower calves, to the extent that I had to run/walk for the first mile. I contemplated cutting the run short and going home, but eventually my calves felt better and I was able to keep running.

My intention was to run for three hours and ten minutes. I stuck to Bushy Park and did three laps. On some stretches, I was running against the wind, which was trying, to say the least. I took a short break to go to the toilets, and a couple of very short walking breaks to take gels or drink water, but for the most part, I stuck to an easy pace of around 9:30-10:30-minute-miles.

Right up until I reached the two-hour mark, I continuously doubted whether I would be able to make it to three hours; but after I’d gone beyond that, it started to feel achievable. I finally stopped my watch at 3 hours and 8 minutes – a couple of minutes early; but I’d covered 18.3 miles and felt that that justified calling it a day.

So, that was my longest run so far in the bag (longest not only literally, but also figuratively). I didn’t feel emotional at all (unlike during the 16-miler of two weeks ago), but I am pleased that I have been able to cover that distance at a good pace, and that I am still in one piece. I felt tired afterwards, but my legs felt strangely good yesterday (a rest day).

Despite the fact that my body is feeling okay, mentally I could do with a break. However, it’s now Week 12. This week and next week involve some more tough training before a three-week taper and then the Big Day, so I can’t really rest just yet. I know, though, that recovery is equally as important as training. I need to remember to schedule in some proper relaxation (something I definitely need to get better at).

33 days to go!

Week 6, run 4: How many times can you say ‘parkrun’?

It’s finally the weekend, which means for me, these days, mornings spent running and then having extended breakfasts with running friends. Saturday morning is for parkrun (yes, with a small ‘p’). I’ve been doing it now for over four years. I had some extended breaks from it due to injuries, but now I go every week unless I have something else on (and if I’m away somewhere, I’ll always see if there is a parkrun nearby so I can get my weekly fix).

For those not in the know, parkrun is a 5 km run, free to take part in. You register and print out a barcode, which is scanned at the end and your time is recorded. Parkrun started in 2004 with 13 people in Bushy Park, which also happens to be the location of my nearest parkrun. Now, over 1000 people regularly do parkrun there, with close to 1500 for the last few weeks. There are now parkruns all over the world. (I swear I’m not taking part in a competition to see how many times I can write ‘parkrun’ in a paragraph, but if I were, I’d probably win. Parkrun.)

The marathon training plan I’m following says to do a parkrun or a three-mile easy run on Saturdays, so that’s worked out quite well. Today, after a hard week and also feeling a little under the weather, I decided to take it easy. I jogged to the park from home. There are many routes I could take. I chose a shorter one – about two-and-a-half miles. I then did a nice steady parkrun, although got a little carried away at the end and went for a sprint finish, which I sort of regretted afterwards.

Then I made my way to the Pheasantry Café, which can get extremely busy, especially in winter when you can’t sit outside; but it’s always good to have a hot cup of tea with my other half (who was volunteering as a marshal today – it takes around 50-60 volunteers to put the event on every week) and our friends. It’s always one of the highlights of my week, and it’s great to be able to include something different from the grind of solo mid-week runs as part of my training.

Miles run today: 5.6 (warm up 2.5 + parkrun 3.1) / Average pace: 10:29 for warm up; 8:46 for parkrun / Type of run: Easy and then steady/tempo / Miles run this week: 19.8