This post originally appeared on Ben’s old blog, Running From the Physio.
After a few weeks of solidly getting all of my runs achieved, and being genuinely enthusiastic about getting out for them, this week has come as a bit of a shock, and is the first real blip. All told, I only completed three of my scheduled five runs, which is disappointing, but it could be worse: I did my longer distances, so in terms of building for my half-marathon I should be okay, I just need to be wary of letting my body sufficiently recover.
Tuesday: 3.09 miles @ 9:35 min/mile
Amazingly, this is three weeks in a row now that I’ve managed a run before work on a Tuesday. Despite just being 3 miles at a slow pace, this was a pretty tough circuit. I played 5-a-side football on Monday night for the first time in a few weeks, and so my body was still trying to recover from that when I hurled it into this. It also meant that this was the fourth day in a row of exercise. But all that aside, the run was a pretty solid one, and I got around.
Wednesday: 2 miles
Missed a run for the first time in just under a month. I got quite down-heartened about this in the evening, but the fact is, the weather was horrible and I wasn’t feeling particularly well. It’s always a shame to miss a run, but I’m a bit more philosophical about it now!
Thursday: 6.35 miles @ 8:58 min/mile
The important thing was that I got back out again on Thursday. Despite missing the run the day before, I felt very tired during this run. I definitely had the edge of a cold or something, and working 22 hours across Monday and Tuesday probably didn’t set me up particularly well for an energetic week. Pretty happy with the pace around this, considering how I was feeling.
Saturday: Parkrun, 5km (3.11 miles)
Amazingly, given the horrible weather that has been with us more or less constantly since mid-December, this was the first time that the Longrun Meadow parkrun has had to be cancelled. I would have liked to have got out and done some miles anyway, but the weather was pretty terrible, and I had things to do around the house, so it never happened.
Sunday: 11.38 miles @ 9:39 min/mile
The furthest I have ever run – again! While last week I crept over my previous distance record, this time I surpassed it by over a mile. I got out pretty early, hoping to avoid the worst of the weather, but in the end the day was a lot better than forecast, so I probably was out in more rain than I needed to be! Still, it certainly wasn’t bad weather, and I felt pretty good. My left knee was a bit painful during the run, and certainly gave me trouble through the rest of day, but it doesn’t feel too bad. Worryingly, I was quite short of breath at the end, which is not something I’ve ever really experienced while running before, especially at this sort of pace. It might be connected to the edge of a cold I have – hopefully it isn’t anything more serious than that.