And Repeat

Today's run: 6.35 miles / 10.22 km in 1:11:13.
Injury check: Toenail is tender but no pain.
Training buddy: Rob (bike + foot)
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Note to future self: this is the right level of fitness to be at. 10k in just over an hour, with enough left for a sprint at the end. And then the ability to carry on with my day. After all this marathon nonsense is through, try and remember this feeling and don't let it get away.

A short long run today, if you will. I'm tapering down to the Reading Half Marathon on 17th of this month, so only an hour's worth of run required. 

Rob was my training partner again, and actually fancied running a bit this time, so I planned a 3ish mile loop and we covered it twice: once with him on bike and the second time on foot. I, of course, ran it all. And felt very good about it. I kept a good speed all the way around; the time isn't a record because we paused to stretch out a couple of times, but I was mostly going just a little faster than my usual pace.

The best bit of today was being able to manage a sprint finish over the last few dozen metres. Well, one of the best bits. Another good bit was the novelty of being the one coaching Rob at the end. 

Oh, and another great bit was the post-run snack: paté on crumpets. So good. 

To Run Or Not To Run...

...that is the question.

Well, not really a question so much as a general musing. Obviously I have to keep running.

In fact, not only are my waking hours seemingly full of going running, thinking about running, talking about running and writing about running, I'm now dreaming about running. Yes, for the last two nights, I have had dreams about running. I ask you, is that fair?!

But in all honesty I'm taking a short break from the running this week to rest up my left foot. The pain I developed in my instep on Sunday was, I believe, due to a muscle cramping up and then me continuing to run on it, causing bruising across the sole of my foot. Consequently I haven't been able to run this week - I managed a gym session, although I was limping a bit - and instead I've been regularly massaging my foot. I'm hoping that a few days off will put me right for this weekend's long run.

In other developments, I've just passed the £1000 mark in my fundraising, which means I'm more than halfway towards my target. (Hooray! And thank you so much to all my wonderful, generous sponsors.) It feels very aptly timed, just as I turn to face the half marathon next week. 

If I look back a year ago, I could never have seen myself doing this. That all changed with the tragic event of Emily's death. Not long after she'd gone, I wondered if there was something I could do as a tribute to her life. Running the marathon did occur to me, but a quick bit of research convinced me that I just didn't have the strength or reserves of willpower to get through it. Obviously I changed my mind; it's amazing what a difference TEAMwork can make. 

When we're done, we'll have raised thousands of pounds for Em's chosen charity, Diabetes UK. Hopefully we'll have raised some awareness of the risks of diabetes, too. Em wanted to help fund research that worked towards curing diabetes. I hope that the money we raise in her memory will contribute towards that goal. 

More Than Halfway There

Today's run: 13.5 miles / 21.73 km in 2:45:00. 
Injury check: All the injury are belong to me.
Support crew: Rob on bike.
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This was a tough one. For no discernible reason, this was markedly tougher than last week's long run. I was struggling even before the 12 mile point, so it wasn't the extra 1.5 miles that made it so much harder. 

My salubrious warm-up zone.
In a car park. But in the sun.

We even started out in the sun, so I can't blame it on the weather either

For variety, this was a single direction run (rather than out-and-back): I started out by getting the train down to St Albans, met up with Rob, and then began the run back up to Luton. 'Up' as in northwards, but also 'up' as in gaining elevation, as Luton is on higher ground than St Albans (see map). 


It did give us variety but my route planning was exceptionally rubbish and we ended up travelling along a good two miles of 60mph roads that had no footpath beside them... Consequently there was a little bit of off-roading here and there, which was much easier for me than for my road bike-riding training partner:

Road bike tyre has an argument with sharp stone. Loses.

While Rob was fixing his punctured tyre, I headed off across a farmer's field alone. Temporarily without my support crew, I resorted to singing to distract myself (Don McLean's American Pie is a good one - several minutes long if you know all the verses). This was also the point at which I met the big hill in the middle of the route - and I actually managed to run all the way up it (yay!). Well, I couldn't make it easy for Rob to catch up, could I?

It wasn't long before he did, of course, and we moved onto the second half of the run, which was mostly along the Harpenden to Luton cycle path. It was quite picturesque at points and the weather was actually fairly spring-like. 

It was all going pretty well and I was making good time, but eventually my various injuries and niggles started playing up and slowing me down. There was a bit of walking. My lowest point in this run was around 10 miles when I was hit with a sudden tightness in my chest and again I had to slow to a walk for a while, breathing deeply. This was rather annoying, as I've been ok to date cardio-wise, even when my legs were failing me.

By this point, of course, my legs were beginning to fail me (and feet, and toes...) and the last couple of miles were an effort to push through. Rob kept me going, especially with the final half-mile countdown. And then he called me a taxi to get me home! This was another consequence of my poor route planning: we finished the 13.5 mile route a good two miles from home. Which I could have walked, but by this point it would have taken me a long, limping time. 

The good points I'm taking from today are: 
1. This is further than I have to run for the half marathon in two weeks' time.
2. I've mastered the art of finding my pace and sticking at it for a long time: when I found my stride it felt good, even at the painful end of the run.
3. I have the best support crew ever.

I am also really looking forward to next week's long run, which is a slight wind down before the Reading Half and is therefore only ~75 minutes long. 
Yes, I can now actually say 'only' about a 75 minute run. Never thought that would happen.
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Injury roll call:
> Bad knee - no pain during, post-run achey hurt.
> Good knee - twinges during.
> Right ankle - all fine :-)
> Toe - popped the blister midweek, strapped the toe up today but still had some pain near the end of the run. Post-run unwrapping reveals nail to be bruised and tender but no blister this week.
> Left foot - arch started hurting around 3 miles; stretched it out and carried on and it gradually faded. Post-run inspection identifies a large bruise across most of the arch. New sports insoles ordered immediately. 

First Casualty?

Today's run: 2.16 miles / 3.48 km in 23:52.
Injury check: Well...
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I'm going to make a rule in the future, after all this marathon nonsense: if I can see my breath on the air, it's too cold to go out running. It's just too cold. 

Anyway.

The offending toe,
second from right.

I ran outside at lunchtime today, in the chill and the mist. Got two miles down in a nice time, given that it was very cold and there were also hills in my route. (They're unavoidable, really, since my office is essentially on top of a hill.) Oddly enough today the uphills were actually better than the downhills: my knees did not particularly like the steep slopes down.

But I am beginning to fall apart. Aside from the bad left knee and the bad right ankle, I now have a problem toe to fuss over as well. I've got a bruise or a blister or something under the nail... I didn't notice it at all during the run today, but when I put my smart work shoes back on afterwards they definitely pressed on it the wrong way and sent me limping around the office. Sigh.

You do hear stories about people losing toenails during marathon training and so on... I don't want to lose my toenail. I didn't sign up for that... >:-(

Running, eh? Bad for you. Definitely. 

12 Miles!

Today's run: 12 miles / 19.31 km in 2:18:22.
Injury check: Bit of pain in both knees.
Support crew: Rob (cycling) and Robert (running).
______

Today was much better than last week, for two main reasons:

• No uphills
• Awesome support crew

I carefully planned this route to avoid awful hills. There were a few bits of uphill but they weren't as bad as last week and they were much earlier in the run, meaning that when I was struggling at the end I didn't also have to cope with a literal uphill battle... 

Consequently the route was a little boring - out and back along the footpath to Harpenden - but my support crew kept me in a much better mood than I managed last week! The difference it makes having people with me is immense. The conversation and the company from my guys kept the smile on my face most of the way around. 

The weather was cold but not as cold as I'd been fearing, although the wind was pretty bitter along the more exposed sections of the path. I had a good moment when we overtook a pair of runners - who were also training for the marathon, as it turned out. It's quite nice to have people in your sights and chase them down...!

Even though the footpath is tarmac, and therefore slightly lower impact than concrete pavement, my knees were complaining towards the end and over the last couple of miles I was definitely slowing down. My thighs were aching too, so after stretching out and eating some hot, tasty food, I actually tried the cold water bath again. I cheated a little bit again, running hot water around my feet to stave off aching toe bones, but I stayed in the cold for a full 3 minutes. If that makes a shred of difference to my recovery speed, I shall report it here. 

When I signed up to the Reading Half Marathon (17th March) as part of my training I put down an estimated time of 2hours45. Judging by today, I'm now hoping to be able to beat that, and maybe even scrape in under 2hours30. 

Watch this space.

Ups and Downs

This is a long road to the marathon. 

On the one hand, I am probably the fittest I've ever been in my adult life. Today I ran 2.43 km in 15 minutes. I ran something close to that around this time last year - and then I had to lie down for five minutes to recover. Today I simply carried on with my gym session. 

This is good for me...

Another benefit: I decided a little while ago that as I was training for a marathon I was going to eat whatever I damn well wanted to. No, I'm not eating junk food - my recipes at the moment include lots of pasta for the carbohydrates and lots of chicken for the lean protein. But I'm also not feeling even a shred of guilt about succumbing to a mid-afternoon chocolate bar. And I'm definitely eating more than I would normally. 

I like being this fit. I like having lost 5kg since I started training. I like fitting back into those trousers. I like eating what I want. 

On the other hand, I'm blooming tired of exercising. 

Every other day I'm going out for a run, or climbing onto the treadmill for a run, or going to the gym to do my cross-training and strength work to support my running. Sometimes - especially after a long day at work and when it's a cold evening - I really just want to go home and curl up on the sofa. But I go to the gym and run. 

... this is not.

I'm also sick of the winter. Last weekend's weather was lovely for running as far as I was concerned: sunshine and cool air. This weekend is looking much more wintery. I will be running in layers, hat and gloves again. Bah, humbug. 

Still, I have recently begun to rethink my stance on never running again after April. I have no doubt that immediately following the marathon I will be extremely anti-running. But after that... Well, being able to run five miles in an hour without curling up and gasping for breath is a nice level of fitness to be at. Running is probably the best way to keep it up. 

No promises, though.

Long Run is Long

Today's run: 10.5 miles / 16.9 km in 2:02:33.
Injury check: All clear.
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I didn't have a training buddy today, which was a little bit daunting. This was going to be a long run and I knew it was going to be harder doing it on my own. Still, it was a nice day to try: there was blue sky above me and the sun even had some heat in it. 

I made a good start, through town and out down the picturesque trail towards Harpenden. I was running a 10mins20/mile pace and actually quite enjoying it all. And while there was no-one around I was singing silently along to my music without a care in the world. At the 4 mile mark I turned around and headed back the way I'd came, and then on around a loop past the airport and towards home.

I was doing pretty well all the way up to 7 miles. At which point I faced a good deal of Bad Gradient. Whereas last week I carefully planned the route to avoid uphills, this week I didn't. There was only really one proper uphill. But it was a nasty one:

Yep, that one right there. I did not enjoy that. 

After that hill this run became quite a slog. I was beginning to tire a bit and the hill, combined with turning into the wind and the sun going in, took a toll on my energy and my cheerfulness. I was much more grumpy for the rest of the run.  

Tunes!

The good lessons from today: I can make it around 10.5 miles, even on my own. And although I slowed down from the fast early pace - especially on the hills - I still made a pretty good time. I was hoping to scrape in under 2 hours, but the slow slog after the hill (and having to repeatedly stop to stretch out a stitch) stole those minutes from me and I just didn't have enough left in the tank to claw them back.

However, one of the worst things about running on your own is that it's so much easier to stop! Not even the Super Running Tunes I'd specifically picked for the end of my playlist could inspire me enough past mile 9, as my legs began to ache and tiredness crept up on me, and I did walk for a few metres here and there.

I mapped the run surprisingly well, finishing only twenty metres from my doorstep. By then I was definitely worn out but I wasn't suffering as much as I did last week. I think the energy gels and the isotonic drink I'd taken instead of water probably helped, as did the fact that the wind chill wasn't so bad today. I also made sure I ate some good recovery snacks while I was cooling down and stretching: a microwaved sausage roll followed by a banana and honey sandwich. Yum.

So, it was hard work. But I ran 10.5 miles in two hours. Ergo: I'm writing this one up as a win. 

Filling in the Gaps

Injury check: All clear.
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This week I ran twice at the gym: 

• 30 mins that included hills
• 2 km, which took just under 13 mins

These sort of times / distances don't really feel like they warrant a post of their own any more - I'm just dropping them in here so you don't think I'm sitting with my feet up during the week and only running at the weekends. 

Onwards!

9 miles

Today's run: 9 miles / 14.48 km in 1:40:00.
Injury check: All clear.
Training buddy: Rob.
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I've decided to track my distances in miles from now on, so this was a bit of a jump from the 12 k / 7.5 miles of last week. 

I had company again, to help me through. Rob isn't really a runner, so he accompanied me on his bike. Sort of like a coach, cycling alongside an athlete in training. It wasn't much of a workout for him, but it worked really well for me.

Only the good type of gradient in this route.

I felt pretty good throughout, especially given that I donated blood yesterday. I made up some sugary snacks (mashed banana + honey) to keep me going, and Rob counted off the miles and kept me updated on my speed. 

The weather was almost perfect for me, too. Cool enough that I didn't overheat but not so cold that I complained about it.

The Knee behaved itself, The Ankle was good. I had to pause at one point to stretch out a hamstring but otherwise the legs were fine, beyond the expected exercise-induced ache as I worked through the miles.

However, after the run, I crashed pretty hard. Shivery, faint, pale. The distance had obviously taken more out of me than I thought. Luckily Rob was still there to give me a hot drink and feed me crisps until I was back to normal. 
The moral of this story: do not go for a 9 mile run the day after giving a pint of blood. 

However, I did manage 9 miles in good time and at a good pace. So, overall, I'm calling this a win.

Totalled

As requested by one of my favourite people, I've created a cumulative distance graph that totals up all of my training runs so far: 

Can you spot when the post-summer "serious" training began?

To date I have covered 112 miles. Apparently that's most of the way from Luton to Portsmouth.

It'll be interesting to see how many miles I can accumulate by M-Day (as I will now be referring to the 21st of April...).