Slow run

This is a backdated post. I've been a bit out of the loop. I had the beginnings of shin splints and decided to take a break from running for a long weekend in Berlin. Turns out my body was about to force me to take a break anyway, because no sooner had I stopped than I got a bloody cold! Anyway...

On this particular evening I thought I would do 5 easy miles before setting off to Germany. It ended up not being a great idea, because I took the 10-hour 'night bus', got practically zero sleep and ended up with seriously miffed calf muscles. Frustrating, but probably a sign I needed to give myself a break...

Sore shins

Eh up!

I changed at work and combined my commute home with a run this evening. I ran 8 miles at 7 mins/mile, my target pace for The Hague half marathon in a few weeks. Not particularly challenging for my lungs but another stern test for my legs, which are still sore from last weekend. United are on now. Bye.

Horrendous

Turns out my legs weren't up to it. And when your legs aren't up to it, 16 miles is an awful long way. I was already tired by mile 4 and had a bit of a funny turn at mile 5, so had to ease right off. It was a bit of a struggle from there on in. That's what happens when you're stupid enough to do 90% of your weekly mileage in one weekend. But at least it's over with. There will always be good and bad days, and this is the first bad day I've had for quite a while.

Somehow I managed to pick things up a bit towards the end and averaged exactly 8 mins/mile. So if I can do that feeling like crap, I'm confident I can hit my target on the day. Here's hoping...

Now to eat my own body weight in spaghetti. Toodle-oo!

One morning, two runs

I've buggered up this week. I went to see Anderlecht vs Ajax on Thursday night and then I was exhausted for one reason or another when I got home yesterday evening, all of which meant I missed my mid-week threshold run. So this morning I headed out for my usual slow run with Annie (5 miles), came home to refuel a bit and then went straight back out for a steady 7-miler (averaging 6m 45s per mile). As a result, my long run tomorrow will have to be a little bit slower - perhaps around the 8 min/mile mark. Not an ideal situation, but I reckon my legs are up to it.

Easy peasy!

Just finished a 10k interval session at the track. I've no idea why but it felt much easier than last week. The format was much the same - 800m fast, 400m slow. The whole 10k took me just under 41 minutes. I might have to shorten the recovery times a little next time - not much point running the 800m intervals any quicker than 3 mins. Otherwise I might double the intervals to a mile and extend the recoveries to match.

My god... could I get any duller? This must be how golfers feel! "It's not as boring as it looks or sounds - honest!" Unless you're an exercise freak, you've probably given up reading by now. Maybe I should start spicing things up - running in a tutu perhaps? I'd probably have more to write about when I got home!

Foray into the forêt

Perfect day for running today: about 10 degrees, overcast but no rain or wind. I took about 1h 45m to run just short of 14 miles. I thought I'd wear my heart rate monitor out of interest, so if you wanted to know (and I'm sure you did!), my average HR was 161 bpm. A year or so ago you could probably have added another 10 bpm to that. Interestingly, the relationship between work and heart rate differs depending on the activity and the number of muscle groups used during that activity. According to Brian Mac, you should expect a higher maximum HR for running than for cycling because running uses more muscle groups than cycling. So there we are.

It was nice to head into the forest today. Very squelchy. I now feel my gore tex trail shoes were a legitimate purchase.

And so ends another week. I'm still only managing about 30 miles per week but have significantly upped effort levels recently, so it's not because I'm lazy ;-)

Easy run

A few easy miles around the park to loosen up my legs before my 14-miler tomorrow. This time I'll try not to get lost :-)