9.7 miles
This morning's run was good, and not so good.
First of all the good. Since I got back from Spain I've been struggling with any run over about 5k. On Monday I did 5k. On Wednesday I ran to work and while I ran for the first 5k or so, after that I switched to more of a run/walk. I blamed the extra weight of my bag, and that was possibly justified, but I still took walk breaks.
Then on Thursday I did my canal run from the gym. I ran up to my turning point and started off back, but again after about 5k I started to hurt (which I think was partly from running with my bag the day before - it was more upper body aches than my legs or my lungs), and again I switched to a run/walk routine to get me back to the gym, which is something I've never done on that route before.
And yesterday I put off my run until late afternoon because of various jobs I needed to do in the morning. I left time after having my lunch (moroccan spaghetti with chickpeas and tomatoes), but possibly not enough. I ran on the treadmill because the weather wasn't appealing, and because I wanted to run at a controlled marathon pace. Just before the 5k mark I had an uncontrollable need to go to the loo, and although I got back on the treadmill after cleansing my bowels a little, and got up to 6.5k, it seemed like the 5k mark was taunting me, saying that I couldn't run further than that after my week off.
Well, take that, 5k. I managed 9.7 miles today and, although I set myself marks of places where I'd allow myself to walk (an uphill stretch near the end, on the basis that my schedule only called for 9 miles), I ran the whole thing. Woo hoo! I've run further than that before, but it's still nice to get back into my stride after a bit of a dodgy spell.
BUT, I ran a lot slower than I have been doing recently. Partly I suppose it's because the route I run from home is hillier than the route I run from the gym up the canal, but still, I was a good half minute per mile slower than my normal long run pace. This isn't a complete disaster because I'm still within my target of 45 - 90 seconds slower than marathon pace, but very definitely at the slower end of that rage. I'm glad I did, because I can afford to go a bit slower, and it helped me get to the end without taking that walk break, but I hope I'm not slowing down too much just yet as I really want to run a good time in my upcoming half marathon and 10k before starting to concentrate on the longer and longer runs marathon training will call for.
Still, the way I felt yesterday lunchtime I'm amazed I managed to do one of my scheduled runs, let alone both of them, so that has to be a victory. I just hope that running starts to feel more natural again soon!
First of all the good. Since I got back from Spain I've been struggling with any run over about 5k. On Monday I did 5k. On Wednesday I ran to work and while I ran for the first 5k or so, after that I switched to more of a run/walk. I blamed the extra weight of my bag, and that was possibly justified, but I still took walk breaks.
Then on Thursday I did my canal run from the gym. I ran up to my turning point and started off back, but again after about 5k I started to hurt (which I think was partly from running with my bag the day before - it was more upper body aches than my legs or my lungs), and again I switched to a run/walk routine to get me back to the gym, which is something I've never done on that route before.
And yesterday I put off my run until late afternoon because of various jobs I needed to do in the morning. I left time after having my lunch (moroccan spaghetti with chickpeas and tomatoes), but possibly not enough. I ran on the treadmill because the weather wasn't appealing, and because I wanted to run at a controlled marathon pace. Just before the 5k mark I had an uncontrollable need to go to the loo, and although I got back on the treadmill after cleansing my bowels a little, and got up to 6.5k, it seemed like the 5k mark was taunting me, saying that I couldn't run further than that after my week off.
Well, take that, 5k. I managed 9.7 miles today and, although I set myself marks of places where I'd allow myself to walk (an uphill stretch near the end, on the basis that my schedule only called for 9 miles), I ran the whole thing. Woo hoo! I've run further than that before, but it's still nice to get back into my stride after a bit of a dodgy spell.
BUT, I ran a lot slower than I have been doing recently. Partly I suppose it's because the route I run from home is hillier than the route I run from the gym up the canal, but still, I was a good half minute per mile slower than my normal long run pace. This isn't a complete disaster because I'm still within my target of 45 - 90 seconds slower than marathon pace, but very definitely at the slower end of that rage. I'm glad I did, because I can afford to go a bit slower, and it helped me get to the end without taking that walk break, but I hope I'm not slowing down too much just yet as I really want to run a good time in my upcoming half marathon and 10k before starting to concentrate on the longer and longer runs marathon training will call for.
Still, the way I felt yesterday lunchtime I'm amazed I managed to do one of my scheduled runs, let alone both of them, so that has to be a victory. I just hope that running starts to feel more natural again soon!
posted by YP at 6:36 PM
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