Today’s run was spectacular. I have been in Wales for the weekend, in the Brecon Beacon National Park. The sky was blue, the air crisp and the countryside stunningly still. There was a little snow underfoot and a sprinkling on the higher peaks. 11 miles zoomed by as I took in my surroundings, enjoying the fresh air and beautiful scenery. My knees were a little sore afterward and I could feel a slight tightness in my chest and throat – I hope its not a cold!
Tonight was 6 x 400m sprints, with 1 minute recovery. I didn’t feel the greatest but managed all 6 laps. It was drizzling so pretty miserable.
I woke at 5am this morning – something which I’m beginning to get used to, the night after a hard session. I made use of it and drank some smoothie and chomped down half a banana, ready for my morning run. It’s suddenly turned cold again and getting out of bed was a challenge. However its film club tonight and I don’t want to miss it, so moved my evening run to this morning. I don’t like running back to back, am/pm but sometimes its necessary if I want to hold onto some sort of social life! I was supposed to be running 1m jog, 4miles brisk, 1m jog. I’m not sure I hit ‘brisk’ – my body just couldn’t. The scenery – high rises.
Tonight I braved the dreaded Highgate Hill – the club’s winter run. The second mile is uphill – it goes on and on and hurts a lot. What more can I say.
Tooting Bec, Clapham and Wandsworth. In this order we toured the local commons of SW12. Unfortunately it was a bit of a dull day, and we didn’t feel much like running. However the time passed fairly quick and when Ray left me at 7.1miles I only had a little further to go. Today I decided to dip into my snack pack resources. I wanted to test out how easy it was to eat on the go, what they tasted like and whether they had the desired effect. I thought firstly about trialing my new camelback – but as the ever wise Ray pointed out, perhaps it would be better if I tried it out on a shorter run in case it was in any way uncomfortable.
I ate three of these when I passed over the hour mark. Taste – nice. Palatable – yes. Digestible – yes. Energy giving – I think so. So all in all I like them. Only point to make is that I did crave a bit of water to wash them down with. Strangely, I felt slightly disappointed that they were OK. When I returned home I ate the below. Taste – nice for first two mouthfuls – not so nice for the rest. Digestible – yes. Energy restoring – not so sure. Looking at the ingredients there is a hell of a load of stuff in them – necessary, I’m not convinced. I think I will stick to real food post run, and only resort to these in emergencies.
Today I decided that I would partake in pilates in the park. I ran a round about 4miles to get there, and turned up a little bit muddy and dishevelled. Such X training as pilates and yoga are recommended for runners – keeps us subtle and works those all important core muscles. A strong core mean less injury and a more streamline running technique. I enjoy pilates but guaranteed every time I go I have no idea whether I am doing what I should be doing. I breath in when I should be breathing out, and then don’t breath at all when I am supposed to be stacking each vertebrae on top of each other; and how the hell do you zip up your abdominal muscles from your pelvic floor?! Anyway, I felt very relaxed afterwards, and breezed home.
I’m spending an increasingly large amount of time on Runnersworld.co.uk – Nerd ! My latest inquiry is ‘Sleep’. Why am I waking at crazy o’clock every morning? According to some, hard evening sessions ‘wakes your body up’ meaning that endorphins (feel good hormones) are increased and it is harder for you to calm down and drop your body temp, ready for sleep. My body is too happy to waste time sleeping!? A milky drink, or a banana is recommended. Jeez, at this rate I’m going to overdose on bananas. Last night was a hard session. I went, expecting track, but in the end foolishly followed the fast guys to do loops of Primrose Hill. Apparently the aim of the session is to build on strength and focus on your running form – alignment, posture, foot fall etc and not to ‘bust your lungs and heart’ and that ‘it should feel fairly easy’. This, according to Alex – who tells me he’s aiming for a 2:30 Marathon this year…
Jeez – today is the first day that I have ‘felt’ my running. It’s in my knees, in each calve and my head – I ache. Tonight’s session is going to be tough. Last night was an ‘easy’ 7m. I decided to lap Regent’s Park – boring – but convenient. It’s not the best of routes as it’s badly lit, busy and fairly uneven, but knowing that a lap is nearly 3miles makes it a reliable fallback when my tired running brain can’t think of a more inventive route to take!
This evening I ran 5.5miles at 10k pace (around 7.30min miles) It was great to run at this pace – I haven’t for a long while. I think I may feel it tomorrow… |
Gear Snacks |
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