I have decided to try a running "streak" - maybe for a month to start with. This means that I will be running at least 1 mile every day. I started on 25th May, so my initial aim is to keep it going until 25th June.
I noticed a distinct lack of streak support groups on Facebook, so decided to create one if anybody is interested in joining me! We turned ParkRun into a bit of a family affair this week. After Pickle's first attempt last week, his eldest 2 brothers decided to give it a go. Eldest bro Will decided to set off on his own, whereas Jamie started with me and Pickle. After about 1km, Jamie decided to head off alone as well. The conditions weren't ideal this week. Although the day had started with rain and thunder, the clouds cleared for 9am leaving it hot and humid. It was really too much for Pickle who struggled to even walk the course this week. The result was a 44:59 finish time and a sad Pickle. Will and Jamie fared much better - Will's time was 30:08 and Jamie's was 36:06. Once we had collected cake, Will said to me "No offence, but I think you're insane - I'm never doing that again!". Insane. I think I'll take that as a compliment :)
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It's going to sound crazy, and I have spent some time analysing myself, but I actually felt bad about my running after Sunday's 10k.
What it boils down to is that I pushed myself (hence the PB), so the running felt difficult (it was!), leaving me feeling bad because I took a few walk breaks, legs felt shoddy in the final few kms etc etc. It was a weird juxtaposition because I felt awesome about the PB but bad about the actual running. Anyway, today I thought I'd just run and see where it took me. I set out aiming to run for around 4 miles/40 minutes and ended up doing an extra mile. Although it was warm and muggy (I was sweating like a pig by the end), the actual running felt good. I know that for the marathon, endurance is going to be key and speed matters not (except that bit of my brain that currently tells me that if I push a bit I'll get there sooner - must work on that). I'm aiming for strong, longer runs (with some tempo work for variety). Faith restored. Yoga done. Gratitude felt. In 8 weeks, Pickle and I are going to doing Race for Life together, something that he's been very excited about. Now that I've got a few ParkRuns under my belt, I thought I'd see if he fancied giving it a go, so I registered him and off we tootled on Saturday morning.
We had a bit of a wait before the start as he said he'd rather get there early and park closer (!!!), so we looked at the geese and goslings by the river and watched the rowers. What can I say? He kept going - even though his legs "hated him"! We were lucky that a rogue photographer was hiding in the undergrowth, so I have some lovely photos of us running (1st lap) and walking (2nd lap). With the end in sight, his little legs decided to get a second wind and we ran to the finish. Although I let him go through first, we shared a finishing time of 38:44 - not bad for a first time and a non-runner. A PB set...watch this space! Yesterday saw me, Dave and Pickle heading to the Green Park Royal Berkshire 10K and Mini Mile. Poor Dave had a gig on Saturday night, but still dragged himself out of bed after not enough sleep to be chauffeur and to run the Mini Mile (1 mile) with Pickle. Pickle had done his first ever ParkRun with me on Saturday morning (a respectable 38:44) - apparently his legs hated him (during and afterwards). We arrived bright and early at Green Park (before the crowds), but unfortunately the start of the Mini Mile (the first event of the morning) was delayed by about 20 minutes, which was quite frustrating. Nonetheless, Dave and Pickle eventually got underway and ran the course in 12 minutes (probably less as it took them a fair while to reach the start line). Pickle got his first ever running medal which is a weighty beast and should be approached with caution! Due to the delay in starting the first event, the 3k was also delayed, pushing back the start of the 10k run. Eventually at 10.45 we were off. I'd managed to squeeze in just in front of the 55 minute pacer and had a fairly fast start (for me) - my first 3 miles were sub-9 minutes. My aim was to beat my previous PB of 57:28, and I'd decided to aim for an average pace of 9 minute miles, which would have given me a time of 55:54 (I know it's a 10k, but I work better in miles). Just before the 6k mark, I was passed by the 55 minute pacer, and then slowed down by his "entourage" jostling to keep up with him - this was unfortunately at a narrow point in the course, and as much as anything I was aiming not to end up flat on my face! I'll admit that at this point I was pretty demoralised as I was quite hot and tired, and ended up taking my first walk break.
I watched him gradually move into the distance and annoyingly felt like I'd failed myself, which of course I hadn't - I was still averaging under 9 minutes per mile and was well on course to meet my goal. The last 3k were pretty tough and in retrospect I could have done with starting out a tad slower as my legs were heavy by now and I was feeling shivery. Finally just before the final 1km, we turned back into Green Park - the end was (metaphorically) in sight, although the downside of Green Park is that there is no shade. I will admit to several more short walk "breaks" in the final km, but finally the end was in sight and I caught a glimpse of Dave (the Pickle) waiting to cheer me around the final bend. I found a final burst of speed from somewhere and passed under the gantry with a gun time of 56:11. My chip time was later confirmed as 55:22, so extremely close to my 55 minute target time. Extremely proud of myself, but exhausted, we ambled back to the car, popped home for a quick shower then out for a well-deserved meal. |
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May 2018
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