I kept it a bit quiet, but I was inspired to look for a 24 hour event after a friend (Emma) posted on Facebook about one she'd done in June - it sounded like a challenge I wanted to take up. The only one accessible to me this year was the Cotswold 24 Hour Race organised by 100 Mile Run, so I signed up.
I'll be honest, I didn't do any particular training except for continuing to train for my marathon. The laps were 9km (around 5.6 miles), so my aim was to complete 5 laps over the 24 hours which is 28 miles (just over a marathon). In retrospect, this may have been a little ambitious as I'd never completed more than 13.6 miles in training.
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Well, OK, canal, but it didn't have quite the same ring to it! I'm now on day 52 of my running streak, which I wasn't quite expecting. I've been suffering a bit lately due to the heat and being tired from early mornings/life etc, so a lot of my runs have been quite short, leaving me feeling a bit concerned about being in shape for the marathon. Last weekend I did my long run along the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath (once I'd run to it, which is about 3 miles from home). This week, I thought I'd see how Lexie would handle a run-walk-run down there, but decided to drive down instead so that we could just run and enjoy the scenery. I did have some concerns about how far she'd manage, so I set off with very few expectations (and a backpack full of supplies!). Turns out I needn't have worried. We settled into a rhythm of run 0.5 miles, walk 0.25 miles which seemed to suit us both pretty well. We stopped every couple of miles for water, and Lexie seemed to totally love it, even having the energy to hop into the back of the car at the end after 9 miles! It was blissfully cool and even drizzled for some of the time which was really nice. I stupidly didn't take any photos whilst we were out, but here's one of Lexie zonked out on the bath mat when we got home! So this weekend I did my long run (9 miles) on Saturday as I knew I was going out in the evening. I ran to town and back which is fortuitously exactly 9 miles. I won't say it was easy, but I did run/walk - I was aiming for 10:30 minute miles but ended up bang on 10:00 minutes per mile with fairly even splits.
On Sunday morning, not wanting to break my streak but feeling really tired after 5 hours' sleep, I set out for a 5k run. After about 3 steps I realised it wasn't going to happen, so settled for a "streak holding" mile instead. Definitely the hardest run of the week! So I'm now on day 18 of my running streak and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. I wondered if I'd feel too tired or injure myself but fingers crossed all good so far. As long as I stay injury free, I may continue for longer than my planned month streak. On Wednesday, Dave and I went on a pre-birthday shopping trip and bought me a few bits and bobs including some new running gear - a crop top and some new running shorts (see photo). It's been rather warm recently and not having to totally cover up was very refreshing on my run yesterday. The other big thing for me has been that I would never have had the self-confidence to wear something like that in public until very recently. I only bought my first bikini a couple of years ago. Very liberating! My mid-length run this week was an eye-opener. I was aiming for an easy pace, which I tried to gauge by how I felt, so I was maintaining a breathing pattern that was "easy" and not running so I felt fatigued. I tried to avoid looking at my FitBit as I had my route planned. In spite of all of this and not feeling like I was pushing myself, I ran 4.87 miles at an average pace of 9:26, a minute faster than my target pace.
No ParkRun for me tomorrow, as I'm going out in the evening so want to do my long run (9 miles planned) on Saturday rather than Sunday. I am not sure whether I will aim to run or run:walk:run yet, but I am going to be really aiming for a very easy pace! Really really! I've been keeping up with my yoga as well (most days), which is really great for stretching me out and relaxing me. My anxiety is pretty much a thing of the past, which is a fantastic feeling I have to say... I had my first attempt at purposely running slowly today. One thing it certainly did was to show me how far my running has developed in the past few months.
I managed to keep an average pace of 10:22 per mile (I was aiming for 10:30), which I know was a fast pace for me back in February (I happen to remember a training run where I pushed and kept a pace of 10:30). Also my heart rate was massively lower than it usually is when I run (average 136 bpm compared to 152bpm during my interval session yesterday for example) and I got home feeling like I hadn't exercised at all (I did only run 1.3 miles as it's a short run day, but I wasn't really out of breath). So this has made me feel more confident about keeping a more gentle pace in some of my long runs. From everything I've read recently I do need to work on this aspect of my running as well as my speed work. Tomorrow is ParkRun, then on Sunday I have a 7.8 mile long run planned, so watch this space! |
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May 2018
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