Getting some speed back

After feeling like I would never recover from Brighton, I am feeling like I am nearly there now.

The last few weeks have gone like this:

5 mile Tuesday night club run which was hard, but made me confident I would be OK for the 10k at the weekend. Then 4.2 mile SRC run on the Wednesday, Body Pump on the Thursday, and then rest days (well, lots of walking on the Saturday) before the 10k on the Sunday. I was so pleased with how it went- I knew I wouldn’t get a pb but the more I think about it (I was under the hour) the more pleased I am, because for years I tried to get that sub 60 time, and this was not an easy course, especially with that bridge.

This week went:

Monday- Rest

Tuesday- OH run – interval training. We did 3.4 miles alternating walking (pumping out our arms), gentle running, and sprinting, even doing this up the final hill. Tough, but good. We were even given homework of 50 squats per night! I didn’t manage them on Tuesday, but I have since then.

Wednesday- SRC- managed to persuade my running buddy to come along, hoping it would be the fields (phew, it was)- lovely to run and chat, ended up doing 4.8 miles.

Thursday- Pump was not on, so we went to the allotment instead.

Friday- Rest. Waffle House after work.

Saturday- I got an email from parkrun wishing me a happy birthday! So it would have been rude not to go!

The bluebells were still all out, it is just so pretty there. I saw another OH lady there so we had a chat at the start. I wasn’t aiming for anything, but the ground was nice and hard (no slippery mud in sight) and I was going pretty fast. I made myself not look at my watch as I have a tendency to panic if I think I am going to get a pb (I am not good with the adrenaline rush). Anyway after pulling some awful faces running up the final hill, and crossing the line, my watch said 27 something, so I was keeping my fingers crossed.

I caught up with the club runner, and then treated myself to a chai latte from the coffee van, before walking back.

Later on, the text came through- 27.44 which is a course pb, and my fastest time this year (and I have been to the other one, although I could not remember why, and just realised it was part of a 12 mile run so that may be why I didn’t go too fast). Anyway, still brilliant.

What I had planned to do this weekend is 8 or 9 miles, but we are going away tomorrow so I will have to see what time we get home on the Monday. The half marathon I am signed up for is not until June, but we are going away at the end of May, so will miss two weekends for that, and the weekend after our holiday I am doing a 10k, so I actually only have this weekend, and the next two for long weekend runs. Hmm. Not ideal- may have to do some longer ones after work. Although I suppose when I was marathon training I did some 8 milers in the evening, so it is possible….

How are you spending the long weekend?