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.

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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!

2015-05-02 09.56.50

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 plannedΒ 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?

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18 thoughts on “Getting some speed back”

  1. Happy birthday Maria! Hope you’ve had a lovely day. πŸ™‚
    Well done on a speedy parkrun this morning too! I wouldn’t worry too much about not being able to get a huge amount of long runs in before your half. You’ll be surprised at how well your body remembers long runs from marathon training.

    1. Thanks Mary πŸ™‚
      I think it is because I have a week of no running that I am more worried, but at the end of the day the half is for fun, not a good time, so I will try not to worry!

  2. Hope you had a lovely birthday! I really do need to get myself along to a park run. The weather here today has been awful so I’ve just been doing some catching up and some cooking. Tomorrow I hope to have a walk out with James and Finley if we get some sun!

    1. Yes you do need to go to a parkrun- they are so brilliant.
      I hope you had a lovely walk in the sunshine.

  3. Hope you had a lovely birthday. And what a lovely way to spend it – getting a course PB on your birthday πŸ™‚
    I’m just doing what I normally do – run and eat cake hehe. Hopefully going to be going to a bbq for Monday so hoping the weather will be nice!

  4. I’ve got the Chester half in 2 weeks, so just a month after Manchester. I think you’ll be fine doing the half with what time you’ve got left – it’ll seem easy compared to the marathon! Just think of this as a long taper from the marathon to the half πŸ™‚ Your parkrun looks very pretty with all the bluebells – great time too!

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