It's safe to say that my running has been a bit slow to get going this year! After my last post I said I planned to run once per week, however I didn't keep to my word, and have only been running twice since.
The first time was last week, when I managed a nice 4 mile run which I was pretty pleased with considering the long breaks I keep taking. My first mile was a bit fast (no surprise there!) so I slowed up for the second mile. Actually a bit too much, which meant I had some speed left in my legs, and my last mile was the one that felt the strongest - it was only two seconds slower than my first, which is pretty unheard of for me.
The day after the 4 miler, I felt pretty knackered and stiff! I am the fittest and strongest I have ever been currently, so when I run I tend to feel pretty good (even my breathing is starting to calm down), however there is no substitute for actually running - you have to put the miles in if you want to improve your stamina and your post-run recovery! I found Attack and Pump quite hard work the day after, and was very much looking forward to a Friday off work with the hubby which was supposed to be a rest day, however we ended up spending a fair proportion of it walking around Reading doing a bit of shopping, so not entirely restful!!
This week I have done my usual sessions - PT on Monday (involving a military style fit test - thanks Ashley!!), Balance and Pump yesterday (involving the most difficult shoulder and lunge tracks I have ever encountered, plus my second time using 13kg of weights for the squat track). It's safe to say, my legs are feeling a bit tired and heavy! When I was packing my running kit this morning, it was absolutely chucking it down outside, and I was already thinking to myself that there was no way I was going to go running if it was still like that when I finished work. Luckily for me, the day got progressively better, and it was really nice out by the time I was ready to run. Because I was feeling weary, and have another double session at the gym tomorrow, I decided to cut myself some slack and stick to a shorter run, and try to go for some speed. It's good to throw shorter runs in every now and again, as you're still getting the time on your feet to build up your run fitness, but it is less intimidating somehow, and also good for cardio strength and working on different strides. I was overtaken about a quarter of a mile in by a man who breezed past taking it easy, whilst I was trying to go as fast as possible. Harrumph thought I! I decided to try and use him as a marker and not let him get too far away from me. Well, it must have done the trick, as
Strava tells me I ran my fastest ever mile, and fastest ever kilometer! And all whilst watching a rather beautiful sunset. All in all, not a bad evening!
First race of 2017 - Royal Berks 10k, 21st May 2017. T minus 60 days!
