How to teach an old dog old tricks?

I know that isn't the way the saying goes, but it seems more apt for me!!

I've been a bit up and down since my last blog.  Training has been going pretty well, although I am not running as much as I should be, however my PT has been pushing me pretty hard and I have noticed improvements in a few areas.  I ran my fastest ever 5k almost by accident, and ran the last Yateley 10k in August in the pissing rain, a full 3 minutes faster than I planned, in a similar time to last year, when I had put in way more running miles.  Despite the running going well, I still keep putting off actually getting out and doing it, and I really don't know why so that's something I need to think about (or maybe not think about?  Maybe I think about it too much and that's why I get anxious about going running?!).

Post 5K PB

Soaked after the Yateley 10K

Finishing the Yateley 10K - soaked but smiling!

Home and social life has been great!  I had a particularly good birthday celebration spending the day by the river in Winchester paddling our new kayak and having a go on a SUP with lovely friends and family.  Perfect day (and it didn't rain!).

Best birthday cake, made by Donna!

Testing out the new Kayak with Frankie

Having a little go on Donna's SUP

Work has been..... Actually, I'm not going to go there.

Anyway, now that I have set myself a new goal of doing the Reading Half and getting a PB, and paid for it so it is really happening (!), I figured I would get back to some proper training tonight.  Thing is, I just didn't prepare properly!  In my defence, sitting in a cool air conditioned office all day didn't prepare me for quite how warm and humid it was outside, but really, you'd think I'd know by now that I can't just have a few cups of coffee during the day and then expect to breeze a 10k run in the evening!  Granted, I had a decent lunch of pasta with chicken and veg, but I literally didn't drink a drop of water all day.  One cup of tea, three cups of coffee (bad in itself I know!) and a carton of orange juice does not equal a well hydrated Katy.  Within a mile and a half I had a stitch and wanted to stop.  I slowed the pace and gave myself a talking to, and managed to make it up to 4.5 miles in the end.  So not quite 10k, but given how I felt after 1.5 miles, I'm still pretty happy with that.  In the last half a mile my body was telling me in many ways that it wanted to stop, so it was the right decision not to push on.  The stitch came back with a vengeance, my right knee started to twinge and I got a fly in my eye!

The reason I say you can't teach an old dog old tricks?  Because I already learnt this very lesson whilst marathon training.  I had a really awful run during training which knocked my confidence big time, until I stepped back and thought about how I had prepared for it, and realised that basically I hadn't!  And here I am, repeating the same mistake again!  Oh well, no run is really a bad run!  Apart from the last time I ran the Reading Half.  That was a bad run.  And I am determined that I am not going to repeat it again!  Onwards and upwards!

Slightly delirious and dehydrated after todays run!