TRAINING UPDATE: Week 10 of half marathon training

I can't believe I am in the last days of my training. Wokingham is now only two weeks away and I have been in the final stages of race prep before I begin to wind down and taper. 

Week nine was an interesting one. I had ended week eight with a 10 mile training run. I luckily had my best friend join me and we tend to chat ALOT when we run together so the mile pace for this was a very casual 8.50. The following day, I didn't ache exactly but I did decide to give my body a rest from cardio and instead I did a small weights workout. I am now successfully using my 5KGs at least once a week which is huge progress given that I was struggling to lift them only weeks ago. 

(10 miles with my bestie!)

By Tuesday, I was starting to feel the familiar feeling of training fatigue. I always get this towards the end and I was also experiencing a very busy period in my job which doesn't help. Cycling home that evening, I couldn't be arsed to go out for my paced run and when I got in, I decided to skip it. However, as I started to get changed out of my cycling kit, guilt flooded over me and I fought the urge to slob on the sofa and told myself to get into my running kit and get out the front door. 

It was hard but I eventually was outside, Garmin set and starting off on a four mile paced run (it was meant to be five but sod it!). Despite feeling absolutely shattered, I decided to take a different route to  my normal one to change things up. This one turned out to be bloody hilly! My god it was so hard. Up and down, up and down. It was endless! Time managed to pass quickly though and I was super chuffed to see that I had finished with an average mile pace of 7.38 (faster than it should be!). I was ecstatic and so glad I had plucked up the courage to head out. 

Come the next day and elation had quickly turned to pain. I woke up with the most painful shins. Even to lightly touch them made me wince - it was horrid. Every step I took was agony and I found more comfort on my bike than actually putting my feet on the ground! By Thursday, it was even worse (it always is the second day isn't it?). I was worried I had come down with the dreaded shin splints but after much research, I think I had a bad case of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Still though, it was awful and I decided to skip training for three whole days. 

By Sunday, I was down to run 13 miles. Ugh the dreaded long run of my training plan. Luckily, my shins were feeling OK by this point but the weather outside was greatly putting me off. It was chucking it down with rain and I could see trees bending over backwards from the strong winds. Seeing my husband snuggled down in the duvet, I begrudgingly got out of bed and changed into my kit. I opted to wear my new Mizuno Breathe Thermo Wind Running Top (shop here). I got this for Christmas from the hubby and it is a beautiful piece of kit. It works to keep you dry and warm during the winter months as the yarns captures escaping heat. I was a little hesitant of its thickness and that I would overheat but it turned out to be an absolute lifesaver! The rain was awful and it kept me dry up until 7-8 miles before I started to feel slight dampness on my skin. I think that is good going though!

(wearing Mizuno Breathe Thermo Wind Running Top)

Going back to the actual run, I found myself going at quite a good pace. I was ranging between 8.10 - 8.40 mile pace and it felt comfortable and controlled. I ran all over North London and then ventured down to Angel and St Pauls, followed by running up the Southbank and over to Buckingham Palace. Doing 13 miles on my own was a bit lonely but I kept myself busy taking in some of London's wonderful sights. 

(Sunday morning practise for the Queen's guards)

By the final mile, I dug deep to try and do it at target half marathon pace (which I did) and found I finished the whole run in just over 1.48! To say I was chuffed is an understatement. I was surprised at this time as I did try to go at a pace that was casual and not overly strenuous. I'm pleased that this turned out to be faster than I expected. 

Coming into week 10, I didn't feel too tired from my long run. Again, I made Monday a weights day and headed out for a paced run on Tuesday. This did come out a lot slower than all my previous ones (and I mean ALOT - my average mile pace was 8.58) but I do think my legs were a bit heavy from the 13 miles two days previous. Due to social commitments, I skipped sessions on Wednesday and Thursday but switched them to Friday and Saturday. First up was my weekly swim session (which went well) and then early Saturday morning I headed out for a speed session.

I opted to carry out the pyramid session my club had done at training on the Thursday I missed. It involved started long and slow, then getting shorter and faster and going all the way back up to the top again:

1200m (half marathon pace)

800m (10K pace)

400m (5K pace)

200m (sprint!)

400m (5K pace)

800m (10K pace)

1200m (half marathon pace)

(60 seconds rest between each set)

I love doing these as at the time they feel bloody tough but you know you are pushing your body hard. If you decide to do these sessions, make sure you follow the correct pace. Try your best to go fast on the shorter distances but remember to reserve energy for when you are back up to 1200m. That last set burns! It totals just over 5K and I was happy with my average pace and mile splits:

The next day (today) it was my weekly long run. Now I was actually supposed to be doing the Regent's Park 10K race today but I felt like I needed to get another long run in for practise. So, I headed out on this gloriously sunny day to take on 10 miles. I managed to keep similar pace to last weeks 13 miles and again felt steady and controlled. Opted to do the last two miles at target half marathon pace and ended up doing them much fast than anticipated! Wahoo! The weather was so beautiful today too so London's sights were in their true glory. 

(Left: St Pauls, Right: Buckingham Palace)

So this brings me to the end of week 10! Looking back on my whole plan, I do feel pleased with where I am. Yes, I have missed a couple of sessions and maybe tweaked a few too many paced runs but overall, it isn't too shabby. Do I think I can secure that all important sub 1.45? At this time, I honestly don't know. Whilst I feel happy I can do the distance, I am a little fearful I will run out of steam at mile 9/10 and end up wilting away in the final stage. But, this could be mind over matter and I will need to ensure on race day my head in screwed on properly and ready to take on the challenge and reach my goals. 

Lipstick Runner.

My favourite speed sessions

The best part of running is seeing improvements every time you run. However, this comes with a balance of endurance, hill and HIIT training. The latter is personally a favourite of mine. As a speed driven, middle distance runner, I thrive off sessions that involve short, fast reps. 

For many, these sorts of workouts cause dread and worry - fear that they make them too tired for their long run at the weekend, or that lots of fast reps could cause injuries and niggles. In all honestly, there is nothing except benefits from high intensity sessions. As well as making you a faster runner, speed work also contributes to your overall fitness. It improves your core strength, running momentum and the ability to endure hardcore running. What's not to love!?

Here are a few of my faves that are great to do alone or with a group of fellow runners. I highly recommend trying to squeeze in a speed session once a week, or if not, alternate it every week with a hills session. 

MAKE SURE YOU WARM UP BEFORE ANY SESSION!

All of my speed sessions start with a warm up jog (or if I am heading to the track to train with club members, I will cycle there to get the heart rate up). I find this really important as it just gets the body prepped for what's to come. It doesn't have to be fast - just your steady, plateau place. Next, I will do some drills to get my muscles and joints warmed up. I always aim to do:

3x 10 seconds of heel flicks

3x 10 seconds of high knees

3x 10 seconds of high skips

3x 50m of strides

Once all this is done, you are good to go!

1. Short and sweet sprints.

This session is all about very short, very fast reps. I aim to run these 400ms at my 3K pace. If you are new to speed sessions, I would begin doing this session a couple of times at 5K pace and overtime as your stamina builds up, you will slowly see your speed increase. Saviour those rest periods too! This session does leave you huffing and puffing at the end but you will feel like you have worked your socks off!

2. Pyramids

This one is tough but a goodie. Sometimes I do this session by distance or by time (e.g. 4mins, 3mins, 2mins, 1min) so it's a choice of whatever you prefer. As the distances get shorter, your speed increases. When you come to the halfway point, the hard part is working your way back up to 1200m where your speed decreases as the sets get longer. I run the longest distance at 10K pace and then the shortest at 3K pace. 

3. The 5 5's

This looks simple but I find these session one of the toughest. I am one of those that dreads fartlek work. I cherish my beloved rest periods and thoroughly miss them when it comes to this workout, That said though, this session really does improve your endurance and it helps me to manage different level of paces for certain distances. By the time you have completed the 10K pace set, you will be so relieved to drop the speed for the last two sets. Warning - legs will feel tired at the end of this so make sure you make time to stretch properly at the end. 

What are your favourite speed sessions? I am always on the hunt for newbies! :)


Lipstick Runner.

TRAINING UPDATE: Countryside cycling, travelator giggles and ramping up the speed

September has been a pretty active month. I've managed to squeeze a lot into the last four weeks which has been tricky to work around longer working hours and weekends away. What's been great is that I have been able to mix up my training and enjoy it with others.

At the start of the month, I headed back to my in-laws for a weekend break in the countryside. Their house is literally surrounded by fields and sheep and I was itching to get out and about on a rural run. It turned out to be a rather interesting one, where I got lost (twice) and came face to face a with a herd of cows. But I did get to enjoy gorgeous views, some hefty hills and a decent lungful of fresh air.

I had managed to reach seven miles on this run and by the following weekend, I subtly cranked the distance up to eight. I was back in London for this one and to make the run as scenic and interesting as possible, I opted to take in my favourite city sights. Starting from North London, the first few miles is a slog, running all the way down Holloway Road (not the most scenic start) and then down through Angel and Farringdon. These are really busy, smoggy areas so you do spend a lot of your time weaving in and out of people however, by mile five I had reached St Paul's Cathedral - the first hotspot on my run.

From here, I head over Millennium Bridge and onto the Southbank towards London Bridge. In the early mornings, I find running alongside the Thames so peaceful and with so much to look at, these final few miles normally fly by. When I reached Tower Bridge, I was on 7.95 miles (typical) so I had to run over the bridge. For the first time in my life though, as I reached the centre, the guards closed the gates as the bridge was being raised! This was at 7.98 miles. Still, it was nice to watch and once the suspensions were brought back down, I ran to the other end to complete the full eight miles. Overall, I managed an average pace of 8.27. Not as fast as I would have liked but I'll take it.

After this run, I realised that I had been lacking speed sessions. In fact, I hadn't really done a proper one in weeks! I decided to spend the week that followed focussing my normal training runs on speed work and fartleks. For one workout, I surreptitiously headed over to my local athletics track to carry out a session with my running club, something I have not been able to do in ages. I was really nervous as I had not run with others in quite a while. It annoyed me that I had actually reached this point of being unfamiliar and out of place. I was worried how fast I was going to be and when the coach read out the session, I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to complete it. It was as followed:

1x 1600m (threshold pace)

5x 600m (5-10K pace)

5x 200m (running hard)

I started off easy, making sure I actually did stick to threshold for the 1600m. I even found the first few 600m sets really tough and I savoured the 200m walk recoveries. However, by the 4th 600m, I had found my feet and felt strong and fast. I finished the session with an average pace of 6.32. My final 200m was also at a mile pace of 5.20 and I really couldn't be happier with that!

By the weekend, my legs were feeling pretty achey from these tailored sessions I had done but I wasn't too concerned as my training for the weekend wasn't your normal run in the park. It was an obstacle run in the park! I had entered my best friend and I into Rough Runners, a gladiator style obastacle race set on Clapham Common. You may be wondering why and I can explain...

...This race had a travelator!

We adored Gladiators growing up and I always used to love the finale course where the contestants would sprint up the travelator at the end. So when I saw this advertised, I had to enter just for this reason. It was such a laugh too. It was a mere 5K run with around 12 obstacles, including zip lines, punch bag walls, hanging beams (this hurt!) and a hilarious one called Swept Off Your Feet (inspired by Total Wipeout's, Crash Mountain).

By the time I got to the travelator, I was ready and raring to go. I opted for the fast lane (who wouldn't) but was gutted to have not made it up the first time. Its harder than it looks! Second attempt though, I sprinted as hard as I could and hopped up to the platform and finished with a little celebratory dance.

I had a bit of a messy recovery from Rough Runners as I had experienced a swollen and bruised ankle, which caused quite a lot of pain. Luckily though, I was back up and running three days later and managed to complete a strong fartlek session, which I adapted from a workout I read in Running Fitness magazine. I call it the five 5s:

5 minutes warm up jog

5 minutes @ 10K pace

5 minutes @ 5K pace

5 minutes @ 10K pace

5 minutes cool down jog

I find fartlek sessions really tough as the urge to stop for a rest is hard to resist. I especially found the 5K pace really hard and was counting down the minutes to the cool down jog. I managed to complete over 5K with an average mile pace of 7.55.

Come the final weekend of the month and I was off on my travels again, this time with my beloved bike in tow. I was heading to The Cotswolds to spend the weekend cycling with my friend from University. I was sooo excited for this as I haven't ridden my bike properly since the triathlon. It has only been used for my commute to work and I was really looking forward to going out for more than five miles.

The Cotswolds is simply stunning. We managed to complete 30 glorious miles in the sunshine, heading through little hamlets and villages and even stopping off in Stratford Upon Avon for a pit stop in a quaint pub. We managed to dodge some of the really steep inclines but we were faced with some unexpected hills along the way and it was great to be back in the saddle climbing up them! It made me realise how much I miss cycling and I will greatly miss being able to go out at weekend on my bike during marathon training. The thought of having to spend these running 20 miles still frightens me...

Anyway, that's an overview of September complete! Here's to a successful month of training. Lets hope October turns out to be the same (or better!).


Lipstick Runner.

TRAINING UPDATE: Feeling tired

This post comes with a mixture of feelings. I seemed to have gone from feeling unstoppable and speedy to lethargic, achy and well, quite frankly, a tad moody at times.

The last few weeks have certainly been interesting in terms of my training. Following on from the success of my last update (here), my running went from strength to strength during my training sessions. I found myself tackling more hills and even hurled myself out of bed on a Sunday at 6.30am to fit in a run before work. This is very unusual for me.

In terms of my swimming and cycling, these have been consistent. I'm not any slower but nor am I faster. It has come to my attention that I really struggle to 'push the pace' when swimming. I have reached a point in my training where I have a speed that is comfortable and manageable over longer swim distances. This is the fastest my body wants to go and I am happy to accept it. The swim in my triathlon won't be my shining moment so I just need to concentrate on getting through it with energy to spare.

Cycling has recently been on the back burner, with just my daily commute and the very occasional longer ride at the weekend. Over the Easter break, I did manage to join a fellow training companion for a cycle along the canal to Hertford. We cycled almost 50K in total, which was super good training for me. It was also the first time I tried out my cleats on a long ride and I must say they did feel very comfortable (even if I did fall off 10K in - shh it never happened).

In general, I can't complain with how my training is going. Trying to juggle workouts around work, wedding planning and generally having a life is getting harder, especially as my big day draws closer. I'm the busiest I have even been with hours, days, weeks flying past. I haven't really stopped since coming back from Christmas and I think my body is starting to protest about this. So much so, that this week my energy levels have depleted.

I started to notice a decline in my efforts when I went out for a 10K at the weekend. I went with my partner and we took on a hilly route at a casual pace. What was alarming is that I found this tough and I was running a good minute or so slower than normal. This worried me. I also got the worse stitch at mile five and had to stop for a couple of minutes for it to subside. When I got home, I felt a little upset but decided to shake it off and tried again on Tuesday, this time doing my normal mini brick session (cycle home and then a 5K run). Tuesday was a particularly warm day and I think us Brits are trying to adjust to the hotter weather (goodbye thick leggings and woolly hats!). About half a mile into the run, I began to feel really heady and thirsty. My legs were lifeless and putting one foot in front of another was proving to be a real effort. Two miles in, I had to stop as again I had a really awful stitch.

What on earth is wrong with me? Two runs suffering pain and exhaustion. Something isn't right and with my first ever duathlon only a week away, it is unnerving that I am feeling this way. I guessed I might be really tired in general but the other morning, I did wake up feeling a bit groggy with a scratchy throat and snotty nose. The start of a dreaded cold - which would make sense why I feel so poo.

Despite these symptoms, by Thursday I went out as normal to do my fortnightly speed session. I was going to sweat it out! It was warm again so I opted to take a drink with me which helped a lot. I chose to carry out a pyramid session and ran around Alexandra Palace and surrounding residential areas. By the halfway point I had found a decent pace - still slower than normal but a big improvement from Tuesday. I average exactly seven minute miles, which is just over my ideal 5K pace.

(above: before and after my hot and sweaty speed session)

Talking about 5Ks, I haven't forgotten about my challenge to go sub 21 (see here). It really is still on the agenda and I was close to trying it out the day after my birthday (the original deadline I had set myself). The only thing is that I may have had one too many gins the night before and didn't get up in time for parkrun. I know - I'm useless but it was my birthday after all...

The sub 21 will happen. I am sure of it. All my speed work and hill training is definitely helping me work towards this goal and I'm hoping by the Summer, it will be ticked off my list. I did have great success at my local parkrun ever so recently. It's a tricky course and I managed it in 22.26 so I am super keen to try out a flat 5K to see if I can make the 20s. 

This weekend I am away on wedding business so I will need to fit my training in around venue visits, florist meetings and of course a big fat lunch with the Best Man and Bridesmaid (this is a necessity). I'm hoping to do a brick session on Sunday - using my parents indoor bike and then heading out for a 30 minute run. After this, I will have a quiet week, resting up for my duathlon on the 18th. Judging by how tired and achy I'm feeling, I'm going to need it!

I'll keep you posted!

Lipstick Runner.

TRAINING UPDATE: Run, Cycle, Swim, Repeat

This last fortnight has been far more successful than previous. Coming out of the flu was a slow(ish) progress. The snuffles and an awful cough were what remained from my bed ridden state but I was just grateful to be back up and running again.

I felt fully recovered midweek but still opted to avoid exercise until the weekend. Despite that though, I didn't hold back come Saturday and I headed out bright and early for an easy eight mile run. The first mile was literally run at snails pace just to get me into my rhythm but by 5K I had found my feet and was running on average just under nine minute milling. By 10K my legs were aching but I trooped on to complete what I set to out to do. I did keep coughing a lot on this run and I felt a tad wheezy but way better than I was expecting which was a great sign!

I had planned a bike ride on Sunday as the weather was going to be nice. I woke up with very heavy legs from my run but despite this, I still got ready to head out for a cycle. It would probably do my legs some good loosening them up. I took the route through Hampstead to Regents Park where I did a lap of the outer circle. I then took a quick pit stop and walked my bike up to the top of Primrose Hill (one of my favourite spots in North London) to take in this beautiful view:

After Primrose I then looped back round through Kentish Town to bring me back home. My cycle was roughly 10 miles so not too strenuous but enough to wake my legs up.

By Monday, I was craving a swim. I haven't been for a good couple of weeks and previous to this I was really making progress with my front crawl. I don't want this focus to slip so after work, I headed to my local lane pool and set myself a little workout based on exercises and technical movements a good friend (and incredible swimmer!) had taught me:

Front Crawl Technique (in 30m lengths)

4x standard front crawl (warm up)

4x arm pulls with float

2x standard front crawl

4x around the world hand touches

2x standard front crawl

4x leg kicks with float out in front (THESE KILL ME!)

2x standard front crawl

4x 'sharkies' (where you touch your shoulder on every arm stroke)

2x standard front crawl

4x leg touches

2x standard front crawl

4x arm pulls with float

2x standard front crawl

TOTAL: 40 lengths (1200m)

By mixing standard front crawl lengths between each technique it is helping me to put them all into practice when swimming normally. I do feel like my style is improving - I am using less energy per stroke which in turn is making me go faster. I do however need to work on 'cutting' through the water better. I do worry when I swim I am a bit all over the place, kicking and splashing.

Tuesday was club night for me and as I was missing the track session this particular week, I opted to head with a few others to the Regents Park dirt track which is situated on the outer circle. It was just over a mile jog there and then after some drills we went straight into 400ms. Two sets of 4x400m with decreasing rest periods (45secs, 30secs and 15secs). I found these hard, especially as my body was feeling fatigued from the last three days of running, cycling and swimming but I stuck to working as hard as I could. You can see below with my times that my speed greatly improved whilst on the track and I even managed a faster run back to the club than I did running to Regents Park. 

I really feel my core working when doing these high intensity workouts and they are a brilliant way to kick your metabolism into gear and burn fat faster. That said though, after jogging back to the clubhouse I did have two chocolate biscuits. Oops!

The rest of the working week was fun and play after this. Thursday I would normally head to the track for a HIIT session but instead I spent the evening with family at my favourite dim sum house, Ping Pong. Check out this scrummy cocktail!

By the time the weekend arrived it was time to head out on a long run again. This is actually my last shot until Cabbage Patch 10 to squeeze in a decent run as the next couple of weekends I'm away. I chose to do eight miles again with the aim to be quicker than last week. I set off not really knowing where I was going - I sometimes prefer planning the route on the spot as it makes the run more adventurous and free. 

I headed to Hampstead Heath but only stopped there for five minutes, choosing to run through and up to Kentish Town and onto the towpath towards Angel. I have only run along here once but where I cycle along it weekly now, I thought this would be a great place to pick up some speed (something I am lacking greatly at the moment!). It was really quiet and peaceful running along here and I was boshing out some great times too (miles 2 - 8 were all sub 8.30)!

By the time I reached 10K, I didn't feel tired at all which I saw as a great sign compared to how I was feeling the week previous. Running along the towpath also allowed me to keep my pace consistent as its a straight path with very little people. Once I was off here and onto the busy streets of Angel there was lots of stopping and starting, weaving in and out of people. Still though, I was super chuffed with my time. I was nearly four minutes faster than last week and had plenty of gas left in the tank, which is very reassuring for me as Cabbage Patch is fast approaching.

By Sunday, it was time to head out for a bike ride and after heading to Regents Park last week and seeing all the cyclists on the outer circle, I wanted to head there to experience my first proper speed session on the bike. After a comfortable cycle there once I was on the outer circle I aimed to do four laps (I'm not too sure on the distance per lap but I would predict 2.5KM), two laps fast and two laps recovery. This was the first time I had picked up speed on my bike without lots of traffic around me and it as brilliant! Although many fellow cyclists sped past me, I revelled in pushing myself around the circle and in the final straight to the marker point where I move into a steady lap, I made sure I pumped my legs harder and faster. 

Doing four laps was definitely a good starter. My legs felt like they had a good workout and bum hurt which can only mean I worked hard *must invest in cycling shorts*. After the session I remained in Regents Park to meet a friend at the boat pond for a coffee. It was such gorgeous weather and lazing around in the sun relaxing was a lovely way to end my exercise fuelled week. 

Here's to the same next week!


Lipstick Runner.

TRAINING UPDATE: A week to myself

I have been dying for this week to come! Time off work is something I have been craving for weeks. I've been starting to get the constant feeling of exhaustion and I can tell by looking at myself in the mirror that I need a break. Skin is grey and dull, eye bags are drooping down to my toes and my hair is limp and lifeless. When my fiancé's family asked if I could puppy sit their two French Bulldogs whilst they were on holiday, I didn't hesitate. A week out of London to recuperate? Yes please!

Another great thing about this week off is that I get to use my time to get out running and cycling in Essex countryside. This has definitely been a real treat, especially when you are limited to city routes on a daily basis. I arrived here on Friday night and straight away on Saturday morning, we were up and out to do a nice 10K training run. In my last Training Update, I mention at the end that I wanted to try a 10K and try and hold a steady pace. We started out running through some residential areas and the first mile or two I did feel really tired. I am noticing this a lot when I run. It takes me ages to get started and I do find it hard to get a rhythm working.

I started with a couple of 8.50 miles which was really bumming me out. Pre-injury, I would run 10K on a training run at around 7.50 miles, so knowing I am a minute slower is really getting me down. Still though, halfway in we had reached the winding county lanes and picturesque villages so having the nice scenery helped to pick me up. We ran down little lanes, past corn fields, horse stables and stunning views. It was super lovely! I returned back home to complete 6.2 miles with an average of 8.33 miles. This run did involve a lot of stopping and starting so really not pleased with my time BUT no point in dwelling and I must keep my patience intact.

The next day, we both went on a bike ride. It was really great to head out as a couple as my fiancé doesn't keep his bike in London. We headed out the same direction as we did for the run the day before but extended further into small quaint villages. This was only the second time ever I have cycled my bike without locks clamped to the rack and a huge backpack weighing me down. It felt soo light and quick - it was great!

When the start of the week came round, I tried to keep to a similar fitness routine as I would on a typical working week. Monday's is Nike Training day so I opted to do a 30 minute session working on key core and strength exercises. I am starting to look forward to these sessions now as it's a nice change to high intensity workouts. It's also a great time for me to stretch out my ITB and work to rebuild it's strength. 

As I am in a house this week and not a top floor apartment with thin wooden flooring, I took the opportunity to actually complete a full Nike workout. When I wrote my review on this app (see HERE) I mentioned that I have to pick carefully each step I take as ones involving jumping, hopping, running aren't suitable to do in my apartment. I'd fear I could fall through the floor into downstairs living room! However, with a huge living room to do my workout in this week, I chose the Slim Chance workout in the Get Lean category.

This workout got my heart rate working! With light jogging, split jumps, high knee runs and side hopping intwined with press ups, mountain climbers and Russian twists, I was pooped by the end! My core however felt the burn from it which can only mean it's working.

Tuesday I opted to do a standard four mile run. I've got into a routine of doing this. It's long enough to feel like I've done a workout but short enough to ensure I have plenty left in the tank for a speed session and long run later in the week. Again, like my 10k at the weekend, I found this run so hard. I was hot and bothered and had to stop early in to use my inhaler, something I hardly ever do! I completed the four miles with an average pace of 8.21 per mile and again, I am feeling a bit low that I am not getting any faster. What's gutting is that I feel incredibly tired during my runs and right now, I can't imagine running 10 miles, which I have to do in six weeks! Right now, I'm not sure how I ever managed to run at a sub eight minute mile pace for this sort of distance and sadly, I don't think I'll reach this standard for a long time.

Wednesday I headed out on a cycle, again heading back to the country lanes I went down at the weekend. I absolutely loved going back along this route. As it was mid week the roads were empty and at one point I stopped in this field and just stood there. It amazed me that there was not a sound to be heard. It was refreshing to be surrounded by this compared to the hectic rat race of London.

During the cycle, I noticed so many hot spots for blackberry picking. I mean loads! So with that in mind, the next day I came back out on this cycle, three tupperware boxes in the rucksack to get on a major blackberry picking spree. It was really therapeutic to be back out in the country, minding my own business and I also got tonnes of juicy blackberries. Check out my post on my findings and how I used them HERE.

On Friday, I was working from home so had a pretty busy day glued to my laptop catching up on everything. I worked straight through to 5.30pm and after staying in the same spot all day, I felt like I needed a good run. This was the perfect time for a HIIT session! My aim was to do three miles so I chose to do 800m warm up followed by 4x 800m at 5K pace and 2x 400m at 3K pace. It felt good pushing myself - hard but rewarding. Comparing my times to the last speed session I did (read about it HERE) my pace stayed exactly the same. I was slightly disappointed that it hadn't improved but at the same time, I've got to appreciate that it wasn't any slower.

Saturday = rest day. It was lush!

Sunday was long run day. I had been dreading this a little bit since my awful 10K a week previous. So, instead of going first thing in the morning, I opted to go at midday. Two reasons - 1. I wanted to watch Mo Farah in the Great North Run and 2. I wanted to see if running a bit later in the day, post breakfast and fully awake would make a difference. 

Turns out, it does. I had a fabulous run! I managed to complete seven miles and my pace was slightly quicker than the 10K. I'm absolutely thrilled with this result. I did feel tired but not extremely fatigued and even more importantly, the ITB band held up! I did get a bit choked two miles in when I passed a field being harvested (the dust in the air was horrendous) but this was the only part of the run I struggled with. I definitely think going a bit later helped. Having a bit of fuel in me gave me a boost, especially as this was going to be the longest run I have done in around five months. 

(me feeling super happy with my run!)

Overall, I am chuffed to bits with my training this week. I have managed to cram in a lot of workouts in-between chasing a four month old puppy around the house. I will definitely miss being outside of London, the country bike rides and generally spending all my time doing what I love. But, work is calling and it's time to face the city again. This next week, I make my return to the running club which I am so excited about! Let's start seeing those miles build up!

Until next time.

Lipstick Runner.