Running

First run after a weeks rest

7.9 miles 1:15:41 9:31/mi

The day after my 10K race my legs burned! Given that the distance wasn’t particularly long compared to my recent running, I think the 200m sprint at the end was to blame. My thigh injury was still niggling though, so I decided to have another week of rowing and cycling at the gym in the hope of finally getting 100% fixed. It definitely felt better as the week progressed and by Friday it was completely normal most of the time. Therefore I decided to give it a go today and see how I got on. At the two mile point where I could have cut back the leg felt good so I carried on and ended up heading down to Finsbury Park and back. By the end of the run there was a bit of an ache but no pain like I had before which I’m hoping is a good sign. A day of total rest tomorrow, and hopefully it’ll be feeling good enough to get back to proper training next week.

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(Kind of) my fastest 10K yet

6.3 miles 49:05 7:50/mi

Fast tempo run home today. Felt hard but manageable, tried to keep up the pace on the hills and ended up with an average 7:52 min/mile, making for my fastest 10K yet – although it did include a few stops at traffic lights. My pace on the flats was sub 7:40 min/miles so pleased with that. Suddenly the goal pace for my 10K race a week on Sunday of 7:33 doesn’t seem quite so far off.

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Long run with 3 mile tempo

10.2 miles 1:30:03 8:50/mi

Having swapped my Thursday tempo run for some cycling and rowing at the gym as I was feeling a bit tired and still harbouring the remnants of a cold, I tried to do a combined long run and tempo today, with the aim of running down to Regent’s Park, running a couple of loops of Outer Circle, then getting the bus back from Camden (as I didn’t want to overdo it on the mileage front). In the end I only managed just under three miles at an average of 7:40 pace, which is faster than the planned 7:50, but much shorter than the 5 miles I had planned. Bit disappointed with myself, and kind of wish I had pushed on a bit further. Still, hopefully next week I’ll be 100% healthy and can push on further.

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Gentle first run after the HM

6.1 miles 57:32 9:23/mi

Having had a relaxed week post HM, with just one gentle workout at the gym on Wednesday, I was looking forward to heading out for a run today. Took it nice and steady and although I felt I could do more kept to just six miles as I didn’t want to push myself. Looking forward to starting full training again next week to prepare for the Brighton and Berlin half-marathons next year!

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Final race pace run before HM

6.4 miles 49:10 7:42/mi

The GPS signal on my watch was a bit screwy at the start of my run, so the first mile or so was totally off pace wise making it hard to judge – I’m pretty sure I was actually going way faster. Once it settled though I managed a comfortable run at just below race pace. The big hill was a bit slower but felt comfortable. Overall a decent enough final run before my race – looking forward to really going for it on Sunday!

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