Family and Fatigue

Saturday: Family life dictated today - unable to run or attend the tutorial due to the kids, I later received a call that a relative was visiting. I spent much of the day cooking and cleaning, and at the end of the day, the feet are feeling rather tired. It's unclear how long I will have my guest for, it may be a few days, which is making me revise my running plans. I would love to be out tomorrow morning, I quite enjoy the early morning weekend runs when I can fit them in and also, I dislike having two consecutive rest days usually. It will be a case of rising early and seeing what the situation is. Feeling enormously tired, just need a good night's sleep to have me raring to go running.

She Likes To Move

Friday: The feet were not keen on running today, understandable as they were still aching and blistered from yesterday, but the trainers proved they were money well spent, protecting and cushioning them better than expected. Dry and cold weather today, cloudy and sunless, as I like it for running. I remembered my earphones, though forgot to apply the calf gel, which is something I need to get into the habit of. I began with the usual 10min warm-up walk, with light stretching/leg shaking, covered 4.22km in 29mins 28secs of running and ended with a 10min cool down walk. Today's run felt good, one of those days it felt less like a struggle and came to be more natural and easy. I stopped as my right calf started to play up (regretting not having applied calf gel) and I didn't want to add to the feet aches I have to contend with. Today was still enjoyable, and one of my fastest times to date. Thoughts often turn to speed, as the race is two weeks away, though I am conscious of keeping focused on endurance levels, as part of the bigger picture. Targets for the Salford 5km Run are a-30mins, b-34mins and c-38mins: (c) is easily achievable, my recent predictions have me hovering under 37mins on average; (b) is a real aim I am working towards and after all my training, I expect my body to try touching that; (a) is the dream target which is unreachable but I need that kind of aim to drive me forward. I have only done the race route once (not counting the attempt which I half walked) and fetch predicted 35mins 58secs for that. I am thinking of doing the race route again, to test myself on that punishing uphill section, to increase my race confidence and reduce potential nerves, although the route I am assuming is the race route, is being measured as 4.3 km by fetch. My last few runs have felt pretty good, it is great to be 'on a roll'. I tried out blueberry Ribena as a post-run drink, surprisngly quite nice, it's interesting trying out different drinks. I had pasta for lunch which tasted brilliant after a morning run. At the end of the day, I feel fine, the feet are sore and I feel tired, but overall, pretty pleased with my running at the moment. Definitely looking forward to my first race, it's a mixture of excitement and apprehension, which can be uneven from time to time. But the way I have been feeling during my running lately, and the way I am progressing, it's all good :o)

Blisters and Half Marathons

Thursday: As expected, no time for a run today. However, a great deal of walking in heels have left my feet aching and blistered. I really hope the blisters won't bother me too much for tomorrow's run, am really regretting not having worn better footwear today. Have decided, after arm twisting and such encouragement, to aim towards doing a half marathon in Glasgow in September... I am sure a lack of sleep is contributing to this mental state I am in :o) As I train for the Salford 5km in April and two 10km Great Runs in May, I know I will want to keep going and whilst I had added possible 10km races to my portfolio on fetch.com, I never seriously considered the jump to a half marathon. I have yet to complete a race, hence my need to think and re think entry to races at the moment. But I guess it makes sense, it would be a natural progression, the next challenge for me. There are 12 week programmes online which I could follow from June, after the Great Runs in May, fitting nicely with the September half marathon. At the moment, 13.1 miles of running sounds terrifying, of course, but I aim to have done a number of 10km races by then, so as time goes on, it feels like it will be more doable. I am sure that I will awake one morning, well, many mornings, wondering what the hell was I thinking signing up for a half marathon... but, as some say, the thrill is in the chase to victory, less in victory itself. Having an online trainer push me to my limits and beyond may prove, though exhausting, but definitely exhilirating :o)

More Haste, More Speed

Wednesday: 2.5 hours sleep but I was up for running nonetheless. I was in a rush and forgot my earphones, a drink and the calf gel - clearly all over the place this morning. However, today proved to be my fastest run to date, covering 3.28km in 22mins 24secs. Lack of sleep can mean I run on adrenaline for a while (and later coffee) and that's the only reason I can think of for doing so well today. I really went for it towards the end, having watched my time and wanting to beat my previous time for the same route. Felt both surprised and pleased to have done well today. The weather was cloudy and cool, I arrived in the park after the rain stopped. There are more runners around, they must be coming out of hibernation. End of the day, the right calf is aching again, though mildly; I have had a throbbing headache all day and general fatigue through sleep deprivation. No running tomorrow due to pre-planned family commitments but I hope to be back to it on Friday, as good runs spur you on to keep the momentum going.

An Unplanned Rest Day

Tuesday: Due to family commitments, I didn't run today, and I didn't mind too much as I had plenty going on to occupy my time. The right calf and knee feel very good, in that they feel normal. Regarding the Great Edinbugh 10km Run, I have agreed to run with a small group of runners, one of whom is new to and nervous about running. Being the lone runner that I am, I was reluctant at first, knowing full well it's hard enough to breathe for me, let alone chat to other runners while I run. But I gave it a lot of thought and I decided that it may help lessen my nerves on the day, partly through reassuring someone else, though they may be of a higher level. My focus for now clearly is the Salford 5km Run, less than 20 days away.

Post Cold and Running

Monday: I didn't sleep well but the cold has pretty much gone, save residual fatigue and a bunged up nose. It was very sunny today, quite warm, and eerily breeze-less in the park, getting there after the school run. Due to a doctor's appointment mid-morning, I cut down the warm-up time and aimed for a short run. I had been in a rush in the morning and had no time to apply the calf gel, grabbing a banana on the way to make sure I had some fuel. I also had some Lucozade with me, though less than usual. I managed better than I expected today, the right leg was mostly fine - is this a sign that it's getting used to the running, or maybe it made the most of the two day rest? I covered 3.28km in 23mins 43secs, at a pace that I enjoyed, it was a good run. I changed the order of the music on my playlist which made me realise I need to rethink some songs, because some of them are not helping me keep a rhythm going while I run. It makes a great difference to me to have the right beat to run along to. I felt quite dehydrated today, from the cold perhaps, and made sure I drank plenty of fluids throughout the rest of the day. Today's run felt good, not as short as planned, but an enjoyable run. I finally got round to registering for the Salford 5km Run online, which cost £7, as I am not attached to a club and am in the adult group (it's cheaper for club members and kids). I am pleased that's done, plus I finally booked my train tickets for travelling to make the Great Edinburgh Run in May. A constructive day for my running needs, now all I need to do is get to a sports shop to buy lycra bottoms, some loose t shirts, sports socks and some sports bras. Once I have all the right training gear, I'll feel a lot better prepared for the Salford Run. Less than 4 weeks, gosh, I think it's best not to focus on the big day, just concentrate on my running. I already had a good panic release when I discovered how steep the uphill will be for the race (paper bag at the ready...) and I don't want to waste time panicking or stressing now, I have a lot of training to do. I think I'll save any shrieking/anxiety attacks for the few days prior to the big day :o)

A Cold and Resting Runner

Sunday: The cold persists, less sneezing and coughing, more general run-down feeling, just extreme fatigue. Hence no running today, getting up has been hard enough. Paracetamol has helped, as has drinking lots of orange juice and resting. I'm sure the sluggishness I feel is cold-related, but it does feel strange to have two days off running. The right calf and knee feel a lot better, I am happy to report, much stronger and less sensitive. I apply the gel only half an hour before a run, not outwith that at all, so it's great that a little thing like that has made a great difference to my body. I am keen to run tomorrow but I have a doctor's appointment mid-morning, which is inconveniently timed with my usual routine. My daughter goes back to school but my son is still home for another week before nursery re-opens, so it will be a case of either getting up very early for a run or putting into practice some military-style plan to make sure a run can be fitted in. And of course, I need to be feeling better for it, but I think two days of rest is plenty for me. I had a good running week this week and I don't want to lose the momentum. There are 4 weeks to go before my first race, which sounds like plenty of time some days, and not enough on others. My runner friend just completed a 4th race in 3 months, a very undulating 5km, which is very inspiring. My race plan will see me do 3 races in a month, completing the last a week before my birthday. I am really looking forward to my birthday this year, the feeling of having achieved something will be great.

Bad Cold Day

Saturday: As my daughter goes back to school on Monday, we treated the kids to a trip to the cinema. There was no time for running today but time wasn't important, as I had a very bad cold. Lots of sneezing and coughing, generally feeling run-down; the usual bad cold that I get. I've taken paracetamol at regular intervals, rested a great deal and drunk lots of fluids. Tomorrow may be another rest day, if I am still unwell and also, we may be expecting family to visit, which will keep me busy even if I am better. Two days of rest after three days of running sounds fine by me when I am feeling like death. The desire to run is understandably very low right now.