Pre-Edinburgh

Thursday: Another very sunny and hot day in Manchester. I decided to run without a t shirt (zipper on though, of course) and partly due to being in a rush, I left the house without glasses. I am quite short-sighted but have faith I can walk around without hitting (too many) things. I am loathe to wear glasses for running, I find them uncomfortable; there was no time for contacts, so I left. I also didn't have breakfast nor did I take a drink with me, and I really paid for all these errors. I covered 2.95km in 20mins 12 secs, which is a great pace for me, but I really didn't like today's run. I felt incredibly thirsty and hungry throughout it, struggling for most of it, and desperate to end it. Also, having a lot on my mind, a lot of stress, I am sure contributed to an awful run. I wasn't focused properly and though the pace is great, I am supposed to be conquering endurance levels, yet I felt 20mins took everything I had. Clearly I was going too fast, too, and more focus would have fixed that. Today's run was very disappointing for me but I can take away a lot of lessons from it, such as the importance of breakfast and hydration. I travel tomorrow to Edinburgh, coinciding with a rest day, and will do a pre-race run on Saturday. I am feeling quite uplifted to be going anyway, so today's run hasn't got me too down; I am instead expecting myself to be 100% focused on Saturday, to have a run that fills me with confidence for Sunday. The heel was bothering me again today, but once I put on my marathon socks and my trainers, I couldn't feel the ache at all. It's a keen reminder that I invested wisely in proper socks and trainers. Going back to the home city is a cause for mixed emotions, and am looking forward to having a race to run there. A bundle of nerves and excitement, it ought to be a memorable time.

4 Days To GER

Wednesday: A rest day, as per the training programme. I woke up to find my right heel was very sore when I walked. The ache died away as I went about my chores and commitments, which I hope is the end of that. Making general preparations for leaving on Friday, got to make sure the race number and timing chip is packed, and so on. Things are very busy and stressful with the other half's studies coming to a climax this month and there is very little time to stress about running, really. I am sure I am becoming one of those people that, on finding a new hobby, bores everyone else to death about it - as my younger brother pointed out, most frankly, on the phone :oD Jealousy is most unbecoming... Great trainer texted to remind me I have a 20min run tomorrow, looking forward to it.

5 Days To GER

Tuesday: A very warm and sunny day for training. I decided to try running without a drink, wanting to push myself to cope for 35mins. Also, I was annoyed at having forgotten to get practice in, running on the streets, since GER is on the road, so today was a case of venturing out of the park. I did some running on the roads nearly two months ago (feels like a long time ago) when, in order to work round the kids being looked after, I used to get up at 5 or 6am. The park would be closed so I ran on quiet, near-empty streets. The experience was generally a good one but I went back to the beauty, comfort and quiet of the park. It was interesting being back out there, knowing I had to focus harder as there were more distractions. It was much noisier (my cheap headphones struggled even at maximum volume) and I found it a pain having to watch out for pedestrians, as well as having to cross roads, watching the traffic. I am not used to all that at all and ended up going off on a route that was a very long pavement with no roads to cross. However, it was good to get experience of a different kind of running surface, one that is more similar to what I will be running on for GER. I had very slow songs on my playlist to slow my speed down, it took a lot of conscious effort to keep me from running faster. The run felt very tough at times, the right calf became stiff very quickly and stayed like that for a lot of the run. Also, the right ankle ached strongly during the first half of the run, perhaps not 100% since nearly injuring it 2 days ago, but it was fine for the second half of the run. It really takes a lot of fun out of running when that happens. I hadn't applied any gel today, I only do that if the stiffness or aches are present before a run. Ironically, I didn't apply gel for the last run either and did 67mins without too much calf trouble at all. This is something I must remember for the race, the importance of applying the calf gel. Today I covered 5.01km in 34mins 31secs, faster than I expected. Great trainer had wanted me to do 35mins but I would have it maybe 40mins trying to get to the next measureable point and I was done for well before I finished. When I stopped, my calf suddenly seized up, very painful feeling, and I kept moving, since standing still for a second was too painful. My cool down walk was me limping for 10mins back to the car and I really wished, not for the first time, that the car was an automatic, it hurt to drive. At the end of the day, the right calf and ankle are both aching. The calf and knee are quite strongly aching, despite freezing cold water applied to them. Tomorrow is a rest day and hopefully this will make a difference. The ankle worries my slightly, the twinges vary in strength no matter if I am resting or on my feet. I need to be really careful, since the Great Manchester Run is 2 weeks after this race, and I need to stay injury-free till then. Feeling quite nervous about the race, partly due to the aches I am having, and partly the thought of running alongside thousands of people, that is daunting for someone who chooses to run alone. Looking forward to going to Edinburgh, however, maybe meet up with some friends beforehand, and hopefully that will put me in a happier, more relaxed mood for the big day.

Countdown To GER

Monday: Resting today, following the great trainer programme (for once). However, I felt very tired today, amazingly so, despite a nap in the morning. No real aches or pains, just fatigue. I was pleased with the right ankle, which I nearly injured yesterday. It was just a case of stepping off the pavement to cross the road, and the right foot bending, almost twisting. Though it nagged for a while last night, it was fine today, a sigh of relief as injury would be hugely disappointing and crushing at this stage (well, any stage). Great trainer texted to remind me I have a training run to do tomorrow for 35mins. I like getting the texts, they are a motivating reminder for me. Only a few days left now, almost feeling guilty about resting but the overwhelming tiredness takes care of that feeling.

Big Training Run

Sunday: Another late and sleepless night, I awoke very tired and not in the mood to run. However, today was my only chance to get a big training run in before GER, so I forced myself out of bed and into the park. It was annoying having to carry keys in my hands (no pockets today) but necessary. As usual, I had my Lucozade drink with me to drink at intervals, and today I tried out my new headphones, which are a little low on volume but not so bad and I appreciated not having to waste time with fixing earphones. It rained throughout the run, which was lovely, as I was sweating a lot. The target was 60mins: great trainer texted me to do 50mins, but they don't take into consideration the fact I have not done any big training runs, hence I set myself 60mins. The run had many difficult stages but overall it was fine. I felt very tired around 14mins, struggling a little in the 20's, and it was a very enjoyable stage when I hit 40mins. I tried to keep the route a little undulating and also, I tried very hard to keep my pace slow. I have a fear that slowing down will mean me going into 'walking mode', which I have to figure out, because I will only be able to do a 10km race by keeping things slow and steady. Looking back at my previous runs, I note a tendency to 'crash and burn', which is fine for a shorter race but I need to be very sensible and very disciplined for the 10km. The right calf was niggling at intervals, as was my right side but slowing down seemed to help. Today I covered 9.13km in 67mins 52secs, which would see me doing a 10km race in 75mins. I was, however, very much done for when I ended the run, so maybe over 80mins would be a more accurate estimate. Still, I am pretty satisfied with today's run, it has lifted my heart somewhat, running non-stop for over an hour. I could keep kicking myself over not having kept a closer eye on the training programme, but it's not constructive and will just lower my confidence before the race. I feel better prepared now, less nervous. Tomorrow will be a rest day after this big run, and I guess next week will be a fine balance between tapering and getting enough training in to be 100% ready for GER. I'll be travelling by train to Edinburgh on Friday morning (which will be a rest day), the race is on Sunday, and I leave for Manchester on Monday afternoon. I think this should work out fine, as I can have a light run on Saturday, and I have time to recover from the race before I go back. It should be an interesting experience, doing a race away from home, though Edinburgh feels like home in its own way. It is really good to go into it knowing I have a race behind me, that quietens the nerves somewhat.

Endurance, Endurance (not Speed), Endurance

Saturday: After a very late night on Friday, I awoke a little reluctant to run but was spurred on by the thought it was just a short one today. I had my new earphones with me, which turned out to be so-so, and the main thing is the adaptor they came with, allowing me to use any headphones with my mobile. I had Lucozade to drink during the run, which was on a very hot and sunny day for Manchester. The plan was a 10min run, gentle and slow, saving the legs for a long run tomorrow. I covered 1.64km in 10mins 23secs, and though the time was very good for me, I was disappointed actually by how fast I went. It was very much a hard and fast run, I am obviously having major problems telling my body to focus on endurance over speed. Hence, still worried about how I am going to last a 10km. Tomorrow ought to be a necessary, confidence-boosting, race-preparing 60min run. The knees were a little achey after the run, and the sports bra was digging into the right side again. Once I can run for longer,I will be more satisfied and less nervous about GER.