This training week has been a true physical and mental challenge, with moments where I have just wanted a break from running; and then moments where I have been reminded how much I love running.

MONDAY: my legs were really sore today and I could definitely feel I had ran 18 miles on Sunday. Going down stairs was uncomfortable, and my IT bands were tight. I cross trained very lightly for 20 mins before doing some much needed foam roller work, followed by my Body Pump class. 

TUESDAY: I had to switch my plan around slightly this week to fit with other commitments, this meant running my slow 9 miler today. My legs felt better but mentally I was feeling weary. The 9 miles therefore seemed long and 'ploddy' as I tried to keep my pace around the 9 min mile mark.

WEDNESDAY: today was horrible. I felt incredibly tired; when I woke up it was like I had not even been asleep, my legs were back to feeling really sore again, and the thought of running again later just seemed like torture. I felt so drained as I sat eating my breakfast I actually felt like crying! Last week was my highest weekly mileage of the entire 16 week training programme, and this seemed to have had a huge affect on my body, more than I ever remember during my London Marathon training last year. I managed to gather up some energy for intervals that evening though - I am not actually sure how! - 7miles with 3 x 1.5 miles of faster work. At first it was horribly uncomfortable and hugely mentally challenging, but slowly I found some of my old determination to attack it. Body Pump class after - not quite sure how I made it through this either!

THURSDAY: thankfully I felt a little more 
rejuvenated today, which I almost
​directly correlate to my friends 'energy boosting' baking! On the cards was a 5 mile run, with a fast 5k/3m in the middle. Fueled by 'power balls' (see image) I managed a 23.22 minute 5k sandwiched in the middle of the run. This is a good time for me, and the run helped lift my spirits.

FRIDAY: Rest Day

SATURDAY: Park Run - I had been looking forward to this all week, the thought of running it had weirdly kept me going even when I wanted to give up, and I was duly rewarded. Full blog to follow.

SUNDAY: today's long run was 15 miles with a half marathon 'race' in the middle. As was the case two weeks ago, I had not found a half marathon to run (Lincolnshire is sometimes not the best place to live for easily accessible races!) so was faced with the prospect of racing the streets of Lincoln again. Learning from last time I tried to run a more even paced 'race' rather than go off too optimistically. Not sure I achieved this too well to be honest, and I was not helped by the tiredness that really hit my legs at mile nine; from then on I felt like I was dragging my right leg along with me rather than using it to run! But, I did manage a 1:54:30 half time - thirty seconds faster than two weeks ago, although not the sub 1hr 45 my plan recommended. I knew I wouldn't be able to meet my plan's target though; my half marathon PB is 1:47 in itself, so instead I was just happy to have made marginal improvement, despite my legs being increasingly more tired. Onto next week, going to try and look after myself better and prevent extreme tiredness hitting me again. ​

'Don't compare yourself to anyone else, there is only one runner that counts: you'

This quote popped up on my Twitter feed last week and I felt the need to retweet it. It's a little bit ironic that by doing this I sent the wording onto the timelines of the 550 odd followers I have on Twitter; the majority of which are fellow runners who I have never even met. I love social media, I will not lie. I think its a powerful tool for connecting people, promoting activities, seeking information, accessing news and also for entertaining. I appreciate however, that it does have its negative uses. 

As the above quote suggests, I am guilty of sometimes comparing myself to other runners on social media. A tweet telling me that someone who is training for the same race as I am has ran further for their long slow training run than I did, can hit me with a small wave of panic. Comparing my pace to someone else who has proudly posted their stats on social media can also sometimes make me question my ability. I know its wrong, and that what you portray on social media only tells a tiny fraction of anyone's life (unless you are really addicted to updating your feeds!) Yet it is all too easy to take a small 140 character tweet too seriously.

On the other hand, the way social media has enhanced my running is also huge. Last year when training for the London Marathon I was identified by Virgin Money through my tweets about my training and became an #extramile ambassador, which included a free marathon training day in London with Martin Yelling (see old blog posts). I have also won a few rather amazing competitions with race entries and running gear thrown in via Twitter. The support from the community of runners is however the most outstanding feature of social media. The UK Run Chat account and the #ukrunchat hour on Twitter has become a regular fixture of my week, and its claim of being the 'fastest hour of the week' is certainly not a lie! I asked a question during this week's hour regarding my Garmin watch and my phone went absolutely mental with notifications as runners sought to answer my query. A sign of the support and kindness out there. 

Looking ahead at this week's training schedule I knew I was in for a tough week; high mileage with some demanding pace targets thrown into the mix. Time to test myself...

MONDAY: I started the week with some light cross training, lots of rolling around on a foam roller, followed by my Body Pump class. 

TUESDAY: hills were on the agenda today; ten long hill repeats over a 7 mile distance. I was floundering where to even attempt such a run, but thanks to a great route suggestion from my friend, I found the perfect spot. I ran for a mile to said street; a long road which gradually builds in steepness, ending with a sharp incline, ready to being my intervals. I enjoyed the run so much more than I expected and my legs also felt a lot stronger than the hill session I had completed a few weeks ago. The ten repeats whittled down reasonably quickly, and as I ran the mile back to my house I felt quite happy, even though I could already notice the slight heaviness which had built in my quads.

WEDNESDAY: I am beginning to learn that Wednesday runs are a real test of character. As has been the case for the past few weeks now, the first mile or so felt horrid. But once I settled into the run I was ok, and actually managed to run slightly faster than suggested for the 8 mile distance. It seems mentally you just have to get past that first section! Finishing at the gym for my Body Pump class I was however a bit of a mess - I was soaked through from the persistent rain which had been falling throughout the run; my quads were red raw from a mixture of cold, rain and my insistence on wearing short; I was developing some form of red splodgey skin reaction on my legs,most likely from going from cold to warm too quickly; my shorts had chaffed so badly between my legs they had actually cut my skin open; and finally my fingers on my left hand had decided to go numb. The warts and all insight into marathon training!

THURSDAY: Rest Day

FRIDAY: I managed to get out in daylight today and enjoyed what was probably the best run of my marathon training yet. I ran for 9 miles, my legs felt perfect, running was almost effortless, and the distance seemed to fly by. I was actually shocked by how I manged to keep my pace so strong even with some headwinds and on a hilly route. I managed an average pace of 5.12min/km, when I am aiming for around 5.20min/km for the marathon - very happy. 

Me and ballots do not get on. I have zero success rate in any form of balloted race! So true to form I did not get a Royal Parks Half Marathon place for 2016. I was a bit disappointed with this, as having missed out on the chance to run the London Marathon again, I kind of had my heart set on this race as the next best thing. All is not lost however, as I have opted for a charity place - which is especially good news for my chosen charity of course!

During 2016 I am participating in number of running events; but until now, none of which are in support of any particular cause. This made me feel a little selfish almost; running is my hobby, but at the same time it is also a powerful tool to raise both awareness and funds for vital causes. I therefore decided I wanted to use my final race of 2016 to both fundraise and increase awareness of the work of the Mental Health Foundation - a cause close to my heart. 

​Everyone experiencing a mental health problem should be entitled to the support they need and also the respect they deserve; and I strongly believe that 

Week 8 = half way through training! The weeks seem to be flying by; yet when I think that I started my training in 2015, it does sound a little different!

MONDAY: I was not feeling too bad today considering Sunday was my longest run of training so far. Considering this, in my Body Pump classed I happily loaded my bar up with weights for the squats and lunges tracks as usual; which maybe was not the wisest decision, as tomorrow will tell...!

TUESDAY: in contrast to yesterday, today I suffered from a mixture of DOMS from Sunday's run and also a very tight glute muscle which had definitely stemmed from Body Pump. Some painful foam rolling before my run seemed to ease this, and I felt reasonably ready to face intervals. The intervals were short and sharp; 5 miles with 12 x 200m sections, with 200m recovery. I prefer short intense bouts of work, so after I got over the initial stop/start feeling, I found a good running rhythm. 

WEDNESDAY: I realised today that this week my training programme was demanding me to a be a lot faster than in previous weeks. The 7 mile 'slow' run before my Body Pump class required me to run for an hours duration, a much quicker pace than past weeks. My legs felt heavy and I struggled to pick up the pace initially; however I eventually managed a 1hr 1min time, so nearly on target.

THURSDAY: the speed demands of this week's plan were apparent again today. I needed to run 3 miles in 24 minutes, in the middle of a mile warm up and cool down. 24 minutes for a 3 mile distance would have been a new 5k PB for me for 2016, so I knew this was going to be a challenge before I even set off. I pushed myself hard and managed a 25.40 for the middle section; a bit off pace, but my quads were really burning as I finished, so I know I exerted as much effort as possible.

FRIDAY: Rest Day
 

A year ago on Saturday I took part in my first ever Park Run. Heading to my local Lincoln event with two of my friends I felt as nervous as I would do on a race day; I remember one of my friends laughing at my sheer level of anxiety! I did not want to even register for a barcode through fear – fear of what I am not exactly sure – which is an act I am now regretting in my quest for a Park Run milestone t-shirt! A year later I am a total Park Run convert, going as often as I personally can. I also love reading the stories and impact the event is having around the country. I am therefore pleased to say that a year on from my first event, I managed to introduce another person to the world of Park Run – my sister (see image). I have been trying to get my sister to go to Park Run in her hometown of Liverpool for a while, so when she came to visit me in Lincoln it felt like the perfect opportunity.

Saturday morning the weather was pretty dire; cool, grey, windy and with persistent heavy rain… conditions which would have put many people off getting up on a Saturday morning for a run. My sister is a regular runner though and this thankfully was not an issue; so we soon found ourselves huddled under the small bandstand on Boultham Park along with the other hardy Park Runners. I smiled as I pushed my slightly reluctant sister towards the new runner briefing, remembering exactly the same feeling I had standing there listening to the strange concept of barcodes and scanning a year ago.
​
My sister was nervous as we waited to start; I had pushed us to the front as I was hoping for a good time. Some of you will have read that my recent Park Run performances have been below par and varied to say the least. Today I was determined to run sub 24 minutes; still minutes away from my PB, but a time that would much more acceptable in my mind. I wanted it badly, both for my own achievement and because I wanted to get the time for my friend who couldn’t run that morning and usually accompanies me to Park Run. I had even been lying in bed Friday night thinking about how I needed to run in order to do it. 

Perhaps I put too much pressure on myself, or maybe I am just not capable or running as fast as I think I should be able to at the moment, as I failed miserably, recording a 24.50 time – my slowest of 2016. I normally try not to beat myself up too much over finish times but today I was angry, upset and annoyed with myself; if it hadn’t been for my sister being there I think I would have been in a foul mood for the rest of the day!

MONDAY: I started the week with my monthly Sports Massage - which I was strangely looking forward to. It is roughly a year ago I had my first ever session when I was training for the London Marathon, and the difference in pain levels was notable; the first time being virtually excruciating! Hopefully this is a sign that my body is in better condition now than a year ago! No stretching or foam roller work later at the gym as my legs were tender, just 40 minutes of gentle cross training before my Body Pump class. 

TUESDAY: today's interval session was one of those you look at on paper and think - I am never going to remember that! The plan was for 10 x 400m fast, with 200m recovery - a workout probably more suited to the track than the streets of Lincoln. But I made it work, after a 1 mile warm up I ran repeated 400m/200m intervals until I reached my goal distance of 6 miles - giving up on even attempting to count how many intervals I had ran! I enjoyed the session, 400m fast felt tough but manageable, with only a few of the intervals which fell on uphill sections being truly horrible.   

WEDNESDAY: A slow 8 miles before my Body Pump class. At first my legs felt energy-less, it was a struggle to get any form of rhythm going, and steps felt forced even at a slow pace. I was seriously wondering if I was going to make it round the distance. I stuck at it though, and the sensation eased. By the time I got towards the end of my Body Pump class I was however absolutely knackered, my body shaking with fatigue. 

THURSDAY: I found myself on the treadmill this evening, in an attempt to complete my steady paced 7 miles. I tried to psych myself up for it, set the machine to the required pace and distance, shut down all icons, and started to run, hoping my mind would drift off and zone out into running mode. But I just could not get into it at all. I hated every step; lasted 15 minutes and hit stop (I am no Susie Chan clearly!). I was supposed to be running for an hour today, so instead I made up the remaining 45 minutes with cardio work, trying to make my RPM on the bike and cross trainer match that of my running. This was the first run I had not completed on my plan in seven weeks - did I feel bad? Not really, as to be honest I had other things I was thinking about. 

A full month into 2016 and we enter that time when everyone comments on how quickly the year is already going, whilst many will also be reflecting on how they have already failed to stick to their New Year’s Resolution…! In 2016 I am aiming to complete at least one Park Run a month, including some further Park Run tourism. I have made a good start on this goal, with three Park Runs under my belt in January; but I also have a bigger aim in mind - a sub 4 hour marathon.

I had initially selected the Manchester Marathon as being the setting for this feat, however, it now turns out that I will have two opportunities to try and achieve my goal. First up will be the Manchester Marathon in April – billed as the UK’s fastest and flattest marathon, its opportunity number one. Next chance will be the Berlin Marathon in September – a race I entered late last year, and amid the Christmas hype and the onset of Manchester marathon training, in a weird way I kind of keep forgetting about!