The half way point - eight weeks until race day. 

MONDAY: Body Pump class

TUESDAY: usually I prefer longer intervals as opposed to lots of short reps, but today's 7 miles with 4 x 1 mile intervals I found very hard. My legs did not feel the freshest and each mile seemed a lot longer. I stopped for a few seconds after a couple of the reps simply to try gather myself and convince myself I could do it. My paces were not quite what I was aiming for but were a lot better (7.30, 7.25, 7.21 and 7.32 min/mile) than how awful they felt running in practice! Abs class after. 

WEDNESDAY: I was very grateful to see today's run was to be at 'easy' pace after yesterday's struggle. Having said that, it seemed my easy pace was an average of 8.19 min/mile, which is not where I would normally consider my 'easy' pace to be, but it did feel comfortable. Body Pump class after. 

THURSDAY: ten miles, which mentally seemed like a long distance to cover towards the end of the working week. I therefore tried to switch off from my watch and not focus on pace or how far I had covered. This did help make the run more manageable, but also meant my pace was literally all over the place, and in the final few miles I really felt I was dragging my legs home! I made it though, with an 8.21 min/mile average. 

FRIDAY: Rest Day

​SATURDAY: after a couple of weeks edging increasingly closer to my 5k PB I had hoped to continue the trend this week at Lincoln parkrun. It was not to be though; I simply did not have the extra push needed in my legs and also paid the price slightly for a very quick first mile as I darted around the many runners who were enjoying a Saturday morning 5k - definitely not a complaint, as I love to see Boultham Park full! I still ran a 21.41 time, which I cannot grumble about in week eight of marathon training!

SUNDAY: I was completing my long run alone today, the prospect of which did not really fill me with too much joy. I enjoy company and I also find it helps distract me from focusing on pace, distance etc. too much. Running on my own felt more like I was in 'training mode' rather than pure 'running for enjoyment mode'. I aimed to run around 8.30 min/mile and actually finished with an 8.24 min/mile average, which is easily my best pace ever for a longer run. It was not easy by any means and certain miles were really tough, but mentally being in that 'training mode' meant I refused to slow down even when it got hard. I am proud of the progress I have made over the years, I would never have managed anything like today's run even a year ago, but I am also realistic. Today's pace did not feel sustainable for another 10 miles and I know I will need to rein it back a bit for the big day in Berlin. ​

This week has felt so out of routine I do not know how I have kept track of what I have ran or how it went - but somehow I have! I spent the majority of this week away with work in Nottingham supporting a residential programme with over 150 teenagers. Needless to say there has been some long hours and minimal sleep logged, but despite this I have still got my running in...

MONDAY: Rest Day - I was exhausted today after a very early Sunday long run last week and then working an event into the late evening. My legs ached like I had ran a marathon!

TUESDAY: the first of a series of early morning runs in Nottingham following a night of very little sleep. Intervals I can find tough and early morning intervals I tend to avoid at all costs; but with a positive mindset I attempted them. The plan was the same as last week, 6 miles with 16 x 200m reps and 200m recoveries, however this week it simply flew by. I think being in totally new surroundings meant I was distracted by how many reps I had completed and I even hit the majority of my paces despite feeling a little lethargic still. 

WEDNESDAY: early run number two and only a very small window to get some miles logged in. With this in mind I opted for a steady 3 miles, throwing some hills repeats in at the end just to wake the legs up a little. I definitely was not willing to get up any earlier and have even fewer hours in bed to run the 10 miles my plan suggested for today, but I allowed myself to be flexible and not worry about going off plan. 

THURSDAY: early run number three. Today I simply had to bolt out of bed as soon as my alarm went off or else I could have quite easily talked myself out of running. I was so quick to throw my running gear on I did not even notice it was absolutely torrential rain outside. I was committed now though and ran my 7 miles including 5 miles at tempo pace. I was a drowned rat by the time I had finished but a happy one nevertheless!

Last week running felt a bit of an effort with life, which is quite an unusual feeling for me. This week running returned to being just what I needed to get me through the week... 

MONDAY: Body Pump class

TUESDAY: lots of little intervals today, which normally I do not tend to enjoy. The thought of running 6 miles with 16 x 200m reps and only 200m recoveries definitely did not fill me with too much happiness as I programmed them into my Garmin pre-run. Once I got into the running rhythm though I really took to the session; my pace was pleasing too, with exactly half of my intervals at sub 7 min/mile pace and the other eight only just over 7 min/mile pace. The only downside was the miserable wet weather which left me soaked to the skin when I arrived at the gym for an abs class (see image!)

WEDNESDAY: a ten mile mid-week run is always a bit of a test; a test to fit it in with life, and a test on your body. During my last marathon training cycle I gradually got used to them, but this run was still a bit of a shock again. It seemed like I was out forever time wise, although my legs coped well and my pace was much quicker than my plan suggested, averaging 8.29 min/miles rather than 9 min/miles - probably too fast, but it felt like I was plodding quite easily at the time. Body Pump after was the bigger challenge, once I stopped running I was tired and an hour of weights was not really what I wanted. I find it good training though to demand more of my endurance when I am already tired, both mentally and physically, so I stuck with it. 

THURSDAY: my body was weary today from yesterday's efforts and again looking at my plan and seeing a 7 mile tempo run with the 5 middle miles at half marathon pace was not too joyful! I pushed out my doubts though, and just went for it, with the middle miles logging at 8.08 (including over half a mile of uphill running!), 7,48, 7.34, 7.42, 7.53 min/mile pace. The last tempo mile required sheer grit not to just give up and let myself slow down, and I think one of my strengths is being able to override this feeling and simply just not give in! It was a hard run, but it felt good. 

FRIDAY: Rest Day

People often say to me they don’t know how I do it. By ‘it’ they mean find the time to run all these miles, keep up my weekly gym routine, plus maintain the rest of my life. My response is always - I’m selfish. Now, no one would ever normally describe me as this; I like to think I am a very caring person who looks out for their friends and family, gives a lot back through volunteering in my local community, and generally tends to think of others before myself. But in terms of fitting running and life together I am guess I am quite lucky I can actually be selfish for once. At the moment in my daily life, there is generally only me to think of; if I want to get in from work and spend all evening running and at the gym I don’t feel guilty. If I want to spend all day Sunday running 20 miles and then totally collapsing in an almost useless heap for the afternoon, then that’s fine, because I only really answer to myself. It’s a running luxury, and I often find myself asking my running friends who have much more demanding lives than I do – how do you actually do it?!

With this selfish ability can however come a downside though - running can easily rule my life. It is very obvious that running is the biggest diver for me, which is a good thing in the vast majority as it’s something I can always rely on to keep me happy, sane and motivated. It balances me, but in a strange way can also lead to other things getting lost. I admit I am often guilty of letting my running and training bother me at social occasions; I can really look forward to an event, until it arrives and then I feel a bit panicking about how a few glasses of wine or some different food may influence my ability to run. Deep down I know it’s over the top, but it does happen. 

​This weekend however, for the first time in a very long time, I went out and partied until 3am and consumed many alcoholic beverages for a friend’s birthday - probably how most non running obsessed 20 something year olds spend their weekends on a frequent basis! The best thing was I felt no concern or worry about my training. I had managed to shift my planned runs around to still get my miles in for the weekend, but even doing this I would usually still feel a bit uneasy about how a social gathering may affect my future running.

Away from pounding the pavements, this week has been a bit draining and stressful, so much so that at times I did not even feel like I had the energy left to run. I have managed all my training though, and can honestly say that despite at times really not having the desire to log my miles, I have always felt better after running.  

MONDAY: my usual Body Pump class was cancelled so I opted for a steady cycle on the bike at the gym to try and ease some soreness form my post Clumber Park Half Marathon legs, then totally undid any good I probably gained from this by doing a 30 min high intensity Body Attack class!

TUESDAY: lots of short intervals today - 6 miles with 12 x 400m reps and 200m recoveries. I aimed to keep my intervals at around 7 min/mile pace, and whilst at the halfway point I felt like I would never make it through another 6 reps, I did it, sticking almost perfectly to pace. Abs class at the gym after. 

WEDNESDAY: an early morning 8 miles which required some serious mental grit to get out the door. I woke up and I was hungry; not a good sign when I needed to get out quickly and certainty had no time to digest a substantial breakfast. I lay and debated momentarily if I had the energy to get through 8 miles, but in the end I just grabbed a banana, overrode the doubts and went for it, managing a steady 8.25 min/mile pace. Later in the evening I headed to the gym for another weights based class, again replacing my usual Body Pump. 

THURSDAY:  I felt really drained today; perhaps luckily I seemed more mentally exhausted than physically though. The thought of running hence seemed an effort, so I bargained with myself to ease off the pacing pressure and just do what I felt I could. I had a 6 mile tempo run on the plan, with the four middle miles at 8 min/mile pace. Without pushing myself too much I actually nearly succeeded in meeting this exactly and it felt good to know that I could somewhat naturally run at this pace without feeling I was going all out. 

FRIDAY: Rest Day

Sometimes it can be a bit tricky trying to fit ‘normal’ life around marathon training. This weekend my sister was visiting me in Lincoln and rather than ask her to join me in running around the streets for a number of miles, I decided a good option was to find a local race for us to do together (note; my sister is a runner so I was not forcing her into anything!) We opted for the Race For Life Half Marathon at Clumber Park, a short drive from Lincoln and a distance which came close to matching the 14 miles I had on my training plan. I have run around Clumber Park on a few occasions, visiting the parkrun and also a couple of times recreationally. I knew to expect the route to be in a beautiful woodland setting, what perhaps I was not fully prepared for was quite the challenge it would present…
 
At the start line, my sister and I stood among the other female runners proudly donning our pink running gear, reading and taking in some of the moving messages people had pinned to their backs. The race starter asked the crowd to raise their hand if they were taking on a half marathon for the first time today, and many put their arm triumphantly into the air. I was impressed, and was to be even more so by the time I came to finish. My sister and I had agreed to try and keep the race more of a training run, the setting was probably not suited to a PB anyway, and it would also be nice to try and just enjoy a run together. As the ’go’ signal was given we set off and soon worked our way out of the crowds to run quite freely, with only a few very speedy runners ahead of us. We ran the first two miles much quicker than intended (sub 8 min/mile), but the paths were quite kind at this point with only minor undulations and some pleasant views. Leaving a grassy field we were soon met with the first noticeable hill, a long steady climb on a roadside, and as we reached the top I think both my sister and I could feel the slightly optimistic start in our legs! The next section was consistently up and down, however we were running adjacent to the 10k race which was flowing in the opposite direction, and smiling and congratulating other runners meant these inclines were less obvious mentally, although physically were subconsciously taking their toll on the legs.
 
The following miles kind of all blurred into one in a strange sense, there were a lot of long gradual climbs all set amongst similar looking trees and woodland, and it was peaceful except for the repetitive crunch of our footsteps. The surface underfoot was very changeable, a lot was on gravel type pathways, which my older road shoes did not enjoy too much, whilst others was on dirt tracks. My sister and I were running together still and were now very spread from the majority of runners; the fast females at the front were long gone from our vision, and there was no one really behind us either. It felt like we were out exploring together, and even though I have ran in Clumber Park a few times before, I did not recognise hardly any of the paths were taking. Pace wise we had dropped a little from our initial speed, not surprising given the terrain, but it felt like we had settled into a nice steady rhythm during this middle section, climbing the ascents in control and keeping consistently moving.
 
The final three miles were the real test for me though. This section was mainly set on gravel, which by now was really draining to be running on and made every incline feel twice as steep. A few swear words were definitely uttered as more gravelly mounds appeared on the horizon! Even as we left the trails behind us, navigating a couple of cattle grids in the process, the final mile back on the more familiar road surface still incorporated two long hills.