I spent the majority of this week visiting my sister in Liverpool. Half term allowed me to take some annual leave from my job and also attempt (note the word attempt) to take a few days away from too much training or even running. 

MONDAY: Body Pump class and Spinning

TUESDAY: I headed out for a five mile run, finishing at the gym for Kettlebells and an Abs class. Pace wise my run was good, but it didn't actually feel that great. It was hard to describe the exact feeling, but my mind and body seemed disconnected, it was like I was not really with it, and my legs were not fully part of me. 

WEDNESDAY: after yesterdays' run I decided to give myself a running rest today and opted for cycling intervals at the gym before my Body Pump class. I was not too worried about yesterday; it was just a little disconcerting and therefore I did not want to needlessly push myself.

THURSDAY: I ventured to Liverpool today to visit my sister, and what better way to catch up then to head out for a five mile run together along the River Mersey dockside. My sister is a runner too so don't worry, I did not just drag her out running! 

FRIDAY: Rest Day

​SATURDAY: being in Liverpool meant I had the perfect opportunity for some parkrun tourism. I headed to Princes parkrun with my sister and we were met by a wonderfully friendly and welcoming community (not that I expect anything less from parkrun). I was delighted to run a consistent time comparable to my Lincoln parkrun last week, stopping the clock at of 22:19. Full blog to follow. 

SUNDAY: another day in Liverpool and more running... my sister and I spent most of our childhood playing sport and being active together, so it just comes naturally to us! I joined my sister's running club - The Dockside Runners (see image) - for their Sunday run session and enjoyed 6.5 miles along the Liverpool dockside. Chatting to new people made the distance absolutely fly by and we were back at the Nike Run Store, where the club is based from, before I even knew it. I could feel the effects slightly of the couple of drinks I had out on Saturday night; after a busy year of running and training my alcohol consumption has dropped to nearly nothing, so I openly admit I am a little out of touch!

​My few days away in Liverpool still featured running quite heavily, but it was a lot more relaxed and social, and less 'training' orientated - so hopefully I still met my week goal!

I saw a stat online recently which said 1% of the population will run a marathon in their lifetime. My dream was to run a marathon, the London Marathon to be exact, and I achieved this goal in 2015. This year I have gone on to add two more races to my marathon tally; the Manchester Marathon and the Berlin Marathon, however I do not intend to stop here – I am seeking the Six Stars.

The Abbott World Marathon Majors are a set of six marathons, not just any races, but six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world. Completing these six races themselves gives any runner a very prestigious collection of medals, but finishing all six races also comes with the added bonus of being eligible for the Six Star Medal (see image). This is quite simply a giant piece of bling (which would probably pull my medal hanger off the wall!) and is a medal which suitably reflects the achievement of gaining Six Star status. 

The World Marathon Majors are formed of the Tokyo Marathon, the B.A.A Boston Marathon, the Virgin Money London Marathon, the BMW Berlin Marathon, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the TCS New York City Marathon – so with my London and Berlin medals I am already a third of the way there! I think I may have ticked off the easiest ones first in terms of location and actually getting a race place... but it’s still a feat I am proud of.

I guess you could ask what attracts me to the World Marathon Majors when there are so many marathons out there? For me it’s not just the feat of running a marathon, but by entering such events it will enable me to travel the world and see some of greatest cities – and what better way to do this than by running through their streets?! The atmosphere which surrounds these events and the emotion of the occasion is also like nothing else I have ever experienced; put simply, I have had a taste and want more.

It may be a while until I earn my Six Star Medal – I wish I could get there sooner rather than later, but my bank balance and the fact I am not quite quick enough to qualify for some of the races puts the brakes on a little! I am determined to do it though.

Out of the remaining majors I have left to complete Boston holds that extra special place in my heart. The fact you have to run a qualifying time in order to even be able to claim a space on the start line means that to me it would feel an honour to have a race number. I am currently a long way off running a qualifying time for my age category – but even if I am sixty years old before I run a BQ (Boston Qualifying) I will be there! The tragedy of the Boston bombs at the finish of the race in 2013 also left me with feeling that to be able to run that finishing section would feel like small sense of defiance. 
 
Seeking a Six Star Medal is not for everyone, and I am not saying you are not a 'real' runner or are any less of a runner if it does not interest you, or even if you do not ever want to run any marathon! But if the thought tempts you, and you love a bit of bling, then why not reach for those stars? ​

This week I have completed seven exercise classes and ran twenty four miles...its seems my answer to the question 'what to do when you have finished training for a big race or event' is just to do even more...! 

MONDAY: Body Pump weights class followed by Body Attack cardio/plyometric class

TUESDAY: today I had my first visit to my sports therapist since the madness of the last few weeks and my recent races. I literally could not wait despite the undoubted pain I would be subjected to. It was not quite as bad as I feared, although I think I am learning to withstand the discomfort better with each visit. I did tentatively ask my therapist how my legs felt and her answer was 'extremely tight' - whoops...sorry legs! Following my massage I kept my run that evening relatively easy choosing a five mile loop which finished at the gym. I then tried a Kettlebells class followed by an Abs class.

WEDNESDAY: six miles before Body Pump. After my therapy yesterday my legs felt fresh and I pushed the pace, averaging 8:17 min/miles.

THURSDAY: Body Attack class; this was a little bit of a struggle as I felt slightly jaded from all I had done so far this week. I just did not seem to have that extra bit of energy I usually am able to draw upon. Afterwards my entire body ached, as if reminding me it needed a break. 

FRIDAY: Rest Day

SATURDAY: a much anticipated return to running parkrun - I had literally been looking forward to this all week! It had been over a month since I had last ran parkrun, what with being away for races or opting to volunteer if I had a race the next day. 

This is the question I have found myself asking as I enter the latter end of 2016. All my races have been completed, so what do I do next?  I had this conversation with my Sports Therapist this week as I saw her for a much needed massage and assessment on how my legs had coped with the stress and madness of the last month. It was quite a relief to be able to talk openly about this, a full uninterrupted hour of conversation with someone who essentially has no choice but to listen! It’s something which is extremely rare in my life and is like double the therapy!

My next aim will undoubtedly be a spring marathon, but training for this will not start until late December at the earliest. So what should I do in these next two or so months? Take a rest? Yes I could do, but what the hell would I do!? Running and exercise is a massive part of my life, and as I rather sadly admitted to my therapist, I do not really have much else to focus on! I also want to maintain a good level of fitness during these next months, which leads to another dilemma - how much to do? Too much and surely I risk the chance of over training and burning out? I am conscious I have run a lot of miles this year, two marathon training cycles plus everything else on top. So the last thing I want is to enter 2017 feeling jaded before I even start. I mean I could go out and run 18/20 miles, nothing is stopping me (although my legs might complain a bit!); but as much as I love running do I have the motivation to do that? What would I even gain from doing that? It’s a difficult balance to strike.

Thankfully as I spilled out all these questions, queries, dilemmas and ideas, my therapist listened and reassured me I was not alone in feeling like this and lots of clients she sees suffer this same kind of feeling of being ‘lost’ after a big event or training period is complete. I felt extremely lost after the Manchester Marathon earlier this year, a dip that affected me quite a lot and something I didn’t really talk about or acknowledge until I sat and wrote a blog about how I had been feeling. I promised myself I would never get that low again, so keeping positive is a large focus for the next couple of months.

The title 'The Week After Everything' seemed quite fitting for the last seven days. After sixteen weeks of marathon training culminated in the Berlin Marathon, which was then followed by consecutive half marathon races at the Lincoln Half Marathon and the Royal Parks Half Marathon, this week had a back to reality feeling about it. 

MONDAY: after the Royal Parks Half Marathon on Sunday I was sore (again!) today, and unsurprisingly after they had caused me such discomfort during the race, it was my quads which were giving me most grief. It was however a level of soreness I felt I could work through and thus I went to the gym in the evening for Body Pump and Spinning. I felt tired during the classes, but I can honestly say my body did feel better for doing something.

TUESDAY: my body's soreness had eased today but was not completing gone, so I opted for a steady cross training session at the gym and then lots of foam rolling.

WEDNESDAY: with my legs feeling almost back to normal my trainers beckoned. I ran a pleasant five mile loop, which I tried to run to feel rather than worrying about a time. Naturally I ran around 8.30 min/mile pace, which felt comfortable enough not to stress my legs too much, but still a good workout. Body Pump class after.

THURSDAY: after a break of 4-5 months (I have actually lost count!) I returned to Body Attack - a plyometric, aerobic type Les Mills branded exercise class. I stop doing the class during marathon training as it is hard to fit in and is also quite intense so generally leaves you very sore! With this in mind I was expecting my return to hurt. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how well I got back into the class, my marathon fitness clearing serving me well. 

FRIDAY: Rest Day - I was in a lot of pain from Body Attack, maybe the class was not quite as easy as it felt at the time!

The Royal Parks Half Marathon was the final run of a three races in three weeks succession of events. Following PBs at the Berlin Marathon and the Lincoln Half Marathon it would be a dream to run three consecutive PBs, but the question was could my body cope? You have to go after your dreams as otherwise that's where they will stay, ideas and notions never fulfilled; and with this in mind I approached the race with the slightly dangerous strategy of 'PB or bust'. If I ran hard all the way I could get a PB, if I blew up I thought at least it would be a beautiful race to have to take the last few miles steady in...

The unpredictable nature of London transport meant race day was an early start and saw me checking out of my hotel bleary eyed at just after 6:30am. London is never empty, but I imagine the streets were as close as they get to being deserted. I arrived at the Hyde Park race start for 7:30am and time soon lapsed as hundreds of runners descended on the park. Stood on the start line the crisp cold autumnal morning was starting to lift as the sun's warmth beat the battle of the London skyline. It was perfect running conditions and confirmed my PB or bust strategy was to be employed. I felt emotional as the countdown to 'go' was given. I was running alone and suddenly felt nostalgic and sad not to be sharing this experience with my usual running buddy, who had to miss out through injury, or even my recently emigrated running companion. As I crossed the start line I turned my emotion to determination and began my attack. 

The first six or so miles of the route winds out of the collection of Royal Parks and take in some traditional London sights, such as Buckingham Palace. I was running strong and fast at this point, well on track for a PB. The route then heads back into the parks with the remaining miles set in glorious tree lined avenues which make you almost forget you are in London at all. My quads started to complain a little at half way, soreness setting in with each step. I tried to keep my pace constant though, setting myself a target of getting to 10 miles running sub 8 min/mile pace. 

I was 9 miles in when I breached my goal, running an 8.06 minute mile. The struggle was getting stronger. From mile ten onwards I hurt a lot, with the pain really just being acute into my quads. I could have taken my foot off the gas at this point, accepted not getting a PB and enjoyed the last 3 miles. But I didn't. Instead I gritted my teeth and dug in. 

Whilst last week I was very mindful I was on a 'post Berlin Marathon week', this week it seemed to initially slip my mind that on Sunday I had ran a PB at the Lincoln Half Marathon. This was probably not helped by the fact I had another race - yes three in three weeks - on Sunday; the Royal Parks Half Marathon. So this week has been a fine battle between, recovering, tapering, prepping and still trying to avoid the onset of a marathon comedown. 

MONDAY: I threw myself back into action today, not really intentionally if you can believe that, but more out of a desire to feel some kind of routine. My quads were sore after yesterday's half but Body Pump followed by Spinning did help loosen them up a bit. 

TUESDAY: Rest Day - I was shattered today and needed a break, plus I also felt a little guilty for not really taking things steady yesterday. 

WEDNESDAY: Body Pump and Spinning again. I was tempted to run but my knee had been feeling sore and I didn't want to risk it. 

THURSDAY: I tried a run today aiming for 5 steady miles. I felt good for the majority, running around 8.30 min/mile pace, and adapting to the increasing darkness which is beginning to take over the evenings (see image). In the latter stages however my quads started to remind me that were still sore, my knee began to feel a bit angry and my legs almost seemed to protest at running any further. From this I decided I needed to rest fully before Royal Parks, and I mean really rest. 

FRIDAY and SATURDAY: Rest Days

​SUNDAY: Royal Parks Half Marathon - the final run of my three in three set of races and also my final event of 2016. With this in mind I went with the slightly dangerous strategy of PB or bust - with the idea if I ran hard all the way I could get a PB, if I slowed however it would be a beautiful race to have to take the last few miles steady. The result; a PB of 1:45:44. It was hard but I was happy! Full blog to follow. ​

The creation of a brand new half marathon in my hometown would normally fill me excitement - I love our annual Lincoln 10k event and with a thriving running community a half marathon was a much needed addition for the city. However, when I saw the date this event fell on, I was a little less enthused. The Lincoln Half Marathon was scheduled for a just week after the Berlin Marathon - not ideal for me. After weeks of resisting signing up, trying to be sensible, and telling people I would not be running I found myself with a race number. I could not resist.  

Race day was beautiful; a crisp cold morning, but with a bright blue sky which was promising some Autumnal warmth. I had decided to cycle to the start of the race, which was slightly out of town, in order to avoid the notoriously rubbish Lincoln traffic. It was not too far, and although I may have looked slightly odd riding a borrowed bike which was a bit too small for me (maybe it was more BMX style cycling!) the ride warmed me up nicely ready to run.

I was not sure how I should approach the race. My recovery following the Berlin Marathon had been good and my legs felt ready to run - just what pace could they cope with? I wanted to try and run sub 1hr 50, but I did not think I would be challenging my existing PB of 1:47:14. In the end I decided just to set off and let my legs make the decision for me, and I seemed to find myself naturally running around 8 min/mile pace or just under. My quads started to feel sore from about two miles in, but the discomfort did not develop and I was able manage it.

The first section of the race felt very pleasant, the familiarity of running around my hometown and spotting so many runners I knew was lovely. The peacefulness of the city as runners swept across Lincoln's cobbled streets and around my old University campus was quite eerie. My tranquility was frequently broken though as someone I knew spotted me from the sidelines and cheered my name. The second section of the route was always going to be the tougher part. Between miles 8-9 the route took on Yarborough Hill - a long road with set on a steep incline which had been the talk of the race for many weeks. I was not too fearful of it and found myself tackling it with a determined force; it hurt my sore quads even more, but I stuck to my rhythm. This hill caused my pace to drop slightly for the subsequent miles to just over 8 min/mile pace, but with good miles in the bank already I was not concerned. The last four miles were set on an up and down stretch, against a headwind, and heading out of the city again on exposed rural roads. It was hard work to keep pace, but little glances at my watch told me I could challenge my PB if I kept going, which was all the motivation I needed.

With one mile left I had the joyous realisation that unless I totally collapsed in this final mile I would get a PB. Even with this knowledge I did not rest on my laurels and still wanted to surge for the finish, quickening my stride along the final paths and attempting to sprint the final 400m. I crossed the line in 1hr 46min 10sec - PB achieved. 

I am notoriously rubbish at resting/taking things easy. However, following the joys of the Berlin Marathon on Sunday I made a promise to myself that I would take things steadier. After the Manchester Marathon earlier in the year I did not really take that much care of myself; which was partly due to being upset by my performance and thus feeling unable to reward myself accordingly. So this week I have been trying to find a balance between preventing the post marathon blues from hitting me (I am badly susceptible to this) and also allowing recovery to take place. Oh... and I have also ran the Lincoln Half Marathon... told you I am rubbish at taking things easy!

MONDAY: the day after the marathon and I was shocked by how good my legs felt. When I say good, I do not obviously mean so good that I could actually walk normally, but my legs were markedly better than after previous marathons. I was stiff getting up and down and my left calf felt battered, but I was able to move much more smoothly than I expected as I traveled back from Berlin to the UK.

TUESDAY: my mobility was still a bit poor today, once I got moving I was alright, but after being sat for any period of time I reverted back to a wooden legged walk. Today was also my birthday and I was pleased to have the happy distraction of celebrations to prevent me from contemplating any exercise.

WEDNESDAY: I returned to the gym today doing some cross training on the stationary bike and then a Body Pump class. My legs felt good after a spin on the bike; I gradually built resistance up to test them a bit, and afterwards braved the pain of the foam roller. Body Pump was also much less painful than I feared; squatting and lunging actions were sore and my range of movement was definitely inhibited, but again I was happy with how recovery was progressing.

THURSDAY: I tried my first run today, a steady 5k, keeping my pace under control at approx 9 min/mile. I was a little nervous about running in case I discovered some pain or niggle that had yet to surface, but I was pleased to find my legs responded well, with only a small level of soreness. 

FRIDAY: another cross training session in the gym; all soreness had left my legs today and I was beginning to feel more confident about the Lincoln Half Marathon on Sunday. 

SATURDAY: Rest Day and a return to parkrun volunteering on International parkrun Day (see images). 

SUNDAY: Lincoln Half Marathon. Probably not the best idea just a week post marathon, but after trying to resist entering the race for as long as possible, the draw of a brand new half marathon in my hometown was too much. I kept my expectations low and just wanted to experience this event. The result - a pleasantly surprising new PB of 1:46:10. Not sure how I did it, but I did it! Full blog to follow. ​