The 'Downtime' Week

I say this is the week of 'downtime' however it has in fact been incredibly busy, with lots of positive things happening professionally and personally. I use the term 'downtime' more to refer to my running this week - I gave my all in one final push around Doncaster 10k on Sunday, and I have just felt the need to press pause again these past few days. There are five weeks until my London Marathon training starts and I will then be back in full marathon mode. I need to enjoy the rapidly approaching festive season, relax and feel refreshed ready to tackle the training challenges, both physically and mentally, especially as I want to be chasing a big goal. I am not going to be slobbing out on the sofa for the next five weeks - I do not think I could ever do that! - but I am going to allow myself as much freedom as possible. 

MONDAY: I was sore after Doncaster 10k - a level of DOMs which shocked me at first, but then made me reflect on how much I must have challenged my body on the day. It was perhaps a good omen that my intended Body Pump class was therefore cancelled. 

TUESDAY: tonight was something very different for me running wise as I volunteered along with other members of my Run Club to support a local Hospice with an event they hold to remember loved ones during the festive season. As part of their planned Torchlight Procession they require a number of runners to run from a local church carry lit torches, to then light up the torches of the thousands of people gathered to take part in the procession. Running is only a very small part of the event, and I did not volunteer because I wanted a running challenge, it just seemed like a lovely thing to support, and  I ran to the meet point and home again after logging 5 miles of my own 'training' away. The event itself was wonderful, although a little scary at times carry what essentially are these massive wooden ticks which are set on fire! 

WEDNESDAY: with my legs still a bit sore from Sunday's race, this morning's 5 miles were taken easily, whilst squelching through huge puddles and embracing the downpours of rain.  

THURSDAY: after some pretty easy paced running so far this week, I was looking forward to some speed work at Run Club. On the agenda were minute reps completed as many times as possible during the time duration. It was a great session, with a mile warm up and cool down allowing me to catch up up with a few members, with then the 'all out' efforts in the middle. I managed ten reps, with a recovery jog in between, and despite completely messing up my Garmin programming, I was able to decipher later that I had been very consistent with the amount of distance I was able to achieve each time, averaging roughly 6.20 min/mile during the effort periods.

FRIDAY: Rest Day

​SATURDAY: when it takes you over ten minutes to de-ice your car you know it is pretty Baltic outside! This morning's parkrun was indeed cold and frosty, with a glisten of ice and frost on the paths and grass. 'Not a day for PBs' our Lincoln Run Director rightly warned us! I did not run too bad, finishing  in 21:38, but just did not feel confident enough with my footing to push myself fully at certain points on the course, especially as the footpaths become a bit slipper the more people had ran on them. I would of course rather run parkrun safely than not at all though!

​SUNDAY: Saturday night was our Run Club Christmas Party and we had a wonderfully jammed packed evening, starting at an Escape Room, followed by drinks and nibbles at a Board Game Cafe, and then a few of us headed out for some more drinks in other bars across Lincoln. Somehow I did not get home until nearly 3am - I am not even sure how that happened but shows you how much i was clearly enjoying myself! Time just flew by and a fair bit of gin was consumed along the way.... needless I was not really feeling Sunday morning's longer run. I do not really drink much anymore and also seem to need my sleep - so a double whammy of too much of one and not enough of the other knocked me for six a little. I eventually got out for some miles - settling on an easy 8 miles quite quickly as it felt a bit of an effort to keep my legs moving. It was nice to have the freedom to be able to enjoy a night with my Run Club and not have the fear of things affecting a training programme or race. ​