The Inconsistent Week Of Consistent Running

As I sat reflecting on this week it dawned on me that so much has happened across the last 7 days personally, professionally and in running. Generally it has been a very positive week; I finally decided on and booked my Spring marathon - Brighton (more on that to come in a blog soon), I am fortunate to love my job and whilst this week has been very busy it has also been extremely rewarding, and my running seems to be settling quite nicely to a consistent level which I know I can build on. There are still a few personal challenges that have been rearing their head, and amid the positivity there have been moments where I have sat and just wished I could fix/change certain things going on... but I have to try remain focused on what I can control. 

MONDAY: my usual Strength and Conditioning class was cancelled tonight due to a flood, however I was still able to take part in Body Pump and get my strength fix. I also had an exciting meeting. In recent weeks I have been working as a coach for Lincs Injury delivering further Wednesday night Strength and Conditioning sessions for fellow runners, and we met to discuss future plans. My background is in sports coaching and being able to combine this with seeing runners progress has been a real highlight since getting back from Australia. I feel I have become part of another running community.

TUESDAY: a steady morning 5 miler averaging 8.26 min/mile pace. The niggle in my ankle from last week was still apparent at the start, but the uncomfortable sensation faded quickly; hopefully it is sorting itself out?!

WEDNESDAY: on Tuesday night I had got home late after watching the mid-week Lincoln City F.C. match (which is where I work!) and this meant I did struggle to get out of bed early this morning to run. I had evening plans again with work though, so knew if I wanted to run I had to get out there. I logged another steady 5 miles, averaging 8.23 min/mile pace. At work we had visitors from Poland spending time with my colleague and I on a study visit, so in the evening we took them out to see the wonderful sights of Lincoln! It was another late night with some wine consumed and I already knew that setting my morning alarm for a run was a little optimistic... 

THURSDAY: said morning alarm was abruptly snoozed. I had another long day at work ahead with the final day of the Polish study visit, so wrote the day off as a rest day. 

​FRIDAY: feeling more refreshed I woke for another 5 miles, logging an 8.26 min/mile average pace. This marked a very consistent week of running so far, despite the relative inconsistency of the rest of my life.  

SATURDAY: the biggest shock to the system today was how flipping cold it was! Stood chatting before Lincoln parkrun it dawned on me that after months of battling running in sky high temperatures I now had to face up to the impending winter. With long sleeves covering up my watch face I just ran today, and afterwards I was pleased to see I had paced the run much better than previous weeks. However, I still finished with a similar time to last week; 21:22 - consistent again at least!

SUNDAY: thankfully the harsh cold of yesterday had disappear today and instead it was another pleasant Autumn morning; chilly but with blue skies offering some morning sunshine warmth. I took a mile to get into a rhythm, but after that I really found my stride and hit good paces over the 10 miles I ran (see image); most between 8-8:10 min/mile pace. I was really pleased how strong I felt, the foundations are there and I feel I am building ready to train hard for Brighton...