The Week Things Felt a Bit More Positive

Last week was a struggle, and my general recovery from the Manchester Marathon seemed to be taking a lot, lot longer than I would like (probably due to my inability to actually rest completely I know!) I am not walking around like I have just ran a marathon by any means; just my legs are not back to their best yet. This week however, some progress has been made. 

MONDAY: Bank Holiday Monday meant a morning of spinning and circuit training at the gym, as well as sticking my London Marathon ballot entry in for 2017. The odds of getting a place look ridiculous, but as the cliche goes - you have to be in it to win it!

TUESDAY: Body Attack class

WEDNESDAY: taking my friend's advice I completed my run today without my watch. Well I was still wearing it to log my distance, but I turned off all pace functions and alerts; letting myself run to my own feel and not get obsessed by how fast I was or was not going. It helped, and I managed 5 miles at 8.45 min/mile pace. Not super speedy but better, especially in the warm weather which had just started to hit. Body Pump class after.

THURSDAY: another 5 miles and this time a tiny bit faster at 8.41 min/mile pace. On another beautifully sunny evening I headed to the local common, which I had not ran around for months as during winter it gets boggy, muddy etc. Mentally it felt great to be able to run an old route again, whilst physically my calves struggled a little on the uneven ground. 

FRIDAY: Rest Day

​SATURDAY: back to running at parkrun after donning a fluorescent tabard and volunteering last week. This was my first parkrun post marathon too and although I wasn't expecting greatness, I wanted to be faster than my last pre-marathon run. Full blog to follow.

SUNDAY: long run day, and with a half marathon on the horizon I wanted to cover 12 miles. I ran with my friend on literally the best day of the year so far; it was so lovely and warm, and almost a bit of a shock to the system. I loved the run. We did a bit of a creative route, exploring some of the local lakes Lincoln has, and with the warm conditions at times it felt like I really was not in my home town at all. Although I was hot, it felt nice to feel the sun and actually welcome a gentle breeze. My legs weren't quite as happy; heavy throughout, they just felt an effort to lift. My average pace was just over 9 min miles, so again not spectacular but consistent with last week's longer run. Marginal improvements have been made this week, so I will patiently persevere!