I've said before that running is like a roller coaster ride. Today was the uphill climb without any of the exciting whizzy round bits!
I think Thursday night intervals combined with Wednesday's attempt at weightlifting had taken its toll on my legs.
I had to run for 95 minutes. I chose to do the run first thing as I'd enjoyed the other early starts and had things to do for the rest of the day. I got up at 6.30, drank a glass of water, did my stretches and trotted off down Kedleston Road. Rob had told me it should be an 'easy run' and not to worry about the pace.
The first mile was slow as I waited for my heavy legs to start working. I ran through the city centre, which was a strange place to be at 7am on a Saturday morning and headed down towards the River Path at the back of the station. By the time I got to Alvaston Park at about 3.5 miles I was already finding it tough.
I carried on towards Elvaston Castle, it was cloudy and strangely warm and the miles didn't seem to be ticking by as they had been last Saturday. I don't know if it was because I knew exactly where I was going or if it was down to a late night on Thursday but I just felt like there was no rhythm to my running and that my legs didn't want to work.
I ran through the castle grounds hoping the time was almost up so I could make it up the last half mile straight to my parents house but when I looked down at my watch I still had 20 minutes to go. I carried on towards Ambaston, doubled back on myself a couple of times and finally arrived at the welcome sight of Mum & Dad's house 1hr 34mins after I first started.
These were my splits:
Mile 1 10.19
Mile 2 10.36
Mile 3 10.19
Mile 4 10.06
Mile 5 10.00
Mile 6 10.26
Mile 7 10.50
Mile 8 10.17
Mile 9 10.09
Mile 10 4.55 *half a mile
I had a fly in my eye during mile 7, that's the only excuse I can come up with for almost walking pace. The 1058 calories that my watch told me I'd burnt made me feel a little better but overall I didn't feel great. Flino assures me these off days are common and I need to persevere.
Thankfully the rest of today was great, lovely lunch with my friend & then I went to the park for an ice cream with my mum. Right now I'm sat on the sofa, drinking a beer and waiting to see if Mo can get gold in the 5000m. Tomorrow is a rest day and we're off to London to watch the Olympic Marathon - I wonder if they have off days?!
Showing posts with label Mo Farrah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mo Farrah. Show all posts
Saturday, 11 August 2012
Sunday, 5 August 2012
Perseverance & determination
Saturday 4th August - what a day, GB athletics team win 3 gold medals within 47 minutes and I run 8 miles before 8.30am.
I set my alarm for 6.30am, got up, did some stretching, drank a glass of water and was out of the door for just after 7am. I jogged down Queensway, over Ashbourne Road and then followed the cycle path through Mickleover Meadows. I've only been that way once before on my bike so the time seemed to pass quite quickly. I got to Station Road in Mickleover at 3 miles so carried on down the cycle path towards Etwall for a mile before turning round and heading back.
I hadn't realised, until the way back, that the first half of the run had been more or less a steady incline. It meant that the 2nd half of the route seemed much easier even though it started to rain.
These were my splits:
Mile 1 10.19
Mile 2 10.43 * I was faffing about with my i-pod trying to find Deadmau5
Mile 3 10.33
Mile 4 10.34
Mile 5 9.58
Mile 6 10.16
Mile 7 10.03
Mile 8 9.41
Total calories 952
I felt good for most of the way round, I think running first thing in the morning agrees with me. I'm irritated by the fact that I don't run at a consistent pace but I guess that will come with more time. I think I could have carried on running for another couple of miles. I'm confident now that I can run the distance for the Great North Run (13.1 miles). It's all about increasing my pace so I can finish in under 2 hours.
We had our Olympic BBQ in the afternoon, family and friends came over and despite the rain, we all managed to have fun.
In the evening a group of us sat in front of the TV, cheering for Jess and Greg and hardly daring to breathe as Mo Farrah realised his dream of becoming the Olympic 10,000m champion. It was amazing to watch. My brother was actually at the stadium, I can't wait to hear about it.
I read this on Twitter earlier on today:
Beijing 2008: Ennis at home injured, Rutherford scrapes 10th place, Farrah out in the heats.
London 2012: perseverance & determination.
I set my alarm for 6.30am, got up, did some stretching, drank a glass of water and was out of the door for just after 7am. I jogged down Queensway, over Ashbourne Road and then followed the cycle path through Mickleover Meadows. I've only been that way once before on my bike so the time seemed to pass quite quickly. I got to Station Road in Mickleover at 3 miles so carried on down the cycle path towards Etwall for a mile before turning round and heading back.
I hadn't realised, until the way back, that the first half of the run had been more or less a steady incline. It meant that the 2nd half of the route seemed much easier even though it started to rain.
These were my splits:
Mile 1 10.19
Mile 2 10.43 * I was faffing about with my i-pod trying to find Deadmau5
Mile 3 10.33
Mile 4 10.34
Mile 5 9.58
Mile 6 10.16
Mile 7 10.03
Mile 8 9.41
Total calories 952
I felt good for most of the way round, I think running first thing in the morning agrees with me. I'm irritated by the fact that I don't run at a consistent pace but I guess that will come with more time. I think I could have carried on running for another couple of miles. I'm confident now that I can run the distance for the Great North Run (13.1 miles). It's all about increasing my pace so I can finish in under 2 hours.
We had our Olympic BBQ in the afternoon, family and friends came over and despite the rain, we all managed to have fun.
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| Chef Flino! |
In the evening a group of us sat in front of the TV, cheering for Jess and Greg and hardly daring to breathe as Mo Farrah realised his dream of becoming the Olympic 10,000m champion. It was amazing to watch. My brother was actually at the stadium, I can't wait to hear about it.
I read this on Twitter earlier on today:
Beijing 2008: Ennis at home injured, Rutherford scrapes 10th place, Farrah out in the heats.
London 2012: perseverance & determination.
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