Outlaw Half Training – Weeks 4 & 5 sort of done – Some good, some bad…

After the rather downbeat previous post things picked up the following week. A quick chat with Adam from GreenlightPT (who set my training plan) set my mind at rest and getting used to running a long run the day after a long ride is part of the process. In other words – suck it up! 🙂

Week 4 was recovery week, mainly the same sessions but slightly reduced distances for the runs and bikes. It started well with a good turbo session, but during my swim session on Wednesday started to get some shoulder pain. Not sure if it is due to using muscles I’m not used to using or whether I’ve actually hurt something. I dropped to the back of the lane and finished the session but it was still sore the next day so icing it every day to see if that helps.

Had a massive breakthrough with my tempo run on the Thursday night – I went to the club run (been about 6 months…) just intending to run a good steady pace. Once I got going, felt so good pushed it on a bit and ended up running the route the quickest I ever have, and there was more in the tank. After pain in my knee for over nine months and countless physio sessions I cannot explain the relief and excitement that running that evening gave me. To say I was happy was an understatement.

It kind of went downhill from there…missed my swim on Friday as shoulder was still sore (although I did do a turbo session instead). With 25mph+ winds on Saturday did another turbo session instead of the long ride and Sunday’s run was a slip and slide affair with ice on the ground, cut short as I felt a bit rough.

The feeling a bit rough turned into a stinking cold and meant week 5 was a bit of a non-event. I eventually dragged myself out on the bike on Saturday – it’s still so blinking windy, will it ever end? Then on Sunday managed a quite satisfactory 10 mile run.

So, things are coming back together again – but I really would like to have just one ride this year without the wind making me feel I’m cycling in treacle or blowing me across the road – please?

Brrr!

I think it’s fair to say the weather has certainly turned! Didn’t get out tonight until the little one was in bed so it was getting rather chilly. But being the slave to my schedule that I am (or just plain stupid) I put on my new thermal gloves and woolly hat and set off for a speed session of 10 x 400m.

Trying to find an adequately lit stretch of road that wasn’t too undulating is easier said than done when you live in a small village that is poorly lit at the best of times. However one benefit is the A5 and I did find a stretch of path that seemed to do the job – but could I?

Taking the cold into consideration I ended up doing 8 x 400m rather than the planned 10 – mostly due to various aches and pains on the eighth rep which made me think that it was time to call it a night. Most of them had been spot on for pace and I think I’m now old and wise enough to know when it’s time to stop to prevent further injury rather than because it just hurts.

I’m still recovering from my PF and speed work is not the best cure by any stretch so I felt at this stage in my training I’d done enough and now wasn’t the time to push it. Missing 2 reps is not going to stop me completing 26.2 miles in April – recurrence of the PF will. As for the other type of hurting – when that happens I know what will keep me going – the reminder of who I’m running London in memory of. Their parents never get a chance to give up because it hurts – they keep on, going regardless.

A bit breezy out there….

Phew – talk about working hard. Thought I’d brave the winds and do a gentle 4 mile jog in my lunch hour and it turned into a bit of a slog, with me getting caught in the downpour. But on a lighter note, that’s another run done and felt quite smug that I’d braved it while others cowered in the warm!

Foot was a bit sore but to be honest I was trying to get round as quickly as possible which doesn’t help recovery of an injury, never mind eh? Always a nice easy run in the plan for the weekend – as long as the wind eases up. Otherwise it’ll be from A to B as fast as possible and ignore the pain. Nothing a bit of ice afterwards can’t sort out!

Funny, I love running in the rain. Don’t mind getting soaked or cold, but the wind does put me off – same when I’m out cycling – don’t mind the rain too much but there’s nothing worse than nearly getting blown over as you pass a gateway. Doesn’t help the confidence a jot.

Anyway, enough about the weather. Fingers crossed that’s the last of it for a while.