For the past six weeks I have consistently run five times per week as part of my #Jantastic running and my build to the London marathon. Last year it all ended at approximately five weeks when my foot flared up with a vengeance and at times it has seemed that my old legs might let me down again, but this time it's been my hamstrings and lower back which have been wound tight. However, last week, a funny thing happened . The aches went away. I was disconcerted, sure in the knowledge that my muscles were due to tear themselves to bits, but they didn't. I had my best week's running in a very, very long time. I can only put it down to my body adapting somewhat to the training stress at last.
An interval session, a 9 mile tempo run and a few easy 5 milers were capped off with a 19 mile run on Saturday morning. Up at 6am and on the pavement by 6.15 I was expecting my legs to be tight and sore again, not liking the early start, but instead of the awkward hobble-shuffle I was pretty fluid from the off. Running to an easy rpe I took it steady for 15 miles and then picked it up over the last 4, mainly because that was what I had planned to do but also because if I didn't get to the loo pdq then I was going to have a lot of explaining to do. :-/ I covered those last 4 miles at around 7.05 pace which was good, but the real positive from it and the 18 miles I had run the previous weekend was not a hint of me running out of fuel. Yes, I was tired but not the king of tiredness you get from glycogen depletion. It looks like the speedwork and threshold work is really paying dividends on my long run. :-)
It was the Kingston Phoenix Awards Dinner on Saturday night. I was given a couple of gongs for some handicap wins last year while Simon didn't have enough arms for the amount of trophies that he won. It dawned on me I have not turned a pedal in anger in 6 weeks *embarrassed face*. I've got a duathlon to do next week. Maybe I should think about dusting off the Van Nic.
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