Hogweed Hilly Half

Friday 28th March
Rest.

Saturday 29th March
Body pump in the morning. Would not have done this if I had a race the next day where I was trying to get a good time, but the Hogweed Hilly Half was only ever going to be a tough training run. Even so, I probably went too heavy on the squats and knew I would pay for it tomorrow. Decided it was time to check my weight. Suffice it to say I was horrified with the result.

Weigh-in
Body weight 15st 13.2lb
Body fat percentage 16.6% (athletic body type)

After the easter weekend I would not have been surprised if my weight had gone up a couple of pounds, but to put on 6lb in 3 weeks is catastrophic. I didn't need Ali to give me a bollocking, I gave myself one. If I'd had my running trainers with me I'd probably have tied myself to the treadmill. Not at all happy. I was supposed to be having a birthday drink with a friend from work in the evening, but told myself beer is not allowed at this juncture.

Still, 6lb should be easy to get rid of in 2 or 3 weeks, especially now the calf is fixed and I can crank up the mileage. In a funny way this may be a good thing in the long term as it has come as a salutary reminder that it is very easy to put weight on in a short space of time and even when it's all gone I still need to keep an eye on it. Lesson learned. Weekly weigh-ins now mandatory.

Sunday 30th March
Competed in the "Hogweed Hilly Half Marathon" at Horton, near Chipping Sodbury. I did the event last year as a training run for the London marathon and thoroughly enjoyed it, so entered again this year.

Knowing the course I knew it was only ever going to be a hard training run and set out to just enjoy it, and try to keep to 9-minute miles. This is pretty much what happened, I certainly enjoyed the run and found the hills no easier than last year. In fact, the hill in the ninth mile was so tough, I had to walk part of the way. The hill in the first mile wasn't much easier either. That notwithstanding, I managed to keep to roughly 9-minute miling, although some were obviously faster than others.

I completed the race in 1 hour 59 minutes, which I was quite happy with bearing in mind it was just a training run. I was a little disappointed to be about a minute slower than last year, but that's the way it goes sometimes. My legs were tired from doing body pump and my calf was still a bit of an issue. Can't praise the event highly enough, see my comments on runners' world website for more details.

In the evening I decided to go out for a very slow 6 mile jog. With hindsight, this was probably a very good move as it seemed to loosen the legs up (I was very stiff at the start of it) and I'm not as sore as I thought I might be today (I write the day after the race). Also, I need to get my mileage up so if I'm not knocking out a 3 hour run on a Sunday, running twice in the day is mandatory. Plus it meant I didn't feel guilty about celebrating the event with a few beers in the evening :)

Monday 31st March
Clocks went forward yesterday so for the first time this year I was able to go running in daylight after work. Did 5k on the treadmill, building the speed up gradually, then did another 6 miles (very steady) with the running club. Thoroughly enjoyed it and notched up another 9 miles. If I keep this up those six pounds should be gone in no time.