First long, long run

Friday 13th February
Quite sore after last night's run but wanted to run anyway. There's something I like about the gym on a Friday night, it's never completely dead but isn't too busy either.

10k on the treadmill followed by about twenty minutes of core work, mostly on the cable machine. Really want to build a good strong core which will hold me in good stead over the longer distances.

Saturday 14th February
Body pump in the morning, followed by 4 miles (6.4k) on the treadmill and some core work. Wasn't sure if the run was a good idea as I want to do some serious mileage tomorrow, but it didn't seem to hurt. My legs actually felt a lot better than they did yesterday.

Sunday 15th February
And so it begins. I actually set my alarm so that I would get up earlier than usual and get my long run over with so I could enjoy the rest of the day. Actually managed to start it before 9am, which has to be a first.

11.2k (7 miles) on the treadmill followed by a good two hours plus outside (up the railway path, down Marlborough Road, along Queens Drive, through town then towards Cheney and along Akers Way, round the lake and up Cartwright Drive back to the gym. It would be nice to know exactly but I'm guessing that must be about 12-13 miles. So about 20 miles in total. Was very pleased with how I felt, the run outside was quite slow but I hardly had to stop and walk and generally felt okay.

It was nice to get out early, although this was more than 3 hours of running it didn't seem to take as long, I guess this is because it was over earlier and I had so much more of the day left. Was quite tired when I got home and needed a nap before the cricket started but it was well worth sacrificing my lie-in.

Monday 16th February
Considering how much I had done yesterday my legs didn't feel too bad at all. That notwithstanding, I wasn't doing anything more than a gentle recovery run indoors. Meant to do 5 miles (8k) but it turned out to be 8.5k because Keeps Getting Better by Christina Aguilera came on the music channel just as I was starting to cool down and I really like the song (and the video obviously). This seems to happen a lot recently?

Anyway, now that the weather is getting (slightly) warmer and the days are getting longer I really need to do some more runs outside. As I write it is clear I have been doing too much running on the treadmill which was fine when there was snow on the ground but now it has gone I really need to get out more (story of my life really).

Tuesday 17th February
6-7 miles steady, just did the Cheney route on my own. Legs feeling better now.

Wednesday 18th February
Body pump. No cardio. Just wanted to get home at a reasonable hour tonight.

Thursday 19th February
Did an interval session outside tonight, so jogged out to the lake and did 5 laps hard. The session seemed a lot easier than I remember it being, I don't know if that is down to the work I've been doing on the treadmill or if I've lost weight or what. I actually did it with my MP3 player which I wouldn't normally do. In the end I decided if I have music doing my speed sessions indoors, why not outside as well?

Friday 20th February
Complete rest. A different kind of maintenance however, as I had an eyebrow wax and tidy (don't laught) at the body clinic. Had my appointment with a girl called Carly, and it was my first treatment there for a few years. All I'll say is it is nice to be doing business with them again.