June 2010

Tuesday 1st June
Track session tonight, 10 * 300m. Usual warm up and cool down. Found it tough after running at the weekend, and the group isn't getting any better.

Wednesday 2nd June
Steady run, Lethbridge route so about 5-6 miles. A lot of lower back pain despite my new trainers which is a worry.

Thursday 3rd June
Ran with Terry and Tony tonight. An awful lot of pain in my lower back, it was just excrucating and not enjoyable at all. Managed to finish it though, but let them do a slightly longer run than myself. They measured the run at 6.75 miles, I probably did about .25 miles less. Used the foam roller a lot when I got back to the gym to self-massage myself.

Friday 4th June
Walked to and from work. A really horrible day for me personally, one of my lodgers left a pan of oil cooking and caused a fire. It wasn't serious, fortunately, but could have been.

Saturday 5th June
Body pump at the gym. Ran to and from the gym. Not a bad session considering how much alcohol I'd had to calm my nerves after the fire last night. Had actually hoped to be doing the park run at 9am for the first time, but that wasn't really an option.

Sunday 6th June
First really long run in the build up to NFM. 7 miles on the treamdmill, then another 9-10 outside. The latter took a lot longer than it should have, but my mind was all over the place after events in the last few days.

Monday 7th June
Easy run on the treadmill, 5 miles. Not bad considering how sore my legs were - pace between 10.2 and 11.8 kph.
I know I'm training for a marathon now. As I write I have just polished off a large plate of pasta but I'm still absolutely bloody starving.

Tuesday 8th June
RPM at the gym. I wanted to go to the track, but it was raining and I still can't wear my contacts so I wouldn't have been able to see a thing.

Wednesday 9th June
Steady run. Can't remember the exact time or distance to be honest.

Thursday 10th June
1 mile on the treadmill then Michelle's circuits class. Should get to the gym earlier and do a speed session before circuits, I enjoy it and it is good for the core.

Friday 11th June
No running, walked to and from work.

Saturday 12th June
Body pump in the morning. Couldn't figure out why my stomach was hurting so much, realised later it must have been from circuits, which proves what a useful addition to my training that is.

Competed in the Broad Town 5 race in the afternoon. It was a great afternoon out, there quite a few from the gym including Louise, Terry and Paul. Managed to finish in 39:19 despite a stitch which I was quite pleased with - at least it's sub 8 minute miles. Celebrated with a cake and a burger before going home to enjoy some beer on a Saturday evening.

Sunday 13th June
Ran to the gym, did RPM then another hour on the treadmill. So still managed a long session despite yesterday's exertions which is good.

Monday 14th June
Hills and sprints, 2 sets of 3 + 3. Didn't want to do anything too strenuous, but didn't fancy the tedium of the treadmill either.

Tuesday 15th June
Rest - Lethbridge 10k tomorrow. Makes a nice change to have an entire evening at home for a change.

Wednesday 16th June
Lethbridge 10k. Walked to the start from my home as it is only 15 minutes away. Had quite a good run, started with Terry, and he thought we were doing 7.5 minute miling in the first couple of miles. He said he was struggling so I pressed on ahead of him. Found it tough but enjoyable. Pleased with an offical time of 50:04, with chip timing that would have been under 50 minutes I reckon, so not bad on a tough course. It was definitely a PB for the course - and I beat Terry for the second successive time.

Thursday 17th June
Gave myself a rest from running, RPM and circuits back to back. Enjoyed both classes.

Friday 18th June
Walked to and from work.

Saturday 19th June
My birthday! Training as usual however, body pump at the gym in the morning but missed out the squats and lunges as saving my legs for the Bourton Hilly Half in the evening.
This was my fifth time at this event - the first time I have managed 5 consecutive appearances at any event, so that tells you how much I like it. I've even missed Lethbridge and the Swindon half once. It is a tough, hilly course but the scenery and views of the Gloucestershire countryside make up for the pain of those hills. And to be fair, the worst hill is in the first mile so is over quickly. Quite a long drag from 7-9 miles but apart from that just an undulating course really.
I made the decision, understandably, just to enjoy the run this evening and treat it as a hard training run. It worked - I was able to talk to people most of the way round but still found it tough. But as I said to a nice lady, I don't much see the point of entering such a scenic race, travelling from Swindon and then beasting myself to get a certain time. There are other races where I can do that.
I had no idea what pace I was doing and was quite pleased when I finished to be told I had finished in 1:58 (I found out later it was 1:58:58). One of the organisers joked with me 'Easy isn't it?' 'I've done easier ones' I replied archly.
Nice to chat with fellow runners at the end and interesting to hear about the Birmingham half marathon - a big city half that isn't a complete rip-off apparently. Might be a good opportunity to visit the city where I went to Uni.
Anyway, back home (quite a pleasant drive - shame it's so expensive) and just had a nice relaxing evening at home on my own with a curry and plenty of alcohol. I watched The Wrestler on sky movies and remembered why I enjoyed it at the cinema last year so much. A sad, depressing film but a brilliant character study and great performances from Mickey Rourke as an over the hill wrestler and Evan Rachel Wood as his estranged daughter.
Plenty of messages from friends and family on facebook which was lovely. Very often I feel lonely and isolated so it was nice to know there are actually lots of people out there who value me. It was a good day.

Sunday 20th June
Woke up quite late so it was a bit of a struggle to run to the gym and do RPM but I'm glad I did. Nicole was teaching which was a bit of a bonus and had a nice long chat with a fellow runner before jogging home. No need for a long run, a hilly half marathon is about the equivalent of 18 miles in training. As my lovely friend Emma said to me just before I left, fair play for coming to the gym after doing a half the previous evening.

Monday 21st June
Something a bit different tonight, did Michelle's abs class, then her 'octathlong' class later on after some light cardio. Only did 4 of the 8 stations as it was the first time, could be interesting to do all 8.

Tuesday 22nd June
Track session. Tough one tonight, 6 * 500m. Felt a bit queasy half way but got through it. Shopping in Tescos with Janine after which is always fun.

Wednesday 23rd June
Abs class again tonight, am enjoying this. Still sore from Monday though! Easy run afterwards, Lethbridge route, nice and steady.

Thursday 24th June
RPM tonight, Emma and Nicole teaching the new release together for the first time. Good fun and I like the new release.

Friday 25th June
Walked to and from work.

Saturday 26th June
Body pump in the morning, ran to and from the gym. Wanted to do the park run today, but ended up going out last night as my former boss, David Power, was playing in a gig in Swindon so I went to watch and had a couple of beers.
My birthday night out tonight, had a good evening and a great turnout, much more people than I expected incluing my niece Tanya which was lovely.

Sunday 27th & Monday 28th June
Rest days. Enjoyed my birthday a bit too much I think and ended taking Monday as holiday. In fairness I've had a lot on of late and probably needed a day off.

Tuesday 29th June
Track session, 7 * 400m. Sounds easy, but the recoveries were short and the idea was to sprint flat out for the last 200m. I did the best I could, but after 5 my heart was still pounding so had to miss one. So ended up doing 6 * 400m.

Wednesday 30th June
Abs class followed by a steady run.