Last entry of 2006

The weather seems to play with us at the moment. Each day is a complete contrast to the previous one, sunshine on Saturday gave way to rain and storms on Sunday, and who knows what’s in store for Monday.

After feeling totally wiped out after Friday’s run I did question my training. I certainly don’t want to fall into the overtraining trap, but one tough run does not cause overtraining. I was slightly apprehensive for Saturday’s 90 minutes, and initially the concerns were well founded. The legs felt very heavy and I really had to drag myself along for the run. After about 4.5 miles I came across a football pitch with a dirt track around it, and on the spur of the moment decided to do a few laps. After two or three laps I suddenly seemed to shake off the fatigue and from then on I felt much better. After five laps I decided to do some straights and curves, partly because I wanted to get the legs moving a bit before Monday’s 5k, and partly because I hadn’t done any strides all week. This kind of strides workout is different to my usual one, normally I have much longer breaks between the fast bits. It went well, though my heart rate did creep upwards with every lap. I did 6 more laps of that, making it 12 strides and 12 recoveries. At least I think I did, I lost count at one stage. There was a guy cycling clockwise on the track while I was doing counter-clockwise loops. He nearly did the same pace as me, after each half lap we seemed to cross at nearly the same spot – though I did work a lot harder than he did, obviously. I still had to run the 4.5 miles home again, of course, but I was very happy with the workout.

After feeling so revitalised, I expected another good run on Sunday, but you don’t always get what you want. The weather had turned decidedly nasty again, though the winds did not quite reach the 60-70 mph that had been predicted (that might still happen later today of course). I tried to take it a little bit easier than I would have on a normal 60 minutes run to save the legs for tomorrow’s race, but I ended up doing a decent pace anyway, especially considering the conditions. The legs felt surprisingly heavy again, as if someone had attached a brick to each hamstring (I checked but couldn’t find it). Oh well. I did feel slightly better as the run wore on, and finished in reasonable shape.

I managed to pick up a spanking new pair of Asics Nimbus in a half price sale at Arnotts, which made my day. The old pair of Nimbuses had been officially retired on my last run before driving to Dublin a week ago. They had lasted for 520 miles, which is the longest I’ve ever worn a pair. I had a few twinges and tweaks in both Achilles tendons over the last 2 or 3 weeks before that, which is my usual sign of needing a new pair of runners. I’ve been feeling fine since.

Lola had a tummy bug over the last few days, with the usual unpleasantness that accompanies that kind of thing. At one stage the poor thing said to her mummy “I think I’m going to die”. Thankfully she’s better now; she seems to be fully recovered. When mummy baked a chocolate cake yesterday, she licked the mixing bowl clean, and she’s been fine ever since, which is more than you can say about the clothes she wore at the time. I hope we can remove those chocolate stains.

Happy New Year everyone! I wish you a good and successful 2007, and may all your PRs be shattered. My personal resolution: run more, run harder, and don’t get injured. I’m not asking for much, do I?

30 Dec: 11 miles, 1:33, 8:27 pace, avg. HR 150, including 12x100 strides
31 Dec: 8 miles, 1:02, 7:45 pace, avg. HR 153

Weekly mileage: 75+ (a new record and I didn’t even think about it until I added up the numbers)
December mileage: 278
2006 mileage: 2562