- Monday February 22nd track speed work: 1 mile warm up, 400m, 200m, 100m x2, 1 mile cool down.
- Tuesday February 23rd track speed work: 1 mile warm up, 100m x8, 1 mile cool down and Hot Pilates.
- Wednesday February 24th easy 30 minute swim lengths.
- Thursday February 25th road run 10km at 58:41.
- Saturday February 26th group run parkrun race 5km at 28:38.
This week I was preparing for my first 5km race as part of training with the Strandurance21 crew. The more our coach kept repeating the word race the more nervous I became! I had been training mostly distance until now so I decided to give the interval training a go, queue queasiness and the return of Vom Tron (running induced puking).
On Monday I was determined to return to training with a bang and since we had a race coming up I hit the track to work on my speed. I had visions of myself gliding effortlessly around the 400m with ease. My brain continues to delude me, I could barely finish my first set and by the second my lungs and throat burned and I called it a day, thinking I would put speed on the back burner until we were doing it as a group.
Amnesia struck and I was back on the track again on Tuesday to sprint it out. 100m seemed more realistic, I took my time and finished on 8 but honestly it felt like I was back at square one, nauseous, unable to breathe and and tasting blood in the back of my throat (another side effect of my new hobby). It didn't help that the track seemed to be taken up with experienced runners putting me to shame so I finished my warm up and left it at that. I still have loads of time to work of speed and doing it with the Strandurance group will make it easier to stay motivated. I also hit up my Hot Pilates class that night, and since we had a small class we really pushed it out, doing burpees in 30 degrees is no picnic, right in those moments I question my sanity and what the hell I am doing with my life!
I am really enjoying my morning pool sessions, its nice to have something a but more relaxing in my routine. Every week I can swim for longer periods without stopping and my breathing is becoming steadier. I also usually meet the same people there every week so its nice to get advice and tips from more experienced swimmers.
I wanted to do a long run this week too, and as I usually don't run on Fridays I headed out on a road run on Thursday night delighting in the fact that although my legs were aching from Hot Pilates I was still able to finish in 58;14. Breaking the hour mark has made me feel way more confident about racing at Kinvara.
Friday I took the dogs out to walk the woods, while the racing event 3 marathons in 2 days took place. These guys are machines! Sometimes just planning my running week exhausts me, I don't know how these people do it, I am definitely jealous of their fitness and determination.
Saturday as always was group run and our first 5km race. I had initially planned on finishing around the 26 minute mark, but as my running so far indicates sometimes the best laid plans fall flat. My plan was to start out fast, pace myself at the 2.5km mark and then speed up toward the end. But I started way too fast and I knew I couldn't maintain it, my breathing was rubbish and around 3km I got a sharp stitch, forcing me to slow down to almost a crawl to get my breathing right. At the last km I knew I wouldn't make my target time so I shifted my focus and just tried to enjoy the rest of the run. I finished at 28:38. I think it is still early days to be too disappointed with any of my race performances as I am still shocked I have come this far with my training! Every run is an accomplishment at this stage, and as long as I am enjoying it, the motivation will stick!
I am looking forward to my first 10km race since I started this programme, The route is hillier than my usual road run so that will be a challenge but I am still aiming to get under the hour for it, I will be running it with some buddies so the friendly competition will certainly be no harm.
So to sum up the week, I HATE speed work!
On Monday I was determined to return to training with a bang and since we had a race coming up I hit the track to work on my speed. I had visions of myself gliding effortlessly around the 400m with ease. My brain continues to delude me, I could barely finish my first set and by the second my lungs and throat burned and I called it a day, thinking I would put speed on the back burner until we were doing it as a group.
Amnesia struck and I was back on the track again on Tuesday to sprint it out. 100m seemed more realistic, I took my time and finished on 8 but honestly it felt like I was back at square one, nauseous, unable to breathe and and tasting blood in the back of my throat (another side effect of my new hobby). It didn't help that the track seemed to be taken up with experienced runners putting me to shame so I finished my warm up and left it at that. I still have loads of time to work of speed and doing it with the Strandurance group will make it easier to stay motivated. I also hit up my Hot Pilates class that night, and since we had a small class we really pushed it out, doing burpees in 30 degrees is no picnic, right in those moments I question my sanity and what the hell I am doing with my life!
I am really enjoying my morning pool sessions, its nice to have something a but more relaxing in my routine. Every week I can swim for longer periods without stopping and my breathing is becoming steadier. I also usually meet the same people there every week so its nice to get advice and tips from more experienced swimmers.
I wanted to do a long run this week too, and as I usually don't run on Fridays I headed out on a road run on Thursday night delighting in the fact that although my legs were aching from Hot Pilates I was still able to finish in 58;14. Breaking the hour mark has made me feel way more confident about racing at Kinvara.
Friday I took the dogs out to walk the woods, while the racing event 3 marathons in 2 days took place. These guys are machines! Sometimes just planning my running week exhausts me, I don't know how these people do it, I am definitely jealous of their fitness and determination.
Saturday as always was group run and our first 5km race. I had initially planned on finishing around the 26 minute mark, but as my running so far indicates sometimes the best laid plans fall flat. My plan was to start out fast, pace myself at the 2.5km mark and then speed up toward the end. But I started way too fast and I knew I couldn't maintain it, my breathing was rubbish and around 3km I got a sharp stitch, forcing me to slow down to almost a crawl to get my breathing right. At the last km I knew I wouldn't make my target time so I shifted my focus and just tried to enjoy the rest of the run. I finished at 28:38. I think it is still early days to be too disappointed with any of my race performances as I am still shocked I have come this far with my training! Every run is an accomplishment at this stage, and as long as I am enjoying it, the motivation will stick!
I am looking forward to my first 10km race since I started this programme, The route is hillier than my usual road run so that will be a challenge but I am still aiming to get under the hour for it, I will be running it with some buddies so the friendly competition will certainly be no harm.
So to sum up the week, I HATE speed work!
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