Unexpected Benefits

Week Eight- 68 Days to Go

So another week down, and I feel surprisingly positive - and not just because I'm now off work for a whole week! My initial worries over foolishly having two races in a week have subsided, mainly because sensible scheduling meant I could put in two great performances. It was especially good considering that the first run of the week that was meant to be a recovery run turned out to be about thirty seconds a mile quicker than it should have been...

Wednesday was the second Worcestershire Midweek event - the 12k at Arrow Valley in darkest Redditch. With the weather having been very dry, the warnings that I'd been given about the muddy parts of the course didn't come into play. Instead the biggest issue was how pitted the off-road sections were - as the two people ahead of me who turned their ankles could attest. Luckily I missed the worst parts and managed to build a bit of a head of steam - so much so that I not only caught up with Andy Hall at the end of the first lap but managed to overtake him and keep ahead until the end of the race. Unexpected but really pleasing considering that generally he's a lot quicker than me.

On Thursday I was going to just go for a gentle run, but was persuaded to do my bit and take part in a  new rep session at the club that paired up quicker and slower runners for a joint run. It was really enjoyable - although foolishly I forgot to start the old Garmin so not exactly sure how far I ran. All I know is that it wasn't particularly quick after the previous days effort!

After a rest on Friday, I braved the torrential rain of Saturday morning for the Newport Carnival 10k, the penultimate Fourmidables event. It was the best race - probably due to the weather. The race coincided with the annual Carnival and the plan was for all the runners to head down Newport High Street to be cheered on by the assembled crowd. However, the rain seemed to understandably drive many away, so there was only a ripple of applause as we all passed. I didn't seem to check the time for the rest of the race, so it came as a bit of a shock when I stumbled over the line, feeling absolutely dreadful and having been comprehensively beaten on a sprint finish, to find that I'd run a PB. It was probably helped by the fact that the offroad element was minimal and the last mile was basically downhill - but nevertheless I'll take it.

Following that little fillip, Sunday's long run down the canal into town and back was no bother - if you discount the stiffness in the legs and the exhaustion after mile 15. Despite that, I managed a consistent pace and slightly longer than last week. I'm looking forward to a rest day tomorrow, and a proscribed recovery run on Tuesday (bizarrely schedule in two parts).

At least not having to go to work as well should make it slightly easier!