Somehow this week seems to have lasted about forever. It doesn't feel like only a week since my last long run.
I've been a bit achy, which was worrying me quite a bit by Thursday on my third consecutive day of running when my calves and hamstrings were both so tired I daren't do the interval session I'd planned for fear of injuring myself. I was also pretty much dead on my feet. I battled through a 5 mile run with some one minute hard pushes as a compromise which felt safer, and then got home and went to the cinema. After finishing watching the film I was so stiff I could hardly move, and I was shaky and achy for the whole day, aching in my muscles and even in my joints. This was not part of the plan and I was pretty convinced my body was just objecting to the mileage. In the end I woke up in the middle of the night on Thursday with a raging sore throat, ear ache and a pounding headache; I was actually a little relieved to discover that at least part of the problem appeared to be the usual Christmas virus that seems to beset at least three quarters of the population.
Friday was a rest day anyway so the next planned run was Saturday which was my 50th parkrun, and I'd planned to have a serious attack at my PB. I woke up on Saturday feeling a lot better, but still sufficiently under the weather I decided to scrap the PB attempt which I wasn't really up to, run a much easier pace at parkrun, and focus on Sunday's long run. I also woke up with remarkably fresh legs which really surprised me, and reassured me that a lot of the fatigue I'd been experiencing earlier in the week had was most likely in large part down to illness. I was a little grumpy about a steadier parkrun but ended up having a lovely run. A minute or so slower than last week, but I ran under 21 minutes and it felt easy. I eased into it, chatted, exchanged some high 5s, and picked the pace up on the last km in an attempt to look slightly more impressive for my kids. I decided to take my husband's comment of "we came to see you and you weren't even trying" as a compliment and not give him a slap for his cheek!
Sunday's long run went ahead as planned, 15 miles which makes my longest run of the year, bang on the planned pace of a little under 8 minute miles, and the sore throat that was bothering me at the start was a distant memory by the end.
This week has been a learning experience in many ways.
The main thing I've learned is that I have fantastic friends; I've only done 2 solo runs this week and the long run today started with 8 although we did lose a couple along the way. I've been so grateful for the offers of company on my various obsessively scheduled and planned runs.
I've learned that my "easy run" pace is definitely 8:40s, not 8:30s. The difference I feel in my legs for that 10 seconds is huge. Both paces are easy from a fitness point of view, but my legs seem to be able to do 8:40s with no toll on calves or hamstrings at all, and 8:30s with just a bit of stress.
I've learned that if I want to make a decent go of an interval session I can't do it less than 12 hours after getting back from a 9 mile run. Getting home in the dark, eating, sleeping, getting up and going out again in the dark, errrr, no!
I think I'm learning to balance my fatigue against my plans and manage my body. I'm sleeping more, eating better and generally healthier than I have been in a long time despite the virus which in fact my body seems to have defeated in less than 72 hours albeit with a slight compromise in training.
I'm still not sure if my training plan is good or bad for me. I've received a huge amount of conflicting advice, which has not been unsolicited; I've not done this before and appreciate the input of those who have. Some people seem to think that to run the times I want to I need to be starting at 40 miles a week and building up to nearer 70 in the last few weeks of training (I can't see that happening), some people think that doing too many miles too soon will just wear me out. The coming week is a cut back week, again, conflicting advice from hardly run to only cut back to the mileage I did in my first week of training.
Right now, I'm listening to everyone and trying to be sensible about what my body is telling me, because that's all I can do. I am tired. The last three miles of the long run today were a slog and although I was told I looked very bouncy still, it was forced and I didn't really feel it. I'd planned two rest days before a 5k race on Wednesday and I'm going to take them. The rest of the week will be to a degree by ear other than the 10 mile long run next Sunday, but my current thought is that it'll be a little less mileage than week 1, and at a slower pace. I want to start the next three weeks of build up feeling fresh and rested and with no aches and pains. I'm also somewhat looking forward to a 5k race. I haven't raced for 3 weeks, I haven't raced a 5k for over a year, and it's a distance I do enjoy for a given value of enjoyment!
Let's just hope that I don't manage to become cheese by then, as when I did that over last Christmas it really messed with my times!
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