Cut back week.
Or is it? The mileage is down from last week but is knocking around the same ballpark as the previous two. I’m not quite sure if I want to increase to much more than an average of 24 or 25 miles a week, especially at my speed. If I suddenly find I have more time and energy, then I could maybe go for that swim that I’d been threatening to do. Or get on the bike. So, for now, I’ll call last week a spike.
I recovered quite well from the ten-mile race last weekend; I had my post-race milk (with added chocolate to make it palatable) ready in my bag, and that was drunk almost as soon as I’d finished, with that salted corn snack that seems to be the post-race handout at the moment. Plus, because of the heat, I wasn’t going to try and kill my legs, and therefore I could happily do my weights on Monday without feeling like an old woman.
I only did one bit of speed work this week as I took advantage a wonderfully flat long path, that used to be a trainline in Stratford upon Avon. We were there for a couple of days to watch a couple of plays. Somerset Maugham’s The Constant Wife starring Rose ‘You Know Nothing Jon Snow’ Leslie, and Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.
The last couple of times we have been to Stratford, we have been treated to excellent productions. This was Rose Leslie’s first stage role in years, and as she was in virtually every scene, she needed to bring her A-game, and she did. The Winter’s Tale is one of those plays that seems a bit mixed up. The first half seems all doom and gloom tragedy, and the second half turns it around into happy ever after comedy. This one was directed by Yaël Farber, and she had created something that was much more cohesive. It was a mystical take, that highlighted the King’s singular paranoia and made Time/Autolycus and Paulina ethereal and powerful. It worked really well, and despite the fact that I was tired after doing my interval repeats that morning, I didn’t fall asleep while it was on and found the whole thing mesmerising.
My ten-miler at the end of the week was quite pleasing. I didn’t feel out of breath, except on the hills towards the end, and my legs just got to that nice, pleasant fatigue. It helped that I ran with John, a regular weekend running buddy. We chatted all the way around, aside from those hills at the end, and it made the whole ‘long run slog’ very enjoyable. I think that is my sign that I’m ready to start increasing those long runs.
The trouble with going away in the middle of a training block is that you need to adapt your routine to your location. I know Stratford well, so I was able to make use of its old railway track, a long straight path where I could do my intervals.
This morning, we are packing up to stay in London for two-and-a-bit weeks – dog sitting for Anne’s eldest – and so I have to think about how to keep the momentum going down in the Big Smoke. I’ll take my two 7.5kg dumb bells and increase the number of repetitions on some of my exercises as I can’t increase the weight while I’m away. Ideally, I need to find a local hill, and a long flat path somewhere, but luckily London has many parks, and I know of a couple that are near to where we’re staying – with the added advantage of having a fantastic fresh bagel shop on the way back home.
Week Seven
| Mon | Weights |
| Tue | |
| Wed | Gentle five-miler – took an hour |
| Thu | Four x 400 metres on the flat path in Stratford upon Avon. First one took 2.05 mins, and last one took 2.10 mins – so I need to work on that consistency. |
| Fri | Weights |
| Sat | Birkenhead Parkrun was off this week so did a nice and steady grassy Parkrun in Ellesmere Port with a one mile warm up |
| Sun | A gentle ten-miler within conversational RPE – took just over two hours |
| 24.5 miles total |
theleadlesspencil 