Half Training – Weeks 12 and 13

I should have written last week’s efforts up in a blog of their own. At least then I could have had an upbeat training diary entry. I had happily managed around twenty-eight miles simply by knocking out lots of snail (Zone-2) running. I had felt no extra fatigue, and I had two pretty good threshold runs in the mix too.

I have worked out, or rather my Garmin has, that my Zone-2 area is essentially in the 140s, which does feel right with my ability to converse and breathe through my nose for good chunks of the time (not at the same time). Both the concepts of Zone-2 running and nasal breathing have been resurrected in my mind because of a general training talk that Nigel gave to some of us Pensby Runners a few weeks back. Because he’s a member and the current chair of our running club, he gave it to us for free, which was nice, as it covered a lot. I come across some of it before, but there were things I’d not considered, and other things that had gone by the wayside in my self-training life.

This week wasn’t quite as good.

I have been aware lately that things were tightening up around my right buttock, and because I’ve not listened to it, it has become fed up with being ignored and decided to shout louder and started getting painful even when I walk or sit. I have heeded the call finally and begun to put things in place. I had a pummelling massage on Friday that made me feel like I’d gone fifteen rounds in the ring. That helped the walking and the sitting, and I’ve started to do more glute exercises, things like single leg glute bridges and side plank leg raises, and that fantastic one that Nigel introduced me to, ‘walking on stumps’ (it’s a great one).

I know that my right glute has a tendency to turn into a solid ball of pain, and then spreads to my hip, my hamstrings and my kne. If I know this, why don’t I do the exercises that keep that from happening on a regular basis? (We would all be much further along the evolutionary plane if we had such logical brains. It has meant that my long run aims have been aborted. I did do an interval session on Thursday. This felt like a good workout, but it also may have had a hand in getting me to a point where I need to pay attention to my body.

I read in an article the other day, that hip issues were more prevalent in perimenopause. I’ve no idea if that’s one of the reasons for my latest issues but I am waking up a bit more in the night requiring the fan to cool me down. Whatever it is, I need to keep with those exercises and have a little think about what my chances will be like in the Warrington Half that is drawing ever closer.

It is in twenty-one days’ time, and I’m still struggling with my long runs. I won’t try and defer it, as I’ve not completely broken myself, but I’m not holding out much hope for a decent time. I have decided to just relax and turn it into a catered training run, although I’ve not signed up for any more Halfs this year. This was going to be my A-race for the year and in my head I’m wrestling with several colliding thoughts at once:

Voice A: I’m throwing in the towel.
Voice B: You’re not changing the training plan so much as acknowledging how much of it you’ve not been able to do.
Voice A: This was the most important race of my year. What I’ve tried to work towards.
Voice C: Yes, it’s a big deal because you got your Sub 2hr PB here ten years ago, but ten years ago you weren’t going through a second freaking puberty.
Voice A: I need to be alone for a while to grieve.
Voice B: Go and have a cup of tea and watch an episode of Elementary. That will calm you down.

A lot can happen in three weeks, but I know better than to try and cram, and anyway, we’re off on another jolly in a couple of days’ time, for a few days in Kent, near Sissinghurst. Who knows if people have even heard of running down there!

Week Twelve

Mon	A nice slow nine-miler that allowed my breathing to be super comfortable until my legs were satisfyingly tired
Tue	Club run – threshold efforts (for me) with standing breaks in between while the rest of the group let me get my breath back
Wed	Weights
Thu	A seven plus mile walk with the ladies – the distance wasn’t the problem but a lot of time on my feet so I did feel tired by the end.
Fri
Sat	Parkrun Sandwich – 12.5 miles in total with a coffee break in between the filling and the top slice. Managed a decent 29 minutes on the parkrun itself – so another threshold effort.
Sun	Grandsons all day and night
	28.3 miles total

Week Thirteen

Mon	Grandsons till the evening and then it turned into a Maccies Just Eat requirement because the boys’ mum had her birthday and we celebrated with much fizz.
Tue	The other grandson all day and then went to see Alice Roberts talk about her new book Domination
Wed	Eight miles and this is where my buttock really started to backchat.
Thu	Two miles in total with some high speed (for me) short intervals
Fri	A massage after which I felt more dehydrated than all the glasses on Monday
Sat	Six miles in Zone-2. Probably should have rested another day
Sun	Five and a bit miles and although there was pain, it was moving around a bit. A hopeful sign?
	21 miles total