After two months out of work, I returned to the (home based) workforce this week. That’s given me more time than I’d like on the computer, so I’ve cut back on outside of hours computer time, meaning this is a single update for the entire week. Three mid-week runs and one long run this week.
Tuesday run was down Queen’s Road, down toward Ham Gate and then up the dirt path toward Petersham Gate with a steep uphill finish. Felt strong throughout, though the uphill finish is about as tough as it can get in Richmond.
Wednesday run was tough as Tuesday night drinks happened. It was also a 4 mile rather than 3 mile run, the first extended mid-week run of the training plan. The first km or so was quite slow and didn’t feel too pleasant, but by the end of the run I was actually feeling quite good. It was an east/west run of the park, heading over to Roehampton Gate and then coming back to Richmond Gate.
Thursday was a run with a reasonably high degree of anxiety. I was going to finish up near the Vineyard school to pick Luke up – it’s his first week back at school. Wanting to make sure that I wasn’t late to pick him up, I cut the run a bit short and had a tough effort into a cool wind while running uphill. Not my favourite run of the week, but as Michele took the early morning slot, I had to settle for something else.
Saturday was a nearly 10km run in the park with James joining me on his bike. Trying to keep things reasonably flat for both of us dictated the route. Beautiful weather, lots of deer out, fairly easy pace so it was a nice run and chat.
Looking at my pace throughout the week, I’ve been hovering right around 6:00/km. Feels very slow to me, but I’m trying to do everything I can to reduce the risk of injury or overtraining, so I’ll have to let this suffice for now.
Sunday cross-training session was another BBC sport video, again with Mark Wright leading a pyramid session. Certainly challenging and sweaty.
At the end of the week, I’m feeling strong. Rest day on Monday is always a bit of a mental challenge for how to move enough to close my Apple Watch rings without actually running.
The week ahead: 3 miles on Tuesday, 4 miles at race pace on Wednesday, 3 miles on Thursday and then 7 miles on Saturday (my birthday).