Oops! I Pumped… Twice!

I also ran 10 miles…

After Monday’s efforts at the club I decided to take Tuesday as a rest day from running but was booked in to do Body Pump in the evening. Except for a Pump Express (shorter class) I haven’t done Pump for a couple of months. So the sensible thing would be to lower my weights and work my way back to my previous level. Of course though, I’m not sensible, so I completed the class using the same weights I was using all those weeks ago when I was still a WHWR virgin.

It was painful, but I managed it, and enjoyed it! The downside was Wednesday morning when I planned to run. My legs were clearly tired, and as myself and Mrs pacepusher were planning a trip to Edinburgh for the day, no running took place. We went across to Edinburgh for the Fringe, we just wanted to take in the atmosphere as we did last year, and watch a few street entertainers, which is what we did. The two guys pictured were very funny – a juggling act in the style of Morecambe & Wise – but the kid they chose as an assistant stole the show! There was also a one man blues band from Australia. He was brilliant and I almost bought his CD, I always worry about the quality of the recording on such occasions though. The thing I didn’t expect was that everything was almost identical to last year. The same stalls, many in the same place, and the same kinds of street performers. Still it was a good day out and we enjoyed ourselves.

Along came Thursday, and I found my running shoes again…

16:11 10 miles 1:13:55

1 7:15 2 7:20 3 7:15 4 7:03 5 7:17 6 7:24 7 7:25 8 7:25 9 8:00 (stuck at traffic lights, approx 20 seconds) 10 7:31  Average 7:22 min/miles

This was another tough run. Looking at my average pace, I probably shouldn’t worry, especially given my efforts on Monday and in Pump on Tuesday, but I just feel like I should be running better than this. I felt great 5 miles in, despite my hip tightening on about 4 miles, and was enjoying myself. Then as seems to be the current trend, I started to tire badly and ran out of energy. I tried to keep pushing but it wasn’t happening, and I felt a lot slower than I actually was. Perhaps mile 3 uphill, and the faster paced mile 4, were my downfall, but I can run much quicker than this. Still it’s another longish run under my belt, and despite my tiredness at the end, I did another full Body Pump class straight afterwards! I kept my weights high again but could really feel the muscles hurting from Tuesday. It will get easier. My biggest concern now is my hip, it’s really not good and It’s what’s delaying my decision on the Perth 24 hour race.

Entries have opened for the West Highland Way Race 2009 and I’m in! This year previous entrants were able to pay on-line and get guaranteed entry. New applicants have to fill in the entry form as I did last year. So, the planning and training starts now!?!!!?

Finally, pacepusher is now a little heavier than before. I’ve got a new piercing in my right ear…

Sorry Mum!

Hip Hip Hooray!

When I tried running in the car park before this mornings run, my hip was so tight I could barely stride. I got it moving and when I started running it wasn’t particularly painful, but I could feel it with each step…

08:37 16 miles 2:03:42

1 7:53 2 7:47 3 8:03 4 7:41 5 7:45 6 7:49 7 7:56 8 7:59 9 8:09 10 7:43 11 7:38 12 7:39 13 7:37 14 7:33 15 7:20 16 7:11  Average 7:44 min/miles

I met Crazyboy at just after 08:30. I was early, he was late, that’s how it works! We were running around Pollock Park with Bellahouston Gym as a start and finish point, and we set off straight away. We both felt that the first couple of miles seemed much faster than the time suggested. Settling into an easy pace though we ran and chatted happily until 8 miles when Crazyboy turned and headed back for the 2 miles to the gym. I pushed on, apprehensive about the length of the run after last week. Clearly the heat had a large part to play in my struggles last week as today I was fine. I pushed on, and after 10 miles decided to steadily pick up the pace. I never tired dramatically, and could have run the final mile a lot faster but that is not what I am trying to achieve from these runs. Today was a far more undulating route than last week, and I found it easier. Despite the additional 2 miles, I was 6 seconds per mile faster than last weekend. I could easily have run on and hit 20 miles, but there’s plenty of time for that as the weeks chalk off towards Chicago. Next week I’ll be aiming for 18, and hope it will seem as easy as this week.

After the run I did Body Pump for the first time in about 3 months. It felt weird. I didn’t struggle with the weights, although press-ups were a struggle, and I didn’t drop the weight much for any of the tracks. I really enjoyed it and have booked in for Tuesday evening. It’s good to be back to the classes. I was too scared before the WHW race that I might get injured, and too bloody sore afterwards! Unfortunately Miss Pump was at a wedding today so we had a stand in instructor. I haven’t seen Miss Pump for ages and I think my ears have recovered sufficiently enough to face her again!!!!

Pollock Park was really busy this morning but I’m noticing a downturn in the number of runners who return your acknowledgement of “hello” or “morning” as you pass. This is sad, and irritates me. How much effort does it take to say hello? Anyway, post run, thankfully my hip’s nowhere near as bad as last night and I’m hoping it’s going to settle down again for a while. Perhaps I might need to consider some professional advice… Paula Radcliffe what do you think? “ignore all medical advice and assume you know best”, works for me, thanks Paula, I’ll keep running and should be fit for Beijing Chicago!

Body Slump

08:42 4.5 miles 36:53

8 x 0.25miles with 1.5 minute recoveries.

1 1:32 (6:11 pace) 2 1:44 (6:57 pace) 3 1:38 (6:34 pace) 4 1:28 (5:55 pace) 5 1:43 (6:55 pace) 6 1:24 (5:37 pace) 7 1:26 (5:45 pace) 8 1:25 (5:44 pace)

Weather report for my run this morning… surprise surprise, wet and windy! And how was the rest of the day? Sunny and dry… welcome to my world!

I was supposed to run last night but I couldn’t face it. I really feel like last weekends efforts have knocked me for six (does that saying originate from cricket?) and I’m struggling to recover. I’ve eaten loads, but have lost weight, and I’m not getting enough sleep. Largely as (and this is a good thing) I’ve been really busy with work this week. So when I arrived at the gym last night I was shattered. There were Ranger’s fans everywhere, which also put me off. I’m not as tough as Debs who runs down Paisley Road West on a European night and picks fights by knocking mobile phones out of peoples hands!

So, I opted to do Body Pump instead. I kept my weights high, even increasing them for the squat track, and worked really hard. I felt so much better afterwards, that I almost went for a run. In the end I saw sense and decided to leave it till this morning. I think half my problem this week is the taper phase of my training.  It leaves me so lethargic, we all know that I don’t do rest days!

So I dragged my tired backside out of bed this morning, grabbed a quick bite, and headed out. As always, I had the worst of the day! I was keen to try and make this a quality speed session but I struggled throughout. I know my legs are still tired, but I also know I’m not good early doors without having had much breakfast. So I struggled. I actually felt OK on my warm up mile, but once I started trying to pick the pace up I was tiring early, and you can see from my splits, I really wasn’t on great form (that’s why I’ve put my splits on here. They show how badly I started, and should remind me to just have a lie-in next time!). Once the hills were out of the way, and I’d woken up, I started to improve. The last three splits are much more like it. I miscounted, at the end and attempted to do a ninth split, running as fast as I could for going on a minute before I realised my GPS was on cool-down mode. It was going to be the best split of all time too?!?!?

Still session over, I’m pleased it’s done. Taper time is the time to reduce training quantity, but not quality, i.e. not an excuse to totally slack off!  I’m still concerned about London. I now have just over a week to get myself feeling fresh. I’m due a ten mile run at race pace on Saturday or Sunday, so we’ll see how that goes. I’m hoping to catch up on some sleep over the next couple of days. I might even try and lie-in past 07:30! Let’s just hope it’s a quiet one for our new noisy neighbors this weekend!

According to Pete Tong on the radio next to me, ‘the weekend has landed’. Where has it been? On holiday? To the moon? I’m just not down with this, clubbin’, dance, electro, hardhouse, drum ‘n’ bass, gangsta, hardcore speak that the kids use these days. So, I’ll translate it to the best of my abilities as, ‘happy weekend folks!’