Hands up if you thought pacepusher hadn’t blogged because he hadn’t been running. Well you’re half right!
Thanks to WHW Runner for his comment/advice after my last post. Before I’d seen it however, I had decided to take a couple of days off and see how my body felt by Sunday.
So Friday night saw me out for a few beverages with Crazyboy and Boyracer. I would like to say quiet drinks but that would be a lie! Then Saturday, after a leisurely lunch with the Crazyboy family, Myself and Boyracer headed off to watch the football (I use the term loosely) at Fir Park. 
This was perhaps the only occasion where you would see two sets of supporters decked out in claret and amber colours. We were watching Motherwell take on the mighty Bradford City! The first half was awful if you were in the Bradford end. Motherwell scored in the first minute and were 4-0 up by half-time. This didn’t stop the approximate 200 City fans being on top form though and the singing didn’t stop. I was amazed at the size of the away support and the songs at times were very funny. Unimpressed by the size and quality of Fir Park (City were in the English Premiership not that long ago and have a stadium to prove it) many of the songs were based on this. “My garden shed, is bigger than this”, followed closely by, “my spiders matchbox, is bigger than this”. Then the perhaps more realistic, “we’ve got one stand, bigger than this”. It was all good humoured, and after a chorus of “one claret and a amber, there’s only one claret and amber”, the favourite chant was, “we’re gonna win 5-4!”
The second-half was better. We had a goal disallowed and hit the bar, but it finished 4-0. To be fair Motherwell looked good, so the ‘old and infirm teams’ had better be on the look out when the season starts!
My plan was to run 16 miles this weekend, but I had already decided to just aim for 14 to reduce the pressure a wee bit. I was to get an early night and set out reasonably early so that I didn’t have time to think about it too much. Sadly, the eldest son downstairs had a party. Much singing early on turned to fighting and a smashed window. His parents arrived home at about 1:30am and things eventually calmed down. It had been very hostile and even phoning the police seemed like a bad idea, so I sat up watching a film with the volume high and sank a few beers. At 2:30am I went to bed! To be fair to his parents, I over heard the telling off he got and I won’t repeat the language that his furious mother was using, and they came to each flat to apologise. Hopefully this will be the last of it.
Anyway I was in no fit state to run early Sunday morning, so it was very hot when I finally headed out the door…
14:51 14 miles 1:49:43
1 7:39 2 7:56 3 7:55 4 7:49 5 7:51 6 7:51 7 8:01 8 7:45 9 7:48 10 7:50 11 7:50 12 7:49 13 7:52 14 7:49 Average 7:50 min/miles
My only aim was to run the distance. The time on these runs isn’t that important, it’s more time on feet that counts. However, I quietly hoped to be sub 8:00 min/mile pace for the run. Anyway, after last week, finishing was the primary objective. I decided to wear my hydration belt. The benefits of this were two fold. Firstly, I would have plenty of liquid, and secondly, it would slow me down a bit. I didn’t feel great when I set off, and it was only after about 4 miles that I began to relax and ease into the run. I wasn’t going to wear my GPS. I was running on the cycle track and pretty much know where the mile markers are and certainly didn’t need the pressure, but I decided it would help me keep slow. And it did! I’m really happy with my average pace and the consistency of the splits, especially given the heat, but the last couple of miles were really tough. I hadn’t had the greatest pre-run preparations courtesy of downstairs, and after a quick stretch I took a nap on the sofa whilst watching the golf.
I was at the Bookseller household for a well deserved take-out that evening, where again I had to cope with Boyracer’s company for the third time in three days! It was a nice night and it was nice to see everybody, including (dare I say) Mrs Boyracer (? – they’re not married!). She currently works a 25 (sic) hour day having recently qualified as an accountant. Don’t worry she’s not boring!
And so to tonight…
19:13 8.84 miles 1:16:53
5mins – 6:25 pace (2mins recovery) 5mins – 6:12 pace (2 mins) 4mins – 6:12 pace (2mins) 4mins – 6:17 pace (2mins) 3mins – 6:27 pace (90secs) 3mins – 6:18 pace (90 secs) 2mins – 5:54 pace (1min) 2mins – 6:00 pace (1min) 1min – 5:42 pace (1min) 1min – 5:25 pace
Buoyed by my success yesterday, I was looking forward to tonight’s session. It was a tough one though. It was hot, and thirst was a problem. I was surprised at how fresh my legs felt after yesterday and I managed to push myself pretty hard. Looking at my pace for the intervals I’m really quite pleased. A couple of the younger girls have stepped up to the group and it gives another marker for us all. As a group we seem to be getting faster and covering more distance with each session. Competition is always a good thing in this type of session as it really forces you to push hard. I wouldn’t work anywhere near as hard alone.
The highlight of the night was the kit chosen by Gordon and Davie. Gordon was wearing a green vest with orange shorts, whilst Davie was wearing an orange vest with black/green shorts. As they ran together just ahead of me, I asked if they had got their kit mixed up in the wash!
Tonight my legs feel terrible. Not like last week, they feel terrible because I have trained hard, and I feel so much better for it. Let’s just hope I have no more relapses.
Mrs pacepusher is home on Thursday from her Malawi adventure. The 5 weeks have flown by and I’m really looking forward to having her home… I’m starving!
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