Week 9

What a week!! At one stage I thought I wasn’t going to be able to run on Saturday! I was at Spin class on Monday night as usual, however it was a different person taking the class this time. That instructor and the usual one are going to be taking alternative Monday nights from now on. They have quite different styles to each other, so it will be good not doing exactly the same routine every week. However as is was the first time with someone new, I was really feeling the burn in my thighs by the end! Actually I felt the burn after about 10 mins in if I’m honest!!

Tuesday however my left leg was really painful. I’d injured my groin about a year and a half ago. Every so often I feel a twinge in the area but it usually disappears quickly. It was quite tight on Tuesday though and I was finding walking a struggle. I went to body balance at night and realised I couldn’t do some of the stretches as it was just a bit too painful. I did what I could, and then got myself home and didn’t move for the rest of the night! I took it really easy the rest of the week, didn’t do any exercise and walked pretty slowly everywhere to avoid making it worse so by Saturday I was feeling ok for the run.

It was another terrible day on Saturday, when will this bad weather end?! We got down to Glasgow Green and did a warm up jog to keep the muscles warm, and also so I could test my leg out! Luckily it didn’t hurt! Just before the race was due to start a group warm up took place. At this point there was still no sign of a start line though, with everyone was just gathered together on the grass. Then suddenly the girl doing the warm up shouted “go” pointing to the left, and we were all looking around confused, and then some people started running so we all ended up following them! After about 750 metres however we realised the people at the front had stopped and were walking back. Turns out it was a false start, we shouldn’t have been told to go! So we all had to go back up to where we started, by this point there was an actually start tape up, and then do it all over again! Anyway, we got going (a second time!) and it was a fairly decent course with just a couple of small hills but mainly flat. However I think the confusion over the start, lack of training over the last week plus being wary about my leg put paid to a fast time and I finally got myself over the finish line at exactly 30 minutes (incidentally still the fastest 5k I’ve done in race conditions but much slower than I know I can do it!) The other half would like me to add that he did it in 22 and a half minutes. Show off!

After the run, we went to Glasgow Club Easterhouse Pool for a soak in the pool and then went into the Steam Room to relax. You can get into any of the Glasgow Clubs “Sauna, Steam and Spas” for free if you are a Fitness Unlimited member and it is a great way to wind down after any exercise!

I was down at a friend’s house on Sunday so had a break from running, although with the heavy snow showers I might not have got out anyway! I did do my Tae Bo Abs and Glutes dvd once I got back home though so I was still doing some exercise!

This week I have a 6k for St Andrews Hospice round Strathclyde Park on Sunday. I have my usual Spin and Body Balance classes on but I am hoping to get out running a couple of nights after work as well. I feel I did my best running last year when I was in a good routine of going out about 4 or 5 times a week, at nights going short fast runs with longer slower runs at the weekend, but at the moment as I am just going out at the weekend but trying to run faster, I’m not getting the mileage I need. Got a couple of months till the Women’s 10k now so if I can get out more I really think it will make a difference. One positive I can take from this week anyway is that April last year I did the North Glasgow 5k in 31 and an half minutes, this year, a month earlier, I am already doing it much quicker, so I am at least ahead of where I was at this point last year!