Week 18

It’s the day before the race….

My final week of training has been more relaxed than the previous weeks, in an effort not to tire my legs out or risk picking up an injury. As detailed in my last blog I ran 7k on Monday, therefore gave myself a break from Spin that night. I had to admit I was fully intending on going to Body Balance on Tuesday night, until I realised the Man U v Arsenal Champions League semi-final was on ITV, so I cancelled it and did my Tae Bo dvd at home instead then watched the game!! Wednesday night I was intending on going for a run, but the weather was terrible so I gave it a miss. Thursday night I finally did manage to get a run, it was still very windy but I had ran out of days in the week to say I’ll go out the next night! I did a 5k, in 28mins 22secs, slower than I’ve done it in the past but I didn’t want to push myself too hard. Plus, it was really windy!!! Did I mention that?! I did my first mile in 9m 3s, second 9m 13s and third 9m 10. That was all the training I did this week, as was out at a concert Friday night and then didn’t want to do anything today being the day before the big race!

The other night I found myself thinking back to the number of 10k’s I’ve actually ran. This time last year I’d only ran the distance twice, both in training. The first I managed in just under 1 hour 10 mins, the second in 1hr 7m. I remember being shocked that I was actually able to run for over an hour without stopping! I did the Women’s 10k that year in 1hr 6m 50s, but I ended up walking a couple of parts of it! Also that year I ran the City v City 10k (in June) and actually took slightly longer, completing it in 1hr 7m 15s! Glasgow still came top though, beating London and Liverpool, despite my slow time! I ran the Great Scottish Run for the first time that year also, completing it in an improved time of 1hr 3m 15s, I was really happy to have done it in under the 1hr 5m!

Last year I ran a 10k in training for May in 1hr 6m, but then unfortunately was loaded with the cold come the weekend of the run and so had to give it a miss. I ran 4 more 10k’s that year,3 of which were over a 4 week spell! St Andrew’s Hospice 10k at Strathclyde Park in 1hr 1m in August, GSR in Sept at 1hr 2m, Cumbernauld 10k in 58m also in Sept, and then Cancer Research 10k at Strathclyde Park in October, in the worst conditions ever in around 1hr 10m! Torrential rain all weekend meant the ground was really muddy and slippy and so we ended up walking a fair bit of it as it was simply impossible to run! Plus the start was delayed by about 45 mins as the route was a mess so everyone was frozen by time they started!

This year already I’ve ran two 10k’s in training, and both were under an hour, so its clear how much my running has improved this year. My ultimate aim for the year is still to get a 10k time of under 55mins, but I would also like a 5k in under 25mins (best so far 26m 41s) and I also have an aim for the summer to run a 15k, I have never gone beyond a 10k before so would like to try further, even if its really slow, just to see if I can manage it! Sometimes I think there must be more to life than running, but what can I say, I love it!! I also want to run more 10k’s as training runs, to get myself used to running that distance. I feel that I can easily run 5k even if I’m not feeling great, so I want to get to that position with the 10k now!

For Sunday I don’t think I’m quite at the 55m stage yet, but I am confident if I can keep my legs moving I should be able to get under an hour. I am feeling quite relaxed though about the run and I am looking forward to just going out and enjoying it, soaking up the great atmosphere that is there every year with the fellow runners and the people who come out to watch and cheer us on. With the level of improvement I have made so far this year, and with having a Great Scottish Run to look forward to in September (and whatever other runs I sign myself up for between now and the end of the year!) I hope to be able to achieve my target times!

Anyway, I have rambled on long enough now, so all that’s left for me to say is good luck everyone for tomorrow, I hope you all enjoy the race and I shall post my final blog after it with my post run analysis!! Then the countdown to the Great Scottish Run begins….!