Week 14

Another week flown by, and now less than 4 weeks till the 10k! Hard to believe I started this with 18 weeks to go…it doesn’t feel like I’ve typed up 14 blogs already!

Had quite a good week of training this week, Monday night was Spin class as usual, and typically was hard work but I do enjoy it! I had other plans on Tuesday so couldn’t get to Body Balance but got out for a run on Wednesday night. After running 6k the previous Wednesday and then 7k on Saturday, I wanted to aim for an 8k. I ended up doing 8.5k in 47mins 55secs, averaging 10.6kph! It was one of those nights where I felt great, I didn’t even feel exhausted after it, which meant I ended up being annoyed with myself for not trying to run 10k! My run was extremely consistent, my mile times were 9m 5s for the first, second 9m 1s, third 9m 13s, fourth 9m 1s and fifth 9m exactly! At that pace I was on for a 10k in less than 56 and a half minutes, and I am totally kicking myself for not going for it!!!

Anyway, I wasn’t able to get out on Thursday or Friday, and come Saturday as it was Easter weekend and a lovely day I ended up going down to the park with the other half for a kick about with a football! We ran a mile first, but didn’t time ourselves, and it was nice for once not concentrating on what speed I was running at! After that we went into Glasgow Club Whitehill Pool, and for the first time in a while I managed to do some proper swimming as I wasn’t exhausted from a run before it!

Sunday was the 6k at Strathclyde Park. The organisers had arranged for a 6k and 10mile run, both starting off together. The other half had come along to watch but ended up feeling guilty about letting me run on my own so signed up with 10 minutes to go accompanied me on the run!

I had to admit I was starting to struggle towards the end, wishing it was only a 5k! I ended up finishing it in 34m 24s, averaging 10.5kph. The first 2 miles were good, first in 9m 3s and second in 8m 54s, but then the third I took 9m 27s which made my overall time a bit slower than I would have liked. What really didn’t help was that for a part of it I was running alongside a 75 year old man who was doing the 10mile, and then he shot past me!! Hope I’m as fit as that when I get older. But it just goes to show what a healthy life style can do for you.

Well normally I end my week’s blog on the Sunday, but as it was a holiday Monday I can tell you all about that too! I went with the other half to run the route for the 10k next month (assuming it’s the same as previous years!) I am very happy to say that I did the full 10k without stopping, in 58m 44s. Average speed was 10.2kph which is a bit off the pace I want, but with still 4 weeks to go (and only the second time I’ve ever ran a 10k under an hour!) I am pretty happy with it! The first half went really well, I reached the 5k stage at 28mins, therefore had I kept that up it would have been a 56min 10k. However I did really start to struggle in the second half, and honestly I’m amazed I managed the full distance without stopping! I’m sure at one stage though I could have walked faster than I was running….! My mile splits are all over the place by the end, first 9m 4s, second 8m 51s, third 9m 11s, fourth 9m 47s, fifth a disastrous 10m 19s, then sixth 9m 31s! But strangely enough when I finished I wasn’t collapsing on the ground (I think I’d managed to run so slow that my body had already recovered!!!) As I run slower than the other half (and it hurts his knee to run at my pace!) he did some Fartleking again, running away from me than back for a jog, then sprinting away again, so he covered 7miles in the same time I did 6.2!

Well with 4 weeks to go I know I can run the 10k distance, and I know I can run at a good speed, now I just need to start putting the two together! My aim is to keep doing longer runs but trying to get faster each time.

Now pass those Easter eggs. I think I deserve them!!!