My objective this week is to get back into the rhythm of one run with hill reps for strength, one run with speed laps and one long run per week. I want to increase my long run by not more than 10% per week, apparently more than this can lead to injury. At the same time I want to get back into my twice a week gym routine; static bike, rowing machine and weights, to mix things up a bit. In addition I have a 15 minute set of exercises, including lunges and squats, that I try to do every day.
Monday was a very short 2 kilometre run, but with hill repetitions. The weather was good, cold mornings, now that it is autumn, but warm and sunny during the day, perfect for running. I jogged to the hill as a warm up and then ran two sets of six, fast up and jog down. Then jogged home and stretched. Hard work still but felt good and set me up for the day. Always feel much more positive after a run, even if short.
The next day the weather changed and the grey skies suggested rain, still pretty warm for November though. Anyway today is a gym day. Woke up feeling pretty rough, upset stomach and headache, hope I'm not getting sick. Dragged myself to the gym where I managed 15 minutes and 3 kilometres on the rowing machine. I followed this up with 20 minutes and 7 kilometres on the static bike. I finished off with some weight training. I took advantage of the sports centres hamam and spent 20 steamy minutes relaxing.
The next day I was teaching all day, so I used this as an excuse for a rest day. I received Christopher McDougall's book "Born to run"from Amazon after having it recommended by various friends.
It is certainly very motivational and hard to put down, I have already finished more than half the book. It has made me think about running injury and running shoes. Not sure I am ready to go barefoot yet though.
Thanks to the book I was motivated to push myself onto the trails around my house. I had been putting this off. I was afraid of the steep uphill sections where I would probably have to walk, and the demotivation that this might lead to. After a false start when my car wouldn't turn over. I reviewed my plans, and instead of heading to one of the local trail station courses I left from my front door. I was able to jog the first 600m but then the track rose steeply and I found myself quickly breathless with my calves screaming. I had to walk, although I managed a fast pace. The path rose 300 metres before leveling off and then dropping back down to the village. Unfortunately I missed my path and had to follow the tarmac road. I am not a fan of tarmac, and cars speeding past make me nervous. Nevertheless I managed 9 kilometres with a pace of 7 minutes per kilometre. I was happy with that and felt very comfortable at the end, I could have gone on. I finished with some stretches and massaged my calves with Chinese balm.
I woke up the next day with much less stiffness than previously so was easily persuaded to go and do some speeds laps with my wife. Curiously my left knee was painful after flat running track circuits and not running up and down hills.
Last run of the week 8km along the river with kids on their bikes in front. Slowly getting faster, maybe the kids dragged me along. Perhaps I need to start running with other people. I did not manage my 10% increase in distance maybe next week.
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