Hitting the Wall...
Since the cross country last weekend I gave blood on Monday so decided not to go out for a run as it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Then didn't run on Tuesday either because I couldn't be bothered, but also because I decided to run the 12 miles to work early the next day instead. I had a really enjoyable run to work and got there a lot quicker than usual but without the additional effort. It took me 1:28 instead of the usual 1.32-35
I followed this up on Thursday with a short but intense 3.5 mile run just to zap the legs as I haven't done a proper speed session for a while. I averaged 6:30 min miles so was fairly happy with the effort although very tiring. Finally on Friday I did a 10km recovery jog, and unusually for me didn't look at my watch at all and just ran to how I felt. I was slightly surprised that my recovery jog was still 7:30 min miles but I couldn't have gone much slower than I did.
Today I went for a 20 miler, but have to say that I felt knackered from a week of work, plus the sessions this week took a lot out of me. Not helping matters was that my car was booked in for a MOT and I didn't realise quite how far away it was, so had a 40 min walk to get back home. As a result my legs didn't feel great from the outset and wondered whether my intended route was such a good idea. I felt a bit better between 6-12 miles, but after a couple of hills I had pretty much hit the wall after 15. I kept thinking about cutting home early but felt that it was a bit wimpish to take the easy option, and thought that these extra miles would be 'character building'. I somehow managed the last 5 miles and struggled home in 2.25, a touch quicker than when I did the same run a few weeks ago. The downside was that I felt bloody awful. Its runs like this that make me wonder whether I'm cut out for the marathons, let alone ultras such as the MdS. I kind of feel like packing it all in - why should I put my body through this amount of pain and pay £3k for the privilege? Needless to say I wont be doing any training tomorrow, although I had originally intended an easy 9 miler. 41 miles in total for the week.
On a separate note it seems that the Thames Meander event is already full with three months to go before the event. As a result my plan for next year in slightly in tatters. I've had a quick look at possible events and there are a couple of ultras such as the Gloucester 50k or the Draycote 35m, but to be honest the distance isn't much more than the marathon that both events also offer. As a result I'm looking at the possibility of doing the Draycote Marathon on the 17th Feb if I'm going to do anything at all. I know at the moment that I'm nowhere near sub 3hrs fit which is the benchmark I would like to aim for, but am probably somewhere around 3.05 - 3.15 fit at the moment. If I do Draycote I wont go for a sub 3hr run (unless my fitness improves dramatically) for fear of burning up, but go slightly slower on purpose so I can get used to the distance as I've never run that far before.
I followed this up on Thursday with a short but intense 3.5 mile run just to zap the legs as I haven't done a proper speed session for a while. I averaged 6:30 min miles so was fairly happy with the effort although very tiring. Finally on Friday I did a 10km recovery jog, and unusually for me didn't look at my watch at all and just ran to how I felt. I was slightly surprised that my recovery jog was still 7:30 min miles but I couldn't have gone much slower than I did.
Today I went for a 20 miler, but have to say that I felt knackered from a week of work, plus the sessions this week took a lot out of me. Not helping matters was that my car was booked in for a MOT and I didn't realise quite how far away it was, so had a 40 min walk to get back home. As a result my legs didn't feel great from the outset and wondered whether my intended route was such a good idea. I felt a bit better between 6-12 miles, but after a couple of hills I had pretty much hit the wall after 15. I kept thinking about cutting home early but felt that it was a bit wimpish to take the easy option, and thought that these extra miles would be 'character building'. I somehow managed the last 5 miles and struggled home in 2.25, a touch quicker than when I did the same run a few weeks ago. The downside was that I felt bloody awful. Its runs like this that make me wonder whether I'm cut out for the marathons, let alone ultras such as the MdS. I kind of feel like packing it all in - why should I put my body through this amount of pain and pay £3k for the privilege? Needless to say I wont be doing any training tomorrow, although I had originally intended an easy 9 miler. 41 miles in total for the week.
On a separate note it seems that the Thames Meander event is already full with three months to go before the event. As a result my plan for next year in slightly in tatters. I've had a quick look at possible events and there are a couple of ultras such as the Gloucester 50k or the Draycote 35m, but to be honest the distance isn't much more than the marathon that both events also offer. As a result I'm looking at the possibility of doing the Draycote Marathon on the 17th Feb if I'm going to do anything at all. I know at the moment that I'm nowhere near sub 3hrs fit which is the benchmark I would like to aim for, but am probably somewhere around 3.05 - 3.15 fit at the moment. If I do Draycote I wont go for a sub 3hr run (unless my fitness improves dramatically) for fear of burning up, but go slightly slower on purpose so I can get used to the distance as I've never run that far before.
Hi Lloyd, it could just be that your body is still getting used to the long distances. I haven't tried to run 20 miles yet although I know I can walk it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe try a mixture of running and walking and build up the amount of time you run? That's what I'm going to do although I will still keep up the long walks too.
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