I hope that everyone had a great weekend. When I look back at how unfit I was seven weeks ago, I’ve got no idea how I managed to run for 55 minutes yesterday morning. I guess I need to learn to trust the training plan.Week 7 saw me complete the first ‘peak training week’ of my beginners’ half marathon training plan. It also saw me locate and be brave enough to wear my heart rate monitor, learn how to pace myself a little better and run four times a week for the first time this year. My training during week seven comprised of a slightly harder ‘back-to-back’ 20 minute run on Monday, a 30 minute run on Wednesday, a 10 minute run on Friday and a slightly longer 50 to 55 minute run on Sunday. As always, I set out on the longer run with the aim of running for the maximum recommended time. So how did I find the seventh week of half marathon training?
Monday – 20 mins steady
Week 7 of my training plan started with a slightly more challenging back-to-back 20 minute run instead of the usual Monday rest day. As I wanted to avoid running on pavements the day after a 45 minute run, I decided to delay my training run until lunchtime so that I could hopefully head across to the Four Oaks Estate. I spent the morning searching for jobs and completing a slightly long-winded job application and then got ready for my run.Although I started my run at a sensible pace and remembered to slow down on the uphill sections, the top of my left foot felt quite niggly throughout the 20 minute run. It’s quite hard to explain how my left foot feels when I run. It isn’t sore but I’m aware that something isn’t quite right. At time it almost feels numb. Hopefully it just feels a little strange because of the previous stress fracture. After my 20 minute run, I asked my friend to video me running so that I could check out my running style. I discovered that I run like a wonky donkey.
Tuesday – Rest
Tuesday was a productive but perhaps excessively restful rest day. The weather was rubbish – what happened to summer? – and I didn’t leave the house. Very lazy! The highlight of my day was getting a couple of lengthy job applications completed and submitted. Fingers crossed I hear back from some of the companies I’ve applied to recently. I can’t get over how many don’t even bother to respond with a ‘thanks but no thanks’ type of email.
Wednesday – Rest
I should have completed a 30 minute run on Wednesday, however, when I woke up at 05:30 I felt so nauseous I swapped my 30 minute run for a rest day. Although I attempted to make some progress with my latest academic masterpiece, the noise from the builders working opposite, meant that it was virtually impossible to work. After a not very productive morning, I headed across Birmingham to the university library in an attempt to get some peace and quiet. In the end, I wrote 500 or so words and completed the first draft of my paper.
Thursday – 30 mins steady
When my alarm woke me at 05:30, although I still didn’t feel great, I felt well enough to attempt a run. After spending a few minutes debating the pros and cons of running, I decided to get up and run. I promised myself that I’d stop running if I started to feel nauseous. I got dressed, worked through a selection of my PF exercises and stretches, had a successful loo visit and turned on my Garmin. I then headed outside and spent what felt like ages standing around looking suspicious waiting for my Garmin to pick up some signal. I hate it when my Garmin decides it doesn’t want to work. As I wasn’t feeling 100 per cent, I was sensible and set out at a steady pace. I found the 30 minute run really easy and got back home feeling I should have pushed myself more.
I can’t actually recall what I spent the rest of the day doing. It can’t have been that thrilling or blog worthy. I spent the evening watching the athletics with an ice pack balanced on my left foot. Exciting stuff…
Friday – 10 mins easy jog
The sun very kindly woke me at 05:30 on Friday morning. Rather than heading out on a run, I spent a couple of hours completing a job application form I’d left until the last minute. I really do need to plan out my days a little better. I also need to learn to pace myself a little better on shorter training runs. I set out far too quickly and struggled to run for 10 minutes. At least I didn’t walk this time.
Once again, I spent my Friday evening watching the athletics. The women’s steeplechase was definitely full of drama. How on earth can a professional athlete almost forget to jump the water jump? This is going to sound like a terrible thing to say, but I loved seeing the American duo beat the Kenyans. I’d love to have a go at the steeplechase. However, knowing me I’d fall over a barrier and break something. Anyway, this article describes the thrills and spills of the women’s steeplechase far more eloquently.
Saturday – Rest
For the first time in about six months I experienced Saturday morning parkrun envy. Hopefully I’ll actually make it to my local parkrun next week. I spent the morning doing several loads of washing, the vacuuming and catching up on some of my favourite blogs. I also read an interesting article on clean eating: ‘Why we fell for clean eating’.
Like the majority of the people I follow on social media, I spent my Saturday evening watching the athletics. I was gutted that Mo Farah ‘only’ got a silver medal in the 5000m and that Usain Bolt DNF his last race. However, watching the women’s sprint relay team get silver and the men’s sprint relay team get an unexpected gold, meant that I went to bed feeling positive. Always a good thing before a long (for me) Sunday morning run.
Sunday – 50-55 mins continuous run
My alarm woke me at the incredibly antisocial time of 05:30, and thirty minutes later I was ready to tackle the most challenging training session in my half marathon training plan so far, a 50 to 55 minute continuous run. Although I set out with the intention of running for 55 minutes, after spending so much of the year injured, running for 50 minutes would have been a massive success.
Once I got the not so enjoyable first 10 minutes of the run out of the way, I settled into a sensible pace that I felt I could maintain for another 45 minutes. Once I settled into my stride, I found running relatively easy and found myself increasing my pace slightly after 30 minutes. Although the run was generally very enjoyable, could someone please remind me not to eat Spaghetti Bolognese on a Saturday evening? Thanks!So that’s the seventh week of my half marathon successfully completed. I can’t believe I’m rapidly approaching the halfway stage of my training plan. Once again, I was reminded that I need to trust the training plan and to have faith in my ability as a runner. I was also reminded that I need to start and maintain my ‘steady’ training runs at a sensible pace. I don’t think that running for long periods with a heart rate in excess of 180 bpm is very healthy and might explain why my so-called steady runs were leaving me exhausted for the rest of the day.
Next week’s training plan contains four not quite as challenging runs and is described as a “taper week”. I’m quite a lazy runner so seeing the word “taper” makes me very happy. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are rest days – I’ll do my best to actually rest as my right heel is a little niggly after pounding the pavements for 55 minutes. I’m meant to complete a 20 minute run on Tuesday, 10 minute runs on Thursday and Saturday and a 5k race or time trial on Sunday. If I can convince my friend to drive me to my local parkrun, I’ll be completing my 5k time trial on Saturday morning.
Training totals
Niggleometer
What have been your highlights of the World Athletics Championships? Mine are probably the men’s and women’s marathon.
Do you have any foods you have to avoid the evening before a long run? I don’t think I’ll be eating Spaghetti Bolognese again.
Hi I'm Emma. A 44 year old Brummie who loves running. I'm a runner, medal collector, race number hoarder, and hydrologist. Join me as I try out new things and take on new running challenges.
Excellent news on the 55 min run- I saw it on Strava and thought you would be pleased. Trust in the training plan!
I have loved the athletics- Andy got me tickets for Christmas so we were there on Saturday and it was so exciting- the relay was possibly the most exciting and the adrenaline was pounding through my legs for ages after (nearly fell down the stairs on the way out!).
Fingers crossed you make it to a parkrun next weekend 🙂
Thanks! I really appreciated the comment you left on my Strava. I seem to recall not trusting the same training plan last year!
I really wish that I’d gone to the athletics now. Trying to follow the action on the BBC and Eurosport just wasn’t the same. I bet the atmosphere inside the stadium was electric on Saturday evening.
My attendance at Walsall parkrun is 50:50 at the moment.