Saturday 9 May 2009

Bits 'n' bobs and a 10K

I know, it's been a while. There's been a fair amount of running, but not a lot worth wibbering about. Plus I don't have the time or the inclination to bore you to death with a mile-by-mile report. And there isn't much point listing: I ran eight miles. The pace was 8 m/m. It was sunny. I liked it. Yada yada.

So, here's a synopsis of my running week. At the club training weekend, I was VERY well behaved. Well, for me anyway. I blame Jill on forgetting the Playstation leads, so we couldn't have a Singstar competition. Resorting to playing Pictionary on a flipchart using Trivia Pursuit answers (don't ask)...is enough to send anyway for an early night.

On the Sunday I had volunteered to join Kas on a 20 miler. Kas is running the Edinburgh Marathon at the end of the month, and this run was to be the tip of the training plan run. I knew it was a bit of jump for me - the longest run this year being 14 miles - but I figured as I was running with Kas my ears would ache more than my legs :-) As we were up in Callander we used the number 7 cycle route - which I'm sure Mark Beaumont used to cycle round the world. Is there anywhere that path doesn't go? The weather was nice, cool and clear. Perfect for a long run. The plan was to pace Kas round on 10m/m. We remained pretty steady, but by 12 miles my thighs were killing me. Long suffering readers of this blog may recall I had problems with my adductors and hips a while back. You may also remember I always refer to them as adductors, as I refuse point blank to call is groin strain. It's so graphic and 5-aside-like. So anyway, it was pretty long drawn out journey to the end. Kas was practicing with gels, which she duly informed me "didn't agree" with her. On the contrary, I've never seen her so happy. It was like she'd been plugged into the mains. Despite being adamant that she would take over four hours, we finished in 3:18. Kas is a sensible (pah! I'll never say that again) even paced runner, so I predict 4:15 for her marathon.

On Sunday night, I was buckled. I couldn't sit, stand or lie down. My thighs had their own pulse. I had to go to bed early as I was starting to annoy myself with my constant whining. I was pretty sure I would be out of running for a while, but on Monday morning I felt way better. And on Tuesday I did a fabulous five-miler - with one minute intervals from mile two. Thursday night I ran eight mile with the club. And that, folks, is it. Ta da. One brief summary.

I took Friday and Saturday off, as I always like two days rest before a race. Women's 10K tomorrow. Sonic had signed up for the Cateran Trail 23 today, so I thought I'd be the dutiful wife and go along for support. I did tell him that if we had to get up at the crack of dawn and drive forever to get there for the early start, that he would have to organise himself. I would sort out myself and Cairn. I always mock Sonic for being "hand-knitted". A delightfully apt phrase that I picked up from the aforementioned Kas. The one who refers to her husband as "worse than a man down". In Sonic's defense he doesn't have much of an option. I'm a complete control freak that must do EVERYTHING. But I did laugh when I told him he had to go shopping to get the stuff he needs to eat before/during/after the race and he responded: "No problem. What will I want to eat?" In all seriousness too. And this is why I say I have two children to organise.

1 comment:

Natalie D said...

Oohh, it must have felt good to do that long run! what a good friend! happy mothers day - at least here in the states!