Yume No Chikara

TV fixed (we hope) but hubby managed to break the shower by turning it off! Seems a valve has gone or something but due to having no isolation taps we have the mains turned off! Oh joy! Also longest run since FLM done today and best pace too and a 10K PB and my legs are complaining BIG time! Average pace of 12:35mm pace over 7.2 hilly miles so really pleased! Amazingly my pace wasn't that uneven either! So pleased but tired pixie!

Well today has been a productive but BAD day and I feel guilty about it. Last night's drinky meant an early morning run was out of the question but I soon discovered that I was suffering from a bad case of gardeners legs. Yes the soil was heavy and sodden yesterday and I had to dig the stake holes and dig over the soil. All this right leg action meant that my right quad was sore and my knee (combination of Friday's trip and also the digging too) which meant the run was not going to happen. So I made myself busy by doing other stuff: washing baking (bran cinnamon and cranberry muffins) roast dinner steamed pudding shopping recycling reading up of gardening choosing seeds for next year's veggie plot "planning" the garden layout and to do list Still miffed about the run even if it was wet and windy all day!

Well I finally got round to doing the raised bed! I was out in the garden for about 3-4hrs and I ache all over! My clothes are now a delicate shade of mud brown and went straight in the washing machine! It isn't the most professional master piece but I'm dead proud of myself! Tomorrow is supposed to pish down with rain so I really had to get it done today. Tomorrow's long run will now be slower I expect!! Anyway bath calling! As is the wine bottle!!

Work has been major horrid today and I've had enough of feeling like an unworthy blob in the corner. I also went shopping and came back to the office with both arms full and fell down some steps by catching my heal on the top step. Ouch! I also ended up rushing home as I was late leaving the office to collect Gnome! Also still got this damn cold! And now I have to top up the food/water levels in Gnome, do some washing up and then hit the tready! Legs are still tired from yesterday so I am not expecting it to be pretty or nice but I will try and then report back later! Later that day ... Hmmm well that was pants and it seems to be getting a habit crashing out on speedwork. I know I am suffering from the back end of a cold and my legs were tired but that was carp. I've been thinking. Speedwork started at 8.5Kmph and soon increased to 9kmph (both slow!) but I've always walked my recovery breaks. Today I had a short jog but still. So my plan is to look at reducing the speed but...

40 mins steady and aim was to run without stopping to cough or stretch and to do at least 3m! Pathetic I know! Anyway I went off down the canal and passed 8 swans, a squiral and a rabbit. Had a couple of runny nose moments but no coughing which was good! New shoes and no tense leg muscles - is there a corrilation! Overall I managed 3.14m in 40mins giving and average pace of 12:46 which was good as there was a really bad head wind coming back! HR was high and averaged at 85% which is high even for me. By the time I finished (the last mile) my HR was in the 190's which is speedwork range!! The legs were totally shot to! Because I missed my Wednesday speedwork session (Duck called and we chatted for 95mins!) the plan was 40mins run + pilates DVD. DVD was cancelled due to telly going on the blink!

When a sensible adult goes to Disney Land Paris! Yes I have autographes and also think I can draw!

for tomorrow: Nothing will distract you from the essentials. It may not be a passionateor very exciting day but you will accomplish a modest amount in smallways. Influences around today mean you cope admirably with practicalsituations. On the broader sweep, you may not have a structured plan of what your next move, or indeed moves, should be at work. When you look ahead you may be unclear about what you want or indeed howto reach your goals. When in doubt, as the old saying goes, do nothing at all. Sounds about right!

Ok so slight exageration but that is how I sounded on tonights run! Me finks that the cold is still there! HR was also high - average of 187 which is a good 10 beats up I guess. Over all so much better than of late, with better pace, more consistent pace and no stopping for stretching calves. So I was really pleased aim was to do 4m and I did 4.125m in 53:57 so happy pixie. Best pace (excluding Fetch 1) bar just 1 run (and that was only 40mins) this month. Last 2 50mins runs have been 3.75 in 50mins and 3.9 in 52 so that shows the improvement. Question is why? Rest - week off on hols? New shoes? 10 mins walking warm up? Don't know and don't care 'cos the shower is calling!

Where to start and what to say! The holiday started of with a scare - Gnome managed to swallow a charm at school :-( still it allowed me to leave work early! The rest of the weekend was quiet with just a long run on the Sunday which was awful! (Early start again, had 500ml Locozade (and even 2 gels on route) and made no difference. Had to stop after 1m for a long stretch as calves very tight and also my ankle was sore but that must have been muscles as it went after about 2-3m so next plan is to run after I have been up for a couple of hours to allow the legs to warm up and wake up!) Monday came with a bump - alarm went off at 5AM and we got all packed and feed and watered and mum took us to Reading Station with plenty of time to get the 7:12AM to Waterloo. We sit down and make oursleves (and 5 bags) comfy only to be told at 7:20 that the train was cancelled! Get the 7:21 .... err no that's cancelled too! Get the 7:42! Check in required at Waterloo (at the EuroDisney check in) by 9...

ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Demain je suis d'à Paris via mes parents loge. Maintenant vous tout fait attention, ne pas travailler trop dur et rappeler s'écouter votre corps ! Or for those who can't use an online translation tool or speak French .... Tomorrow I am going to Paris via my parents house. Now you lot take care, don't work too hard and remember listen to your bodies!! Tonight I will be mainly packing (well suppose it's about time isn't it!) and tomorrow I will be doing bugger and all at work (forum I guess!) followed by early escape, drive home, dump bags, and off to mum's via McDonalds!! I doubt if you will hear from me for at least a week so TTFN!

Session: Speedwork on tready at home Well I warmed up and stretched then started my session. Set one ... 400m @9kmph. 2 mins recovery Set two ... 600m @9kmph 2 mins recovery Set three.... 800m @9kmph.... err no. 200m @9kmph followed by "hmm that doesn't feel right" STOP. Stretch, twisty turned flexy ankles. Nope ankle not happy, definatly tighter than the other. STTTRRRRREEETTTTCCCCHHHHH. Ankle happy now. Bit of a walk... OK... bit of a jog.. OK.... 600m @9kmph.... OK! Cool! 2 mins recovery Set four .... 600m @9kmph ..... well 200m @9kmph followed by STOP! Ankle hurty stiffy sore, pixie not gonna play. Huh. Sulk. So I continued my session to finish 30mins on the tready with hilly walking. Then jumped on the bike and did 15mins (5.7km) on that. I'm thinking that my runners are calling time and that the lack of bounce is causing tight muscles rather than there being a big problem. Sensible head said call it quits because I have 3 days until my next run and that rest sho...

Today's plan is a 40mins solid run at lunchtime. Tomorrow's speedwork will be on the tready at home, next week is hols and then the week after I have to collect Gnome from school so will be leaving early. This means this is the last lunchtime session for a while. Run Update Well I spent the most of the morning eating wine gums so I guessed I should be well fuelled! I had been looking forward to this run since yesterday afternoon (no idea why!) and was "up for it!". I guessed that 40mins would be about 3.5-3.75m and decided on a combination of the two canal routes. Anyway off I went and it wasn't feeling as good as I hoped.HR wasn't bad but I felt I was labouring (as such) and just dragging myself arround. Stopped for a quick stretch at 1m and carried on ... not much to say realy as it was a boring run really. Things did improve in the last mile and overall it was a better pace than yesterday but it still didn't feel right if that makes sense. Tomorrow I am...

Today I decided to take a different route on my trot by going down the Grand Union Canal the other way to normal. I've never been this way so had no idea what the path was like or indeed if it went far! After yesterday's long run I wasn't going to push and I also had it in my head to go steady as on a few runs I have started too fast and suffered with very tight calves. So off I trot and I found that after 3/4m of tarmac it turns to a nice path to run on. Very scenic and rather a plesant run. I got to laugh at daddy swan giving the cygnets lessons in taking off (which is probably why I got the flapping wings and hissing on the way back). It was, overall, a very pleasant run until I turned back and within 1/2m hitted a gale force wind (well it was strong anyway!) The legs were a tad tired from yesterday but not bad at all. No need to stop today either which was good. Total 3.751m in 50mins with an average HR of 174! So slow but not that bad ... fairly pleased. 40mins solid r...

Monday : 50 mins munchtime run Tuesday : 40 mins munchtime run Wednesday : Speedwork on tready Thursday : Pack for hols! Friday : Bugger all - off on hols, well to mum's! Saturday : Last minute shopping (train tickets) in Reading Sunday : 90 mins Long Run at mum's Next week we will be in Disneyland Paris from Monday to Friday. I hope to run 3 times for about 30mins and get some swimming in with Gnome but we'll see. I will do about 6m on Saturday morning on the way back from stocking up on wine!!

Got bored of purple! Mind Orange isn't my colour either but hey!

Yes today was long run day and the legs just complained the whole way. I strugged a lot and kept on thinking "I'm sure it's not supposed to be this hard!" Alarm went off at 7:20 and I was out by 7:50 into the cold cold air (it was 8 degrees at 11:30 so I'm guessing about 4-5!) Set the GPS up and decided to do a different variation of last weeks route but in reverse to last week. I don't like to repeat routes if I can because I don't want to ruin the run by comparing times. After a mile or so I stopped and stretched as the legs were feeling tired and tight already - not a good sign with over an hour to go! After that they felt better and I went into 40mins of solid running. The legs felt heavy but not as bad as they have been on previous aborted runs so I carried on and they did eventually ease off like 30 mins later! I had gone out with nothing but 250ml of squash in my belly so maybe that explains the lack of energy or maybe that 1mile was still in my leg...

Yesterday I was delighted with my run. Full of enthusiasm and happy as larry. Today I find my legs aren't as tired as they perhaps should have been, no aches or pains. Did I push hard enough? Could I have done better? That's when the rain came. I started thinking (probably due to boredom at work) that I wasn't doing enough. I commit to running 4 times a week and do that without a problem, yet other areas which would impact on my running I just can't get my head around. I know I should do core muscles exercises (my back proved that) and tone (flabby belly and bingo wings) and lose some blubber. Yet my head can not stay focused or commited on these ares for more than a few days at a time. Then I realise a week/two has gone and I've done nothing. Yesterday I did 9:49 - losing 2st would make that nearer 9 without extra training - that will in turn help with my running goals and the golden GFA. So why can't I stay focused like with the running training? Likewise bett...

The day had arrived - today was the Fetch One Mile! I was a nervous wreck it felt like a proper race not just me and my watch. I spent all morning doing no work because I was either getting a drink or going to the loo! Total pre-race paranoid stress pixie! I have never done a 1mile race and my best known mile was 10:14 so that was a aim a sub 10 min mile. Having had a stress fracture in Feb meaning 2mths off, then FLM, then time off for colds and family and 3wks off due to a back problem just over a month ago I was totally stressed over this! I wasn't convinced I could do it. How long is a mile anyway? I've always just run and let the GPS tell me the distance! Anyway lunchtime arrived and I changed. Off I went for a warm up, walk jog stretch panic repeated twice! I had planned to start by the canal bridge and knew that I then had 2 bridges to go under then carry on to just past a corner to get to the mile. As it was I just wanted to get it done so I started early and then just ...

Yep tomorrow I will be doing my first ever 1mile race! I have no idea as to time or indeed where I will run it (probably down the canal) all I know is that I would love to get to 10mm pace or below even if it is for just one mile! Tomorrow will see a full report, expect it to long if it goes well or very short if it's bad!!

Yep it's more lunchtime plodding for pixie today. Fortunately the fog has all but cleared so I can run safely but it looks cold! Anyway plan is: 2x 5:1 1x 25:1 2x 5:1 Will update you on my return! Later that day .... Well what can be said about that? A crappy goodish pants run I think is about right! Yet again a brilliant start! Felt really comfortable trotting along and I admit it was probably too fast so I made an effort to slow in the second run set. Then stretch after that before my long run set. What a load of pants that was! Tight shins and legs just felt wrong. HR was up (possible cause blood donation) and I ended up plodding along on the grass where I could at about 13mm pace and stopping to cross roads and stretch. When I left the area which had grass on the side of the pavement the shins tightened again. Is it time to get the new shoes out? Did I do too much road work last week?? After about 20 mins I realised that as I approached my physio I had increased my speed and I ...

Today is post blood donation rest day and given my legs were tired from the long run and speedwork or last week I wasn't worried! They were tired when I got up to but ..... they legs must be better now as I went to "buy a drink" and ended up in JJB checking out the sale and running kit (nowt there) and thinking hmmm a run would be nice! So rest tonight - unless Gnome would like a short trot. Then 50 mins tomorrow and 40 on Thursday which will include the Fetch One Mile (at sub 10mm pace for Fraggle and Leon!).

Well lets see .. Friday's speedwork left me with tired legs Friday night and Saturday! This wasn't a problem though as the weekend long run was planned for Sunday anyway. I did finally manage to pick up the wood for my raised bed but it's still wrapped up! So that will be next weekends project along with planting tonnes of bulbs! Oh and we must get some heather for the rockery etc! Anyway back to this weekend. Saturday night I had 3 glasses of wine and so when I got up Sunday although I felt fine I decided to leave the run until later when I had had some time to consume some liquids! As it was also windy and cold I wasn't too upset! Lunchtime came and a small snack was muched through ready for 2PM run meaning I would be back in time to put the roast in! 2PM comes and Gnome wants to have a run too. We start off and he charges off in front of me, slows down as he hits the hill ... starts breathing heavy. We walk, then I suggest we walk between speed bumps. This works well...