Week 4 - Return of the Rhythm

Perseverance paid off this week as I tried to put a bad week behind me and rediscover my rhythm. I set off for my first run of Week 4 with some trepidation, but heading back to the tried and tested Battersea Park loop worked out well and I completed a relaxed, uneventful 3 miles in 30 minutes which is just what I was hoping for.

This week the distance of the medium run upped from 4 miles to 5. The route took me round the bridges and I set off down the north side of the Thames towards Vauxhall. For a change I had remembered to recharge the iPod so brought it along and started slow. The pace was steady throughout and by the end I still felt comfortable. Remembering the pain the following day of my long run in Week 2 I spent a lot more time and attention stretching and icing which definitely made a difference.


I took a four day weekend off work and headed home to Cornwall for a friend's wedding. Foreseeing that Sunday was probably going to be a write off after the Saturday celebrations I decided to switch around my training and run the long 8 miler on Friday morning. Luckily for me I had the company of Julie, who took me along a beautiful stretch of the Bissoe trail, starting in Twelveheads and jogging out to Point. The weather was good and we had lots to talk about so the first 4 and a bit miles flew past. We stopped for a few minutes before turning around to head back to our starting point. We ran 8 miles in just under an hour and twenty minutes but it felt like less. Having a running buddy definitely made things easier and I was really pleased to have completed it without any worrying aches or pains. In the final mile my left knee reminded me it wasn't entirely happy but after some decent stretching at the end it seemed ok.

The strategy was right as on Sunday I wasn't best positioned to run for 8 minutes let alone miles. So I pushed back the final short run of the weekend to today. I went back to Bissoe and met up with Julie and we covered off a shorter section of the same route from Friday. We talked all the way along which I could never have managed at the start of my training and reminded me about how my fitness has improved already. After describing my pain from the previous week Julie had brought along The Stick. It's a device to massage your muscles and it is designed to provide relief from soreness, improve muscle strength, increase endurance and accelerate recovery time. I'll let you know how I get on with it.


So i'm 25% of the way there... well at least in terms of time (rather than miles to run before the marathon). I'm definitely back on track but I'll have to keep working hard to stay on course. Next week I'm hitting double figures with a long run of 10 miles. Fingers crossed I make it.

The Long Run
8.0 miles
Time: 1 hours 18 minutes and 59 seconds
Average Pace: 9 minutes 55 seconds per mile

Total miles run this week: 19.3

New Experiences:
Running in Cornwall in sunshine
The Stick
Lucozade Sport (Raspberry flavour)