Week 6 - Pain in the Ass

Not a very elegant title to this week's post but appropriate nonetheless. The Monday after my long run I definitely had some aches and pains in my thighs and the top of my hamstrings. My training manual says that now i'm into double figures I should try to take the day off from running before and after - so Monday I put my feet up.

By Tuesday I was feeling pretty much back to normal but the blisters were still looking pretty angry. I strapped them up with some Compeeds and set off for 4 miles round the bridges. I had a great run and stormed home in under 37 minutes and 4 seconds - which is one of my fastest solo runs. The only slight hiccup was that about half way through I managed to rip off the skin across the entire blister on the back of my right heel. Grim Reaper.

So despite feeling the fittest and most positive I have since I began my training I was confined to four rest days in a row. I braved iodine tincture (thanks Grannie) which definitely sped up the process and at 92 pence a bottle was an absolute steal. I had to forego a planned 10k around Regents Park on Thursday evening as it just wasn't healed enough to risk missing the weekend run. On Saturday I decided to fit in a session of Bodypump in an attempt to make up for dodging the midweek runs which made me feel a bit better. But come Sunday I was raring to do my long run (who would have thought it).

This time I was better prepared. I made sure to drink loads of water over the weekend. I charged up the new iPod shuffle. I strapped up the blisters and went back to my usual socks. A return to Richmond Park seemed like the most appealing option so I got up early and arrived at the park before 9am. Despite this it was already scorchio. I set off from the same starting point but decided to run in the opposite direction in an attempt to knock out some of those troublesome hills. Screw dominating them. I started off slow and like before I found the miles between 2 and 5 the hardest. However this time I knew I could go the distance, I had an iPod with a decent battery and was a lot fresher from my four days off. So much so that pretty early on I decided I was going to run an extra mile and shoot for 12 instead of the scheduled 11.

By the time I got to 6 I was feeling pretty happy and it was a whole different story from the week before. Running anticlockwise round the park was admittedly a bit easier than the alternative but the run just remphasised how much of this is about mind over matter. Miles 10 to 12 were hard and I felt my form disintergrate. In total it took me just over 2 hours. No prizes for speed but a definite tick in the box for endurance. Grrrrrrrrrr.

So at the end of Week 6 I felt a mixture of achievement and disappointment. I really wanted to get a full house of four solid runs which I didn't manage but then again the long run felt very comfortable and the thought of running twice that distance didn't totally freak me out. Although I felt sore at the end of the run I wasn't compeltely exhausted. I stretched and stretched and stretched, I attacked myself with the stick, I also took a couple of Ibuprofen and got a reasonably early night. Fast forward 8 hours and I sprung out of bed with the elegance and grace of a 95 year old. Can't wait to feel the burn the day after 26.2 miles. Seriously... I forsee a world of pain coming my way over the next 10 weeks but somehow it all seems totally worth it. I've surprised myself with how much I'm loving the running.

Bring on Week 7.