Let the taper begin!

Today was my final long run for the Belvoir Challenge and it was a test of mental toughness to even get out the door this afternoon.  The timing wasn't exactly great because we had our monthly club handicap race last night and I managed to squeak across the line with a pb of 21:57 for 3 miles.  I'm well pleased with that because I almost skipped the run because of feeling tired but have absolutely no clue how I managed to get that time.  It is proof that marathon training doesn't have to equate to running slower at all distances.

So why did I get out and run 20 miles the day after running hard? Well, that brings me to another race...our final winter BDL XC* race is on Sunday so if I wanted to get the long run done and be somewhat recovered then it had to be done today or tomorrow and they are predicting a temperature drop overnight so this afternoon had to be the time.  I'm not going to lie, it was difficult today. Running solo on a hillier route than the previous three 20 milers into a very cold wind meant there were a few times when I wanted to just call it good before I even got to the half-way point.  It did get better once I got to mile 12 but then struggled through the last 2.5.  The damn relentless wind meant I was having to constantly blow my nose--snot rockets are not in my skill set--so that was always throwing my pace off.  I also should have my sanity questioned as to why I included the mile long uphill of the aptly named Long Lane into my route.  One thing I did right was to route myself near the motorway services "just in case" around the 5 mile mark because it became an "Oh yeah, gotta find the loo NOW!"

Please don't get the impression that today was a horrible experience, it was just a challenge in several aspects and I definitely needed the experience of having one long run done all on my own.  However I'm fairly sure I'm not going to be one of those runners who are grumbling about the taper, I am READY for it...although feel free to come back and say I told you so if I do turn into a cranky runner one week out from Belvoir.

*No way am I skipping the final cross country unless it's absolutely necessary, there is only one point separating first and second place in my VF45 age category!

Fleeting

My memory. This summer.  Two things that fit the fleeting descriptor right now.  I have had so many blog ideas but didn't bother to sit down to put the words to screen or even ink to paper to remind myself.  Or I get busy with other things and while I remember the subject I no longer have the desire to right about it.  As far as summer goes, I think it has disappeared.  It never truly got HOT at night but over the past couple of weeks it's gotten steadily cooler and now in mid-August there is a distinct autumnal bite to the air even during the middle of the day.  Time to pack away the summer clothing, most of which didn't get a single wear at all.  I made a joke on facebook that it was a good thing I don't buy trendy because whenever I made my return to the states in a few years most of my shorts, sundresses, and vests would still be in nearly new condition.  And no, it's not just me as an expat grumbling, everyone is commenting on how chilly it's been and then laughing and saying welcome to British summer ;-)

Summer!

In fitness news, my speed and endurance seems to be gradually returning, emphasis on gradually.  Most Sundays I'm getting in a 10ish miler although the weekend ex Hurricane Bertha made her visit I kept it at 7.5 because of trying to avoid the rain and wind. I managed to get confused on the August handicap course again (blue arrows on the trail pointed in a different direction than what our route is) so ended up waiting for the next runner coming up to get me headed the right way.  It still wouldn't have been a pb but it would have been closer than the time I ended up with.  Unfortunately my Garmin 610 also decided to have a malfunction by freezing up and then refusing to download that day's data because the file was corrupted so I don't know exactly how much time I lost.

The final BDL of the summer also went better than expected, 5.19 miles in 40:52 and second in my age category.  Last Saturday's parkrun was a bit of a success with a time of 23:26, 4th female overall, and 2nd in my age.  Gives me hope I can start whittling that time down if I can keep from getting injured again.  I also managed to spot the photographer in time to smile and not look like I was on the verge of passing out or having a seizure. 

I look like I'm going so slow and the guy behind me has both feet off the ground.

Speaking of parkrun, I had made plans to attend a Nordic Walking class on Saturday so that meant I had to leave just as soon as I got my barcodes scanned but I did get to see a couple of Nordic walkers that were doing the 5k as well.  Such a great sight spying the poles and the red British Nordic Walking shirts! Once I get over this chasing a personal best business I need to do that as well but I think I would prefer a not so flat course, it's great for running but I prefer hills for the walking.  

January club handicap run

Tonight was our monthly club handicap run and due to a dust and allergy induced sinus pressure headache (we're changing rooms for our office and main bedroom) I was expecting the end result to be less than stellar. I've pretty much been laid out on the couch the majority of the day stubbornly refusing to take anything for the pain, then when I capitulated it turned out that we had absolutely nothing in the house for allergy relief. Paracetamol did absolutely nothing to relieve the pressure but at least it made me drowsy enough to take a nap for a bit.

Anyway back to the run. It was miserable, it felt like the wind was at my face for the majority of the 3 miles pressing against the bridge of my nose and eyes just out of spite. Other than that, a car backing out of a drive in front of me, and a group of unruly hooligans that tried to plow directly into the runners, it went well :-). Per my garmin I managed to better my time from the December handicap run by at least 9 seconds but will have to wait for the official results on the club site.

In addition to having a better time, my legs are not sore so I'm definitely seeing results from the weight workouts already. My partner had mentioned the day before that I was looking skinnier and my jeans are fitting looser yet my weight has not changed so that's another good sign.  I might have undone that with the after run meal of fancy mac and cheese and chocolate cake though ;-)

Splits from tonight

Janathon Day 7: 3 mile run, .28 mile warmup slog, 100 bicycle crunches, and lots of foam rolling. I even managed to blog about it on the proper day, yay me!

UK versus US difference for today: Clarityn/Claritin. However it's spelled, it equals relief.  

Rambling around

Whew, I am knackered.  Last night was the running club's handicap 5k (not quite a 5k per my garmin but close enough) and I managed to pull a 23:21 out of somewhere.  Don't ask me where it came from because my last two 5ks back in the summer were 25 and 26ish each, the spring races were in the 23 minute range but that has been a while back and speed training has only recently restarted.  Gives me hope that last December's pb of 21:50 is achievable again.

Top that off with heading out mid-morning today with Elsie for a ramble through the area with a local walking group and my legs are ACHING.  We put down approximately 9 miles in just over four hours--there was a pub stop, hence the longer time.  Most of the route I'd already explored while running but it was a welcome change getting to traverse it with people who knew the history of the area.  Elsie was a huge hit, she was loving all the extra attention and at the end when the group was continuing on she kept pulling on her lead to go back to them when I cut off to take a shortcut back home.  Kind of fun being one of the two youngest in a group as well, lol.

Elsie leading on the Monk's Way stones

If only these walls could talk

Parts of this church is from the 13th century according to a web search, but most is from late 14th century

Love the doggies and horses welcome sign

Great view across the valley but marred by the telephone line