Tuesday 19 March 2013

Too busy!

I'm struggling to find the time to run at the moment, let alone blog. Since my last post I've completed my biggest week of training so far, and I'm embarking on a similar one now.

Last time I trained for a marathon in spring 2010, my highest mileage week was that of the race itself, and that was 33.4 miles. Last week I ran 34.1 miles - whoop! It was quite a week - we had snow and gales on Tuesday, and I ran an out and back 7m avoiding icy paths. When I ran into the wind, my eyes and nose were streaming, it was no fun. Then on Thursday, I did my first 20-miler of this plan.

As usual I had to psyche myself up for the long run, and planned my route carefully. It was a loop, which made a nice change from out and back runs. I actually moved it to Thursday as it was due to pour with rain on Friday, and I was glad I did as it was cold, but dry. My pace was consistent, averaging 10.21 min miles. Woo-hoo! It felt GREAT to have it done, although I was completely exhausted for the rest of the day.

11 miles on the Garmin - time to stop for a photo!
On Friday evening I went for a little recovery jog which was horrible - it was raining and dark, and I just couldn't see anything. The rain on my glasses blurred my vision, and some of the paths were in darkness. People kept appearing out of nowhere and I felt anxious the whole time.

At the weekend we were off to visit my sister and her family. She had a baby 8 weeks ago, and it was great to see my lovely new nephew at last!

Emma and new cousin Huey!
I also had a nice run on Sunday morning on a soft muddy path. It was great to run somewhere different, and I avoided the rain again.

So a great week of training!

The weather is shocking at the moment - lots of rain, snow and cold winds. My bike is being fixed so no cross-training for now, and this week I'm battling with an extra day of work, writing reports for students, an eye appointment for Emma, and taking the car in for its MOT. We're away to visit friends next weekend too, so fitting in another big week of running is stretching my organisational skills. I'm determined to fit it all in somehow, then next week... I can start the taper!

Looks just like Robbie as a baby!

9 comments:

  1. You are doing some hard core running with distance and conditions! Your daughter is just beautiful in the picture with your very sweet nephew!

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  2. I so hear you on the time issue - ugh. But great job on the mileage, you are getting so strong! Congrats on the new nephew...I love babies!

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  3. Your little nephew is so cute! I love that photo of Huey and Emma.

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  4. It's always nice if you can trick the bad weather! Sounds like your training is going well.

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  5. Great training Liz! Keep it going! I'm running a marathon tomorrow, 21 March, and hope I'm ready... We have a public holiday tomorrow.

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  6. Nice job on the 20-miler! SNOW in March? Oy, so glad we are getting warming (though wet) weather here. Good luck getting another week of good training in before your taper. This is very exciting!

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  7. What a cute baby! Congrats on becoming an Aunt again! And GREAT job on the 20 miler, and the pace!! I'm am SO tired of this weather. We're dealing with it in Omaha too. Boo.

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  8. You're doing wonderfully well to get in the training in these horrendous conditions. Glad I'm not running any more marathons! Will be glad when it's Spring - if ever it comes!
    Love the picture of Emma with little Huey.

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  9. I act the same way as training heads into the final week of huge long runs before a marathon. To quote the movie What About Bob, 'it's mash potatoes and gravy, Marie", straight forward and focus. You become quieter and think about runs constantly. You routine is important to reduce chances of injury. *shrug* You can't help it. All the miles and training eat up your so call down time. The rest of your time is with your family and there's no way you'll take away from them. You got this and soon you'll be posting about the race! Good luck Liz and whoop ass!

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