Weekly Mileage: 101.5 miles
Sunday: 26 miles in 2.55.09
Well I managed it. My second consecutive 100 mile week I am pretty pleased with myself, especially ending it with such a strong steady long run. I have to admit I thought the week itself would have been harder on my body, but actually I seem to have come through fairly unscathed. As I write this on Sunday evening, apart from serious chaffing damage under my arms and in my butt I feel pretty good. My right knee feels a little achy and has done for a couple of weeks now, but doesn't seem to slow me down or get any worse. I am a little concerned about the knee, so will keep an eye on it.
This week I am planning to do my third consecutive 100 mile week, but this week won't be so hard, as I will be doing my long run on Saturday and a gentler run on Sunday, so no Saturday intervals and I plan for my long run to be 22 miles and at a much slower pace than this week. I am doing this so that I can help prepare my body for the Nairn Half Marathon the week after.
However, back to today, what a great Sunday for a run. The weather was warm and sunny with no wind. Maybe not quite perfect running conditions, but I wasn't complain. There was again a group of us setting off together, myself, Niamh, Ben and Kev. Kev was only planning on doing 12 miles so we knew we would only have his company for first 6 miles.
Ben must have had a giant bowl of Weetabix this morning as he set out at a pretty strong pace. We had spoken before of doing around 7 minute miles, which is pretty much where we were after the first two miles. However, after the second mile Ben made a noticeable push in pace. Thankfully I was feeling pretty good at this point, apart from a few niggles and tightness in my right leg, so I pulled up alongside him. Kev also followed, but Niamh seemed happy enough to carry on at 7minute mile pace and dropped back. The next three miles were all around 6.45 pace and slightly up hill so we working hard and to be honest I was letting Ben lead as I would have been happy to run at the 7 minute mile pace. Still I hung on and we pulled into Balerno. At this point Kev turned back to finish off his 12 miles and Ben and I pressed on together.
The hills at Balerno are always a favourite part of the run and as usual I wanted to run them hard, Ben was well up for it two and we moved up them side-by-side at quite a pace. When we got to the top we didn't ease off we carried on and moved through 8 miles in 55 minutes and 38 seconds, about a minute quicker than I have done those 8 miles in recent weeks. Now we had the benefit of seven mile stretch mainly downhill and we obliged by picking up our pace. We went through 10 miles in 68.38 and at this point I was starting to wonder if our quick pace would cost me later in my run. Ben was doing 20 miles, so he was now half way through, but I still had 16 miles left. I was also feeling a little tightness in my lower back and right groin and hamstring. We moved down the road and I did for a few minutes entertain the thought of slowing down and making sure I had enough to get through my run and not injure myself. However, I was enjoying myself. I like running at pace and it was a great day for it, with Ben for company I decided to stick with it and keep going for as long as possible. I went through 13 miles in just over 1hour and 28 minutes, which I was pretty pleased about.
By the time we went through the 16 mile mark we had completed the second 8 miles in 52 mins and 23 secs over 3 minutes quicker than the first 8 miles. Now we turned on to the canal and I was feeling pretty good, the best I had felt on the run. My little niggles and tightness eased off and my lungs felt strong. I had intended to run the final 10 miles on the canal at 7 minute mile pace, but found a nice rhythm at around 6.45s. Ben stuck with me for 2 miles on the canal before he turned round to head back and complete his 20 miles. Left on my own I thought I would slow down, but I was still feeling good and decided to keep pushing for as long as I could hold the pace. I turned round just after 20 miles to head back and this was the first time I felt a little sluggish. I don't know if it was because the gentle breeze that had been blowing in my face was now behind me and so wasn't keeping me cool and I felt warm and a little bothered. I had two rough miles, but it I didn't slow too much, in fact I dropped from 6.41 to 6.51 and another 6.51 at mile 22. With four miles to go I certainly felt a mental lift if not a physical one and my pace picked up again. I got quicker and quicker for every mile finishing the last 4 miles in 6.47, 6.39, 6.35 and the last one in 6.32.
I felt okay when I stopped, neither sore nor exhausted, but I knew I had been working hard. I took the walk back to the car and tried to assess the state of my body. Running 26 miles at that pace I was already beginning to wonder what damage I might have done. I felt particularly tight around my glutes and my legs and my right knee was a little achy too, but all in all not bad. I guess I will understand the extent of any problems when I start running tomorrow morning.
Overall a great week's running and I am thrilled with my progress. I just hope that I can maintain it this week and then have a good taper before Nairn. I would love to get a PB at that race.
In other exciting news Mike Wardian, US ultra runner and podium finisher in last year's MDS, has answered some questions about ultra running and the MDS, how to train and some tips for those taking part. Look out for the interview in tomorrow's blog entry.
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