This week's longest run on Monday lasted 2 hrs 20 minutes, and covered 10.6 miles. My total mileage for the week was 24, and I did a treadmill test yesterday which revealed a further increase in the pace I can maintain for a given heart rate. Fundraising received a massive boost this week - not only did two people succumb to my brazen plea for donations last week to get me over the £500 line (thank you!), but the Phoenix Community Outreach Project made a donation of £500 towards my effort. Together with a donation I received at a church event today, the total now stands at a magnificent £1021.
On Monday afternoon I went to see a sports physio. The biggest factor in training is - well - being able to train consistently and regularly. And that means staying fit enough to run. I asked the physio to advise on my ankle, which is still not back to 100%, and also to undertake some preventive maintenance on the various bits which niggle and ache. He did some ultrasound treatment on my ankle - to break down scar tissue - and gave me some exercises to strengthen it. I also have stretches to do for my hamstrings, which are extremely tight, some exercises for my shoulder, and advice about use of the foam roller. I'm supposed to do the hamstring stretches 6 times a day.... I'm doing what I can.
Oh, and he recommended a different sort of support to wear on my ankle when running, and that I should put my foot in a bucket of iced water for 10-15 minutes when I get in. Mmm...... not tried that yet.....
My Wednesday and Thursday runs were between 4 and 4.5 miles, and run at a slower pace than the equivalent 3 weeks ago. This left me feeling considerably less tired, which has to be a good thing. I think I may do better to go a bit slower on my long run, though - because my shorter runs were slower than my long run, and that's the wrong way round! However, it did mean that by this morning I was feeling pretty strong when I arrived for parkrun.
Parkrun is an absolutely wonderful idea - a free-to-enter timed 5K run, organised by volunteers, which takes place in parks up and down the country every Saturday morning. The Mansfield run takes place in the Manor Sports Complex in Mansfield Woodhouse and I've taken part every Saturday that I wasn't otherwise engaged since I discovered it in April. It is a fantastic atmosphere - very inclusive and encouraging, and it sometimes seems that the slowest runners get the biggest cheers. Although I do most of my running alone - and I like it that way - parkrun gives me a social aspect to my running which I really enjoy.
This morning was perfect weather for running it was cold, but dry and bright. I did a progressive run - aiming to do each mile slightly faster than the last. I ended up with a time of 32:19, which is the fastest I have run since I set my best time of 31:04 back in July. Mind you, as the evening wears on, I am remembering something I had forgotten about since the sprained ankle forced me to slow down: running faster is harder work, and therefore leaves you feeling stiffer! I am more stiff after this morning's 5K (3.1 miles) than after my 10.6 mile long run on Monday.
I mentioned last week that I was going to start introducing some faster running. Running parkrun at pace is one way of doing that. Another would be to do a Fartlek session. Fartlek is a Swedish word meaning "speed play", and all it involves is changing the speed at which you run, but in an unstructured way. For example, you might be running along at a gentle pace, spot a tree about 200 yards ahead, and decide to run fast until you reach it. Then you slow down, until you feel like going hard again. I intend to do a maximum of one faster session each week.
Well, that's it for this week. Thanks for reading, and all the encouragement and support you give me in person.
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