Thursday 3rd October - Tempo Run
Another Thursday, another Tempo run this time in the rain. Met with Rosemary & Susan and got a mile warm up done before setting out on the same route as last week. First few miles felt like it was going to be a bit of a struggle but everyone was in good spirits and the miles were ticking off ok. I even picked up a new tip for recovery from long runs during the course of the run. Not sure it's for me though ;-)
Before long we were into the last mile and everyone finished strong. Average pace was 7:48 which was 12 seconds better than the previous week. Finished with a cool down back to the cars and 11.62 miles in total.
Friday 4th October - Easy Run
9 miles @ 9:05 pace
I noticed after the run on Thursday I had a pretty big blister on the sole of my right foot and also that my left knee was quite sore. More a stiffness thing when I was sitting down for a while and a bit of a dull pain.
With that in mind I headed out with the plan not to go too far from home in case I needed to stop. The masking tape over the blister seemed to be keeping that in check and the knee wasn't any more painful running so I ventured further from home after a couple of miles. Met Wayne Cawley running in the opposite direction and we joined up for a few miles. Made it home in one piece and did some stretching & foam rolling.
Saturday 5th October - Easy Run
4 miles @ 9:51 pace
We were out in town on Friday night and although not having much to drink it was a late night getting home. When you combine this with a 2 year old alarm clock it results in not a lot of sleep. The body was feeling tired and unresponsive when I headed out. Did this run around the pitches and college grounds. Knee was quite sore from what I remember and I was wondering how the long run would go the next day.
Sunday 6th October - Long Run
20ish miles
Met Rosemary at the school and we headed off towards Skerries via, Gormanston, Flemington lane, Bath road route. Legs and body were quite tired as expected but knee was behaving itself. I had the sole of my foot covered but I felt after 6 miles that the tape had shifted. I kept going as I knew we would be stopping in Skerries to get some water and I would check it out then. I had to stop after 9 miles to re-position the tape and that seemed to help a bit.
After some water and taking my 2nd Powerbar gel we were on our way back to Balbriggan. The wind had been against us on the way over and it seemed to be mostly against us on the way back :-(
Each mile was now becoming a bit of a chore but we were maintaining a steady pace. On the way back up Flemington lane I started to experience some stomach issues and knew I wouldn't make it back to Stamullen so I let Rosemary head on and I popped home for a quick pit stop. Took the chance to put on a fresh top as well and set off for the last 4 miles. Although my legs in general were tired they were feeling ok. My foot was getting worse though with each stride. With a mile to go I adopted a walk/jog strategy but had to just walk the last 1/2 mile. I was a bit disappointed with this but when I saw the below I was surprised I had been able to run that far.
Ouch!!!
I know for sure now my current runners are not the ones for me for the Marathon. A visit to Amphibian King is in order to see what Kevin suggests. I also know Powerbar gels are not the best for me. That is the last of the long, long runs done I suppose. The last few could have gone better, a lot better in fact but not much I can do about it now. I just have to trust that the bulk of the work is done. What result that produces we'll find out in a few weeks. I need to be careful this week that the above gets a chance to heal properly so will just take it day by day.
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