Quality not quantity (with some quantity and lack of quality)

I seem to have fallen out of love with track at the moment which, as anyone who knows me will know, is very strange as usually it is my favourite thing ever. (Even discovering that I’d missed 400 parlaufs, my absolute favourite track session, later in the evening didn’t upset me.) Perhaps this is the final trough before the peak of rediscovering my mojo and becoming brilliant? Ok the latter part of that is unlikely but if I could find my motivation again that would be nice. Thank you. Instead I decided to make the most of the sunny, cold but NOT WINDY daytime to go on a pleasantly paced 5 mile run to the Peace Statue and back. I had some trouble breathing because I’d forgotten to take my inhaler and it was cold. Thus I got a massive stitch. 

Once again I had decided that Tuesday’s session would be my main focus for the week. I like that I know what Tom’s session is in advance as I like planning but I don’t like it so much when it means I know the hell that is to come. In this case it was 4 repetitions of the hideous hilly Hove Park mile interspersed with 8 x green light hills. This was ever so slightly tempered when Tom said we’d only be doing 6 x hills as that in itself with the jog down is a mile. Psyching myself up and not having done track did the trick and I felt strong during this session. My mile times were 6.52, 6.48, 6.48 and 6.53. Slow times but acceptable on that course especially as I wasn’t fully pushing it rather trying to remain consistent over the reps and hills section. I declare this session a victory for quality over quantity. 

However it made Wednesday’s LSR quite hard. Luckily for me, but not Rob, he was suffering from ankle disturbance so the run was nice and slow. 11 miles in the bank. Then another 4 in the evening at RN Run Club.

On Thursday I cycled over to Preston Park on my bike to join Rob for 6 x 730m (the long flat, straight section along the bottom of the park). It was sunny and cold and deceptively more difficult in one direction than the other, meaning a 10 second difference depending on the direction. As the reps were short we only had one minute recoveries. The average pace was 6.21 minute mile (thanks Rob’s Garmin) which is OK especially after Tuesday and Wednesday.

I rested on Friday a) because I was being sensible after my sports massage but really b) because the weather was horrible. 

Today (Saturday) it was off to a sunny but freezing prom for parkrun number 249. 

  

Take that Chanel

I had an experimental breakfast. Conclusion: Fail. Too much, not early enough. I rolled home in a paltry 22.08. Only one more to go until I retire!*

 

Two feet off! Thanks Mark Brocklehurst for letting me steal your photo.

33 miles for the week.

*(Go straight back the week after for 251.)