Running Training - January 2015

Early set backs

With the new year on us and Christmas festivities behind Rosh and I hit the roads early.  January 2nd saw us tackling a 7.5 mile run in which we set our new 10k record (only by a few seconds, but it is still a new PB).  We were back, fighting fit and ready for the month of training ahead.

That was our last run together for over two weeks.

Whilst on the 7.5 mile run I had been suffering from a heavy cough and struggled to breathe at some points.  When I returned home I began to feel worse and worse as the night progressed.  In the morning my chest infection had taken me down.  After a couple of days of feeling terrible I went to the doctors who prescribed me an inhaler to help me breathe, a run was definitely off the cards.

On January 13th I sent a message to Rosh, I was intending going for a recovery run, gentle pace, just to get the legs moving again, this is when Rosh informed me that he was suffering pretty severely with a back injury and was struggling to walk never mind a run.  My lone wolf run was a mistake, only covering 3 miles I felt like my chest was about to explode and the coughing fit started again.  I needed real recovery.  A week later and Rosh was improving, but still not feeling back to form, so I went out for another lone run but stayed very local doing laps of my home town ready to make a detour home at any point if it got too much.  I managed a 10k, but definitely not my quickest.

My Cousin Gill and family had come "oop north" for the week and as she is training for a half marathon as well (I know, what a family!) we went to a local Park Run for a 5k jaunt.  Pennington Flash is a 3 loop course with gentle inclines and 2 long straights, I took the first loop easy to get my bearings but the next to loops I gained confidence and my speed increased.  Finishing the 5k run in 28:04 and no coughing fits I was happy to re-discover the running training plan and push forward. Rosh had been to see an Osteopath who had told him his left leg was 3/4 of an inch shorter than his right, which is where his back pain was coming from, but this could be rectified.  We were back.

26th January, the team back together, Rosh and I set out for a 10k loop, finishing in 1:02:44 we were both happy that we had done the distance rather than focusing on the time, our sub hour 10k's would be back.  

29th January, Rosh suggested we attempt a 2 mile, 6.5% gradient hill to start our 10k run.  With (heavy) snowfall in the morning turning to ice cold rain and hail in the evening we felt conditions could not be any better for our run.  Starting with a gradient for the first two miles seemed the right way to do it, with our legs feeling fresh, the hill did not seem as challenging.  It was the return journey down the hill that I felt like a kid again, I felt as though I should be waving my arms above my head and shouting "Weeeeee" all the way down the hill.....I didn't, but I do regret not doing it now.  As we hit the 10k notification, we were both elated to see that the hour had not ticked over, just.  59 mins 40 was our time, we were truly back and ready for the next month ahead.

Fastest 5k - 28:04
Fastest 10k - 58:26
Furthest Distance - 6.2 Mile
Total Distance - 32.5 mile
Number of Runs - 6