I planned my route before I left to make sure that I wasn't going to have to run past home or do extra loops to make it up to the correct distance.. There is nothing more soul destroying than having to run past your house on tired and achy legs until the Garmin says you're allowed to stop!
Now, I normally do my long runs on a Sunday, having done the Parkrun the day before, (this might explain why last week's felt so awful!). This week however, I did my long run after having had a rest day the day before... And boy, did it make a difference!! After warming up in the first mile, I really hit my stride and had a great run! The planets obviously aligned, the music didn't skip, the energy blocks didn't make me feel sick and I ran like the wind! (Kind of..)
Whether I ran like the wind or a light breeze, I am over the moon with the time that I put in! After a disappointing 10 miles last week, I knocked SIX MINUTES off my time! SIX! And then did another mile on the end to boot!
Now I just have to do an extra 2 on top of this and that's the half marathon done! And then only another.. 13.1 to add on to that.... Sounds so simple right!?
In the meantime though, I get to be smug about the long list of achievements I achieved on the 11 mile run! New Strava Personal Records for loads of milestones and a new PB for 10K on my Garmin!
However, as the saying goes "pride comes before a fall", and apparently moderate disaster comes after a great run! Luckily, this time that fall is only a metaphorical one, as I've done the actual fall and I can confirm that it is definitely not fun!
'The fall' in this case was a particularly awful Parkrun this morning. My knee decided it was a good time to produce a stabbing pain every stride, which was both very painful and incredibly frustrating!
After an internal battle between wanting to persevere and knowing that I need to take care of my body, I did the sensible thing and walked. I still completed the 5K, albeit very slowly and it was possibly one of the most difficult things I've done! My competitive nature does tend to get the better of me and remembering that I am playing the long game was hard, but was definitely the best thing I could have done.
A few hours on and a chiropractor appointment later, I am straightened out and currently pain free, so fingers crossed tomorrows 5K won't cause me as many problems as today's!
So overall, it's been an alright week! The highs and the lows have balanced each other out and I am ready for a good helping of Christmas cheer (as well as some Christmas running!)
Please keep supporting me this Christmas, visiting my Just Giving page and leaving a donation. Every donation, little or large, keeps me running and makes a massive difference to the lives of those with learning disabilities and their families!
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fiona-kitchingman
Keep an eye out for further Christmas posts! I am looking forward to spending some time with Stu and the family and will hopefully have some photos to post too!
Merry Christmas everyone!
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