My furthest ever run now stands at 20 miles after last week's adventure with Mother Dearest to the nearby reservoirs. I made the decision before setting out on this run, that I would do my best to run with mum rather than running ahead at my own pace. I managed this for the first 10 miles, but found it really difficult to hold back and in the last 10 miles began running out and back at a pace I found more comfortable. During our run, mum and I were in agreement that we were really enjoying running somewhere different for a change... By the time we made it back to the car we were still in agreement, but this time we were agreeing that whilst the novelty was nice, we wouldn't be rushing back! The route was far more undulating than either of us remembered and resulted in two exhausted individuals, neither of whom could believe how hard the 20 miles had felt after such a great 18 miles the previous weekend!
Luckily I feel like I have been able to right a few of those wrong this weekend with my 15 miles. Even though this is obviously 5 miles shorter than last weekend's run (quick maths!), I felt really good throughout. Those cheeky thoughts of "You could just do the extra 5... 5 miles is nothing, just keep going!" started to creep in, but the sensible part of my brain stomped them out, as deviation from the planned distance could always result in disaster!
Overall I am happy with today's performance. I haven't actually studied the run stats yet, but I know my last miles were definitely faster than my first, which can only be a good sign!
Post run, however, I have very sore feet. Definitely one of the less enjoyable and certainly less glamorous sides to marathon training (is there anything glamorous about running?!).
My other highlights from the last two weeks (and therefore the last two parkrun days - formally known at Saturdays-), have been TWO parkrun pbs!
I am completely thrilled that I have now registered TWO parkrun times under 24 minutes - something I never really thought I would do!
I did a 23.21 last weekend, taking a massive 39 seconds off my previous pb and then this week I knocked another 5 seconds off, taking it down to 23.16! Obviously all these long runs and marathon training is having a positive effect on my 5K times!
Can I make it into the 22s before the marathon?? Watch this space!
On top of my pb highs, I have also loved enjoying the parkrun community this week. I headed over to Cafe Marconi after this week's run to sort tokens and learn about stopwatches!
Overall, it's been a really good week's running.. I got pbs and a Strava crown! What could be better than that? Hopefully the coming week brings more of the same, as the marathon is drawing ever closer! The countdown is well and truly on as it's now only 4 weeks away. FOUR WEEKS... FOUR!
Whilst I have an eye on the marathon that is looming in the near future, I also have an eye on the fundraising. I am getting closer to my target now, but still need your help in achieving it. Do it for my aching legs and feet!!
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Fiona-Kitchingman
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