So, after the surprise of London still working towards going ahead, week 2 of training needed to happen. For a long time I had expected week 1 wouldn’t happen and all of last week I was expecting it to be a flash in the pan. So digging out week 2 was a surprise. It was a little strange as last time round week 2 was Christmas. This week it was just hot!
After a rest day on Monday, Tuesday called for the first speed session. Oddly, both times I had done this particular session (3x 1.5mi) last time I had been at my inlaws. There they live about halfway along a perfect straight 2 mile long road so it worked really well. Back home and I was playing with plotaroute.com to find a road I could use. All the straight roads were either too short or would have left be with a very long warm down. In the end I settled on a loop around town which did mean each set would have different gradients etc. It was already warm when I headed out but I could really feel the recent speed work I have been doing as each set was much faster than I had done last time round.
Wednesday was back to the slower pace over 6 miles. Last time I was really strict with myself in the early weeks but this time, I’m slowing it right down but maybe not all the way. This could come back to bite me later on but I also think that my original target time is quite achievable and I should be aiming a bit faster anyway.
Another rest day on Thursday was followed up by a mixed pace run on Friday morning. It was due to hammer it down with rain so I was surprised to stay dry as I knocked out another 6.5km. I did struggle a bit with my pacing mind.
Saturday is non-parkrun day and this week I went out with my son on his bike. It was windy and still quite warm and my legs felt really heavy. It is an indication of how far I’ve come in lockdown that the time of 21:25 was disappointing. The tiredness is something that I am remembering from last time. When I look back it was the earlier weeks I wrote about being tired. I think it just takes a while to get into the rhythm.
I ended the week with the traditional Sunday LSR. To leave time later in the day I was out by 6:30am and it was lovely being out while it was nice weather and so quiet. I took advantage of the light to head out of town a bit (and find a few new ukrun roads!). 16km later at a steady pace and I was home. One thing this run did achieve was achieving 1000km for the year. Last year I didn’t manage this until mid-December so I’m well above the curve. It is remarkable to see how far that is on a map though!
So week 2 is now complete. I hadn’t expected to have to do it and with Berlin and New York both falling by the wayside this week, I still think we’ll see London not happen. But I keep everything crossed and hope that the numbers help to point in the right direction. With that, if you’re not already I really recommend downloading the COVID19 app to help the researchers get a picture if what is happening as lockdown starts to ease.
- Monday – Rest Day
- Tuesday – 3x 1.5mi fast, 400m recovery – 12.10km
- Wednesday – 10.06km @ 5:35 pace
- Thursday – Rest Day
- Friday – 6.57km @ 5.01 pace
- Saturday – 5km 21:25
- Sunday – 16.38km @ 5:36 pace
- Total – 50.11km
- Overall Total – 87.94km