All I do these days is eat, work, run and sleep. I knew January would be tough as the miles are adding up and I am starting to see gains. Last week I did an 18 mile run with friends, which meant my pace was faster than I thought I would do. It was cool to explore London along the canals, periodically popping up and getting my bearings. No traffic lights simulated a race situation of a steady pace too.
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| Here is the 18 mile route. My GPS didn’t pick up right away but I can assure we ran far. |
This weekend my long run is 14 miles with Advent Running and next week is 20 at the Saxons, Vikings, and Normans Usual Suspects race. That will be my peak run, followed by taper (hallelujah). I have only heard good things about these race organizers and look forward to something different on my longest run (so far) of 2016.
For the last 3 weeks, I have joined Advent Running at their #tracktuesday session at Mile End track. It is a free session, but you have to pay £3.25 to use the track. Bring a 20p coin to use a locker too. Usually we have a long warm up (which is needed on these cold, wintery nights) and then break into groups depending on speed for 1km repeats. It has really helped me work on pacing, confidence, and knowing how my body feels at different effort levels.
For cross training, I continued to teach spin on Monday nights at Forest Fitness. It has been over 2 years since I taught indoor cycling regularly and it is amazing to be back in the saddle. I have also been doing one session a week of strength training. For Christmas, my stepmom got me the Iron Strength DVD which helps runners get stronger. I have done it twice now and it is pretty intense. Tomorrow, I am attending the PayAsUGym Urban Movement Festival, which will cover 7 different types of group exercise classes in one amazing workout. I am sure I will be sore on Sunday!
Yoga is something I am trying to squeeze in too. I did yoga at the Shard and will be trying Cocoon yoga at Gym Box next week. There is a yoga class offered at work on Tuesdays, but I seem to be busy with meetings as of late. Work is ramping up with a new location due in the summer, which makes things a bit more challenging to plan. There is always something to turn in, schedule, or report on. Normally I thrive on these sorts of deadlines, but the additional running is making it a bit tough to find balance.
Rest and recover needs to be scheduled in too. I am trying to go to bed by 9.30pm every night (rather than 11pm) but today I just feel tired. I am due to run 5 miles (from yesterday) but have a sports massage scheduled after work. It is so tempting to say sod it and skip the run (UPDATE: I did a quick 5 mile run on my lunch break). I know listening to your body is important but I also want to be prepared for the mud and trails for my marathon.
I was happy to have added a few fun races though to break up monotony. I did RMR virtual run with a cool spinning medal, Walt Disney World half marathon in January, UK Fitness Bloggers 5K run last weekend at Running Works, and the London Winter Run. I am debating about Hogwarts Running Club Ugly Sweater race and have a few days left to decide.
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| During runDisney events, you can have photos taken with cast members! |
Many people are training for marathons this time of year. How is your training going? Any tips on fitting it in?
(Also, I would love a London marathon place of you hear of one going spare. Unfortunately I am not in a position to fundraiser this year due to my previous support of RODS but the opportunity to run London would be forever appreciated. )
Follow me on Strava to keep tabs on my progress.
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