Time to catch up!

I'm feeling a little lost today as I am having a "rest day" and have itchy feet already!  I haven't blogged for a few days so I will fill you in on my activities this week!

What have I been doing?


On Tuesday I went out on my bike with a friend who I used to cycle with a lot but he had an accident in the winter (Fell off his bike!) and has been recovering every since.  I noticed a big difference in his "cockiness" - usually he is cycling behind me yelling as I go down a hill "Get your hands off the f**king brakes" but he didn't murmur a thing!  The weather was dry when we set off but it soon started to lightly drizzle but not enough to stop us! The roads in Cumbria are in a terrible state and we spent most of the ride avoiding disappearing down potholes!  I thoroughly enjoyed being out on my bike, swallowing up the miles in a fairly easy fashion (compared with pounding the streets running!) and it made it even better when I heard the words "your going to have to slow down I'm knackered!" - it used to be me uttering those words when we were out! Our route was just under 25 miles and I actually got up to 29.5 MPH at one point!  EEEKKKK I find that scary! View the ride here!


On Wednesday I attempted interval training whilst running - again!  Oh boy it doesn't get any easier!  Once I have pushed myself during the "fast bits" I'm good for nothing and I need longer to recover than the little man on the MP3 will allow me - before I know it he's back yelling down my ear! One day I will complete the 20 minutes programme successfully and I will know I have improved! Until then ... I best keep on running!  My best pace was 6.30 min/mile - no wonder I was nearly unconscious when I got home! You can view this attempt here. In total I ran 4.51 miles, so not too bad I suppose!

Thursday!  Well Thursday was a bloody awful run! I was doing my LSR today instead of at the weekend (as per marathon plan) as I have a cycle planned for Sunday. I set off straight after finishing work at around 4pm and was wanting to run 10 miles.  It had been a really hot and muggy day and for the first couple of miles I was boiling and sweating cobs ... but then ... it started thundering ... and the rain started ... followed by lightening!  What did I do? Turn round and go home?  Oh no don't be silly that's far too sensible I kept on running!  I have never seen rain drops as huge as the ones which were pelting me!  By the time I realised I perhaps shouldn't be out in this weather it was too late to turn back and I had no alternative but to keep going!  Things went from bad to worse and instead of running I felt like I was river walking!  The roads were flooding and flowing with water and at one point I was in water over my ankles - I was not impressed! By the time I got home my trainers were 6 times heavier than they usually are and I was exhausted! I didn't even hit the 10 mile mark - just short at 9.80 miles but perceived mileage was 29.80 miles! I didn't even have time to recover probably - after a quick shower and food stop I was back at work for a parents evening!  On days like this I think I really must be MAD! You can view this awfully slow and tedious run here! Its a long time since I have run at such a slow pace! Very, very disappointing!


Friday and today are rest days as TOMORROW I am cycling "The Three Counties Cycle Challenge" and want semi-fresh legs!  I am praying the rain stays away tomorrow as I really don't fancy being that wet AGAIN!  Pop by tomorrow to see how I get on!