More ramblings from an injured runner!

You are probably fed up reading about how I can't run, cycle or walk - well too be honest I'm fed up of rambling on about not being able to do it!  

Actually I think I am going stir crazy!

I am now into day 5 of "rest" and it isn't going down very well! 

I tried a short walk into town yesterday, I was fine getting there but struggled coming home.  I wanted to sit down on the kerb and cry - but thought I might get carted off if I did that, so continued at a snails pace bearing the pain!

Today hasn't been a good day, the lack of exercise is getting to me! 

There is nothing wrong (except the pain obviously) but I get so upset when I hear or read about someone else running!  I feel like having a major tantrum and screaming "It's not fair!"

Anyhow, by 5 O Clock I had had enough so I decided to brave going for a gentle swim.  I bargained with my thigh and promised I would be gentle on it and use a pull buoy so it could just drag behind me like the useless leg it is!

I couldn't believe it when I hobbled into the pool and there was only 2 other swimmers in!  Where was everyone? Is everyone injured or just bloody lazy?! It hasn't even been a hot day so I have no idea!

Anyhow, with the pull buoy clasped firmly between my thighs I set off down the pool using just my arms.  

My arms had a good workout, and it was nice being able to concentrate on my pull and breathing without thinking about what my legs were doing! I managed 60 lengths or 0.93 miles or 1500 meters and didn't feel any ill effects in my thigh or my ankle!  Fingers crossed it will stay that way!

Depending on how the pain is tomorrow i might try another swim or another little walk! I really can't sit around doing nothing without going insane! 

It's amazing how much better I feel just by having an hours swim!

STAY POSITIVE!!!

Frustrated

Day three of rest ... no running, no cycling, no swimming!

My ankle and thigh is feeling much better most of the time ... that is until I have sat still for a while! Then ... everything seizes up and I struggle to move! 

My new mantra is: Rest, elevation, ibuprofen, ice! I am also trying to do my exercises as prescribed by my physio to stretch and strengthen!

I am determined not to stress and worry too much about my marathon training or fitness ... stressing isn't going to miraculously mend me (if it did I would be 100% fit by now!).

Note to self : I really must watch what I eat now I'm not using hundreds of calories exercising! 

Fingers crossed the sun is shining in York!

Running by feel: running for fun!

I start week 16 of my marathon training plan - injured! So no running for me this week! 

However,I am pleased to report that when I got up this morning my thigh and ankle were 100 per cent better than yesterday!

I have had enough of this constant fear of failure, injury and disappointment. 

When I started on this running journey just over 2 years ago I ran for the sheer pleasure running brought me and I didn't really worry about my pace or time. As long as I was out there running I was happy. I always came back on a high and truly looked forward to my next session. 

Fast forward two years and I now feel every run I do isn't long enough, fast enough, hilly enough, my heart rate is too low or too high and nothing feels good anymore. I dread having to hit the streets as I know I will let myself down ... again! 

I blame all the pain and pressure on my Garmin. 

I obsessively look at my pace and I am constantly readjusting how I run to keep my stats consistent. I am often running too slow and force myself to speed up or I panic if I am running faster than usual and therefore slow down.  I get home and instead of relaxing in the after glow of a good run I pour over my stats and analyse it to within an inch of its life!! Then I compare it to other people's runs and end up feeling totally despondent and useless!

So I have decided ... I can't keep getting injured by not listening to my body! 

I realise I have hit a plateau in my training the same way as an obese person hits a plateau with weight loss.  The first few stone fall off easily and then the hard work begins! 

Well, similarly my pace initially increased quickly but now I am having to work at it! I might even have to accept that I am as good as I am ever going to be as a middle aged late-to-it runner!

However, after researching training methods on the Internet, I have decided that once I have fully recovered I am going to start running by feel - running naked - running for fun without a Garmin!

In the meantime, to help pass my time convalescing I have ordered the book  Run: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel by Matt Fitzgerald  with the hope I might get some good tips!

So the next week is going to consist of reading and swimming and not much else BUT I'm hoping to rekindle my love for running and stop worrying about PB's.

I might just surprise myself!

Diaster Strikes ...

with only 9 weeks to go until The Yorkshire Marathon I am injured!

After waking up this morning in severe pain I texted my sports physio asking him to save my life (or at least my running life!). He gave me a 12 O Clock appointment where he informed me I had a torn Rectus Femoris! I must admit I have never heard of this before and repeated ... a what?!  He smiled sympathetically at me and said "a torn thigh muscle".  He did the necessary massage and strapped me up before sending me on my way with my exercise plan!

I have since discovered that the Rectus Femoris muscle is one of four quadriceps muscles at the front of the thigh and attaches to the pelvis and just below the knee. It is responsible for extending the knee and flexing the hip. It is composed of fibres that are appropriate for rapid, forceful activity. This muscle is particularly vulnerable to eccentric stress forces and injuries caused by forceful movements such as when starting to sprint or kicking a ball. Well I can honestly say I haven't been doing any sprinting - perhaps its all the kicking of a snoring husband that's done it!! Basically depending on the severity it can take from a week up to 9 weeks to recover!  

This particular Rectus Femoris will have to recover in a week - I'm sorry but I have a marathon and 3 half marathons to run in that time as well as a triathlon to complete!  Talk about bad timing! I have emailed each of the races asking about the possibility of deferring until next year ... still waiting to hear!

Anyhow, despite this set back I'm trying to stay positive and have changed my marathon goal from a sub 4 to finishing without being in too much pain!

Unfortunately as well as this pain in my thigh,  I also have pain and swelling of my Achilles! My Physio thinks this has been overworked due to my thigh being painful and it has been jumping in to save the day!

So ... REST is now on the cards! 

Luckily it has been a sunny day today so I have got to sit sunbathing in the garden with my feet up and I have absolutely no feelings of guilt! There has to be at least one positive!

So I haven't quite survived week 15 of my marathon training but my stats for the week look like this:

Running: 23.07 miles in 3 runs.

Time on feet: 4:00:52

Best mile Pace this week :  8.38 m/m

Plus

Cross Training consisting of:

Walking: 8.03 Miles

Swimming: 2.25 miles

Cycling: 13.64

Total Weekly Miles:  47.00 Miles

and my total training for the marathon to date since 22nd April 2013 is:

Running : 363.06 Miles

Time on feet: 58:03:02

Best Mile Pace = 8 Minute Mile on 26th May and 16th July

Plus

Cross Training consisting of-

Pilate's: 8 hour

Circuit Training: 6 hour

Swimming:  15.11  Miles

Walking: 84.05 Miles

Cycling: 70.53 Miles

2 hour 15 minutes Sports Massage (3 sessions)

Total Miles: 532.76

Injured again...?

I went for a 13 mile run yesterday, which in the past I would have classified as a mid-length run.  Yesterday, even at a slow pace it felt like a huge distance. 

I had no pain whilst I was running but once I had sat down and then I stupidly tried to move an hour later ... I couldn't without being in extreme pain! The main pain was in the front of the thigh, with slight discomfort in the back of the ankle and heel!

I iced and rested it last night but getting out of bed this morning was a challenge!  The thigh pain has remained the same but the ankle pain has increased overnight and I'm hobbling around like the old woman I am! 

In desperation I sent an SOS to my sports physio, who very kindly said he would squeeze me in at 12 O'Clock today!  Fingers crossed his magic hands do the trick once again!

Last year I trained for the Chester Marathon without even getting a slight twinge or ache!  Even after completing the marathon I was still walking fairly normally!

This year has just been a diaster! 

On reflection things I have done wrong include:

• not accepting that my ankle injury earlier in the year has taken a toll on my overall fitness, and my body is now susceptible to injury.
• expecting to run at the same pace and train at the same level as before the injury.
• trying to train for a marathon and a triathlon at the same time!
• trying out a new brand of trainers and not just sticking to what I know suits me! 
• having a 3 week holiday mid marathon training and then trying to pick it up where I left it on my return!
• having unrealistic expectations leading to being continously disheartened when I fall short!
• not accepting that my body is a year older.
• not listening to my body!
• entering another marathon - what was I thinking?!

Run for home!

Where running is concerned, and especially with marathon trainer I haven't been in a good place mentally! Too many negative thoughts crop up as soon as I set off running, so I arranged to do my Long Run this morning with a friend who has a marathon a few weeks before mine!  She is a faster runner than me but I decided that I needed a bit of company to get me over the mental barrier I appear to have build since my holidays!

I felt rather nervous about having to "keep up" especially since I am not currently at my fittest but was also looking forward to the camaraderie! 

We had arranged to meet at 10am for a 18 mile run (or for as far as my legs would go!). I had my running gear on, my energy gels and drinks packed ... when at 9.30am I got a text to say she was ill and wouldn't be running!

YIKES! This set me into a turmoil ... now what?!  I had been giving myself positive encouragement since getting up so I was still enthused about going! 

I decided to get my husband to drive me 10 miles away and leave me to run home!  This would ensure I did a minimum of 10 miles and I could extend it once I got close if I still had some energy and the inclination.

It was raining but I wasn't going to let this stop me, so off we went!  Getting kicked out the car to find my way home was a bit Hansel and Gretel ish but it felt good to be running somewhere new and gave me a little motivation!

For the first half I felt energised and enjoyed running despite the rain ... but then the hills appeared and my legs started to get tired but ... I was determined to keep running!  I usually take high 5 gels on long runs but today I had some new energy Shot Bloks to try!  I was quite impressed with how they tasted and weren't gloopy like gels tend to be!  It was almost like eating a giant wine gum! I'm not sure how they compare energy wise to gels but now I know they taste OK I will have to do my homework!

Once I was back in town I decided to extend my run by about 3 miles but I was very, very slow by this point! I kept telling myself it was miles in the legs that mattered not the speed!

I eventually staggered home after 13 miles and you can view this run here!  It wasn't quite the ambitious 18 mile run I had in mind but it was better than sitting on the couch!  One positive outcome from this run was I wore my new Asics trainers and didn't experience the sore toes or the horrendous blisters I got from the Hoka's!

Onwards and upwards from here ... more miles ... faster pace ... happy face! I KNOW I can do it!  This tough time is now over!!!

Another hard one!

I headed out this afternoon for a short "easy" run to try out my new trainers!

Unfortunately, it was anything but easy - I don't think the sun or my frame of mind helped! Only 4 miles but felt more like 24!!! You can see my run here,

I really must get back in the right place mentally if I'm going to succeed with this marathon!

Back to ASICS!

Hoka's

A couple of months ago I decided to buy some Hoka's on the spur of the moment!   (read my experience here).

They turned out NOT to be my dream shoe! I haven't fallen in love with them and unfortunately they didn't make me fly as advertised on the box!

I probably haven't given them a fair trial as I have only run about 40 miles in them BUT on the runs I have worn them I have suffered the most awful blisters on the instep of  both my feet, something I have never experienced before and 2 of my toe nails became very sore and turned black! 

As well as these problems I seem to ache far more after running in my Hoka's than I do my other trainers, (maybe this is just old age) and I have also experienced hip, knee and ankle discomfort!  

My ankles are already weak from my injury in January so I am feeling very wary about wearing anything that might aggravate this further.  I only have 10 weeks to get super fit for my marathon and when I got up this morning and felt a severe ache and stiffness in my ankle I decided enough was enough!  I headed down to Pete Bland Sports and although I tried on some Brooks and Saucony trainers I decided that I would play it safe and get another pair of Asics!  I trained for Chester marathon last year in my Asics and had no injuries or blisters at all during my training or on the day!

Asics Gel Nimbus 15

So these are my new babies -  
ASICS GEL-NIMBUS 15, which are basically the new model of the ones I ran in last year!

I haven't been out for a run in them yet!  With my ankle feeling very sore I thought I would give it a little rest before putting these through their paces.

I hope this is the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship!

I can't decide now whether to try and sell the Hoka's on a local sell and seek FB site or whether to give them the benefit of the doubt and grant them a second chance, once my marathon training is over, when the fear of injury will be less!

So with running being out due to my ankle I decided to get some swim practise in!

I headed to the pool at 12 O Clock, for the opening of the public swimming sessions along with every other Tom, Dick and Harry in Kendal!  Then again what else is there to do in Kendal on a damp and dreary day in the Summer holidays!  

If I hadn't of already paid I would have turned around and gone home! 

When I got into the changing rooms there wasn't an inch of space free!  Every bit of bench in the communal area was filled and all the individual changing rooms were full!  I ended up getting changed whilst leaning against the lockers! 

I headed into the pool with a feeling of trepidation - was this going to be a complete waste of time?!  Luckily the majority of the crowd were in the kiddies pool or in the main swimming area of the large pool.  The 2 lanes sectioned off (where I always swim) were busy but not too bad! I managed 85 lengths, which is 2125 metres or 1.32 miles in an hour and 5 minutes! My ankle felt fine but my arms feel very heavy now!!

Fingers crossed my ankle will be OK to try out my new trainers tomorrow!  #excited!

Slightly faster!

I have had a busy day today starting off with the dentist for me and my daughter, and then on to visit my Mum.  We went to an Italian restaurant for a rather heavy (but awfully nice) lunch and consequently I had to wait until 6 O' Clock before I attempted a run! I didn't want to run with the "brick in my stomach" feeling.

My marathon plan stipulated a 1 hour "easy" run, so off I set not worrying about my pace.  A quick glance at my Garmin gave me a shock when I realised I was doing under a 9 minute mile!  Although this time last year I was doing this pace on a regular basis just recently I have been very very slow and snail like!  Perhaps running after cycling is benefiting me after all - by making "just" running feel easier! The euphoric feeling didn't last long mind you as my pace soon slowed, but then again I did choose to go on a rather hilly route so I have a good excuse! I managed 5.95 miles in 57 minutes and although my Achilles felt slightly tight it wasn't sore like it was on Sunday!  You can view this run here.  Once I got home I diligently did my physio exercises, hoping to keep a recurring injury at bay!

I feel much better about my running tonight! 

Although my pace still isn't as I would like the numbers are definitely finally going in the right direction! 

I may never (actually I know I WILL never!) come into the definition of "fast" as used by elite athletes but as long as I know I am doing the best I can I will be happy! 

My problem recently has been I KNOW I can do better and I have been becoming disheartened after every run as I have deemed my efforts as "not good enough". I'm very hard on myself and want to be the best I can be - all the time! 

I think the problem is now in my head and not in my legs so here's to the new positive me! 



 I CAN and I WILL run a sub 4 hour marathon!

Hello and welcome to week 15 of my marathon training plan with a little tri training thrown in!

With only 10 weeks to go until The Yorkshire Marathon and  6 weeks until the Kendal Sprint Triathlon I'm starting to feel ever so slightly out of my depth!  What was I thinking?

I have put the marathon as my "A" race making it my priority so that's the training plan I am concentrating on with a little cycling and swimming thrown in as cross training!  If I enjoy the tri  I will hopefully concentrate on training for one properly next year!  Fingers crossed I don't get into the London Marathon!!

So after a walk this morning I decided to have another go on the tri bike route again this afternoon.  It was windy but I said yesterday I would go on my bike to get used to cycling in all weathers and I did! There was a couple of "OMG I don't like this moments" but on the whole I was OK and enjoyed the ride. Yesterday whilst on the tri training day Tasha was trying to persuade me go down on my handle bars whilst going downhill (apparently its faster and safer) but I didn't have the courage then ... and I didn't today either!  I really must start to man-up!!

 Its difficult to say whether I did it faster than yesterday as I started from home today making it a couple of miles longer! You can view the route here!

This evening I went to the local tri club training session in the hope that one day I might become a fast and efficient swimmer!

After I had done the required 8 lengths (200 metres) warm up, the coach for my group (the bottom group) said it was time I moved up a group!  Last time he suggested this I managed to stay put where I was comfortable - in the bottom group!  I would rather be top of the bottom, than bottom of the top but he wasn't haven't any of it!!

I had to swim faster to keep up, but I don't think I did too badly!  I think we swam about 1500 metres made up of drills and front crawl! I do wish they would tell me what the reason for certain drills are and what they are improving!!!  We did front crawl breathing every 3, 5 and 7 strokes!  I manged 3 and 5 but on 7 I very nearly drowned!

Back to running tomorrow!

Made it to the end of the week!

The first week back after my 3 week holiday and the first week back to full on training equals a very tired runner!

I hope things improve or I'm in trouble!

Saturday was a rest day thankfully as we had torrential rain all day! I don't mind running in some rain but not when its bouncing off the ground!

On Sunday I went on a Tri Training Day in the hope that I would be enlightened on the task ahead! It was advertised as:

The training day will

• Prepare you for an Pool Based Triathlon
• Cover equipment needed
• Give you key skills to practise
• Provide you with information about the transition areas, you will get a chance to practise these too
• Give you an opportunity to familiarise yourself with the bike course
• Give you an opportunity to familiarise yourself with the run course
• Include a goodie bag with essential triathlon kit.
• Give you the confidence in everything triathlon related!

After such a awful day weather wise on Saturday I checked the forecast for Sunday and it promised sunshine and clouds but no rain so I was happy with this!  I'm a fair weather cyclist - wet roads and skinny tyres scare me!

I set my alarm for 8am, and felt despair when I looked out the window and saw ... RAIN!!  Cursing I got ready and packed my bag! THEN I had to go rooting round for my waterproof cycling jacket (which I rarely wear as I avoid going out on my bike in the rain!).

Luckily my jacket was where I thought it was and once I was donned up in my wet weather gear I set off on my bike for the short 1 mile journey to the local Leisure Centre. I have decided that I really must go out in all weathers, as I can't just decide on the day "I'm not doing it, its raining" although this does sound appealing to me!

I secured my bike on the bike racks and got to the appropriate room at 8.45am giving me time to dry off before the 9am start!

There was only five of us on the course, 3 women and 2 men and we all appeared equally as nervous about what lay ahead!

Tasha the Triathlete who was running the course was slightly disorganised at the beginning! She had forgotten to bring the correct attachment for the water heater to enable us to have coffee - MAJOR disaster! Then she couldn't get the PowerPoint to work!

However, after calling for assistance we were soon on our way and another water heater was produced! PHEW!

We started off discussing the list of race day equipment required (obvious really, I wasn't going to swim naked!) and then went on to discuss transition, the 4th discipline as she called it!

She advised us how best to set our transition area up with everything in the correct order, and told us that it was against the rules to mark where your area is - and I was going get a flag or helium balloon to attach to mine so in my blind panic I could find it! Hey-ho that plan is scuppered!  Just need to hope I get an area close to the edge!! The main rule to remember (from what I can remember!) is you put fasten your helmet before touching your bike and you must rack your bike before unfastening your helmet or you will incur a 2 minute time penalty!  YIKES!!  I need every minute!

Another rule is "No assistance is allowed" - that's a shame I was going get my son to give me a piggy back on the run section!

Joking aside this was really relating to bike issues occurring such as punctures or snapped chains - you have got to fix them yourself or pull out the race!  Well I know which one I will be doing!

To try and make this less of a daunting problem Tasha went through basic bike maintenance and how to fix a broken chain, fix a puncture and change an inner tube. Thankfully I have slime in my tyres so a puncture won't be a problem ... and if anything else happens ... so be it! It will be a DNF for me!

It was then time to go back to the swim section and discuss how this is set up.  There are up to 4 swimmers to each lane set off 5 seconds apart. Hopefully people have put an honest swim time down on entry so the swimmers are in the appropriate lanes according to their speed!

She advised to put the timing chip on our left leg to keep it away from the bike chain! (I would never have thought of this!).

Then it was time to go outside and she showed us where the transition area entry and exit points were, and the position of the mount and dismount lines!  So much to remember!

After this it was time to get on our bikes and ride the route.  She showed us how to best push the bike through transition by using the seat rather than the handle bars - so much easier than the way I had been doing it!

Thankfully by now the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to peek out between the clouds!

We had a leisurely 18K ride and became familiar with the route before returning to the leisure centre where we changed our shoes before heading back out on the run route!

My Achilles felt slightly stiff and sore running immediately after cycling so I will have to be careful not to damage it again. I did a slow run as I was slightly concerned about it! I will have to restart my physio exercises just to keep it in tip top condition.  I can't afford another injury -  I have a Triathlon and a Marathon to race!

I felt tired after the 5K run - its a bit worrying that on the actual day in 6 weeks time I will have done 20 lengths of the pool too! Perhaps I will be crawling the run by then! Its funny how I can run much further than this easily but mix it with cycling and I feel like I'm dying!

When we got back to the Leisure Centre any questions were answered before we finished at 1.15pm. My only complaint is I didn't get a goodie bag with essential triathlon kit (as advertised in the course content!).

All in all I had an enjoyable morning which gave me a little more confidence about it all!

My ultimate aim is to finish a triathlon and if I actually enjoy it, that's a bonus!

So I have survived week 14 (first one after hols!) of my marathon training and my stats for the week look like this:

Running: 26.69 miles in 5 runs.
Time on feet: 4:34:36
Best mile Pace this week :  8.55 m/m

Plus

Cross Training consisting of:

Walking: 5.62 Miles
Swimming: 1.27 miles
Cycling: 13.07
Pilates: 1 hour

Total Weekly Miles:  46.65 Miles

and my total training for the marathon to date since 22nd April 2013 is:

Running : 339.99 Miles
Time on feet: 52:02:09

Best Mile Pace = 8 Minute Mile on 26th May and 16th July

Plus

Cross Training consisting of-

Pilate's: 8 hour
Circuit Training: 6 hour
Swimming:  12.86  Miles
Walking: 76.02 Miles
Cycling: 56.89 Miles
1 hour 30 minutes Sports Massage (2 sessions)

Total Miles: 485.76

So onto week 15 starting tomorrow, and I've got a place on the Tri Club swimming session tomorrow night!

I WILL be a good Triathlete!!

I'm Back ... EVENTUALLY!

So this is how the marathon training plan is going...

= 0 miles as on holiday!





= 0 miles as on holiday!

= 0 miles as on holiday!

and the hard work begins! 

Not long now until The Yorkshire Marathon.

Yikes that is truly scary!

So after a really fantastic 3 weeks travelling from Las Vegas to San Fransisco to Los Angles to San Diego to Las Vegas I am now back home faced with the huge task of playing catch-up with my training!

We flew home on Sunday afternoon from Las Vegas to Manchester, but the combination of an 11 hour flight time and the 8 hours time difference meant we missed a full nights sleep and arrived home at around 11am.

Once I had unpacked the cases and got the first load of washing in I decided that 3 weeks without a run was quite long enough and decided to bite the bullet and go there and then!

I decided to be a little bit kind to my body, after all it was sleep deprived and had suffered over-eating and alcohol abuse in the past 3 weeks ... so I started with just a gentle 30 minute run.

I couldn't believe it when I went to put on my Garmin and the screen was blank - I think it had discharged itself whilst I was away! So after cursing loudly I used the next best thing - Runkeeper on my i-phone.  

In this situation it was probably a positive substitution as I switched off the verbal cues and put it in my back pocket which meant I couldn't stress about my pace and I could just enjoy being out there again! It was a warm and muggy afternoon and I managed 3.56 miles at a slow 9:59 minute mile pace but enjoyed it!

On Tuesday the bible (my training journal) said I was to do a 45 minutes easy run.  It was another warm and humid day and another slow paced run but I still ran 5.91 miles. 


I'm trying to remain positive! At least I am managing to complete the distances albeit slowly! Last year when I came back from holiday I was seriously worried about my health whenever I went out for a run and usually ended up walking home - I thought my running days were well and truly over!

My training plan for Wednesday suggested a Circuit Training session but as I was going out Wednesday night when my local circuit class is on I decided to go swimming instead.  I'm not the strongest swimmer but before my holidays both my technique and speed were slowly improving and I was worried I was going to be back to square one after the break.  I was pleasantly surprised that I had managed to maintain both my speed and distance and swam 82 lengths (2050 metres) in an hour. Chuffed with that!

On Thursday I set off to do a hill training session. As I left the house I noticed an "older" runner coming up the street and my fragile ego couldn't of coped with being overtaken by him so I increased my pace slightly to keep ahead.  I kept glancing over my shoulder and noticed he was still hanging in there, after I ran up the first hill heading towards the second he finally came up alongside me and said "Thanks for that, you kept me going then"  I didn't admit I had increased my pace to stop him catching me! Anyhow Peter (he introduced himself) ran with me and we chatted about our running habits!  He suggested we become running partners - watch this space to see if it happens!  Anyhow I managed 6 reps of my selected hill and in a perverse way actually enjoyed it!  It gives me something to focus on instead of thinking about running too much! Another 5.69 miles in the bag and a step closer to regaining my fitness!  Thursday night I went to have a good stretch at Pilates, and my usual class and instructor has changed venues and is now in a fully mirrored dance studio - I'm not sure I like seeing myself from every angle in weird positions! 


and then we come to today!  The plan stated a 2 hour run, but I really didn't think I could manage this distance after the break but decided to run as far as I could but staying fairly close to home in case I died of exhaustion!  I think my week of exercise has taken its toll of my poor legs and I only managed a very, very slow 90 minute run covering a pathetic 8.42 miles! You can view the weeks activities here.

Thank God Tomorrow is REST day!!