As I write this blog post week one of training for my second marathon has just drawn to a rather impressive close. I ended the week with The National Lottery Anniversary Run, a 5 mile race around the Olympic Park finishing in the Olympic stadium. The weather was cooler than it had been during the week and very overcast, but the humidity was still quite a challenge, especially in the last mile (which was my slowest). I'd set myself a target of 45-50 minutes and was very pleased to come in with an official time of 45:30. It was great to run in the same race as Paula Radcliffe and running into an iconic stadium full of so many inspirational memories and roaring spectators was an experience I'll never forget. It's true what the Olympians said last year - it's a fast, springy track!
Week 1 in Summary
My first week back in training was quite straightforward (with the exception of the ongoing heatwave!), although I suffered with some slight knee niggles and had to switch my Friday run to a swim to lessen the impact on my joints and make sure I could run Sunday's race, particularly to reach that stadium finish! The night before the race I had a warm bath, massaged my legs with Weleda Arnica oil, did a very thorough set of stretches, took ibuprofen and slept with an ice pack across my knees. The routine seemed to work as the run went smoothly and I felt really strong! I ran around 13 miles across four sessions and also swam for 30 minutes. Today (Monday) I'm having a rest day as the temperature peaked at 33 degrees earlier and my quads are rather grumpy and sore from yesterday.
Onwards and Upwards
So, that's another couple of ticks added to my 'running bucket list' already, what's the next? Well, it comes in less than a week, as it happens! Last year I read about the Adidas TR24 in Women's Running magazine and really liked the sound of it. It's a 24 hour trail race in 10K laps and I'll be part of a team of 8 (4 girls, 4 guys) camping and running in Derbyshire this weekend. I'm keeping the first half of my training week quite light because the race will make up the bulk of my miles by itself - I'm going to concentrate on core work, stretching and shorter runs instead to make sure I'm ready and fresh enough to handle the challenge ahead without letting my team down.
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