42 days to go: Sun on my back, fatigue in my legs

Another week closer to Toronto. I ended the week in Marbella. A group of friends and I had a long awaited trip away. I headed there on Friday and immediately ran when I got there. It was 32 degrees and scorchio. Just such a joy, especially when I hit the rooftop pool. 

If you have been keeping up with previous week blogs you will know that I ran the Kirkcaldy Half last weekend. A great wee race but not one that would replicate race conditions much. 

On Thursday, 4 days after the race I had a long run with 75 mins tempo to do. Which, would not be far off a half marathon. I set out on Thursday AM at 0530 with two gels and a slew of podcasts lined up. The Blue Jays are scuffling just now, which makes for some frustrating listening. The had a couple of games last week where if it was to be compared to running would be the equivalent of putting a stone in your shoe with a mile to go! Self inflected defeats ahoy!

My half, however, went well on Thursday. Clearly I was fatigued from Sunday’s effort. I often the say the mark of fitness shows up more in the speed of recovery than race results. By that I mean, a race can go wrong for a multitude of reasons but if you are recovering quickly then at least you know you are fit and strong. 

Monday and Tuesday I defo had some residual DOMS from Sunday and even Thursday was stiff to start with. My hope for the tempo on Thursday was to run close to MP but not to overdo it. I started slow-ish but as I warmed up so did my mind and body. By the end I was running my fastest miles and was well under 1:20 for the half. Which for a training run four days after a race, at 0530am, is decent. Especially as I ain’t getting any younger. 

That was the cornerstone of the week. Interestingly I did some mile repeats in Marbella on Saturday morning in high heat and humidity and could only run them around the same pace as I did on Thursday. The effects of conditions so palpable. 

Oh, and on Sunday I played golf for the first time in literally 7 years. Absolutely torture. In my mind I can still shape shots, spin the ball, play lob shots and more. In reality, making contact was a success! It was great fun but I reckon my next game will be in 2030. 

Training is going well. Another solid week ticked off. As I start to enter the peak weeks these are my favourite miles. I don’t have fast speed over 1 mile, 5k and 10k etc. It’s why I do ultra running at the end of the day. But, I enjoy long tempos. I am happy to suffer at 8/10 for a few hours over 10/10 for 10 mins! So, as we build that endurance it’s great. My speed is there by the looks of things. Now, we run long and hard.

Here’s to it!

Thanks for reading!
(Written by James Stewart)