Week Commencing 23rd November 2009

Monday
AM: 50 @ 7:57 per mile - first day of work so headed out and got my first 6:30 AM run in for a while- lovely watching the countryside go into colour over the hour
PM: 57 @ 7:09 per mile - headed to Stortford and ran the 8 mile loop- quite pleased with pace

Tuesday
AM: 33:49 @9:03 per mile- very busy day today with work, cleaning house and driving to Gatwick to pick up parents
PM: 45:37 @ 7:24 per mile- got to Striders about 20 minutes late (amazing I got there at all though- flew around M25) and started jogging 'til I met Ian halfway through the time trial and paced him to end so was nice having company for a bit of faster running over the hills- then went and jogged back to car cheering on the others finishing.

Wednesday
AM: 39:02 @ 8:56 - 3rd morning run in a row- going well.
PM: 75:07 @ 7:31 per mile- run around Stortford 10 mile route - nice to have a big bunch with faster ones easing off a little bit at start and slightly slower guys pushing it- some great running towards the end and great to be able to get 10 miles in with company at a decent clip.

Thursday
AM: 26:53 @ 7:30 per mile with Marcus from work- kept up a very decent pace and was impressed- just around the airport and down along the runway. Debbie was very sweet and did me a squash for when I got back!
PM: 16 wund, 3 x mile [120] - with Lee, hit 4:59,4:55,4:59 - pace felt ridiculously quick for what we were running and both really struggling. That was the plan for the session with the option for 4 or 5 but it just wasn't going to be worth it so instead joined the young 'uns after a 3 minute recovery for their 2 mile tempo (5:25/5:20) which felt incredibly easy compared to the miles, couple more minutes then a final mile of 5:17 to finish which was again easy. Very odd session - got some decent work in though...

Friday
AM: Rest day

Saturday
PM: 15 wu, Met League XC 28:44 for 30th place- went out way too hard with the leaders and died the slow death for about a lap until I rallied a bit- dissappointed but 30 seconds quicker would have moved me into the top 15 so might just be a case of getting my tactics right.

Sunday
PM: 76:53 @ 8 per mile IIs-Vs dinner previous night + dancing so already tight calves had seized up so just went for a relaxed jog over the mud - did 6 strides towards the end of the run and was moving okay. Thought about adding on an extra 35 minutes for a bigger week and proper long run but decided that given recent niggles a smaller week probably wouldn't hurt.

Total: 535 minutes / 71ish miles

Summary: Overall a much better week- lack of a long run and decent Tuesday session was poor and still a bit annoyed/dissappointed with Saturday race but on the whole to get back up to 70 miles this week and, now I'm reviewing, those miles being much quicker than expected (and also with having started work this week me struggling for time a bit) am really quite pleased.

Training to slightly alter for next two weeks in specific build up for Telford but really looking forward to it now and think I definitely have a shot of a) running a significant road 10k PB (33:14) b) running an overall PB (32:15 track) and c) breaking 32. Looking forward to it.