by Julie

Thank you shin splints

My plan said 30 minutes easy run and I did just that - well 31 to be exact, to get me home. I sat through a very boring presentation this afternoon at work and all I could think of was this run. Fine and dry and cold when I got home, so making hay, off I went. I wasn’t out long when I started feeling tightness in my shins - a sure sign for me that my calves are tight. So I stopped and stretched and that helped and the tightness gradually went. But it’s…
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by Julie

Spontaneous combustion on a Saturday morning

My training plan called for a 7-9k long slow run and I was determined to stick to it. I wanted to do at least 5 miles and in the end did 5.25 miles, or 8.4k. I had breakfast this time, toast and a small banana, with water and coffee earlier in the morning, so was all set for a good run. I checked the weather and it was 8 degrees centigrade, felt like 4, so I wore my marathon finishers top, which is light, and a sleeveless reflective running jacket. I also had gloves and…
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by Julie

Finishing with fuel in the tank.

My plan said 40 minutes on a hilly route but it was too dark to go on the properly hilly route that I use. So I just ran around the neighbourhood for 40 minutes and it was the nicest and best run I had in a long time. My lungs and legs felt good; the only tricky part was watching my step in the dark and not tripping. If it was bright I would have gone further. No harm. Will keep my enthusiasm for 5 miles minimum on Saturday.
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by Julie

Strength and speed 1

First proper training run for my half in March tonight. My running coach calls it a ‘strength and speed’ run; it’s basically a kind of tempo run I guess, designed to make one run faster than usual and help avoid boredom. And it did just that actually! There are several options - tonight I did 3 miles: half a mile slow, then half a mile fast, repeated 3 times. I did go slow at the slow bits and then went at a comfortably fast pace in the fast part, probably 9.30/mile avg pace in the…
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