Personal bests and accumulated fatigue

Well it's certainly been an eventful week, who knew that bright orange trainers could be so much faster than regular white ones! I guess that's why they were so popular at the last Olympics.

Keen, eager and rested I headed out on Tuesday evening for a 5 mile run with my new trainers on. They were so very comfortable, and although I was aware I was running at a good pace, I was very surprised for the audio update to tell me I'd completed the first mile in 7:30! Overall I averaged 7:34 for the 5.15 mile run which was phenomenal, given that the previous week I was around about 8:10.

As a result when I got back I discovered that during the run, I'd not only equalled my personal best for fastest kilometre, but had beaten my personal bests for all of the following distances: 1 mile, 3 km, 3 miles and 5km. I'd also beaten my record for the cooper, which is how far can you run in 12 minutes.

Given that all of the PB's were around about three to four years old, and that all of these had been beaten during a reasonably evenly paced 5 mile run, I was obviously very pleased.

I have no idea if it was a result of the training starting to come together, the new trainers giving me an extra spring in my step, the healthier food I had been eating or more likely a combination of all three, but I was absolutely buzzing.

The following evening I had a 6 mile run scheduled, but I upped the distance slightly to enable me to have a crack at my 10km PB, given how well I'd run the night before. Unfortunately, I could feel fairly soon into the run that the previous nights antics had taken its toll on the old leg muscles, and despite my best efforts with a still impressive average pace of 7:58, I was agonisingly 14 seconds shy of my target.

By Thursday I was definitely starting to feel the effects of two longer midweek runs. My training plan up until this point had allowed one or two midweek 3 milers, the increase in distance was telling, but unfortunately for me Thursday was no rest day.

Although I didn't have a run planned, I did have hockey training to go to. Not only does this change in exercise keep my brain from dying of street pounding boredom, it also allows a bit of pseudo-interval training to make it's way quite easily into my plan. Unfortunately, Thursday night was a night when the heavens opened at just the wrong time. On several occasions, soaked through to the skin with nothing dry to change into to, I contemplated jumping in the car and heading home, it was only the thought of looking down the Mall at the finish line that kept me there.

Friday thankfully, was a rest day.

Saturday involved more hockey, and possibly the highest paced, most intense match I have ever played in, as first (us), played second (Petersfield), in the league. With just a point in it, both teams knew that a win was vital to their chance of winning the title. Inevitably it was a 2-2 draw, but again it was a really good interval workout, and better still I didn't pick up any injuries.

So, onto today's long run, and "just" the 10 miles to do. I had a couple of routes planned, one involved following a similar route to last weeks run, but extending it to take me up to, and around Havant Tesco, the other which was the one I ended up doing purely for a bit of variation, was a run down to Canoe Lake, along the seafront and back home, with a few 'wiggles' to make it up to the ten miles.
 
My main target for this run was to beat my personal best from the Great South Run, set in 2011 which stood at 1:27:16. To hit this would need to average about 8:40 pace, something I felt was achievable, so long as I didn't have any stops for walking.

The run felt good, and although there were a few points were I was struggling, the music, or the views, always seemed to pick me up just when I needed it. My pacing was incredibly consistent, with only 15 seconds difference between my slowest mile and my fastest mile. The low point of the run had to be when I had no choice but to run through a muddy puddle, and get my shiny luminous orange trainers dirty. Sad face.

I was cheered up at the finish though when I discovered that I had made it round the ten miles in 1:22:18, beating my personal best by (more or less) 5 minutes. On top of that I'd also beaten my personal best for distance covered in one hour.

Such a great end to an amazing week.

Tomorrow is rest day and my legs are looking forward to it very much!