The bounce is back

I headed out this morning for my 9 mile run, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it felt. Granted it was only a mile further than the long runs I've been doing recently, but I was dreading it a little bit as it was the first long run I have done with a game of hockey the day before.

Usually on the Sunday after a hockey match, I'm stiff, sore and limping around the house, and with this being the first match back after the Christmas break, I was anticipating even more aching than usual. I have to say though, I felt fine. Certainly during the run anyway, my legs are aching a fair bit now, but then again, there is a reason Monday is a rest day.

My Tuesday 5 mile run this week was a fairly uneventful affair of running five miles in the dark streets, but on Wednesday I got to head out at lunch time at work with Mike for a nice three miler. The usual lunchtime route is prone to muddiness during inclement weather, so we found a new route and it proved a nice change. The only downside was it was pretty much an "out and back" kind of route, involving two bridges, so plenty of work for legs used to the otherwise pancake flat streets of Portsmouth.

Additionally I headed out on Thursday for an unscheduled cheeky little three miler with the dog, as hockey training was cancelled. The main thing I noticed during these midweek runs was how easy it all felt, my training is now in full swing and I have the "bounce". The bounce is something I refer to when training, for the feeling I get two or three weeks into it, where everything just seems that much easier, I'm full of energy and I get restless on the rest days.

On Friday evening, I decided that it was about time I reviewed what I was eating, as I'd come to the realisation that I am only planning on doing a marathon once, and as such I want to ensure I am doing everything I can to get myself under the four hour mark. If I can shift a few pounds, and get the right sort of fuel into my body I should hopefully be able to shave off a good few minutes from my time. Or more importantly, get round in the first place!

The internet, I found out, is amok with eating plans for runners. The key as I found out, certainly during the monotonous training stage, is to keep the fats down, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, a lean protein source and a good helping of carbs.

The guidance that I have pinned to the front of the fridge was taken from therunningbug.co.uk and I think it appealed to me due to it's fairly hands off approach to telling you what to eat. It doesn't have specific meal plans, with prescribed weights portions, but instead works well as a prompt and a reminder on what I in truth knew I should of been eating all along. I'll keep you all updated with how well I get on sticking to it. The weekend has gone well, but I suspect I may struggle during the week once work gets introduced to the mix.

Best of all, all the fresh fruit and vegetables actually taste nice. Look how yummy my lunch from yesterday looks!

So full of energy, and armed with the bounce I headed out for this mornings 9 mile run. I had toyed with the idea of doing it up and over Portsdown hill, for a bit of hill work, but with yesterdays hockey in mind I decided to leave it for now and see how I got on with something a bit flatter.

I set off with the intention of heading north of the city to do a lap of Farlington Marshes for a bit of a change of scenery from city streets and Southsea seafront. When I got to Farlington marshes I discovered the gates shut and locked. Bummer. Unfortunately it was a bit late to change my route, so instead I just carried on along the cycle path heading towards Havant, and waited for the Endomondo powered voice in my ear to tell me I'd reached four and a half miles so I could turn around, retrace my steps, and return home. Not quite the scenery I was hoping for, but still a nice change.

The run felt good and was completed in a time of 1:17:36 and I felt like I could have gone on a lot further, which is handy given that a marathon would entail another 17.2 miles on top of today's run.

Next week is a ten mile run, and I am looking forward to it, and a chance to beat my personal best of 1:27:16 for that distance set at the Great South Run in 2011.