Things were looking bleak as I headed towards the end of July. 
Less than 10 weeks until the Great North Run and I was suffering a lack of motivation, tired legs and a barrage of mosquito bites from that run in Kielder. However, it has all turned round in the last 8 days. Sunday 29th July proved to be the turning point. I didn't have the energy for my planned long run but it was a nice day so I decided to take an early morning run to Tynemouth Longsands and run a long the wet sand. Took a pit stop on the return leg and jumped in the freezing cold North Sea for 10 minutes. A nice break from the routine and it seems to have revived my training.
Ran 3 times during the week. On Wednesday I ran the 9 miles home from work for the first time in over a year and recorded a new PB of 1h 01m 21s. Then on Thursday an excellent strength session with the club back down at Longsands ended with another dip in the sea. Finally, on Friday lunchtime I took a break from work and ran down to the Newcastle Quayside and done a couple of mile laps around the measured Baltic Square course This is a great new innovation that records your lap times for you and they flash up on the scoreboard as you go past and then posts them on the MyChampionchip website. .
I didn't want to overdo it so I rested on Saturday and planned a long run the next day. Sunday was the day of my daughter's 5th birthday party so I postponed the usual morning run in favour of a late evening session. By the time 8 o'clock came around I was feeling less than eager to lace up my running shoes. I forced myself out the door not knowing whether I'd complete the full 10.25 miles or cut it short and settle for 6.7 instead. The blister on my right foot courtesy of my new Asics Gel Cumulus shoes suggested it would be the shorter route. However, after stopping to adjust my footwear I really got into my stride, consistently banging out sub 7 minute miles. When it came to the point where I had to decide to head home or add on the extra loop I just kept on going. Despite a barrage of flies out near St Mary's Lighthouse I pushed on and finished in 1h 11m 11s, an average of 6m 57s per mile.
It's very important I train near my target pace and I've really made the effort to pick up the speed this past week. Things are going well and I'm consistently running at below 7 minute mile pace. With a 2 week holiday approaching later this month I'm planning a13 mile time trial next weekend to see what kind of shape I'm in over the half-marathon distance. Lets hope I can keep this new found form going and even improve on it over the next couple of months. 1h 25 is still a serious target!
Less than 10 weeks until the Great North Run and I was suffering a lack of motivation, tired legs and a barrage of mosquito bites from that run in Kielder. However, it has all turned round in the last 8 days. Sunday 29th July proved to be the turning point. I didn't have the energy for my planned long run but it was a nice day so I decided to take an early morning run to Tynemouth Longsands and run a long the wet sand. Took a pit stop on the return leg and jumped in the freezing cold North Sea for 10 minutes. A nice break from the routine and it seems to have revived my training.Ran 3 times during the week. On Wednesday I ran the 9 miles home from work for the first time in over a year and recorded a new PB of 1h 01m 21s. Then on Thursday an excellent strength session with the club back down at Longsands ended with another dip in the sea. Finally, on Friday lunchtime I took a break from work and ran down to the Newcastle Quayside and done a couple of mile laps around the measured Baltic Square course This is a great new innovation that records your lap times for you and they flash up on the scoreboard as you go past and then posts them on the MyChampionchip website. .
I didn't want to overdo it so I rested on Saturday and planned a long run the next day. Sunday was the day of my daughter's 5th birthday party so I postponed the usual morning run in favour of a late evening session. By the time 8 o'clock came around I was feeling less than eager to lace up my running shoes. I forced myself out the door not knowing whether I'd complete the full 10.25 miles or cut it short and settle for 6.7 instead. The blister on my right foot courtesy of my new Asics Gel Cumulus shoes suggested it would be the shorter route. However, after stopping to adjust my footwear I really got into my stride, consistently banging out sub 7 minute miles. When it came to the point where I had to decide to head home or add on the extra loop I just kept on going. Despite a barrage of flies out near St Mary's Lighthouse I pushed on and finished in 1h 11m 11s, an average of 6m 57s per mile.
It's very important I train near my target pace and I've really made the effort to pick up the speed this past week. Things are going well and I'm consistently running at below 7 minute mile pace. With a 2 week holiday approaching later this month I'm planning a13 mile time trial next weekend to see what kind of shape I'm in over the half-marathon distance. Lets hope I can keep this new found form going and even improve on it over the next couple of months. 1h 25 is still a serious target!
