Gym, club and snow

Cor my left leg didn’t half ache after Sunday’s 12-miler! The bath I had to warm me up post-run worked a treat on my back but not the leg. I hope it’s not my new trainers that are to blame but if it is I can at least swap them. It’s not kept me from training though. And neither has the snow although my wet socks and trail shoes have given my a blister on my instep. 

On Monday I had my gym induction which was a cursory 15 minute talk through what my aims were and then a demo of the CV machines. It’s a well-stocked gym with plenty of CV machines and no one waiting for anything despite it being the busiest time, but I don’t find gyms the most inspiring of places. I managed to get a cancellation place in that evening’s Body Pump class which I used to do regularly in my late teens so it was fun to get back to it. The (fill-in) instructor was really good, asked if anyone was new and reminded us what weights to go for. I’ll be trying Body Tone same day next week. 

Also this week I got my “You’re In!” marathon magazine, forwarded from the charity. I got a little bit emotional reading it, thinking about how it will be me this year. I also got inspired by the film Fast Girls, which I rented through iTunes and watched while the OH was playing computer games in another room. Great little film. I’m thinking of building up a collection of inspiring films to watch before my events. Run, Fat Boy, Run would definitely be on there. What would other films would you suggest?

I went back to Running club on Wednesday for 6 miles and a marathon masterclass given by one of the members. He runs these most years and it was really useful to have my training plan reviewed by someone who has been there and done that. A few suggestions have been made which I'm going to incorporate, such as cutting out a little strength training in favour of more swimming, upping the miles a little later in my training, including a run during my Suffolk holiday and leaving more recovery time after the marathon.

After constant snowfall yesterday I was not exactly looking forward to my run today in 5in of snow but after procrastinating over 2 cups of tea I donned thermal tights, merino top, windproof jacket and trail shoes and headed out for what turned out to be a totally awesome run. The going was fairly easy where the snow was packed and everyone I encountered was in a good mood. I had new music to listen to and I felt strong. I decided to go for time on feet rather than distance and covered 10 miles in 1:50 and came back feeling really hardcore!

About to tackle a mile long hill

Hot chocolate by Hotel Chocolat as a recovery drink... oh yeah!

This week’s training: 22.5 miles plus Body Pump

Next week I’m looking forward to a couple of days off work, one for a spa day with my mum and another for a day in London with afternoon tea. All that relaxation will be undone by the Iceman event on Saturday 26^th… hills are not my friends so I’m pretty nervous about that.