Oh no, I've only gone and done it again

Without a shadow of doubt, I have run out of training time for the up and coming Wheathampstead 10k. This means, come the 23rd May, I may have a very interesting blog entitled 'The effects on the human body, of running a 10k without a single run in the previous 49 days'.

Oh dear. That's even worse when I put it in writing. I just can't see when I'm going to fit a run in though. In the next 10 days, I'm out of the country for 4 of them, in a different county visiting friends on 1 of them, at work for 5 of them and for the evening's of those, I'm out one night and packing for our impending home move on the other 4. I'm going to have to try though.

Maybe I'll have to run home from work but as that's 5 miles, if I break myself I'll be in trouble for the 10k. I can't fit my gear in my hand luggage so that's out too. Maybe I'll just have to up the miles on the bike to and from work in the hope that the muscle that may have built up in my leg might possibly help me through. Any thoughts people? Will getting on the bike more help at all?

Picking a positive note to finish on, maybe I'll surprise myself and be amazed by my natural fitness... Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Sorry, that's brilliant. Someone my shape doesn't have 'natural' fitness. It's going to be painful, hard work and LG will probably have to be the designated driver but hey, I then have 6 months to train for my next event. I think I'll owe it to myself to at least aim for a PB to shatter the thought that I have a blog about running yet haven't done it since the 4th April!

Back in to the training

Realising I have Thames Towpath HM 3 weeks on Sunday and have only run once in the last 4 weeks, I thought I better go for a bit of a run last night. As a bit of a non scientific experiment (and because it was too bloody hot to run any further), I thought I'd run exactly the same route as I'd run exactly one month a go when Juneathon went so well and compare where I am now, to where I was then........ Oh. The stats speak for themselves..

2nd June 2009

Distance: 4.57 miles
Time: 36:05
Pace: 7.54 m/m

2nd July 2009
Distance: 4.57 miles
Time: 39:52
Pace: 8.43 m/m

So that's 49 secs per mile longer then. Not quite the progression I was after really. Plus I looked even more of a state than I usually do after a run. I found it really, really tough. I think I'd deluded myself into thinking that having to take that injury time off, wouldn't affect me too much but I was wrong, wrong, wrong!

I can certainly argue that some of it was down to the heat but the Thames Towpath might be in this heat so I can't use that as an excuse. I can hardly stand up with my head held high and then make excuses about things that everyone else has to deal with too. Nope, I'm just going to have to suck it up, do my trainers back up and head out on Sunday and try for an 8 miler with the emphasis on completion rather than time!