It was a jam-packed week full of birthday celebrations, slightly hindered by a healthy amount of snow. But how did training go?

Monday

I went on a yoga zoom class today which was lovely, stretching things out is always a good way to start the week.

Tuesday

My birthday! I had a busy day ahead, but first I needed to do my intervals session.

I was going to be in the pub when track was happening, but it ended up being cancelled as the football was on nearby. So win-win. Well, apart from Huddersfield town ey!

So after breakfast I headed to the park to run 10x 1 minute efforts at 5k pace with 1 minute recoveries.

I didn’t find this easy as like most things in Huddersfield, the loop in the park wasn’t flat. The loop takes me just under 3 minutes to complete and it’s very up and down.

So some efforts included a downhill, some included an uphill which made pacing quite difficult.

I knew it would be so I planned to do the first 5 efforts at a slightly easier pace and go harder on the final 5. Finishing at different points though made it difficult to remember what effort I’d made.

It was good to try something different though!

Wednesday

Crosstraining day and I may have had a bit to drink the night before… You’re allowed to on your birthday though surely!

I decided to do a different workout today, Les Mills Core.

It was been a while since I’ve done this one and ouch, it is absolutely brutal! I initially thought this was because of my birthday the day before, but as I laid in bed it felt like someone had punched my stomach haha

Maybe a mix of the two?

Thursday

Snow had reached Huddersfield, eek! It wasn’t too bad in the morning, apart from the snow and sleet slapping me in the face.

The session was 60 minutes easy with 6 hill sprints, which I did leave out simply because I didn’t feel safe doing it.

I ran at a quicker pace than what was easy, which is annoying, but I blame the weather. I wanted to get it done haha!

Friday

Huddersfield was covered in snow and ice. PT was understandably cancelled. I was happy about this, because it wasn’t looking safe to go outside!

I’m really lucky to have my own little gym in my spare bedroom, equipped with a treadmill, spin bike and a variety of weights and barbell.

I decided to warm up on the treadmill for ten minutes before doing the hour version of BodyPump. It was one I hadn’t done before so it was a shock to the system!

The triceps, biceps and shoulder tracks killed me. Then having to do core at the end was brutal.

I admit I had to have a few breathers, but I gave it my best and I definitely felt it! A great alternative to PT, using the strength I’ve gained so far.

Saturday

Huddersfield parkrun along with many others had long been cancelled, so my friend Nigel and I were on the hunt for an alternative. There was no way we could safely run around where we lived.

We decided on Heaton parkrun in Manchester and I’m really glad we did. It was a great park with lots to see and there was such a buzz about. There was absolutely no snow there, like a different world!

I liked the celebration bibs they had, whether it was their 100th parkrun, or if they were running on their birthday, there was a bib for it.

The route was lovely and scenic, including a horse I really wanted to stop and chat to. There was also a hill called Angina Hill which yes, was a long climb, but it wasn’t as bad as I expected. As I got to the top I was waiting for part 2… I think I’m used to running in Huddersfield too much!

It was a small lap followed by one big lap allowing me to enjoy the lovely views.

The coffee after was great and I ran exactly how I planned to, result!

Sunday

On the plan today it was 100 minutes – 30 minutes easy, 40 minutes effort with the final 30 minutes easy.

Understandably, I don’t want to do all my runs on the canal towards Marsden. I need something a bit different.

So I thought about mixing it up a little, and finishing closer to home.

The 30 minutes easy and 40 minutes effort went well. I saw other friends from my running club training for their marathons as well, all of us motivating each other.

As I wanted to finish close to home, it meant a beast of a hill and a constant climb home for the next 30 minutes.

The pace was meant to be easy. How could I run easy when I was running up steep climbs?

When I planned the route, I imagined it would help me on my marathon for when I will be tired.

I was tired, I just ran 40 minutes of effort. There’s always some climbs in Huddersfield but I was just being cruel to myself. It was horrible, there aren’t going to be any severe climbs in Edinburgh marathon. Why would I torture myself?

It was a great lesson for me when it comes to route planning…

Overall Thoughts

Experienced my first truly bad run on Sunday and I’m currently reminding myself that not every run will go to plan.

In addition to this, the weather hasn’t been great either. It meant I couldn’t safely do the hill sprints in the park. And that’s OK. Why risk injury just to tick a box?

This week’s song is one I like to listen to when I’m starting to feel fatigued. Classic 90s dance, but with a strong message… Don’t stop moving!

Next week involves a two hour run, which is the start of stepping things up a gear! Just have to take it easy…