The distance, and the hills, are starting to creep up.

The week felt a bit like a rollercoaster. I’m feeling fatigue again, but more in a ‘hey I just ran a really long way’ way.

W/C 8th July

Tuesday

I still felt sluggish from Sunday’s long run. So my 7am PT class was a struggle and I do sort of wish I had stayed in bed. It was raining heavily outside as well. Not the best motivation!

Skip forward to later that evening and it was intervals in the park time!

The session was hill pyramids. Run at an effort to the cone and jog back down. Then run up to the next cone. There were 3 different levels to climb.

I won’t share my Strava chart this week because I forgot to press the lap key on my watch at some points. So it’s really confusing.

Forgetting about charts though, it felt OK. My legs did protest a fair bit so I focused on running strong with good form. I believe I achieved this.

Thursday

So today marked the first run for LRC at their new HQ at the Liberal club. The new location opens up so many new routes for us.

The route today was a trail run up through Huddersfield golf course.

It wasn’t my favourite run. It wasn’t terrible and we all knew there were going to be hills, it’s Huddersfield after all.

I think it’s because my legs still weren’t feeling great and throwing in some steep hills and a never ending slog up an A road wasn’t going to make it any better.

What DID make it better were my fellow runners. Truly. I’m so happy that we’re such a supportive group to encourage each other to keep going. We all finished and can all laugh about getting hit by nettles. Such fun.

Saturday

All I could think about was that I had to run 16 miles the next day. 16 MILES!

So I set off ten minutes earlier to parkrun in the hopes of pacing. When I got there, all the pacing slots for the low 30s had gone! Argh!

I was very moody about this and I do apologise to anyone who was in the crossfire!!

Now, I could have still kept it steady. But I was annoyed about not pacing and being messed about on my job hunt. So I just ran how I felt.

It didn’t feel easy but at the same time it didn’t feel too difficult. My legs were finally feeling powerful and in control again. I somehow managed my fastest time of the year for the 2nd week. I was back in the 28 minute bracket with a time for 28.57!

I felt great, but I was worried about the run the next day…

Sunday

Have I mentioned that I’d be running 16 miles?! I was so nervous. It’s my 3rd longest run – ever!

The route I had planned wasn’t my favourite, but it meant that I wasn’t running the same bit of canal over and over. I went on the Greenway, briefly onto the canal, around the John Smith’s stadium then eventually wound up on the most tedious road of all… Manchester Road. Folk who live in Huddersfield will know exactly what I mean.

It’s a main road that goes on forever and it isn’t flat. I ran along there to Slaithwaite before turning onto the canal back home. Hooray!

So how did it feel?

It took about 5k for me to get going. I felt sluggish again today although I think this was also a mixture of nerves with how far I had to run.

My fuelling today was on point. I added Tailwind to my water and had 3 Torq gels. It’s definitely what helped me through.

Once I reached the Greenway and started running up an incline I realised I was going to be OK and relaxed. From that point I just ran steady away.

As I reached 9 miles, my friend Angela appeared behind me with her dog. We ran together for a bit before she headed back onto the canal. Manchester Road is not dog friendly! Seeing a friend really helped as well and I continued to believe in myself.

I knew as soon as I reached the canal at Slaithwaite that I’d definitely 100% be able to finish the run. It’s ONLY 3 miles back from that point. I saw my friend Emma (who also had her dog!) and deliriously started waving manically announcing that I was running home!

The last mile was tough, I started to ache and fatigue but it was the last mile. I was getting it done. It was normal, well, as normal as running this far is.

Completed. I was delighted. 16 miles in the bag.

Week 6 thoughts

Even though I did feel tired and achy, I’d say it was another successful week.

From not going too hard on the hill sprints, to smashing out a 16 miler – as ya do!

I do feel like I’ve hit a big milestone in my training, but I am trying not to get too carried away. There is still a long way to go before my race and a lot can happen between now and then. I’m so cautious after last year but I am starting to relax a little. Whilst marathon training is tough, it is important to find some joy in it as well. Otherwise what’s the point?