VLM week -10: The week of doing too much

A week of pushing it pretty hard! 43 miles this week, which is not huge, however over the weekend I put in a great 8 miler at pace, with the middle 4 miles at 10k pace. I felt like the wind was in my shoes! Then, a tough 23 miles on the Sunday, in choppy weather, with tired legs from the previous day, having almost run a race! Well, as always, I suffered for it on Monday. On the upside, however, they were two cracking training runs, and so, as long as I could push it through, it would all be well! I am on the athletic knife-edge, for sure. Sounds a bit arrogant, when I say it like that - mind you, I am pushing to qualify for the Marathon 2012!

Wine of the week is a lovely Rhone wine, from the excellent 2007 vintage. It is Gigondas Les Pallieres 2007, Les Racines. What a great drop. Beautiful sweet, rich fruit, A warming palate of mildly spicy Grenache, filling the mouth and lingering for ages. This is ripe, meaty, like a bowl of stewed brambly fruits. Yet again, proof of why the south of France can produce great wines that meet all our needs for big, warming reds.

Enjoy your week.

Comments

Miles 34.7; Units 28

A week is a long time in running, if I may use the political catchphrase. This week started with a slippery drive to circuits, then on Tuesday having to turn back on the motorway from a drive to Sheffield, and a treadmill intervals session on Wednesday to keep safe in the icy conditions. Saturday was a gloomy and wet run, though by Sunday it was shorts and t-shirt for the long run, in the balmy conditions of 8 degrees! The Long Run, by the way, was partly down the Test Way, where you run along the old railway branch line, now a track for runners and walkers. Some lucky people bought the old station at Horsebridge and have turned it into their home, and a wedding venue. A real touch of 'Oh Mr. Porter!'. A week of trying hard and not quite succeeding, alas, with all of the runs just failing to hit the mark. Not sure why. The Romsey 5 is next weekend, and I have just not got the quality sessions in I'd like to have done. It will be an endurance battle.. Wine of this week (stil...

miles 20.64; Bike Miles 0; Units probably too many!

A couple of runs this week, Tuesday and Sunday, the latter a great long run - just over 14 miles - really feeling back in the swing of things, and ready to book some races now. It was just glorious to be out in the cool but sunny weather - absolute joy! I am finally feeling like I am able to run again. It has also been a bit more of a relaxed week at work, with a couple of days on a training course, and the rest of the time in the office. Also, the throat was gently easing out by the weekend ( I did promise not to go on about it).... ....which is good when I tell you that we went to Hotel Terravina again, this time as a gift for my 40th Birthday from Carol and Huw, to take part in a 'sabrage' event, which means that you chop the top off a bottle of champagne with a sabre! All very extravagant and grand - see me brandishing said bottle in the attached photo. What a great experience that was, really very special. Thanks to C&H for that! Other than the Champagne we also had tw...

Miles 33.84; Units 27

Exercise-wise, a back end loaded week. I had to miss three training days through pressure of work. Sometimes that's not such a bad thing, as it gives you a chance to recover. All too often, we runners can run ourselves into the ground, if we are not careful. However, after two days you start to feel the lack of exercise, and imagine that you are ballooning up in weight. This of course is not true, though that is little comfort. This may also be a personal thing, however I usually find that when I take more than one day off, a number of niggles emerge - in this case a touch of plantar fasciitis (for you non-runners, a pain like a drawing pin being lodged in your heel - see the gloriously Heath-Robinson picture of the necessary stretching to help the recovery). Maybe the body is just seizing the day and bringing the bad stuff out that it has kept under check whilst you are exercising - clearly 3 days is enough for it to think "oh good, we seem to have stopped all this mad runn...

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