2010 Progress Entrant - Iola Wilson

Contents:- -Intro- Report -1- -2- -3- -4- -5- -6- -7- -8- -9- -10- -11- -12- -13- -14- -15- -16- -17- -Final-

Report 12 - Week beginning 29/03/10

The X-ercise Files - Diary of a 'wannabe better' long distance runner

This week I've been on holiday in Center Parcs with the family. It has been a very active week and I have done all my runs with Neil which has been great. I haven't managed to do any pilates but fitted in four runs and lots of swimming (as well as walking and cycling!).

On Tuesday morning I took Neil out for an endurance session. I had checked what Sophie and co would be doing at the session in Thurso and we did what I thought would be similar. We started with a warm up of just over half a mile then found an off-road path through the forest. We ran out for 2 minutes hard, then turned and tried to get back to our starting point within 2 minutes and had a 1 minute recovery. We did 6 reps, although the route changed after the first and second reps as what we were doing was just too hilly. When we found a flatter section (which was pretty muddy due to torrential rain the night before and uneven due to tree roots etc) Neil led the out section with me chasing and I led the back section which worked really well. We were exhausted by the time we finished and I was surprised by how much harder running off road felt. In the afternoon I managed to fit in a swimming session whilst we were all at the pool. I did 40 lengths, alternating between crawl and breast stroke. I had to stop to catch my breath quite often and my upper body was very tired by the time I finished.

I convinced a slightly less enthusiastic Neil to join me for a 5 mile recovery run on Wednesday morning. It was cold, wet and windy so I got to try out my new jacket which kept me nice and dry! We both had really heavy legs and found the run hard work. It felt slow and we had to run twice round the very hilly site which was quite disheartening, but we kept a steady pace and were pleased to make it home. We even saw a couple of red squirrels along the way - amazing! In the afternoon I managed another 40 lengths in the pool.

By Thursday morning I had to drag a fairly reluctant Neil out for a hill session. We ran a mile to warm up then did 6 hill reps, sprinting up hard and walking/jogging back down to recover. The first 3 reps were of the same distance and we increased the length over the later 3. It was a beautiful morning, but very windy. We both really enjoyed the session, pushing each other hard up the hill, and felt great afterwards. In the afternoon I had a quick swimming session of 30 lengths but the pool was so busy it wasn't very enjoyable. I had a better swimming session on Friday, managing 40 lengths again and feeling much stronger during and after it. My technique is not brilliant but my upper body strength is improving.

Saturday was long run day. We were in Edinburgh and ran from Dalry to Colinton and back, a distance of 8 miles. We had had a few glasses of wine the night before the run and my muscles felt very sluggish for the first few miles. We didn't really talk on the way out because we both felt tired and it was an uphill route. But we managed to pick up the pace significantly on the way back and chatted a little. I was pleased with our average pace of about 8.45/mile. I won't make the mistake of drinking the night before a long run again as my muscles felt stiff and sore throughout and starting out dehydrated wasn't much fun.

Next week its back home, back to work and running on my own again. I'm hoping to keep the momentum going as I'm seeing improvements week on week. I am also keen to keep up the swimming and improve my technique as I feel I am getting a good workout in the pool.