So, Graeme dropped me off and I was instantly peeved off. The loos were closed and the wind felt horrendous. Maybe it was just a gust and it would calm down? Running uphill into a head wind was not pleasant and I wished I was finished the run before I'd even started. Part of me thought I wouldn't even get out of South Shields before phoning for a lift and another part of me told myself to shut up and stop whinging.
Two miles in and I couldn't breathe. My inhaler seemed useless and I had to run with my head down. My feet were in pain and twice I took my phone out to ring for a lift home and twice I put it back and carried on. I envied the people running the other way... a nice downhill slope with the wind on their backs. This was me now... 20 odd miles left in a South headwind. At 4 miles I felt like I couldn't make it another step and at 6 miles when both shins started to hurt I did indeed phone for that lift. I wasn't even disappointed with myself when I did it. Graeme picked me up just as I was getting near 7 miles.
The next day I felt completely disappointed in myself. I had wanted a glass of wine the night before and so Graeme bought me my favourite. I'd only had 3 sips when I gave him the glass. I didn't want it. I think red wine is an acquired taste and if you're not used to it, it can taste like vinegar. I decided that as it tasted like vinegar I would not allow myself to acquire the taste again and give it up completely. I did however have a glass of Prosecco which tasted lovely! That wasn't the only reason why I was disappointed in myself though... I had eaten really badly all week, I had been very tired all week, and when I had tried to run from South Shields I had felt like I was crawling, when in fact I had moved up to 5.30 run and 3 mins walk. I sent an email to Shaun asking was it normal to be as slow as I am on the weekend as I felt like I was going backwards instead of forwards.
I didn't wait for the reply and instead went out for my trail run. By this point I had decided to have a proper cutback week so today would only be 3 hours. Another runner I know, Flip, had told me about the Durham Heritage Coastline. I'm ashamed to say I run on the beach banks where I live and didn't even know this was what it was called. I took the route that he had told me about and had a great morning scaling cliffs on my hands and knees, running when I could and falling in a heap when I was shattered. I think it did me the world of good and despite it being windy, YET again, I had a fab time as I did 13 miles of really tough terrain. There were parts that scared the life out of me involving steep downhill steps or steep muddy downhill sections where you were petrified you would keel over, but it was a great experience.
I got back to see Shaun had emailed me and said that it was perfectly normal to feel like I was slowing up because my training is fairly tough mid week. Points to look out for where, Was I really getting slower? Am I too tired to do speed work on a Wednesday after Tuesdays weight session? Am I finding it too difficult to lift heavy weights on a Tuesday and Friday?
The answers to all of those questions were, no, I'm not getting slower (even with the big hills I did last week I'm actually improving a little), no... speed work on Wednesday is going well, no I'm not having a problem for weights either.
He said it was perfectly natural to feel like I was beyond tired for my weekend runs and that I was honestly doing well. He said that most training programmes you notice a difference within about 6 weeks but my programme will probably take longer to notice any positive changes.
At the end of the day, I am training my body to get used to running when I'm knackered so I should really have known the answer before I emailed. Sometimes I think I need the reassurance it's all going in the right direction I suppose! So, I'm going to stop worrying and whinging and start putting up with the tiredness knowing it's all part of the big picture.
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