A good solid running week this week and I actually got round to doing some of the strength training I have been given. Plus, bonus meetup with a friend I’ve known for over a decade but hadn’t actually met until Wednesday (who is also a running blogger who does the Weekly Wrap!).

Tuesday – Club run night and I covered Beginners for my friend Jenny as she’s poorly. I thought I was late so ran up to the park in a 10:35 pace frenzy, then covered 2.2 miles run/walking with a lovely lady who is returning to running with club and a lady who’d recently had her second baby and was getting back into it. We had another five who were up to continuous running after a few sessions, so they kept together and did another mile. Lots of nice stretching then I ran home with Trudie and Dave.

3.3 mi various paces

Wednesday – Managed to get all my work done and then get to Dave yoga, I couldn’t get into a shoulder stand but I don’t let that bother me now. Collected Cari from the train station and did a walk around Birmingham, then went for a curry with Matthew, two BookCrossing friends and two running friends.

Thursday – A run with Cari – how exciting! I’ve loved watching her journey to becoming a runner over the past 18 months or so. I took her on one of Jenny and my morning runs at 6am so she saw the suburban streets of Kings Heath and Moseley (Matthew kindly took a photo of us but I’d not set my camera up properly):

 

Cari and Liz on our street!

We did 4.4 miles taking in all the main sights, including a sweet little one-person bench that’s been put half-way up a hard hill (run to the bench! is our cry when toiling up it). Here we are a the end. Couldn’t believe it was dull enough at 6am to need to wear my flouro top!

Liz and Cari, run done

We then got showered and changed and went off to Stratford-upon-Avon for the day, then I saw Cari off from Stratford and came home. How lovely to meet her, and we got on really well. Here’s to next time!

4.4 mil, 12:52 mm

Friday – Did my first Paul strength training session before yoga:

Dumb-bell forward raises / Dumb-bell side raises 2 sets 8 reps each (3lb)

Dumb-bell lunges / Dumb-bell squats 2 sets 8 reps each (5lb)

Medicine ball twists 2 sets 10 reps (3lb weight held in both hands)

Farmer walks with Dumb-bells some tiptoeing forward and backward (5lb) – this is off Lee’s slightly more complicated sets of exercises: I’m working my way in gently.

Then went to Claire yoga which I found quite hard but there was a lot of quite difficult long holds and I think it WAS hard, it wasn’t just me.

Saturday – I knew I had double volunteering and an errand to get the bus into town for today then a visit across town to the in-laws Sunday, so decided to split my long run over the two days.

So Saturday I ran to the PO Depot to pick up a parcel (of Torq gel singles, rather ironically), back to the house and down to the park for parkrun. As it’s downhill, I challenged myself to do negative splits for the three miles and then did (11:23 / 11:04 / 10:46 with that GAP thing showing that even relative to the downhill I was faster on mile 3 than mile 2). I then volunteered at parkrun: here I’m at the first turn on the course to see them off along the first lap, before moving to the bottom of the slope to cheer the second lap on and then encourage people up the slope:

parkrun volunteer

It was a lovely day if a little chilly – I took my new rucksack with my London Marathon Top of Failure (the one they send you when you don’t get in) and popped that on to volunteer in. The park municipal planting was looking tip-top.

Then it was time for Run and Talk, the England Athletics / Mind-sponsored run, walk or talk and chat run by volunteers from Kings Heath Running Club and Bournville Harriers. We welcomed the new Mental Health Champion from the Swifts club to see what it was all about, too. I ended up running round with Jo, who’s training for a marathon, so we had a chat about training etc., I popped to the loo in the MAC cafe, and then ran home slightly the long way. I’d forgotten to turn my watch on for the first almost half a mile of that run, so under-estimated how long I’d gone and ended up doing over 7.5 miles on a normal breakfast very early and no extra drinks, etc., so was a bit tired when I got home.

3 mi / 4.66 mi, 11:05 mm / 11:55 mm

Sunday – Woke at 6am for my breakfast and it was RAINING! I actually put on long leggings and a top and then a light hoody (I was dressed entirely by cheap brand Primark, apart from bra, socks and trainers).

Before

I met up with Trudie and Mary Ellen and we set off on a really standard five-mile route of mine (I am getting sick of all my routes though and need some new ones – what do you do if that happens?). We were all quite bright so Trudie grabbed a photo of our cool legs:

Trudie’s photo, me in stripes, Mary Ellen in pink compression socks, Trudie in rainbow tiger stripes

And we had to have a pic at that chair on Salisbury Road, for Cari!

Liz, Mary Ellen, Trudie and a tiny bench

I kept shouting “I’m not hot yet!” as I’d thought I would be whipping off my hoody at some point. It is quite breezy with mesh sides – or it’s very efficient at getting heat away – so no I did not. Pleased with it, though. And was quite damp but really happy when I got home:

After!

What a lovely, refreshing run, such a change!

5.5 mi, 13:01 mm (I forgot to pause my watch at the chair – d’oh!) Last half-mile 11:06 others between 12:13 and 12:46 with one 13:36

I then came home and did another Paul’s strength training session, the same as Friday but with no lunges or farmer’s walks as I was in my (wet) socks by then. Readers, I confess I did that because I knew I’d be writing this up today!

Miles this week: 20.9

Progress towards 1,000 miles in the year: 676 miles (10 miles past the target for the end of this month!)

Weekly wrapWendy’s weekly wrap is here and Holly’s is here. I’ve really loved being a part of this for the last few months: long may it continue!