"Fartlek", 14.5km

13 min warm-up, 100m 200m 300m, 1km, 2km, 500m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m, 600m (!!), dynamic sretches and brisk home.

Really wonderful run, can't remember all the details actually. Set off with lots of wondering about my new trail shoes (Salomons). WOW. I feel like I have been trying to cycle offroad on a roadbike. Suddenly: dry feet (it was raining), terrific stability and grip, could bomb it along on uneven terrain and not worry. Why didn't I do this before!

Was also good to finish strong again. I was a bit tired but I can start to sense my body after 2 1/2 weeks of specific (and for me, intensive) training. It feels just perfect to now have a couple of easier sessions over the next two days before the long one on Sunday.

Was also really good to kick off in prayer, praying to the Father to thank him for today's conditions and the ability to run. There will be other days when I won't be able to run "but today is not that day"! Thank you.

Getting lost in the Dordogne...

Warmup, 2 miles fast, 6 minute jog, 3 x 1 mile with 3 minute recoveries. The most memorable thin about this run was getting lost at the end of the second fast individual mile! This ended up in a 1h20 run and running out of water.  I was lucky enough to remember a map function I had never used before on my garmin that had me headed back in the general direction I needed. 

Hard to get rehydrated after just waking up, yet so good for a successful run.

My stomach cramps returned again this evening, and God is having me remember about what I recently taught on "with god, by God and for god". I always feel when I experience physical issues that directly impact on the running that I run BY God. I depend on him. 

6 miler, some off-road

10.5 km

Nothing much to report, except again, to follow on from yesterday, a very very slow start.

Nice just to switch off the ipod and soak up the moment and rejoice in the freedom I have to run, what a privelege.

Remembered to do a little stretching after.

Return run... Another!

6 mile gentle

Very nice to just run gently without any specific goal other than the6 miles. It felt weird to have cumulated aches in the legs, different muscles from different exertions (200m sprints fri, 5k sat and 2 hours on technical trails yesterday). They are now just pleasantly twitching as I write this!



Was also fantastic just to switch off the running podcast and listen to some worship, immerse myself in that, talk to him, remember just how impossible it was to do what I amdoing now just a few months ago. With him, by him and for him.

Timed 5K, did I achieve my goal of sub 18 minutes?

Warmup 10 mins, timed 5k, 10 mins cool down
I went into it feeling pretty stiff from yesterdays sprints sessions (8 x 200m), and did and didn't succeed in breaking 18. My garmin said I did, and the running track said I didn't! I suppose garmin will always give the most favourable reading as it tracks your position precisely, and the track is probably closer to real life / race conditions, so I should probably go with that, 18:20 (otherwise, garmin gave 17:55). It's strange being in a position that so clearly indicates lower form than I have previously had, not a feeling I am used to!

200m Sprints

6 July 2012: 8 x 200m with 40 second intervals, plus some drills and jogging. Total dist. 6.3 km
Pretty good sprints session, although some good sporting and spiritual lessons learned. I think that when you do something like this for the first time then expectations have to be low, both in terms of performance and consistency.
My first 200m I bombed in 31 seconds, but within a couple of reps I was down to 39, although by the end of the “first” set I had managed to get the splits back to about 35-37 seconds. There was supposed to be a second set following a five minute jog break, but I SOMEHOW still managed to forget my inhaler, and I decided it unwise to do the second set and avoid taking my respiratory system to its limits.
Lesson 1: prepare kit the night before.
Lesson 2: on sprint sessions of 200m, aim for 35s.
It is very hard to hold back on the first rep. I remember I used to struggle with this with the hill sessions I used to do. The recovery time never feels enough!
Lesson 3: let God reign and shine into every part of my life.
Following on from my abandoning of the sprints session, I felt myself tempted in a destructive way. It required no small amount of wrestling and prayer (and turning off my sermon podcast!) to finally see God come back and win my heart. A couple of songs that came to me joyfully toward the end: “give light to my eyes.... I will not be overcome by my weakness, I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me” (Tree) and “be the king of this heart” (Matt Redman).