I'd meant to do the ParkRun course a couple of times and finish off the week with a ParkRun proper on Saturday. Ideally I was going to spread the runs evenly throughout the week, something like Tuesday... Thursday... Saturday. Monday came and I just wasn't feeling at all like jogging anywhere. After any enforced lay-off I just can't gird the loins enough to get going again and any excuse is good enough to postpone getting out again. Aches in the right shoulder and newly sprained left wrist helped to keep me off the road but come Wednesday I'd run out of excuses and finally dragged myself out to the Bushy coursework another circuit.
Mentally the course is fairly easy to cope with, having easily recognisable half-mile markers and favours a steady pace. The only variation being how fast you can pace it out but I had resolved to make this an easy but continuous run. I was looking for about nine minute miles The weather was quite warm and rather oppressive so I was sweating copiously soon after the start. The first mile went okay at 9:07 while holding back as much as possible. The second wasn't good and just slowed as I shot my bolt to 9:21 and ground to a walk as I passed the two mile mark. The third mile, including a quarter mile walk, produced a poor12:04. So, although it was yet another return after a lay-off it wasn't particularly inspiring.
Mile 1, 9:07. ml 2, 9:21. ml 3 12:04. 5k= 31:39
The latest physio visit occurred on Thursday morning. At least that was up to scratch and as we are now at the twelve week mark it signalled the long awaited change of routine from stretching for mobility to exercise for strength. This involves the use of a long strip of rubber sheet to provide resistance against moving arm/leg/head/why. In my case it's mainly to stand on one end and pull the other end to stretch it out. It works quite well but as the muscles I'm trying to re-develop haven't been loaded to any degree in months it must have come as a bit of a surprise to them to be suddenly asked to do something out of the ordinary. Needless to say they complained and I left the physio feeling sore and like a washed out rag.
Nevertheless, having left it late in the week for the first jog, to get another one in and a day's rest before the Saturday ParkRun obviously meant having to do it on Thursday. It was probably a bit ambitious to go out on two days running but it had to be done so I went straight from the Physio to the park for another jog around the course. Once more the intention was to complete the course non-stop. Thursday morning's conditions were about the same as the day before except for a stiff breeze on the homeward leg. It seemed a little weird to have hot, humid and windy. Anyway, I set off again with the best of intentions.
First mile was okay and slightly faster than the day before at 8:55. The second mile slowed a bit to 9:22, about the same as the day before but still tired enough to reluctantly drop back to a walk at the two mile point. The third mile was better than the previous at 11:10 including the same length walking. Better overall than the previous day by about a minute but still pretty ropey.
Mile1, 8:55. ml 2, 9:22. ml 3, 11:10. 5k= 30:55
Saturday's ParkRun was at Richmond which is as hilly as Bushy is flat, and would be the first ParkRun I would be doing in the three months since the Op. Despite my best efforts on this course the third mile with one longish hill, a quick descent then a shorter, sharper hill is always about a minute slower than the first, and from the way I was feeling on my way there this wouldn't be anything special. From getting up I felt absolutely awful. Shoulder and wrist were aching royally from the change of exercise routine and only started to wear off after the usual pre-run warm up jog and stretching. I knew that this was going to be a slow one as I wasn't prepared to push it, except perhaps to try to get the time for the third mile a bit closer to the other two. The intention was for a reasonable effort at a steady pace.
I'd seeded myself well to the rear of the field and this accounted for a twenty-five second loss just getting through the start line and a walk/jog for the first fifty or so yards. Things soon settled down to what amounted to a slow plod along the course. The first downhill stretch passed through the mile mark at around 9:15 and the second at 18:30 but turning onto the uphill slope came against a headwind as well which helped not one bit. The third mile took its extra minute and I was glad to call it a day at the end in a recorded time of 29:52. The post event email usually records that I'm first in my age group but today I'd dropped to fourth.
Mile 1, 9:19. ml 2, 9:11. ml 3, 10:13. 5k= 29:52
Anyway, all told the week went fairly well with some hints of progress...
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