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Manchester-Week 11

Manchester, the second coming ...
Week 11

The week in numbers ...

Miles ran: 57
Mushrooms eaten : none
Chocolate eaten: none
Crisps eaten : half a family sized bag of Doritos
Pizza eaten : a lot
Wine drank: 1 bottle

Weight: Monday 10st13lb
Sunday 10st11b

Monday 17th March

It's recovery week this week and I'm also focusing on my diet, been a twat recently and really need to get down to some proper eating.

Recovery week involves quite a bit of running still but nothing faster than marathon pace and the long weekend run is broken up into chunks instead of a solid run.

It's rest day as always so a day working and then off to the gym in the evening with the kids. 30 mins on the cross trainer and 30 mins on the bike with a short mid session break to gossip with Graham, then home and watch something crap on telly with the dog.

Tuesday 18th March

No club session tonight, it's 8 miles aerobic instead.

Get up early and I'm busy with work today so decide I'm going to do my 8 mile run later. The plan is I'll leave mine at about 6:30 and do 5 miles to Tynemouth and supervise the session and then 3 miles back home and that's the 8 done.

I get ready and head out the door, 2 miles in and I remember I'm not supposed to be doing this, it's 8:20am and I'm running tonight, not this morning and I've completely forgotten what the hell I'm doing and I'm working at 9 and now I'm 2 miles from my house. Turn and head back and give myself a talking to for being such a dick and reminding myself I'm running 5 miles later. Home and 3.8 miles done , I decide to pretend this didn't happen and stick to the plan for later.

Working all day and then finished, get ready for my run and at 6:15 I'm out the door doing a big loop up towards Tynemouth. Yeah, I forgot the plan again.

I'm doing 8 miles before the session because I thought about doing this days ago before settling on my plan of 5 miles, I forgot my plan again. Get to the Priory and then standing around for nearly an hour whilst the session takes place, I'm bloody freezing and really want to go home.

Session finishes and head home and yes that's another 3 miles.

I get home and my carefully worked out plan of 8 miles aerobic has become 13 miles in total.

I'm such a dick.

Wednesday 19th March

I'm shattered.

Should be doing 5 miles today but I just don't feel like doing it in the slot I have this morning.

Spend the morning and afternoon working and as the day goes on the more I fancy a run.

Gets to the afternoon and have time for a run but now I can't be bothered so I have a lie on the settee with Murphy and fall asleep for an hour.

Thursday 20th March

Early appointment and then I've got just enough time to get out and do my mara pace session which is a long one but the sun is shining and I've just weighed myself and I'm back under 11 stone.

Weighing 10 stone anything is an amazing thing for me, I spent most of my 20's at well over 18 stone and my 30's weren't much better. I still see myself as a big fat bloke and not sure that'll ever change.

Anyway, back to the sillyness you come here for.

Today I'm doing a warm up, then 2 miles at mara pace a 2 min recovery and then 3 x 3 miles at mara pace with 2 min recovery and then a cool down.

I decide the best place for this is on the parkrun course and just do lap after lap, I decide this mainly because I'm a bit of a dick and I like the monotony of running laps, or at least i thought I did until Sunday, you'll read that bit in minute.

Warm up complete and into the first 2 mile lap, pace feels easy and I'm having to slow down a bit, two miles over so quickly and I'm 20 seconds too fast.

Short recovery and I'm on a 3 mile loop, again the pace feels easy and probably a little too fast but all is good. Rep finished and again I'm 10 seconds a mile too fast.

Short recovery and here we go again.

Start the next 3 mile loop, very nearly get wiped out by a small girl on a scooter, I forgive her as she has a pretty cool pink helmet on with cats ears and whiskers, this reminds me of my Paw Patrol sunglasses form last week and again I instantly regret leaving them on the coast road. I'll have a look on Amazon for some new ones.

Rep 3 done and again a little too quick but all is good, onto the final 3 mile rep. Start this one steady and again spot pussy cat ears on her scooter and take a wide berth, she spots me and immediately changes direction to head straight at my ankles, a timely swerve and we miss each other but due to the fact I've just made a sudden decision to do this final 3 miles up and down the prom 5 times I know this is going to happen another 4 times.

Again pace is a bit quick but feels okay, don't see pussy cat ears on this rep, turn and head back and there she is, sitting on one of the pebbles eating an ice cream, she mocks me with her ice cream but little does she knows I'm lactose intolerant so don't want it anyway.

Joke's on you pussy cat ears.

Final rep done, that's 11 miles of intervals and then a jog home, jump in the shower and back to work.

I quite fancy an ice cream now.

Damn you pussy cat ears.

Friday 21st March

Easy miles and hills today.

Up early and plan to go out at 8.

It's after 8 and I'm listening to Nick Cave and drinking coffee.

It's nearly 9 and I'm still on the settee.

I'm working at 10 so no point going out now.

Out at 11 for easy run and hills.

Friday night and it's wine and pizza time.

I love wine and pizza.

I love Friday nights.

And wine, I really love wine.

And pizza.

Saturday 22nd March

For once I'm not out early for a long run, that's on Sunday because we're doing a stupid long track session thing that Natasha has arranged.

So today is just parkrun and a few miles warm up.

Head up to Cullercoats for a 4 mile slow warm up and I feel wrecked, stop to cross the road and take this as an impromptu rest stop. How can I feel knackered running 9 minutes miles after 2 miles when I ran 23 miles a week ago at 8 min miles?

Turn and head back to parkrun start and do 5k and stop as I can't be bothered to do any more. Walk along to parkrun start and decide I need to do something a bit quicker this week has all been mara pace or easy runs and I need to pick up the pace a bit and wake my legs up.

Slow parkrun start and get boxed in badly, hit the prom and lift the pace and mile 1 in 6:36 and feel sluggish and tired, start mile 2 and Jim is 10 metres ahead so I keep him as a marker. We finish lap one and head towards skatepark and as I go round the corner onto the prom Jim has absolutely fucked off and started running 30 secs a mile faster and not a chance I'm catching him. Mile 2 in 6:37 and now I feel buggered. Hang on for the final mile in 6:56 and then lift the pace for the finish and dip under 21 mins in 20:54

Head home with a cup of coffee and have a snooze on the settee with Murphy to round off a good morning.

Tonight I shall be ordering pizza for tea as Gail is away for the weekend and she doesn't really like pizza and I do.

I really like pizza.

And wine.

Sunday 23rd March

So today the plan is a warm up and then 3 sets of 5 mile reps at marathon pace with one mile float recoveries and a cool down.

Natasha has suggested we all do our sessions today on the track. To me this seems insane but everyone else is up for it and who am I to let them all down.

It's 6:45am on Sunday morning, Gail is away for the weekend and I should be having a lie in and making the most of having the whole bed to myself.

But no. I'm up and making some toast and coffee and planning to be running miles and miles round the running track like an idiot.

Easy jog to the club, few laps round the track to warm up and then it's time to start. People are arriving at different times today and doing slightly different sessions but at one point there are 14 of us having 'fun'. Apart from Colin, at no point throughout the entire morning was Colin having fun.

Actually that's not true, he smiled when I grabbed his arse.

I'm aiming for 7:30 pace for 5 miles and settle into the pace, as the rep goes on I keep getting quicker and trying to slow down. It's amazing how fast 20 laps goes when you're having fun. Now the beauty of running laps and laps is you get into a rhythm and tick them off. First 5 miles done and I'm about 30-40 seconds too fast, I'll fix this on the next 5 miles.

Turn and run the other way round the track for one mile and then Garmin beeps and it's time to go again, turn, head into lane 1 and lift the pace.

Again mile 1 is perfect paced and then I get quicker and start running 10 secs a mile too fast. Colin scowls at me on most laps, sometimes he sticks his tongue out, sometimes he just looks really, really sad and needs a cuddle. Rep 2 done and again 30-40 seconds too quick.

Easy miles recovery in outside lanes and last rep about to start.

Turn and off I go. Mile 1 a bit too quick and from there it just gets faster but manageable and I feel really good. Give Colin's arse a squeeze as I pass to cheer him up a bit. 2 miles done and 3 left to go, that's just 12 more laps. 12 more laps to add to the 50 odd I've already done.

A 7:18 mile followed by a 7:17 mile and one left to go, lift the pace for the final 4 laps and knock out a 7:04 mile. Turn and head into outside lanes for my mile cool down and after 74 laps round and round and round it is all over.

I add a loop in to get home and make sure I clock just over 20 miles and that was a brilliant session, not convinced I'll ever do it again but it was weirdly enjoyable.

Apart from one thing, one thing today wasn't enjoyable.

There was a water bottle balancing on the steeplechase hurdle by the water jump and lap after lap I developed an overwhelming irrational hatred of it. Every time I ran past I wanted to punch it into the water jump, I convinced myself some kid had left it there and I was therefore allowed to punch it whenever I wanted. As it was I didn't give in to these thoughts and left it but some serious will power was employed here to run past it over 70 times.

I later discovered it was Matt's bottle and it now makes me laugh even more how funny it would have been if I did give into those thoughts and he saw me veer off the track and punch it.

Kind of wish I had now.

Bloody steeplechase balancing bottle mocking me.

Might go round Matt's later and walk into his kitchen and punch the bottle on the floor.

Home, shower and lie on the bed and eat pizza for breakfast.

Contemplated eating a slice in the shower but I resisted. Fell asleep on the bed for half an hour and woke up to the cat tapping my face, I think he thought I was dead and was deciding if he should eat me.

Then headed downstairs for a cup of coffee and it's time to lie on the settee with Murphy and watch Moana 2. Been saving this one until I had no distractions and nobody to come and talk to me, Gail's away for the weekend and the kids are all busy, do it's just me, Murphy and Moana.

And no I wasn't crying, my eyes are just a little sweaty today.

Oh and by the way, after 3 weeks my toenail on my right foot is still red from my sock dye. I fear it will never return to its usual colour.