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Manchester, the second coming ...
Week 12

The week in numbers ...

Miles ran: 49
Mushrooms eaten : a few
Chocolate eaten: 2 creme eggs
Crisps eaten : 2 family sized bags of frazzles
Pizza eaten : one medium takeaway pizza
Wine drank: 1 bottle and lots of beers

Weight: Monday 10st13lb
Sunday 10st10lb

Monday 24th March

I have a stupidly busy day, my boss keeps booking too many appointments in for me, I'd speak to HR but he's just as bad.

Weighed myself this morning and I'm still under 11 stone, this is obviously due to the higher mileage I'm running but also because I'm a bit crap with eating properly sometimes. A family sized bag of Frazzles is nice but really not enough to sustain me for a day and whilst I like losing weight I know I need to be sensible as I need to fuel properly for the running.

I have 2 creme eggs for lunch today.

Tuesday 25th March

Another busy day and then it's track tonight, I'm not a big lover of the track and after running over 70 laps on it a couple of days ago it doesn't fill me with with much joy.

Head out for my usual 4 mile warm up, run to Cullercoats and then turn to head back and and stop at the Amusements to cross the road and then as I start to run again I get a sharp pain in my eight calf. It's a split second thing and then it aches as I run, now I never get calf issues and I'm running slow so not sure what this is all about. Decide as I run to the club to drop a group tonight as nothing to be gained from being an idiot and if I go in C team I get to run with Ben and as everyone knows me and Ben are basically like father and son. He likes me to call him Big Daddy Ben but it doesn't sit right with me, particularly when he makes me sit on his lap and say it.

Session is fine and I have a chatty one with Jon and calf doesn't pull but feels tight throughout. Home for a shower, some food and a lie on the settee wearing my compression boots to squeeze the life from my legs.

Wednesday 26th March

Easy run day today and I'm also at the hospital to get my dodgy eye checked over, so I've taken a half day and need to be in Newcastle for 8am.

Get to town, get my eye poked, prodded, dyed various colours, have air sprayed in them, have them photographed and scanned and have some bloods taken. I'm still blind but no blinder than I was before so that's a bonus I guess.

Have a wonder round Start Fitness and buy a t shirt and look at very expensive shoes but don't buy any, think about it, but I resist. Then a walk to Lush to get some bath bombs as I love a bath bomb and I'm not often in town to visit Lush. Pick up a couple of Minecraft ones, not because I'm a fan but I haven't had these ones before. Lady at the till asks me if they're for my kids, I proudly tell her they are for me and she laughs. Then she looks embarrassed and then I laugh.

Home, work and then decide I don't want to run today as my calf is still niggling and I need to be sensible Simon and not twat Simon.

Thursday 27th March

And here we are once again at threshold Thursday.

Today is a beast, it's 4 x 3 miles at threshold pace with static recoveries. I leave mine and head towards the seafront intending to do parkrun loops and as soon as I get near the prom I feel the wind and I just can't face it.

I turn and head inland and find myself once again at the track. Am I really doing this? Another track session? The third one in 5 days and this one's 12 miles of loops. Do a few warm up laps and the wind picks up for 100m down the bottom but the rest is fine and I'm doing it.

Start the first rep and get into sub 7 minute mile pace and feel pretty good. I just run until my watch beeps and occasionally check the pace and 20 minutes later the first set is done.

3 more to go.

Start the second one and again get quickly onto pace and feel fine, tick the miles off and keep the pace steady. I have this session on my marathon plan every time and I've never yet managed to do all 4 reps and usually get to 3 and feel wrecked and sack it off and convince myself thee is enough.

Second set done and about to start third.

Set 3 and here we go. Get into a rhythm and tick the first mile off. Mile two and my calf gives a little shout to remind me he's still not 100% but I keep going and mile two done and into the last mile and pick up the pace and then ease off the pace as I remember I have another 3 miles after this one.

Finish the third set and my calf instantly tightens when I stop running, I walk around the track to try and loosen it off and do a few gentle strides.

I know for the first time ever I can finish this session, I feel good and the pace is alright but...

I decide to call it a day and take a slow jog home, I have a long run this weekend and I can't risk doing something stupid after 12 weeks of training.

Home, work, walk to the club in the evening and then home for some more compression boots magic.

Friday 28th March

A nice easy day at work today, had a word with the boss and told him to sort his shit out.

Planning an easy 5 miles today and calf feeling much better.

Bit of work, an easy 5 that becomes a steady 7 miles and then home and have a bath to ease off the legs and of course they out a new bath bomb. I opt for the grass block bath bomb that looks like a square of turf dug out the garden. Drop it in the bath thinking or maybe hoping it'll turn the water green because it's called a grass block.

It turns the water shitty brown.

A filthy dishwater brown that does not look enticing.

It doesn't even smell. Shitty waste of four quid.

The red tnt bath bomb better make up for this.

Saturday 29th March

It's long run day once again.

I've got over yesterday's bath bomb disappointment and am instead looking forward to tonight tnt bath which I'm hopeful will be a red bath.

Anyway, plan today is upto Sluice and back, then to Cullercoats and up the coast road, turn and head back to get to parkrun at 18'ish miles for 9am and then lift the pace for a marathon pace parkrun or thereabouts.

Terrible night's sleep and awake from 5:30, up at 6 for some coffee and malt loaf and out the door at 6:35 to start my run. The sun is shining and I remember my sunglasses this time. Head to Sluice and just can't get into this run, pace is alright but it feels hard going. Head to Cullercoats and start heading inland directly into a headwind and it's grim.

Trying out some new gels, everyone raving about Kendal mint cake gels so I've got 4 to try out. One of them is chocolate flavour which doesn't fill me with confidence so I decide to take that one first and get it over with. Open it and smell it, it smells rank, squeeze it in my mouth and it tastes like a liquidised After Eight and not in a good way. It'd probably be nice on some ice cream but as a gel it's an enormous pile of shit.

Keep heading up the coast road and the wind is awful and I'm not enjoying it, before I know it it's time for another gel. I go for a citrus one but obviously it's citrus mint and whilst it's better than the last one it's not great and my stomach is starting to complain. Turn to head back and lift the pace a little and here we go again with a other gel, raspberry this time and it's alright.

Back on the coast, I'm absolutely buggered.

I'm heading to parkrun start and hoping there's a chance it's been cancelled, get to Turknaz and can't see anyone and my spirits are lifted and I can sack this run off, get a bit closer and oh shit. Parkrun is on and they've started and I'm still a few minutes away, last one starting again and boxed in by all the runners which isn't a bad thing as I can't be arsed so take this as an excuse to slow down and take it easy.

Lap one done and back on the prom and Garmin beeps for 20 miles and I decide to call it a day and not bother finishing and then Emily and Matt come past and I feel guilty so start again, get to the end of the prom and decide again I can't be arsed and stop and then JJ catches me and the Jamison brothers decide to finish it together.

Parkrun done, 21 miles done and I feel sick.

Convince myself it was a terrible run but it was still 21 miles and bang on the pace I wanted so if I can grind that when I don't feel like it, then that's a good sign.

Kendal Mint Cake gels can absolutely go fuck themselves. Chocolate gel, I mean who the hell in their right mind thought that was a good idea.

Night out at dirty habit in the evening and a few drinks consumed, I need to run a couple of miles tomorrow to hit 50 for the week. I obviously don't need to hit 50 miles for any reason other than the fact I want to but I'm predicting a hangover and no run.