Fitter, stronger

Day:         46
Distance: 9.19km
Time:       49:51 secs
Calories:  708

It's looking likely that this will be the first week in which I don't manage to fit in at least four runs. This means that I need to choose between two different types of run from the Guardian's training plan. Do I go with the "60 mins including 8 x 1 min hill climbs" or the "50 mins 10 mins steady 25 mins tempo 15 mins steady"?

I decide to go with the latter, on the assumption that the prescribed changes in tempo will be more beneficial to my fitness. I used to go to circuit training at a local gym and I always remember the trainer's insistence at these sessions that circuits "will make you fitter, they will make you stronger". While this is not circuit training, the changes in tempo mean that it's in a similar kind of ball park.

It all started so well. I was pleased to find that the heaviness in my legs that I felt on Tuesday's run was no longer there as I set off with the sound of "Bubbles" by Biffy Clyro in my ears. Run Keeper shows that in the first ten minutes I was averaging around 5:45 min/km. As dictated by the training plan, my pace quickened considerably after the first ten minutes. For the next ten minutes I was pounding the pavements at an average speed of around 4:30 per km - quite a step up from the 'steady' pace I had started with.

Everything was going swimmingly until around 4 kilometres in when I hit Chadwick Road (where I used to live, incidentally), which is basically one long hill. The two previous kilometres had been nailed in 4:41 min/km and 4:35 min/km, respectively, while the kilometre that covered Chadwick Road took around a minute longer (5:34 min/km) and this was supposed to be part of my "25 mins tempo". Even though the hill did eventually end I was unable to regain the pace that I had been running at previously and, to make matters worse, around 30 mins into the run I developed a stitch. This is the first time in nearly 7 weeks of marathon training in which I've had a stitch. I'm not sure what brought it on, but I managed to run it off after a couple of minutes.

Suffice to say, by the time I got back to the flat I was shattered and looked like an absolute sweaty mess but I think this run and, in particular, the inclusion of the hill will have really helped make me both fitter and stronger. At least, I hope it will have.