Evening all - and WELL DONE to all you GNR runners, you marathon relay runners and, well, pretty much anyone who ran today... 
I had a quick lap around Richmond Park anti-clockwise today (the opposite direction this week) so I had to deal with the less steep but longer inclines this way around... My achilles/ankle has been a bit tender since the mile intervals on Friday but after a rest day it was feeling pretty good (not 100%) but it wasn't bothering me while walking so I thought I'd go out easy today and see how I got on...
5 minute warm up done and I'm off... achilles feels fine and I get into a good pace early on this one. Nice and slow, enjoying it and feeling fit today actually (you know - that feeling of "this is a decent pace and I don't feel like I'm overdoing it") and happy my training appears to be paying off. I'm getting better at this running thing and stronger!
The first 5 kilometres click over pretty fast (figuratively, I'm on a slow run today) and I demolish the first incline up Dark Hill pretty easily... it does go on a bit but today it's an easy paced run up... and a nice downhill all the way down "that hill"... nice to be going the other way today...
Up until about the 9km mark everything is going fine, even if it's getting a bit boring around the back of Richmond Park (it does get a bit monotonous at times) but I'm taking on fluid every kilometre and enjoying myself... nice and slow, don't mind being overtaken today (or ever really, but especially not today) and I'm into the uphill bit of the final few kms of the Richmond Park Parkrun...
Hmmm - what's that feeling in my left ankle? Ah - that'd be the achilles/ankle/tendon thing (it's not actually the achilles which is at the rear of my leg but it's in the gap between the achilles and my ankle bone that's sore)... Starting to complain a bit now - it's been good until now and hasn't bothered me at all...
Okay, drop the pace and I decided to ride this out to 10km and then gauge how I feel... it doesn't get worse but it's definitely having a bit of a moan at me pounding it so at 11km I decide it's "1 more kilometre" and then that's it for the day... I've got a 10K next week at the Zoo and I don't want to be in pain for that one...
The plan for the coming week is just a couple of 20-30 minute runs at an easy pace.. going to save the energy for running from the lions at London Zoo next Sunday!
After my run I went down to the finish line for the "marathon relay" that some people here ran in... good show and some nice sprint finishes in that lot! Then spent the rest of the day with the kids out and about on the bikes...
The ankle/achilles thing is a bit sore now but my shares in Ibuprofen have paid up and I'm not running again until Wednesday I don't think...
BUPA medical tomorrow - fitness test time! Woo hoo... bring it on! They won't recognise me this time... 21kg lighter, running at least 20km a week... it is a pity about the sore ankle though, but lucky that the fitness test is on a bike so I should be okay to do it...
Have a great week guys and girls!
Oh - time? 1:17...
need more medals!!!!
W6R2 - Much better today!
Aussie210K - The 7K Knee Test
