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P&D Autumn Marathon 2019
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Joe...good read about Edinburgh.
Chicksta...all the best with the Berlin campaign, you've certainly started well.
GBRM...welcome.
Spoons...that's a good parkrun time, and good to see you're back up to 80 odds a week, and feeling good.
NE...very good speed session.
SQ...glad you'd a nice time away, photos looked class. Excellent half time in less than ideal conditions, and esp running most of it on your own. Always class to place, well done.
HPR...Gdansk nice? Your right, save the digging deep motivation wise for the plan, the base building between plans should be about running for fun.
Steve...same as me, my 12 week half maar plan started this morning. Best of luck with yours.
Macca...congrats on the 10k pb, super. Sorry to hear about your knee, but definitely the right decision to call it quits, as you say you've had a phenomenal spring, no point wrecking yourself now.
HA77...glad the cold and ankle have sorted themselves.
Jools...a 21.0x is not a bad effort at all, especially when you're only getting back into it, and the grounds soaking.
Millsy...huge congratulations on the 100 miler, that is a super time and position...just amazing.
AWC...brilliant to see, massive congrats, all the hard work has paid off, that is a mighty time over a 100 miler, completely mad, but mighty. Really well done.
TR...class run in Yeovil, really well done. You've rightly put Brighton to bed with that. Its an even better result that you ran within yourself as well, bodes very well for Abingdon.
Last week for me was all about ticking the miles off, and base building. Had Monday off as i was still slightly under the weather after the champions league final, my teams don't often get to finals, so when they do i celebrate
As i said to Steve, the 12 week plan for the Great North Run started today (its actually a 13 week plan, as i'm in Menorca 1 of the weeks, so doubling that week in case i miss any sessions, and so that i can enjoy my holiday without worrying too much about hitting every session). Following the P&L 12 week up to 100 mile plan, so will be interesting to see how i go, as it'll be the biggest weekly mileage i'll have ever run. Starts off nice an easy though, with a 6 and 4 recovery runs today. 6 ticked off this morning with no issues, on a nice morning as the sun was out...what better way to start a plan.
Millsy - Brilliant time. Maybe you're really suited to 100 milers. I imagine the "never again" thoughts will fade after a while.
AWC - Great race. At the faster end of your goal range, while managing knee pain - sounds like more to come. Awesome.
Macca - Bad luck about the knee, hopefully you can get over it soon enough and get back out there.
TR - Great to get under 3. Thoroughly deserved after you couldn't properly focus on Brighton. Well done.
SQ - Nice podium spot. Good time too, given the conditions, solo run and undulating course. Hope you've found a prominent place to display the trophy. Mine all seem to find their way into my wardrobe.
Nothing special over the weekend for me, just a couple of easyish runs. Due to a later than planned start this morning, only did a 3 mile hilly tempo. It's a start.
My brother in law is keen on doing a marathon in Autumn and entered Bournemouth. I told him I'd run as well so we could make the trip down together and entered it last week. Then yesterday he got scared off by the elevation profile so he's changed his mind and will probably do Chester instead, so I might have to opt out of Bournemouth and switch to Chester.
Congrats on the 10K PB Macca, great stuff. I’m surprised the WAVA matches up, I’d have thought a 2:44 marathon was worth more than 36:52 at 10K. But I suppose that reflects that speed at shorter distances declines first as you age? Bad luck on dropping out, hope the injury is nothing too serious. Sounds like you’re taking it well, great attitude - you have indeed had an incredible few months!
That sky high HR sounds all too familiar Jooligan, welcome to my world! In my experience, keep at it, and after weeks of questioning if you’ll ever be fit again it will eventually start to settle…
Glad the ankle is ok HA.
Always funny how we can bash out lots of miles fine, Chicksta, but a bit of gym work is so tough!
Huge congratulations Millsy, superb time for a debut. Lots of people say that after a marathon, let’s see how you feel in a few days
Great work too AWC, toughing it out after sustaining an injury must be so hard. Congrats.
Congrats on going sub-3 again TR, superb. Great confidence booster that you ran a little within yourself too - look forward to seeing what you can do at Abo.
Well done again on the podium SQ.
I used that exact plan a few years ago Hamo, and got big 10K, 10M and HM PBs from it, so hopefully it serves you well.
Decent weekend for me. Breezy, damp conditions made parkrun a bit of a slog, and I got round in 19:28. I was hoping for more, but to be fair if I was running a session around Pitchcroft alone (which I basically was for most of it) I’d have probably been quite happy with that pace given the wind. On the positive my pace/HR for the warm-up and warm-down was very good.
Yesterday the legs were feeling surprisingly good so I decided I’d try my long run at my traditional “moderate” effort rather than the easy effort I’ve been aiming for lately while I’ve been building back up. I ended up averaging 7:01/mi over 20 miles, with the HR right around where it should be. Looking back that’s my fastest regular long run (i.e. not one with MP or tempo sections) since before Manchester. Really happy with that, especially with the parkrun the day before, and at the end of a 91 mile week.
Nice to feel like I’m starting to get somewhere. Weirdly my legs feel the best they have in ages off the back of my biggest week in 3 months. All that S&C and yoga must be finally paying off. Cut back week now, ahead of the Stone 10K on Sunday. Hopefully I can put in a better performance than Pitchcroft a few weeks ago!
AWC - good to see your build up rewarded with a good day too. Hopefully you can rest up a bit now.
Macca - sorry to hear that, but youve had a great spring so far.
SQ - you are still in good shape, nice one, esp do soon after your hols.
HA - bournemouth has a couple of later hills, but its still under 300ft of ascent (similar to abo ?). Wind would be more of a worry.
Thanks for the good wishes, it tskes a runner t understand the pursuit of some arbitrary numbers which mean nothing to the everyday person.
AWC - Hitting the top end of your target while managing the injury, really great work.
Macca - Sorry to hear about the DNF. I hope you can concentrate on the awesome run of results you've had this year. Hopefully the injury is nothing serious and you'll be back soon.
TR - Well done on the sub 3. Superb comeback after the disappointment of Brighton.
SQ - well done on the podium, obviously family holidays and overindulging on the buffet work well for you!
Jools - I agree that the rest has probably done you good. My HR takes a couple of weeks to settle down after having a break. Even when I dropped from 50 one week to 23 the next I noticed the difference the next few runs.
Chicksta - Very solid training, I hope the 8@MP went well.
Spoons - Good that things are coming back for you now.
Hamo - it will be interesting to see what you can do in the half. You took so well to the marathon plan, with the increase in mileage as well I predict very good things.
SteveMac - Absolute consistency from you, another weekend, another run and bike combo.
HA - you have to start somewhere. I did a bit of research on Bournemouth about 3 years ago and most complained about the wind on the seafront. I didn’t realise it was particularly undulating.
48 miles across 6 days last week. As mentioned to Jools, my HR had gone haywire after only running 23 miles the week before. Although I was on a stag the end of that week so it could also have been because of 3 days non stop drinking and a 5:30am bed time or 2. I’m going to hit parkrun on Saturday to get a fitness benchmark. I’m not expecting great things, but anything around 20 mins would put me ahead of the start of my last training block already. Weight status is - still fat, but trending thinner.
I had a 257 pace band, and dont remember at any time being ahead of it, but was never far behind, i knew the markers would be erratic and the course would be bumpy, and i went by feel a lot.
Was ticking along comfortably, although the outside of my quads were both aching. But i stuck with the plan of gels, luco, keeping it easy and after 8m a saw a few runners ahead. I slowly wound them in after around 13m, and whilst my legs werent happy i was comfy and ticking along nicely. But kept thinking that if my legs dont improve, then im stuffed in the later stages. "Oh well, keep doing the right things and get as far as you can before the legs give up".
I was still not far behind the 2.57 pace and getting further round the course. Very aware that theres quite a bit of uphill from 20 ish to 24, i saw at 21m that i had around 38mins to do the last 5.2. I felt ok and felt like i was running strongly, the effort was getting harder but i wasnt slowing (in my mind), and was over taking the odd person.
I had a bit of a worrying hammy twinge but it eased and i kept going. 2 runners went past around 23m going well and i thought that if i attach my elastic to them theyd drag me to a sub3, but i got a hammy twinge and had to ease up. But this eased too and i then remember thinking i had 10mins to get home when i got to 25m. So if i didnt cramp it was on like donkey kong. No more cramps and through the line in 2.58.13. Not far behind the estimated 2.57. So happy days.
Happy to go sub3, happy to right last years Yeovil DNF (hammy issues), and confident of going quicker at Abo. Got a bit of a reminder in staying in the game, and not focussing on the finish until the later stages.
Really chuffed for you TR, I was a bit worried as conditions were pretty varied with very localised stormy downpours & gusty winds up this end.
Top result SQ and a great time on a tough course with stormy weather too.
Millsy - just 😎
AWC cracking time. My only Ultra was 52 miles in 10:30. No way I could have done any more. The final 10K took me about 70 minutes if IIRC!
Macca sorry to hear you’ve finally broken down. Some awesome performances beforehand though.
Spoons: decent weekend from you.
7.5M along the canal today. 8:4x pace again but 6 bpm lower in spite of the extra mile. Guess my body was in shock last week 🤣
Spoons...it's nice to see a positive experienced review of the plan. Nice long run.
HPR...very good weekly mileage, esp off 6 days. Even better effort at the stag do, 5.30 bed times deserve kudos
TR...good write up about a very well executed race.
Jools...nice run this morning, good to see the HR trending down.
10M GA for me this morning, was fine if not uneventful. Strangely looking forward to the first session of the plan tomorrow morning. I have never ran a split LT effort, so it will be interesting to see how it feels - 18 mins, 4 mins jog, 12mins is the goal.
Really excited to see what you’ll achieve on 100M/week, Hamo. Best of luck.
Ticking over nicely there, Steve.
HA – I’ll allow myself until this evening to leave the trophy on show. Then it is firmly in the cupboard/used as a kid’s game/prize. You know that Chester gets my +1, although it’s not the flattest in the world.
Good luck with tomorrow’s session, spoons. Certainly wouldn’t have fancied grass track this morning!
Enjoyed the report, TR. A really well executed race. Enjoy the moment.
Good to hear you’re building again, HPR. Look forward to seeing how the parkrun goes.
As we all said, Jooligan, the HR will soon return to normal. Good to see Blaison 10k is on the Glos AAA series. The series hadn’t really crossed my mind until I realised I had done, or am entered into quite a few. It will be far too competitive for me to place in the series, but good fun none the less. Is it something you have focused on (or your club) in the past?
Last week seemed to go well – 80M accumulated through lots of doubles and almost all recovery pace. Continuing that theme this week, other than two planned races. Legs felt well recovered yesterday morning with spoons, but then by lunch felt especially stiff. Recovery in the afternoon seemed to help and this morning’s strides will help to sharpen things up a little. The deluge of rain is making me realise how lucky we were over winter and spring.
Hamo: You'll really fly on 100M/wk I reckon
2 little doubles for me today 5K & 5.6K HR continuing to trend downwards. Below 1200 beats per mile this afternoon - still about 150 higher than I'd expect.
Fantastic performances at the SDW - I didn't find the on-map tracker but kept track of 142 on the results page, as he passed through the latter part of the race. Goodness knows how you keep that pace going Millsy! I didn't know your numbers AWC (brilliant time too) and Macca (unlucky... and hope you recover well).
TR - superb. Inspirational for the over 50s!
Chiksta - Sounding like you're taking this pretty seriously!
Spoons... Big mileages building - so is performance! 7 min miles for 20 miles is pretty decent!
Quads... great race report and great performance in Market Harborough. Wonder if you'll be doing that 10K tomorrow!
hamo... big plans. Good luck.
Noce pme HPR... I think you put your finger on the reason for the high HR!
Glad you;ve been having a break Jooligan. And whilst 21min might not be your best time... 3rd place suggests it was a good run.
After agonising about the SW50, I decided to enter, an hour before it closed. So Sunday (2 weeks before the race) I did a 4hr run... 21m with 3000ft of elevation. So taper time... but I've no idea what I'm tapering from. Certainly not training! I feel I've done just enough to maintain enough fitness from the marathon in early May... and just enough hills to give me some confidence.
Jools...Glad to see the trend continuing downwards, took me a second to realise that was beats per mile though, not beats per minute, thought your heart was going a dinger at first glance
NE...fair play to ya, you certainly cut it close with the entering. You'll definitely have maintained a good level of fitness from early May, so it will be no bother to you. That long run with that elevation is bound to be a good confidence builder. Enjoy your taper
I had my first LT run of the plan this morning; 11m with 18 mins, 4 jog, 12 mins at LT pace. First time i've ever split a LT run so it was a new experience, not sure which i prefer, constant LT pace a la marathon plan, or the split version, i just know that the 2nd block of time is hard work. Happy with how it came out though, 18 mins at an average pace of 5.36 m/m, and 12mins averaged 5.40 m/m. Faster than id planned (5.45s), but felt like the right effort level...i think
Loads of great stuff going on, but special mention on a few;
The 3 centurions. Cracking effort chaps, really really impressive. Millsy - looks like you were very close to my good mate Chris Lamb from the club for large parts of the day. Macca - really sorry it didn't work out this time mate, but we'll let you off as you've done a few of these before and have had a fairly ridiculous year performance wise.
SQ - congrats on the podium in the half, top work.
And last but not least, TR. Was really made up for you when I saw the result, nothing more than you deserved after some bad luck in Brighton. Sub 3 at 50+ is some going! Nice one.
Got a club relay event tonight in Richmond park - 4 x 2.5 miles or so, should be a laugh, but will highlight how unfit I've got.
Pre-Race
The 6am start in Winchester was wet + miserable so it was a subdued start. Temperatures were low and rain forecast to clear so I felt that my target range of 21-23 hrs was well within my sights. Nice to meet Millsy for the first time!
Winchester -> Queen Elizabeth Country Park (0-22.6mi)
This section flew past surprisingly quickly and I found myself at QECP in no time, meeting my crew (my Dad and 6yo daughter Sophie), which was a great boost.
QECP -> Cocking (22.6-35.1mi)
Ran with Macca for a bit in this section. A few big climbs at Harting Downs and Cocking Hill meant I was starting to feel my legs a bit. Coming down a steep hill into Cocking Aid Station I felt uncomfortable running downhill on my left knee so I assumed I had just overdone it on the downhill.
Cocking -> Washington (35.1-54.0mi)
Heading out of Cocking Aid Station the rain started again and this time it was heavy which meant the jackets were out again, and the squally heavy showers persisted for a bit.
Washington Aid Station is the main aid at 54 miles in a village hall and I passed Millsy heading out and looking super strong! They had hot pasta on offer so I quickly wolfed that down me, whacked on some Vaseline and stocked up on other bits of food for the next section.
My Dad and daughter left for home at this stage with Dad planning to return later. Knowing they were disappearing, and that my knee was sore added to the mental rollercoaster that I was about to embark upon over the next few hours.
Washington -> Saddlescombe Farm (54.0-66.6mi)
A few miles after leaving Washington I realised that my knee was deteriorating quickly, which lead to me having my first doubts about whether I could continue. The downward spiral continued until I reached the Botolphs aid station at 61mi where the volunteer encouraged me that I looked good and was well up the field.
I pushed on up the next big hill and got running again, uncomfortably, but fairly well over the next section, but then things started falling apart badly. My knee really hurt, I felt really emotional, and I didn’t know if I could, or even if I wanted to continue. I was beginning to lose the mental battle big style.
So I did the only thing that I could think of, and that was to break this down to the smallest element and take it from there. I couldn’t think about the next aid station, or even the end of the next mile. My brain could only cope with putting 1 foot in front of the other with Confucius ringing in my ear – “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” I had become a single step on the trail.
But that got me going mentally – I kept counting; 1,2,3,4 in my head with each step and continued that rhythm for a couple of hours. It was rhythmic, therapeutic, soothing – its hard to imagine something so simple could be so powerful. This race had broken me to bits, but it hadn’t finished me off, yet.
Saddlescombe Farm -> Southease (66.6-84.0mi)
The 10 mile Saddlescombe to Housedean Farm section was one of the toughest. Whilst I was back running and believing in myself again, I was still really struggling so that I could only shuffle downhill. Luckily I could attack the uphills so I ran them as hard as I could, knowing I would have a slow recovery down the other side.
Southease -> Alfriston (84.0-91.6mi)
Got a real lift from seeing my Dad at Southease Aid Station, and whilst 16 miles was still a long way, I could now get my head around the distance a bit more easily.
I had been running on and off with a guy, who had now started to become a bit of a drain on me mentally and said he was planning a death march home to Eastbourne. I thought to myself I didn’t come here to walk 15 miles to Eastbourne, so I said my good byes and headed off into the darkness.
Saw my Dad again at 89mi for a quick change of baselayer, then wished him well knowing that I would now see him in Eastbourne in 11 miles time. By now my knee had stabilised really well and was only sore on the really sharp downhills. My mood had lifted noticeably now and I was enjoying racing again.
Alfriston -> Eastbourne (91.6-100.0mi)
I arrived at Alfriston Aid Station in no time and saw a sign saying 4 miles to Jevington and 4.5 miles further to Eastbourne – now I started to get excited again and could think about the finish! I was really helped by one of the guys here, who when he heard about my knee problems, talked me through the rest of the course. Well that raised my spirits further knowing there was only 1 tricky downhill to tackle. The next 3 gentle downhill miles felt great and I was loving running again.
I was quickly checked in and out of Jevington Aid Station and on to the final 4.5 miles. Long uphill and the following downhill was tough – steep rutted gulley to shuffle down, but as soon as I got to the bottom I was on the phone to my Dad to make sure he was awake at the finish as I was be arriving there shortly, and much quicker than expected!
Because I had been focused on 1 step at a time for hours now and not thinking about my finish time at all I had completely lost track of time. I had in my head it was 4am and I would be finishing around 22hrs which I was astonished at given how bad it felt the race had gone from 55-80 miles.
As I’m running round the track in Eastbourne I keep thinking its awfully dark for 4am I was checking my watch and I saw 03:02am and wondered to myself why my watch was out by an hour. Needless to say my brain had been so screwed that it had utterly rejected the notion that 21hrs was remotely possible, but no in fact it was 03:03am and I’d finished in 21 hours. Unbelievable!
Final Thoughts
I’m still in a bit of disbelief. That was much tougher than my first 100 miler. Mentally I had to find something inside me that I’d never been asked for before. The feeling of wanting to drop out of the race was so powerful at times that I’m not sure how I managed to resist it. Somehow I never gave up and somehow as bad as it felt, it never affected my race performance.
OFFICIAL TIME: 21HR 03MIN 09SEC
Sorry to hear you're still not 100% JB. Least you can be in no doubt about what to expect at Challenge Roth - a world of pain
Another 7.5 for me today at 8:16 pace HR was slightly up again 1233 BpM but still loads better than Monday's effort.
Hamo - speedy running there, ive done a few BAC sessions and the long reps can be tough mentally.
SQ - is your trophy still on display, i got one sunday too, mine will be moved on and put away soon no doubt.
AWC - cracking race and report, shows how much of it is a mental game. I bet yr dad was proud at the finish ? I was with you on the counting out steps sunday when i was trying to keep my mind quiet.
Cheers Joe, i hope you enjoy your day at Roth still. Sunday i thought of you cheering me at Brighton when i was struggling into the wind with the sub3 drifting away, the thought of possibly having to wear another 3:0X through the summer was a motivating force late on.
Well done on the V50 win and trophy, TR. Goes to show what a great performance it was.
Good to see the steady improvements coming, Jooligan.
Strong long run, NE. No doubt motivated by your entry.
Super split LT, Hamo. Whilst the second section is tough, I certainly found the sessions more mentally manageable that one big chunk at pace.
You do yourself a disservice, Joe. Years of consistent training are behind you. Be positive, and you could really enjoy Roth. It is meant to be an awesome experience.
Cirencester Sizzler 10k last night. Less sizzle, more damp squib - both the weather and me, to a certain extent. Really cool race in that it is entirely within the private polo grounds and estate. So mostly excellent road surfaces, zero traffic, nice views and lots of support. The information about the race was limited, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Even so, I was mightily impressed they attracted 800 entries on a wet mid-week evening. Went off reasonably hard downhill, with a 5:40 opening mile. Shocked at how big the resulting uphill was - especially tough as it was arrow straight, meaning you could see the top from a long way off. Sat 8-10th the whole way round, with the inevitable fade coming in the last third. My hamstring was a little tight, and I wasn't fully psyched up for it. The legs wouldn't have been fully fresh after the weekend's half, but I was determined to enjoy myself nonetheless. Finished with an epic sprint off (definitely not my strength as spoons will testify), with 37:26 good enough for 9th/680 finishers. Nicely there was a choice of momento at the end - medal, small bag or cap. As it was raining I went for the hat. My wife pointed out how Trump like it looks - 'making athletics great again' as someone quipped on strava.
Struggled to sleep all evening, but enjoyed a rainy 7M recovery this morning. The crash and burn is coming.
Nice mileage HPR, hope the calf is ok and good luck for parkrun.
Great report TR. Very true about staying in the game, although easier said than done!
Congrats on the trophy too.
Glad the HR is already stabilising Jooligan. Your talk of beats per mile inspired me to check my stats, which I’ve been avoiding lately as they’d be too depressing. Pleasingly, this week is my best week since the end of February, finally making some progress!
Last minute ultra, love it NE.
Great LT run Hamo, always tough. I agree with SQ though, I’d take a split one over one long slog any day.
Good to hear from you Joe, sorry you’re still struggling. Look at how quickly you got back to fitness earlier this year though - you’ll soon be back up there.
Excellent report AWC. Well done for toughing it out, must have been so hard. Superb result. Really nice your dad was out there supporting all night too, legend indeed.
Decent performance SQ given you weren’t going all out, nice work.
I had my best canal ten for a while on Tuesday, averaging 7:20/mi and feeling great, despite wind, rain, and so many puddles I might as well have been in the canal at times. The weather thankfully calmed a little for 800m intervals yesterday, although I stuck to the riverside path as the grass track would have been a bit soft and slippy.
All six were between 2:47 and 2:54 depending on the wind, with an average of 2:51. Hard to compare them to previous weeks given change in surface, conditions, no SQ to drag me around, and the fact these were GPS measured, but decent enough I think.
My recovery week can now actually start to look like one now - just a few shorter runs and some strides before Stone 10K on Sunday. Not sure what to expect, last year I just managed to sneak under 38 minutes, so it would be nice to do that again. Might be a bit ambitious given I only just managed to break 40 a few weeks ago, but I do seem to have made a jump in fitness, so we’ll see…
AWC...Class report, really enjoyed reading that. You should feel rightly proud, that is an excellent (full) days work. Sounds shockingly tough, but fair play to you on toughing it out and winning the mental battle. I agree, though i would say that photo shows the effort you'd put in. Just mighty.
Jools...the miles are building up again nicely.
SQ...very good 10k, quick time and a top 10 place, cant be bad to that, especially after the weekend, really well done.
13 soaking wet miles for me this morning, felt like i was swimming more than running for most of it. To be followed up by 5 recovery miles this afternoon, fingers crossed it drys up.
AwC - im sure he was very proud. He'll remember that weekend for a long time.
Spoons - goid that you can feel a lift in fitness, hope yr 10k goes well.
Hamo - hope you got a dry run in this evening.
Steve - you are back to the sessions quickly.
Back to it with 5m easy peasy pace.
That's the way TR. Keep it easy this week.
I did my first session since Brighton today. It hurt but in a good way
Really good reps, spoons. Best of luck for Sunday.
Really good LT there, Steve. I'd definite struggle to hit that pace solo at the moment.
Yeovil sounds like a perfect fit for you, TR. Sounds like my cup of tea as well, although a slightly odd time of year.
Well done on the session, Jooligan. I can't believe for a moment that the elevation put you off given your fell running
Standard 'Tuesday' legs for me - whilst the calves aren't at all sore, just generally a bit fatigued. So a recovery double yesterday and hopefully again today. I don't mind running int he rain at all, but it is getting a bit wearing whilst doing it on such saturated grass. Might have to break all the rules and start doing recoveries on road/pavement.
No doubt a touch unwise, but I think I will enter Bourton Hilly Half this Sunday. I have a Father's Day pass to do a race that the family will come to support, so that is too good to turn down. Although three races in a week is a ridiculous step up for me, I'll go and have fun.
AWC - Great report. Sounds like a real struggle at times, so to come in at 21 hrs is amazing. You don't look too battered in the photo, all things considered. I bet your dad was proud. I like the brain fade coming into the finish. I can't imagine many people would be thinking straight at 3am at the end of 100 miles.
Joe - Shame you're still struggling. Hopefully you can enjoy Roth with no pressure.
Good running everyone else.
I'm really struggling at the moment. 17 miles this morning and struggled at 7:25/mile. I wanted to make it an easy run and not worry about the pace but despite being slow it was a struggle the whole way. Heavy and ploddy and generally not enjoyable, which is pretty typical of my running the past couple of weeks. I feel like I'd struggle to run 5km at MP at the moment. Thinking of booking in to see a Dr and get some blood tests done just to check. Then again, maybe it's just in my head and I need to snap out of it.