Monday: Gym Session: All body Strength + Rower Interval Sprints + 20 min swim + 6 mile cycle to work

Tuesday: 12 mile cycle + 5.5 mile run easy pace

Wednesday: 6 mile cycle home

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 4.6 mile easy pace – heart wasn’t in it but body wanted to run

Saturday: Park Run Richmond Park 5K in 24:40

Sunday: Turbo X Challenge 10 mile muddy trail run – 1:39

Total November miles: 56/100

Apologies for the lateness of this latest roundup but the end of last week and the beginning of this one have been particularly hectic.

Week 4 on the Road To Brighton was all about Bordon in Hampshire – Sunday 17th was my big muddy trail run. So although I was following a marathon training plan my focus was to be in condition for Sunday. Because of this I switched a ‘Race Pace’ session for an easy run but added a 5K sprint on the Saturday. There were two… no. Three reasons for doing this.

1. Felt a bit guilty about missing my race pace session
2. Wanted to engage my fast twitch muscles before race day
3. Richmond Park is my new local Park Run and I wanted to give it a run – because I could

ParkRun was lots of fun, a smidge under 300 runners turned up on the chilly Saturday morning, but the weather – although colder – was better than the previous week. I started near the back, because I was unsure of the pace of the group, and found that this sabotaged my first mile, as I had to weave in and out of slower runners. But I had never run this particular 5K course before so I wasn’t too miffed – I am familiar with the different parts of the route but I have never run them as a course all together, over 5K. My goal was to set a time to beat for the next run. I was aware that the last time I ran a 5K (late September) I ran it in 23:37 so I also knew my potential. All this is moot. I am happy with the time I ran – although slower than my current PB it was still pacey and I know that next time I can begin my final push a few hundred meters earlier than this time.

With this ran, I was all set for Sunday morning – the borden course was epic and I will write a proper race report soon. The photo below is a taster of what is to come….

A month in and the training is going well. I am feeling strong, fit and I also feel like I am making progress. Going into week 5 I am a little battered, bruised and sore for the weekend but I have some exciting challenges on the horizon. The Mudman Duathalon is less than a month away and at the end of Week 5 I have the WriteThisRun conference. There are some additional sporting surprises in week 5 too, but I will save them for later.

Happy running!