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Tour de Newport Training: Week 7

After a week of less runs and less miles, it’s time to get back into it. This week sees a slight increase in the morning miles with 8, 6 and 7 mile runs followed by 22-24 miles on Saturday and 1h 45m on Sunday.

Tuesday – 8 Miles

Last week ended with a little uncertainty after taking a fall on some rocks and bashing both knees. The right knee had a little swelling and was sore to touch much like a bruising and the other knee was just sore to touch. Walking and cycling on Monday didn’t cause any issues so there was a chance that I’d be able to run on Tuesday.

Up and out at 0400 as usual and I didn’t encounter any issues at all with the knees although towards the end the right knee, whilst feeling fine, was reminding me that it had taken a knock recently. As for the foot, that’s still an issue towards the end of a run although still isn’t interfering.

Overall the run was enjoyable and for ease I took my usual 7 mile route with a bit tagged on to make up the extra mile.

Distance: 8 Miles

Wednesday – 6 Miles (Speed)

I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about a 4am speed session (neither was I enthusiastic the last time I did one) but wanted to make an effort so headed to the Riverfront for a loops session. The first rep didn’t feel particularly speedy but on the second I was starting to feel more into it. All it needed was a bit of a warm up to wake the body up.

The other 10 reps also didn’t feel very speedy but over the 10k distance my pace was decent (for me) and finished in under 45 minutes (if you ignore the time to take an obligatory photo for Strava). As I was had a mile warm up and rest in between each rep I could probably knock a couple of minutes of that time.

Post-run the Garmin watch notifies you how well the training is going and for the first time it gave me a Peaking status which indicates ‘race ready’. Not sure what race it thinks I’m training for! Reading up about the status I believe it takes into account the recovery week I had last week.

First time I’ve seen the Peaking post-run status on my Garmin Watch

Distance: 6.22 Miles

Thursday – 7 Miles

A pretty standard run this morning and out early with the police patrol cars, taxis and early shift workers (I did see another mad runner out at 0425).

I followed the usual Somerton 7 route for the 7 mile run which is nice and easy, minimal hills and due to the time of day no stopping at junctions.

The knee is still sensitive to touch, and a little achy after sitting down at a desk, but thankfully it appears that there’s nothing more than bruising. As for the foot, well, that’s just continuing to be ‘there’.

Rest day tomorrow and then a long run in England — my first trip across the border for a running adventure this year.

Distance: 7 Miles

Saturday – 22-24 Miles

Long run day and I’ve been planning this one all week. The training plan was for 22 miles but I feel as though I’m a little ahead in the plan and plotted a 24 mile route with an option to run to 26 miles if things felt good.

I started at Weston-super-Mare railway station then headed to the seafront to take some photos. The route then headed back in the direction of Bristol and after around 4 miles i encountered the M5 which proved tricky to get across. There may well have been a path the would have taken me over to the other side but I couldn’t find one. This meant a detour of a couple of miles to a point where I could cross it and then rejoin the road to Bristol.

The next 10 or so miles along the busy A370 to Bristol were uneventful until I reached mile 19 and experienced a colostomy bag leak. I had brought a spare with me so quickly changed it and carried on. Just two miles later the bag started to leak again and I didn’t have another spare! Luckily it was only a small leak so I was able to plug it with some wet wipes.

The final 5 miles were downhill and flat and worried about the bag leaking further I picked dip the pace to get finished as soon as possible.

I arrived at my destination (the Small Bar) in 4h 16 mins which was I was pleased with considering I stopped twice to deal with the bag and took photos along the way. The pace was fairly consistent throughout and the legs were feeling good which is sign that the training is working.

Distance: 26.2 Miles

Sunday – 1h 45m

TdN – Week 7, Run 5
I was meant to run for 1h 45 minutes today but after running the marathon yesterday I opted to run a bit less and go for just an hour. To make things easy I headed to Redwick for the 1.9 mile loop.

The legs were surprisingly feeling ok and to make the most of the shorter run I picked up the pace a little and managed 7.7 miles in the hour.

Considering I had taken a fall last Sunday and knocked both knees, I managed to complete a great week of training with the overall mileage of 55 miles on track with the plan.

Next week’s mileage drops a little and with the second COVID vaccine on Thursday there’s a chance that I may only get the midweek runs done. I’m hoping that it doesn’t knock me for six like the first one.

Distance: 7.7 Miles (1 hour)

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I once didn't run, then I started to run and got addicted. Then Crohn's Disease put a stop to my running adventures. Now I'm back with a new bum (colostomy) and starting to embark on new running adventures.

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