I think part of the problem is that I really can't see how I can be fit enough to run the distance come April 17th. I seem to have had so many physiological issues since my operation that my legs seem to be permanently stiff and bits of them are so sore that I nearly hit the ceiling when I try to release the tight bits.
My training program is basically my Edinburgh one with the dates changed and a more structured interval session now that I have different days available for training. K is now at Guides not Brownies which gives me nearly two hours on a Thursday night which is definitely long enough for a mid length run.
I have started this week. Day 1 was a rest day and a good job because I was a bit jetlagged having flown over to Dubai!
My first run was along Dubai Marina. It is pancake flat which is perfect for me :) There were lots of people out running and powerwalking even though it was about 8am local time (4am for my UK body!). It's no wonder my legs did not want to move at all. Still, I forced them to do 4 miles and they coped okay. This is a picture of a building I saw en route:
Day 3: another 4 miles on the same route, but today's was much easier. Listening to an interview with Andi Jones on Marathon Talk inspired me because he manages to marathon train despite also being a full time teacher.
Day 4 and a switch to Abu Dhabi. Interesting to go in the car along the corniche which is like the promenade and see the parks wondering which of them would be suitable for the first parkrun Abu Dhabi. The corniche itself is set up for exercise with a dedicated cycle lane and traffic free paths which have exercise points on them with instructions for press ups etc at various points. Once I had negotiated the very busy road to get on to the corniche, I could run for 2.5 miles out without ever having to stop to cross a road. I could have run for another few miles I think, but this was a 5 miles easy run so I had to turn around and come back. My legs were heavy again this morning. There weren't as many runners out as in Dubai.
Day 5 and forced myself to get out this morning. I know I would have felt guilty later if I had not gone out. An easy 4 miles along the corniche again and that has made the first time I have done 4 days back to back training runs for well over a year. There were more runners out this morning and a few families following the fitness points things which was lovely to see. My achilles is sore, but hopefully that will ease off. I know I will need to get a physio appointment pretty soon though if I am to stand any chance of being fit.
What has surprised and annoyed me is my lack of speed. My legs just feel so heavy. I am hoping that it is the jetlag and tiredness rather than a permanent lack of speed. I am taking an extra day off this week and not doing the 3 mile tempo tomorrow morning. Partly because I think my legs need a break and partly because it is New Year's Eve and I expect to be out to see 2011 in...
These are pictures from the corniche. The building in the background of the second one is the Emirates Palace where they did have the world's most expensive Christmas tree. We went to see it yesterday, but they had already started taking it down in preparation for NYE!
TOTAL MILES: 23.3
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