It rained!!

Still trying to figure out why I can't run as fast as I think I should be running.

• Am I aiming too high? Don't think so - I have ran plenty of miles inside 5:30 already this year but haven't beat 5:45 for what seems like weeks now.
• Am I overtrained? Don't think so, I am still running 6 days per week as I have most of the year but way way less mileage than I was Jan-April
• Am I ill? I was slightly poorly for a couple of weeks, but it was only a lingering cold and annoying cough - hardly a cause for hospitalisation.

As further demonstration of how I am currently behind the pace I was managing earlier in the year...

A few weeks ago I ran 800 metres on the track (as part of a longer session) in 2mins 30 secs. Tonight I ran four, 800metre reps at just 5:25 pace. Mile reps should be coming in at just inside 5:30 so I'm scarcely managing the pace for half a mile that I should do a mile in.

Also tonight I ran 4 by 400metres. The four added together took me exactly 5 minutes. I was heading for a much quicker average pace than that for these reps but was only taking 30 seconds recovery which consequently made me REALLY slow for the last couple as the lactic coursed through my system.

My reasoning behind taking such short recovery between tonight's reps was really just to try something different from the more usual 90 seconds or more between efforts. I also ran a one mile rep tonight (scarcely inside 6 mins but it was the uphill direction). The way I worked it was to take a minimum of 5 minutes walking rest between each 'mile of effort'. So it was like 4 miles of reps broken up into shorter efforts.

With a bit of luck I will gradually speed up again over the next few weeks. As long as I continue training hard I should be maintaining fitness even if the lack of pace indicates otherwise.

No need to run up Foule Crag in the race

To avoid the inevitable disappointment of not running a 34 min 10k at next weeks evening race (possibly not even a 35 the way things have been recently), I will run in the Blencathra fellrace instead. I last ran it in 2009 so it will be interesting to see how I do after the three year gap (with probably 30 or more training ascents of the mighty Blen' in that time)