7 week marathon programme: Week 2

Off the canal path, for some trail running
on my weekly long run

I can't believe I've got to the end of week 2 already. After 5 months of no running and starting to think I'd never run again, I've got 2 weeks of quality running in.

As I've said in previous posts the idea of such a short programme is to concentrate on the long weekend run and during the week 'tick' over. I kicked off the week on the Tuesday with a 4.25 mile lunchtime run with long time running partner and fellow Loch Ness participant Brian from work.

Brian's been out with a foot injury for some time as well, so it's great we're at a similar level in our fitness and training schedules.

The following evening after work we headed out onto our favorite running patch, the Ash ranges. Such an amazing place to run with a lot of variation of trails and hills.



We went just over 8 miles. This was a real test for my ankle. I had planned not to run on the trails for a while due to the uneven terrain. The last thing I wanted to do was turn my ankle. Half way through the run I must admit the ankle was aching a lot. I began to think the worse but after a couple more miles the pain had disappeared. It was all worth it though, a great run in the sunshine on my favourite run.

On the Thursday my ankle was quite stiff, this was a rest day anyway but I had planned to do my long run on the Friday and run into work. I moved the long run to Saturday to give myself a couple of days rest and it paid off.

Found these in Tesco's; a bag of mini Eat Natural bars, ideal to take out on a run.
(i don't do gels no more, rather use real food)

Saturday, 12 miles along the canal, and a total success. The ankle behaved itself ( I felt it a little on the last couple of miles) I did come off the canal and ran a couple of miles on some great trails adjacent to the canal path, it added a little bit of elevation rather than sticking to the flat canal path.

After such a long time out and only 2 weeks of training, I was really pleased with how relatively easy the 12 miles felt.

Next week the long run ramps up to 16 miles, which probably won't feel as easy!