Weekend long run - 17km (building up the distance... again!)

So to carry on from my post yesterday featuring my running so far for this week, where I mentioned my fall during a session. I'd like to blame the poor light levels given off by the street lights, but it was mostly down to general clumsiness on my part.

I did end the post by wondering if I should undertake the long run scheduled for the weekend, but to be honest, there was no hesitation this morning... I was going to go for a run, and no random pains in my ribs were gonna stop me!

As before, I still struggled to get enough sleep, although the fact it was Saturday, meant I could at least give myself more time to rest in bed. I eventually arose around 8:30am, feeling a little bit better than the last couple of days.

I had already made the decision a couple of days ago to skip parkrun this weekend as I wanted to go somewhere different. I was thinking about running to Navenby and thus do a 14 mile (22km run), but with the injury I was able to apply a teeny tiny amount of common sense and realised that it would be silly to try running that far, particularly as I'm still on the road to recovery from my hip niggle from a couple of months ago.

In the end I went for a compromise, out on to the bypass to do a small loop around Branston and the neighboring villages, and then heading back. Its a route I've not attempted in awhile, and would be a useful 10 mile distance so I could still extend my recent long runs without over doing it

The weather was the same as its been all week... grey, murky, cloudy, gloomy, damp and so, so cold! It's been a little depressing, and I think we are long over due some actual sunshine!

On the Bypass, ready to take a left towards Branston

heading under the bridge

Snowdrops!

Despite the bleak conditions, the first signs of Spring are on its way, I just wish it would hurry up!

Through Branston...

...and out the other side

I can't remember the last time I ran down here... its been too long I tell you that! This used to be an easy route midweek, often on a Monday, as an easy 10 miles to start the week of training. Now its become the 'long run', just shows how quick circumstances can change

Heading towards Heighington and Washingborough

Technically, I don't run through Heighington... the closest I get is a couple of houses seen in the distance, before the road takes a left and I head down into...

...Washingborough

Seemed very quiet today, but it is the weekend I guess, so no people travelling for work. It was also lunchtime by this point so maybe more sensible people were busy eating.

Its also flippin' cold as well, with highs of 2C today (and felt like 0C with the wind) so maybe that explained the quietness too?

Leaving the village of Heighington, I took a left at this roundabout in order to rejoin the bypass, and then from here it was an easy 30 mins jog back up the hill and back home.

For the duration of this run, I had a persistent nagging pain in my ribs, where I landed awkwardly form the fall on Wednesday. I'm pretty confident that they are just bruised, and that there is no lasting damage, but it still feels quite sore... it also made me aware of just how much our core muscles do in terms of our movement. It hurts when I breath in and out, and as I'm running, I'm taking deeper breaths, so the pain is more pronounced.

Other than that though, I generally feel ok. Knees are sore from the impact, but that seemed to disappear as I warmed up into the run. And to be fair, the ribs seemed to decrease in pain the longer I ran.

Strava link to activity

Despite the other issues, I'm still pleased I headed out for the run on Saturday. The hip niggle which I have been putting up with for the last 3 months continues to improve. In fact, I barely noticed anything until the 13km mark, which is really encouraging to see.

After the run I had a Shower, and then I headed out for a walk to the shops:

I was after something for tea, but I do like to go for a walk after I've done a long run, I find it helps me to recover and thus be less stiff and achey the following day

I also picked up Pizza for tea, which was super tasty :-)

Distance for the week so far: 67km (48km run, 19km walk)

Sunday Run

As part of the recovery for the long run yesterday, it was a shorter and easier effort for today:

Again it was a little later than I had hoped, but at least it meant I was able to catch up on a bit more sleep... still utterly exhausted, so any extra time in bed helps. I didn't over think this one, just wanted a slow easy effort for 30ish minutes...

I had time for a quick shower before heading round to visit my Dad, as once again he was having technical issues with his PC (something to do with being unable to connect his phone so he can transfer some photos). As usual, when he tried to show me what the problem was, it worked straight away, which only added to his frustration.

I got out the guide I written him explaining how to do it, and rewrote it in a simplarway to see if that helps for next time. I did get dinner out of it as thank you - Chicken Fajitas. It was an El Passo packet mix thing, but it was still nice and tasty.

The walk to his house...

...and back helped add to my step count too.

This brought me to a total distance walked and ran this week of 76.5km (54km run, 22.5km walked)

No wonder I'm feeling tired! Will try harder to get to bed earlier tonight to get as much sleep as I can manage

Tomorrow I will be pottering around the house and catching up on some odd jobs, and then hopefully on Tuesday, Dad and I will be heading out to Whisby for a walk, along with his dog. It promises to be a little warmer, although at 5C, not by much! I will be taking some pictures, so will post these here if they are interesting enough!

Thank you for reading, I hope you found it interesting.

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All Photos taken by @dannewton unless otherwise stated.
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