Sometimes training is just plain hard work

In training for an event, just like anything, you have good days and bad days.. and sometimes you have bad weeks. The tricky bit is reminding and convincing yourself that this is just part of the journey and that it doesn't mean you are failing in any way. In fact you need the bad days to make the good days better - it just doesn't seem like it at the time!

From a training perspective, I have had a bad week, not a terrible week, but I've just found it hard work: my legs have felt heavy on every run and though my confidence is definitely improving on the bike I'm suffering from knee and back aches - probably as a result of lack of prior use! The fact that for much of the week it has been showery making it difficult underfoot and resulting in a lack of nice views has merely compounded the issue.

On Saturday for my 'long run' I returned to Lochearnhead and Glen Ogle to do a 12 mile circuit of the old railway (endless boring hard tarmac) and the old military road (mud, river crossings, marsh and route finding challenges). I had got the route out of a walking book and surprisingly it stayed dry for the whole time I was out, but I hadn't anticipated the effect of the recent rain on the terrain - not a mistake I want to make again in the near future!

On the plus side, last week I really felt I was making good ground on the bike, and even didn't mind getting a little wet when I got caught in a shower. So yesterday - inspired by the local Etape Caledonia in aid of Macmillan Cancer - we aimed for a 25 mile cycle ride from Dunblane to Callander via the backroads, returning via Thornhill. It was the most beautiful cycle ride and I finally managed to cycle over a reasonable (and undulating!) distance with an average of above 10mph!!! If I hadn't ached so much when I'd finished it would almost of have made up for my poor running this week. Maybe we should enter the Etape next year?!

However, though I seem slightly down about my current performance, I can console myself with the knowledge that hard work does pay off. I'm not just saying this from past experience or from reading too many articles about top athletes! It's true in all walks of life. To illustrate this I can proudly point you towards Julie Broadfoot who launched her first exhibition last week, containing the beautiful image of rain which I've borrowed for this blog. A very good week for her indeed, but not without much hard work and I'm sure many days out with her camera in moody weather!

Lets hope I get a good week again soon.