So the week started very much like last week, hampered by snow! The effects of the beast from the east were still very evident in the South Wales valleys. Roads might have been cleared and traffic moving freely, but all that snow had to go somewhere… and it just happened to be piled high on the pavements making running pretty difficult.
Monday:
There was still way too much snow about to really run safely so instead I planned another kettlebell workout.
I couldn’t really decide what I wanted to do so googled kettlebells and marathon training to look for some decent workouts. I came across a website that talked about kettlebell marathons. You have to preform as many reps as possible of either the Jerk, Long Cycle, Snatch or Half Snatch in 30 minutes (the half marathon) or 60 minutes (the full marathon), if you place the kettlebell down at any point your done… I quite liked the sound of this so I decided to give the kettlebell half marathon a go!
It went a lot better than I expected if I’m honest! I decided to attempt it doing the snatch with my 16kg kettlebell. I’ve not snatched a kettlebell in months so was really anticipating not making it through the 30 minutes, but I did and managed 319 reps.
Tuesday:
So today took it to over a week since my last run, and although the weather was getting better there was still plenty of snow down and I thought I’d leave it another day just to be safe.
So instead of a run I did another kettlebell half marathon, this time doing the kettlebell long cycle (aka clean and jerk). I managed 259 reps. Today’s session felt a lot harder than yesterday’s, my hands were really feeling the effects of all that snow shovelling last week and yesterday’s snatches, still a pretty decent workout and I was pretty happy with my 259 reps.
Wednesday:
So today was my first run in over a week. I ran 6 km along the Brecon Monmouthshire canal after work. It’s less than 20 miles from where I live but it was like a different world… you wouldn’t even know they had snow if it wasn’t for the white peaks of the mountains and the odd patch of snow visible in the bordering fields.
I was really surprised my average pace was 5:13 min/km, my legs felts SO heavy from the first stride, I honestly thought I was running 6+ min/km. Still very nice to be out running again.
Thursday:
Another 7 km done today. I ran with my other half after work alone the canal again. Such a lovely place to go running, really scenic plus being along the canal it’s also really flat, definitely a bonus!!
Saturday:
Another 11.75 km done today with my girlfriend. I’ve always been a solo runner but the more I run with other people the more I think I enjoy it. Distance running can be quite boring and lonely especially when your out running for 2+ hours on your own. I might need to add to my “running crew” though, running with my girlfriend is fun but could probably do with someone that runs a similar pace or faster too to really challenge me.
Sunday:
I was planning a long run today but when I got up this morning I just really wasn’t feeling it. Got a few little niggles, a strange lump on the top of my foot… both knees feeling a little tender (not good for someone that suffers from runners knee)… so instead I decided to do my normal 7.5 km loop.
Just wanted to finish off with my normal reminder: if you’ve taken the time to read this far please take another few minutes to look at my JustGiving page! Raising awareness and money for the National Autistic Society is the main reason for me doing all this.
http://www.justgiving.com/Owain-Williams14
Thanks in advance!
Owain Williams – The Valley Runner