R & R

This weekend has been a bit of eye opener training-wise. Running has not been a problem at all, but post-run has been much more traumatic than it should be.

I think we can safely that I have learnt a lesson - that when your training plan says rest, you should rest. And it means rest, it does not mean ironing, a bit of gardening, cleaning and dusting the bedroom and doing your weekly shop. Apparently when you do this, you suffer from mild exhaustion and wobbly legs. Who'd have thought it? And this is only after a 24 mile week - what will it be like when I'm doing 40+ miles?

Forced to lie down on the sofa with legs elevated on a Saturday night (no funny remarks please) instead of going out with friends, I made a conscious decision to include more specific rest periods in my week. I'm going to have to be more grown up about the recovery part of the training, and stop focusing on mileage alone.

After Sunday's long run, I showered and then went for a 90-minute lie down. This seemed to work a treat. I still felt a bit knackered but only a little bit, and I have no aches and pains today either.

I think this means we can add another bonus to running training. Not only do you get the green light to eat Jaffa cakes, you also get to lie down for a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon and not feel guilty about it.

However, it's not all feet up and biscuits. There was another shadow over my weekend - the effect of high heels.

My legs were being particularly communicative this weekend. Not only did they vote with their feet (excuse the pun) and make me lie down for long periods, they also voiced their concern about high heeled shoes.

This is a major issue for me - I am not a sensible shoe kind of girl. I'm 5'2" and need all the artifical assistance I can get to make me look good in an outfit. Twinges in my calves are not a good sign and I'm worried I'm going to have to get some sensible shoes, even if just for the commute to work. Obviously I want to avoid the Melanie Griffith in Working Girl look so the hunt is on for some 'sensible' shoes that work with skirts. Stay tuned...

LON