First of all thank you for all the sound advice all you bloggers have given me.  I really appreciate it and wait for it, I will be taking your advice ... tomorrow!!

I have been getting quite hung up on the number of runs I have missed for one reason or another.  I missed two last week but then my long run was 3.5 miles longer than it should have been.  I know there are lots of people on here who have missed out on a lot of training, but in my own little world I really wanted to run every run on the schedule as it was written down.  This is unrealistic, of course, as life gets in the way.  Listening to your body is far more important especially when, like me, you are pushing yourself further and harder than ever before and in the end you are relying on your body to get you through.  So the conclusion of all this is that I will now rest and taper until Silverstone.  That will mean two more missed runs this week, but depending on how I recover from Silverstone I will try and get back on course, ticking off the miles and try to get two more 20 milers in.

Today I was still not inspired to do 5 miles round the roads.  It has been drier here for the last week so I thought I would head off road in the hope the underfoot conditions would be just right. I rummaged in the garage and dug out my off road trainers and decided to get some mud under my feet.  I love running cross country it really inspires me and keeps my mind busy.  Road running can just be a bit monotonous.  I like to keep my mind busy by dodging natural obstacles, skipping this way and that and generally having fun.  Definitely time to head off road again and sort my head out.  Looking back, my last foray into the fields was when we were under a lot of snow, which meant my trainers were cleaner than they had been for a very long time.  I have been a bit nervous of running on bumpier ground with my foot, but as it is not actually painful just a bit clicky and stiff, I hoped this might loosen it up a bit.  I do believe that too much running on the same surface can have a detrimental affect on your body as the same structures can become overloaded, whereas running on different surfaces can exposes your bones, muscles and ligaments to different forces and makes them stronger.  At university I studied equine sports science and although I have forgotten most of it I do remember a study in which racehorses that raced on the same artificial surfaces over and over again were more prone to catastrophic injuries than horses racing on grass and therefore different 'goings'.  I know we are not horses, but the same theory might apply.   I digress, back to today. 

It was flipping freezing again, a really cold wind and no sun.  I bravely went out with short sleeves, but that decision had been made before feeling the full force of the wind.  Still with this short off road run starting up a steep hill I soon warmed up.  In fact I do believe I found this hill slightly easier than the last time.  I normally really suffer halfway up and take the opportunity of going through a gate to catch my breath.  Today I carried on and pushed to the top.  It was hard but not impossible!  Then I skipped along through some woods, through mud and hopping over tree roots.  The route then took me through a field of lambs (aaah!) and on through a small hamlet and past Hidcote Gardens. From here there is a lovely downhill back to the start.  I did 4.5 miles in 41:17 - a record for that run, and I wasn't really pushing so I am very pleased with that for a hilly and muddy route.  And my foot didn't complain either - hooray.

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday, a big one <40 she whispers> so I will give myself the day off and taper.  I am cooking a three course meal for him so have some prepping to do, and have a cake to bake too.  He has the day off and will take his new super duper road bike out for a spin.  I might go with him on my bike but I don't think I will have much chance of keeping up!  Now our eldest is at school as you just can't go out for the day when you feel like it, which still takes a bit of getting used to.  His parents are coming up on Friday for a visit and then its off to Silverstone!  When I entered the race I have to confess I didn't really think about his birthday weekend - ooops!  Still he'll get the chance to snoop round a F1 track, although not while a Grand Prix is on as he pointed out!

I hope all is well with you all, and I am now off to check if Simone's orthotics are here!!