Hello everyone , I hope you have had a good start to the weekend already. Me ? I've had a terrific start to the weekend and yes it involves running . This week has been very consistent which was a relief after the previous week's niggles and tired legs. With Reading fast approaching I have decided to 'break out' and put a few pacy miles into the training , but always keeping an eye on the effort I am putting in . I ran a tempo for the first time in ages on Wednesday night and I loved it . It felt good to be able to really stretch the legs and interestingly the heart rate was climbming much more slowly and dropped much quicker during the cool down lap. This is a very good sign and another confirmation that the hard work I have put into the previous 12 weeks with the heart rate training is paying off. Of course one session isn't enough , i need to build on this and see consistency too so Thursday's run was basically one slow lap then increase the speed to lap 3 then slow down again for one more mile. Fastest lap was around 8 mins 40s and heart rate average was 147bpm , which again is what I was hoping for. I had to adjust the schedule for this weekend as we are going out with friends tonight and so I thought it better to run this morning nice and early. When i woke my left leg was aching and i have had this on and off for a week or so . I stretched and set off slowly but my balance was awkward . I was considering turning back but instead took a leaf out of Dave Hollywoods book and GOT ANGRY ! Ths is not normally my way , I am very cautious and probably too much so that it holds me back on occasions but today I was going to try and run through it . It could have ended one of two ways but after maybe 3 miles I settled down and was running at such a steady pace i never really noticed the ache and my balance returned. I am pretty sure this ache I am getting is a trapped nerve because when i feel it I also get pins and needles in my fingers . i did wake up in a funny position and sometimes I feel like I have twisted my back. I suffered from this years ago and was given tablets for it. Might be worth a trip to the GP . The stretch along the canal was sheltered from the wind and very quiet. I chose the flat section heading towards Bletchley which has a much better towpath and is not so hard on the legs. The wildlife were pretty busy this morning and there was plenty of activity from the various birds and ducks. I heard my old friends the Lapwings in the water meadows and on the return leg I passed a large Swan carefully building a nest . This will be interesting because he chose to do this right next to the towpath and I imagine once the cygnets are born it might be tricky getting past without being pecked !  I found I was able to maintain a quicker pace without the heart rate rising too far . It was nice to meet a few other runners and exchage friendly hello's , no miserable ones today which was nice. I completed my my target of 11 miles in 1 hour 44mins but the most surprising thing was an average heart rate of 147bpm. I was expecting that to be a little higher . Average pace has come down too. I have to say I am so glad I decided to push on today and I am feeling very positive about my running at the moment . Reading is only two weeks away and my only doubt is my ability to get below my PB of 1 hour 45mins. I don't feel as fast as this time last year but I have not been training at maximal effort at all so who knows ? It's all good anyway , I will give it my best shot and I know i will be close . If it doesn't work out this time I still have at least another couple of goes at it this year. I am going to put my feet up now and look forward to our meal tonight at the best Italian in town. I can't wait :)

Have a great weekend everybody and good luck with your running.