Not as solid on training this week but happy with what I had managed given the circumstances. Phillips Nan was down for the week, which meant no during the week as I usually setup in the dining/living room area which was where she spent most of her time.

Monday
Usual swim lesson. Started with 2 lengths of each stroke(front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke and dreaded butterfly). Afterwards we had a couple of things to tick off our list. First up was on our backs carrying a weighted block. There was only 2 blocks for the whole pool.. a 1kg and a 5kg.. the 1kg was taken, so I just went with the 5kg.. and it was so hard! my head kept going in the water, I was being weighed down by the block. I've never kicked so fast to get it done! xD

Next up was some Roly Polys(tumble turns), I sat out like the wimp I am and watched everyone else. though I do realise this doesn't help me and I really need to give it a go.. I'll never do it if I don't keep trying it!

Lastly we did some jumping into the pool and some diving. Uhh.. No! I don't know what it is or whats caused it by I have a massive fear of jumping into the pool. So diving was out of the question(I did a seated dive and felt really stupid!). After 10 minutes of being frustrated with myself, I finally managed to squat down and jump into the pool. It wasn't bad! but I know when the coach asks us to do it again I'll struggle again!

Tuesday
It was really miserable and wet! I headed out with Phillip, donned in my Waterproof jacket, it was raining right from the off - which is always really hard. If it's raining whilst Im already out, Im totally OK with it, however, it's so much harder to go out for a run when it's already raining!
I did 4.09 miles in 40:10 with an average of 9:49min/mi which I was happy about. The fact that Im consistently below 10mins makes me happy!

I ended the run with some stretching. I've been having some hip/groin discomfort towards the end of my longer runs(9 miles+) so I've been making more of an effort to stretch out. If anyone has had the same issue - tell me, what did you do?

Thursday
Headed out for some wind training! ;) Storm Doris was in full swing but I wasn't gonna let her stop me. There wasn't any rain at first but it was really windy the whole time. However, a couple of minutes into my run, the rain started and that combined with the wind was horrendous!

The calm before the storm..

I arrived back looking like I'd been thrown in the river and then dragged out and through some bushes! My hair was a state. Despite that - I managed a respectable 5k in 30 minutes dead on with an average pace of 9:46 which I wasn't expecting, especially given the headwind for most of my run, it was damn tough!

Sunday
Headed out with Phillip for a 6 mile run since I'm tapering for the race this weekend. It was pretty windy at points, especially out in the open country roads but overall really happy with the run except for one little point.

Wearing all Skins Compression - including the beautiful Botanica Print! <3

I needed the toilet for the last 2 miles of my run and had to slow down as there was nowhere I could stop! I hate getting caught short!  but it happens to everyone at least once right?

I managed the 6k in 1:00:21.. 22 seconds off a sub one hour! If you're upto date, you know I got my first sub 1hr on my 10k race at the beginning of Feb.. so I was delighted to see that I would have done it again if I hadn't have needed the toilet! Damn!

The run definitely instilled some more confidence in myself. For the first time, I actually feel like my training has been on point and Im feeling ready and confident in having a good race.

If I run this half like I have been doing for training, I should smash it. I mentioned in one of my earlier training diaries that my main aim for the half was to finish it by running the whole way without walk breaks. Im fairly confident I'll be able to do that.

Second was to get a PB, which Im hopeful for too, especially from my last couple of weeks of training, however, Im not going to get my hopes up too much.. as anything can go wrong on the day. I'll just do what I've been doing throughout my training.. and whatever happens happens!
My race bib arrived last week and I'm looking forward to hanging another medal on my rack! :)

Just 1 week to go!

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Im linking up with Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC again to share training diaries with other runners! So check out the linkup on her blog! :) Also, if you want to catch up on my other training diaries, you can find them all HERE.

Question: Ever been caught short on a run? How do you prevent it? Do you like jumping/diving into a swimming pool?