62K cycle run

Up early and out at 8am for total time of 2:15 including 5K of hill sprints at the end(not so much sprinting as grunting up the hill). Went round Terveurn, Overise and surrounding areas. A little wet and windy but roads quiet and plenty of cycle paths and quiet tracks.

10k lunchtime

46:03.03 with a 22:58 5K split time. I was pretty OK at the end so definately sandbagged it a bit regarding pace.Its a minute slower than my previous Personal best 10K. Conditions were good and I had high hopes....not lack of fitness just a pacing error I think. I'm certainly not bursting 40 minutes anytime soon or probably in this life.

Long week - poor training commitment

Its been a difficult week to get motivated. I've been busy at work, its been incredibly hot here and I've started a book I like, so I've lots of excuses not to do anything. The bottom line is that I find it hard to be motivated without a race or some other end point to focus on. I obviously don't need to keep up 9-10 hours of training per week without a long distance triathlon to race towards but I'd expect to still be doing 5-6 hours per week.

I waited till around 1:30 to go out today, it was very hot with occasional cloud but mainly sunny and I'd estimate around 25C in the shade. I wanted it to be hot so I could have similar conditions to the run last week. I set out with a 20Km distance target. I wanted to do a full 20Km but without having the swim and bike in front of it so I can get some confidence back after a difficult run leg last week. I've also got one eye on Glasgow Half marathon on 7th September and possibly Brussels Marathon on 6th Oct.

I felt good at the start and the sun wasn't really a factor. I knocked off 5K in 22:10 which is fast for me and 10K in 50:40 but this would have been faster except that 5K leg takes in 3 big hills. I then ran a bit outside my normal route towards Braine L'alleud and back past Butte de Lion but from the Butte side in, past all the tourists. At 12K it was very hot and I was feeling the pace. My heart rate had been high the whole run and this is I think down to my heart having to work harder to keep me cool. I still felt OK physically and I was in good shape with breathing despite the higher heart rate.

At 15K I had to get my to off to try and cool down. I really really felt the last hill as I went up it but it wasn't the same death march feel as last week where my whole body was struggling and it was my head that made me just keep going. I could feel lactic acid building in my legs as I kept the pace high up into and over the hill and my breathing and heart rate was getting ragged as a result. I clocked off 21.5K in 1:51. Nice pace for a training run in big heat.