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Dawdled around 2 laps of the woodland trail which starts about 200 metres from my house in the VFFs yesterday. Sent a deer crashing through the undergrowth, but no owls heard.
Today ? No thanks - gale force winds, -6 degrees, snow horizontal and dodgy roads due to big snowdrifts... I'll put up with a lot but that's too much. No-one else of the Tuesday group wants to go either. So biscuits and tea on the sofa instead. Tommorow is no better but I might go out if I start climbing up the walls.
Another 6.22 miles today but did a much faster progression run (because I needed to and also because it was minus 1 - coldest it's been in London for a while).
Glad I don't have to contend with snow, Hazelnut. I wouldn't much care for that.
Hello all
Nice running, and tea drinking.. Hazel- don't blame you!!
Great miles Cal, JT
Me- having a hell of a week- stepdad is unwell and has gone into short term residential, mum needing more care than usual. Our granny flat is coming along well but needs to get finished now as it's very hard driving over there every evening after work and their house is not adapted.. Also in wonderful, timing our boiler's died, so the house is an ice box
So as a result, I've only got out once, on Tuesday at 6.30 am- bit later than usual- and cos I was so tired / pushed for time before work, I only managed warm up, 3 x 1k, warm down.
Hoping to get out later, depending on mum
BTW silver lining of this every so shit week is that 10k race i did on Saturday- I was the first in my category! (there were only 9 of us in V40 but still....)
Ugh, sorry you're going through that, Ness. Shit always seems to happen at once. Reminds me of the end of 2015 (an otherwise great year) where my computer died, a pipe sprang a leak that brought down the ceiling in the flat below which I then had to pay for and I lost my job. I remember thinking, well, at least the running is going well, whereupon I suffered a groin strain that knocked me out for a month.
Anyway, looking after ageing parents is never easy, so I wish you all the best.
Yay to the 10K, at least!
I won't be winning any age groups at the 10K I'm doing on Saturday but I hope it goes well. I'm a bit too fat for a PB right now but I'll give it my best, regardless.
Nessie it sounds like you could do with a big hug. I can only send you a virtual one unfortunately. It always sounds to me like you do a great job of managing your life. Hope the boiler is now fixed and you can get out to get away from it all for a bit. Congratulations on your 1st place! Great news. I won an age category once years ago, there were only 3 of us and I was the slowest cat winner if I remember. It was almost embarassing!
Good luck for your 10k Cal. Should feel nice and short after all those long runs you've done.
Put on too much clothing today for a slow 10.5km in the woods nearby including running along some paths I haven't tried out before. Snow can be useful stuff, if there are other tracks around its not likely to be a dead end. Saw a guy out on XC skis and stopped for a quick chat. Thought about sneaking up on two walkers wearing hoods but was nice enough to warn them of my approach. Maybe I should take a bell or a whistle with me
Thanks Cal and Hazel for the kind words. The house will remain freezing for a week as boiler needs replacing and install affects granny flat / building work. So it's a rather depressing scenario of electric fan heaters, hot water bottles and many clothes. Things a bit more settled with oldies for now I hope...
Hazel, loving your snowy runs
Cal, which 10k are you doing?
Me- I did 7 miles pacey last night with the club. Cheered me up a little. Planning on a progression run later too, although I have a cold so will see how I feel
Nessie, Runthrough Battersea Park. Fast and flat. I've had PBs there every time I've run but not sure that will be the case this time - damned hormones have got me all bloated. Ugh. I'll give it my best, though.
Well done on the 7. Hope you feel better soon.
Good luck tomorrow Cal. Not enjoying the hormones myself at the moment..
Nessie, good to hear you got out for the 7. I hope your cold isn't too bad, take it easy.
Me: one of those pesky 8km tempo runs yesterday. Took about 2 km for my hands to warm up but I was fine after that. Especially enjoyed the second half with the wind behind me
. Much calmer now though. The wind in the last few days has blasted most of the snow on the stretch I used to I don't know where so fairly decent conditions for faster running. Right knee is a bit grumbly at the moment, first couple of minutes of running aren't really fun but once I get going its almost fine. Might be the stumbling around in the snow at times.
Cal, my 10k last Saturday was a runthrough event. Really well organised and friendly events from the couple I've done. Best of luck!
Hazel, I have a theory nicked off a friend who is an ex elite marathoner, that as long as it's all above the neck, running helps expel a cold due to the sweating and snotting... it almost always works for me- except on those times where I've convinced myself that I haven't got a cough when I have really....
So I did an easy 4 miles yesterday in the forest, which was icy and pretty. Then 10 miles this morning with a friend, also icy and not so pretty as we were on the roads, but there was a stretch along the River Lee, which is completely frozen over..
Did LOTS of sweating and snotting and feel a bit less snotty now. My lucky friend!
Nessie - yes I do like Runthrough. The medals are dinky but cute and they're always fun races.
Glad you feel better after your run. The conventional wisdom is that you can exercise if it's above the neck. I think the raise in body temperature helps speed things along, in the same way that inflammation is the body's way of healing boo-boos.
Hazelnut, sounds like a good run though I wouldn't fancy the snow or the wind. Just as well I don't live somewhere cold.
Not that it was warm here. 1 degree this morning. Battersea Park was very frosty and the lake was frozen over. There were slippery patches on the road but they improved after a couple of laps.
Lots of club peeps at the race today (no doubt they like it for the same reason I do - it's a fast course and good for a PB). Quite the contingent from Ealing Eagles, given they're on the other side of London. Had a nice chat with a young chaser at the start. He lapped me on lap 3 but then he did go under 40 minutes.
No PB for me today, but I think I did quite well. Fast first mile (8:30) but I slowed a lot and mile 4 was a disappointing 9:05. I gave myself a kick up the arse at that point and managed to make some time up to finish in 53:48. That's my second fastest time, so I can't be disappointed especially as I'm carrying my winter weight and I've been focussed more on distance for my upcoming marathons. Based on this run, I should put up a decent performance at Hampton Court next month.
That is a very decent time Cal and you should be very happy with yourself!
Me- 4 miles fartlek this morning. One of my least favourite sessions and the pavements were very icy so I tried to stay on the actual road wherever possible
Running with a cold doesn't affect much. So long as it doesn't get onto your chest because then you're knackered.
Despite the race yesterday, I managed a long run of 18 miles today, and my body coped pretty well. My energy did drop off quite suddenly at 13 miles, which I guess coincided with my glycogen stores being depleted, but I plugged on for another 5 miles. Muscles got tired and grouchy but I had no realy niggles, so that's a plus.
Slight positive split, but my pace overall was quite a bit faster than my 19 miler a couple of weeks ago. I put this down to it being bloody freezing (-2!)
Great race time and well done for getting out for an 18 miler the next day Cal.
Hope you are feeling better by now Nessie and are surviving ok in your cold house. I remember going out for an occasional run during my student days simply to warm up as my shared flat was bloody freezing.
Good mileage JT.
Me: a 10 miler on Saturday in 1:29:12. Splits all over the place due to the conditions underfoot. Ran part of a route I used last year for marathon training and not since, was surprised by the changes in places. I could cross straight across the golf course rather than detouring around it as no-one was keen on the idea of playing on snow coloured ground at -6 degrees. One advantage of the current weather I guess.
Ran 7.3miles in about 55mins still quite cross.
Thanks Hazel for remembering my depressing life! Still freezing here and in a new twist, the immersion heater has gone so no hot water as of today either. The new boiler is partly installed so fingers crossed for some heat and water tomorrow. If not, I'll be begging showers from mates. The oldies are OK, needing a lot of care,no real changes. Granny flat not built yet..It's all a bit stressful TBH.
JT- that's really shit mate (sorry)
This morning was a 5.30 am start and 12 x 400m in the cold and dark. There were two rather large and very brave foxes at the town hall car park when we got there, who were having a vicious fight. We kept telling ourselves that we are bigger than them, and eventually they moved it over to the field at the back. We felt quite brave
Superb run this morning 8.40 Kilometers, really pleased as this is the third outdoor run i have done this week
Hazelnut, I rented an awful place during my second year at uni. It was a snowy winter and I remember ice on the inside of my bedroom window.
Nessie, keeping my fingers crossed that you get that sorted quickly. Sitting with a hot water bottle on my lap helped a lot when I had to deal with a cold place.
JT - ugh! Freshly minted dogshit it one of the worst smells I encounter during my runs and I wouldn't want to have to get up and personal with it.
Rohit - well done on your run. Three runs already and it's only Wednesday!
I skipped my run yesterday due to warnings about high pollution levels. I'm healthy so it's not like I'm at risk, but nor do I want to feck my lungs up more than they already are (I smoked on and off during my misspent youth).
Instead I had to contend with freezing fog and slippery frost patches today. I ran 6.2 miles/10K, with the first mile being ultra slow as I had to tiptoe over the slippery pavements, but managed to build up a bit more speed once I got on the common. Finished with a nice, strong MP-paced final mile. Legs felt quite good considering what I put them through at the weekend.
JT you get a lot of punctures. And the ugh from Cal sums it up well.
Nessie well done on the intervals yesterday.
Welcome Rohit.
Nice progressive sounding run Cal.
Me: yesterday, the usual Tuesday outing with my group - 10.4km in around 1:02. Two of the ladies turned up who have been absent for several weeks due to knee problems and a new job so we had lots to catch up on.
Lunchtime today yet another 8km tempo run + 1km warm up + 1km warm down in 52:15 Getting a bit fed up with the cold (-7 again) and stumbling around on the snow in places. Wore my lightweight trainers for the first time in a couple of weeks rather than the trail shoes. Felt much lighter indeed. Surprisingly good grip on the snowy and icy bits.
Last race, Wellingborough Dirt Series 10K on the 22nd. Nice run around a country park and my first official 10K race. I was lucky in that the ground was frozen solid so no mud! Finished in a time of 54:33. Happy enough with that for the first race in my new V60 category.
Last run, yesterday. 10K with the club, stupidly in a pair of shoes I bought an hour earlier! Fortunately the shoes are great. I'd reflected on Wellingborough and thought I should have pushed myself harder so decided to go a bit faster for the last km. Managed 4.37 min/km (7.03 min/mile) which I thought was pretty decent for shoes just out the box and fast for me. Yay Adidas Supernovas!
Great running Cal, Hazel. Welcome Rohit and Metalhead- nice time!]
Me- am very happy to report that we now have heat and water
Last night was a great 8 miles in the freezing fog with some club mates.
Gave today's usual progression run a miss as it was parent's evening at the oldest's school. Looking forward to getting out for a run tomorrow
Yay for heat, Nessie! You must have been frozen stiff.
That's a good time for an off-road race, Metalhead. Did you win your category? I'm going up a category this year too (well, for some races anyway, and parkrun).
Nice running, Hazelnut.
Skipped yesterday. 6 easy today. Horrible grey cold weather. Inside of my right ankle is a bit niggly, too. It's been sore before and usually eases up but seemed a bit grumpier today, perhaps because I didn't run yesterday? Who knows.
Thanks Cal. No prizes for my age, though I think I was the oldest running the 10k and happy with my place (53/104)
Yesterday was intervals with the club. Jolly cold it was too, so I was pleased we were running fast 1 minutes! Might trot out into the local woods on Sunday. Otherwise Tuesday will be my next run I reckon.
Have a good weekend everyone!
10 miles easy this morning with a friend down the River Lea. For some reason, even though it was an easy pace (9.5 mm) and distance for me, and exactly the same pace / distance as last week's long run, I never felt really comfortable with it. Strange how it goes sometimes...
Good to hear you have your heating back Nessie
Be careful with the ankle Cal
Welcome Metalhead - good racing! I'm from the other side of Northampton originally..
Yesterday: 6km in the VFFs - first time I've been that distance in them
This afternoon a combined shopping and running outing to the next village to take advantage of the mainly snow free route there. Got some strange looks in the supermarket whilst wandering around in running shoes and tights - never mind. 10 km including 1km warm up, 8km tempo, 1km cool down in 00:50:10. It must have been the red shoes. And also the sunshine maybe. Not too much of that going on recently.
It seems to have warmed up a little here - 8 degrees today. Feels balmy.
Parkrun today and it was my slowest ever (28:19), though not really my fault. I opted for my local as it was its first birthday, but the promise of cake plus the January rush meant it was very crowded. The start was very slow (I was stood there for what seemed ages before I could actually move, and then it was no more than a slow shuffle for quite a while) so I decided I'd just treat it as a tempo. Which was OK - I'll be fresher for my long run tomorrow.
My niggly ankle (the sore spot is on the inside, a bit behind the ankle bone) was very irksome yesterday, both during the run and my yoga class later, but it was fine today, so at least that's something. I think it may be down to a tight soleus. I did actually roll my ankle during the run but since that ankle has been sprained umpteen times, I don't really think I can damage the ligaments any more and after an expletive, I was able to recover and keep running.
Did you at least get a bit of cake Cal? Have a good long run tomorrow.
16km in 1:36:54 for me today. Added nearly 300m of upping and downing to my route today. Had to walk most of the down bit due to slushy snow on last autumn's leaves on steep sloping steps and that was difficult enough.
Much warmer here too - the big thaw seems to be setting in. 2 degrees seems almost tropical. Saw assorted birds, a fox and a field full of cows with their calves.
Was pretty tired by the end of the run, probably due to yesterday's efforts. Took my running rucksack with me (Camelbak Ultra 4) with some water to get used to running with it again and munched a honey and almond bar halfway which went down well.
Got a nice bit of cake afterwards as well - home baked Christmas Cake (last piece)
Great running all and wildlife spots from Hazel.
Yes, definitely warmer now.
For me, it was 5 miles of fartlek training which I actually didn't mind too much this time. Much better than yesterday's run
Hazelnut - nope, I'm gluten intolerant (gluten won't put me in the hospital, but it does make me very gassy, which is pretty uncomfortable not to mention unpleasant for everyone!)
Club run - 13:35 miles for me (not including the mile and a half run from Clapham Junction to Battersea for the briefing) in just under 2:15. I ended up on my own again as there is actually no one else who runs at my pace, even though I ran faster today than the intended MP. So wondering if club runs are actually worth it for me. They're a nice group of people, but the vast majority are way faster than I am, so I may as well do my long runs at my own pace and ending at my own front door.