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My Last Run
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Rumpled ticket grasped tight in hand, world wriggles uneasily in its seat,
Debating if this film, already started, is truly one it has the strength to see
Its billions peering, open mouthed, staring at inexorable march
Of undetectable assassin, oblivious to its deadly, unseen progress.
Room, flat, home, work and open space - vulnerable, at risk and undefended
Cobra borne fascination for the pronouncements of those COBR members
Four slides meant to inform but leaving so much unsaid, rumour airborne,
Civilised exchange of volleys of questions from media types fielded and returned
'Trust the science' and roll up the sticky carpet of fear and misinterpretation
Quietly curse the unchecked flow of insistent data, fuelling fearful speculation
As silent blows lay low a friend, a colleague, a lover, a beloved....
Or some one, alone, not known, or talked with, or met - snatched away.
World shuffles, leaves its seat: the film brought little comfort, just despair...
Yet even so, world casts about for hidden reservoirs of faith amongst its people
That they may stir the fading embers to spark a blazing beacon of hope
That love, caring, empathy and selflessness will help, to lift its darkness.
I watched the 'Round the World Race' catch-up ep., so wasn't out until 8.10pm. A radiant, orange semi-circle burnt above the dunes, and people sat peacefully, there, clicking cameras. By the prom wall, there were several groups of cyclists looking over the bay, and, Burbo Bank covered, at the old coastguards', a light yellow German Shepherd decided it'd like a closer look at me. I heard a growl, stopped and accepted apologies from the owners, making a point of counting my four limbs!
Firm sand, damp in places helped my pacing and, skirting the boating lake, I returned to my start point, just in time to switch on my head torch to check the time. 4.6 miles in 50:09, and a sub-11:xx min/mile return. 52 miles in Apr. so far, passing March's 50. Can you tell I'm pleased? :-)
I've decided to rest again today. My shin feels a bit better but there's still some soreness in there if I press it. My calf is also tight and I'm not sure if the shin is sore because the calf is tight, or if the calf is tight because it's protecting the shin. Either way, with no race on the horizon, I'm going to be sensible for once in my life. Better to take a few days off now than a lot of days off later.
Unfortunately my appetite is enormous at the moment - I ate a bag of mini eggs (rather than just a few) on Monday and two Magnums yesterday. I will not be buying any treats on my next shop.
Well done on the 2 PBs MM. Do you think you could do a sub 50 given the right course and conditions?
A rest is very wise, Cal. With the mileage you've been putting in it's not going to hurt to give yourself a bit of time back. And I'm still getting through Easter eggs here. There's a Dairy Milk one sitting over the other side of the room staring me down.
Short speed session today. I only had a limited amount of time between meetings so went to the local park and did 400m shuttles. Intervals were quite consistent, which was pleasing, and the back seems to be coping, tempting me to start pushing a bit more.
Malteser,well done on your PB,you'll soon sub 50.
Nice running GD. I think Ovett was everyone's favourite,along with Daley Thompson.My girls will look after your Easter egg!
Very sensible to rest up Cal,you've racked up some big mileage already.My two girls are eating me out of house and home,constantly stuffing their faces.
Nice punishment Hazelnut! I'm waiting for a new pair of Sacony to be delivered.
Just two easy 5 miles runs,had my first fly in my eye for this year yesterday evening.I'm off for a couple of weeks so I'm going to fit in a long mountain run,hopefully.
Went out for what was supposed to be a recovery 5 miles, which (due to my absolute lack of understanding of an easy/recovery pace) turned into a tempo 5 instead. Ran pretty hard but suffered from it, especially after yesterday's 6.2 mile PB. Did it with an average of 8:23mm so alright with that. Then went back out for a recovery 5km with the fiancée. Even so, my legs are now stiff and sore despite giving them a foam roller and massage stick treatment - tomorrow is definitely a rest day!
Up to 118 miles for the month and I think 196 miles for the year (doesn't count the 5km and 10km efforts I was doing in gyms on treadmills). Target of 500 miles is definitely achievable if this keeps going
Daley was always awesome. He still is. I must confess to having a crush on Colin Jackson too. And Roger Black. I mean, damn, Roger's still hot.
So at this point, I'm not sure if these will fill the long run gap after I've burned through my remaining pairs of Epics, but they are a nice shoe and I will add them to my rotation.
Calf/shin seemed OK (there is a little tenderness along the shin if I press it, but it's the same on the right shin too. That might be down to the walks I've done this week as I was walking briskly).
I was tempted to do my fast 5K as part of the run but decided not to push it after three days off and in a new pair of shoe. I'll leave that until tomorrow.
I'm also going to take part in the 2.6 challenge - Herne Hill has challenged us to a virtual 2.6 mile relay so I think I'll do my 5K tomorrow and the 2.6 on Sunday to give me a day's gap between fast runs. I've done two fast runs in a day before (double parkruns on NYD, and the parkrun/10K combo I did last summer) but with my niggly bits I will be better off being a bit more cautious.
Nice punishment run Hazelnut - do you feel as if you've learned your lesson or will you go out too fast next time? Cram was a great runner, it was a shame that injuries curtailed his career. He's turning into a decent commentator too.
Good couple of 5 milers JD, watch out for the flies though. And good luck with the mountain run, that sounds spectacular, if quite tough. Partner met Daley Thompson last year at a work lunch where he was the speaker. Her view was he's a bit up himself. He's one of my heroes, so as long as I don't meet him he'll remain that way.
Good effort to maintain that pace going up the hill, MM. How long is it? And that does sound as if you pushed it on the 5 miler. It is quite difficult to cut the pace down, especially if you're on your own or with someone who is also keen to push it. Going out with your fiancee may keep you more honest. Worth planning an attempt on a sub 50 10K. My attempt last year fell a fraction of a second short because I'd done a tough LSR 3 days before the race and just didn't have it in my legs for the last 1km. I'm convinced if I hadn't done the LSR I'd have comfortably gone inside it. The struggle now will be to find a race. I'm not sure I'll have the discipline to go out and try it on my own.
Another early morning start on the seafront. Again a gorgeous day, the breeze, such as it was, seemed to be coming from the east. Although when we turned round it still seemed to be in our face. The excitement at the start was that the police had blocked off a short section of the promenade, so a quick pirouette had us turning round looking for an alternative way round. That may explain the first mile being 9:16 as confusion reigned.
The 5 miles we covered was at 8:38 average, exactly the same as we did on Tuesday, but probably would have been quicker without the issues at the start. I commented on the way back that we seem to be settling into a natural pace of about 8:40 without it feeling exactly tough. And due respect was paid to Steve Ovett again.
Mention of Derek Redmond takes me back to 1992 in Barcelona and his dad helping him to finish. I was away on holiday for part of those Olympics on Corfu and had no access to what was going on. Hadn't realised Lindford Christie had won the 100m until I got back.
Good to see back out Cal.Good luck with your 5k tomorrow.
Great weather to be running along the seafront GD.Don't think I could go out and run a fast 10k by myself,maybe when I was younger it was easier.
Great trail run Hazelnut,seemed like a fun run.Years ago your runs were always to feel,some of my best PB's were to feel.
Out the house by 8 this morning,fantastic weather,just perfect for running.9.34 miles,including a mile loop round town.Came across plenty of rabbits and pheasants,and the smell of wild garlic was very strong along the canal.Avg 7.20 mm for 8 miles,and it felt nice and comfortable,good run overall.
Also, thanks to you, JD1. Could your daughters go foraging for food? ;-) Pesky flies!
MalMal - you've speed to spare! Good looking mileage count too.
Good news on recovering shins and speedy noo shoos, Cal. May have said this before but lived in halls in Champion Hill in 70s uni days. Had friends in Herne & Tulse Hills; when in a flat in the latter, I used to echo Gene Pitney, singing that I lived, @only 24 hours from Tulse Hill.' Daft, I know!
Hazel - Noo shoos, Hazel - 'citin' :-) Can't beat bumpy off-road routes for building strength & stamina.
Me: round sunset on a warm, rather close evening. Trail to the Freeport, slippy, sandy stuff to the prom, and firmer beach until a struggle thro' soft sand to make it to welcome downhill trail & back to base. 40 min., 3.7 miles, and exactly the same min/mile as last Tuesday's run.
JD/Hazelnut, sounds like a good game soup, doesn't it? Though I don't much like rabbit - it's a bit like eating sweaty socks.
I'm waiting on some more running socks myself (and the bloody mouse traps which can't come soon enough!)
Good consistency, swittle.
I'd decided I was going to do my virtual 5K today (part of the club league I set up) but not the route. I considered running down to Battersea Park as it's very fast (flat and wide - I've had a number of 10K PBs there, including the current one) but it's three miles and in the end I couldn't be arsed, so I did a 2 mile warm-up and went back to my tried and trusted road triangle (or shark fin, actually). Wore my Zoom Flys rather than the Peg Turbos for the entirely shallow reason that they are orange and black and I was dressed in my orange and black Hampton Court T-shirt and lava leggings. I don't always go matchy matchy with the outfit but if the opportunity arises, I will.
Warm-up was actually quite quick (sub-10 on the second mile) so I knew I still had plenty of spring in the legs and set off accordingly. Did the first mile in 7:56 so figured I might slow a bit, but second mile was also 7:56. Tried to keep pushing for the last one and that was 7:53 and carried on pushing for the last .1. Ended up with 24:35 which is faster than all but two of my parkruns and all my races (I actually did the same time on the track in December, which is flatter - the shark fin has a slight gradient). Very happy with that.
I did another two miles to cool down. Left leg is a bit cross so I'll have to give it a good massage. I run this route clockwise so it's not down to that - more to that stiff SI joint and all the sitting I'm doing while being confined indoors.
Anyway, this does bode well for the 2.6 challenge which I'll be doing Sunday. May or may not take a rest tomorrow - if I do run it'll be a slow recovery run.
Sunset runs are the fuel for the soul swittle. The joy of seeing the light changing. And running on sand is tough. I've only done it on holiday and genuinely feel I've benefited from it.
Derek Redmond had a lot of potential, Hazelnut, but as you say was undone by injuries. It was an era when we were rather blessed with 400m talent at that time and he was part of the World Championship gold medal winning team in 1991. Like you I love the relays. The 4 x4 00 builds up the drama to an intense level, although I still have a special love for the 4 x 100 being a sprinter in my youth.
Sounds like a really good 5K, Cal, and well done on the time. very consistent pacing.
Another quick session today due to meetings. Had a gap mid morning so got out and did a 4 mile fartlek. Can't say I found it particularly easy, the pacing I had on my watch was from last year when my speed and endurance were a lot better. But at least it felt good to get out in the sun and also to do some speed work.
Cal - Excellent 5km effort! I don't usually worry too much about colour coordination, but then most of my running clothes/apparel involve blue somewhere and my Asics are also blue (sure I can hear Eiffel 65's 'Blue' playing in the background...) so I'm in dear need of diversifying my wardrobe.
Hazelnut - one blue and one fiery? Reminds me of the old Nike Mercurial football boots where one foot was one garish colour, and the other foot was an equally garish colour.
Rest day yesterday so decided to try and do speedwork today. 5 miles with a 1.5 mile warm up included, but running 90 seconds fast, 90 seconds slow. Managed the first interval alright, but I (of course) forgot the meaning of 'slow' and 'recovery' so could only manage 60 seconds thereafter. After the fourth interval I completely lost the plot, gave up, and just finished off the 5 mile botched attempt. Went out afterwards for a proper recovery 3 miles with my partner.
125 miles for the month and over 202 miles for the year (not including the miles spent in the gym earlier this year). Stretch goal is 750 miles for the year, and stretch stretch goal is 1000 miles.
Well done on your run, Malteser.
Decided to rest today as I feel quite battered after the 5K and want to be fresh for the 2.6 challenge tomorrow.
Odd shoes Hazelnut? How does that feel? Or do you have another pair exactly like it
Good idea to rest before the 'relay' tomorrow, Cal. I'm sure you'll smash it.
Out along the Adur this morning. We've been doing a 7 mile out and back, but decided today to extend it as an 80 min run, so we had another 10 mins to run beyond our normal turn point. Beautiful conditions, a bit chilly to start with and the wind feeling stronger on the more exposed parts, but actually that didn't matter as we got into a steady rhythm. I'd decided I wasn't going to push much under 9min/miles, so my partner got a 25 second gap over me before we linked up again and she pushed it on the way back, whereas I was happy to keep the pace steady and concentrate on my running form. Ultimately covered 9.1 miles in the 80 mins, and all felt very comfortable. It's the longest run in terms of distance and time on feet I've done since the beginning of Feb.
Also had my delivery of new running socks, a new pair of shorts and some running vests turn up. Socks are multiple colours, but I now have a pair of yellow ones that match my Nike runners. Shorts are blue, a departure as all my others are black, and on the vest front I have a blue one and an orange one. Trying to inject some colour in an otherwise drab period.
Nothing virtual about that 5k time, Cal. Matching kit adds to credibility, I think, tho' I don't practise it now!
Guarddog: I left it late last night: 8.30pm before I set off, and the clear, blue sky of the day had turned to high cloud and less usable light as a result. Measurable improvements in pace & distance for you & your partner - well done!
MalMal - I used to enjoy an annual mileage target when I ran every day but there's a price to be paid: two runs a day on a few occasions were needed for me to hit 2004 miles one year - Dec. had 243 miles! :-o
Since I gave up pavements in favour of any off road at all, my shoes get grubby very soon - and last night's 5.7 mile hour's run didn't help. Fine up the trails over coastal park to Burbo, apart from shouts from some rough boys on bicycles. Down the beach, very quiet, the Freeport dock lights brightening as the dusk took over, but my route through the gloopier sand was ill chosen and I splodged through, carrying twice the weight on my shoes on exit!
Back at my start point, my head torch picked out four figures pushing bicycles. Not sure it was those loud lads but not a word was spoken as they passed me....
Hazelnut, I don't mind a really bright pink but I loathe pastels. I definitely prefer red to pink, though. (My club vest is blue and white with a bit of green - nice enough).
swittle, my shoes get dirty quite quickly too, so I don't buy light coloured shoes if I can help it. Although I run a lot on pavement, there are also plenty of dirt paths on the commons so they get mucky quickly.
Anyway, I did the 2.6 challenge today - 2 miles warm-up and then a further 4.5 miles (did the extra half so I could complete 9 miles total - I'd have done 4.4 but that last .1 was bugging me, heh). The 2.6 itself went really well. I went back to the shark fin which, incidentally, a good number of my clubmates are now using since I let them know about it, and went off like the clappers. Right knee was a bit sticky to begin with but eased up during the first lap, thank goodness (right knee has always been a bit funny but I don't usually feel it while running, more doing lunges and stuff like that. I've been doing a few yoga sessions at home so perhaps it's that. Or all the sitting). First mile went down in 7:51.3 which is pretty quick for me. Kept pushing and did another 7:51.3 - nice consistency - then pushed as hard as I could on the last .6 where my pace averaged 7:46. Final time - 20:27. A sub-20 would have been awesome but I'm not quite there yet. I put it through the WAVA calculator and it came out at over 70, so that's a good result for me - I've only managed over 70 at two parkruns (I was 69.93 for the 5K I did on Friday).
I will say that it hurt, in terms of effort - I honestly don't think I could have gone any faster (at least, not on my own).
Once I'd got my breath back I did my cool-down run and actually enjoyed it.
A rather paltry 22 miles this week but that's down to missing two days and not doing a long run today. I guess I needed a cut-back - the days off certainly seemed to help with my speed, at least.
Basically, I got the maths wrong, so ended up running 13.5 miles - a bit further than originally planned! Legs felt reasonably good through 10 miles. Was a lot quicker time though of 1:53:22 for the half marathon, which is about 5 minutes quicker than the last time I tried a half distance. Legs are complaining from not following the 10% rule so going to have to learn from that one.
Listened to a couple of podcasts on my way round, too - Science of Ultra, in which they were talking about Kipchoge's sub-2 hour attempt as well as beetroot juice an hour before/during exercise due to the nitrates not decreasing glycogen levels as without beetroot juice. Also listened to a podcast hosted by Tina Muir where one of the co-founders of Altra were on, discussing the history of the company and the 'zero drop' shoe - really cool to listen to!
Recovery day tomorrow, will likely either rest or do a slow 3 miles.
An ex colleague of mine made beetroot brownies for Sports Relief last year. They were chocolate brownies made with beet juice and not water...tasted a lot better than it sounds! Not too strong on the beet flavour, was delicious!
I was considering a long run today but woke up a bit too late and then, once I got out, I realised two fast runs in three days had left my legs feeling quite trashed, despite only doing half my usual mileage last week. So I did 8 which seemed enough for today.
Looks like being rainy for the rest of the week (but at least that'll keep people indoors).