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My Last Run
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I risked a very slow (30 min) 5k today as planned. The groin behaved itself so will turn up at the parkrun tomorrow with the intent to run. Apparently it's a slow, twisty course which might be good for me and stop me from doing my usual manic cadence!
Which one is that, John?
Itchen Valley for me. Ranked as a slow course. Basically x country.
God know what it's like in the rainy season because even today it muddy....
Which led to fall number 1. Misjudged the depth of mud and went over. Soft landing.
Then there were the tree roots. Fall number 2 at full speed on hard surface. Nearly a face plant but must have twisted and did my ribs in.
Got up, nearly took a wrong turn and finished caked in mud in sub 23.
But, won my cat, came 15th (204), beat the 60s and 75% was the 2nd best of the day. I felt I earned this.
Best news: the groin was fine.
Takeaway: my high cadence shuffle simply isnt suited to X country and at my age I don't want to take too many more tumbles. .
Hope you're not too sore after those face plants. I also have a high cadence shuffle and I am terrible at XC-type courses. And lifting my feet higher is what sets my groin off.
Good parkrun Cal and finally another bingo number. Well done on the 22miler today - especially good news that you enjoyed it. Manchester is a while ago but you have run 26miles in the recent past and that is closer to the 35.
Recovery run on Friday - warmer again and still breezy - getting overtaken on a field track by a tractor pulling a load of grass was a bit of a dusty experience. Also had to stop briefly for a (ridden) horse which wasn't overly impressed by me approaching from behind and overtaking - it got a quick pat. Put in a few strides at the end of 5 miles without overdoing it.
More cycling yesterday - bit under 20 miles at trundle pace with a brief stop for farm ice-cream. Decent amount of climbing - not much choice though.
Today's run didn't go well. Another warm and sunny day forecasted so I decided to get out in the morning rather than go in the afternoon. Minor breakfast (tea, espresso, banana). Plan was for a progressive HM without overdoing it - starting at around recovery pace and increasing a bit about every 2.5 miles to build up to what I should have been running my marathon at in April (ha-ha). Should have been doable. As it was I only managed two increases in pace to the same that I ran more than 8 miles at without any issues on Thursday before hitting the panic button. I felt I couldn't breathe, was overheating badly. Stop in a patch of shade (started shivering in the breeze) and then after a few minutes decided to restart at an easier pace to complete at least the first bigger loop and ideally the rest of the HM distance. Nope - legs were gone, was running through treacle. So stopped running and walked in.
Don't really know what is up. I have had this before in warm/sunny conditions - normally however at much harder efforts. Thursday was a decent run but this hasn't done anything to improve my confidence at the moment.
Hazel, that sounds miserable and a bit concerning. I once had the shivering thing followed by aches and pains and all I could put it down to was heat. Never happened since and that was in 1976!
That bad marathon took a lot out of you.
Ribs feel a bit better and 'got back on the horse' with 2 hilly runs in 2 days: a 5k @ 5.41 and then a 7k @ 5.42. The similarity in pacing wasn't deliberate and the courses were different. Spooky.
I still don't entirely trust the groin.
I don't trust my groin either, though it's worse when I walk - it kind of locks up sometimes and leaves me limping, but then eventually goes away.
Keep being careful with that groin John.
Group run yesterday - a trio rather. I did a decent hike on Monday (BH here too) with some fairly steep descending which always gets to my quads. Sore for running yesterday but went through the motions although I didn't enjoy it much. Also cycle too and from the start which felt better as you don't get the thud-thud on your muscles.
That's a good range of activities there.
I was supposed to be doing a MLR today but I just couldn't seem to motivate myself to go out, even though I woke up early. So I decided to enter, on a whim, an evening 10K in Battersea Park. I ran (well jogged, with quite a few stops to cross roads) the 3 miles there as a warm up, which I needed because my groin was being testy after me sitting all day, but I got there in reasonable time. Got my number and made my way to the start for the four lap race. I had no idea what time I was capable of, especially as I ran 22 miles on Sunday - thought I'd shoot for around 58 so I was actually quite pleased with 56:26 even though there was a bit of slowdown after half way. (Also first VW55, although that was out of 5).
I'd planned to take the train back but of course there was a train strike today, so I got to use the new Battersea Power Station tube station instead. It's a longer walk from the park and involves a change of trains so it takes a fair bit longer, but it's nice to have a back-up.
Like the idea of doing a 10k rather than an MLR. Decent run, especially considering the gut issues. Did you get anything for your AG win? Or at least get to stand on a box? Good the tube was running as an alternative to the trains.
More recovery plodding yesterday evening - 5.4 miles. I did at least put in a few modest strides at the end of it. Need to slowly get back to some speedier stuff as I have an HM at the beginning of September.
Which half are you doing?
The groin and Colon combo sounds very, very tricky. My prostate makes me a great spotter of trees, hedges and secluded spaces! But I appreciate it's much, much easier for men.
Hazel, ah a half marathon coming up. That will get your mojo back in gear, but far enough away not to have to panic.
7k today Very hot out there. This included 10x up a sharp little path.
The overall pace was dire but the ascent was 200m and so sharp that even the downhills were slow.
Thinking of doing Tonbridge on Saturday. Have you run this Cal?
And yes I've done Tonbridge - when I ran it, it was very misty but apparently it's quite scenic. You won't have mud there, either, which I did (it's mostly hard path but it's the sort of hard path that gets muddy anyway, when it's wet). So enjoy.
So we went local. However, arriving at the start at 8.40, it became apparent that it had cancelled at short notice.
No worries! There's another one at Lancing 3k (into a strong wind) away and with a brisk run I made it with a minute to spare.
Meanwhile Mrs JB drove, but witnessed a motorbike accident near the start and called an ambulance. Luckily the rider, only 16, wasn't too badly hurt. So no PR for Mrs JB.
Mine was OK @ 21.53 and I beat all the 60+ runners and hit an AG of 77%. But I was mighty tired at the end.
An eventful Saturday morning.
Yesterday I did the newest London parkrun - Thames Path (Woolwich) which was great fun - basically an out and back along the Thames Path but then goes into a park and spirals up a big mound and then back down again. The incline on the mound is quite gradual, though, so it's not too taxing. Unfortunately my groin was being a sod so I couldn't stride out as well as I'd have liked and finished in 27:34. No AG win...I was only 4th, but that was out of 18. (There were just over 400 runners, so quite a big field. I'm sure it will settle down a bit once all the parkrun tourists have got it out of the way...a lot were reclaiming Lon-Done, as I was). I'll go back at some point.
Today I had a long run planned but my groin was quite uncomfortable in bed so I wasn't even sure I'd do it. Eventually, I decided to just go, knowing I could always cut the run short if needed. As it was, that didn't happen, but it was certainly an eventful run. I wanted to recce the Wimbledon Common to Richmond Park part of the Ultra London course (Capital Ring) and I did that successfully (glad I did as some of those Capital Ring markers are very small).
Lucky you got to do your parkrun JB after the cancellation. Shame Mrs JB had to miss hers, but for a good reason.
I had a modest attempt at some 800s on Thursday, I am so crap at pacing though - the first was too fast and the recoveries too short (200m jog) and I ground to a halt on no. 2 and got really slow over the remaining 3. Ups. I did something I guess. Followed up that with a local undulating route on Friday (8.7 miles) and an HM on Sunday. Plus some more cycling. It is pretty warm here too but mostly with an NE breeze which just about compensates. I did get a bit dehydrated yesterday though. I don't think I have inhaled an AF-beer post run so quickly before. 41 miles for the week off of 5 days of running which is ok for now.
That sounds like a good choice of half if you PB'd a race there so good luck with that.
That sound like a nice parkrun and I continue to find newsmen shades of green with envy.
Hazel, that's a decent mileage you are now logging. And you should approach that HM course with confidence given previous experience. The rebuild continues!
A leisurely 6k on Sunday to watch junior in a 10k. Boy it was hot and that did for his attempt to hit sub 40 for the first time. But his 41.00 was a PB and he was pleased with that.
Today a deliberately leisurely 5k. According to my Garmin just about every step I take is in Zone 5. (Parkrun was AHR at 170 and OK that really is Zone 5 for an old git.)
So today I trundled among at 6.07 pace and lo and behold the AHR was 132, my lowest since getting the Garmin at Xmas. And glory be this was mostly in Zone 4.
As for Zones 1, 2 and 3 I think I'm probably a long way from finding their location.
The 36.16 @ 4.31 pace was about right but on a hot and windy day really took it out of me.
I should probably do a time trial as well JB for the same reason. Hot is putting me off though. Decent time. Well done to your junior for his 10k PB. Are you using a wrist monitor for HR? They can be a bit dodgy.
Rest day on Monday - well from running at least as I trundled around on my mtb for an hour. Was pleased to manage a short and very steep bit of local tarmac - I usually pick a route to avoid it. More cycling to and from my group run yesterday - enjoyed the swift down bit but the slog up to home was slow as usual. Run itself was pretty much standard stuff. Three ladies did the longer route, two blokes the shorter. Plenty of chat so easy pace though with the warmth it didn't feel too easy up the hills. 6.5 miles in a bit over an hour.
Hazel, yes just take the HR reading off the Garmin I'm too idle to sort out a proper one. (My pal got one and used it.....once!)
There's great satisfaction in riding up a short, sharp hill isn't there?
Talking of cross training, I've always liked messing around with weights and body weight stuff. My son gave me his set of dumbbells and I've been walking up and down the garden carrying 2 x 28kgs. Luckily the garden isn't really overlooked.
I think it's called a 'farmer's carry' and it's horrible.
Well done Hazel. Nice to have chatty runs. As for me, don't really like beer so it's usually a Diet Coke for me, though I did consume an entire bottle of wine with my dinner post-Manchester Marathon.
Wimbledon Trail Series race 2. The mud had all gone since the last disastrous race and, having run across it on Sunday, I thought I'd be safe with my road shoes (I chose my oldest pair of Vaporflys which I use mainly for parkrun these days, as they've lost a lot of bounce, but they're still nice and light).
My goal was to go under 50 minutes, though I wasn't sure my legs would be all that great after running 24 miles on Sunday. (I also took some Imodium to be on the safe side!) The race is all trail but it's quite bumpy with stones, roots, dried mud etc. The first mile is pretty flat and I ran around 9:40ish as I was still warming up. The second mile includes the technical "Alps" section with steep rocky ups and then steep rocky downs followed by the steep Rifle Butts hills (fortunately not the mud slide it was last month, but still a challenge) so I was a minute slower on that one. Mile 3 is a mix of down hill, though it's not too steep for me to run, and flat, and I managed a 9 minute mile here. Mile 4 starts flat but the long climb up the toast rack, which is a narrow path between two wire fences where passing it hard and, while it isn't particularly steep (5%ish) it is on shifty gravelly stuff that saps the calves. I did well enough to complete this mile in 10:10, after which the final mile is mainly flat again and on a harder path. I pushed on as I wanted to catch a clubmate I could see ahead of me and I slowly reeled her in before having a battle with a girl from another club, which I won. Last mile was 8:46 or so, plus as close to a sprint finish as I could muster. Watch gave me 48:35 - I will get an official time tomorrow but it may be a couple of seconds slower as I didn't hear the start. Still, over a minute below my goal time, so I am pleased with that, especially on legs that are far from fresh.
I don't think I could manage a whole bottle of wine at the moment Cal and definitely not after a marathon. Impressive. You raced well yesterday - I always like the names of the different sections of the course. Good you had a good time after the last not so great one and it looks like you are in good shape for your ultra now.
Another go at some speedwork yesterday - the 5 x 800m session I didn't do well on last week. This time it went much better with all but one rep sub 7mins. I did longer recoveries this time - 2:30 slow job - around 400m which worked well. As I went out pretty late, conditions were warm rather than hot and the sun thankfully was also hidden behind a cloud. With warm-up and cool-down 8.4 miles.
Bank holiday today and another warm-hot day so despite the short turnaround time I ran this morning. An undulating 10miler. Good route choice with sunny and shady bits and opportunities for watering. Kept the effort level down although I did have to puff a bit up the hills.
A minute off your goal time is brill but totally well deserved after the effort you've been investing lately plus the 'obstacles' you've overcome.
I don't fancy holding the dumbbell overhead variation but I'm now up to carrying my half body weight in each hand. Luckily I don't weigh much!
Hazel, a beer after exercise is a version of heaven, even an AF* one.
You are clearly on the way back to form and the tone has changed to a more positive one, I think.
* heaven of course wouldn't be AF
Rest day today. Yesterday I did my 'graveyard shift' I.e 5k up and down around the cemetery. I don't keep meticulous records of these runs as I vary the routes, but I felt this was one of my better efforts with for example shorter rests between reps.
I'm hoping that tomorrow's parkrun will see a bit of a return to form.
Sluggish 6 miler today. Off to Leavesden parkrun tomorrow which will complete Londone Plus, again. (That one started a while back but I wanted to leave it until it was dry as it's a country park and can be muddy).
Hope you found one with some shade......
Very, very hot on our shadeless prom.
Huge field of 620. Job done for me as I had the best AG in the club and thec 2nd best in the field: 20:51/82.77%.
Tomorrow I've signed up for another local 5k......