My Last Run

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  • HazelnutCHHazelnutCH ✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    Nice walk Cal. Good luck for parkrun tomorrow.
    11 miles for me this afternoon.  Somewhat drier underfoot today.  Days definitely starting to get longer now.
  • JD1JD1 ✭✭✭
    Cal, you seem to see much more wildlife in the Big Smoke, than me in rural North Wales,plenty of sheep though.Enjoy your park run.

    Hazlenut,you're putting the mileage in,what races do you have planned.

    Easy 8.05 miles tonight after work,heard plenty of tawny owls hooting.
  • Bedfont Lakes parkrun, out by Heathrow today. Nice country park that I think was once a gravel pit. All trail but fortunately not muddy today. My hip is still a bit tender but I can't feel it when I run so I think it's being aggravated by yoga or pilates rather than running. Achilles is still grumpy. Hopefully my Monday massage will relax me a bit.
    Got a time of 25:45 which isn't bad on that surface, and there are a couple of little hills so it wasn't really flat either.
  • Can imagine there are a lot of sheep JD.  I need to plan some races to make the training worthwhile.  I'm intending to do some 10k to HM distances and have basically been trialling P&L the last few weeks having done well marathon training on P&D.

    Good parkrun Cal, must be fun doing all these different locations as you get to see some new places I imagine.  Parks can be nice places.

    Another 10 miles for me today: Warm up of around 3.5 miles including some drills and strides, then 33 mins @ LT pace (10k race pace + 15 seconds) and a cool down to make up the distance.  Covered 7.3km in the 33 mins which was almost spot on pacing.  Starting to add in some for now slight inclines at this effort as my races tend to be hilly.  Wildlife: one snow-white egret, lots of buzzards and two deer who stayed put until I was within just 30 metres. And one male runner.
  • And very varied places too. It's a really nice way to see different parts of London.
    Due to my achey bits and pieces I decided to call this a cut back week and only run a half today, which I did in just under 2:17 (a little over a minute faster than the first half I ever ran, back in 2011!) Pretty dark for most of it so saw a few foxes. Also got a whiff of someone's joint. I feel a long run isn't complete unless I smell marijuana at least once. :D
    Achilles was horrible for the first half of the run but then shut up. Not sure if that's good or bad.
    Massage tomorrow.
  • Good call on the cut back week if you are carrying niggles Cal.  A half is still a good distance.
    Hope Will is ok.
    4 mile recovery for me this evening in the wet and wind whilst dinner was cooking. 
  • Hi All. A hectic weekend, where I considered putting my children on E-bay! Putting it down to post-Christmas tantrums/awkardness.

    I've found a nice little 2K loop in the cemetery next to our house that's a good training run for my son to practise on, so I tested out my groin doing a gentle lap with him on Sat and Sunday. All felt ok, so I headed out for a very gentle 7 miles on nice flat roads yesterday afternoon. It ended up as 10:36 mi/mi and everything feels fine to day, touch wood. I'm going to keep my training very gentle this week, pace-wise, as I'm still aware that the groin is a little weak. I have a 10K cross country event on Sunday through rivers, mud and general goo - which I will do if I am still happy with my fitness by then.

    Hopefully get back to full mara training next week.

    Happy running all!


    I run, therefore I am.
  • JD1JD1 ✭✭✭
    Evening all

    Good running Hazelnut,very consistent .

    Will - Hope your groin is ok and you do well in your cross country .

    A 14.16 LSR today along the canal and river Dee.
  • Will, I'm relieved that your niggle is improving and I had to giggle at the kids on eBay.  Good plan to take it easy still and not to commit too hard to the XC so you can get stuck back into training next week.

    Good LSR JD.  

    I polished off my peak mileage week today (working Tuesday - Monday rather than Monday - Sunday) with a long run of 15 and a bit miles, a distance I haven't covered in a while.  Kept a constant pace until the last 3-4 miles and then upped the effort a little to finish the run strongly in 2:15.  Bit windy on the return leg but dry at least today, the light was very nice in the afternoon as the air was well washed by yesterday's rain. As I was out for more than 2 hours I took a gel with me and downed that at about half way.
  • Nice long runs there, JD and Hazelnut. I think I can just about feel the days getting slightly less gloomy here too. I do need a bit of light in my life.

    I stuck to the cemetery 'race track' this morning and did 6 nice, flat, steady laps. I popped in a few strides (gentle ones) and the groin seems to be coming along nicely. I'm still aware of it, but I think it's getting almost back to normal. I took it gently still, with just over 7 miles at 10:00 mi/mi and enjoyed the meditative rhythm and the calm of being alone. The first Snowdrops are coming into flower - always a lovely sight - and there were Nuthatches wupp wupping all over the place. A few magpies have begun nest building too, so life's cycle begins afresh. 
    I run, therefore I am.
  • Good work Hazelnut.
    I tried to introduce the dreaded LT into my run today, since I had a rest and massage yesterday and was feeling a lot better (achilles aside, but that bugger's never happy). I hoped to do 8 with 4 at LT pace but ended up doing 6 and 3. On paper, the LT miles were about the right pace but it's likely a few extra Christmas pounds have slowed me down a bit, so it felt hard, even though I usually run parkruns faster than that. Ah well. I shall persist.
    My first HM is four weekends away - I'd like to be a bit fitter by then.
  • 12 miles this morning, mostly in the dark (it was only just getting light when I finished). Foxes spotted - 2. Joints smelled - 1.
  • Well done on the LT run Cal even if you didn't achieve what you set out to do.  They are tough.  If you find 4 in one go too much you could also try LT intervalls e.g. 2 x 2 miles with a jog recovery between or based on time e.g. 14mins, 11 mins, 8 mins with jog recoveries.  Personally I find the intervalls harder than the do it all in one go type as once I've dropped off the pace for the jog recoveries I find it tough to get back up to speed for the next bit.  I'd rather just hang on and get it over and done with! 

    Good news on the groin Will.  No snowdrops out yet here. 

    Back to my standard Tuesday group outing yesterday evening.  Cold, clear and crispy - lots of stars to look at (when I wasn't concentrating on where to put my feet).  Nice to get out in company again after so many solo miles.   Rest day today - much needed after 7 days of running on the trot and over 100km - legs actually feel not too bad.
  • Great mileage from you two, Hazelnut and Cal. A starry run sounds nice, as do the foxes.

    No foxes for me this morning, but the local weed dealer, who doubles as a respectable Dad on the school run, was smoking a particularly pungent herbal effort when I passed him in the cemetery.  I felt stronger today, so my run of 4.75 miles turned into a progression, going from 10:00 mi/mi to 9:00 mi/mi over the course of 4 laps. Good for the confidence and the groin is still okay. More Snowdrops today and the Jays have started pairing up. Pretty sure I will do my cross country on Sunday. Not expecting a fast time, as will not want to over do it on the groin front, but it should be fun.
    I run, therefore I am.
  • Great running, Will! Haven't seen any snowdrops where I am but there are some trees with blossom on already. Bit odd, that.
  • Up very early today to make pancakes for my boy's 7th birthday. Had to run those off so did a 3.5 mile bit of fartlekking in the cemetery - seems to be my venue of choice at the mo. Very cold today, but bright sunshine streaming through the trees. I managed some decent stretches of pace and also kept up a generally faster pace than of late. Overall it was 8:50, with some bursts at up to 7:00. Groin held up and so will roll, stretch and continue my core work in prep for a bit of XC on Sunday  Some nice Long Tailed Tits were the avian highlight. Back to serious mara training from Monday.
    I run, therefore I am.
  • Hmm - pancakes!!  Happy birthday to little Will.  Nice bit of fartlek you did there. I'm looking forward to hearing about your XC - haven't done any since school (errm long time ago).

    10 miles for me today after a rest day yesterday.  Felt a bit sluggish setting off - almost as though a short and slow jog would have done me better than a rest day.  Did around 4 and a half miles to warm up with some drills then got stuck into 2 sets of 5 x 150m strides with 250m recoveries and 4 mins between the sets.  I am pretty used to doing 100m strides but this was the first time I have tried 150m ones - definitely harder work!  Maybe I should have spent longer building up the speed, I always have to be careful not to set off like I have been shot.  All very accurately measured no doubt by my GPS as I whizzed up and down a bit of flat tarmac but what do a few metres here and there matter.  Made up the distance to 10 miles with a couple more miles.

    3 day running break now as I'm looking forward to a long weekend of skiing.  Will do me good to do something different and go off plan for a couple of days so I don't get too obsessed with it all.
  • That's a good run, Will. The usual old birds for me, though I did see five cormorants in a tree when I was out for my walk yesterday. I don't think I've ever seen that many at once. The shovellers are still there, spinning around in circles, but I've only spotted one of the Egyptians the past two days. I hope that means the other one is sitting on a nest and not in a fox's belly.

    Have a great time, Hazelnut. Don't break anything!

    8 easy miles today. Quite a pleasant run - sun was trying to come through the cloud and it was nice and bright. Only bad thing was a horrible little dog that ran at me, yapping.
  • Shovelers are great, aren't they? Comical bills. Cormorants always look prehistoric to me.

    Enjoy your skiing, Hazelnut . A good workout for the legs, for sure. 

    Well, I woke up feeling like I have shards of glass in my throat. Blocked sinuses and a horrible cough too and have spent much of the day asleep in bed. Bummer. Chances of me making my XC on Sunday now seem negligible. Just cooked a nice chilli to try to blast the bugs away.
    I run, therefore I am.
  • JD1JD1 ✭✭✭
    Unlucky,Will,hope you make a speedy recovery.

    Good mileage,Cal,no snowdrops here either.I seem to find that small dogs are more of a problem than big dogs,they always get underneath your feet.Talking of dogs my 6 month old black Lab went out in the the snow for the first time today,always a delight to watch a puppy in the snow.

    Enjoy your skiing weekend,Hazelnut.

    A slow 6.24 mile slow hilly trail run in the snow today,very enjoyable.
  • Will, I don't feel so good right now either. Slight soreness in the throat but I also have a really, really stiff neck. I hope the fact I had a cold last week in November means I have enough immune function to kick this in to touch quickly. Still hoping to parkrun tomorrow, but I'll have to see how I feel.
  • Neck still stiff this morning but I felt OK to run. Ally Pally today (second time of trying...this time no problem getting there as I went by tube). They were using the winter course which is three laps with a really steep hill in the middle. Steepest hill I've done in a parkrun, even if Hampstead and other parkruns have more climb total. Was content to get under 27 minutes (26:42) although I'd have been about 15 seconds faster if it wasn't so busy - I lost about that much on the first lap due to congestion. Still, it's nothing like as bad as Tooting - there you could be stood still for 10 seconds or more.
  • And that was my first 20 miler of the year done. Went pretty well. Started in the dark, saw a magnificent sunrise over Brockwell Park and finished feeling happy to be out there. I saw snowdrops in Brockwell Park, which made me happy as I once had a white cat called Snowdrop and they always remind me of him (we thought he was a girl when we got him, hence the effeminate name...) He was stone deaf and had no sense of balance at all so he looked drunk when he walked and couldn't jump very well, but he was a happy soul and lived to about 18 years old.
    I also saw one fox, one fast-moving shadow that might have been a fox but might also have belonged to a cat, one rat carcass and, rather randomly parked in one of the side streets, a fancy white and glass carriage which I  at first thought might have been for weddings, but on closer inspection there were no seats and really only room for a coffin inside. Morbid.
  • Missed my XC today as still feeling rank. Bummer as saw photos on FB and it looked like great fun. Hey ho. Really need to get back on my mara plan asap, but reckon I'll be out for another 2-3 days.

    Great 20 and Parkrun, Cal. You're on fire at the moment :)
    I run, therefore I am.
  • JD1JD1 ✭✭✭
    Sorry you missed your XC,Will,hope you're back out soon.

    Fantastic running,Cal,your'e racking up the mileage.

    9.33 miles along the canal.5 miles @ HM pace.Pacing all over the place.6.42 mm fastest,7.18mm slowest.
  • Whether your pacing is all over the place or not that's pretty fast, JD! Nice running.

    No let up with my man flu. Still off work and feeling grim. Very frustrating and also starting to make me nervous, as my marathon training plan has gone out the window. Hoping to be OK to run by the weekend. Will then have to have a look at the plan and re-jig it quite a bit. 
    I run, therefore I am.
  • Oh no - bad luck on the xc and that you are benched with the lurgy at the moment Will.  Get well soon.  If you are feeling grim then there is not much point in going out for a run as you will likely prolong it.  If anything go for a walk to get some fresh air and some gentle exercise.

    Well done on your 20 miler and the parkrun Cal. 

    Speedy stuff JD.  I can imagine your puppy had fun in the snow.  My ginger cat likes it as well.

    Back from skiing in one piece, just one minor fall during the whole weekend thanks to the excellent snow conditions and it wasn't too busy either.  Was nice to have a break from running for a few days after a couple of weeks of pretty heavy training.  Back to it yesterday with an 8 miler, bit quicker than planned on skiing tired legs at an average of 8:31 / mile.  Out with my group this evening.
  • Oh Will, how disappointing. Well, you know I had the same thing with Valencia. Sometimes you just have to do the sensible thing and rest. Don't worry too much about the marathon - it's still early enough that you can get away with it. Just don't try to ramp up to quickly once you're back as that way lies injury.

    JD, it's often hard to replicate race pace on a run. You did well, though.

    Hazelnut, glad you had fun and didn't break anything!

    I did 8 miles too. I'd originally planned to do another tempo, but my legs felt tired and the paths were frosty and slippy so I decided just to make it an easy run. In my head the tempo sounded good as I did the LT run last Tuesday, but I somehow forgot that the previous week had been a cutback, whereas last week I ran 50 miles and did 20 on Sunday. I guess I need a bit longer to recover from that.
  • Good advice from Cal to Will and to herself also.

    Standard six and a bit yesterday evening in cold conditions (around -5).  We had to wait for several minutes at the level crossing for once which wasn't such fun.  Very clear sky - moon still looks impressive.
  • Unfortunately I'm still really struggling this month. I went out for a 20 miler last Thursday but 11 miles in I had some sudden onset foot pain which left me unable to run further although walking was ok, very luckily for me it happened around a quarter of a mile from a railway station so after a bit of a wait in the cold I was able to get home. This morning I went out for a slow and steady couple of short runs totalling just under three miles and had no foot problems but I was wearing a different pair of shoes with better cushioning. Last week's problem may simply have been a reaction to running a very undulating and very rough trail on ground that was in some places almost frozen and in others very muddy, in addition I really need to get some new shoes even though my current ones have less than 400 miles in them, some new work shoes with better cushioning are also required I think given how much walking I do at work!
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