My Last Run

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  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    GD...not sure I'd put that on a pizza. I did try a tuna and banana pizza once. Back in the 90s there was an advert for something (can't remember what) featuring a pregnant lady wanting tuna and banana, and a local restaurant decided they'd make one as people kept asking for it. It was OK, as far as I remember.
    Hands on thighs for that uphill then? (I'd have been more scared of the downhill, personally). Well done on the grudge match.

    JD, I think you need an Epsom Salts bath.

    swittle, there's a place between Mitcham and Streatham called Lonesome - I often wonder how it got its name. (Perhaps there was a single tree there or something).

    Rest day yesterday - spent an hour on rehab and did a bit of walking. Groin gave me a bit of a stabby pain when I was crossing the road and sped up to get out of the way of a car...it doesn't seem to like it when I open up my stride.

    Anyway, 6 miles easy this morning (didn't feel all that easy though as it was very humid). Usually body grumbles but nothing I couldn't deal with.
    The good news is I was able to get an appointment with my physio who spent most of it digging his elbow into my sore bits. He said he wouldn't give me any more exercises as I am doing everything I need to already.
    Feel a bit better now.
  • HazelnutCHHazelnutCH ✭✭✭
    Thanks for the pic swittle, I googled it but didn't find anything. Like the way they have used wood for it. Bet you can wield a scewdriver and co. better than I can. My OH tends to sigh and take them off of me.. Its fun looking at maps to see where people are running based on their descriptions.

    Interesting pizza combination GD.  Some nice place names on your run. Can't decide if down and then up is worse than up and then down, especially if steep bits are involved. Glad your mum is fine, 4 mths is a long time if you were used to seeing her regularly. Nice session yesterday too.

    Autsch those quads do sound irritated JD. Gentle stretching and massage?

    Humidity isn't nice Cal. Good you got to see your physio even if was painful. 

    7 miles yesterday evening on somewhat unmotivated legs. Was running at an in-between pace which I find hard to hit (usually a bit too fast) and strangely uncomfortable to run formwise.  Slower I can trundle along and faster whizz but that one?

    Had planned to do some speedwork this evening but wasn't feeling up to it after a hard afternoon at work. Recovery 4 instead with a few strides.  Met the lady out with her two mini pigs again and after a dull grey day the sun was starting to break through.
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    What's the purpose of the in-between pace, Hazel? Yay for mini-pigs.

    Weather looks crap for tomorrow so decided I'd do my long run today (well, MLR, but it felt long). And I decided to do hills again, because I am obviously not right in the head. There were a couple up towards Crystal Palace I wanted to do, but I started by going up to Streatham, up Wellfield Walk (a steep little footpath I did for the first time on Wednesday) then across the top of Streatham Common, down through Norwood Grove (the park adjacent to it), along to Biggin Wood (the small steep wood down the road) and then along to another bit of green space that is called The Lawns, though there is more woodland than grass. I'd run down it last time, so going up was a new experience and it was quite testing. But not quite as testing as Grange Hill, which was one of the hills I'd wanted to hit. I'd come down it last time and it was steep. I think it averages out at 12.something % but it goes to 15 in the middle. Fortunately it wasn't too long.
    I had a brief bit of respite before the next hill I'd set my sighs on. However, the route I chose went down a road that turned out to be quite a steep downhill and I found this quite unpleasant (I could feel my toes hitting the end of my toebox) so I was a bit gingerish about that.
    On a bit from there was the next challenge, Fox Hill. This one has a nice 20% sign at the bottom. It starts off fairly gently but gets steep fast. Again, the steep part isn't very long but...oof.
    I turned right at the top and made my way to Crystal Palace Park and did a circuit there - downhill first, but then a short uphill after the dinosaur lake. From there I made my way back past the bottom of Fox Hill to the next bit, Stambourne Woodland Walk, which is more or less parallel although a lot windier. I'd done this last time I ran around CP and somehow managed to bag a Strava top 10 trophy, so wanted to see if I could beat my time. It starts off uphill before there's a bit of respite in the middle, but then the next bit of uphill hits 18-19%. This was the only hill I pushed on, rather than just trying to survive, and I did beat my time (although I'm still 10th).
    I then went through a park that I'd not done before, which had one steepish downhill bit, but I'd wanted to avoid having to go down Grange Hill again so it was an improvement.
    I wasn't quite sure of the route from there - I did stop briefly to ask a couple which direction Streatham was and they obliged (which meant running up another hill, not to steep but I was tired by that point so it felt like hard work).
    I came out along a main road and realised I was - it runs across the top of Streatham Common so I carried on until I reached a road called Biggin Hill. Ran down that and back through the little wood  then along to the bottom of Norwood Grove. I decided, against my better judgement, to run up Gibson's Hill at the side of it, and then realised I didn't have anything left, so I just did the steep bit at the bottom, cut back through Norwood Grove, down Streatham Common and home from there.
    14 miles in all. Garmin made it 290m of elevation, which is probably more sensible than the 1,207 feet Strava estimated (Strava always overestimates) - still a lot for 14 miles.
    Hip survived OK and hammy was less grumpy than it could have been, though both hams were pretty much jelly by the end. Achilles was the grumpiest today but can't say I'm surprised with the hills, so I'll take it a little easier for a while.
    And now I'm tired.
  • swittleswittle ✭✭✭
    JD1: there was a Waterloo 15k multi-terrain event that included part of the Altcar camp.  Always Easter Mondays, cadets marshalling & providing water.  Lost its sponsor a few years ago.  Lazarus effect needed on those legs!

    Guarddog: I haven't had pizza for years!  Not because I don't like it  - it's the price, round here, anyway :-o   It's fair to seek that incentive to perform better - never an aspect of my running that's caused me to lose sleep!

    Cal: mixing savoury & sweet can be quite daring: here's the inimitable John Shuttleworth reflecting on his dinner table dilemma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEmHEIDFm6w

    A piece I found about Lonesome: https://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/lonesome/

    20% is 1 in 5 in old money - a seriously steep stretch.  It sounds a testing run and I enjoy your route descriptions; however, you taking it easy seems a contradiction in terms!

    Hazel: sometimes, you go out to run, only to find that you've forgotten to pack the correct pace with you!  More factors affect, of course.  Pigs I've yet to spot!

    Some piriformis pain after last Thursday's run.  I can pinpoint when it started - along the beach - but I got home and found sitting uncomfortable.  It's the R leg [not the shonky knee one] and I suffered with it years ago - put it down to a tired car seat and much car travel.  I've found some stretching vids on the Tube of You and will re=assess early next week.  No runnage 'til then...


  • HazelnutCHHazelnutCH ✭✭✭
    Like the hills Cal. If your feet slide in your shoes down the hill you might want to tighten the lacing a bit - fore- and midfoot.

    Shame about the 15k swittle. How about making your own pizzas? Think you can buy bases and then pop on sauce and goodies to taste. Or make your own dough. Hope the priformis niggle is just a minor setback.

    Yesterday's planned intervals didn't go as planned. (2×12mins, 1x10 mins). Warm up trot of about 2 miles already felt a bit breathy and the legs half asleep. Couple of strides sorted out the latter. First 12 mins went fine though I ran too fast (having tucked almost 10k rather than HM pace in my pocket it seems). Started the first recovery with a sneaky walk. 12 mins no. 2 was rudely interrupted by stitch and stomach cramps. Almost certainly running too fast then. Tried walking to get rid of it but restart was back to ouchy ouchy within seconds. Decided to drop the session, its not like I'm training for anything specific so I can just have another go another day. Animal sighting of the day - a hedgehog trundling across the road, they always look like they have wheels rather than legs.

    17.5 miles today, run of two parts. 6.x miles up the hill to a lookout tower with some nastily steep bits, up the 250 steps for a short break to check the view (bit hazy, bit of M.Blanc visible though) and swap to a dry vest. Then back down the hill taking a longer route without too many nastily steep bits. Warm by the time I was back (after 11) but a slight cooling breeze so bearable. Took my rucksack with me and made sure I drank little and often, 1 gel and one energy bar also consumed. Got stung / bitten by something on the leg, only now stopped grumbling.
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    swittle, sorry about that niggle, that's a pain in the bum (literally!) I sympathise as I'm dealing with something similar.
    Hazelnut, wise to postpone that speed session. Good long run though. Have you any ambitions to do UTMB?

    Took a rare Sunday rest day yesterday as legs were pretty shot after the hilly run - managed a walk and some rehab but that was it. Unfortunately I had a poor night's sleep. Yesterday some people had a party with very loud music (sounded like a PA rather than a stereo) in a garden behind my house. It went on most of the afternoon and early evening. Fortunately it didn't go on late, but it really stressed me out. I was trying to watch a movie and even with the volume up to max and the fan on I could here the thump thump of the music. I guess the increase in cortisol from the stress made for a restless night (it's little wonder that loud music is used in "enhanced interrogations"). I was awake at 3:40 (this was after waking a few times during the night) so gave up on sleeping, pumped myself full of coffee and was out for a run a bit after 5am.

    I was going to do an easy run around Tooting Common but it was so quiet I felt the urge to do something else. I ran down to Tooting and hit the bottom bit of the Wandle in the direction opposite to which I normally run, after which I ran through Earlsfield, up to Wandsworth Common and around there before heading home.

    I actually felt quite good in terms of energy but I could feel my niggles so I resisted the temptation to run further, even though the weather was perfect and it was still quiet. It was only 6:30ish when I finished so I decided to walk an extra mile, going around the big pond on Tooting Common, as a cool-down. Back for breakfast at 7.
  • GuarddogGuarddog ✭✭✭
    That sounds like a really tough and hilly run, Cal, well done on finding all the relevant parts of it. I hadn't realised Biggin Hill was near you. I'd always thought of it as being in Kent. I'm assuming it's where the RAF base was? Not too sure about banana on pizza, although I did do chicken with sweetcorn and banana last year, which turned out quite well. 

    Some challenging runs there, Hazelnut. Must be fantastic to be able to get a glimpse of Mont Blanc. I think I prefer steep ups to steep downs. Less chance of falling badly.

    As Hazelnut says, swittle, you could make your own pizzas. Pizza dough is quite simple to do and it's good fun. And you can go mad with the toppings. Hopefully the stretches and exercises are helping the piriformis and you're able to get back running sooner rather than later.

    Two runs over the weekend, 11K on Saturday running along the seafront from Shoreham through to Worthing. The forecast was for a gentle breeze, however they obviously forgot to inform the weather of this as it was quite a strong headwind we ran in to. Legs felt very heavy, but figured that things would ease once we'd turned and were heading back. It didn't and as my partner opened up a 10m gap I found I really started to struggle. I decided to keep it easy, but at no point did it feel anything like easy and she continued to increase the gap to the point where she was probably a good 300m ahead of me. Not a great run, although happy to have got it under my belt.

    Sunday was age graded 5K run. Woke up with a pain from my shoulder blade that seemed to increase and did consider whether running was wise, but decided even if it was just a gentle jog it might ease things. We went to the velodrome again where a junior cricket match was in progress. I would guess the ages were under 11, but one of the batsmen was quite a lot bigger than anyone else on the field and when he connected with the ball he was sending it through mid on at quite a pace. The sign saying beware cricket balls coming through had me thinking the run might be interrupted. An easy warm up lap to judge how the back felt, I have to admit for the first 200m or so I wasn't confident and nearly decided to call it a day. However it eased sufficiently for me to decide to do a 5K, albeit I figured on an easy run. My partner set off at great pace and by the end of the second lap had opened up a 50m gap, which increased to a point where she was the length of the straights ahead going into the last mile. I'd decided to just keep the running steady and not get drawn in to trying to keep up, however as we got to the last third I noticed her pace was dropping and I started to close, but not quickly enough to be able to catch her. Managed a sprint at the end to finish in 23:27. Considering the circumstances I was very pleased with the time. Although I paid for it when we got back as the pain in my shoulder blade increased during the day. I think it must have been a trapped nerve as today it seems fine.

    Also very happy that Leeds not only secured promotion, but won the Championship title as well. Ever since football restarted I've been dreading us messing up again.
  • JD1JD1 ✭✭✭

    Great running Cal.You don't think of London and hills,but obviously you know where they are.Nothing worse than loud and inconsiderate music,why people think you want to listen to their music is beyond me.

    Swittle,hope your niggle clears up.I have been looking through my diary of races I had hoped to run this year,and I've missed the Southport HM,I've been waiting for an opportunity to run this race for a few years.

    Nothing wrong with dropping a session if not feeling right Hazelnut.Fantastic 17 miler,not a bad view of Mount Blanc as well.

    GD,nice couple of runs.An unexpected cricket ball heading your way would certainly put you off your stride.Hope your shoulder is ok.

    8 miles yesterday along the canal.Canal was incredibly busy with walkers and cyclists,so there were lots of weaving and slowing down.Left my watch at home,so ran to feel and it felt a bit quicker than HMP,so not a bad run overall.

    An easy 5 miles before my night shift.My left achilles is feeling sore again,need to start stretching and putting an ice pack on it after a run.



  • HazelnutCHHazelnutCH ✭✭✭
    Early outing again Cal the relative quiet must have been lovely.  I would have killed that neighbour.  No ambitions to do UTMB, that would be a bit too big for me.  I've done a couple of races in the past with qualifying points for it but that was enough of an eye opener.  Some more alpine races - yes and maybe an odd ultra but unlikely the combination of the two... 

    Nasty when the wind is stronger than expected GD.  Hope your shoulder has remained quiet in the meantime.  Maybe a nice massage from your partner?  Well done on the 5k but be careful of flying cricket balls!  Good news for you regarding football then.  Lots of speculation here about the league being aborted as certain teams have had many players in quarantine leading to them fielding U20 teams.  Talk of unfair circumstances etc. etc.

    Trying not to look at the list of races I haven't done yet JD.  Nice canal run considering the traffic.  Careful with the achilles.

    Recoveryish 3.7 miles yesterday evening.  Legs felt ok after Sunday's long run, are more likely to complain later today.  Trotted down and back up a hill on tracks / minor roads.  Ran by effort (easy) but got distracted by watching the combine harvester munching through a field of wheat and ran a bit quick down the hill.  Said combine produced rather large clouds of dust making it quite hard to breath for short stretches.  Warm but not too muggy - I seem to be acclimatized to doing easy runs in such conditions. 
  • This morning I made myself run (jog) for the first time in a week. I'm a newbie. I can't yet do a 5K without walking in the middle and I'm slow - but I'm moving! This morning I hit 5K in my best time yet and minimal walks.
    Next time I plan to do it!
    I AM going to be a runner.
    :)
  • HazelnutCHHazelnutCH ✭✭✭
    Welcome Amanda.  You are doing great and you ARE a runner already despite the walking breaks.  Keep your speed down and you will be able to cut them out easier.  Might not always be easy (weather, other commitments, illness, whatever) but getting out of the door on a regular basis will also help.  Have you been following a c25k plan?  Good luck!

    Group run yesterday evening was a pair run - I guess the thunderstorms with heavy rain and hail in the hour before the meet-up put some people off and others are currently on vacation.   The weather put me off of cycling over to the meeting point as I couldn't be bothered to put back on the mudguards on my bike so I drvoe and then trotted just short of 2 miles on my own first to check out the legs and conditions.  The former were happy to play, the latter were sauna-like as the sun came back out again.  Subsequently we ran the usual 6.x miles at a steadier pace than in the last couple of weeks.  My running partner provided light conversation about places to visit on the first undulating section but wanted to send me ahead on the hillier bits.  I didn't feel like pushing the effort either after Sunday's long hilly run so didn't have to wait long for him at the regathering points.  Still forgot to take money to grab an icecream at the farm (made from milk from our own cows according to the sign) but I'm not sure that such would go down well with another hill to run immediately afterwards. 
  • swittleswittle ✭✭✭
    Hazel: the huge increase in home baking has left me rather cold: so much simpler to simmy on down to the local shop and grab a loaf!  I cook but I do not bake.  ;)
    You don't have many off days, do you?  And your following run wasn't a shorty!  Enjoying news of the harvest: can it really be so far into the year?  Now, ice cream mid-run I'd find hard to resist.  :)

    Cal: hot & cold, some x-legged stretches and the ubiquitous tennis ball have produced an improvement but my dilemma is when to try a short trundle.  Of course, everyone here will know what I mean!  Any noise has seem amplified since the restrictions, especially at night.  Few cars pass, even fewer planes, altho' the police h/copter gets out for a turn now & then.

    Guarddog: there's a quiet satisfaction in making food from basic ingredients - I may seek out some recipes.  You're coping with the ups & downs [no pun] in your running philosophically.  As a lifelong Terrier, it was rather ironic that Leeds were elevated as a result of a Town win - the latter much needed btw!  Running verbal battles at school with Leeds fans were a regular, if immature feature.  I saw Town tumble in full freefall from Div. 1 to 4 - and gazed open mouthed as they got to the Prem for a roller coaster couple of seasons.  

    JD1: thanks, as always, for the encouraging words.  It's a common injury, easily mended, I hope.  Most of us here are managing some sort of niggle at any given time.  :(

    Welcome, Amanda T, and good work to score a 5k PB :)

    No Last Run for me but during last night's 2-mile walk, an elderly man in an electrtic wheelchair asked me for a push to get him over a level crossing.  No trains in sight, so I obliged, only thinking later about distancing & risk.  He muttered that "they" hadn't been to fix his chair - hence, the need for help!
  • GuarddogGuarddog ✭✭✭
    Hopefully the achilles has calmed down, JD. Take it easy. 

    Nice couple of easy sounding runs, Hazelnut, although disappointing you didn't grasp the opportunity for an icecream. Football league programmes were suspended below Championship here, with positions being decided on a points per game basis and has meant there's been some unhappy teams. 

    Welcome (again :) ) Amanda and well done on the 5K PB. Here's to many more.

    I was very grateful for Huddersfield's intervention, swittle. I'm not sure I've ever cheered a non Leeds or England goal louder ;) . I have vague recollections of your fall to Div 4 (although not as strange as Northampton's who shone brightly in getting to Div 1 and then burnt out going the opposite way) and coincidentally saw some of the play-off final today that saw you get to the Prem. Hopefully we can stay a bit longer.

    'Bubble' run yesterday and back as a run leader. As the path between Shoreham airport and the Adur was closed for flood defence work (it's only been open for a year) we decided to run along the coast to Worthing in a repeat of last Saturday's run, only this time without the wind and feeling as if the run was just too hard.  I'd had an osteopath appointment just before where he suggested the issue with my shoulder blade was an aggravated rib, possibly brought on by the recent sprint sessions. He had a dig around and it feels an awful lot better. We only did 10K this time and with 2 slower runners we regrouped frequently, so it never felt particularly arduous. Conversation was had about a beach hut spotted on Saturday that was for sale and whether it was a worthwhile consideration. These are pricey items down here (this one was advertised at £22.5K) and I'm not sure if, like normal property, they increase in value. Having run past a beachfront café we then discussed the merits of fish 'n chips post run rather than the planned salad. Fish 'n chips won.
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    GD, Biggin Hill is in Kent. This is another Biggin Hill. (It's like Grange Hill...there's obviously more than one!)
    Glad your shoulder is OK - I've had shoulder problems aplenty so I know it's not a nice thing to deal with. Good work on the age graded run.
    I guess Leeds will be facing my team, Brighton, next season (who just managed to avoid the relegation zone). I am not really a footy fan at all but I vaguely follow the results and happened to catch a match on the telly this week. I was actually born there, though my parents moved to London when I was a baby, and my first boyfriend was a Brighton fan and took me to a few matches (this was in the 80s - the first time I saw them, the late Justin Fashanu was playing).

    AmandaT- welcome - it sounds like you are indeed a runner. Keep plugging away, it gets easier.

    Hazelnut - two things put me off races like that - firstly, the technical descents (I have enough trouble running down a 15% road on pavement) and secondly the lack of sleep. That would kill me more than the miles or the climbs.
    Nice post-thunderstorm running, and you're right about the ice cream - if I ate one before I ran it'd come straight back up.

    JD, I bet the canal would be a lovely spot to run on if the people weren't there. Can't be doing with people!

    swittle - thanks for the Lonesome info - I rather wish there were still lavendar fields there.

    Yesterday was another lovely, bright but cool morning. Unfortunately I woke up feeling really groggy and out of sorts. I think it was the lack of sleep on Sunday night catching up with me. I decided it was better not to run but I did go for a walk and rather underestimate how far my chosen target was and ended up covering over 9 miles. Yikes! (Fortunately I had taken a small bottle of water with me - it was warm by the time I got myself together, which was around 10am).
    Of course, I was knackered after and had an afternoon nap which then messed me up for last night. I've come to the conclusion that I need to avoid naps if I want to sleep at night. Unfortunately I cannot sleep like Kipchoge, who I've read gets around 10 hours including a 2 hour nap.
    Anyway, I did get a run in today, around Clapham and Wandsworth Commons. I'd hoped to do 10 miles but achilles and hammy were starting to complain after 6 so I settled on 8 - it'll have to do.
    Got some rehab in before lunch. I really should have glues, hams and calves of steel with all the stuff I do, but I need to find a way to get my body to use them properly.
  • HazelnutCHHazelnutCH ✭✭✭
    Don't do too much baking really swittle, my cakes sometimes collapse in the middle and I don't have the patience for fancy stuff.   Homemade pizza is definitely better than the freezer variety and I'm not keen on the local restaurant / takeaway offerings either (pricey too).  Last day off was 30.03. so still streaking happily.  It seems the harvest gets earlier every year - maybe the result of climate change.  Will soon be just the maize and sugarbeet left in the fields (and random spuds).  Kind of you to help the man in the wheelchair - take care - especially with the trains!  How about a walk-run initially to see how your niggle is?

    GD - Didn't the Cobblers of Northampton always linger at the bottom of Division 4 (at least they used to when I lived there and it was only Divisions 1-4?)  Better at cricket and rugby in my recollections. Osteopath session sounds ouchy and the beach hut pricey.  Definitely fish 'n' chips and not salad post run (maybe not every time but every now and then..).

    Cal - never been to a footie match - have it on my list though I'm not much of a fan - just to see what it is like.  Nice walking.  Afternoon napping needs practice in my experience.  30-45 mins, set the alarm clock and at least 6 hours before bedtime works well for me.  Good plan to back off of the 10 miler if you had grumpy bits.

    Lateish recovery trot (10k) yesterday evening keeping a close eye on a nearby thunderstorm.  That was fortunately pretty stationary but I didn't venture far from home, sticking to varying loops around the fields.  Enjoyed the combination of summer green woods and yellow fields against the inky sky, sheep devouring grass on the other side of the fence, trees full of apples, sunflower fields etc. (swittle could do that text better for sure!).  The afternoon's cycle of sun-rain-shower-sun-thunderstorm and repeat left it very warm and muggy but I coped with that well at the unhurried pace.

    More of the same likely for today (more sun and less rain though) so I got up early (not Cal early though) for some speedwork this morning rather than struggle later this evening.  5 x loop around the field (roughly 1 k) with jog recoveries along an adjacant minor road to a withered maize plant and back to the start of the loop.  Loop efforts were run at around 10k race pace - did drop off of that on the last rep though as I started to daydream a bit - I need to concentrate to run that fast.  Still need to work on not shooting off too fast.  Maybe I should start with a relaxed stride to accelerate up to the pace I am looking for.   Warm up and cool down led to around 7.75 miles.
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    Another 8 today. I hadn't any firm plans regarding the run - I was thinking it was likely to be a recovery or easy run, but fate intervened. I'd given my Epics a bit of a scrub yesterday as they were dirty from running on the dirt paths, and they hadn't quite dried when I came to put them on. So I opted for my rather neglected Peg Turbos. I've only worn these a few times and they're nice, snappy shoes, but as they're not flyknit, they rub a bit, and also make my left foot ache for some reason.
    First mile came in a bit quicker than my normal first mile, and second was quicker still, so I ended up doing a progression run, finishing at marathon pace (which felt fast today, given the lack of recent speed work). I did a recovery mile to finish.
    Body didn't feel amazing, but stuff seemed to hurt a bit less than yesterday - I think my various bits and pieces prefer to go fast, aside from the groin, but I got away with that this time.
    Unfortunately, with Garmin being down I've been unable to look at my stats carefully but I guess it'll be back at some point. Hmph.
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    I've now gone the route of manually uploading form my watch to Strava so I've got the Strava data at least.
    Another dodgy sleep - people laughing in the garden (next door I think) so I resorted to ear plugs. They actually helped a fair bit and I was able to fall asleep quite easily but the issue was I couldn't have my window wide open due to the noise so I couldn't get my room to cool down overnight and I was awake before 4 again. Oh well, when life gives you lemons... So out for another early run. I did a similar route to Tuesday, going down through Tooting (Fishponds Road and past the cemetary...there are so many cemetaries in my neck of the woods), down Plough Lane and along the Wandle to Earlsfield, but instead of going up the hill to Wandworth Common, I went back down Garratt Lane and back up Fishponds again, then home via the edge of Tooting Common. Legs were still bouncy so I did some informal tempo stretches, around 9-9:30min/mi. I did try pushing the pace at one point around 8:30ish but groin said no. (It wasn't a painful twinge, more of a gentle warning which I heeded immediately. Don't want to be back on the injury bench).
    Anyway, I picked up a few Strava segment PBs and the one little road loop where I was 9th on the leaderboard (women) I moved up to 4th, so that was nice.
    I don't feel too bad afterwards, especially as I did a progression yesterday. The slow easy runs seem to put more stress on hammy and achilles than the faster runs.
    I will likely have a rest tomorrow and do a longish run Sunday, but I'm very close to the end of GVRAT (Sunday weather looks much better than tomorrow, though, so I think I'm going to be patient).
  • GuarddogGuarddog ✭✭✭
    Thanks for clearing up on the Biggin Hill part, Cal, and also Grange Hill. I imagined you'd got a part in the TV show. I used to go to the Goldstone in the '70s and '80s to see Brighton. In fact Hove Park Parkrun is over the road from where the ground was. Saw Leeds there a couple of times when both were in the old second division. I remember going with a mate, also a Leeds fan, and sitting in the south stand having no idea, as scarves had been banned then, of who people around us supported. Being Leeds fans with southern accents we figured we were on to a loser either way, so thought it best to keep quiet and show no emotion. So when Leeds scored we just sat there. However the whole stand around us erupted into a scene of joy. Fortunately we were able to explain ourselves to some very amused fellow fans. Well done on the Strava PBs and moving up the leaderboard. It's a pain Garmin being down at the moment.

    I looked up Northampton's history, Hazelnut. They spent admitted to the League in 1920 and spent the next 40 years in the bottom division. Then in 1961 they got promoted to the old 3rd division, which they won in 1963 and got promoted to the first in in 1965, only to be relegated the straight away before ending back in the 4th in 1969. Quite a rollercoaster. Big fan of cricket and rugby here as well. Well done on the runs and keep on with the baking. Practice makes perfect, so I'm told.

    "Bubble" run again yesterday evening with a speed session. The meeting point was in Shoreham with no idea of the actual running plan, however due to an accident on the A27 we were stuck in traffic for over 20 mins and so got there late with no sign of everyone else. We decided we'd do a gentle jog along the Adur, but as we got onto the route we noticed the others not too far ahead of us and so managed to catch them up. At that point the session was described to us - "Easy 0.1 mile then hard 0.1 mile" (me - "That sounds OK") "Easy 0.1 mile then hard 0.2 miles" (me - "OK, not too bad") "Easy 0.1 then hard 0.4" (me - "I'm not sure I like where this is going") " Easy 0.1 then hard 0.8" ( me - "What the f.....!!") "Then back down from 0.4, 0.2 and 0.1" This was tough, not least that 5 of the 6 in the bubble were a lot quicker than me, so apart from the shorter intervals I was a good 20 to 30m behind. Apparently my exploits on the shorter sprint the week before had gone round the club so they expected my surge at the end. The needn't have worried.
  • JD1JD1 ✭✭✭

    Welcome Amanda,you're a runner.Keep plugging away at it and it'll get easier.

    Nice intervals GD,they sounded tough.Good to see Leeds back in the Prem after many years.I've watched many good games between Liverpool and Leeds over the years.

    Must be really annoying relying on earplugs to get to sleep Cal.Hope your niggles are holding up.Enjoy your day off today.

    That's an  incredible streak Hazelnut,as long as you feel ok you might as well keep going.I have the same problem sometimes when doing sppeedwork,I don't concentrate and the times slip.I read in the Sunday papers about the Rhone Glacier getting covered up in the summer to help stop it melting,and all paid for by the locals.The logistics of doing that every summer,12000 ft up and over 5 acres is immense.

    Hope you're on the mend Swittle.We poached one of our greatest managers off Huddersfield,Bill Shankly,and he created Liverpool we all know.

    3.3 miles last night with my  eldest daughter and Polly.We had a lovely chat along the way,I found out she wants a fitbit for her 13th birthday,a husky with blue eyes when she's older,and she wants to be a zoo keeper also.

  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    GD...good going, even without a surge, eh?

    JD, had to employ the earplugs again last night. Even though it was raining, I could hear people laughing - one woman particularly - but with the earplugs I slept pretty well.
    A fitbit should be easy enough to manage - the husky will be a lot more expensive. Good on her for knowing what she wants to do, though - I had no clue at that age. Or any age. I've pretty much winged it through my adult life.

    After a rest day yesterday (I walked 2.6 miles but that was it) I was up early for another assault on the hills. Today's mission was to find one called Hell Hill (informally, I think...it's not listed as that on the map) before heading over to Crystal Palace for more hill nastiness. But of course, I went wrong. I'd studied the map and knew I had to run from Norwood to Dulwich and go right/left/right to bring me out onto the right road...but when I went left I found myself in Dulwich Village, outside the park (which was still locked at that early hour) so I knew I'd gone wrong somewhere. (Turns out the road where I should have gone right has a curve, so I'd followed it around and then turned right, missing the turn I should have taken). I circled back to see where I'd gone wrong but still couldn't find the turn, so I took the road behind Dulwich Park and head on up. I should say that I don't know the area as well as some other parts, but I did go to Junior School (40-odd years ago) in Dulwich and had friends there, so I had a rough idea of where I was. Then I found myself outside a pub, now derelict, sadly, where I used to go with my dad when I was a kid after walking in the woods opposite. (I should note that the pub had a beer garden where kids were allowed, but my dad did let me drink shandy).
    So I decided to go up through the woods. Which was in fact a hill, but not the hill I was looking for. I knew it would get me somewhere in the vicinity of Crystal Palace so I headed as straight as I could, until I go to a bit where I had a choice of dead end (blocked off railway tunnel - it did used to be a railway line at one point and I think the pebbles and sleepers were still there when I was little, but they're long gone now), locked gate or steps. I walked up the steps. I tried running up at first but my knee wasn't happy with that so I just hiked up them. I got to a road and looked for the CP transmitter. Couldn't see it at first but felt I should go left, and after a little while I spotted it through the trees.
    I came out at the top of the park so the plan was to cut through the park and then go back to Fox Hill, the steep hill I ran up for the first time last week. The problem was I couldn't find a gate on that side of the park. I ran down the road next to the park and the first gate I found was still padlocked, but just after that I spotted a little opening which went through some trees and I made my way into the park, just near the bottom stretch of the parkrun course. I had thought I might do a lap, but I was on 9 miles already and I'd not planned on doing more than 16 so I thought I'd best just run past the dinosaur lake and on to Fox Hill.
    Fox Hill felt even harder this week - it really is a bastard. Got a Strava segment PB, though, so there's that.
    Then I circled back around (down the road next to Fox Hill) and on to Stambourne Woodland Walk where I have a Strava trophy, for an assault on that. Apparently a bit of that is 18% but it doesn't feel as bad as Fox Hill - still hard work though. I did push through there and moved up to 6th fastest woman.
    There was one bit of exploring left. I'd wanted to check out Beaulieu Heights, the park under the Croydon Transmitter, which I'd run past on my previous runs. I was expecting an actual park, since it does have a park gate, but instead got more woodlands with trails. And holy crap it's steep! I was heading downhill for this so I was going gently until I hit a load of steps cut into the path, and decided I would walk down these because I'm not Killian bloody Jornet. (Looking on the Strava map, this bit actually hits 21%, so that was definitely the right move).
    I came out on the road I expected to and then turned right and up Cypress Road, which was the 15%er I'd run down rather unhappily last week. Going up it was no picnic either - it felt just as bad as Fox Hill, probably because, while it's not quite as steep, it goes on a lot longer. Not sure why it isn't called Cypress Hill, because it certainly is that (perhaps the rappers have a copyright on the name).
    I opted to brave the 12% Grange Hill downhill - good practise and it's not too long - then down the through the Lawn (10% downhill through the woods, but seems a bit easier on trail than pavement).
    From there I took the road along to Biggin Wood, through there (which is up and down but mostly up), then along Covington Way which goes along the bottom of Norwood Grove. I decided I wasn't going to attempt an assault on Gibson's Hill as I did last week, as hamstrings were shot (the left one with the high ham tendinopathy was aching pretty badly) but I still had to run up the hill at the end of Covington Way (another one that hits 10% at its steepest point), after which it was all downhill or flat.
    I hit 16 miles on Tooting Common and decided that was enough and I'd walk it in from there.
    Not having access to Garmin, I can't check the elevation in metres, but Strava made it over 1200 feet. I take that with a pinch of salt as Strava always overestimates, but I think it's safe to assume I got around 300m of climb on that run.
    After an Epsom Salt bath my legs don't actually feel that bad - can't feel high hammy while I'm sat down - when it's really bad, even sitting is uncomfortable, so I guess that's a good thing. I feel pretty tired in a general sense, but hardly surprising, that.
  • GuarddogGuarddog ✭✭✭
    Congrats to Liverpool as well, JD. Quite a couple of seasons they've put together. And good your daughter has an ambition. Like Cal I never knew what I wanted to do and have been winging it ever since. Seemed to blag my way through various jobs.

    The surge was definitely not there that time, Cal. Great description of your odyssey as well. Those hills sound like absolute killers.

    Just the one run over the weekend. We had planned our slow 10K on Saturday, however sleep was rather interrupted by events. I'd actually struggled to drop off when I'd gone to bed, work issues going round my head. So I wasn't overly impressed by one of the cats being outside the bedroom door making a racket. He seemed to settle down so I tried to get back to sleep, but then I could hear scratching which I figured was the cat on the landing. As it went on the scratching seemed to come from the headboard. In a rather dazed state I tried to put various bits of information together - cat miaowing, the fact that a couple of minutes before I'd felt something brush over my head (but I thought it was just an itch) and now a scratching noise on the headboard. Realisation suddenly kicked in and I leapt up turning on the bedside light, which didn't go down too well.
    "What's going on?"
    "Something is in the bedroom!"
    "What?"
    "I'm guessing either a mouse or a spider with long fingernails."
    Sure enough there was a rather scared mouse sitting on the headboard. Managed to put it in a tupperware box and took it into the garden to set it free. We now had two excitable cats who refused to leave the bedroom, one of which decided he was going to have a third of the bed, so I was effectively pinned. Eventually I managed to get back to sleep, but we slept in a lot longer than planned. When we did open the door to go for a run we were met with it absolutely chucking it down and thought an extra rest day would be a good idea.

    So on Sunday we did our age graded virtual 5K around the velodrome. The wind was quite tricky and swirly, but I'd figured as I'd managed sub 24 the week before with a bad shoulder I might have a reasonable chance at a decent time. My partner wasn't feeling it as much, but when we set off she quickly opened up a 15m gap. I know she does go off quickly and to try to stay with her would be tough, so it was a case of trying to ensure the gap didn't grow to the point where I got disheartened and so kept it between 10-15m. As we completed the first mile I passed her and then just tried to keep a steady rhythm. The third mile was a bit of a "hang in there" affair, but I thought back to the session we did on Thursday and figured I should be able to maintain it. The not knowing where the finish is is definitely an issue. I know it's just over 8 laps of the track and I had counted them and figured that I knew where the line would be, so set myself to sprint from 200m out. However the end came after 100m which, although welcome, didn't really allow me to utilise it. Looked at the watch and it was 22:23. More pleased with that than I was the 22:16 wind assisted effort, especially as there never seemed to be a point when running round that the wind didn't seem to be in my face. 
  • HazelnutCHHazelnutCH ✭✭✭
    edited July 2020
    Didn't get around to posting again over the weekend.

    Like your daughter's wishes JD. Running together must be a good opportunity for a bit of father-daughter chat then - as long as the pace is chat speed.  I am aware of the ice caves, a tourist attraction on the Rhone glacier, being covered over to prevent serious melting.  That section is pretty much fenced off and can make it quite tricky to access the glacier for going on an alpine tour.  

    Must get out a map Cal and see if I can follow one of your routes around by your descriptions.  Nice hilling and all within a long run as well.  And a couple of other good runs over the weekend too.

    LOL to the mouse story GD.    Our bedroom door is normally firmly closed at night to prevent unwelcome presents but there is always the risk of those arriving unnoticed during the day.  Another good 5k from you.  It seems you have sussed out your partner's quick start strategy. 

    Friday saw me out before work due to the heat for just over 11 miles.  Don't know why I thought it was a good idea but after a slightly sluggish start I put in a bit more than 5.5 miles at around my old marathon pace.  Considering the fact it was just one day after an intervals session I was surprised it felt pretty easy.  Once I had dropped down the pace for the last couple of miles the legs did feel tired though.

    Saturday involved two activities with my OH - a relaxed local cycle of just under 15 miles to test out the ice-cream at a farm I run past most Tuesdays.  Very tasty.  Friday's run was definitely catching up with me though and the evening recovery also with OH was a bit of a slog.  He showed me a nice track through one section of local woods - always nice to have some new bits to add onto well trodden routes, in particular with extra shade for the summer.

    Double activities yesterday too - around 12.5 miles ran pre-breakfast on unmotivated legs and a hilly hike in the afternoon with OH.  Bit of a heatwave going on with high humidity so both pretty hard work. 

    Hope swittle is recovering well from his niggle.
  • swittleswittle ✭✭✭
    Thank you for your good wishes, MLRers.  The bum muscle has improved but not to the extent to which I'd risk a test run.  So, it's 2 miles a day walking and a session of strenthening & stretching before & after.  Local gym is now open but I'm in no hurry to go back.  

    Discussion about the on=off-maybe-never London Marathon suggests a 'deal' of some sort is in the wind, with the next update on 7 Aug.  The whiff of political no goodery is getting stronger.

    I was sad to note the death of 'Fleetwood Mac' co-founder, Peter Green, over the weekend.  Very favourably compared to Eric Clapton, and a 'mentor' of Carlos Santana, Green succumbed to drug abuse that led to a psychosis that haunted him the rest of his life.   B B King spoke of the sweetness of his guitar playing's tone. 
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    Jeez GD - I've had so many problems with mice, I can sympathise. My favourite was when one got stuck in my foam roller (one of the hard, hollow ones) which I'd left on its end overnight. I heard a mouse making a noise during the night but couldn't figure out where it was coming form. When I went to do my morning foam roll, he fell right out and was too exhausted to run away. After losing sleep and patience over the years, I ruthlessly dispatch any mice I catch so that was the end of him.
    Nice work on the 5K. I've run 5K on a track but I guess the velodrome is rather bigger.
    Hazel - you can see the map on Strava - I've titled it For Fox Sake. :D
    Great mileage from you. It's lovely weather here today - cool and bright - but is going to hit 30 by the end of the week. Ugh.
    swittle, hope your bum eases up. I know a bit about achey bums - it's not much fun, for sure. As for London, they should just can it and stop messing people around.

    After a rest yesterday (rehab and a 4 mile walk) I opted to have a crack at a virtual 10K that has been put on for a bit of fun by one of the Facebook groups I'm in. I wasn't going to do 10K pace, obviously, but I thought I might try to do it as a tempo, shooting for MP (9mm) for 5 of the 6 miles.
    Did my warm up mile (10:13, which is quick for a first mile for me, especially at 5:30am after a crap night's sleep) then started pushing, and hit 8:48 on the next two (confession: I was looking for segment PBs here, and I got them). The third fast mile was even quicker at 8:22 which is close to my actual 10K pace, but I eased back a bit for the penultimate mile as it was uphill. Very gentle at first, but up to around 4% near the top which, granted, is nothing compared to the hills I ran on Sunday but is still enough to make a different to my pace at that speed. So 9:15 for that mile. Pushed on to do 8:50 for the the final mile and then kept it going for the last fraction. Ended up running 56:13 which I'm happy with (especially as the first mile was much slower) and, bonus, no groin warnings when I pushed the pace.
    Groin is not completely better as it gave me a good twinge yesterday when I was doing one of my rehab exercises, so I had to mash a ball into it until it felt better. But the progress is encouraging. I think I'll be able to get back to my club's weekly 5Ks soon. Maybe next week, even.
    I did a mile walk to cool-down and spotted a couple of interesting little ducks on the Tooting pond. Not seen them before but they had a distinctive white eye stripe. I thought they might be female mandarins so I looked it up on the RSPB page and found myself to be correct.
    I am off to the gym in a bit...first time since lockdown.
  • HazelnutCHHazelnutCH ✭✭✭
    Hope you had a nice time at the gym Cal and the groin didn't moan too much there.  Good 10k above.   

    Good to hear from you swittle and hope you can risk a test run soon.  Feel sorry for the VLMers with all the messing about.  It's now what - 6-7 weeks before the race date?  Must have a listen to some Fleetwood Mac.

    Struggling with the heat here as usual - with evening temperatures as high as they are I need to run in the mornings but with not sleeping because of the heat it is hard to get up.  Am resorting to reading my mails, sorting out the day's tasks and then going out.  The joys of home office.  It was already around 24 degrees in the sun at 8am so I picked a shady route in the nearby woods as of around 9am.  Quite a lot of local dog walkers around but all well-behaved.  (owners and dogs).  The fountain on route only produced a dribble of water but that was welcome as it was.  I ignored the bits and bobs in the water trough below for a brief bit of arm wallowing.  Just short of 7 and a half miles in 1:09.
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    That is very warm, Hazel - wise to stick to the shade.

    Gym was not quite what I was expecting - they're rearranged it so that the gym itself is all machines while all the free weights are in the studio, which has to be booked separately. I'd booked the gym, and I literally only use one of those machines, so the instructor allowed me to train in one of the outdoor pods they'd also rigged up, and brought me a couple of dumbells and a kettlebell. I did manage a half decent upper body workout - I'd not planned to do too much today as it was my first time back since lockdown. But I've booked the free weights for Friday.

    In other news, I did notice an itchy spot on my butt last night...basically the sacrum area, which is where I get shingles. And I've now come to the conclusion that it is indeed shingles. I can't really see it (even with a mirror) but certainly feels like it. Fortunately it's small and I feel pretty much OK so I'm not going to bother going to the docs for acyclovir. I feel the risks of going somewhere sick people congregate outweigh the irritation of a sore, itchy spot on my butt.
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    11 mile run today which took me up through Streatham, Norwood Grove and the Lawns to check out a park I'd not done before (which is just past The Lawns, near the Croydon transmitter). Nice, woodsy park with some fun traily paths, but one very steep hard path (15% according to Strava) that I wasn't expecting. Pace generally low although pushed it in a couple of places. Enjoyed myself - last of the cool weather for a few days, alas.
  • GuarddogGuarddog ✭✭✭
    Some good runs there, Hazelnut, well done on keeping the streak going, even with the heat. It's certainly not been that warm here, but it's due to get warmer towards the end of the week. 

    Nice to hear from you, swittle, and hopefully it won't be too long before you're firing on all cylinders again. Sad news indeed about Peter Green. Albatross is one of my go to tunes when I just feel like relaxing. 

    Not sure I can dispatch a mouse, Cal. Honestly if I had to kill my own food I'd go vegetarian. Even spiders I will try to save. And I am very scared of spiders. Shame the gym seems to be a bit restrictive. Mine opened up again last weekend and I went for the first time on Monday and again this morning. Slightly busier this morning as I think people are drifting back in. Worrying difference in peoples attitude to cleaning the equipment after they've used it means I'm ensuring I've wiped it down before and after.

    'Bubble' run again yesterday evening, back to the Adur with the group split very much into two with three people rather quicker than the other three. We did run in pairs, which meant that for the majority of it I was running slower than I normally would, but actually I quite enjoyed that and it was a good chance for a chat. We covered 6.5 miles, the only issue being nearly taken out by a cyclist who decided they were going to overtake on the inside as I moved over to the left expecting them to go on the outside. That could have stung a bit.
  • JD1JD1 ✭✭✭
    Great description of your long run Cal.You seem to be into your hilly runs at the moment and always good for building leg strength.My daughter loves all types of animals,so a zoo keeper is a good match.My local gym is still closed,not too sure when it'll reopen,kind of missing it.Good 10k effort as well.

    Love your cat and mouse story GD.I bet your cats were desperate to get the mouse.Great 5k,sub 22 on the cards?I think I'd be cleaning gym equipment before and after use,you can't be too careful.Close escape with the bike as well.

    Hope it cools down for you soon Hazelnut.It's getting slightly warmer tomorrow,before a very hot day Friday,and then cooling down again in north Wales.

    10 miles Monday afternoon.Ran over to the grounds of Chick Castle,mostly on minor undulating country roads,I then looped round and dropped on to the trails by the river,trails were extremely muddy from the torrential rain on Monday morning.Running over the fields at the back of my house I disturbed a Heron,that's the first one I've seen in a while.That was a good comfortably hard run,finished it in 1:22.
    6 easy miles yesterday afternoon.I've pulled  a muscle between my shoulder blades so no run today.

  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    GD, I do save spiders - they kill flies so they're good guys in my book. Mice just squeak, chew and piss and shit over everything so they get dealt with harshly. Glad you didn't get taken out by the cyclist - that would definitely have been bad for you and him.
    JD, no mud here even with the rain - it's pretty dry out there. I see herons quite a lot, particularly along the Wandle but also on the various common ponds.
    Good 10 miles there - I hope your back feels better tomorrow. If the pain goes up to your neck it's probably lev scap - I've tweaked that one a few times and it hurts a lot but passes pretty quickly.

    Another event for the Veteran Runners UK "Olympics" today - I skipped yesterday's 3000m but today was a 5 miler so decided to give it a shot. It's not a distance I've done much, just the two Wimbledon Trail Series races on very undulating off-road terrain. Obviously I wasn't going to be able to go flat out just yet with my niggles, the shingles and the fact I'd done a hilly 11 miles yesterday, but legs didn't feel bad (I guess the Epsom Salt bath helped). I did wake up with an achey back, though - sore QL, mostly. Not sure if it's a side effect of shingles, sleeping awkwardly or jarring from downhill running yesterday, but I did my best to roll it out. Can't roll much right now due to the shingles patch (which was bigger and itchier yesterday...hopefully it has peaked now and will start to heal up).

    Anyway, out at sunrise. I decided to do a similar course to the 10K on Tuesday but with a different finish so I didn't have to do the last mile uphill and into the sun. First mile was easier, but still a relatively quick sub-10:00, and then I turned the taps on. Subsequent miles were 8:45, 8:41, 8:30 (I was segment hunting here) and 8:47. I did make the mistake of going into a little rec during the last mile - I thought I could cut through but I couldn't as the side gate was locked, so I ran back up, thought I could get back to the gate I came in via the playground but also found that only had one entrace, so ended up doing the last .2 or so on lumpy grass. Eh, never mind. I was happy to run a sub-45 - I guess I could get close to 40 without the warm-up mile and if I was at my best, but this was just for a bit of fun.
    I walked a bit to catch my breath and then jogged the three miles back home at recovery pace for a total of 8.
    Thrilled to discover I'd earned a Strava crown on the obscure Groton loop (I little road loop I found by accident one day when I took a wrong turning - got home and found I'd got a Strava top 10 trophy even though I'd been going very slowly. So I've gone back a few times to improve my time there and I equalled the course record today, ha!)
    Tomorrow's VRUK race is a 5K walk so that'll fit in well with my rest day and gym plans.
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