My Last Run

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  • Think I'll pass on that Murph workout JB.  The run bit yes - but without the weighted vest - the rest - no thanks. You keep yourself busy when not running. Non-runners do have some annoying comments sometimes.

    Couple of good clothes horses there Cal. Good to see you exploring again and the short circuit does sound handy for some speedwork.  Be gentle with the yoga.

    Was the headtorch argument guy at least visible himself?  Nice hat running.  Annoying regarding the parking ticket. 

    Hope you are all settling into the lockdown ok.  

    8 miles yesterday evening.  Had to drag my mind around a bit and the legs were a bit unwilling too.  I didn't feel the long strides from Wednesday immediately afterwards but did yesterday and still do today.  Dull grey weather for days already and likely to stay that way.  Could do with a bit of sun to lift my mood.
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  • Lovely day here and as I'm a bit of a fair-weather runner I did a few hills, some long and gentle, others short and sharp. Only a 30 minute workout, and nowhere near Hazel's 8 miles, but a tiring one. My training has always been pretty random, even when I was half decent. Old dogs. new tricks etc.
    Thank goodness the US election is coming to a (for me, welcome) resolution. 
  • You know, Hazelnut, I seem to run into problems every time I try to do yoga. Maybe I should just forget about it. (It's not like I've no experience, given I did it regularly for 5 years, but my body really doesn't seem to like it much these days). Good 8 miles there.
    I'm a bit random too, John, although I rarely run less than 5 miles unless I'm coming back from an injury or tapering. I'm hoping to try some hills this week to see how hamstring copes. I do love (hate) a good hill.
    I wish they'd hurry up with this election and get the orange man out. There has to be one good thing in 2020, right?
    My left hip gave me a bit of a scare yesterday. It was fine when I woke and went shopping, but I'd thought to do a late morning recovery run and when I got up to do my warm-up, I suddenly got hip pain that felt like TFL. I rolled it out to no avail so settled on a walk instead.
    Had another good roll later, more around the glute and SI joint, and the pain went away and it was still gone this morning, thank goodness. It was like a taper tantrum, except that I'm not tapering! :D Regardless, I did spend extra time on foam rolling - a half hour warm-up, half of which I spent rolling, as opposed to the 15-20 minutes I usually do. I still have QL pain and it's worse after I've slept, so I try to do my  best with that although it's a deep muscle and quite hard to get into. Glute and ham obviously gets a lot of attention to.
    Anyway, I had intended to do a 5K time trial to see where I'm at, so I stuck to the plan. Ran a couple of miles to the road triangle/shark fin where I usually do these, then did the time trial. There is a very slight gradient so I run the long side down and the shorter side up, and today took it slightly easier on the up side. I still went pretty hard - breathing sounded like a lumberjack porn film - lots of sawing wood and then loud gasping.
    Time came in at 25:58 which is a minute slower than what I'd consider a decent time and a minute and a half slower than a good time. Nearly two minutes down on my June PB, too. So clearly I've lost a lot of fitness and have quite a bit of work to do.
    I had to spend a minute or so leaning on a wall to recover, then jogged two miles home again.
    On the plus side, hamstring didn't object too much - I could feel more the faster I went, but it's more of the usual ache rather than the seizing up thing it did at Dorney. Stride length was OK at just over a metre.
    A benchmark, then - I will see how much I can bring that down over the course of this month. Hopefully injuries will not get worse and I can record some better 5 and 10K times once we're back racing again.
  • I gave up on following the US elections more or less immediately because of the permanently in your face coverage.

    Short and sharp workouts can also be good JB. I'm planning to drop my mileage a bit over the next few weeks, can't keep going at that level all the time as I'm getting tired.

    Glad the hip scare was only that Cal. Good you have a benchmark for your fitness level on a familiar course. Good luck with improving it.

    I'm planning to try a time trial tomorrow so decided to get my longer run of the week done yesterday. 11.x miles. I looked at my collection of shoes and dragged out a pair I've not worn too often. Don't know if it was that or accumulated mileage or both but I left my legs at home somehow and struggled to get to the slower end of my long run pace on the flat. Ticked off the planned miles nontheless. Two interrupts for a nervous horse (cue a couple of minutes of horsey chat, I used to ride), and a bouncy terrier dog. Weather much better than expected, the fog lifted and I noticed a bit late having been glued to a screen full of data too long.

    Today, 2nd round of winter training with 2 others, some warm-up stuff then hill running techniques followed by some stretching. 5 and a bit miles altogether.
  • It looks as though some of us are moving towards speed sessions. I had the pleasure of running along the prom today in near perfect conditions  and, boy, was it busy.

    I did my standard 3 miler which I run as a time trial but made the big mistake of running it alongside my training partner - he usually zooms off in front. Inevitably I started chatting - and at a 0.5 miles was running at well over 8 mm pace.

    I asked him to run ahead and then tried to make up for lost time. Managed 22.30 with a final mile of 7.10 which was respectable.

    Good luck with your time trail, Hazel, and with your injury, Cal.
  • Hope the time trail went well, Hazel (perhaps the shoes are heavier than the ones you've been wearing recently?)

    Nice running, John, not a bad time at all if you managed to have a chat.

    So my night was disturbed by my neighbour's smoke alarm going off - I couldn't quite tell which flat it was so I just shoved some ear plugs in and went back to sleep. Woke up at 5am to blissful silence, then remembered the earplugs and pulled them out. It was still going! So I pottered out into the hall and found it was the flat next to mine - door was open so I knocked and a very flustered neighbour answered, having tried without success to shut it down (including removing the batteries). So I got up on a stool and ripped the speaker and circuit board out with my bare hands...problem solved. Poor bastard was grateful - hope he managed to get some sleep after that.
    Anyway, after coffee and messing around on Facebook, I went out for my run just before 7. I decided to head for Brockwell Park as I'd not been for a while. I took a slightly more direct route there than I do on my long runs, and then did one big lap and one small lap before heading home via the Brixton Windmill, since I now know where that is.
    I did 12 miles total and let me tell you, that felt like a long way. I was ready to stop at 10, but I'd decided on 12 so I stubbornly ground out the last two.

    I seem to have lost so much fitness since Dorney and I don't really know why, as I didn't have that much time out with the injury and I did fast walks and gym work when I couldn't run. My normal paces feel harder now the distances feel longer. I hope this is just a blip.
  • Cal, thanks. That's a fine effort - 12 miles is a fair old distance. As for losing form after a layoff (and I have no pleasure in saying this) it could be age related? I found this to be the case as I advanced through my 50s and 60s. I used to bounce back very quickly but not now. This isn't simply a matter of injury - just sometimes not running a particular distance for a while and then going back to it.

    In fact this morning was a case of this. A couple of months ago I was running 6 miles in under 49 minutes; today 52.53. And I've not had a layoff as such - just not been running that distance. 

    So lets hope it is just a blip in your case. (As for me, I'm now determined to get back under 50 minutes.)



  • Yeah, I guess you're right - even with the cross training and walking, I only managed to run 52 miles last month, whereas I can run well over 200 when I'm training for a marathon. I'll have to get the old ticker and legs trained up again.
  • Work has been hectic so the motivation for long runs (or just running in general) has gone. Only ran once last week, which was disappointing.

    Set out and did 4 miles on Thursday during lunchtime. Was hoping to do 5, but my legs were unhappy, I wasn't too pleased with my perceived pace and the thought of running up Cardiac Hill was off-putting so called it a day at the bottom and walked up as a warm down.

    Today, set out to do an out-and-back 7 miles down the canal and back before an appointment in our new house. Legs were achey after 2 miles, but I pushed on nonetheless. No wimping out this time and even ran up Cardiac Hill to finish. Each mile was under my target pace of 9:09mm so pretty pleased with that. Hopefully it gives me the motivation to keep up a more usual running routine and clock up more miles ahead of the rescheduled half marathon I have planned for next year (Reading 2020).

    Looking at Strava, Cardiac Hill is about 136ft of elevation over a mile with a bit of undulation. Overall, lovely to run down but a bugger to run up!
  • That's good work, Malteser. Onwards and (literally) upwards, eh?
  • LintonTravelTavernLintonTravelTavern ✭✭✭
    edited November 2020
    Hello all, such a busy week I haven't had a chance to post, but seems you lot have been very busy well done all.

    Three runs to report; First, a mediocre 6 miler where that was totally nondescript. (apart from an argument) 

      Next was a tempo run 5 miler.  I'm stubbornly still in just a vest and race shorts, but it was that evening where it was below zero and it turned into a hard effort 10k pace as it was bloody cold! 

    The third was my Virtual Half Marathon, A Bonfire themed one by Nice work.  Half marathon number 12. I woke up today and it was such a lovely morning, sunny mild and calm.  I guess it would have been a good morning for a real hard effort time trial.  However, my fitness is pretty terrible compared to pre-injury/Covid so I thought I'd just enjoy the views and sun.  I plodded my 13.1 in a 2:12, but really enjoyed it! I have a long way to go fitness wise though, but last year lived on a super-clean runners diet, whereas this year I'm eating everything I want.  My ankle is slowly improving.

    Great going Malteser, sounds like the running is still improving.  That hill sounds savage!  Although, in a way, I wish I had a hill like that near me for training.

    That is a brutal upper body workout John B! when I had my own place I had a pull up bar in my kitchen doorway and did 15 every time I passed, so maybe 100-150 a day. Got great upper body strength, but all long gone now! Must start again at some point. Great 5k.

    Good running Guardog. Nice witches hat run!  Must be the current climate maybe, as I got in a slanging match with a Dalmatian's owner after it tried to attack me on tuesday!  I love dogs, but (some) dog owners are the most over-entitled bunch in the world.  I spend half my runs in the road giving people space and they still seem to have an issue with runners.

    That is a great run Cal, but +1 for loss of fitness.  I don't want to get too trim this year because of the bug, but through injury I have lost a good bit and it's frustrating.  Absolutely spent at the end of my half today. Need to start upping the mileage but always an injury or another.

    Great running Hazlenut,  I still find it strange switching up shoes, but it's supposedly good for injury.

    Going to try and start upping the mileage if I can now,  lockdown is a bit rubbish but deep joy I can run this time where I couldn't even jog round the block last time.

    Have a great week all.  Stay safe.









  • That is awful that your friend got beaten up, john. I really don't know what's up with people. I sometimes think that the pandemic has brought the best out of us in some respects, but also the worst in some instances. Whilst I would certainly never initiate a confrontation, the older I've got if someone initiates it I'm less likely to back down. Well done on the 3 miler along the seafront. Can understand why it would have been crowded as Saturday was gorgeous. And the time for the 6 miler wasn't too bad, either. Just a case of pushing the mileage a bit more.

    He wasn't anywhere near visible, Hazelnut. He had a black top on with black shorts and just appeared out of the gloom. Hopefully the time trial went well.

    Why didn't your neighbour do what you did, Cal? I think if taking the battery out didn't work then the next stage would naturally be to just rip the thing off. I've never heard laboured breathing being described as 'lumberjack porn'. That is a very specific genre. Don't think you've lost any fitness, more a case of perhaps just getting the mojo back and finding a nice running rhythm. 

    Well done on the 7 miler, MM, and also making it up Cardiac Hill. When is the rescheduled half? I'm sure once you get into a proper routine you'll be back to the kind of pace you were at before.

    Some good runs there, LTT, and well done on the virtual half. The fact that you enjoyed it is the main thing and the time wasn't bad at all considering how your ankle is. And I think you're right with the current climate making people more edgy. With everything so polarised at the moment I think people are becoming a bit more argumentative.

    10K round Hove Park on Saturday. This time we did it anti-clockwise, which is the PR way, and I have to say I preferred it. There is a longer drag up a hill, but I always feel I get some good traction going up. It was a really sunny morning, a lot warmer than I'd anticipated and so the park was quite busy, although less of the football activities taking place in the inner part. In the end we did negative splits, apart from the last mile where I took the hill at an easier pace.

    Sunday was an 11 miler along the Adur, running towards Bramber and then on to Steyning (to get the extra mile in). Started off with broken cloud that then turned into wonderful sunshine with a slight wind. However when we turned the cloud closed in a bit and the wind picked up in our faces (isn't it always the way?) and it looked as if it might rain. It held off and we finished having averaged 8:53min/miles. We're still training on the basis that Goodwood will still go ahead in December, so we need our race pace to be 8:23 for a sub 1:50 half. We're torn between going for it or just enjoying the run. I suspect the latter viewpoint may hold sway. 

    Back home there was a chicken casserole to cook and I also made a plum crumble. Quite getting in to the crumble making. Watching Roadkill in the evening we heard the distinct whine of one of the cats and my partner got up to investigate. I then heard "Bad cat, get out!!" A mouse had been caught and had been deposited in one of her shoes. I was given responsibility of getting it out so having picked up an excited cat and deposited it in the back garden I then picked up the shoe to set it free in the front. Of course the cat came into the front garden excitedly bouncing around, so I went to the back. I couldn't be sure that the mouse had gone and so this morning I put my hand in to have a feel. Fortunately it wasn't there.
  • LTT, good run: an HM is a real achievement even if ran at a sub-optimal pace. Something to build on. I'm with you on the (poor) diet: I don't put on a lot of weight so it gives one a bit of a 'free pass' to scoff. But I could do with losing a few pounds if I'm honest. (And 15 pullups is pretty damn good!)

    G'dog, good running. Goodwood is a harder course than I expected, Firstly the wind can be really quite a factor and secondly, the track is pretty undulating. I'm not sure it would be a hugely enjoyable run in terms of  scenic interest as (I guess) you'll be flogging around the track (approx 5 laps?) Having said that it's still probably faster than most HM courses, I've never done that Shoreham to Bramber bit - I've not walked, cycled or ran it but it always looks so inviting. My friend ran the Downs Link Ultra which is Guildford (I think) to Shoreham. I think it was an all-nighter. That's pretty flat as it was a railway line many years ago.
    Further up the Adur, I did the Henfield HM some years ago. A really nice run other than having to climb over stiles.

     That 8.23 pace is pretty demanding. Good luck!

  • Henfield was one of the halfs we did last year, john. As you say it is a nice run, although a bit challenging in places with the obstacles. We got absolutely soaked right at the start, but it was one of those runs where I felt I just got stronger and quicker to the point that at the last water station my partner just told me to go for it (trying to break 2 hours which I hadn't done for some time). Unfortunately the last mile gave me a decision of running in mud or through long grass, neither helped with the pace side of things and sucked the sprint out of my legs, so was 30 secs outside breaking 2. 

    We've also done the Seven Stiles league run there as well (although I don't think there are seven to navigate now). Tends to cause a bit of a bottle neck.
  • G'dog - that's a good performance in the mud on that course. I did it about 15 years ago on a baking hot day and my time wasn't much better. I forgot about the bottlenecks but it reminds me of the Highdown Hike run where the stile comes about 400 metres into a race with about 500 competitors! 
  • The HIghdown Hike is one I've not had the opportunity to do yet, john. It's run on a Wednesday evening and that had always been my day for staying overnight for work. I have heard it's quite a good course, though, apart from the hill. Hopefully it'll be run again next year.
  • Ups got a bit behind - nice to see it busy on here.

    Your poor neighbour Cal - bet he was very happy you solved that one.  You have done solid mileage over the months so I wouldn't think it should take you too much time to get your fitness back.   

    Good 3 mile TT JB.  Good point regarding the need for extra recovery as you age.    

    Well done MalMal.  A nice (brisk) walk up the hill is just as good as plodding it if you don't feel up to running it.  Are you moving soon as well then?  

    Brr to vest and shorts LTT.  Good mix of running and a sensible approach to the HM, great you can run that far again.   

    Good weekend of running for you GD.  Fingers crossed that that half will go ahead.  Lol to the mouse.  Mr Cat here has a very distinct call for "look what I've brought home", in particular if issued with a full mouth.  We drop everything if we hear it.   Chicken casserole and crumble sounds nice.  

    Like the race talk in the last few posts. 

    My TT attempt was a poor one.  Did a decent warm 3 mile warm up with some strides.  Then set off at suicidal pace and didn't even manage one k.   :(  I did think about a 2nd attempt but my legs were feeling a bit off anyway (tough exercice on Saturday left me with grumbly quads) and binned the idea.  Slunk back to my car at recovery pace.  Actually I was more or less at peace with the failure immediately - I really have to learn to pace the fast stuff and I don't like it!  Another go soon maybe.  Likely on a less busy day - I don't like having other people see me struggle like that (outside of races that is, they are supposed to be hard)

    Today the fog lifted in the afternoon again for glorious sunshine so I made sure I got out for a four mile recovery run.  A light mist was creeping back over the fields already.  Farmers are busy harvesting sugarbeet - fields must have dried off enough again.  
  • GD/John - I did the Weald half last year - first proper trail race, and oh my god there were so many stiles! Christ knows how many there were on the 50K route.

    Linton - great progress - let's hope you can get through lockdown without any more injuries.

    Hazelnut, I must admit I find it hard to push into the pain zone when I'm not racing. And I guess I need to if I want to get my speed back. Easy runs are so much more pleasant.

    Speaking of which, I did have a lovely run today. I didn't go out until after 9 and it was warm and quite sunny - even got the shorts out! I decided on the spur of the moment to do a double prison run, so I ran to Brixton prison (or at least, past the road where it is - there is a barrier there so wasn't sure if I could run along it... so I ran past the windmill again which is on the next road down) then along through Clapham and Wandsworth commons, alongside Wandsworth prison and back home. I covered a little over 9 miles, which brings me to 1700 for the year. (I've actually likely run a good bit further than that but I round down fractions when it comes to recording my miles).
    Got lucky with the roads too - I managed to get across all of them without stopping, even though there was plenty of traffic. One of those good runs we all hope for.
  • Cal - Yes, in the case of Cardiac Hill on that out and back route, what comes down must go up! Nice 9 miler and congratulations on the impressive mileage for the year! 

    LTT - they say that 'hills pay the bills' but adding it into every run is a bit overkill. Still, can't really avoid it if I want to get back home. Good going on the half marathon by the way! That's a good time especially coming back from injury! I know the frustration of not being back where you were before.

    Hazel - bought the house but seeing as it's our first, we're doing it up before we move in. It's given me it's fair share of headaches these last 3 months! Tough luck on the TT but at least you were at peace with it, and will surely only serve as motivation to succeed next time!

    Quick 4 miler on the lunch break today. Was actually a lovely day for it, and I chose an undulating route instead of just a straight out and back as I have done a lot recently. Change of scenery was nice, though the hills weren't! Cardiac Hill took a whole minute of my pace but with an average of 8:31mm on an undulating route, I'm happy with that.

    Got a running watch on my Christmas wishlist this year - need something to run Strava and can keep me running at a constant pace to save me setting off quick.
  • Glad you had a nice run Cal - shorts even.. Great annual mileage too.

    Good luck with the house MalMal.  Hills are good for you  :) Good 4 miler.  Cardiac hill does look like a bit of a pig towards the end of your run.  Good idea regarding the watch.

    Group run yesterday evening - thick fog which wasn't fun as I had to wipe my glasses regularly and visibility was down to just a few metres in parts.  Fairly sedate round therefore.  Four of us out all well equipped with high-viz and headtorches - fortunately the minor bits of road we were on were very quiet.  Bit dodgy running on them at all in those conditions.

    One of the guys had a nasty fall on the last (up-) hill.  He was pretty tired and fell over his forefoot with quite a slam into the ground.  Banged his knee quite hard and had to walk with a limp initially.   With around a mile to go I left my OH with him and jogged (carefully) to get the car to collect him.  Fortunately by the time of my return he was able to jog again so likely just ripped tights and bruising.    
  • It is that distinctive call that alerted my partner, Hazelnut. He's generally a loud whingey cat anyway and I just thought he was being a bit louder and whingier than normal. The little sod brought another one in on Monday night. This time I chased him out into the garden, but he kept trying to come back in. Bad luck on the TT. Pacing can be a tricky thing when you've got no one as a reference point. And hopefully your fellow runner wasn't too badly hurt after the fall.

    The Weald half does look like quite a challenge, Cal. Cool freebies, though. Did you get the mug? Well done on the 9 miler. The weather is incredibly mild at the moment so not surprised you went with the shorts.

    Glad to hear you're getting some pace back, MM. And good luck with the house renovation. Is there much to do?

    My partner and I had our own 'bubble' run last night. The challenge came on Monday night to find a route that we can run from home. As we live on a hill this was obviously going to involve either going down to begin with knowing we'd have to come up, or going up knowing we could then return downhill. In reality the run included quite a few hills as it's virtually impossible to run in this area without encountering them. So from the house we ran down towards Hove Park, ran along one length of it before turning off and heading up towards Hove Rec. Turning there we went in the direction of the sea before routing off and heading towards Seven Dials, then the hill down towards Preston Circus. Slightly worrying running under the viaduct as the pavement disappears and it is rather dark there. Back along the London Road and past Preston Park before taking a left and hitting another hill. It was just before this point that my partner realised where we were going and she wasn't pleased, telling me she'd see me at the top. Then it was the slight (in light of the previous hill) incline up Dyke Road before a downhill jog home. Just a touch over 6.5 miles and done at a reasonable (i.e. easy) pace.
  • Some good running going on. I'll add my effort today which was 6 miles in 48.58. Quite a fierce cross wind today - with worse to come apparently.

    G'dog, Brighton is rather hilly. I know that viaduct - it's horrible to cycle there too. You have to be fit to run (or bike) around the city. I wonder if you've noticed the traffic reduce since lockdown. I'd say it's about 60% of normal here.

    Cal,  I've just knocked the Weald HM off my 'to do' list!

    Malteser, I ha the same on my Xmas list last year, having been very reluctant to get one. I can honestly say it was the ideal present.

    H'nut, that fall sounds nasty. I can still feel my elbow that I landed on 6 weeks or so ago. I really, really hate tripping over. (OK, I'll add, at my age!)
  • GD, yes I have a nice blue mug. They are really nice (for anyone who doesn't know the race, these are hand crafted mugs - not your usual mass production kind, and they come in lovely colours).
    The cat story made me laugh!

    John, it's actually a really nice race. My mistake was doing it two weeks after Liverpool Marathon, but I had a free entry so I wasn't going to say no. It's not too hilly but my achilles was pretty angry at the time  so I did walk up the one hill I remember. I also managed to stack it in spectacular fashion on a bit of tarmac road, despite having avoided tripping over all the ruts and roots on the off-road bits.
    I was very appreciative of the fact that they catered for gluten free people like myself (as well as vegans) so, for once, I was able to enjoy lots of cake at the finish.

    Hazelnut - I honestly think half the time I fall over it's because I've tripped over my own feet.  I hope your friend is OK.

    Malteser, do you know which one you're going to go for?


    Today was earmarked for some speedwork so I opted to go out after 9 as I'm faster then. I ran down to that small rec I found last week that had the quarter mile path loop (around three and a half miles, the route I took) then did two laps hard, one lap recovery, three times. I was thinking I could manage four but I was seriously done after the third interval  so I did my recovery lap and then ran back home. Or rather, I ran to Tooting Bec tube (where I hit 8 miles total) and then walked the remaining three quarters of a mile home to give heart and lungs time to recover.
    I don't do a lot of speed work so I guess this is something I can get better at, but damn it was knackering! Hammy was a bit grumpy from the intervals but not severe. I'll either do a slow run tomorrow or rest, depending on how I feel.
  • Nice exploring GD.  Its good you have someone to run with on a regular basis - I can drag out my OH for an occasional recovery run and have my Tuesday group but that's about it.  Naughty puddy-cat..

    The ground does seem to get harder the older you get JB.  Good 6 miler.

    Happened to me a couple of times as well Cal, concentrate hard on the difficult bits and then fall over on the easy.  Nice bit of speedwork - that park sounds useful for such.

    Just over the 10k mark yesterday afternoon - managed to get out before it got dark and fortunately there was a  lot less fog around.  Having had a fairly easy couple of days the legs were feeling pretty frisky.  I found it hard to run reasonably even splits - was either too fast or on a couple too slow.

    Met two people out deer hunting which caused me to change my route planning as if I see they are out I avoid running in their vicinity for my own safety.  Had a quick chat and they weren't bothered that I would also maybe be disturbing their activities.  Season ends on Saturday fortunately. 
  • It's nice when the legs feel bouncy, Hazelnut - I always end up going a bit too fast when that happens.

    No danger of that today, though. Had a bad night last night...well it started well enough - slept like a log until 3am and then woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I figured if I ate something then I could still have time to digest it and go out when it got light, but once it was light I was hungry again so had another breakfast and had to wait another four hours for that to digest. So I ended up going out for a rare lunch run. Just did a recovery 6 miles - legs felt heavy - but it was a nice day so it was quite enjoyable in the end.
  • Hazel - Guess I'll just have to learn to love hills. Bit weird that you came across a couple of hunters though. Think i'd be out of there asap so as to not be hit by a stray bullet.

    GD - there's loads to do on the house, too much to list. We've got most of the bedrooms done, and are just about to tackle the bathroom and the kitchen...at more or less the same time. Headaches await I am sure! Nice run, especially at an easy pace. I need to do more easy runs, could definitely take a few notes from the books of everyone here.

    Cal/John - ideally need something with a decent battery and can sync to Strava. Thinking the Garmin Forerunner 245 as the reviews look good and the price is about what I'd like to pay. Won't go for the music option to save cost, and I'm happy carrying around my mp4 player stacked full of anime music (don't judge) in my pocket.

    Hectic day at work that was mentally draining so tried for a quick 4 miles at lunchtime along the same route as Tuesday. Was marginally slower, but doesn't matter. Up to 440 miles for the year, so only 60 miles off my target of 500 miles. Would have liked to be on track for 750 miles or 1000 miles by now if I hadn't taken the time out, but health is priority after all.

    Also means new trainers are on the cards, and seriously now. Been running in the same pair of Asics and they'll need replacing. The new line of New Balance look nice, something like the 1080's or the 880's but I really need to try shoes on. My Asics Nimbus are a 2E width and feel nice, but my Hoka Clifton 6's in a 2E width are too narrow and give me blisters!
  • Cal the only problem with the bouncy legs is being sensible and saving them for the next day's speedwork.  That's annoying with the early wake up and the digestion necessity.  Good you had decent weather for your run when you did get out for it.

    MalMal I hope you don't mind me analyzing your run on here.  I took a look at it on Strava and noticed you set off quite fast (downhill).  What you could try doing is deliberately holding back initially to save your beans for the return hills and give those a blast.  Definitely do some easy runs too.  Got used to the hunting here - the wild deer population is quite big and needs controlling somehow.  Don't like the idea of trophy hunting though.  Lots of work ongoing on your house - pheww.  Given your health issues you have done well on mileage.  I would certainly look to try on a shoe before buying (unless the return policy is ok). 

    Intervals yesterday:  2 x 1200, 2 x 800, 2 x 600 with appropriate recoveries in a warm-up and cool-down sandwich with 9.3 miles in total.  My last attempt at some fast stuff on Sunday went pear-shaped so I was a bit apprehensive about the intervals but all went well.  Splits for the reps were fairly consistent.  I concentrated on not setting off too hard at the beginning of each which worked fairly well.  I wasn't keen on the groups of men working on the railway line right next to me but no heckling - in one group 4 were too busy supervising one working.  Mtb cycle to and from the run as it was mild weather, was a bit on the dark side on the way back - I took a longer route to stay off the busy roads and a rough bit through the woods. 
  • Hazel - absolutely do not mind having some constructive criticism on my runs, I am all for feedback. Admittedly the last two runs started by running on the flat - the first downhill doesn't come until about 1.3 miles in and then again at around 2.3 miles.

    With the run last Sunday, though, that did start downhill for the first mile or so (down Cardiac Hill) and I did try to hold back, to preserve myself for later in the run. Sometimes I find if I hold back too much then my calves/knees start to suffer as it's not a natural stride.

    All my runs are done based on feel though. One of the reasons to get a running watch, so I can set a pace and work with it and get those even splits :)
  • Malteser - I have the vanilla 45 and it's decent. Sleep tracking is crap, but that's not really what I bought it for. It does the other stuff pretty well.
    I run mostly by feel too.

    Good job on the intervals, Hazelnut. I do find I have to be in the right frame of mind for speed work so glad you got through it well this time.

    Another lunch run today. Actually had a better night - woke at 3 but managed to go back to sleep until 5. I ate something at 6, planning to run at 9, but then it started chucking it down. Got hungry again waiting for the rain to stop so had a second breakfast and then had to wait for midday again. Weather was lovely by then but I really had to bully myself out the door as, the longer I leave it, the harder I find it is to make myself get out there.
    It was a decent run, anyway - covered 11 miles. Legs felt tired but pace was decent, at least until the last mile when I came to a busy road junction and had no option but to stop. Annoying. Traffic seems to be a lot worse at lunchtimes than mid-morning, so I'll try to avoid making a habit of it.

    I would normally have rested today (I generally don't do more than three days in a row) but the weather looks bad on Sunday so I'm trying to avoid running then, which means I need to get 5 days in a row instead. Hammy was a bit grumbly so I may have to end up resting tomorrow and sucking up the bad day instead...guess we'll see.
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