My Last Run

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  • Many thanks for the kind words. Am just about fine now and ventured out. Did a 5k, not on my usual flat, hard surface, but on a hilly, muddy one. Not ideal for a fragile old git, but I managed it and each km was quicker than the previous one (good for morale!).

    Got the fist payment of my state pension today. Quite a landmark, I guess. Bus pass next!

    GD I've been plagued with Achilles on and off for years. I've tried all sorts of things, but the most recent was the simplest and (so far!) the most effective. And it's exactly the same as Cal's advice! (In fact I might have got it from her in the first place.)


  • Glad you managed to get out again JB.  Don't spend it all at once :)

    5.4 miles recovery trot yesterday, late afternoon.  Lovely sunset to enjoy.  I didn't let that distract me too much from the spread of black ice though. 
  • Can't say there's been too much of a saving on the meat free front, Cal. The first week I really concentrated on getting in more veg, so probably saved about 10-15 quid. The second week was more focused in terms of what we planned to have and obviously a cauliflower for £1.80 was cheaper than a beef joint, so possibly saved about 20 quid overall. However the tapas on Saturday sent it the other way as things like artichoke, olive's, etc are quite pricey. If pushed I would say it is generally cheaper, but not by much. Will try the exercise tip.

    Good work on the runs, Hazelnut, and well done for not coming a cropper on the black ice. Do you have any recipe tips? We're finding lentils are an absolute life saver in terms of a substitute and really enjoying having those in pasta. We'll certainly cut down on meat after this month, but still looking forward to a nice fillet steak  :)

    Glad you're back on your feet, john. Sounds like you're over the lurgy and well done on the muddy 5K. And also getting your pension payment through. I am exceptionally jealous. After the week I've had so far (and I appreciate it's only Tuesday) I would really like to give it all up and retire.

    Will need to do the achilles exercises. Have to say I'm missing the running from a resilience perspective. Work is stressful at the moment. I made the mistake of checking my laptop last thing before going to bed and saw a car crash happening which meant I then couldn't sleep and ultimately got up at 5am to deal with it. So being able to go for a run and clear my mind would be very welcome.
  • H'nut, black ice = the stuff of nightmares.

    G'dog, sorry to hear about your work-stress. The odd thing is that - effectively having retired a few years back - I still get work-related dreams. Sometimes they are fine; sometimes not! I was quite lucky in that as I reached 60 I could start picking and choosing which bits of my job I could keep going and then since finally left I can do some little bits and pieces elsewhere to fool myself that I'm still needed and valued. I wouldn't have wanted the cliff-edge of going from 100% to zero, although I can see its attractions when you are in the 100% club. (Mrs JB had already fully retired by the time I got to 60, so I didn't feel guilty.) Hope your week gets better soon!

    Managed a 'nasty' little 5k again. A different track to yesterday's but again quite a few short, sharp hills. And again each k was quicker than the last. But it totally wrecked me.

    PS isn't this week 'supposed' to be the worst week of the year? What with Covid, Brexit, the floods and the generally naff weather, it's living up to its billing.
  • Glad you are feeling better, John! Yeah, it's not the best week. So far the year feels like 2020 part 2...but hopefully things will improve.

    Hazelnut, I'm glad I'm not having to deal with ice. Do be careful eh? 

    Fresh veg can add up, GD, especially as it only last a few days. 

    Easy run today, nice and slow but added some inclines in (some of my clubmates are calling them hills but the steepest is 6% at its steepest point, which is just a slope to me after those 12-18% monsters I've been doing recently). Did turn into 9 miles though, which is quite long for a Tuesday run. Right hip felt a little tight so I think I need to do some stretching.
  • Did my 10k loop today, but just at recovery pace.  My foot is decidedly not good, so I will back off for a few days and see what happens.. not sure what happened there, or whether to exercise it, ice it, or leave it.

    It was wet and wild, with 40 plus mph winds, but saw an egret fishing and few people were out so it was quite relaxing.

    Good running Cal.  Hope the hip isn't an issue.

    Glad you're better now John, enjoy your cheque!  Yes I believe monday was dubbed "blue monday" allegedly the most depressing day of the year.  Like you say, it's hard to be too buoyant at the moment.

    Hope the injury improves GD,  I know what you mean about the meditative effects of running for work stress.  I have no recipes, but have spinach everyday with whatever I have in the evening, I love it and it's good for runners, also lots of kidney beans and sweet potatoes ( good carbs).

    Nice running Hazlenut, certainly a "proper" winter where you are, it seems like that snow and ice has been there for a long time! A very cold spell has been predicted here, but who knows.. Stay safe ( and upright!).



  • Will have a think for a recipe or two GD - I'll add chickpeas to LTT's suggestion of spinach, sweet pots and beans (any sort).  I agree on the costs - as long as you stick to simple veggies then it can be cheaper but once you get into the more "fancy" stuff.  Appreciate your need to run to work off the stress.  How is the achilles with a decent walk rather than a run? 

    Sounds like a pretty ideal way to retire JB.  A hard 5k with hills does sound a bit nasty.

    Cal - I also like the way that former mountains turn into little inclines once you get onto doing nasty hills regularly.

    Careful LTT.  Cut-back week necessary by the sounds of it.  Good idea to put in these every 4 weeks or so if you are increasing your mileage.  Well done for getting that 10k done in those conditions and nice you had some distractions.  Feels like we have had ice and snow in varying quantities since I moved at the beginning of December, maybe 2 days without.  I live at nearly 800m now rather than 550 and it makes a difference.  We haven't had this much snow for a few years though. Some (non-mountainous) regions had more snow than in the last 40 years last week.

    I combined a shopping outing with a run yesterday afternoon.  We have a good village shop for everyday bits and bobs but I tend to head down the hill for stocks once a week.  Quick whizz around the supermarket and then a nice flat and ice free 7.x miles.  Somebody has marked out a km (every 50m) so I used that to do 2 sets of 100m strides.  Subdued violet/grey sunset this time.  
  • Hope the foot improves, Linton - you've had a rough time of it with injury.
    Hazel, I take it you're not carrying your shopping when you run?
    What altitude do you have to be at before it's considered altitude training? 

    Speaking of which, I had intended a hilly MLR today but legs were feeling pretty heavy. I got up a couple of hills in Streatham (one moderate, one quite big) before crossing the common to the bottom of a hill called Gibsons Hill which has 50m climb. The bottom isn't steep but it then gets a lot steeper before evening out again. It just seems to keep going. I'd planned five our six ascents of this but I was really struggling so I canned it after the third one and decided to check out a road loop near there - it's a horseshoe shaped road at the top of the common that's on a bit of a slope so I thought it might make a good circuit. I ran three laps of it (each lap is 0.6 miles) getting a bit faster with each one and that seemed to perk me up a bit. 
    It was mostly downhill from there so my sluggish 11+ pace became a more normal 10+ and I had enough energy for a burn up another hill on the way back. Last mile was just under 10 so I'm happy with that turnaround.
    11 miles total with a shade under 300m climb so not bad considering I wasn't feeling it.
    I've had a bit of a dodgy time with my stomach this past week - I think it's reflux or something similar as I've had an uncomfortable feeling in my throat after eating some meals, although not all. Not sure what's brought it on - might be the fact I've drunk a few bottles of wine this month (all gifts) and I'm usually not much of a drinker at all - I can usually count the amount of times I drink in a year on one hand. So I'm going to knock that on the head and then look at my diet as well. If that doesn't sort it I'll have to visit the doc, but I'm trying not to do that given they're all overworked with the pandemic. 
  • Cal - no, I do my shop and abandon car and shopping, go for a run and drive home.  Not sure about altitude training, I think 1500m + though.  Another good bit of climbing on your run. If you're not used to regular alcohol I can imagine that you might feel those bottles of wine.  If I drink too much (v. rare these days) then it hits my stomach not my head.

    I decided yesterday that some speedwork was long overdue.  I didn't fancy shorter intervals or a classical P&D LT run so settled for some longer LT paced intervals breaking up 4 miles into 3 chunks with 2 minute recoveries in between.  I started off with a 2.5 mile warm-up with the usual do I really want to do this feeling in the legs.  This included 3 short pace increases towards the end.  Then a few standing minor mobility exercices from head to toe.     I set off into the first LT chunk, the longest, a bit fast as always but managed to maintain the pace until the end.  I was pretty glad of the recovery phase by that time though.  2 minutes were enough to get my breathing down for chunk no. 2.  My stomach was protesting a bit by the end of that but was fine on the next recovery.  Chunk no. 3 was get it over and done with including a bit of pace fade over the last 500m or so as I was struggling with my breathing.  Cool-down of another 2 miles or so followed.  Decent enough session but ideally I should slow things down a bit as I was working more at 10k rather than 10miles to HM race effort.  
  • A bit more than 10 miles in 1:41 yesterday afternoon - unnecessarily hard after the previous day's speedwork.  It was less the hills that were knackering - I would have happily plodded up those - but the often poor conditions underfoot - in the woods a mix of snow, slush, ice, muck and water.  Even when (sometimes) wearing Yaktrax it was difficult to move forward smoothly without stumbling and slipping and sliding and that was very tiring.  Couple of easy days needed to recover from that I think.  5 degrees plus felt very warm after the last few weeks - I kept running through little pockets of warm air.  Some sections which are permanently in the shade were pretty chilly as well.  A lot of forestry work has been going on - the woods are full of the scent of freshly cut timber.
  • It's cold here again too, after a couple of warmer but windy days. I took a rest yesterday as the run I did on Wednesday left me tired (although I did walk 6 miles). I thought conditions today would be better as it was not windy, but when I looked out of the window there was a lot of frost on the rooves. I thought the streets would be OK as it was above freezing (2 degrees) but I was wrong. My plan was to jog up to the loop at the top of Streatham Common - the one I found on Wednesday - then do a 5K around there and jog back home. 
    On the way there, most pavements were fine, but there were patches of frost and the odd bit of ice in places. Once I got to the loop, I stopped my watch and had a look. The loop itself was quite frosty and, with it being on a slope, I didn't trust it so I had to abort my mission and jog home again. Covered 6 miles but not what I was hoping for.
    Not sure I'll manage it tomorrow either as it's even colder, but sometimes you can have zero degrees and no frost, or warmer than that with a lot of frost. Guess I will have to wait and see.
  • john bateman 6john bateman 6 ✭✭✭
    edited January 2021
    Cal, quick bit of advice on the reflux issue. I'm a sufferer and have been for years and it can (and in my case has) turn rather nasty  if not nipped in the bud. You are wise to be taking early action.

    A 5k time trial for me yesterday to see how much speed I've lost. I was ducking under 22 a couple of weeks ago so yesterday's 24.01 (and how annoying is the 01?) was  disappointing - although about a minute or was down to a brutal wind whipping in off the sea. (Although I much prefer to run in a strong wind than have plough through the underfoot conditions that H'nut has to put up with.)

    Even though I was doing some hard rowing in my down time (and even a couple of PBs) the only way to get fit for running is to run.

    Good running from everyone else!
  • Well done, John.
    A quick peak out of the window just as it was getting light revealed no frost, but I decided to wait a little and when I looked again a little later, the daylight revealed that a puddle on the roof was completely iced over. Oh dear.
    So I decided to wait until midday for my run. It was still very cold but the underfoot conditions were better. Unfortunately, there were also a lot more people out and about which meant I had a bit of dodging to do. 
    I spent the first three miles warming up, but with it being a bit later, I was already quicker (down to longer stride) so they went 10:38/10:08/9:46 before I pushed on to tempo pace. First of the three tempo miles was the quickest at 8:20 due to some gentle downhill, while the other two came in at 8:38 and 8:30. I did an extra .11 so I could use the last bit for my club's weekly virtual 5K which added up to 26:24. Obviously I can do a lot better than that, but it's actually not too bad for where I'm at at the moment, with several niggles and a boatload of stress. So I'll take it.
    I'm thinking I will do a MLR tomorrow rather than a long run - weather looks to be cold and potentially icy again, and my bod definitely needs an easier week.
  • Nice run Cal in dodgy conditions.

    5k on the prom today. By 9.15 it was just about ice free but in one of two places I could feel my foot slipping at full pelt; I was lulled into a false sense of security. Tried a 'fast' 5k as it was windless and emerged with a 22.53 which was respectable. Despite wearing gloves my hands were frozen at the finish which took the gloss off the run rather. Possible snow here forecast for Sunday, but it is so rare that I can't really believe it.
  • Two runs to report.  After my foot being sore after gradually building up my long runs for the last five weeks, this week was to be a cut back week

    Did the 10k I mentioned tuesday, and felt pretty sore, so went out for an easy 3.5 miler thursday.  It felt passable, but not great, but by friday it was feeling like it was improving.

    Wanted a very minimum of half today, if my foot felt reasonable.  When I woke up at daybreak, and it was an absolutely stunning sunrise, unfortunately the weather man had got it right and it was a really very hard frost, everything white as far as I could see.  The forecast said it would go above freezing at 10.

    I made a plan that if I set off at 9 I could run across farmland for an hour, then, hopefully pick up one of my road routes as it thawed.

    Off I went and it was going well, the farmland mud like running on rutted concrete, awkward, but bearable.  My foot felt OK.  At about a mile and a half I had to run across a farmyard and, thoughtlessly, carried on.   I hit some black ice and really did go down like an absolute sack of potatoes.  Ouch.  Fortunately my hands took the brunt and, rarely for me, I was wearing gloves, but I did go down hard on my right knee.  It hurt a fair old bit but I walked a few hundred yards then got going again. 

    Ran, (carefully) to our two big sports fields and did laps on the frozen grass until it thawed and I got on the roads.  Got my half done in a gentle 2:15 but damn I'm sore now, with a big knee-egg.  Annoyed as it was avoidable if I'd hung on an hour or two.  Still, lesson learned the hard way, again! I honestly don't recall a single frost encounter last winter on my first year's running?  Did we not get any? Foot was getting pretty sore by the time I got back, but still pleased it coped with a couple of hours running.  Got an absolutely full-on day at work tomorrow so hope I can get about..

    That's 6 x 10-15 milers in 6 weekends but I really need to get comfortable running further now.


    That is a great hilly run Cal, hope the reflux improves.  Surprisingly, now I've broken the habit, dry January is going easily,  running is definitely the better relaxation tool, (if you stay upright!).  Glad you had better common sense than me today, nice 5k.

    Some great running Hazlenut, that 10 miler did sound hard, and just saw your big training run today on Strava, that is a serious training run! awesome work!  (will not elucidate) I should have invested in some Yaktrax today!


    Glad you're back running again John, decent 5k time, did you get any snow in the end? we got a bit in Kent but it didnt settle.  The thought of hitting sheet ice at full pelt is absolutely terrifying! stay safe.

    Have a good week all, warmer next week at least.

  • Bit behind on posting.

    Take care on the ice - (ouch LTT!).  

    Wise to postpone your tempo effort Cal. 

    Nasty sounding conditions for a first fast outing JB - well done for even attempting it.  I hate trying to run fast against the wind.  Good second go.  Ouch to the hands - I guess that a 5k doesn't give them time enough to warm-up.  You can have some of my snow if you like. 

    Hope your knee is ok LTT and doesn't trouble you too much at work today.  The longer runs will become easier over time.  Well done on dry January.  Had (a bit) too much wine on Saturday evening and felt it on Sunday and was annoyed with myself.  The last glass would have kept fine for a few days in the fridge.

    Couple of easier days on Friday and Saturday - 4.5 recovery on Friday and a 6.4 trot with a pal on Saturday loosened the legs up nicely.  Sunday was MLR day, I did a couple of miles warm-up at steady effort then around 2 at a bit faster than MP (though hard to say what that is these days).  Bit more than a mile a bit slower, then another section at MP.  Tired enough by the end of that so back to steady effort for the remaining 4 miles.  The MP sections felt ok - though I did cheat a bit as it was slightly downhill.  Just short of 14 miles in 1:54:38.  I ran as much as possible in the sun to avoid the ice in the shade, pleasant enough temperatures.  Might be interesting running again the next couple of days as we are back to a thick layer of snow.  Guess I will have to get the yaktrax back out again.    
  • LTT, that sounds horrible. Well done for a) going out and b) getting back in one piece! Hope the knee doesn't give any problem.

    H'nut, I'm afraid my dry January has been conceded: Demon Drink 1, Dry January 0.

    Well the snow never came. We just had rain and I got out for an undulating 30 minute run before it arrived. And today, in nice sunny conditions (when not in the shade), I managed another 30 or so minutes but this time I'd qualify it as a hilly run. For some reason this totally exhausted me, even at a slow (9 min kms) pace. Finding motivation a bit of a struggle right now, and I'll wager that I'm not the only one!





  • LTT, I am super cautious about slipping (lord knows I fall over enough as it is!) so I won't run if it's dicey out there. I opted to do a long (8 mile) walk yesterday for that reason, though I saw plenty of runners out in the snow.

    John, you're lucky to miss the snow. I know some people like it. I am not one of them. 

    I had to do a quick shop this morning so used to do a recce of the pavements. Most were clear but there were icy patches and some big icy bits in gutters. Not ideal. So I didn't go out until midday and then did a very cautious 5 miles. It wasn't bad but there was still a few slippery bits and I walked over any bits I didn't trust. I wasn't feeling awesome despite only walking yesterday - legs felt quite heavy. I think I'm a little run down.
    Got a flu shot this afternoon so not sure how I will feel tomorrow, but regardless, weather looks warmer (if windier) on Wednesday so I should be able to manage a decent MLR with some hills.
  • Seems you were lucky with the snow then JB.  9min/kms over hills sounds not too slow to me.  Agree on the motivation - there are days I have to drag myself out of the door to run.  If I didn't I wouln't likely go out much at all so that helps.  I've given up hopes of racing in the near to mid-term future but am trying to keep myself fit enough that if it does restart I won't need much to get fully race-fit. 

    Hope the flu jab was done Cal and you don't have too sore an arm or feel otherwise dodgy today.  Hills on a windy day seem a decent option - if you have a tailwind uphill maybe.

    5 recovery yesterday afternoon - we had some 20 cm of snow lying around (still is) and I didn't think it would be easy to find suitable ground to run on to keep things down to recovery effort.  Luckily the snowplough had been busy and I found that the first half of one of my standard local loops had been plowed down to compact snow, followed by a decent vehicle track in the snow so I was able to use that (wearing the Yaktrax).  I did turn around and jog back though as it looked like only a few walkers had been out on the second half.    
  • Thanks Hazlenut - I barely felt it and it's not even sore. Well done for getting out in the snow.
    Did today's run at 10:15 to allow frost to melt a bit, but still ran into some ice in a couple of places. I made the mistake of taking a steep path in Streatham (one of my usual hills) as it was clear at the bottom, but then it turned to ice halfway up and I had to tiptoe along the mud at the sides. Not ideal.
    I covered 7 miles but still feel heavy-legged and tired. Sleep's been good and I didn't run Sunday so I'm mystified as to why I feel so leaden footed. I doubt it's the shot as I felt the same yesterday before the shot.
    I still have to make it out for some hills tomorrow as my team's slipped to fourth. I hope I feel a bit perkier on the morning.
  • Cal, good to get the flu jab out of the way. I wonder who long we'll all have to wait for the Covid one? You are putting in some serious running shifts; maybe the underfoot conditions are draining your tank more than you'd expect?

    H'nut. in many ways a bit of down-time (albeit enforced) might re-charge the batteries and the morale? TBH these dark months of winter are never my cup of tea but come  Spring I perk up considerably.

    I've managed 5 runs in 6 days but all of them have been 'grudging'. Rest day for me.

    A blood test for me in the morning (bloke-type health issue!). 
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    edited January 2021
    Maybe, John - I think the fact you have to be constantly on your guard for slippy bits makes the run more mentally tiring. Thankfully a slightly warmer day with rain last night took care of that.

    I felt a fair bit better than yesterday so I went ahead with my plan for a hilly MLR. I did quite a few of my "favourites" plus a couple of new ones and managed 15 miles myself. Mostly at a very slow pace (I had a tight chest yesterday - possibly due to breathing cold air but might've been a reaction to my flu shot) so I wasn't going to attempt any sprints. But I did do the last two miles at close to 10 minute pace as they were flat/slight downhill and I was keen to get back and eat.
    Niggles were there but not bad, and aside from puking in my mouth at one point (bile...lovely) it went pretty well. 
    I'll need a rest tomorrow, I think.
  • Fingers crossed for the blood test results JB.  I'm also looking forward to spring but I hope it won't be a straight to 30 degrees one.  During winter I try to remind myself how much I hate running in the heat - helps a bit to cope with the cold weather.  I don't actually mind cold - just fed up with the snow and ice.

    Well done on the 15 Cal.  I guess unfuelled then?  Maybe having something in your stomach could even help with the puking?  Have a good rest day.

    Unusual CNBA yesterday.  I had hoped for a hill intervals session.  I was expecting it to be wet and windy but a layer of sometimes slimy snow on my intended hill put an end to those hopes.  Out late anyway so I just plodded a few laps around my village recovery style for a bit more than 3 miles.  Wearing the Yaktrax was a bit of a pain but likely necessary in places, in the section of unbroken snow I kept getting balls of snow under my heels - felt like running in high heels.   Hoping the rain will clear the ground a bit but it is likely to stay windy until the weekend at least.  
  • Caught up on the hill intervals yesterday.  Windy weather - gave me a nice tailwind up the hill though!  Downpour for part of the day had at least cleared the snow - it was nice to be able to run on smooth tarmac and Yaktraxx free again.

    2 loops of the village as a warm-up to check out conditions.  Each loop is a bit more than a mile and features around 22m of up and down.  Then 10 x hill efforts.  6 x longer and 4 x shorter at a higher effort.  The longer ones are about 400m long and the shorter about 200m.  Tough but enjoyable little session - think I got the effort around about right as the legs and lungs were suffering at the end of each rep but the return jog was enough to give me a chance to recover for the next one.  Not a very steep hill but enough of a gradient to make tempo to 10k pace feel quite a lot harder.   

  • Hazel...it doesn't make much difference, really. I've felt pretty uncomfortable on runs even three hours after eating so it's something I have to be careful with. And it doesn't always happen (I did today's run(s) unfuelled and had no issues.

    9 miles today broken into three runs with a short rest between each: a warm-up with a hill; a 5K around an undulating road loop (I was aiming for Kenyan hills but failed to keep the same pace up the hill so never mind...) almost similar to what you did, Hazel, but the loop is 0.59 miles and around 7% on the uphill part. Did this in 27:59.... and then the run home which was a mix of recovery with bursts of speed.

    A little discomfort high up in the old achilles so going to have to watch that. I have been running a lot more hills lately due to this challenge, so will drop the mountaineering for a bit once the challenge ends on Feb 3rd. 


  • john bateman 6john bateman 6 ✭✭✭
    edited January 2021
    Managed  8k and 7k runs on Thurs and Friday. The 8k was meant to be a 10k in sub 50 but the wind battered me so much that I threw in the towel. The 7k was a morale booster after the failed 10k. This was a sub 34 in similar conditions.

    Tomorrow will try to do the 10k and conquer the demons....
  • Nice training mix there Cal. Hills could well annoy your achilles. Do you keep an eye on your form especially when you're getting tired?

    10 is a long way at speed if you aren't enjoying it JB, don't blame you for not seeing it through. Good luck with your attempt tomorrow, hopefully with less wind.

    Wind was very present here yesterday, decided to stay out of the woods therefore and ran a make it up as I went along in the open. 11.4 miles without ever being much more than a mile from home. Plotting my moves kept me nicely distracted from the fact it was sometimes quite hard to move at a reasonable pace from A to B.

    Today 6.x on a new route. Naughtily drove a couple of miles to the start, in decent weather I might have cycled. 4 degrees and rain isn't nice though. Navigated my way around via the signed footpaths over a few undulations. The worst was an uphill boggy field track, got pretty plastered. Route has plenty of potential for extra bits, might go further tomorrow.

    Have a good Sunday..
  • H'nut, It sounds as if you have a fair number of idyllic, rural. running options nearby. I have a vision of you running to the sound-track from The Sound of Music!

    My options are rather limited. Boring suburban housing estates, some rather over-used rural footpaths or the flat, smooth, straight and wide pleasure of the prom. I chose the latter as did a very large number of fellow runners today, even though we had a variation on the strong westerly wind in the shape of a cold, strong easterly!

    No matter: 10K in 49.43 and job done. Demon slayed, but still much room for improvement; I should be aiming around the 46/47 mark - but I'll save that for the Spring.




  • Hi folks, some awesome running, well done everyone!

    Three runs to report, but this week was a light week for sure.

    This was due to three things really, being a bit sore from 6 long runs in 6 weekends (which I apparently is my limit), sore from my fall in the ice last weekend, and had my Covid vaccine shot friday night which really made me feel pretty tired over the weekend.

    I did three runs this week instead of four.  Tuesday's run was 5.1, thursday 4.4, and sunday's run 7.1 (but a bit quicker, mostly 8:30ish miles)

    Felt weird not doing a long sunday run, but the plan is to have a week off from a half marathon-ish one and do a long one next sunday.

    My Nike Infinity runs are up to 394 miles and are starting to feel a bit flat now, so may need to change them up soon, (got another pair for Christmas) although some people take them much higher, maybe it's me who is flat?.  Hopefully my mojo will be back next week.

    Great training week Hazelnut, good mix of running and some good long runs, glad you got out of the Yaktrax.


    Another solid week running Cal, glad the flu jab was painless, hope the achilles is OK!

    Glad you got the sub 50 10k John.  It is same for me, nowhere inspirational for me to run here, and I've done every route so many times.  On two recent(ish) holidays I was able to run through the Wye valley and forest of Dean, and the Cornish Coast path, I'd do anything to run somewhere like that now.

    Have  a good week folks! At least tomorrow is february and the daylight returns a bit.


  • Not quite The Sound of Music JB but yes, pretty rural.  Fields, woods, hamlets, villages sort of stuff.  Certainly lucky in that respect.  I come from south of Northampton originally - my home village used to have fields, woods etc around it too but nowadays is just one huge housing estate.  Wouldn't mind your prom (unless it is very windy).  Any fish and chips around?  (in better times at least).  Well done on the 10k.  You might need a couple of easy runs after that. 

    Good news you have got your Covid shot already LTT.  Unlikely it will be for a long time yet for me the way things are going.  Good thing you put in a shorter week.  394 miles for a pair of shoes doesn't sound very much but I don't know the model.  Good point about the daylight - noticeably lighter in the evenings already.

    Another bit of route exploring yesterday - 15.4 miles in 2:21.  Started off from home this time meaning a trot down a long hill (keeping in my mind I would have to go back up it again).  Then on to a couple of villages I am familiar with so no need for navigation.  After about 4 miles a brief stop for planning and a mini Bounty bar (who needs gels..).  I was carrying water, a couple of snacks and my phone for map purposes.  Next bit was unfamiliar including a dip through a swampy wooded section, some tarmac and a footpath across a field - slightly less swampy than Saturday's were.  Joined a cycle route I had used in the summer for a long tour around the city meeting a group of people out lama treking (scattered a couple of lamas in the process but the walker held on tight enough).  Back to the village I trotted to on Saturday for the long haul back up the hill.  I had sensibly kept the effort / pace down in order to have enough beans for this and a mini Milky Way at the beginning helped as fuel.  It was only the steep bits that really reduced me to a crawl so I was pretty happy with that.  More than 400m of climbing overall apparently.  Plenty of people out wandering around but well scattered over the whole route.  Bit of a grey dull day so likely not many drove elsewhere.  It being around 7 degrees I was brave enough to get out the capri tights - good choice, bit cool in the single LS top though - carrying a rucksack kept my back warm but I did think about putting on the lightweight vest I was carrying in it a few times.  Good to get back feeling not too tired.

    Have a good week all indeed.

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