My Last Run

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  • Excellent, John.
    I've had a couple of days off running although I did go to the gym yesterday.
    Anyway, I took myself to Tonbridge parkrun today, as the park is close to Tonbridge station so it's not too onerous a journey.
    It's mostly in woods with a lake - a nice one lapper with a lot of narrow bridges to cross. I'm sure this one would be great in summer but it was too foggy to see much of the lake and there was a lot of mud on and around the paths (mostly hard or stony paths, but some had mud on top of them and others were too narrow to accommodate all the runners so I had to run on the grass). Fortunately I'd taken advice to wear trail shoes, which I was very glad of. (Had to wash the mud off my ankles once I got home!)
    A rather busy parkrun with congestion, but still rather fun. Had to slow right down a couple of times due to people stopping at mud puddles or on narrow bridges but still managed my fastest time of the year (around 29:30...waiting on the result email still), though that's a pretty low bar.
  • T-shirt in 2/3c DH? - brrr!  Maybe I need to toughen up a bit.  Good to see you well motivated and your plan sounds like a sensible one.  Make sure you take enough rest days so you are fresh for the harder stuff (says someone who used to streak...).  TM setup sounds good - I guess it is a bit like sitting on the turbo - no entertainment and it gets boring within minutes.  Hope the beer turns out well.

    Bike and run interval combo sounds good JB.  If you have the gear and motiviation to use it at home then why bother with the fancy gym indeed.  I am following a plan at the moment with 2 workouts a week of various types - short and sharp (200s, hills, intervals and tempo work).  I have to keep the easier stuff easy enough to be able to use the sessions properly but it seems to be working so far.   Fantastic result for parkrun today - spot-on tactics regarding your rival.  

    Nice parkrun tourism again Cal.  That course and the congestion must have cost you a bit of time.  

    Rest day on Thursday followed by another toughie yesterday - this time long tempo - 14, 11, 8 minutes off of 4 mins recoveries.  I ran 9.4 miles in total with warm-up and cool-down on one long loop.  Ideal conditions - almost no wind and pretty cold.  I did however only notice half way round that I had forgotten to take off an extra vest I was wearing - got a bit sweaty as a result.  Pace on the speedier bits was more or less ideal but I did watch my watch a bit too much.  I forced myself not to check how much time I had left on the 8 minutes section at least.
  • Well done Hazel...been a while since I did any proper speed work. I do need to rebuild that mental toughness you get from tempos and such.

    I had a pretty good run today despite less than optimal sleep (I think I need to say no to myself when I fancy a cuppa at 8:30pm...I had to get up three times to pee before midnight, so of course I didn't get any sleep until after that). 
    I ran down to Battersea, over Chelsea Bridge then down the full length of the King's Road. I did a lot of it a couple of weeks ago but took the wrong branch then, so this time I made sure I stayed on it to the end. It's really long...the whole thing took me half an hour. Then back over Putney Bridge, along the South Bank to Battersea Park, around that, up the Latchmere Road hill then home via Clapham, Wandsworth and Tooting commons. 18 miles banked.
    I felt like I had plenty of energy up until 14 miles, but began to flag after that. I did take a gel at 8 miles (which I didn't do last week) so I think that, plus a lighter week over all, was what made this a better run. But I was still absolutely knackered afterwards. Endurance is the other thing I need to rebuild.
  • john bateman 6john bateman 6 ✭✭✭
    edited January 2022
    Hazel, thanks for the encouragement. I'm always very impressed by the specificity of your training runs. Are you laying down an aerobic base at the moment for a general purposes or is your current training in preparation for a specific event?

    Cal, I've done the Tunbridge Wells PR but not the Tonbridge one. The TW run is in a splendid park; really lovely. However it has a vicious short (sharp!) hill to the finish which is rather cruel. Is it on your list for future participation? Well done on your Tonbridge one in tricky conditions. If I do it, it'll be in the dry weather.
    I'm not surprised that 18 miles emptied you tank today after your PR yesterday. I went out on the prom and had an hour to kill waiting for a lift home. I originally planned to simply run for the hour but at reasonable pace. So I went out @ 5 min km pace and found myself running out of steam so settled for a 49min 10k. This totally knackered me.

    So many runners on the prom today. Even in my 60 minutes I saw at least 4 big groups of runners and of course many more in ones and twos. God knows how many were running during the course of the whole day. The post (we hope) Covid running boom continues?
  • I'm sure I'll do that one at some point, John...though maybe when it's a bit drier. I think you'd enjoy Tonbridge but, again, one for better weather than now. Apparently there's a castle but it was so misty I couldn't even see it! Nice one lap route though...and no hills.
  • Annoying when sleep gets interrupted like that Cal.  Good long run, I remember those energy slumps too well.  Maybe plan in another gel? 

    JB I deliberately drifted for a few weeks post-mara (end of October) and started to pick things up again a few weeks ago with a specific training plan to get some speed back (hopefully).  I have my eye on a 10k at the end of February to see if it has done any good.  (weather conditions permitting).  Nice to see lots of people out running - maybe for spring races?  Participation still seems quite well down here in races (those that are taking place - it is still very much off-season here).

    Short recovery on Saturday - very icy again - I ran without yaktrax and did at least manage to find a runnable surface everywhere. 

    MLR yesterday - after some lovely sunny days I was surprised to wake up to fog despite the forecast saying more decent weather.  I managed to get below it by driving down the hill.  14.5 miles in 2:04.  I met one of my Tuesday group after a mile or so and slow jogged with him for a few minutes for a chat which was nice.  We then went seperate ways.  I picked up the pace/effort over a few sections in the second half of the run, mostly on inclines which was good to keep my mind occupied.
  • Well folks been very chatty over the weekend ! 

    John, It is a bit of a man cave just a cold one at the minute. Well done on the PR grading though, that's impressive ! My aim at some point this year is to break into than 60%. Group of us that attend PR now and looks like we are going to do some local tourism... 

    Cal, I'm impressed with the distances your covering at the minute. Gels certainly help get you further, maybe take 2 and slightly earlier. If you take one when you feel you need it, you are probably too late...

    Hazel, Doesn't look like you lost much speed to me even after sometime off after the Marathon. I need to do more distance at pace...

    Done my non-parkrun Saturday. A light recovery. I suspect most PRs will be the same now during this training block. Good news is Parkrun if officially allowed back next week...

    Managed 19k yesterday with a group of other 1/2 training friends, looks like that is going to be a consistent run from here out as a group. It's good for me as I don't push too hard and keep it really easy...
  • Hamster, good to have a plan. First rule of getting a good time/age grade: pick a fast course. Great to hear that PRs are back in Wales. You are another one who is clocking up long runs that I simply couldn't do. Respect! (Hamsters seem to be a pack animal, in your case?)

    Cal, next Parkrun lined up yet? I was amazed to read that there are 700+. Is this in the UK or across the planet do you know? I' like to do a bit of tourism but I'm spoiled by having a quick course on my doorstep and I'd like to chip away a few seconds while I'm on a roll. (This is partly because I'm in an age grade challenge for 2022 and I think I could almost nail it I could get my time down - I could then relax for the rest of the year.......) 

    Hazel, you are right I think - there are fewer organised races than usual at least around here. The local league is picking up though. A 10k is a good distance to aim at although I know several runners who absolutely hate the distance. It's just about within my range. There's a 4 milers coming up in (lovely) Arundel soon and I reckon that wouldn't need any more training than I'm doing for 5k.

    Manic hill session for me yesterday and a long (by my standards) slow run this evening. Rest day tomorrow other than a gentle bike ride.
  • I have actually, John...it's one in Essex that is a fair distance away but a friend is doing their 200th different parkrun there so I got invited along.
    Just 2 miles today...didn't feel right so called it quits. There will be other days.
  • I guess yesterday was a blip as I felt quite decent today. Did 10 miles, starting in the dark, but once it got light (nice sunrise this morning) I decided to throw in three faster miles and pushed a little harder with each one. Enjoyed that, though it's a bit dismal to see how hard I have to push to achieve a 9 minute mile now. But never mind.
  • Good longer run DH - nice to have others with similar distance goals.  Do the others have slower goal times then?  Better than if they are (much) faster and you will have to push yourself too hard to keep up.

    4 miles sounds like a good distance for you JB.  I'm not sure what my optimum distance is - I've done decent 10k to HM but have never run a 5k in anger or got my mara time in line with the shorter distances.

    Nice bit of progression in today's run Cal.  Good idea to drop that rund yesterday - likely you needed the extra rest.

    Not sure about statistics for yesterday's run - I left my watch at home by mistake and my phone died after around 2.5 miles.  Likely around 8.5 miles.  
  • John, agree. I find having a plan to run towards really helps me after last few months of 'do what I want', I need that structure in the week to know when and what I have to do. I love the Garmin coach plans for this reason and they have really helped me improve...

    Cal, Had those runs and completely agree it's not worth pushing. Better to stop and save yourself. Could be tiredness, lack of energy, bad night sleep but just something your body is saying... Not today kid

    Hazel, Unfortunately all slower than me now but it does make my easy long runs easy. Not really sure if running with a lower heart rate helps bring it down further. I do like pushing them the final 2k or so though. They are all aiming to finish or around that 2hr mark where I'm (currently) aiming for 1hr 45m

    Had a good progression/tempo run yesterday. 2.5k WU/CD with a 23mins 5k in the middle. Fastest I've been over 10k since my October race and happy with 51mins
  • Hamster, there's nothing wrong with those long slow runs. I think they still do the trick physiologically and have the added bonus of not depleting your energy stores. (When I ran marathons I stupidly always tried to run my long runs at mara pace or quicker. Didn't do me any good!)

    Hazel, one way of checking your best distance is to look at the age grades e.g. my 5k and 10k are roughly the same but after that , at longer distances, they fall off a cliff! Just a thought.

    Cal, which one in Essex? I've only done one there and it would be a real coincidence if you do the same one. (I'll keep mine secret until you declare.)

    Bad news: think I'm getting shin splints. Had this once before, many moons ago. Any tips from fellow sufferers greatly appreciated........
  • Well I think I know why Tuesday was a bust...my annual dose of shingles has shown up. I always get a little patch at the top of my butt crack...just starts as a slightly sore spot that is easy not to notice, and then turns into more of a pox-type thing. I've had it so many times now that it's really very mild (I'll only notice it if I try to do sit-ups or recline on something) but I guess its arrival made me a bit tired. Obviously I was feeling better yesterday.
    Felt OK today too...did 7 miles. Should have been 8 but my colon decided to spring a surprise encore on me so I had to make a dash for home. This sort of thing never happened before I hit my 50s. 
    John - Burnham-on-Crouch. (Hope it's not splints but...stretch and roll your calves. A lot.)

  • Mostly easy long runs sounds ok to me too Hamster.  If you do other regular speedwork (which you are - well done on the 10k) and every now and then longer runs with a faster finish or a few miles at your goal pace you should be ok.  

    JB I do keep an eye on my age grades and also look up the race predictors based on a result over a certain distance.  Not so great with the shin splints - never had those so no advice really other than back off the hard stuff for a few days which will fit for most niggles.

    Sorry to hear about the shingles Cal.  Hope that improves fast.

    Intervals for me yesterday - 3 x 1.2k and 3 x 8 mins with 3:15 and 2:15 jog recoveries.  I still don't really like doing intervals - I need to work on just going out there and doing it instead of worrying about hitting certain paces.  That aspect was ok - a bit faster than 10k PB pace.  I managed the session without looking at my watch during the reps - it was well hidden underneath my sleeve anyway and was just guided by the appropriate beeps.  Warm-up of 2 miles including a few strides feels a bit short but if I do much longer then I go quite a bit over distance on the session as a whole - maybe not such a bad thing.
  • It's not a big deal, Hazel...barely notice it any more. It's pretty much like getting a cold sore on my arse.
    Well done on the intervals.
  • I think having a plan, both for overall training and individual sessions, is essential to efficient training; it's also good for motivation.

    Intervals, for example, are most effective when the balance between interval pace, interval duration and recovery duration is considered. Easier efforts give a lot more potential for just seeing how you feel on the day as they are really about active recovery and time on your feet.

    Having longer-term targets for distance (or time) run really helps get you out there on days you don't feel like it. Nothing like a monthly or annual target to keep you working!
  • Good words maclrc.  Welcome to the thread and maybe to the forum as well?

    Third day in a row with 8-9 miles yesterday.  After one reasonably flat run at steady effort and one with intervals I went for a pretty undulating local route so as not to have to drive anywhere to get to flatter ground.  Meant quite a few bad patches of ice but that was all runnable despite no traction aids.  Having done intervals the day before I kept the effort sensible back up the hill.      8.88 miles in 1:24.
  • Cal that's a pain in the arse hope it clears quick...

    maclrc, completely agree ! Targeting 50k/week until April anyway...

    10x Stride session later for me, Machen Parkrun tomorrow and then 20k'ish planned for Sunday. Needed a rest day yesterday and slept like a baby last night so was probably a wise decision... 
  • I've not heard of that parkrun, DH.
    Well done Hazelnut...I guess snow and ice are a bigger hazard where you are.

    Today's parkrun was Burnham-on-Crouch - a small estuary town in Essex. Not one I would have chosen myself but a friend was doing his 200th different parkrun so me and another friend from my club decided to join him. Glad I did, but the journey was a bit stressful. We were booked onto a 6.55am train from Liverpool Street with a change halfway, so no leeway for error. Currently the Bank branch of the Northern Line is out of commission (engineering works until May) so I assumed I'd just get the other branch to Tottenham Court Road and change onto the Central Line there, which adds 10 minutes or so to the journey but isn't a massive deal. However, when I checked the tube page this morning, it said all the Northern Line was closed due to works overrunning, and there were delays on the Central as well. I checked the alternative...train to Victoria then Circle/District Line, but there was no way to make it in time, so I ended up getting the train to Victoria and a £20 black cab from there to Liverpool Street. Made it with 5 minutes to spare but obviously that's not money I wanted to spend. Never mind.

    Anyway, the rest of the journey was uneventful and we arrived in plenty of time. The parkrun itself is a mix of stone path (frosty and slippery), dirt path (fine) and grass (which would've been muddy but was actually nice and firm due to the frost). I went for a warm-up mile and took a wrong turn somewhere, so ended up having to jump over a small stream to get back to the start...just as they'd set off.
    So I then had to leg it past the back markers which left me quite out of puff. Still, I did enjoy the two lap course...while I had to slow down a bit on the frosty paths, I pushed more on the other parts and came in at 28:25...not fast but my fastest of the year so far, at least.

    We then went to a local cafe for cooked breakfast. A nice morning out, in all. 
  • Not posted for a few days. It's been one of those weeks! I had a complete IT meltdown, my son's cat died, my daughter -in-law and granddaughter both got Covid and I  had a rather large and unexpected tax bill. Plus toothache.

    But good news: my shine splints turned out to be simply stiffness after wearing wellies for a long and muddy walk.  

    Cal, sorry to hear of your physical ailments. If you think turning 50 is bad, wait until you get to the mid -60s! Seriously: hope you are fully recovered. Burnham sounds delightful - and an SB to boot. Essex has got some lovely parts: I think it gets a bit of an unfair press.
    Yes, there are some grim parts (Clacton, Barking and Southend spring to mind, apologies to anyone that lives there) but -having lived there (Colchester) for 3 years - I know there are some really nice bits. The little creeks and inlets around Burnham, and the border with Suffolk are lovely. The Parkrun I did there was Great Notley and it was really nice. 

    Hamster, looking forward to hear your race report (and yes we all know that Parkrun isn't a 'race', of course!).

    maclrc, welcome. Good points.

    Hazel, your intervals are tougher than mine (considerably so)! I think I'd call mine 'sissy intervals.

    So today, I did some Parkrun tourism and went up to Bushy Park - the Mecca for Parkrunners and where it all began back in 2004. My mate who has local knowledge   warned me to leave at 6.50 so as to avoid traffic etc. We did - and got there at 8.05! However, we managed to miss the actual entrance to the park and this being London it meant a long drive to get back. Luckily this was still before the car park filled up, before 8.30.

    1200 runners! And some weeks many more, apparently. Full respect to the volunteers who organise the whole thing with great efficiency (and charm). The course is fast and flat and pretty good underfoot: the record is sub 14 which kind of speaks for itself!

    The downside is simply in the numbers. I was (like many) inhibited by a bit of congestion for the first 1.5k and after that it was always a stretch to get a decent time. I managed 21.32, 116th in the field and 2nd in age cat. But no complaints: the guy that beat me was sub 20.

    Recommended, on balance.
  • John, I went to Essex Uni so well acquainted with that bit of the world! Wivenhoe was pretty nice though I did enjoy piling into my old Morris Marina for a trip to Clacton for arcade games and hot donuts.  :D
    Barking actually has a very nice parkrun and Southend (Shoeburyness) and Chalkwell parkruns are very nice too.
    Bushy handles those numbers really well - glad you enjoyed it. Hope your tooth is OK.
  • Cal, snap! I was there (BA Government) 1973-76. Can't say I loved it but the course was very good (in those days it was a very highly rated department) and it was an 'interesting' time to be a student at the then very radical Essex: I seemed to go to more demos than parties! In those days Colchester was very much an army town and there were places that long-haired students just didn't go. I spent my 2nd year in Clacton and it was dire, but the Mrs JB-to-be was at St Osyths, the teacher training college. A few years back I had a work role that involved me returning to Colchester once a year and I have to say that the town had improved a lot since the 70s. (Thanks for the updates on the Essex Parkruns which I'm sure - like just about all PRs - are great.)
    Enough nostalgia! Back to running. This morning I left my Garmin at home and ran for 1 hour 20 minutes. It was great - no pressure of looking at distance or pace. It helped that I had company, though.
  • Spotted a good parkrun and HM+ by DH on strava - well done on both!

    Seems getting to the start was harder than actually running that parkrun Cal.  I'm jealous of the cooked breakfast though.  (hmm eggs, beans and sausages are available and I just ate some mushrooms so I could have done something myself I guess).  Well done on your time.  The ice is just getting a bit boring now - with temps around freezing all the time and at night quite a bit below it doesn't go away.

    Not such a grand week there to start with JB.  Good news though about the shin splints - maybe stay out of those wellies?  Well done on another great parkrun result, that is a lot of runners.  Many official races here would be glad of that number.  I have a couple of 65+ runners in my group - one had a fairly long break and with careful racing / training seems to stay off the bench, the other has run for 40+ years and doesn't seem to stay off it (he parties quite hard too and has had the more demanding job).  I like the bits of nostalgia by the way. (I added the EU to my Government BA (Newcastle) - was maybe a bit on the wrong path there somehow..) 

    Local village loops on Friday with a few strides at the end, just short of 7 miles.  I ran the loops too hard - a case of start off too quickly and not being able to slow down.  A bad habit I have.  I should maybe make myself do a slow few hundred metres to reset or something.

    Saturday was a short recovery run, bit over 5k - this one nice and slow.  I then walked for 3 hours and turboed for 40 minutes as had some excess energy to dispose of.  

    I should have saved that energy for today's progressive 12.5 miles.  I set off at recovery pace with the but overdid the progression fairly soon and ran out of beans before 10 miles.  I needed a breather and then ran the rest as I felt like.  Not overly disappointed as these are difficult runs to do and I maybe bit off more than I could chew with the intention of doing that distance.  I was also a bit low on fuel.  
  • Cal, I don't know how you get up that early every week, travel for ages and get a Parkrun in. That tourism must be in your blood ! I remember the days of tube train/bus hopping to get around and not one I miss...

    John, hope you have a better a week but not having shine splints is good news ! 1200 people at a Parkrun though, that's a major traffic jam ! Witham I spent a bit of time in for work which was quite a nice little town

    Hazel, I agree with John your interval and progressive sessions are seriously hard ! I want to train my body to get that distance easily before adding in that kin of pace & length... 

    Parkrun for me was Coed Cefn-pwll-du or locally known as Machen... What a beasting of a PR, it goes uphill for 1.5km, flattens out for 200m and then goes up again. Finishes with a steep decline to the finishing line but by that point your spent ! Followed a friend who is much faster than me, recently completed a marathon in 3 1/2hrs, managed to finished just 200m'ish behind him so considering that a big win. 

    Sunday was a 22km but really shouldn't have gone that far as I didn't fuel correctly. Last 4km I was spent but overall it was a decent easy run. I also ended up filling in for someone in the evening for a 6 aside match. Full intentions of going in goal but competitive nature comes out and that flew out the window. My calves, lower back & thighs do not like me today but was a great high energy workout... Thankfully a rest day and according to my plan a relatively easy week to allow for proper recovery 
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    edited January 2022
    John, I was there '85-'88 (although I hung around Colchester another year as I had a boyfriend in the year below, and temped at Royal London). It was still very much an army town with no-go pubs, but I tended to stay on campus whenever possible anyway. I only went on one demo march (against student loans...fat lot of good that did eh?) and there was an all night sit-in in the library (I forget what for) but aside from that, I was more interested in smoking hash with my mates. Oh, and I did Philosophy...useless as that was.

    DH, that sounds very tough! I think you should feel proud indeed.

    Hazelnut, perhaps we could all do with a bit of Vitamin D or something.

    Yesterday was a bit of a failure from a running perspective as totally bailed on my long run. I just couldn't face it and felt like I needed to stay indoors and do absolutely nothing (which is exactly what I did). Not sure if it was down to the various stresses of the past week or the shingles (which probably popped out because of said stresses) but I felt bone tired, unmotivated and my throat was a bit scratchy.
    Rather than try and do the long run today, I decided I would just do a short run to see how I felt. Ended up doing 6 miles and it went OK so I guess the rest day helped.
  • Hamster, I think I'd need a weeks rest after that day! I'm intrigued by that Parkrun so will look it up. Sounds like one to avoid!

    Hazel, so another 'Government' graduate then! I also did a Masters in the same discipline (Kent this time), which qualified me for naff-all! And talking of the EU (and this will date me), I was my prof's (Tony King) research assistant  on his book on the referendum.....the 1975 one! How many rest days do you take per week?

    Cal, ah, memories eh? My son did Philosophy at Essex. Sounds as though you've had a tricky couple of days. But you always seem to bounce back.........(Did you run at uni? I didn't.)

    No running for me: intervals on the rower and then a 1.5 hour walk on the Downs with my son's dog. And no wellies this time, Hazel!
  • I've just looked up the hardest Parkruns in UK and interestingly it comes out in the top 10

    https://athleticsweekly.com/featured/fastest-toughest-uk-parkruns-1039930710/

    Also interestingly Aberbeeg is just down the road from my folks and not far which is 3rd fastest. I'm surprised to see Riverfront which is on my doorstep to be down towards 26th... I may have caught tourism bug

    Also my legs still hurt considerably today
  • Hamster, I did take a peak at it and it looks formidable!

    It makes the little 3 mile hilly run that I've just done look a bit pathetic - but it didn't feel like that at the time! Looks like you are paying for the madness of the other day; hope it eases soon.
  • You did great on those runs at the weekend DH.  Do take care playing footie - you don't want to get a knock which puts you out of running!  Have a good recovery week.

    I do 1-2 rest days a week at the moment JB.  Usually with some sort of cross training.

    Missing one long run won't hurt Cal.  Likely do you good rather if you were that tired.

    After Monday off (short walk and trundle on the turbo) I did a local undulating loop yesterday afternoon.  Still icy in parts (where the sun hasn't got to it) but the ice is pretty dirty by now so being careful is now quite runnable.  Down the hill was freezing fog, up it was sunshine so not a hard choice of routes really.  Was guided by effort rather than pace but with the hill racing season not so far off I should start putting more effort into the ups at least and also practice moving quicker over rougher ground.  8.7 miles in 1:20.


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