Archive for October, 2007
« Previous EntriesAnother day at the office
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007Many meetings today but I ate lunch at desk and managed to sneak down to the gym and do 50 minutes on the treadmill. Not a memorable workout, but still another 10 kms to add to this years training diary.
Comments OffRest days over…
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007Having had a few days rest in order to rest the left heal that still remains sensitive after a run, I decided that if I didn’t give it a go now I would gain weight and become grumpy, all in the space of four days..!! I decided to cycle like a lunatic to work, the 14 miles are a combination of road and track, ideal for pushing it. After about 5 miles I could feel myself draining away with the thighs complaining as if they had worked for hours. By the time I finished I have to admit I did not feel so good, or not as good as normal.
Today was the opportunity to get up early and run the same route. Very reluctantly I woke up and was forced by Jacqui to get on with it, any other time she is dead to the world, but today she was adamant I was going before she rolled over again..
I have to say that once I got over the initial shock of waking birds up, watching the sun rise and the stiff legs working normally in a semi running pattern I quite enjoyed it. I even managed to stagger up the stairs at work in order retrieve my keys so I could go in search of clothes.
I obviously have a problem at the moment with nutrition as I never seem to experience that feeling of ‘I feel good’ after a run. that or I’m just not doing enough of it to break that barrier. Maybe I just need more sleep in the mornings…..
Comments OffAccept the challenge or not?
Monday, October 29th, 2007We had some serious problems with our plumbing this weekend which needed a lot of attendance and many phone-calls to get hold of a plumber. So no run this Sunday as I had planned. I am taking this coming Friday off from work to go out and do a real long run in the daylight. The days are getting shorter now and it gets dark before 5 pm.
The registrations for the Grand Union Canal Run open next week. Now it’s time to decide. Should I dare to accept the challenge or not? 145 miles is a very long race and more than half of the entrants don’t reach the finish line. Even seasoned ultra-veterans have bailed out. I have not run longer than 62 miles before so I should not be ready for this. On the other it is challenging to prepare for a race where the outcome is uncertain.
When Dean Karnazes entered the Westerns States 100 miler for the first time. His friends asked him if he really could manage a 100 mile race he answered. – I don´t know. I am running to find out.
Comments OffBurning calories
Monday, October 29th, 2007Saturday October 27th
6m (treadmill) Ave 9:45
Got one of those artificial dawn alarm clocks from Lumie which arrived Thursday. Seemed great. Gradually reduced light at night to give a relaxing wind down. Gradually increased light in the morning for a gentle wakeup. Fantastic. Until I went to set it last night only to find it no longer works. That really lasted well. Not sure I’ll be recommending that to people I like.
It was pretty wet outside today & lots of standing water on the roads. Bearing in mind I’m running tomorrow as well, I decided to get out the tready.
Started off on a rolling hills program and tried to keep to a 9:30 pace. It tuned out to be a bit adventurous for me. I kept it up for the first half, then had to magic away the hills. I knocked the safety cut out a mile or so in, then at 2 miles to go there was a quick power cut. It was enough to stop the machine pretty much dead & jolt me forward. Not best enjoyable.
I was really struggling today, fighting the little voice inside that was saying “that’s enough, go get a beer now”, so I had to try something to give me focus. With 1.25 miles left (5 virtual laps) I decided to try to really force the pace for half a lap, then do a lap at 9 or 10 min miling, then repeat. So I cranked it up to 10mph (6 min miling) and was really surprised I could keep up, and even more that I did so 3 times. Maybe there’s some hope for me to speed up a bit yet.
Sunday October 28th
16m Ave 11:14
(2139 kCal = Big Mac + cheeseburger + fries + 6 pints bitter + tiny pack peanuts)
I’ve sorted out my camel back so could go out on the road up to Habost and back. The weather was generally kind, but the route is not exactly flat and I found it pretty tough going. That said, it was one of my better long runs, so I can’t complain. I would like to go a bit quicker though.
I didn’t look at my watch until one mile from the end. I wanted to get back inside 3 hours and thought I may just have a chance. I haven’t done that on this route before. My tired mind was trying to calculate what I could do in the last mile. As the end of the 15th was approaching, I decided as long as my watch said 2:47, no matter what the seconds, I had a pretty good chance. At the beep I looked and … 2:49 something. Bum. Still, I thought put in a bit of effort and if I can get to half a mile to go with the watch saying 2:54 I was still in with a chance. When it beeped I looked to see it just clicking to exactly 2:55:00. I thought I was going much faster and could ease up a bit for the last half, but now I would have to speed up more. And I had a wet & slippy cattle grid to navigate & one last hill. Still I faced front, concentrated and pulled it out of the bag with 20 seconds to spare.
Just goes to show that very often you are limited by your mind not your body.
Comments OffLoop de loop
Friday, October 26th, 2007Wednesday October 24th
2 m Ave 8:39
Ran my favourite loop again today. Got back well within my 20 min timeframe. In fact i think this may be my best time so far for the loop. Maybe its not fast for most people, but I’m pleased with it.
Thursday October 25th
4.16m Ave 9:49
This was supposed to be some speed training, but the weather put paid to that.
I do repeats of half mile leisurely, half mile pushing a bit. For my faster half miles I aim for 4 mins to 4:15 (8:00 to 8:30 min miling). These are roughly based on the idea of “Yasso Loops” for which the half mile is run in minutes your target time in hours for a marathon, which for me equates to 4hrs to 4:15. Thats way faster than I have run to date, so I don’t need to go any faster than that.
Today’s second fast half mile was particularly tough, taking me 5:50 (11:40 min miles) – and it was a real struggle to do that. The ground is a bit rough and its a fair uphill, so I would normally expect to do it in around 5 mins with the effort I put in. But the wind! At times it was all I could do to keep going forwards. It was most noticeable when I had finished and was walking the few yards back home – I couldn’t walk in a straight line.
Its 3am as I write this, and its blowing up a bit of a gale outside. The wind is howling and you can feel the walls vibrating. The girls are pretty good, but need a little comforting to help them get back to sleep when they wake. Our bedrooms are on the 1st floor. A lot of the houses here have bedrooms on the ground floor so they don’t get quite so much of the noise from the wind.
Comments Off10 mile “rest”
Friday, October 26th, 2007Had a “rest” at the weekend with a 10 mile road run at marathon race pace. Seemed to go well but it was very cold at 7am on Sunday morning. Have repeated the run on Tuesday evening and felt better. In between I have managed a couple of sessions with my new program at the gym which went better than expected, not as tough as I thought but I do ache in new places. My ailments seem to be improving, foot now has almost gone back to normal size and the bruising has reduced. Had some sinus trouble following my recent “sniffle” which has also improved. Had to forego the usual Wednesday evening kickabout just in case of injury.
I have also ordered in some freeze-dried Expedition Foods which I will be trying out over the next few weeks. These are used by several of the guys in the MDS and looked more appetising than the noodles I was struggling to get down whilst out there.
Off to Dublin tomorrow for the marathon on Monday. Looking forward to it and the Guinness afterwards even more!
Comments OffBack in the gym
Thursday, October 25th, 2007After five days of rest my foot feels better and my shoulder too. I went down in the gym for a 45 min workout on the stairmaster. The stairmaster is a good alternative when you have problems with your feet och shins. You train your cardio and increase your leg-strength but without the disturbing impact that comes from running especially on hard surfaces.
October will be a low-mileage month. But I hope to start raising the level in November.
Comments OffMy October
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007Sunday 7th October
Rest day for me.
Julie ran Loch Ness today & put in a really great time. OK, we’re not fast runners by any stretch of the imagination, but I was really proud of Julie bringing her time down from 5:53 at Abingdon to 5:10. And on a pretty tough course. I’ve only managed better than that twice, and only on a flat course, and I haven’t got too near that recently. So its a bit of a kick up the bum for me.
Saturday October 13th
5.11 miles Ave 11:07
I haven’t seemed to find the time to write up notes on my runs recently, so am filling in the last couple of weeks as best I can remember. I have been struggling to find the time to fit in the running with work, so have been going out later and hence less likely to feel like writing up. Am getting plenty of use from my head torch though.
Its a strange thing with a long one week, short next week type schedule. Even though I am only doing half distance this weekend, its as though the runs are really long. I am really struggling mentally to get out there and run. Managed it OK in the end today, but am not so sure about tomorrow.
Sunday October 14th
7.23 miles Ave 11:03
Found it very tough to get motivation. Its not a long run, but it seems it. I didn’t get round to sorting out my water bottles & belt, so ended up running 2 loops so I could stop off for a drink (unfortunately not at the pub).
Monday October 15th
2.52 miles Ave 9:41
Just a small run round my favourite loop to keep the legs going. A pretty pleasing pace for me, especially given the reasonably large hill.
Saturday October 20th
10.1 miles Ave 11:24
Having missed a run again (work is my excuse again) I was feeling a bit daunted by the task for today and tomorrow. I still haven’t got the water bottles sorted out so once again am doing 2 laps.
The problem with using the house as a drinks stop is that I also use it as a toilet stop and that can pretty easily become a habit. It sounds stupid, but if I have a pee break a few times I find the urge to pee increases for future runs. Does anyone else find this?
Sunday October 21st
14.04 miles Ave 12:41
Still no water bottles sorted out, but I decided to go for a bit of exploration today. I started with my favoured run along the cliff tops, then round the small village road, then round the back roads of the next village, then the next. I found two or three roads that led up to different parts of the sea shore. That was really nice.
The wind had also picked up quite a bit today. It strikes me as strange how you can be almost unaware of the wind when it is behind you but turn into it and it can be hard to make any headway.
Some of the roads were quite hilly, and some pretty stoney. One in particular went from tarmac to gravel to stoney to rocky, whilst gradually getting steeper at the same time.
By the end of the run I felt good but pretty tired. My preferred running shoe (Nike Free) has little cushioning and the rocky ground left its mark on the arches of my feet. They were quite red and a thin layer of skin was peeling off. They were also a little bruised. Still, I prefer that to shoes in which you can run over any type of ground and feel no difference at all.
Monday October 22nd
4.11 miles Ave 10:59
The legs were starting to rebel a bit at the start of today’s run. Not so much because of the distance as the wind. Unless its coming directly from behind or in front, I find myself struggling to keep in a straight line. And this seems to tax muscles that are not too used to getting much work to do.
I have now booked up for the Cornish Marathon in mid November, so I will have to adjust my schedule for that. I will be on the mainland for a week and a half for work. I was worried about finding somewhere decent to run then worked out that I if I got the sleeper train from London to Cornwall & back again I could make it to the marathon. I have heard great things about this marathon (its a pretty tough one) so am looking forward to it.
Tuesday October 23rd
Worked through lunch again which meant I missed my 2 miler for today. Started a new intense Gaelic course this evening, so a late run was out of the question (especially since I had no option but to come home via the Chinese takeaway with a big bag of food – guess I may as well have a few glasses of wine now too). Gaelic will take up Tuesday & Wednesday evenings for the next few weeks. I just hope I can keep up with the kids (or at least my 3 year old). Sydney, my 5 year old, still thinks its funny to teach me new words, then later let me into the secret that she made it up.
Temporary setback
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007I have my first small injury since the summer. My right ankle is a bit soar and I can´t run comfortably. My left shoulder has a small strain and hurts. The two things can´t have anything to do with each other but still enough reasons to take a few days rest. Luckily Oct/Nov are low mileage months and it is OK to put in more days of rest.
The worst thing you can do is to try run through a small injury. You will just be “rewarded” with a bigger one.
Comments OffMorning start
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007Early start yesterday having decided to cycle to work. Work having moved closer to home a mere 14 miles now, from the 33.
A bit dodgy trying to use the road where I live in this weather at that time of the morning, being flat and rural the mist tends to hug the farm land, so its across dykes and back roads on the mountain bike.
By the end of the day it was time to run home, the return leg, which was quite hard work getting going and in order to push through that tired leg phase. by half way my heal was playing up again, so if anyone has any useful ideas of treatment, other than rest, then I would be grateful because its becoming annoying now.
2hrs 5 mins by the time I got home, and could I find the key to the front door….
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