Poorly buttock

Lack of blog = lack of running = niggling injury.

I think I pulled my piriformis playing football a few weeks ago and certainly didn't help it by running up & down Leckhampton Hill with Dave just 24 hours later. The result, predictably, a few weeks off running. It feels like the hamstring in my left leg has shortened and actually makes my hobble when running. I've treated it and stretched it out and have now started some slow, short outings. Still not 100%, but I figure if I take it slowly and gradually build up (imagine that?) then I should/could be on the road to recovery.

Just as well no races planned or booked for. Will spend the next few weeks just gradually building up and getting some miles back.

Possibly go tomorrow, but will leave such decisions to closer to the time to gauge how my buttock is feeling...so to speak.

Stop Thief!

Decided to hit some mile reps tonight rather than a long run. Quite warm for running miles as quickly as possible and given that, not bad times. Reps 1 & 3 were a little downhill and the times probably reflect that (5.43 & 5.52) so reps 2 & 4 a little slower. Weird thing happened though. I took my water belt and left it at the start of the country lane where I had planned to start my reps. I came back after mile 2 and had a drink and then placed the belt and water bottle in the long grass behind a sign. On return from lap 4 the belt and bottle gone! Nowhere to be seen! Now there was nobody around and who would stumble across that and think 'Great I'll have it'. The only thing I can think of was a curious and sweet drink attracted animal dragged it off. There was a small animal track close-by. Rabbit? Fox? either way they are probably high on my honey and fruit juice mixture right about now!

Nottingham Hill

Still got tired, achy legs but that didn't stop a cracking little run. I've done this route a couple of times before and it really is very nice. Nottingham Hill is tough, windy and fairly long but the views from the top back across towards Tewkesbury, The Malverns and over into Wales are worth it. Just over 8 miles, most of it off-road equates to a good morning's workout. Not many other people around despite the glorious conditions. Only one moment of concern when crossing the very final field: cows (or bulls, potentially) but turned out to be the nonplussed, not interested cow variety of bovine. Thankfully.

The week ahead probably consist of a long-ish run Tuesday night, possibly a lunch run on Wed/Thurs and a work run Friday. Weather looks good!

Leckhampton Hill

Ooh me legs felt that! Not too muggy tonight but have had tired, achy legs for a few days and I suspect this will do little to ease the pain. Nice route though. Bit of road to the base of the hill and then onto the tracks up through the woods until it broke out on the bottom of the escarpment. A nice view back across Cheltenham from the very top before dropping back down the hill to the bottom. Just a 4 mile run back to the start from there!

I topped up my mileage last week with a steady lunchtime run. Sometimes it pays to slow things right down and have a nice pleasant run ;)

Past week

It seems much of my recent running has been done in very humid conditions. Last week, in the US, I ran four times and each one finished with me resembling someone who has just got out of the bath fully dressed. The four consisted of a couple of local trail runs (8 & 6 miles), a 5k race (awful awful conditions) and a 7 miler in Patapsco State Park (really muggy, but really good). On return to the UK I thought I'd be prancing around given my 'conditioning' but a run on Tuesday night (see above) clearly demonstrated I was still jet-lagged or have completely lost form. It was hard! 11.5 miles the latter part of which was a shuffling stumble.

Double run today which included a sweat-filled run to work and then a much more pleasant short outing at lunchtime.

Next week is the White Horse 5k which is a very popular club speed session. Not sure what I'll be expecting in terms of time, a sub 18 min would be very nice thank you.

Harriers

A newish route for last Tuesday. Included all the usual requirements such as hills, fields, tracks and roads. A good run but very humid and we all got a bit dehydrated at the very top of the climb (check the route profile - elevation). My legs (buttocks in particular) were quite sore from Sunday's hill session and I paid the price on the long downhill section from Cleeve Hill to Oakley. Ooh that hurt.

A good route though, taking in some of the Cheltenham Circular and Cotswold Way tracks.

On Monday, I'll be running my first 5k for years at:

http://www.striders.net/public/races/remembrance/2010/2010.remembrance.flier.pdf

Results will be at:

http://www.striders.net/races/remembrance/2010

and a sub 18 min run will be a PB...who knows?!?!?

Feeling hot.

I'm the first to admit I neither enjoy or am much good running in hot weather. So, given the temperatures today I figured a double run up/down Bushcombe Lane ought to be sufficiently terrible. Actually, it wasn't too bad. Yes it was hot, yes I sweated profusely but scaling Everest twice isn't that much that doing it once. I thought that a short, hilly run would be much more sensible than a longer flat 'un and I was right. Funnily enough on the descent after climb number 1 I passed a 'runner' walking up the hill and then I passed him during climb number 2 :)

Good run overall, although quite short!

Tuesday Run

Only Ray and myself this week so we decided to have a crack at Stockwell Lane +. The plus being we then continued up on to Cleeve Common and up and over the Hill. So a pretty hard climb which formed only part of the 10.5 mile run. Quite muggy last night and we both dehydrated a little on the final couple of miles. Good run though, a pretty thorough workout! Saw some Alpacas on the way back - not everyone sees those on a Tuesday evening!

Rest of the week looks like a run from work on Thurs and then back in again on Friday, should put the weekly mileage at around 30 - not bad.

Oh deer

I think this is one of my favourite runs around here. It's got pretty much everything; road, a thumping hill, Cleeve Common, downhill, more XC and finally another road section. Half way up Bushcombe Lane as I was staring at my feet, a small deer jumped through the hedge and stood looking at me in the middle of the road. Not sure who was more surprised.

It's quite muggy out there today and it took longer than expected due to a diversion around a field that had some pretty lively horses in it. I've been in that field before and they are the human-eating kind of horses so best avoided.

Legs felt heavy today, not sure the hill helped much!

Now I'm tired

Quite what possessed me to run home across country yesterday I don't quite know but it was hard work. My old friends the bullocks were there to greet me as I entered the first field, thankfully they were in the field next door. But having witnessed them hurdle said fence in the past, I ran on with a hint of trepidation. I think I left them suitably hyper for a lone walker who was coming up behind me. Sorry whoever you are. It was quite a tiring run and I actually nodded off in the living room lying on my back with my legs stretched up on the window sill.

I also ran today which brought my weekly to around 35 miles. That includes a race, a hill run, a cross-country and a laboured road run to work today. Good quality mileage though (apart from today). Nothing much on the horizon now race-wise, will have to see what events are coming up.

Need wine and to bury head under pillow.

Not too tired!

Fresh from the activities of Sunday, the Tuesday night group headed from the Sports Centre to Leckhampton Hill. I seem to forget that it's almost 4 miles to the foot of the hill so quite warmed up by then! The Hill wasn't too bad and the three of us cut across the woodland tracks and dropped back down to Charlton Kings. Then it was a fairly brisk run back home with the final 4 miles at a good pace.

I actually fared quite well considering I had a half-marathon in my legs. Only had one gear though and found it hard to change pace. Managed a healthy sprint finish too :)

Tewkesbury Half Marathon

I stuck to the plan, well sort of. Went out a little quick but reigned it in for the first 5 miles and was smack on the schedule of 6.40 min/mile average. I then increased the pace by about 10 sec/mile but came undone a bit around mile 8 where there was a little incline and a head wind. Miles 9 & 10 were good, 11 a little slow but really pleased to hit 6.20 min/mile for miles 11 & 12. It's a nice feeling to pass other racers that far into a race. Amazingly, my fastest mile was mile 13! Is that right or does it mean I took it too easy in the rest of the race??? Hmmmm. I think I managed to duck inside the top 5% too.

So a PB of 1hr26min53sec and on reflection now, I think I could have gone a little faster. Sounds like a challenge!

Good support out there today too!

Ready?

Interesting running week. Really hard session on Tuesday with the boys including a run from ground zero to the highest point in the Cotswolds. Aggs Hill is one of those climbs that just keeps going and has several points where you think you're there only for it to carry on a bit further. Anyhoo, nearly 10 miles on Tuesday followed by a gentle 6 miler today at lunchtime so about half the weekly mileage as compared to last week. Which sets me up, hopefully, for a good race on Sunday. I'm running ok although I have a feeling a road half marathon is going to tear my already tender toes to pieces :(

Sub 1hr 30 would be good, a PB would be great!

A New World Record

Contact Alastair McWhirter because I broke a world record today. Yep I finally improved my time on the little loop around Cleeve. I didn't really set out to run a fast time, more to put my weekly mileage over the 30 mile mark. But as you can see from the mile splits, I went out quite quick (it's uphill for the first two miles) and then kept on going. Nice conditions for running, mild with a little light rain. So it appears I do have a bit of form and speed in the legs!

Tomorrow I'll be taking my new and improved bike out for a spin around town.

Coasting

Took the opportunity to take in some of the north Cornwall Coastal Footpath this week. On a blowy, raining evening I headed south for 4 miles, turned around and went back. Really good running surface, never ever flat! Most of running surface was dirt track but some very soft sand dunes helped the heart rate a bit. On the return I bumped into two other runners who were turning around after about 2 miles, as they turned around they attempted to join me. The sociable thing would have been to run back to Bude together, but I'm more of a racer than a social runner ;) I think I was about 1/4 mile ahead of them as I crested the final hill.

Good Training

Ventured out today to try a 5/5 training run. That being, 5 miles steady at about 7.10 min/mile pace followed by 5 miles a bit faster, around 6.50 min/mile resulting in an overall pace of 7 min/mile. If I can train like this, then I can race too but with quicker mile pacing. It was not a great start. Humid, full of Indian food from last night, tired and under-motivated the first 4 miles were a struggle. Still, I managed to hit the average times pretty well and after 5 miles I was at about 7.14 average. The change-up in pace was actually quite a relief and a quicker foot turnover felt good. If you look at the mile splits, you'll see I was pretty much smack on the original plan with an overall pace of 7.01 min/mile.

Just need to add another 3 miles and increase the pace now in time for a PB :)

What timing!

I set out today to repeat the Tedington run detailed below with the same strategy in mind. That is, first 5 miles around 7 min/mile pace followed by 2 miles at about 20 secs/mile quicker. After 5 miles, my average pace was 7.04 min/mile, so pretty good pacing myself and the following two miles were 7.42 and 7.33 min/mile so again, right on the money. As a template session for my next half marathon, it was almost perfect. The weird thing, it was, to the very second, the same time as I ran it a week or so ago! 49 min 45 sec.

I reckon today was a bit harder though as it was much warmer and I had a pretty tough session on Tuesday so very pleased with the time.

Tough Little Run!

Was late for the Harriers run tonight so I ran from home and intersected them! A tough run tonight, exactly 10 miles and much of it was off-road and included a steep climb up Stockwell Lane. Given those two factors, the average time was pretty darn good. Take out the hill and off-road sections and that would have been a fast 10 miler. Unfortunately I must have been miles away as I missed the signal to hit the accelerator and the guys blasted off without me at the 5 mile point. I managed to get back with them with 2 x 6.20 min something miles. Have sore calf muscles tonight, not sure it that is due to a short run yesterday or some garden digging I did ;) Either way, could do with putting my feet up and a massage.

Rice Crispies await.

Mill Lane

With the onset of lighter evenings and better weather, we decided to return to the 'summer running routes' tonight with a heave-ho up Mill Lane to the Masts on Cleeve Common. Twas tricky work! Mill Lane is a fairy long, winding lane that expires after about a mile and gives way to some gnarly track through some woods before appearing at the top of Cleeve Hill. It's steep, about 25% in places and we overtook some cyclists at the steepest part :)

Legs were a little tired after Monday night's exertions and I tired on the downhill back to base. But overall a good route and nice to get back to some more interesting running routes. I even took my heart rater monitor today to see how close to expiring I could get - pretty close by all accounts! I don't usually bother with the monitor as it usually moves around my chest and gets on my nerves, but useful tonight!

Right, need some Cheerios now.

Cracking Run!

Despite being a little tired and on my feet all day, I decided to venture out and hit a 7 miler running my half-marathon strategy. That is, 5 miles at a steady but reasonable pace, then increase by about 20 seconds/mile (during the half, the final 3 miles will be labeled 'hanging on'). Tonight my plan was to complete the first 5 miles at an average of 7min/mile with and additional two miles at around 6.40 min/mile after that. In summary, I hit it dead on. However, the first 5 were a bit all over the place with the quickest at 6.48, the slowest at 7.22. It would be good to be able to crank out steady paced mile after mile, but I suppose that's the difference between me and a good runner! Next training run of that ilk will be a 10 miler with a 5-5 strategy (5 steady, 5 quicker).

But my goal was completed tonight and it was a cracking evening for a run. During the run I was calculating how I have been finishing races this year in terms of %age. Possibly Bourton aside (and looking back over the last couple of years), I generally finish in the top 5% of the field. That's a pretty good goal to aim at continuing.

Harriers tomorrow night.

3 in a row

Was planning to run for the next three days (6 miles per day) but missed my planned lunchtime run today. So instead I went for a short loop this evening. Probably a bit too soon after eating and I suffered from stitch and very heavy legs. Still, not a bad little outing and the weather was ideal.

Also missed the club run this week so I've put my plans back a bit in terms of getting some quality sessions prior to Tewkesbury. Still got some time though.

Bit Tired

As planned I ran to and from work today, but having a short day at work meant that essentially, I did a 10k after breakfast and then another after lunch! Consequently, I'm a little bit tired now. My poor toes held up OK, bit sore tonight though but no lasting damage. Both runs were reasonable pace surprisingly, even the run home after only 4 hours since the first run was pretty good.

Hope to get out again Sunday and then the honeymoon period is over and back to proper training.

New Target

Back to it tomorrow after a few days break. Toes appear to be well on the mend so I'll plaster-up and do a double run tomorrow to/from work.

Meanwhile, I've signed up for the Tewkesbury Half Marathon on 9 May. Eager to rid the ghosts of 2008, I'm aiming at going for a personal best this year. If I can build up on the form & fitness I have now, it gives me 5 weeks to get ready for giving the PB a crack. Tewkesbury is flat so gravity should not be against me too much.

Also looking further ahead, June is the month of the Cheltenham Circular Challenge Marathon. A couple of us are planning on running this year, will need to put a few miles of trail/hill running in before that one!

Forest of Dean Half Marathon

The day didn't start particularly well. Left home and turned on my Garmin to acquire whirly satellite things and the battery was flat. Too late to do anything about it so drove to the Forest thinking about a) how I would time myself and b) what I would do without knowing my pace and therefore losing my ability to pace myself sensibly. Anyway, I then spilled coffee down the front of my fleece.

The race itself was not only GPS-less, it was hilly, muddy and much tougher than I thought it would be. Back to pacing myself well the plan was to hit about 6.45 pace for the first 5 miles, then up a gear to 6.30 pace for miles 5-10 and then as fast as possible for the final 3. At mile 3 I met up with Dave and asked what mile pace we were at, the answer was 6.20 / 5.45 / 6.30 for the first 3 miles. Ok mile 2 was a bit downhill but 5.45! Crazy pace. I got into a reasonable rhythm until about mile 7 when I started flagging a bit. A second wind at mile 9 saw a reasonable few miles but final mile to the finish was a killer. I already knew my toes were a mess and it was becoming really painful to run. The final mile was straight, muddy and uphill.

Broke the tape in 1hr 29 which, considering everything was pretty pleasing (anything under 1hr 30 is fine with me). On closer inspection of my feet I had a blood blister the size of a 2pence piece and two cut toes where the nail had been cut a bit too short.

All in all a pretty good run, I know I can go faster than that though - need some better training!

Rest!

Decided to rest completely for the next couple of days before the Half on Sunday. I ran last Thursday (almost 18 miles), then 7 Sunday, 6 Tuesday and another 6 Wednesday. I was going to venture out today for a short waddle today but legs are tired and I think a complete rest (apart from cycling) would be more beneficial.

So I'm quite confident about putting in a good time on Sunday, anything sub 1hr 30 would be quite alright. I reckon the weather might have a fair influence on the conditions but hopefully it won't be too muddy. Mud is ok, when you're expecting it and ready!

R.

Bloody Toes

Literally.

What is it about running and my toes? I have two black nails, a big toe with a new nail growing after the old one came off and after a 7 miler today, I cut two toes the result was messy socks. It's obviously very attractive and not at all painful, but probably something many runners suffer with.

One week until the Forest Half. I'm feeling pretty comfortable with my form at the moment and hopefully will get 20-odd miles in this week whilst giving myself a couple days of rest before next Sunday.

Not sure about a target time for the race. Not sure a PB is on the cards given it's a trail race and probably contains a few slopes. But sub 1hr30 is the minimum and I'd be gutted with anything slower than that.

Long Run Home

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Long Run Home

From work to home is a smudge under 6 miles but today I decided to go the long way round. 17.5 miles later, I skipped through the gate. Ok, hardly skipping but pretty pleased to get those miles under my water belt. Pace was nothing to write home about, but today was about distance. The downside was having to wait for 15 mins at the train crossing while 6 trains whizzed by (not all at once obviously) and that was at 14 miles so I got a bit chilly and stiff waiting around. I also got a wolf-whistle from a passing female driver - can't say that happens very often.

My legs were a little sore before today following hill reps on Tuesday - goodness knows how they'll be tomorrow!

Bushcombe Hill

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

Interesting route this one. It has a couple of miles of road to start, then the challenging uphill followed by a rolling downhill past the Rising Sun. Then it's off-road back down to Bishops Cleeve and finally, a mile or so back on the road. Doing it will a tummy full of Sunday lunch isn't advisable though! Lovely day for an afternoon run!

Howard County Running

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Columbia Run

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Wilde Lake

Couple of runs in and around Columbia MD last week. The first was an attempt to resync my body clock and overcome jet lag, the second was to offset the amount of food I ate in the few days I was there. I don't think either run really delivered what was expected.

Still the conditions were near perfect and it was nice to get out on the paths and see some deer, fox and noisy red-winged blackbirds. The first run was a small loop of Columbia, the second was an out-and-back around Wilde Lake.

Hopefully they both kept some kind of form ticking over, off out this afternoon for a 6/7 mile run, then Harriers on Tuesday before looking ahead to the Forest of Dean Half Marathon in two weeks.

Patapsco Trail

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Patapsco Trail

I might get the opportunity in a couple of weeks to run one of my favourite routes; Patapsco State Park. A really interesting set of single-track routes that you can make up as you to suit your mood. The route above was my standard Sunday morning adventure.

Good news / bad news

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Cleeve Loop

Following a good couple of weeks focusing on a bit of speed, I thought I'd give my benchmark route a blast on Sunday. My fastest time for this run ever is 27:40 which, for a 4.33 mile loop, is 6.25 sec / mile. I ran that in 2008 just prior to the Bourton 10k so I reckoned it would give me a good idea of my form. Well it went quite well. It didn't feel particularly fast and it was a bit windy in places but I stopped the watch at 27:40, 6.25 sec/mile! Couldn't believe that, spot on to the second. Really quite pleased with that result given 2008 I was running really well.

The bad news is I awoke on Monday with a very sore right calf; an injury that has sidelined me for several months over the last couple of years. I've been giving it the normal care and attention and it might not be quite as bad as I thought on Monday. I'll go for a gentle plod Thursday to see if it's ok and was a reaction to a bit of forefoot striking during the speed session (forefoot landing always makes my calves sore). I'd say I'm 50:50 for Bourton on Sunday. Poop.

Hard Work

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Goth Loop

The overall time was ok, but it seemed harder than it should have been. Heavy legs today, possibly a reaction to Tuesday's speed session. It was also warmer than I expected despite the overnight dusting of slush. Still, not too shabby and a sub 7min/mile pace so mustn't grumble.

The only significant point about the run was a cyclist frightening the bejebus out of me as he stealthily approached from behind and then shouted 'must be keeping you warm' as he leveled with me. "You idiot, don't creep up on people' is something I didn't say. Cyclists!! Speed run on Sunday, and then the countdown to Bourton.

Cleeve Loop

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Cleeve Loop

This is my local, short speedy route. All time world record, owned by me of course, stands at 27:40 so this attempt was the 5th fastest I've run it, out of about 50 attempts. It's a good measure of my form, at least an indicator of being able to run a tempo. With the Bourton 10k in a week or so, I'll probably have another try or two at this route. Ideally, I'd like to get down to 27:30 but I'm way off that at the moment.

The next week will be a mixture of short but quick sessions, and perhaps a longer (7 mile) run tomorrow and again mid-week next week.

Did a 30/60/90 sec sprint session on Tuesday with the Harriers; that's a hard routine!

Lunchtime trot

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Boddington9

Ventured out for a 9 miler today with the goal of hitting a nice, steady 7min/mile. Got back to work with an average pace of 7min/mile ;) I've only done this run 3 times and took 2ish minutes of the previous time which, given I've had a few hard miles this week, was a pleasing result.

Got hailed on though, not so nice.

25 miles for the week so far, will notch up the 30 with a speedy session on Sunday, hopefully.

May Hill Massacre

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for May Hill Massacre



Hopefully the above link will work ok! Worth checking out the 'elevation' tab at the bottom which tells part, but not all of the story. The rest of the story is the mud, and the extent of it! Not too bad going up the Hill and back down, but once down in the woods it was thick, shin-deep sucking mud. Really slippery and energy sapping but all part of the Massacre experience. Mile splits ranged from 9 min/mile to 5.45 min/mile!

Result was ok, only a few seconds slower than last year but I dropped from 17th to 27th. Good run though

Rob

Back on it

After almost a year of various injuries (both running related and other), illness and more injuries, I'm now getting back into training. A few races coming up starting with:

7 Feb - May Hill Massacre
28 Feb - Bourton 10k
28 Mar - Forest of Dean 1/2 Marathon

No real targets for the races, and clearly no PBs on offer just yet. Hopefully, given an injury-free spring, I can get back to some kind of form. My last race, Cheltenham 10k in September, was used as a recovery run and I managed a lowly 40:42, far too slow. But I have some longer term targets to aim for, just need to keep the injury demons at bay.