Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Mud, Glorious Mud!
Given my current state of health and mind (see 'Bethany' entry below), I decided to opt out of the Harriers Tuesday night run tonight! Had I run with them tonight one of two things would have happened:
1. On completion of the run, Dave, Laura, Ray & Paul would have spent 20 mins in the rain waiting for me to finish or,
2. I would have finished with them and then promptly died.
So instead I went playing in the mud on Cleeve Common. Dave emailed me his Sunday route adding that the trails were extremely muddy so I knew I was in for a mucky time today. To my surprise the Common has held-up really well to the persistent rain and was fairly clear of mud. However, the 'off Common' tracks were waterlogged and thick with mud. Thankfully Rusty decided to go swimming in the sheep dip pond toward the end of the run so that washed most of the mud off him, he was still a soggy, muddy mutt by the time we got home though. Nothing a wash-down with the garden hose won't fix ;)
I've just finished 'Running on Empty' - great book. Amusing and educational! I'm currently reading 'Dellaglio!' and then I have Dean Karnazes 'Ultra Marathon Man' to read which I think will be a book that on completion, the word 'nutter' will be my considered opinion!
As I type the rain is once again raising the river levels and adding to the mud mixture. Marvellous.
1. On completion of the run, Dave, Laura, Ray & Paul would have spent 20 mins in the rain waiting for me to finish or,
2. I would have finished with them and then promptly died.
So instead I went playing in the mud on Cleeve Common. Dave emailed me his Sunday route adding that the trails were extremely muddy so I knew I was in for a mucky time today. To my surprise the Common has held-up really well to the persistent rain and was fairly clear of mud. However, the 'off Common' tracks were waterlogged and thick with mud. Thankfully Rusty decided to go swimming in the sheep dip pond toward the end of the run so that washed most of the mud off him, he was still a soggy, muddy mutt by the time we got home though. Nothing a wash-down with the garden hose won't fix ;)
I've just finished 'Running on Empty' - great book. Amusing and educational! I'm currently reading 'Dellaglio!' and then I have Dean Karnazes 'Ultra Marathon Man' to read which I think will be a book that on completion, the word 'nutter' will be my considered opinion!
As I type the rain is once again raising the river levels and adding to the mud mixture. Marvellous.
Thursday, 10 January 2008
Welcome Bethany!
Well sometimes things really upset ones training schedule but in this case, I certainly don't mind. Our beautiful daughter, Bethany Louise arrived on 6 Jan 2008 weighing in at 8lb 11oz.
Still, I managed a 7 miler today although the temptation to crash on the bed and work on my already increasing sleep defecit was extremely strong. Glad I ran though, fresh (& windy) air blew some of the cobwebs away. It's been a rollercaster few days as Bethany arrived by emergency C-Section and had to stay in hospital for a few days observation. However, both my little princess and her amazing mother are both doing very well. Happy Birthday to Helen too for today!
Later.
Still, I managed a 7 miler today although the temptation to crash on the bed and work on my already increasing sleep defecit was extremely strong. Glad I ran though, fresh (& windy) air blew some of the cobwebs away. It's been a rollercaster few days as Bethany arrived by emergency C-Section and had to stay in hospital for a few days observation. However, both my little princess and her amazing mother are both doing very well. Happy Birthday to Helen too for today!
Later.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Happy New Year!
So I started 2008 with a 12 mile plod (see below) which started off with a 2 mile uphill stretch including a 1 in 4 gradient for about a mile. Following that was a nice downhill section but I was pretty knackered so didn't benefit from it much! The remaining 8 miles was fairly flat and the weather & views were great although there were races on at the Racecourse so traffic was a bit busy.
Today (3rd Jan) was a bad run day. I ran the usual 6 mile lunchtime route and although I decided beforehand to take it gently, I didn't expect to run 7 mins off my PB ! Heavy legs, zero energy.
Today (3rd Jan) was a bad run day. I ran the usual 6 mile lunchtime route and although I decided beforehand to take it gently, I didn't expect to run 7 mins off my PB ! Heavy legs, zero energy.
Sunday, 30 December 2007
Rob-sty or Rustert?
As I was plodding through the mud today with Rusty panting by my side, it struck me that we would make a great combination in terms of my long-range ability mixed with his speed. He's still struggling with long distances since his 3 year slobbing lay-off in the USA where he didn't really get any long, ranging running due to the strict 'on-leash' laws in Maryland. He's comfortable doing 7-8 miles, but don't want to push him too much too quickly. Rusty is probably thinking 'enough of these short slow outings, let's run for 20 miles!'.
No matter how far we do run, I know he'll out-sprint me. I've tried ramping up the speed slowly or throwing a stick in the oposite direction, but he's wiley and still manages to beat me back to the car ;)
No matter how far we do run, I know he'll out-sprint me. I've tried ramping up the speed slowly or throwing a stick in the oposite direction, but he's wiley and still manages to beat me back to the car ;)
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
Happy Xmas!
Two really good runs this week, both on Cleeve Common. Firstly I went up on Monday with Rusty and ran a 6.5 mile route. Fairly quiet up there given the time of year, most people probably hustling around town. Different story today, was like Trafalgar Square up there this afternoon. I was glad to get off the Common where most of the 'ramblers' were and had a cracking 8.6 mile run. Quite muddy in places, definitely Walsh territory! Talking of which, I've just finished reading 'Feet in the Clouds' and thought I'd give this no holds barred downhill bonkers running that most Fell runners describe. Ok so I'm no Fell runner, and have only tried to run downhill fast on a few occasions but I must say, it feels as though either a) one of my legs is simply going to fly off or b) my groin is going to snap with the force of a aircraft carrier catapult. I'd describe my downhill style as 'helicopter with tail rotor removed' if you can imagine what that looks like ;)
Top Xmas present from Mother this year, 13 months subscription to Runners World and Helen (wife) came up trumps too with some Gore running trousers & SealSkinz gloves. Excellent!
R.
Top Xmas present from Mother this year, 13 months subscription to Runners World and Helen (wife) came up trumps too with some Gore running trousers & SealSkinz gloves. Excellent!
R.
Friday, 21 December 2007
New XC route
Here's a new route that I'm hoping will become a good XC track. I've run it once before but took a few run turns and ended up running over 9 miles. Could be quite muddy in places!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)