I ran to work this morning (3:42 to go 34k). I left the house just after 5am and twilight happened around 7am and sunrise just after 8am.
I changed the route a little from three weeks ago – same distance but a few less paths and more roads. Some of the footpaths were more like streams. With a head torch you can tell a puddle because it is very black. But water in grass is much harder to spot. And, with a head torch, I find mud really difficult to work out. Sometimes it is just wet soil. And sometimes it is deeper than my shoes.
I was very chuffed and ran a reasonable pace. Not fast, but better than three weeks ago.
So: Day 1: 3 hours 42 mins (+42 mins).
Today I probably did my hardest long run (racing aside). I did 26km of hilly countryside in 2 hours 23 mins. Out of that, I probably had a couple of minutes break as we worked out which way to go or for people to catch up. It was the pace over the hills which made it hard, although the distance didn’t help too much.
The main difference with running with other people for me is that every hill was a focused hard run. Normally, I keep the same-ish intensity on a hill. My perceived effort will go up a bit. My heart rate will go up a bit, but it will be in a defined range. Today was the first run with an HRM for a long time and I saw my heart rate go into the high 160′s (like 169) for a long stretches at a time. I’ve not downloaded the run yet so I may have been imagining things.
Any way, I am shattered.
Most of my running is done by myself. But today I went with a group of eight others.
It started at a BBQ. Someone said that her husband does a bit of running and that he goes on Sunday mornings. I got an e-mail from him saying that they were going to do 15 miles. Oh, that’s more than a little jog.
So, this morning I turned up at 7:30am. It was raining. Some others turned up but the rain didn’t stop. The route was mainly off road and quite hilly. I did quite well. Stayed with the front runners for most of the way round. Then, two miles from the end the pace started to pick up. Then my left knee started feeling a bit sore and I fell back 100m or so from the front guys.
All in all, I did 25.35km in 2 hours 14 minutes. We stopped or went slow a few times for people to catch up and it was quite hilly. I was quite chuffed how I did, but a little disappointed with my knee.
25 April 2010 Run
Here’s the route I did today…
Run – Sun 17012010
Which is a bit strange really seeing that I am not running properly yet. I managed to get a place from someone who can’t do it any more (race rules allow substitutes). As my running is improving, I thought I might as well give it a go. I was planning on entering when more slots went on 3 August but that idea went bad when my calf did.
Today’s run went well. I did 20 laps of the gym’s outdoor track. This is marked as being 322m long (one-fifth of a mile) but I think it is wrong as I averaged 4:37 per km (7:25 per mile). I was running at a moderate pace and after a bit of a warm up I was consistently coming in at 1:26 to 1:27 per lap. That 4:29 per km pace! So I think that the track is a little, well a lot, shorter than 322m.
By way of comparison about 6 years ago I had a go at leaning to run and got to the stage where I could run 3 miles in 33 minutes. So 4 miles in less than 30 minutes is quite good!
It is just over three weeks since I tore my calf muscle. After seeing the physio for the third time last week I have been given some weights to do and been told I can do a little running!
So I have. I’ve been three times over the last four days: 10 minutes really slow. Then 11 minutes slow/easy and today 20 minutes easy/moderate. No pain. But my left calf still feels strange. It doesn’t move easily and feels like it has lost its smoothness. The first run I really worried about the feeling but today I just accepted it and concentrated on moving my leg properly rather than letting it take a lazy short cut.
So, hopefully, I am starting to get better.
Yesterday the taper started a bit more. I did a four hour bike ride “easy” and stopped for a bacon roll and a chat at the lake. It rained a few times and was really windy. But I felt confident in the wind. I also did a 20 min easy run off the bike and my legs felt really good. A little strange but no where near what it feels like to run after I have done a long ride, putting in a “hard” effort over the last hour.
After the run, I took the dogs for a walk. Then went to a forest with the son and one of his friends. They enjoyed it, especially when we found this animal sunbathing!
It’s a slow worm. It looks a bit like a snake but is actually a legless lizard. One of the great things about having a phone nowadays is that we can take a photo of it and also check the internet to see what it is – “looks like a slow worm – oh, that’s a lizard – has it got eye lids – yes – definitely a slow worm – look at its tail, a bit less pointy than a snake – oh, the tail comes off if a predator catches it – wow”. Then two minutes later some other people walk up the path and the kids are all knowledgeable – “look a slow worm, it’s not a snake…”
Today I’ve got a 90 minute easy run planned. I like this taper business. But I can’t wait to just go out for a run in the country side with the dogs, not caring how long or what intensity I run for.
Not yet, well may be tomorrow. It’s two weeks tomorrow to Lanza and I have a five hour ride planned followed by a 40 min run. Then Sunday is a two hour interval run. So no sign of a taper yet. Well actually Tuesday is a little easier than last week (swim is 5 mins longer but run is 21 mins shorter). I was expecting a day or two of rest days in the taper next week but the first “OFF” day in the programme is two days before the race. And I am convinced that is only because that’s the day I travel to Lanza.
I am feeling good and confident about things. Bike is going to be serviced on Wednesday so I hope that goes well. Only problem is the continuous feeling of tiredness. I know that is going to be sorted soon though…
Sleep.
I am so tired at the moment. I sleep really well when I sleep but have been getting to bed too late (after a late training session, it takes me a while to settle) or being woken up in the middle of the night by one of the dogs barking. Today, I felt completely shattered. Not good.
Training has been going well even though work is doing its best to make things difficult. Highlights of the weekend were a 2hr 30 min run on Saturday and a 5 hour bike ride on Sunday. The last hour on the bike felt really hard. Next week will be a 6 hour bike and a 2 hour run. I am probably going to go to Sherborne to re-ride the old ironman UK course to see how I am doing.
I have noticed a difference at the end of the long run compared with a long bike. At the end of the run, if I sit down it is quite hard to get back up and my legs ache big time for ages. At the end of a long bike, I am very, very tired and achy. But after 5 minutes or so I feel fine (if a little tired!).
I’ve been thinking about Lanzarote and what might happen. So one day soon I will write down my race plan. That will help me think things through and get my head straight.
I ache big time. My legs and shoulders. No idea what I did to my shoulders, it may have been the swim on Friday but I don’t think so.
The legs are suffering because of last night’s run. For various reasons, yesterday’s long bike became a long run. I started some time after 7pm and so it was very dark on the unlit “fit track” when I finished. I did the same route as last week but changed the pacing. Last week was a negative split run. Yesterday was 5 min intervals, with 1 min easy recovery. I worked much harder and ran quicker overall (5 minutes quicker for the same route).
So this morning, I have to do my long bike. It has to be a point-to-point ride which means that I can’t just tack a bit on to last week’s ride. If I took the shortest route to “Point B” on the south coast, it would be about 52k. However, a five hour ride means that I have to do something like 135k. So I’ve been playing with maps this morning and have worked out that I am going to take a slight detour and go via Salisbury.
What I think is incredible is that I can only just hobble up the stairs at the moment. Yet, I am going to ride a loooong way!