Posted on Jun 09, 2013 under 5 miles, Regular Runs, Trail Running |
After a few days recovering from Dennis the Menace was ready for a nice Sunday run in the evening sun, knew it was going to be warmish so took water!
Headed down Town Lane and set off at a sedate pace, then decided to do a loop through the fields back to Denton. Traversing the narrow path next to the stables got stung by millions of nettles, having noticed a DANGER: Strangles sign on the stile….
Got past all that then got lost in the overgrown fields, ended up on Yew Tree Lane and lost in the council estate, then finally back to Denton woods,kept going though feeling very warm by now and had forgotten a hanky to wipe away sweat from my eyes 🙁
Decided to run up Meadow Lane (have always chickened out before!) and managed this, then I was on the home straight, sped up on the downhill and had to reel myself in. Close to home a girl on a scooter tried to race me and I put on a burst of speed which according to Garmin I was going at 4:40 per k, which is the sort of pace I used to be able to run.
All in all a good work out with a decent hill and some nice weather, will just have to hope I don’t turn into the Denton Strangler now, ha!!!!!
Posted on Jun 05, 2013 under 5 miles, Races, Trail Running |
Did some pyramids at SRC on Monday and was still feeling a bit heavy legged this morning, but today was the day of the Dennis the Menace race which I haven’t managed to run since 2009, a couple of months after my mum died.
After work etc I set off the the Pack Horse Pub and bumped into some familiar SRC faces (it’s funny how the last time I did this race I didn’t know a soul but now have lots of people I know to talk to), saw Tony and Glen, Rob and some other people, then headed to the start with another SRC runner. Did a quick jog through the woods to try to warm up and felt quite worn out already, so just hung around for the start, we moved back and suddenly the horn went. The rest of the runners seemed to recede into the distance immediately, and I was left wondering not whether I would finish last, but how long they would be waiting for me to finish!
I didn’t feel a temptation to try to keep up with them, just ran my own race, another runner fell behind me and there were 2 running together in front, I just settled in and enjoyed some banter with the marshals about it going dark before I could finish and how I didn’t know I had entered an elite race! I was so far behind at one point some dog walkers must have thought everyone was passed them as I had to jump over their dog – I will call it Gnasher in keeping with the theme, at least it didn’t bite me! As we got to the hill through the woods towards the end of lap one I overtook the 2 runners who gave me some encouragement, for some reason I felt much stronger on the uphills than elsewhere, and found a new gear on the second lap, I slowly started to reel a few more people in, though I had my sights on Rob’s yellow SRC shirt up ahead!
Going round the football field I overtook two more people and then along the canal reeled someone one, eventually moving up another gear and deciding that although I was hurting badly at this point, I was not going to give in. Up the hill again and I was getting closer to Rob, I powered up the hill and then started winding Rob in, pretty much sprinting at this point, went past Glen who gave me some cheerish to the finish, and I could see the finish and realised I was going to run out of trail before I caught Rob. I’d forgotten to start the Garmin until a few strides into the race and forgot to stop it, but it said 47 something, considering that’s only 5 minutes slower than my 41:50 of 4 years ago, it wasn’t bad, if there had been another 100 metres I might even have caught Rob.
Probably the lowest position I’ve ever finished in a race but enjoyed it and loved the banter with the marshals, just ran my own race and enjoyed the lovely evening weather, it was very warmish out there once I got going.
Thanks to all the marshals and the SRC runners for the support, encouragement, and banter 😀
Posted on Jun 01, 2013 under 5-10k, Club Runs, Regular Runs |
Had a week or so off running due to a trip to Wales (the trip I managed to double book over the Great Manchester Run so ended up not doing it for the first time in 5 years!). Indulged in about 40 miles of mountain and other walking, took my running shoes but by the day I had planned a run over the Orme, my legs were shot and my feet were burning up with blisters…
So waited till I got back and head out to Sweatshop Hyde community run on Wednesday, was a bit quietish with Tony absent and not a few people doing the Dovestone diamond, or recovering from the Bupa 10k. Set off at the front and had to reign myself in to stop myself getting too far ahead, pace felt very easy, so kept backmarking then catching the front then going back to backmark. In the end the front pack went way ahead and there were two ladies way behind so I looked after them while we were on the canals and then when we got to the big long hill at the back of Market Street they said I could charge off if i liked, so I did, and managed to make up the ground on the leading pack in the distance somehow, really flew up that hill, legs and body felt fantastic, grabbed by bottle and coat from the shop and decided to run home as well making up about 5 miles altogether.
Then a couple of days off, and a nice sunny Saturday late afternoon, so thought I would do a 10k and see if I could get under an hour. Had a route planned in my mind and off I went after the Garmin kept telling me the GPS signals were weak and taking ages to find a signal. First km was a bit slowish, then I picked up the pace and was just looking at the Garmin to see what km 2 clicked over in, when the blink of an eye it went from 1.98KM to 1.48km and so I ended up doing km2 in about 8 minutes but knew the Garmin had gone haywire as it occasionally does. Any thoughts of a real time trial sort of run with the Garmin playing tricks like that went out of the window, even still, I carried on and thought maybe just a tempo pace, but at 3 or 4k I really started to wilt, and when I got into Debdale Park I had to stop with my lungs really burning and revised my route to take me back home the quickest way. Had to stop a few times but once I got back to Hyde Road I pushed on and got to Victoria Park where I stopped the Garmin at 8k, with the .5 I had lost added on making up 8.5km so a tad over 5 miles which wasn’t bad and pleased I kept going though I did not enjoy the last few miles one bit, felt hot and weak and had to go pretty slowly just to make it home, but at least I didn’t walk it all or get the bus as much as I felt like it!
Posted on May 19, 2013 under 5 miles, Milestones, Tempo Runs |
Not had much energy lately and felt sluggish during the day, been trying to take it easy, mainly lack of sleep and overwork! Hadn’t run in the week apart from a quick 3 miles with the SRC, cut a little short when I unofficially backmarked for a new runner at the end.
Had to really force myself out for this run, had been overcast all day and not looking great, but made myself put on my shorts and shoes and headed out, felt warmer than I expected, so off I went and within seconds my right hamstring was feeling a bit funny… Just carried on and headed towards Dukinfield, was going to do the Globe Lane – Ashton route, as it was dry I headed towards Jet Amber Fields and towards Shepley, then hit the bridge, and looked over the bridge at the canal and decided running via the canal would be nicer as the sun was struggling to come out.
My switchback briefly confused the garmin, but by this point I was warming up, and saw a few goslings and their parents as well as some rather grim works around the bridges as well as some stumps where there had been trees last time I was down this way.
Headed back along the canal towards Guide Bridge, dodging puddles, and heavy foliage and tunnels confused the Garmin a bit more, then hit the roads again and got up quite a bit of pace on the long stretch back home. Had a target of under 50 for sure and would have been nice to go under 48 but ended up just a little over, even so was my fastest 5 miles since last September and my legs survived the sustained extra pace, was really hot and puffed out by the end but felt good to run at a faster pace for a few miles and work up a sweat! 🙂
Posted on May 12, 2013 under 10 Miles, All Weather Running, Long Runs, Milestones, Season's Best |
Have neglected this running blog of late, my running has been on and off with injuries but thankfully more on lately!
Got up to 8 miles last week, then a long walk on Monday, followed by some pretty hard running at SRC Hyde which I only occasionally get to with work at the moment.
Had planned to do 8 miles today, it was pouring and cold, at about 6k my right hamstring started tightening (it was the left I pulled months ago!), I gave it a rub and was ready to turn back, but a jog round a park and it was Ok so I headed back on my planned route through Reddish to Belle Vue. It did keep tightening when I sped up but fitness wise I felt great, very happy to be running and looking like a madman in the rain! As I neared home I was at 14.5k and thought why not go the long way round and make it a nice 10 miles, so I did, and it’s been a long time since I ran so far and really didn’t want to stop at the end as I could have gone on all night, but I don’t think my legs would have thanked me for it in the long run 🙂
Posted on Apr 01, 2013 under 5-10k, 5k, Injuries, Slow Runs |
Almost a nice (rather than ice) spring day so thought I would try a very slow run. At first planned on 3k, then 2 miles, and in the end got through 5k. Kept the pace extremely slow and felt very comfortable, just didn’t want to risk another pop of my hamstring, which thankfully behaved itself, hopefully I can keep running, even if it’s very slow for now!
Posted on Mar 24, 2013 under All Weather Running, Health, Injuries |
It seemed a cold day for a run – too cold. Wind blowing, not nice at all. Something told me it wasn’t a good day for running, but the fatal Facebook effect took hold – lots of people posting results and pictures from the Wilmslow Half. Surely if people could go out and race 13 miles on such a freezng awful day, I could go out and run 3 or 4 miles slow just to keep the miles in my legs, right? Wrong!
Set off and was aware of feeling incredibly cold, my hands going red and numb almost immediately. Just settled into a very slow pace, and clicked through 1k with no trouble. Coming up to the mile mark and planning a route in my head, was envisioning a nice gentle loop and doing about 5 miles, when twang, my hamstring blows. Walked for a little then tried to jog at a barely above walking pace, but twang, sayonara, sucker… You aren’t running for a while again.
So 9 miles on Monday, a faster 5k on Thursday (though still over 31 minutes), and a gentle trot today (was just turning 11 minutes at the one mile point) and twang, off it goes – looks like there is no rhyme or reason and I am not going to be able to trust my legs for an awfully long time as one day I can run, and get a nice pace or distance done, a few days later, it’s like I have a different pair of legs.
I think my days of running sub 50 10ks and sub 24 5ks, and in fact going for any kind of running intensity at all, are effectively over, incredibly frustrating when I read of people my age or a lot older running hard and doing well, as my body just keeps letting me down and stopping me doing one of the things that I really enjoy 🙁
Maybe I shall take up knitting until his effing cold weather effs off back to effing Siberia!
Posted on Mar 21, 2013 under 5-10k, 5k, Regular Runs |
Needed to get a run in, so opted for a short 5k, given time constraints, and the terrible weather predictions. Not particularly quick, but ran at pace in places towards the end. Not sure when the next run will be, need to protect my limbs and bits from the vicissitudes of the weather!
Posted on Mar 18, 2013 under 10-15k, Club Runs, Long Runs |
Not been to the Sweatshop Running group in Hyde for a while due to my work commitments, but a rare free Monday evening saw me champing at the bit! Setting off reminded me of runs just before Christmas in the middle of winter, so cold was it, my hands were going numb waiting for the bus – hard to believe it’s mid March, spring needs to get a move on!
Anyway my plan was to double up and do both the 5k and 10k runs. There was a nice greeting when I walked in the shop from some familiar friendly faces and I enjoyed catching up with some people, then we were off for this “flatish” affair that had some suspicious hillyish bits thrown in. Ended with a nice run along the old railway lines at Hyde where I discovered a different exit route to the one I was expecting!
Then it was back to the shop and attempted to keep warm and supple while waiting for the next run to start, and then off we went, with the darkness almost fully descended now, I felt I was starting off at a good pace but people I used to run with were off miles in front their training has obviously been paying off! Was wary of trying to go too fast and make the same mistakes as before, with injury or just blowing up, so reigned my speed in quite a bit, sometimes running at the back or moving up and down. By the end was feeling it in my lungs and legs but maintained form, and even managed a spurt of speed up Norbury Street or whatever it’s called (just a long steepish hill!), and made it up the hill, then eased down on the last few 100 yards to the shop, not wanting to risk an injury with some pointless sprint finish.
So with both runs was 15k or roundabout 9 miles ish, not bad, and no problems with my legs apart from a bit of tiredness!! Good to be back and hope my schedule allows me back some more soon!
Posted on Mar 13, 2013 under 5 miles, All Weather Running, Regular Runs, Trail Running |
Wanted to get 5 miles in, and it looked sunny enough to make for pleasant trail running.
Set off and the Garmin was completely lost and had the wrong date so took a while to recalibrate itself, then I set off towards Mill Lane over the trails, and headed through the Haughton Dale nature reserve, over the steps and then back through the woods to Denton.
Decided to cut through the houses in the woods and extend the run by heading through the wilderness to the farm at the bottom of Town Lane, so it got quite hilly and muddy there, but I managed to avoid breaking my spine on the ground as I crossed the stile where I fell last summer! At this point flakes of snow were coming down and the sky had gone black! Staggered up the hill bit by bit and paused to stroke a horse, then mud stomped through a pile of utter crappy mud which coated my trainers, then the gradual ascent up Town Lane. Put on a burst of pace but not too much and cantered to a stop near home after struggling with the “Pedestrians this way” sign which actually led right in front of oncoming cars!!!!
Nice run all in all and felt good.
