Rob's Running Blog

A soaking wet 10 miles! 1 Hour 45 mins

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 🙂

First SRC Hyde Run in Some Time – 15k in about 1 hr 40 ish

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!

A Very Cold and Windy 8 miles 1 hr 31 minutes ish

Time for the Sunday long run, and for a spring day in March the weather was a bit grim – blowing a strong icy wind, freezing cold. Still, the sun was out and shades went on, but only managed to sweat and feel warm when shielded from the wind at brief times in the woods.

Started off towards Hyde, went past Sweatshop and glanced in the window but didn’t see anyone, then headed up to the old railway tracks and ran to the end out towards the hills, then all the way back to Denton. Bumped into a number of friendly dogs and a chap who asked for directions to the canal paths, to get to a pub outing with some mates, I was a bit lost at the time so just told him to head for Gibraltar Bridge and he could get the canal from there.

Got quite muddy in places and the ascent up Stockport Road was a bit of a killer, but made it, then trundled and plodded the last km and rounded off to 13k, or just over 8 miles, just as the Garmin was about to die!

11k – or 6.83 miles – in 1 hour 17 mins – nice undulating trail.

Something of a Sunday long run, and just under 7 miles is certainly quite long considering my breaks due to injury lately. Was nice to get a substantial distance under my belt, and felt good, though the first few K and the last few were quite tough, in different ways.

Set off down Town Lane, plan was to run out to Reddish Vale and see how I got on. Felt pretty cold to start with, and took it easy, enjoying the the uneven ground and the greenery around me. Bumped into a bunch of vans who looked like they were getting ready for pony trekking, then began the descent to the park, where I started to feel a bit odd, and had to stop for a moment as my heart felt slightly odd and I felt a tingling in my fingers. I put my hand on it and it seemed to have a weird fluttery extra beat, which occasionally happens at rest. I walked for a little while and it went back to normal, and I carried on slowly, and felt no ill effects after this, despite going uphill after this.

I took a few detours and ended up going uphill into Reddish, did a loop of some houses and got a bit lost so went back the way I came, through the park, and then the climb back to Denton, passing ponies along the way. The long steady incline had me working hard and by the time I got to Town Lane I was starting to drag a bit, a chap sweeping his path pulled aside and said “won’t get in the way of your training, stay cool mate,” so I gave him a thumbs up and dug in for the last couple of km. Was just about out of steam by 11k, and petered out, but was nice to have been out running for well over an hour with no niggles, and at times was running as fast as 10 minute miles! Will work on that, one run at a time, for the moment I am just enjoying getting out and enjoying the trails, will be even nicer when the sun pops out!

8 Cold Quickish Miles and I go out with a Twang…

Time to venture out to Sweatshop Hyde running group again, and this time decided to do the 5k followed by the new mid week 10k group which was set to run at an easier pace than the usual Wednesday 10k crew.

Felt good on the 5k, a nice warmup, ran out at the front quite a bit and felt stronger than I have in a while. Tried to conserve energy for the following 10k but didn’t do too good a job of this.

Got a bit cold waiting for the 10k to group and set off, tried to stay moving. My plan was to run most of the route and then break off and head back home when the group reached Denton, rather than running all the way back to Hyde and then having to bus it back.

Lot of ice around, which was negotiated safely, and I felt strong, and put in some strides, mostly running out at the front. When we got to Denton my laces came undone so I stopped for a minute, and elected to catch the group up then turn back towards home further down Hyde Road. Managed to catch the group, then turned off, and about 200 yards from home my hamstring twanged and I cam to a stuttering halt 🙁

So if it’s not my lower right leg, it’s my upper left leg – looks like a few days off running at least, and another slow comeback after feeling the fitness was coming right back. Glad I have not entered any races apart from Great Manchester, would just be a waste of money at the moment as I seem to get more and more injuries so will have to go back to slow jogging again…

10.4k in 1 hr 12 ish – slow, dark, cold and sleeting!

Approx 6.5 miles on a very cold dark night with the sleet coming down.

Ran to Ashton via Cemetery Road/Asda, then looped all the way back to Denton, added a little extra on to make it above 10k. Struggled in places but had just warmed up at the end, when it was time to get back indoors!

8.21 Dark Miles, 1 hr 40 minutes

Been running but couldn’t be a*sed updating this blog for a while – too much going on! Might just do a short entry for each run from now on, unless I feel like writing more.

First run of the year, after a New Year’s Eve run with Sweatshop Hyde, where I seemed to run a bit faster than of late (was nice to be near the front instead of languishing at the rear).

In any case, set off tonight aiming to do over 5 miles, went via Dane Bank and Reddish out towards Stockport then turned back, at which point started to feel very energy depleted. Had to find a cash machine and grab a bottle of gatorade from a shop. When I got to 12k had visions of running 10 miles, but when I went up the motorway bridge near Sainsburys I had to just stop, my legs suddenly went to jelly. It was all I could do to keep going very slowly and was just feeling worse and worse, so stopped the clock at 13.22km, or 8.21 miles, and went to the nearest shop for a drink and a snack to replenish my failing reserves.

My niggly leg held up well – and this is the furthest I have run since my injury in September, so very positive despite imploding at the end!

10 Miles Long Run – Niggly to Start with but settled down – 1 hr 51 minutes

Having run a bit less this week, I wanted to get a long run in, which will probably be the last run of substance length-wise before the City of Salford 10k, as I guess I will be in cutback mode for a little while now, especially having done a 22 and an 18 mile week back to back now.

Set off at a slow pace and felt fine, could feel my body adjusting to the jogging, but it wasn’t a painful process, more like, “Oh, this again, ok, can do…” However at about 3k I felt a weird pain in my right lower leg, and it felt like the leg would give out. I slowed, it was Ok, and then the same thing started happening with my left leg. I was ok when I slowed, then when I sped up a little to take advantage of a green man on a crossing (and I don’t mean molesting aliens, ha ha!), the pain intensified, my leg felt like it would give way, and I had to stop to give it a little massage.

I carried on, wondering whether I should turn back, and abort the planned 10 miles, but it seemed to be Ok if I kept to a pace just slightly quicker than walking. CV wise I felt great, barely broke into a sweat and wasn’t breathing much harder than if I had been sitting down.

I plodded on, and at some point the nagging pain disappeared and I felt myself speed up, instead of doing 7 mins per km I was doing 6:30 and going quite comfortably. The pains didn’t come back, but I could feel my toes blistering a little! I took the hill on the motorway bridge without a second thought, although by that point I could sense my glycogen stores were depleting, but I had managed the distance without a drink or any other sustenance, which is a first for me on anything over 10k!

Slowed towards the end and had been running for just short of 2 hours, but it didn’t really seem all that far, so my fitness must have really improved lately. Not sure what the niggles were but might have been to do with the time trial the other day, so I will probably give the reps at the running club a miss, as after 2 high mileage weeks I think I need some lower mileage and lower intensity, so that my body can reap the rewards of the last month or 2, and the last thing I want to do at this stage is risk an injury before one of the few races I have been able to enter this year!

Longest Run of the Year so far – 12.43 miles in 2 hrs 18 minutes 45 seconds

Weather was looking bit cloudy so ideal conditions for a long slow run. Wasn’t sure how my legs would be as they had felt a bit achey after the recovery run on Tuesday – still, they’d had 2 days to recover from that!

Unlike my long runs in the past, where I felt good and upped the pace, and eventually ended up with injuries, I was determined to keep the pace nice and slow. For the first 3k felt very good, although there was a moment where I started to breathe hard and wondered if I would get anywhere near my target of 10 ish miles. The plan was to run just over 10 to take me into 20 miles for the week.

There was a bit of a breeze, and a little drizzle helped me keep cool although it was mainly dry and towards the end of the run there was a nice red sky. I ran out through Dane Bank, then Reddish, then all the way to the edge of Stockport until I came to a sort of dead end of dual carriageway, and turned back, opting for the route via Belle Vue and back to base through Gorton. Barely got out of breath although my knees were a bit sore at times, and I was sweating quite a lot – at about 12k I popped into a shop for some energy drink, which only lost me about a minute, but I needed to refuel, and it did me good. Kept plodding along at a nice steady pace, felt I could keep going all night really, and 10 miles ticked over while I was still a ways off the motorway bridge at Denton Rock.

Took it slow over the bridge, and started to calculate what I would end up running, figured I would easily make 11 miles and when that ticked over realised I only needed to run another 1.6km to make it 12. My pace was slowing and feet were a bit sore, but just kept going at an easy pace, and when I got to 19.4k I figure I couldn’t quite trust my own maths, so I thought to make it 19.8k and by then I just decided to jog another 200metres to make it a nice round 20km, or 12.43 miles. I could have carried on and made it a half marathon, but time was getting on, and I had already exceeded my planned distance, and was near my front door, so I petered to a stop, took a well deserved slug from what was left of the powerade, and got inside to cool off!

21.8 miles for the week, with a nice mix of runs, have a little time away now so will be having 4 days off running with some hiking instead, but I feel in really good shape. Probably my last really long run before the Salford 10k race in September, hopefully this time I have got the preparation right, and will be able to do myself justice.

Might try a 5k time trial next week, just to see where my pace is at!

15.1km – or 9.38 miles – Hilly Long Slow Run in 1 Hour 49 minutes in lovely evening sunshine

After the hill reps on Monday, an easy/recovery run midweek, and another session with the club looming on Monday (wonder what the demon coach will have in store this time?!), I wanted to try get a long run in, as that’s the kind of run I’ve been missing lately, not having done anything over 10k really since my 13.5km run before the City of Manchester 10k, which was a while ago now.

So, after what turned out to be quite a stressful day with one thing and another, I decided to leave it all behind and headed out into the early evening sunshine. It felt warm, but the sun was dropping (about half six when I set out) and I was determined not to make the mistake of long runs in the past – set out slow and end up running faster and faster, defeating the object of a long slow run!

I certainly did set off slow, my calves felt tight which was a bit worrying at first, especially as the 2nd and 3rd kms involved ascents towards the Transpennine trail I found near Hyde which is old railway lines converted into a path. I had walked this on Monday, so knew my way around a little, but took the odd detour to see where I would end up on the way! It was nice once I got to the railway lines – flat, and in the shade. I went to the far end, then on running back ran round what seemed to be a cul de sac before going back over this little bridge and heading up a dirt track which went on for quite a time and was quite an ascent. Once I got to the end of it and a main road, I noted it was called Green Lane. I didn’t have a clue where I was by that point so I figured the safest bet was to go back the way I had planned to begin with, along the railway tracks through to Haughton Dale.

Going back down this lane I realised what an ascent it had been, as it looked much steeper going down than it had felt going up! I kept my pace down and started toying with the idea of doing 10 miles, as I was already up to 9k by that point, but was aware my knees were starting to feel a bit sore with the uneven ground. I got back to the railway tracks and maintained a slow pace, sometimes very slow, though I didn’t feel I was going as slow as the Garmin said at times!

I reached Haughton Dale and almost went the long way round through the woods, but my knees were warning me now, so I took a little shortcut which still involved a steep climb which I powered up, and then it was a gentle jog back into Denton, with a few detours around random streets to make up my revised target of 15k. Was still a little far from my front door so jogged an extra hundred meters before gliding to a gentle stop. Didn’t make the 10 miles but there’s always next time, and this was a pretty hilly route in places so didn’t want to risk overuse injuries – again!

Made it my highest mileage week for as long as I can remember (almost 18 miles) and my longest run of the season.

I just hope that coach goes easy on Monday, lol!!!!