Rob's Running Blog

4k target accomplished!

Had to get up early for a delivery, almost fell back asleep once it had arrived! Since assignment and hectic Uni stuff been feeling very tired lately and going to bed too late and getting up too early (for me!) Anyway forced myself out for a run as I had planned to do 4k today. Really didn’t feeling like running but it woke me up a bit, just ran slow and completed 4k without any heroics, though did speed up to sub 6 minute/k pace in last k which wasn’t bad… considering I was just about at my limit of endurance by then!

Still, onwards and upwards, 5k is next target!

2 miles and a Happy New Year!

So 2010 will go down as the year I got my sub 50 10k, and didn’t really do a hell of a lot else runningwise! First it was the shinsplints, and a slow comeback, followed by the PB – then the massive injury at Bolton 10k, a long layoff, physiotherapy, frustration, and then a nice gentle comeback, just getting really back into it, upping the distance – then snow and flu hits and suddenly 2010 is done and gone!

Decided to do my comeback run on the first day of 2011 and hope it sets a trend! Was worried I would have lost all fitness again after a layoff of over a month, and of course losing some fitness is inevitable – but I kept to a gentle pace and completed two miles without feeling under significant duress, which bodes well. Two 10.5 minute miles is not bad to start with considering the time off my feet, and since I usually find the first few runs back really hard, I am quite pleased that I wasn’t feeling half dead! Looking forward to getting back out regularly, and building back up to some nice long runs. As spring approaches, am thinking of entering some more races – will just have to be careful with my frayed finances!

Happy New Year to all readers of this running blog!

4 miles in the frost – 40:40

A very cold day – frost still on the road outside at 12pm. Didn’t sleep too well, but wanted a run today. Donned the running clobber and the beanie Louise gave me for my birthday. Breath was pluming like smoke!

Set off and felt good straightaway, then hit a bit of a wall at Crown Point North shopping centre, – a wall of shoppers! Dodged through them but I was under the glass awning and this seemed to affect my Garmin, for once I was out from under the awning, it shot up to 1.6k when I done 1.2 at the most. That made the pacing of the run confusing thereafter, so I just tried to settle into a rhythm and run and added half a km on to the target to make sure I did the 4 miles. Soon got warm enough to remove running beanie. Big hill over Guide Bridge negotiated OK, then a long sloping ascent up the road that leads back to Corporation Road, then coasting in a straight line for a while before getting back to my neck of the woods.

Felt I was running faster at times but couldn’t really sustain it and the splits show I was just over 10 minute mile pace, but running in the cold didn’t help. I’ve done 14.62 miles this week, if I include last Sunday’s run, 20 miles, which is more than I have run in a week for quite some time. I am going to need a couple of rest days now as I could feel the miles in my legs a bit – need to take a step back and just let my legs strengthen up and the CV system have a break before coming back fresh again. Wish I could run every day, it would help with the SAD etc – but I need to be sensible as the last thing I need right now is overdoing the running and getting yet another 2 month disabling injury!

9km in 55:47 – longest fastest run so far this winter!

So, after a couple of rest days it was time to attempt another slow 5 miler in Britain’s arctic weather; fortunately, for the time being, this area has escaped the snow despite being rather bitterly cold.

Set off very slowly to get warmed up, and with the intention of my head of completing 5 miles, never mind the speed. As usual took a while for my CV system to get into it, I ran down St Anne’s Road, then up Windmill Lane, and through Dane Bank to Reddish. At about 3-4k I was feeling pretty good and thought I might actually be able to run a little further than 5 miles without too much trouble. Due to traffic I went down the lane that leads back to Hyde Road eventually and goes past Cedar Mount, etc and I was feeling good. As 7k ticked over, I was on 43 minutes on the Garmin – I could easily do a sub 50 five miler, which would be a milestone! I managed to inject a little speed, and indeed this last km of the 5 miles was my quickest, though not very quick by pre-injury standards. In any case, 5 miles ticked over in 49:00 and that was quite a delightful feeling – it was still a ways to Hyde Road though, so I ran another km, at a slower pace, as a kind of cool down, and ended up finishing on the Showcase Cinema car park,whereupon I fished my trusty student annual bus pass from my pocket, and after cooling down with a walk, got the bus back home, having done 9.05km, my longest and fastest run since the April injury – and I felt quite comfortable in places and enjoyed it.

6K in 36:50

Had a bit of an enforced break from running after my lower back twinged a few Mondays ago – decided to rest up till it went away entirely, then had a few easy runs to ease back into it, and fortunately no further back pain (or a repeat of the leg injury I had the last time my back twinged like that!)

So on Sunday I did a 5k and managed sub 30, and today wanted to run a sub 37 6k, which I just about managed in 36:50. The route has a couple of tough hills which slowed a few k, especially the penultimate one, otherwise I could have got nearer 36, at least I managed to run the last k fastest despite feeling tired – good for mental toughtness, feel confident the times will start getting quicker week by week now. I hope1

4 miles in 40 mins 30

Looked like a cold day outside and had the heating on. Nodded off once after my coffee, and felt lethargic. A little voice in my head wanted to put off any idea of a run until tomorrow, but I had planned to hit 4 miles today, so I did my usual bargaining of putting on my kit, and leaving the house, and stating OK if things are still feeling bad after a couple of k’s I can always loop back to the house!

Of course after a few K’s I was fully awake and determined to finish the run. Kept to a slow steady pace – went up Windmill lane, which means a hill early on, and from there on it was just a matter of keeping going. I had a few bursts of pace, but was generally running at 10 minute miles, which is pretty slow for me – but one step at a time. Today the goal was to reach 4 miles, not to reach it fast! The motorway hill and the hill at the side of Sainsbury’s were a bit painful. Last k was very slow due to hills, but put on a burst of speed for last 100 and then walked home.

Guess this counts as a long run, certainly my longest for a while!

6k barrier broken in 37:17

A really lethargic sunday and had to force myself to get out. Decided to run out to the old fireplace shop than back round via windmill Lane.

Tough as usual to get going, but along the road to Gorton, after the Sainsburys hill etc, I settled into a rhythm and sped up, and actually felt comfortable and as if I could go on all day! Of course that only lasted for about 2k and then I started to flag, and wheeze, and gasp! Near the end at Windmill Lane this little kid pulled his kid brother out of way of me and I gave them thumbs up “No problem” said the kid I must look really cool to the kids I’ve heard they shout abuse at some people

Anyway, longest run since comeback, and at times got up to some pace, and first run in quite some time that I actually felt comfortable on and enjoyed a bit of!

5.6K or 3.5 miles – or 35 minutes, with a freaked out Garmin!

The Garmin was dead when I tried it – must have left it on last time – so I changed batteries and went out, and the signal bar thing wasn’t moving. Eventually it asked me if I was indoors etc, and if it was Oct 1st – so it had lost its settings apparently and needed to recalibrate. Had a frustrating wait, then finally set off – however after a few minutes the Garmin started freaking out again and said I’d done 1.5k after 3 mins. LOL.

So I just decided to run for 35 minutes and approximate that as the 3.5 miles I wanted to run, based on my recent times.

Was very very hard work and I was screaming and shouting by the end, gasping and struggling, but somehow carried on! So at least made my longest run since the knee injury! Slow, slow pace though, could tell that even though the Garmin was freaked out!

At one point I ran past an oldish woman in a blue coat, on the path back along Windmill Lane. She was hogging the path from one side to the other, so I sped round her on the grass verge. She didn’t hear me coming and as I passed her she grabbed her chest and shouted “Jesus effing Christ!” or words to that effect. I checked she was OK, she said she was miles away, I waved and carried on.

People really should be more aware of their surroundings – wandering along in a world of your own can lead to getting killed by cars, mugged, or shocked by being overtaken by groaning, sweating, gasping runners!!

My first run as a 40 year old – 5k in 31:15 – slow, but a veteran PB!

I apparently became a veteran of some kind yesterday – in more ways than one. I turned 40. They say life begins at 40, but I wonder how that applies to runners? Certainly, my category positions may go up a little now, but there are plenty of people 10, 20, probably even 30 years older running a heck of a lot faster than me! Still, I had to get out there and prove I can still run, now that I am middle aged officially!

I don’t know if it was the general busyness of the last few days, and a birthday of mixed feelings yesterday (no alcohol, btw) and just generally being in a transition period, together with the fact I hadn’t run since last week, but this run was tough, and that is reflected in my time – very slow, really, but I felt if I’d upped the pace, I wouldn’t have managed the distance. I was teaching my new writing course later in the afternoon so there was no space for heroics.

Still, I got my first PB (in training) as a 40 year old – is a running milestone I will easily surpass! The run also helped me focus on my group work later and helped settle my jitters over starting something new – which helped me get back in touch with the reasons why I started running in the first place

5k Mark Achieved in Style – Sub 30 done and dusted!

Finally a run worthy of the name Of course, they’re all worthy of the name, but it was nice to ease past another milestone today by completing 5k and doing it in under 30 minutes too, which is a sign my fitness really is starting to ratchet back up. It wasn’t easy – I am learning that I never find running easy! I was breathing hard, very hard towards the end, but I just settled in and kept going, and felt like I got my teeth into the run. So the other day I did 3 miles, and now it’s 5k, the milestones keep coming, I hope I can keep it up.

So no silly beggars for me going for sub 6 minute miles just yet – and if I do any intervals, it will be at a set pace and not as bloody hard as I can. And of course avoid the hilly park run at Woodbank, which is a pity, but my knees wouldn’t like me if I did those hills again, I think…

Anyway, running, and life, is good