Set off and did feel a little rusty, hoped I wouldn’t have to abort again. Just kept the pace nice and easy at first and eased into it, tackled the gentle inclines and began to pick up pace as I got into the run. Changed my mind about the route along the way, as I didn’t want to get stranded or have to run further than planned. Once I got to 4k I was feeling good, and knew all I had to do was run just under 6 mins per km to beat my season’s best.

Feeling really good, and noticing I was clocking 5:45s I started to realise I could be in with a shout of not just sub 48, but sub 47! I was really mindful of my calf and not wanting to risk an injury before the race, but also felt I needed to test running at pace out a bit more, so I maintained the pace while keeping my stride length relatively short.

1km to go and I was on target. Up to that point I had been paying attention to my breathing, taking in huge gulps of air as fast as possible, but now drifted into a state where I just let me body do the breathing, and I was basically running anaerobically as my lungs couldn’t get oxygen to my legs fast enough. Good practice for the last km of a race! Felt myself drift into a sort of zen state and just kept myself going, mindful that the end point was 8.05km and not 8, so I quickened up to make sure I got inside the 47 minute mark and did so with 11 seconds to spare.

Took a while to recover but felt good to hit another season’s best. Now I need to force myelf to do 1, and 2 at most easy jogs in the week, and be nice and fresh for race day!

Planned to do 8 miles and see if I had anything left in the tank for more, as this would be the last substantial run before The Great Manchester Run in 2 weeks’ time!

Set off at a light pace and found it quite chilly. My bladder spasmed a little and I wondered if I would be able to run for an hour and a half if it was filling, but figured it would settle down once I got into the run, which it did.

First km was quite quick in 6:09 so felt I would need to watch my pace, but this wasn’t a problem as I reached the snaking barriered path into the Bredbury industrial estate. This was the first time I had attempted this route since an abortive attempt last summer when it was too hot, but even now the incline seemed to get me puffed out.

At this point my legs started to feel very heavy, I slowed the pace, but either it was the cold or something else but they felt numb and sluggish. I knew some big hills and a lot more running were to come, so produced my secret weapon, a cereal bar, which I paused to munch down. I set off slowly, and felt a little better, and then came the next set of big hills. I took them slow and steady, felt it hurt, but carried, on, and took it easy on the downward bits.

At one point I crested a hill and could see Beetham towering over central Manchester spread out before me, which was quite a view, and showed how high up I had got! And then there was another incline before a series of gentle slopes taking me back down, however I resisted the urge to go hell for leather.

I got my breath back and got into a nice steady pace, then decided instead of taking the normal straight route back home, I could go via Mill Lane, which is easily the steepest hill for miles, leading right down into the Tame Valley. This was probably an insane thing to do, but I felt mad enough to do it, so I eased off on the descent before I started climbing, and climbing, and climbing. That hill is hard enough to walk up, but I made it to the top, and my legs, having come alive during the second half of the run, went numb again and almost on autopilot as I got my breath back. At 11.3km I wondered about going for an extra mile, but that last hill had really done me in and 8 miles was fine I reckoned given the hills, I didn’t need to push another mile for the sake of it, as I was close to home and starting to feel my energy levels drop, by this time I was jogging very slowly, and as I stopped the Garmin at 13.1km I was glad to stop and go to the corner shop for some well earned snacks and a sports drink before heading in for a relaxing afternoon!

My weekend plans have been a bit disrupted, so not sure whether I will now get a long run in on Sunday or Monday, but the plan was to do another brisk 5k, then rest up for 2-3 days before a long run.

Set off and felt pretty good, varied my route a little but kept to nearby streets. The first km ticked over in 5:58 so a slight improvement in doing the first km in under 6, then the next one ticked over in 5:45 – not super fast, but I noticed the Garmin pace creeping up and up so elected to just maintain my pace for the time being rather than going crazy. Was aware of keeping my strides short and heel striking so as not to put too much stress on my calves.

The next km went over in 5:30 and now I felt I was motoring along, wondering how close I could get to the 28 minute mark. I imperceptibly gained a bit of pace, but was now starting to breathe hard, but comfortably and happily so. With 2k to go I decided it was worth seeing if I could just run a little quicker and go for that 28 minute mark, and the penultimate km ticked over in 5:22, not a bad pace and at one point the Garmin pace went under 5 mins – bit too fast at this point! As the last KM began I nearly collided with a builder built like a brick crap house coming out of his van, his reactions in moving out of my way were rather slow, but am glad we didn’t smash into each other, after all he had a helmet on…

Thought I might be in with a shout of the sub 28 and I picked up the pace, breathing hard and feeling like I was flying along, with 100m to go I had 30 seconds left, and when it got to 50 metres and 15 seconds I sort of eased off a little thinking I had it in the bag, and then time went sort of weird as it sometimes does.

I heard the Garmin beep and staggered to a stop without remembering to stop the Garmin, but when I checked back the 5k lap marker was at 27:59 – a sub 28 5k in the bag and another season’s best.

And my calf was OK with that kind of pace, and even with some extra pace at the end. Don’t want to push it too much, and that may well be my last pacey run before the Great Manchester Run, but so far so good. Next plan is a nice long slow run and then I will look at the weeks leading up to the race and decide how I want to play it!

First km ticked over in 6:08 and I had to slow a little when I seemed to be touching 5 mins per km, but then the kms ticked over in 5:44, 5:34, 5:35 and a blistering last leg of 5:24. Still only about 57 minute pace for 10k, but then again a season’s best and fastest 5k for quite some time (would have to check back for how long, but it seems a while). I guess sub 28 before the Great Manchester Run would be a good target to aim for.

Still not entirely confident about my calf, every time the pace starts picking up I seem to be mentally bracing myself for an explosion of pain. I guess all I can do is keep building the pace gradually and maybe experiment with some pace towards the end of the race, rather than risking not being able to start.

So far so good, though!

Oddly, the first couple of steps I felt it, but then it totally disappeared, and I ended up running my longest run in some time with no problems. Well, no problems with running that is! I was getting warmed up by about 4k, and felt into my running by then and so gained the confidence to go on a wide looping route, that might involve a bus ride home if I got stuck (as always had be trusty bus pass!). Went up Windmill Lane and into Reddish, then turned down what I thought was the road towards Levenshulme but didn’ get it quite right, and ended up getting totally lost in a warren of council estates, roads just kept leading to more same-ish looking houses with not a sign of a main road in sight. I followed a set of bus stops which led me to a cul-de-sac, and by now I was cursng when I saw that a potential exit was somebody’s dead end drive way. I asked a woman with a child and she directed me to a little slope which led to the arse end of the world, a nasty little park with some ten year old kids “playing.” Their game was jumping out of the little hut at passers-by, troll-like, and yelling at them. I couldn’t resist a parting shot of “knob!” over my shoulder, which result in a tirade of expletives and that most cardinal of insults, “Are you walking or jogging you F&*cking wanker?!” to which I made some nice hand gestures over my shoulder before jogging along my way.

Eventually I found a road I recognised after wondering if I was going to wander through Limbo for all eternity, and the Garmin said I should get close to home by the time I reached my target of around 8 miles. At 13.1KM I decided I had just about done enough and was feeling really tired (my previous longest run was 10k this year, so didn’t want to pile on too much mileage!). I had my emergency cash with me so stopped near a shop, stopped the Garmin, and got myself some refreshments to stuff my face with on the walk home.

All in all a very good run, which actually seemed to alleviate the tenderness in my leg, so not really sure what that’s about. 13.1KM was a good marker, and if I can get a few more long runs in, together with some tempo runs, it bodes well for Manchester, and at least I know I can cover the distance, so whatever time I do is a bonus and I hope to just enjoy it without niggles or troll-like feral kids leaping out from bus shelters along the route, ha ha!!!!

Felt pretty good at 1k which clicked over in 5:46 then consolidated a bit, and then just maintained pace and felt fine, breathed a little harder than usual in places but at no point had the inclination to gasp too much.

Hardly noticed the time until I got back and checked earlier running blogs and times – realised this was my first sub 29 in ages, something I had aimed for previously and failed at, and now it just came with little effort. Must be some truth in the proverb that things come to those who wait, and by not trying to force the pace and just taking the running easily and naturally, a target was achieved with less effort!

I was pleased to be able to run consistently under 5:50 per km and not to get too puffed, as well as pleased that the calf held up, though I was still wary of lengthening my stride. I guess the next step is to add in an 8 mile run, and on this evidence I am starting to look at sub 55 as a target for the Great Manchester Run!

My target was 10k, at a leisurely pace, so set off not quite sure of a route, and ran down a street I’d not been to the end of before, only to find it coming out at the big hill I ran down the other day, so some impromptu hills followed, along with a little trail stretch past Broomstairs nursery and then another uphill. Began to feel quite in the zone at 6k and despite slowing down posted a sub 6 minute km, and had to keep slowing myself more, because the idea was not to go at breakneck speed and possibly injure myself, but just to get around 6.2 miles!

Legs and bum felt a bit numb at one point, but kept going, my strides deliberately short and heel striking, rather than trying to stretch the legs and run on my toes, at this stage was generating quite enough pace. Had to stop a few times for traffic, but didn’t really mind, and at one point a fierce looking dog came up to me in my path, so I stopped and stroked it and it licked my leg, and it’s owner said “you keep on running” so I did. Felt just fine, running very comfortably, and could have upped the pace but felt no need to at this stage.

Last bit was uphill, and coasted to a stop on just over 1 hour 3 minutes, which is a season’s best by 3 minutes and an achievement in itself as I haven’t got to 10k many times since last summer, in fact the only time I’ve run 10k that fast in months and months was the Salford 10k 2011 and I really struggled with that one!

It seems to be clicking and ironically the rest I had with the calf injury probably did me a world of good! I am learning to run within myself, as I could easily have pushed to try to run under an hour, but at the moment the minutes are falling off my times without hardly trying, I am feeling good when running, and hopefully I can save the big performances for races!

Wanted to do 5 miles, but had no target in mind, just wanted to see how I felt and run accordingly. Set off and felt a bit tentative at first, but started to subtly pick up pace, even though the first km went by in a pretty slow 6:30 and the Garmin seemed to tick over a lot later than usual on a my regular starting route. Felt that my body was responding and decided to take a slightly hilly route, with a big downhill but some uphills to compensate for the easy ride! The next KM’s started to tick over quicker, with 6:04 and 6:09, and the pace was thereabouts, with just a little slowing during the hills.

As I was getting towards the business end of the run I could see that I was possibly going to be able to achieve a sub 50 5 miles, something I’ve only done once before this season, and I had to be careful not to get carried away and sprint, ever mindful of the calf, but I did pick up the pace and with 3k to go it was well on the cards. I felt really good, breathing hard but not struggling at all, and I did the penultimate km in under 6 minutes, which meant I had about 6.5 minutes to do the last km! As much as I eased off the gas a little, figuring sub 50 would be good enough at this point, at one stage it looked like I would hit sub 49 so I had a stretch of running pretty fast without sprinting, and then eased off the gas as it looked like I would make 8km easy – of course too late I realised I needed another 50 metres to make up the full 5 miles, but it was too late so I just coasted to a stop at 49:08 having done the last km in 5:40 – despite the tough hills and easing off at times for fear of going too hard too soon in my recovery, I finished with a season’s best 49:08, so am pretty much where I was before the calf injury, if not better, and if I can keep my progress steady, I can start to think about maintaining that kind of finishing pace for longer, and look forward to perhaps beating last year’s time in the Great Manchester Run 2012!

Had some things on in the afternoon and some notes to write up when I got in, so had to make sure I ate something and then the clock was ticking to get a run in before it got too late in the evening. Was very cold out and had been utterly pouring with rain most of the day. Fortunately this turned to light drizzle so I got out, trying out the green supernovas I raced in last year, for a change. It was cold out, so cold in fact that the Garmin froze before it found a signal and I had to take the batteries out to restart the damn thing! Then it took ages to get going as yet another paranoid looking youth smoking weed walked past me…

Set off a bit quick, hoping to do at least 5k to get some kind of proper run under my belt, and settled into a comfortable rhythm, then took the risk of heading down a route that would take me in a big circle and be about 5 miles. Attacked the hill over the motorway bridge and passed another mad runner, and noticed the hill didn’t hurt TOO bad, then it was a case of coasting to the half way mark, which I got through in about 24 minutes, and figured that all I had to do was keep my pace and I could run sub 50 for the 5 miles. So far so good.

Was barely breaking into a sweat due to the cold and the light, refreshing drizzle, which was nice on my head but I had to keep wiping the Garmin with my sleeve. Mind you this Garmin, battered as it is, has been with me for some 4 years now so can’t complain! As I turned the corner to start the long straight back home I felt my energy dip a little and had to slow down, as I knew another torturous hill was coming before I was done. Had put in a few sub 6 minute kms but the Garmin told me I was slowing. Even so, when I had 2KM to go I calculated I could probably run them in 7 minutes each and still get under 50 minutes, so just tried to keep my pace as best I could.

The big motorway bridge at Denton Rock slowed me as much as I attacked it, and I briefly stopped at the top, before ploughing on and trying to inject some pace. I now knew I would get under 50 minutes it was just a question of by how much, and I wanted to finish relatively near home. Saw another mad runner and then it was just a matter of reaching the last oasis of streetlight so I could see the Garmin, and the 8.05KM ticked over in a time of 49:10. According to my records, I have not run a 5 miler anywhere near as quick as that since 2010, so it may be a sign that I still have some speed left in me as long as I can stay uninjured.

I recovered pretty quickly and felt good, so was really happy to break 50 minutes, and if I could have kept going it would have been 10k well under the hour. So my next targets are really a sub 49 5 miles and a sub hour 10k, and then I will start thinking about intervals as I look forward to the Great Manchester Run.

So, today looked to be pretty cold, about 3-4C, I had to put the heating on a little higher. When I went out for my run I could feel why – the outside doorhandle felt icy, and my breath was pluming around me. Even but the hood on my top up while the Garmin found its signal, then off I went on a planned 7k in the cold dark evening along puddled pavements.

I felt a little puffed out at first, despite the slow pace (6:30 per km) but got into my stride and took a long loping loop that had some inclines and declines included. At about 5k it started to rain pretty heavily, which was quite nice as I was pretty warmed up by then, and although the last km was a bit slower than the others, mainly due to having to navigate a lot of crossings and corners, I felt good and relaxed to a stop in 45:21, averaging 6:30 per km and while my body had worked hard, I felt pretty happy to have done a “long” run and even felt a mild endorphin buzz in the latter stages.

Now it remains to be seen whether running will help with this cold, it doesn’t feel too bad – I am hoping like a few other colds that have tried to get going, and failed after a run, that the effect will be the same this time, and I can prove the immune boosting power of running, if only to myself!