Tonight we finally got the intervals session in that we'd planned for a couple of weeks ago, and boy was it tough!
For anyone who doesn't know (and we're by no means experts!), intervals are basically "fast, then slow" training routines. With intervals, instead of just running at a steady pace for a long distance, or running as fast as you can for a short distance, you run fast for a bit (really working hard), then slow down to get your breath back, then fast again. The speed you run and distance you run (fast bits and slow bits) depends on what you're training for, how fast you can run, how long it takes you to recover, etc.
Tonight our group was James, Jono, Ellie, Stu and I - we ran from Ellie and Stu's down to the Forest Recreation ground (home of the world famous Goose Fair every October). When we got to the Forest (as it's known locally), we measured a 200M section of path (out and back) and then ran repeatedly up and down that.
The plan was to do 200M as fast as we could, then 200M slower to get breath back, fast, slow etc. I ran the first 200M totally flat out and it really took it out of me - I looked at the stats on RunKeeper after and it looks like I was running at 4:10 per mile - which is faster than I used to be able to run 100M at school (but still depressingly slow compared with "real" athletes").
I think I managed 6 repeats (i.e. 1200M fast and 1200 slow) before the "fast" was becoming so slow that it was almost the same speed as "slow". Everyone else did really well, especially James and Jono, I felt like Jono was running faster and stronger than I was tonight and he thought so too and was buzzing as a result.
By the time we'd run back to Ellie and Stu's again (jogged would be more accurate), my phone and watch were showing over 4 miles of running, which had felt a lot harder than many longer runs! I'm sure we'll do it again soon, it was fun as something different, but I wouldn't want to do it all the time!
Earlier in the day I played another squash match, against Doug, and managed to maintain my 100% record for the year, though it was much closer than recent matches. I also had another friend get in touch wanting to play, so I could possibly be playing squash 4 days out of 5 next week!
I also discovered that I have been featured in this week's Parkrun newsletter email, as my friend Steve asked them if there were plans for Parkruns closer to him and mentioned that I'd introduced him to the event - fame at last!!
I also reached another big milestone today - 600 RunKeeper activities, in 10 months - that's an average of almost 2 per day!
The best news of all from today is that my Dad has had official confirmation of good news from the scan that he had before Christmas, he already suspected all was well after getting unofficial "thumbs up" from radiologist on the day. My Dad was diagnosed with a nasty form of bowel cancer in late 2009, had major surgery then, and loads of horrible chemotherapy in 2010, before his scan last year showed that the cancer seemed to be gone. The latest scan confirms that, which is the best possible news to start the year with!!
Tomorrow morning I'm running to work with Ellie from their house, so better get some sleep, I'm shattered!
Yearly Summary
Running: 119 miles
Walking: 13 miles
Cycling: 84 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 217.58 miles
Running streak: 58 days (started 23/11/2011)
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Knocked down and then up again...
Today started pretty well: as I'd planned to, I drove to my parents and left the car there, as the boys would be there after work. That meant the run to work was only going to be 6 miles, rather than 7, and for the first half, I was feeling great and setting a pretty good pace.
I saw Kieran at the bus stop in town again which was great, and at that point I was still feeling like I was going well, but as I headed out of town and towards the Trent, the wind changed and become stronger, and I started to feel like I'd been pushing too much.
The last couple of miles to work were far more of a struggle than last week and I really felt as though I should have been able to manage the run more easily and arrived at work far more sweaty than I'd planned.
I then spent most of the time at work feeling knocked down by the experience, I was really sluggish, and above all, starving! I managed to eat more food than I thought possible during the work day and gradually started to feel better, but couldn't shake the feeling that if I ran home, I'd be shattered again and not able to do this evening's planned long run with my friends.
I felt like I'd be a bit of a failure if I didn't run home, but eventually I decided to accept Ellie's kind offer of a lift home. I'm very glad I did, as tonight's run was far, far more enjoyable than the run home from work would have been, and further too!
The group tonight was Kieran, Stuart, Ellie and Martin and I, and we set out from Ellie & Stu's at around 7:15 and headed down towards town. From there, we tackled the long slog up Woodborough Rd and then along Mapperley Top. Somewhere along that part of the run, Martin moved into uncharted territories, as he's a relatively novice runner (though a very talented one) and last week's 5 mile run with us was his first over 5K.
As we headed down towards Arnold, we passed 10K and Ellie once again seemed to kick into a higher gear, meaning Kieran (who'd been really comfortable until then) started to drop back. From there on, the pace was steady until the final climb up Hucknall Road, where Ellie struggled for a bit before she, Kieran and I sprinted to the finish.
Throughout the final part of the run, Martin ran well ahead with Stuart, occasionally sprinting back to us and then ahead again, I was blown away by how easy he made it look, considering that he was running almost twice as far as he ever had before.
Tonight's run ended up being Kieran's longest ever too at 9.58 miles and was definitely a great way to spend the evening and totally changed my perspective on the day - having felt a bit rubbish for most of, I now feel great again :).
Update for the year to date:
Running: 115 miles
Walking: 13 miles
Cycling: 84 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 213.26 miles
Running streak: 57 days (started 23/11/2011)
I saw Kieran at the bus stop in town again which was great, and at that point I was still feeling like I was going well, but as I headed out of town and towards the Trent, the wind changed and become stronger, and I started to feel like I'd been pushing too much.
The last couple of miles to work were far more of a struggle than last week and I really felt as though I should have been able to manage the run more easily and arrived at work far more sweaty than I'd planned.
I then spent most of the time at work feeling knocked down by the experience, I was really sluggish, and above all, starving! I managed to eat more food than I thought possible during the work day and gradually started to feel better, but couldn't shake the feeling that if I ran home, I'd be shattered again and not able to do this evening's planned long run with my friends.
I felt like I'd be a bit of a failure if I didn't run home, but eventually I decided to accept Ellie's kind offer of a lift home. I'm very glad I did, as tonight's run was far, far more enjoyable than the run home from work would have been, and further too!
The group tonight was Kieran, Stuart, Ellie and Martin and I, and we set out from Ellie & Stu's at around 7:15 and headed down towards town. From there, we tackled the long slog up Woodborough Rd and then along Mapperley Top. Somewhere along that part of the run, Martin moved into uncharted territories, as he's a relatively novice runner (though a very talented one) and last week's 5 mile run with us was his first over 5K.
As we headed down towards Arnold, we passed 10K and Ellie once again seemed to kick into a higher gear, meaning Kieran (who'd been really comfortable until then) started to drop back. From there on, the pace was steady until the final climb up Hucknall Road, where Ellie struggled for a bit before she, Kieran and I sprinted to the finish.
Throughout the final part of the run, Martin ran well ahead with Stuart, occasionally sprinting back to us and then ahead again, I was blown away by how easy he made it look, considering that he was running almost twice as far as he ever had before.
Tonight's run ended up being Kieran's longest ever too at 9.58 miles and was definitely a great way to spend the evening and totally changed my perspective on the day - having felt a bit rubbish for most of, I now feel great again :).
Update for the year to date:
Running: 115 miles
Walking: 13 miles
Cycling: 84 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 213.26 miles
Running streak: 57 days (started 23/11/2011)
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Back to work, a crazy milestone, and out of socks!
After yesterday's amazing day of relaxation, it was back to the reality of work today.
Work-wise it was a fairly uneventful day, though it did strike me that it's likely to be the start of a long run of consecutive weekdays at work - I don't have any more days off planned (other than weekends) until Easter!
Lunchtime was very memorable experience, as I played squash with a new opponent. My adversary wasn't just another new member at the gym though, it was an old school friend, Simon, who I'd reconnected with last year through Facebook. I've been pretty rubbish at keeping in touch with schoolmates and other than the odd chance encounter, hadn't seen or spoken to anyone since I left - in 1993.
In fact, today was the first time I've arranged to meet anyone from school since we left, and it struck me that it was about 18 1/2 years since I left school, and that I was about 18 1/2 years old when I left. So, being a stats geek and spreadsheet fan, I entered my date of birth, the date I left school (which was also the same day that I started work at the company I'm still at now) and today's date into Excel, and calculated the difference between them.
Amazingly, it transpired that today was a crazy milestone, the "mid point day". I started work 6782 days ago, which in turn was 6782 days after I first appeared in Leicestershire... So that means that tomorrow I'll be able to honestly say that I've been working for longer than I haven't, which is kind of scary and also a bit cool (I did my final exam in the morning, and started work in the afternoon).
It was great to catch up with Simon and the game was fun (not just because I maintained my 100% record for the year), and it turned out that Simon's wife had worked just feet away from me in another team, for a few months a couple of years ago, but I'd never made the connection - very small world!
This evening I spent discussing planned running / riding / triathlon events for later this year with my ever-supportive parents, and then with Andy Next Door on tonight's run.
The run itself was fun as always, it was just Andy and I and we didn't break any records for speed or distance, but did have a great chat and it was definitely a good workout. I didn't want to push too much tonight, as tomorrow, for just the second time ever, I'm running to work! The weather doesn't look great, but I'm still really looking forward to it. I'm going to have to take it fairly steady as I have a run planned with the boys, my half marathon training partners and hopefully Martin too in the evening as well. All being well, it will be a new record for miles run in a single day (current record is 16 - on the day I ran to work last week).
On that note, I'm going to get this posted and get to bed - early start for the run in the morning!
Current 2012 totals - I've just noticed, I've narrowly missed another milestone today (running miles for the year) and should get that and 200 total miles tomorrow!
Running: 99.98 miles
Walking: 13 miles
Cycling: 84 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 197 miles
Running streak: 56 days (started 23/11/2011)
P.S. As the post title suggests, when I packed my running kit for tomorrow, I realised I am out of running socks! One of the downside of all this activity is that it means lots of washing, which I'm behind with again already!
Work-wise it was a fairly uneventful day, though it did strike me that it's likely to be the start of a long run of consecutive weekdays at work - I don't have any more days off planned (other than weekends) until Easter!
Lunchtime was very memorable experience, as I played squash with a new opponent. My adversary wasn't just another new member at the gym though, it was an old school friend, Simon, who I'd reconnected with last year through Facebook. I've been pretty rubbish at keeping in touch with schoolmates and other than the odd chance encounter, hadn't seen or spoken to anyone since I left - in 1993.
In fact, today was the first time I've arranged to meet anyone from school since we left, and it struck me that it was about 18 1/2 years since I left school, and that I was about 18 1/2 years old when I left. So, being a stats geek and spreadsheet fan, I entered my date of birth, the date I left school (which was also the same day that I started work at the company I'm still at now) and today's date into Excel, and calculated the difference between them.
Amazingly, it transpired that today was a crazy milestone, the "mid point day". I started work 6782 days ago, which in turn was 6782 days after I first appeared in Leicestershire... So that means that tomorrow I'll be able to honestly say that I've been working for longer than I haven't, which is kind of scary and also a bit cool (I did my final exam in the morning, and started work in the afternoon).
It was great to catch up with Simon and the game was fun (not just because I maintained my 100% record for the year), and it turned out that Simon's wife had worked just feet away from me in another team, for a few months a couple of years ago, but I'd never made the connection - very small world!
This evening I spent discussing planned running / riding / triathlon events for later this year with my ever-supportive parents, and then with Andy Next Door on tonight's run.
The run itself was fun as always, it was just Andy and I and we didn't break any records for speed or distance, but did have a great chat and it was definitely a good workout. I didn't want to push too much tonight, as tomorrow, for just the second time ever, I'm running to work! The weather doesn't look great, but I'm still really looking forward to it. I'm going to have to take it fairly steady as I have a run planned with the boys, my half marathon training partners and hopefully Martin too in the evening as well. All being well, it will be a new record for miles run in a single day (current record is 16 - on the day I ran to work last week).
On that note, I'm going to get this posted and get to bed - early start for the run in the morning!
Current 2012 totals - I've just noticed, I've narrowly missed another milestone today (running miles for the year) and should get that and 200 total miles tomorrow!
Running: 99.98 miles
Walking: 13 miles
Cycling: 84 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 197 miles
Running streak: 56 days (started 23/11/2011)
P.S. As the post title suggests, when I packed my running kit for tomorrow, I realised I am out of running socks! One of the downside of all this activity is that it means lots of washing, which I'm behind with again already!
Monday, January 16, 2012
A day of new experiences, and an eventful run.
I don't expect to have another day like today for quite a while, it's been packed with new experiences and all of them good.
I've spent the day at Aqua Sana, the spa at Center Parcs in Notts, with my brilliant other half Sarah. We were fortunate to be given the day as a joint Christmas / birthday gift (it was Sarah's birthday on Thursday) and it's been very different to a normal Monday at work!
Aqua Sana is a series of different wet (steam rooms etc.) and dry (saunas) spa experiences - and you can spend as much time in each as you like. I could wax lyrical for page after page about how relaxing and enjoyable the day was, but I don't think I'd be able to find the words to do it justice - it has to be experienced.
As well as the different saunas and steam rooms, there are traditional "spa treatments" on offer, and Sarah and I both had massages and facials - which was a new experience for me too, and also very relaxing.
We spent the whole day there and headed back just after 5pm - and as we drove home there was still some light in the sky - the nights are noticeably drawing out and evening runs will be in daylight before know it.
This evening's run was a fun affair - it was a reunion of my half marathon training partners - Ellie & Stuart (who'd been away for a week) and Jono (Ellie's brother). James and Kieran came along too, with James wearing his new lightweight running shoes : New Balance 760s for the first time.
We made the route up as we went, and headed along Mapperley Plains and then down Private Road into Mapperley Park. At the top of Private Road (which as its name suggests, is an exclusive area), there's a "residents only" barrier, which was just the right height for Stuart to do pull-ups on. I decided to have a go too, but when I jumped down after managing a paltry 7, I dropped my phone. It rebooted, and when it came back on the date had obviously reset as my phone suggested I'd been running for quite a while!
Here's what it said:
368,540 hours! :)
We turned towards home and ran through Woodthorpe Park, where as every Monday, there was a boot camp style fitness group being drilled in the car park. Today, instead of the usual 10 or so participants, there at least 40 - it must be everyone's New Year's resolutions kicking in!
As we ran back along Mapperley Plains, Jono twisted his knee quite nastily and struggled from there on for the rest of the run. After stopping briefly at my parents' (who'd just arrived back from Scotland today), we arrived back home having run almost exactly 10K. Fingers crossed Jono's injury won't prevent him from training with us later in the week, it's now under 8 weeks until our half marathon debut!
James and Kieran ran the last mile back from my parents' with Stuart, and James was very pleased with having won the sprint finish - he really likes his new running shoes and credits them with his new found speed.
It's back to work for me tomorrow, and this week will be my last "short" week for a while, after 6 in a row where I haven't worked 5 days, I am going to be back to "full time" from next week on, for the foreseeable future!
Tomorrow, I'm also playing squash with a very old friend, Simon who I haven't seen since we left school over 18 years ago - it will be great to see him after all this time, assuming we recognise each other! Then in the evening I'm hoping to run with Andy Next Door, before running to work on Wednesday (at least, that's the current plan!).
Here's how how the year is looking now:
Running: 95 miles
Walking: 13 miles
Cycling: 84 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 192.89 miles
Running streak: 55 days (started 23/11/2011)
P.S. Today's #Plankaday was a new record. 4:05 :)
I've spent the day at Aqua Sana, the spa at Center Parcs in Notts, with my brilliant other half Sarah. We were fortunate to be given the day as a joint Christmas / birthday gift (it was Sarah's birthday on Thursday) and it's been very different to a normal Monday at work!
Aqua Sana is a series of different wet (steam rooms etc.) and dry (saunas) spa experiences - and you can spend as much time in each as you like. I could wax lyrical for page after page about how relaxing and enjoyable the day was, but I don't think I'd be able to find the words to do it justice - it has to be experienced.
As well as the different saunas and steam rooms, there are traditional "spa treatments" on offer, and Sarah and I both had massages and facials - which was a new experience for me too, and also very relaxing.
We spent the whole day there and headed back just after 5pm - and as we drove home there was still some light in the sky - the nights are noticeably drawing out and evening runs will be in daylight before know it.
This evening's run was a fun affair - it was a reunion of my half marathon training partners - Ellie & Stuart (who'd been away for a week) and Jono (Ellie's brother). James and Kieran came along too, with James wearing his new lightweight running shoes : New Balance 760s for the first time.
We made the route up as we went, and headed along Mapperley Plains and then down Private Road into Mapperley Park. At the top of Private Road (which as its name suggests, is an exclusive area), there's a "residents only" barrier, which was just the right height for Stuart to do pull-ups on. I decided to have a go too, but when I jumped down after managing a paltry 7, I dropped my phone. It rebooted, and when it came back on the date had obviously reset as my phone suggested I'd been running for quite a while!
Here's what it said:
368,540 hours! :)
We turned towards home and ran through Woodthorpe Park, where as every Monday, there was a boot camp style fitness group being drilled in the car park. Today, instead of the usual 10 or so participants, there at least 40 - it must be everyone's New Year's resolutions kicking in!
As we ran back along Mapperley Plains, Jono twisted his knee quite nastily and struggled from there on for the rest of the run. After stopping briefly at my parents' (who'd just arrived back from Scotland today), we arrived back home having run almost exactly 10K. Fingers crossed Jono's injury won't prevent him from training with us later in the week, it's now under 8 weeks until our half marathon debut!
James and Kieran ran the last mile back from my parents' with Stuart, and James was very pleased with having won the sprint finish - he really likes his new running shoes and credits them with his new found speed.
It's back to work for me tomorrow, and this week will be my last "short" week for a while, after 6 in a row where I haven't worked 5 days, I am going to be back to "full time" from next week on, for the foreseeable future!
Tomorrow, I'm also playing squash with a very old friend, Simon who I haven't seen since we left school over 18 years ago - it will be great to see him after all this time, assuming we recognise each other! Then in the evening I'm hoping to run with Andy Next Door, before running to work on Wednesday (at least, that's the current plan!).
Here's how how the year is looking now:
Running: 95 miles
Walking: 13 miles
Cycling: 84 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 192.89 miles
Running streak: 55 days (started 23/11/2011)
P.S. Today's #Plankaday was a new record. 4:05 :)
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Numb fingers and toes, Happy times...
I woke up this morning feeling really tired, and very full after last night's curry-filled celebrations, and the scales were so shocked (and shocking) when I got on them, they asked if it was actually me! (The scales I use have different profiles for different users, and I'd put so much weight on overnight, they thought I was someone else!).
There was only one way thing for it - it was time to blow away the cobwebs, and burn off some of last night's calories, with a long bike ride. Fortunately Andy Next Door and I had already agreed we were going to hit the road this morning, and when we met up at 1015, Andy had got a couple of potential routes already planned - a "shorter, lumpy one" or a "longer, flatter one". As I was feeling unadventurous and wanted to a more gentle ride, I opted for the latter option.
We headed down into Lambley (the vast majority of rides from here start that way as it's where you can start feeling like you're riding in the countryside, rather than suburbia), and it's also nicely downhill... We'd got a good pace up and were riding out towards Lowdham, when Andy spotted a cycling jersey in the distance, and instantly recognised the colours of his cycling club - Ashfield RC. Andy's been a mad keen cyclist for many years and a leading light of the Ashfield club, and was delighted when we caught up to the lone cyclist ahead and discovered it was his old friend Richard who he hadn't seen in quite a while.
After a quick discussion about who was planning to ride where (it turned out Richard was just going to make his route up), it was decided that we'd ride together on the route Andy had mapped out towards Southwell. It was great to have another companion for the ride, and I sat happily at the back as they chatted - it meant I got an easier ride, and also that I could try to find creative ways to warm my fingers which were turning to numb blocks of ice every few minutes (I really need to start wearing suitable gloves!)
The roads were relatively traffic-free, though we did see a surprising number of other cyclists, and we kept up a good pace along the back roads near the Trent, before turning towards Southwell, where Richard started to struggle just slightly with the hillier terrain. We continued up and up, to the top of Oxton Bank, before the fun speedy run down the long hill (top speed today only 37mph) and then parted company with Richard as we turned for home and up to Dorket Head (the highest point around here).
After a final blast home (averaging well over 20mph for the last couple of miles), we arrived back having completed just under 30 miles, at an average well over 15mph and feeling really good about the ride, which was my longest since the beginning of October. By this time my fingers had finally warmed up, but my toes were really numb and feeling almost frozen solid which meant walking was quite a struggle for a while!
This afternoon was memorable too, as it was another "longest ever run" for Sarah, who hadn't been able to run for a week due to an inflamed Achilles. We decided to try somewhere flat and just see how she got on, so drove down to the Trent, near Wilford Bridge and ran a loop down the river towards Trent Bridge and back. As we got back near to where we'd parked, Sarah was feeling really good, so we extended the route and kept going further and further (partly due to a couple of turns down cul-de-sacs), before finally ending up back at the car after 4.55 miles - over half a mile further than Sarah had ever run before!
Tomorrow promises to be another memorable day, as Sarah and I are being treated to a spa day (Christmas / birthday present) and then in the evening it's the first training run for over a week with my half marathon buddies. It's going to be a shock when I have to work a full week next week!
Here's how things are looking so far this year:
Running: 88 miles
Walking: 13 miles
Cycling: 84 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 86.68 miles
Run streak: 54 days (started 23/11/2011)
PS. I almost forgot - I'm still doing #Plankaday - today was a new record : 3:52 and #Pressupathon - which today was 15 pressups of course...
There was only one way thing for it - it was time to blow away the cobwebs, and burn off some of last night's calories, with a long bike ride. Fortunately Andy Next Door and I had already agreed we were going to hit the road this morning, and when we met up at 1015, Andy had got a couple of potential routes already planned - a "shorter, lumpy one" or a "longer, flatter one". As I was feeling unadventurous and wanted to a more gentle ride, I opted for the latter option.
We headed down into Lambley (the vast majority of rides from here start that way as it's where you can start feeling like you're riding in the countryside, rather than suburbia), and it's also nicely downhill... We'd got a good pace up and were riding out towards Lowdham, when Andy spotted a cycling jersey in the distance, and instantly recognised the colours of his cycling club - Ashfield RC. Andy's been a mad keen cyclist for many years and a leading light of the Ashfield club, and was delighted when we caught up to the lone cyclist ahead and discovered it was his old friend Richard who he hadn't seen in quite a while.
After a quick discussion about who was planning to ride where (it turned out Richard was just going to make his route up), it was decided that we'd ride together on the route Andy had mapped out towards Southwell. It was great to have another companion for the ride, and I sat happily at the back as they chatted - it meant I got an easier ride, and also that I could try to find creative ways to warm my fingers which were turning to numb blocks of ice every few minutes (I really need to start wearing suitable gloves!)
The roads were relatively traffic-free, though we did see a surprising number of other cyclists, and we kept up a good pace along the back roads near the Trent, before turning towards Southwell, where Richard started to struggle just slightly with the hillier terrain. We continued up and up, to the top of Oxton Bank, before the fun speedy run down the long hill (top speed today only 37mph) and then parted company with Richard as we turned for home and up to Dorket Head (the highest point around here).
After a final blast home (averaging well over 20mph for the last couple of miles), we arrived back having completed just under 30 miles, at an average well over 15mph and feeling really good about the ride, which was my longest since the beginning of October. By this time my fingers had finally warmed up, but my toes were really numb and feeling almost frozen solid which meant walking was quite a struggle for a while!
This afternoon was memorable too, as it was another "longest ever run" for Sarah, who hadn't been able to run for a week due to an inflamed Achilles. We decided to try somewhere flat and just see how she got on, so drove down to the Trent, near Wilford Bridge and ran a loop down the river towards Trent Bridge and back. As we got back near to where we'd parked, Sarah was feeling really good, so we extended the route and kept going further and further (partly due to a couple of turns down cul-de-sacs), before finally ending up back at the car after 4.55 miles - over half a mile further than Sarah had ever run before!
Tomorrow promises to be another memorable day, as Sarah and I are being treated to a spa day (Christmas / birthday present) and then in the evening it's the first training run for over a week with my half marathon buddies. It's going to be a shock when I have to work a full week next week!
Here's how things are looking so far this year:
Running: 88 miles
Walking: 13 miles
Cycling: 84 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 86.68 miles
Run streak: 54 days (started 23/11/2011)
PS. I almost forgot - I'm still doing #Plankaday - today was a new record : 3:52 and #Pressupathon - which today was 15 pressups of course...
Saturday, January 14, 2012
A run, two rides, and a curry!
As all Saturdays do now , today started with a trip to Colwick Park for our beloved Parkrun. As we drove the 15 mins or so to the park, the temperature gauge in the car hovered between -2.5 and -3C - it was definitely going to be the coldest Parkrun so far!
As it turned out, the course was pretty free from frost / ice (unlike a few weeks ago) and the lack of wind or rain made for really good running conditions.
The boys and I met up with Andy Next Door before the start, and then just before we set off, I saw Ian, who I'd offered to pace round. Ian fancied going for a new PB, so we decided that I'd run with him, and the boys would run ahead with Andy and aim for their usual 25 mins or so time.
Ian's only recently got into running and struggles with Asthma quite a bit, but he's been making great progress and had got his 5K PB down to 30:30 at a recent Parkrun. We decided to aim for around 30 mins and set off near the back of the pack.
Just before we to the first mile, our other friend Gary caught up with us - he'd arrived at the start late, but had run a really fast first part of the race to catch us up. Ian was feeling good at this point, so we stayed at our steady pace and the 3 of us chatted while I took photos.
We reached half way in about 14:30 - so we weren't just on course for a new PB for Ian, he was on course to smash it!
We kept the pace steady for the next part of the course and I tried to get a picture of Ian and Gary running together, but they were moving so fast, the camera on my phone couldn't cope!
With a mile or so to go, I could tell that Ian was starting to struggle, but I kept the pace steady, and we were still catching and passing people as the finish line approached, and Gary shot off to gain a few more places. Ian put in a final kick too, and stormed across the line in under 30 minutes for the first time - in fact, he was under 29:30 - over a minute faster than ever before!
I really enjoyed today's run, if fact I think I enjoyed pacing Ian to his PB even more than running my own fastest 5K at Colwick a few weeks back. There really is no better way to start a weekend than running with friends and today there were 140 of us at Colwick, which I believe is a new record.
After dropping the boys at music school, I set about changing the tyre on my bike - as always it took longer than planned, and after a trip next door to talk to Andy and get some expert help with tyre pressures, I was finally ready to hit the road only about 30 minutes before I had to leave to pick the boys up. As I rode out onto the street, I saw Mohammad (who will feature in future posts I'm sure) - the boys' friend from across the road, and he was very keen to come with me. I can never turn down a running or riding partner, so Mo and I set out from together and decided to do our standard very short 5 mile route.
Mohammad was determined to beat his previous best time on the route (around 21 mins) and although he struggled up the long drag of Catfoot Lane, by the time we got to the top, we were still on course for his fastest time. We flew along Mapperley Top towards home and for a few seconds I thought that finishing under 20 mins was a possibility. Unfortunately, there was some waiting for traffic near the end, so we didn't break 20 minutes (only James has done that of the kids), but we did finish only just outside (10 seconds or so), and both Mo and I were very happy with that.
After picking the boys up and having lunch, we did some speed shopping and then got home around 3pm. I knew there was a small window of daylight to get another ride in before dusk. I was hoping James would come with me, but he decided not to, so I rode the same route as I'd done with the boys last weekend.
It was a good ride, but would have been even better if I'd been with others - and I'm hoping I'll be able to get a ride dome with Andy tomorrow.
This evening has been a great celebratory curry, the boys came with me and there was lots of good food and company. The meal was a further part of Sarah's birthday celebrations, and we're going for a spa day on Monday to round it off.
After far too much eating, I'm totally shattered and also late with #Janathon posting, so I'm going to call it a day now and get some sleep (haven't even slightly proof-read it, so it's probably full of typos! :))
Friday, January 13, 2012
Staying on track, just...
Today felt pretty tough - I was tired after yesterday's celebrations and long evening run, but decided to pack my running kit and take it to work with the plan to run at lunchtime.
By lunchtime I wasn't having a particularly productive day, work-wise, so decided to have a shorter lunch break and update the spreadsheet I'm using to track my progress towards my annual running and total miles targets.
The spreadsheet was both encouraging and disappointing in equal measure. It shows that I'm well on course for my running target (2012 km this year), in fact I'm doing so well (I've run 81 miles versus a target of only 44), that I'm wondering whether I should have gone for 2012 miles as my target rather than 2012 km. The disappointing news was that I'm already well down on my overall target (aiming to do 5000 total miles of running/walking/cycling/swimming in 2012) - I should be on 177.6 miles, but I'm over 40 miles behind that!
I know that this time of year it's going to be tougher to rack up the miles on the bike (which I'm going to have to do in the summer to have a chance of hitting my overall number), but also don't want to get too far behind before regular morning / evening rides become easier to fit in.
I'm hoping to get some miles in on the bike tomorrow morning while the boys are at music school, and then possibly going out again in the afternoon. The day will start with our weekly pilgrimage to Colwick for Parkrun of course. I'm expecting there will be a good turn out of friends, and there's no doubt it will be loads of fun as always, though it could potentially be a bit icy as the temperature has really dropped today.
Tonight's run was a short, cold affair, and for once, I ran on my own. I still felt a little flat when I started the run, with my legs still a bit tight from last night, and it was more a case of getting the miles in and keeping my streak going than any particular desire to run hard or test myself too much. I decided to take it fairly steady and to make my mission to scope out another 5K route round home, rather than trying to break any records.
I wanted to make the route a bit hillier than the "standard" 5K that we run from here, so I headed down the hill towards Arnold, then looped round and fairly close to Mum and Dad's, before finishing with a long slow drag up Ramsey Drive and home. I'm happy to have another 5K route mapped out so that I can mix it up with the "Standard" one, or add them together for a 10K that would never be more than a couple of miles from here.
I also did #Plankaday (3:36 again) and #Pressupathon before heading out for the run, and found them a bit tougher than my usual morning time to do them.
I'm really looking forward to a weekend with hopefully lots more runs, walks and rides, as well as some more celebrating of Sarah's birthday with a big Indian meal tomorrow night, then another day off work for a Spa Day with Sarah on Monday (combined birthday / Christmas present).
Here's how the year now looks:
Running: 81.21 miles (130.67K)
Walking: 7.5 miles
Cycling: 40.95 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 134.61 miles
Running streak: 52 days (started 23/11/2011)
Have a great weekend.
By lunchtime I wasn't having a particularly productive day, work-wise, so decided to have a shorter lunch break and update the spreadsheet I'm using to track my progress towards my annual running and total miles targets.
The spreadsheet was both encouraging and disappointing in equal measure. It shows that I'm well on course for my running target (2012 km this year), in fact I'm doing so well (I've run 81 miles versus a target of only 44), that I'm wondering whether I should have gone for 2012 miles as my target rather than 2012 km. The disappointing news was that I'm already well down on my overall target (aiming to do 5000 total miles of running/walking/cycling/swimming in 2012) - I should be on 177.6 miles, but I'm over 40 miles behind that!
I know that this time of year it's going to be tougher to rack up the miles on the bike (which I'm going to have to do in the summer to have a chance of hitting my overall number), but also don't want to get too far behind before regular morning / evening rides become easier to fit in.
I'm hoping to get some miles in on the bike tomorrow morning while the boys are at music school, and then possibly going out again in the afternoon. The day will start with our weekly pilgrimage to Colwick for Parkrun of course. I'm expecting there will be a good turn out of friends, and there's no doubt it will be loads of fun as always, though it could potentially be a bit icy as the temperature has really dropped today.
Tonight's run was a short, cold affair, and for once, I ran on my own. I still felt a little flat when I started the run, with my legs still a bit tight from last night, and it was more a case of getting the miles in and keeping my streak going than any particular desire to run hard or test myself too much. I decided to take it fairly steady and to make my mission to scope out another 5K route round home, rather than trying to break any records.
I wanted to make the route a bit hillier than the "standard" 5K that we run from here, so I headed down the hill towards Arnold, then looped round and fairly close to Mum and Dad's, before finishing with a long slow drag up Ramsey Drive and home. I'm happy to have another 5K route mapped out so that I can mix it up with the "Standard" one, or add them together for a 10K that would never be more than a couple of miles from here.
I also did #Plankaday (3:36 again) and #Pressupathon before heading out for the run, and found them a bit tougher than my usual morning time to do them.
I'm really looking forward to a weekend with hopefully lots more runs, walks and rides, as well as some more celebrating of Sarah's birthday with a big Indian meal tomorrow night, then another day off work for a Spa Day with Sarah on Monday (combined birthday / Christmas present).
Here's how the year now looks:
Running: 81.21 miles (130.67K)
Walking: 7.5 miles
Cycling: 40.95 miles
Swimming: 0 miles
Total: 134.61 miles
Running streak: 52 days (started 23/11/2011)
Have a great weekend.
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