Have a list of jobs to do for K today, so after changing the water filter in the kitchen I decided I'd better get shifting and get a quick run in. Karen had been out first thing and said it was "exhilaratingly blowy" so I put my Rab pertex top on for a bit of protection and set off.
Just up to Halton East, and the name of the game was recovery so I tried to keep it slow and steady - so slow and steady (and uphill and windy) was it that I ran a couple of the slowest miles I can remember! An 8:21 was followed by and 8:46 - but then a couple of laps of the village gave me an 8:12 mile and the return journey being both wind and gravity assisted were steady 7:50's.
My HRM is starting to really piss me off again - straight up to c200bpm+ and then staying up there apart from the occasional excursion down the correct level, which I'd guess is about 130 for this sort of run - it was reading 137 as I was stood outside the front door! I even took my bike computer out for a little jog up the road to ensure it's the strap and not my watch that's wrong - sure enough - both were reading 236 as I jogged slowly towards the paper shop. Why is it so hard to get right? C'mon Garmin- most of your stuff's pretty good, but this is shite.
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Friday, 8 October 2010
Longish run - the last one after work?
Got away at about 4.45 today to do a run from Silsden. Herb was along for the first bit, so by the time we were changed and ready to go it was just after 5 past 5. Herb was going to run 6m, so I'd have company for the first bit of my run. I hadn't really decided how far it was going to be, as Terry L had suggested I increase mileage every other week and last week's run was 14m. I set off unsure as to whether it'd be 10 or 12 miles, and determined that I'd see how I felt at Tesco.
Herb asked me about the planned pace and I said 7:40 would be good, at which he demurred slightly - but of course as always with Andrew he is always going better than he thinks. The first couple of miles were, as usual, a bit slow, as the first one involves getting going and the other the little slope up to the canal. Nevertheless we were probably just under 8min miling for this section, then speeded up nicely to a 7:40 for Herb's last mile with me.
He turned at the Riddlesden swing bridge and I carried on towards Bingley speeding up slightly to 7:30 pace to the turn at the top of 5Rise. I'm not sure when I decided to do 12, but at Tesco I was moving pretty well and there seemed to be enough daylight to get round in, so I carried on.
My HRM has gone bonkers again, so my HR was showing 220+ most of the way round - time for a new one or time to stop bothering? Anyway - I was feeling fine when I got back to the Tesco road so speeded up. I've been saying I seem to only have 2 speeds - 7:40+ and 6:30 or better, so I decided to see if I could run at an increased effort without pushing hard - this turns out to be just under 7 min miling - not a bad pace if I can get that a bit quicker come the spring then that could be about marathon pace.
I did a 6:57 and a 6:55, then pushed a bit harder for the last mile of effort and ran a cheeky 6:38. That took me to within half a mile of coming off the canal so I finished with a 7:40 and a 7:34 to come in just under the 90 minute mark for 12 miles. The last mile along the road was fairly hard work, and it getting pretty dark, so my LR next Friday will have to be an early start - I've booked the diary out from 3:30 which should be plenty.
I'll try and get a steady one in tomorrow, then maybe a few miles with The Herb on the bike on Sunday.
Herb asked me about the planned pace and I said 7:40 would be good, at which he demurred slightly - but of course as always with Andrew he is always going better than he thinks. The first couple of miles were, as usual, a bit slow, as the first one involves getting going and the other the little slope up to the canal. Nevertheless we were probably just under 8min miling for this section, then speeded up nicely to a 7:40 for Herb's last mile with me.
He turned at the Riddlesden swing bridge and I carried on towards Bingley speeding up slightly to 7:30 pace to the turn at the top of 5Rise. I'm not sure when I decided to do 12, but at Tesco I was moving pretty well and there seemed to be enough daylight to get round in, so I carried on.
My HRM has gone bonkers again, so my HR was showing 220+ most of the way round - time for a new one or time to stop bothering? Anyway - I was feeling fine when I got back to the Tesco road so speeded up. I've been saying I seem to only have 2 speeds - 7:40+ and 6:30 or better, so I decided to see if I could run at an increased effort without pushing hard - this turns out to be just under 7 min miling - not a bad pace if I can get that a bit quicker come the spring then that could be about marathon pace.
I did a 6:57 and a 6:55, then pushed a bit harder for the last mile of effort and ran a cheeky 6:38. That took me to within half a mile of coming off the canal so I finished with a 7:40 and a 7:34 to come in just under the 90 minute mark for 12 miles. The last mile along the road was fairly hard work, and it getting pretty dark, so my LR next Friday will have to be an early start - I've booked the diary out from 3:30 which should be plenty.
I'll try and get a steady one in tomorrow, then maybe a few miles with The Herb on the bike on Sunday.
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Bike in on a lovely day
Glorious day to ride to work - felt far less grumpy about missing it yesterday as we set off into the rising sun at 7:15. Definite nip in the air though, and I was grateful for my long-fingered gloves and jacket. My Hope front light had its first outing of the winter too.
Herb was merciful today and pootled along without leaving me gasping in his wake, and we got into work in a few seconds over the hour. One fabulous day (of weather - not work) later we set off home, with me feeling decidedly over-dressed in the sunshine.
A truce was declared just outside Tesco - this was not going to be a silly ride home, so we spun nicely up through East Morton and bimbled along to the top of Holden Lane. A swift swoop down and we came across a solitary mountain biker complete with rucsac and baggy pants. Herb was unable to resist the temptation for a burn-up so we went up through Swartha a touch quicker than I would have liked, but we were soon heading over to Cringles at a more sedate pace, road cycling's honour having been preserved.
We got home in a touch over the hour, so a good 6 minutes slower than last week, but it definitely felt a more relaxed and pleasant trip. I would have liked to stop to take some photos as the view up Wharfedale as we came over to Draughton was fantastic, with Simon's Seat standing proudly out from the moor. May just have to have a little run over there this weekend...
Quite possibly my Cannondale's last commute for this year, as my winter bike goes in for its pre-season service on Saturday, so I may well ride to work on that next week. Maybe I should have some sort of ceremony for my summer bike - although it's done rather less work this year than last. Looking at my stats from Rubitrack we're just over 3/4 of the way through the year and I've just about done half as many cycling miles as last year. I am slightly ahead on running though with 78% of the total mileage (but of course this year includes a marathon campaign).
Herb was merciful today and pootled along without leaving me gasping in his wake, and we got into work in a few seconds over the hour. One fabulous day (of weather - not work) later we set off home, with me feeling decidedly over-dressed in the sunshine.
A truce was declared just outside Tesco - this was not going to be a silly ride home, so we spun nicely up through East Morton and bimbled along to the top of Holden Lane. A swift swoop down and we came across a solitary mountain biker complete with rucsac and baggy pants. Herb was unable to resist the temptation for a burn-up so we went up through Swartha a touch quicker than I would have liked, but we were soon heading over to Cringles at a more sedate pace, road cycling's honour having been preserved.
We got home in a touch over the hour, so a good 6 minutes slower than last week, but it definitely felt a more relaxed and pleasant trip. I would have liked to stop to take some photos as the view up Wharfedale as we came over to Draughton was fantastic, with Simon's Seat standing proudly out from the moor. May just have to have a little run over there this weekend...
Quite possibly my Cannondale's last commute for this year, as my winter bike goes in for its pre-season service on Saturday, so I may well ride to work on that next week. Maybe I should have some sort of ceremony for my summer bike - although it's done rather less work this year than last. Looking at my stats from Rubitrack we're just over 3/4 of the way through the year and I've just about done half as many cycling miles as last year. I am slightly ahead on running though with 78% of the total mileage (but of course this year includes a marathon campaign).
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Swifty tempo session
Bottled biking in today due to inclement weather so ran after work. Warmed up for a mile with Herb then ran a 3 mile effort at 6:22, 6:23, 6:22 then a 7:20 and a 7:50 warm down. Solid 6 mile sesh and the effort didn't feel too eyeballs out.
I think I need to do more work at MP though - maybe not yet, but those "8 in 10" mile midweek MP sessions are going to be key.
I think I need to do more work at MP though - maybe not yet, but those "8 in 10" mile midweek MP sessions are going to be key.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Yawn.
A work conference thing in Harrogate Monday and Tuesday this week, but with the current austerity-fest we decided to work til 10 (including eating tea and drinking wine) and then start again at 8, with breakfast at 7. Running was going to be tricky, so unless I was going to drag myself over to Harriers tonight I was going to have to try and run very, very early.
So - no wine, a quick pint then off to bed by 11:15. Sadly due to space constraints in the biggest hotel in Harrogate 3 of us were lodging across the road in another hotel. To say it was "a bit tired" would be insulting to insomniacs everywhere - it was bloody horrid. A classic "Wallace Arnold Coach Holidays for the Nearly Dead" stop-off, you could smell tea and wee the moment you stepped through the doors - my room was on the uber-grotty 3rd floor and had single glazed windows that wouldn't shut, and some constantly running water pipes in the walls - so a restful night it was not.
Nevertheless, my new "base training" motivation saw me up at 5:45 and out of the door by 6:10 for a run through Harrogate and round the Stray. It was odd running that early - I've never really been one for very early runs, but it was very peaceful in the dark, and once I'd worked out where I was going quite enjoyable.
I cut left at the Stray and across to the Wetherby road, then past Hornbeam Park station to where the Leeds road comes into Harrogate. There was quite a valley on here, with a stiffish climb up to the junction. Then it was gently downhill back into town, across the Stray again and back to the hotel.
Showered, dressed and into breakfast for 7:15 and into the conference room ready to talk bollocks all day.
Feel pretty good - even though it was a bit of a nothing 5.5m at 7:38 pace, it would have been easy to sink a few beers then had the day doing nothing with a thick head - as it is I'm bright eyed, bushy tailed and currently charging my "best" Hope lights for tomorrow's commute!
So - no wine, a quick pint then off to bed by 11:15. Sadly due to space constraints in the biggest hotel in Harrogate 3 of us were lodging across the road in another hotel. To say it was "a bit tired" would be insulting to insomniacs everywhere - it was bloody horrid. A classic "Wallace Arnold Coach Holidays for the Nearly Dead" stop-off, you could smell tea and wee the moment you stepped through the doors - my room was on the uber-grotty 3rd floor and had single glazed windows that wouldn't shut, and some constantly running water pipes in the walls - so a restful night it was not.
Nevertheless, my new "base training" motivation saw me up at 5:45 and out of the door by 6:10 for a run through Harrogate and round the Stray. It was odd running that early - I've never really been one for very early runs, but it was very peaceful in the dark, and once I'd worked out where I was going quite enjoyable.
I cut left at the Stray and across to the Wetherby road, then past Hornbeam Park station to where the Leeds road comes into Harrogate. There was quite a valley on here, with a stiffish climb up to the junction. Then it was gently downhill back into town, across the Stray again and back to the hotel.
Showered, dressed and into breakfast for 7:15 and into the conference room ready to talk bollocks all day.
Feel pretty good - even though it was a bit of a nothing 5.5m at 7:38 pace, it would have been easy to sink a few beers then had the day doing nothing with a thick head - as it is I'm bright eyed, bushy tailed and currently charging my "best" Hope lights for tomorrow's commute!
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Shame - a strong motivator...
I got up this morning to see the same sort of rain that has battered Celtic Manor this weekend and caused the Ryder Cup to be rescheduled. And it went on and on. And on and on. And as I type it's still going on and on...
K took M&L to the shops to buy lots of stuff Maisie probably doesn't need for her forthcoming trip to Bewerley Park, so I was left at home on my own, generally tossing it off and reading Runners' World forums. I spend a fair bit of time on the "sub-3:15" marathon thread and have made some good (virtual) chums on there, so I was impressed to see how many of them had got their arses out today.
I'd decided not to bother, see, as I thought my 14 yesterday qualified me for a day on the bike if not a complete rest. However the roads are awash which means no cycling - so having seen that other people had got out I felt almost oblioged not to waste a day off. Added to that the diary looks a bit nuts this week so running's going to be intermittent at best - pay rises and new jobs are lovely but I do look back to 18 months ago when we could be out pretty much any lunchtime or by 5 any night. This week I'm in Harrogate tomorrow with no time to run, so my best bet could be either early Tuesday or maybe a trip down t'Harriers on Tuesday night assuming we get finished in Harrogate on time. Then bike to work Wednesday, probably Newcastle Thursday and hopefully a run home or a longish canal run Friday.
Today's run was my Halton East 5 miler in absolutely torrential rain - the road's flooded in a couple of places and I not only ran in a jacket I also kept my hood up! I took it pretty steady until the last couple of m iles, which I ran at 7:15 pace - which bodes well (eventually) for MP runs of 6:50 or so in a few months as it felt very easy.
I've also picked out a few races for the build up - I already have Abbey Dash in the diary, and I've entered the Ribble Valley 10k at Christmas. I'll be doing Kildwick Duathlon and Auld Lang Syne I expect too. As well as that I'm thinking Brass Monkey, St Annes 10m in March and possibly Coniston 14 the weekend before London. I won't be racing Coniston if I do it at all, but it's such a lovely race it'd be a good one to have as my last LR before the big day.
Finally just a word about the rugby league last night - Wigan won the Grand Final after 12 barren years which was great - but what I was also struck by was the number of good natured messages of congratulations from supporters of other clubs, including arch-rival St Helens - why can't football be like that? Answers on a postcard...
K took M&L to the shops to buy lots of stuff Maisie probably doesn't need for her forthcoming trip to Bewerley Park, so I was left at home on my own, generally tossing it off and reading Runners' World forums. I spend a fair bit of time on the "sub-3:15" marathon thread and have made some good (virtual) chums on there, so I was impressed to see how many of them had got their arses out today.
I'd decided not to bother, see, as I thought my 14 yesterday qualified me for a day on the bike if not a complete rest. However the roads are awash which means no cycling - so having seen that other people had got out I felt almost oblioged not to waste a day off. Added to that the diary looks a bit nuts this week so running's going to be intermittent at best - pay rises and new jobs are lovely but I do look back to 18 months ago when we could be out pretty much any lunchtime or by 5 any night. This week I'm in Harrogate tomorrow with no time to run, so my best bet could be either early Tuesday or maybe a trip down t'Harriers on Tuesday night assuming we get finished in Harrogate on time. Then bike to work Wednesday, probably Newcastle Thursday and hopefully a run home or a longish canal run Friday.
Today's run was my Halton East 5 miler in absolutely torrential rain - the road's flooded in a couple of places and I not only ran in a jacket I also kept my hood up! I took it pretty steady until the last couple of m iles, which I ran at 7:15 pace - which bodes well (eventually) for MP runs of 6:50 or so in a few months as it felt very easy.
I've also picked out a few races for the build up - I already have Abbey Dash in the diary, and I've entered the Ribble Valley 10k at Christmas. I'll be doing Kildwick Duathlon and Auld Lang Syne I expect too. As well as that I'm thinking Brass Monkey, St Annes 10m in March and possibly Coniston 14 the weekend before London. I won't be racing Coniston if I do it at all, but it's such a lovely race it'd be a good one to have as my last LR before the big day.
Finally just a word about the rugby league last night - Wigan won the Grand Final after 12 barren years which was great - but what I was also struck by was the number of good natured messages of congratulations from supporters of other clubs, including arch-rival St Helens - why can't football be like that? Answers on a postcard...
Saturday, 2 October 2010
A little bit more...
After my "cutback" longish runs of 8m and 8.5m last weekend this week it was time to add a bit more on. Newcastle Thursday saw me out with The Newmanator for a few miles on the quayside before some teambuilding beers with our new Northern Rock Asset Management friends. We did 5 miles, 4.5 pretty steady ones then Tim got a bit giddy in the last half and we ended up running a fairly quick last bit.
No chance of a run Friday as it was back from Newcastle and K out on the last with the village rounders team, so I had to run today. Lils' swimming lesson out of the way, then it was off to Silsden for my usual there and back run on the canal.
I'd decided on 14, and a pace of 7:40-7:50 or so. The first couple of miles along the lane were just over 7:50's, then I speeded up to 7:45 or so for a couple, then I was into the mid-7:30's - I wasn't aware of pushing it but just ran at what felt comfortable.
I'd not been particularly keen to run today, but as I'm now in the "building a base" phase of pre-marathon training training (??) I thought I'd better get out, and I'm glad I did - I turned just the far side of Bingley having put in a 7:27 mile in down 5 Rise and all of a sudden I was on the way back. I toyed with the idea of another mile to make it a 15, but decided I'd better do as Uncle Terry suggested and build up slowly. After a slower mile back up 5 Rise I then speeded up some more, so ended up doing a 4 mile faster section culminating in a MP mile of 6:50 during mile 12. After that it was back to 7:48's for the last couple of miles.
14 solid miles, 7:35 average and a good start to the "base miles" section of my training. It feels a bit more real now as my "You're In!" mag came this week - as did The Afterburner's! 2 ballot entries, 2 successes - jammy sod. Hopefully will have someone to do at least some long runs with anyway - although Paul's tendency to (a) do his long runs hideously early on weekend mornings and (b) run them at an unfeasibly fast pace may make that an occasional pleasure!
No chance of a run Friday as it was back from Newcastle and K out on the last with the village rounders team, so I had to run today. Lils' swimming lesson out of the way, then it was off to Silsden for my usual there and back run on the canal.
I'd decided on 14, and a pace of 7:40-7:50 or so. The first couple of miles along the lane were just over 7:50's, then I speeded up to 7:45 or so for a couple, then I was into the mid-7:30's - I wasn't aware of pushing it but just ran at what felt comfortable.
I'd not been particularly keen to run today, but as I'm now in the "building a base" phase of pre-marathon training training (??) I thought I'd better get out, and I'm glad I did - I turned just the far side of Bingley having put in a 7:27 mile in down 5 Rise and all of a sudden I was on the way back. I toyed with the idea of another mile to make it a 15, but decided I'd better do as Uncle Terry suggested and build up slowly. After a slower mile back up 5 Rise I then speeded up some more, so ended up doing a 4 mile faster section culminating in a MP mile of 6:50 during mile 12. After that it was back to 7:48's for the last couple of miles.
14 solid miles, 7:35 average and a good start to the "base miles" section of my training. It feels a bit more real now as my "You're In!" mag came this week - as did The Afterburner's! 2 ballot entries, 2 successes - jammy sod. Hopefully will have someone to do at least some long runs with anyway - although Paul's tendency to (a) do his long runs hideously early on weekend mornings and (b) run them at an unfeasibly fast pace may make that an occasional pleasure!
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