Shorter, and therefore sweeter!

This week's run started a little earlier in the day, with the frivolities kicking off at 9.30 so all I'd had to prepare was a mug of coffee. We were back to doing the regular 4 mile cross country route with the two dogs. But this time we had the intention of getting a sub 50 minute time, as this was a target we'd set a while back.

Things started well, with me leading off at a brisk pace. I was trying to match Ant's previous pace in my head, but I had overcompensated a bit and we did the first 1.5 miles in 15 minutes! This also included the big killer hill that comes far too early into the run, which I was pleased to make it all the way to the top of for the first time.

Whilst we had set off at a fair pace, the sticky ground soon took it's toll. We managed to keep up a reasonable speed, but in places we were running across very soft fields and sinking. This doesn't make life easy, or quick. It does seem to bring out Ant's artistic side though, as today's photos are in black and white. It also helps when trying to take Iphone photos into the sun. This one was taken just after the stupidly soft ploughed field. This is also where my feet and legs were starting to feel heavy and my pace felt like it was dropping off a bit.

Thankfully, there's only two ploughed fields on this run, and the second is near the end and downhill. Prior to that though, there is another tricky hill. This I managed in one hit for the first time, and did so with the dogs whilst Ant stopped to get his camera out.

At this point Ant was telling me how close we were getting to the 50 minute target. Except he'd stopped mentioning the 50 minute part and was just saying target, which made me a little suspicious. I wasn't really sure what I should be suspicious of, but I was sort of hoping he'd decided that 50 minutes was too slow and had chosen a lower target. But as I had no way of knowing, I did my best to just keep plodding on.

Plodding on finally got me back to Ant's, via the horrible steep hill into the village and a little sprint finish to kill me. One big target is to be able to make it all the way up this hill in one go. I know one day I will be able to do it, but for now it is well beyond me!

So 46 minutes 58 seconds after leaving, I finished! So a much shorter time than anything so far. I was chuffed to bits when Ant told me the time as I had feared I had just missed the 50 minute mark. He was trying to push for sub 45 minutes the loon!! This is 7 minutes quicker than the last time I did this route, and my quickest by more than 3 minutes. One other thing to note from this week is that my lungs seem to be doing a much better job of keeping up, but my legs struggled today. I'll be upping my training to include a mid-week run in the near future so hopefully that will even things out a bit between the lungs and the legs.

Otherwise, yay for the time today. It feels like I did really well.

But now my legs hurt.

This will be hard, he said. He wasn't lying.

This week's run was supposed to happen yesterday, Saturday. But I ended up having to work in the morning, and Ant was working all day too. As he wasn't at home on Sunday, I went to where he was for something he helpful described as a bit of a hard run.

The plan for the run was a 5.5 mile mixed run, with a 60/40 split between cross country and road or paved tracks. Ant had said there were a few hills, a quite tough wooded section, with a hill, and then more ploughed fields, some of which were on hills. So all the fun things I like the most about running! But on the plus side, there are some roads and tracks. Oh, and it was raining.

So off we set, Ant's two dogs running alongside but not getting in the way too much. All started well until we had to run across two fields full of cabbage. That in itself isn't a problem, but the water on them was freezing and making my feet cold! Not much to complain about at the start of a run I know, but at the time it was a bit annoying!

The next hurdle was the wooded section that we hit at roughly 2 miles in. Ant had warned me that even he might have to slow in this section as it's tough going. In the dry I imagine it's not too bad, but with the recent weather it was ankle deep in mud for 0.4 of a mile. OK, that's not that far in itself, but having to concentrate on your footing so much whilst dodging brambles is not easy. And then it goes uphill whilst still that deep in mud. That was hard work and I had to walk for a bit up the hill. The mud was just too hard work!

So once we had recovered from the muddy hill, it was a nice relaxing mile and a quarter of road. There's a sentence I never thought I'd type! A mile and a bit of "relaxing" road running. 8 weeks ago that seemed impossible, but I suppose that alone shows how far I have come so far.

Unfortunately, the end of the mile had a long hill which I got cocky about and attacked a bit harder than was wise. I then ran out of puff half way up. Ant was on hand at the top to make me look amazing once again, but at least the scenery is nice.

From here it was 2 miles to the end, with a few more of my favourite ploughed fields. Somehow I was still going, but with the occasional slow to a walk. I haven't got the hang of running on sticky ploughed fields, but I am getting better at it. On most other surfaces I am getting the hang of recovering at a jog, but muddy fields are beyond me for now. Ant insisted I smile for the camera. I am less happy than I appear.

We were now over 4.5 miles in, and I was beginning to tire. The mud was making it slow going and my feet were starting to feel heavy. But the muddy fields were replaced with grassy tracks and I was able to claw a little energy back. Just enough to be able to manage a sprint finish for the last 100 yards or so, but at that point my legs were starting to get a little shakey so it was just as well we were done!

Due to Ant's running app, the below graph shows the elevation changes across the run, with basically the entire thing being up or down hill! Even doing the run, it felt like there were a few flat bits, but it appears not. It also shows how much I was slowing at the end, with the stride rate dropping off. The lowest point on the stride rate shows the top of the wooded hill section.

So1 hour, 11 minutes and 13 seconds after we set off we arrived back at the start, having run 5.59 miles. We were done, and I had completed my toughest, as well as my longest run so far. Once I had recovered, I was starting to feel all right. Maybe even seeing a hint of the post-run glow that I had last week, but a touch stronger. And then Ant suggested we should walk the other two dogs, so having squeezed my feet into a pair of undersized wellies, off we went. Only to get a blister on my heel. I have managed to run without a single injury so far, but I pick one up walking the damn dogs!

What a difference 6 days makes!!

Given last week's ever so slightly late update, I thought it best to do this update the same day as the run. And thankfully, this week is a much happier week!

Last week was a bit of a step backwards, and a little disappointing with the slow time and number of walks I needed. This week though has been quite a different affair and a good result. I was a touch concerned when I got in my car to go to Ant's though, as it looked rather foggy out. Since we live out in the sticks, this wasn't a big problem as far as visibility goes but cold, damp air is one of my big asthma trigger factors. I also decided to take my hi-vis running top with me just in case.

This week I was expecting to do the usual 4 mile cross country run, but Ant suggested we try something a little different. The suggested run was mostly a road route, with a good section of cross country, but also longer at 5-ish miles. I decided to wear the bright top, as the fog was worse out in the countryside than it was in the villages. I almost look the part too. Well, almost!

Ant also decided on a selfie, for some reason. This is my pre-run face, whilst Ant is his usual smiley self before a run, the git.

I was unsure how to feel about both the road running and the extra distance, as I've never run for more than our usual 4 miles, nor have I run on a road for any distance since I was 17. I also only have my trail shoes to run in. I do know however, that road running is easier than the equivalent distance cross country as the surface is clearly better and you can also get into a smoother rhythm, something that is important for running long distances.

So off we set along the road to Sulgrave, home of the lovely Sulgrave Manor. To start with the running was going well. My feet and legs felt OK, and I was doing a good job of keeping my breathing in time for once. I was therefore quite pleased when we rounded the last bend before Sulgrave and I hadn't had to slow to a walk! There were a few places were I slowed to a jog to recover, but that alone is a vast improvement on my last run. I was even more pleased when I saw the run map after and realised that the last turn into Sulgrave is 2.5 miles in! I don't think I've ever run that far in one go!!

I did have to slow to a walk in Sulgrave itself though, as my endurance isn't close to what it needs to be yet. On the way in, we thought it good to take a photo of me running down the lane and the fog in the background. Although the fog was worse than this in patches, this photo mainly shows how fat I am at the moment!!

Once through the village, and across one of the worst junctions in the area, we were back onto fields. The change back to soft ground was welcome indeed. As was the damp grass, given that my feet were getting quite warm by this point as we were at the 3.5 miles mark. The next mile was all cross country and mostly hills at that. This part was tiring, but also a relief after the roads.

We then came back to the roads, and yet another hill. Ant suggested three options as a challenge on the final 0.75 mile leg. Don't stop, don't drop to a walk or a sprint to finish. Being competitive, I opted for not stopping AND a sprint finish. So off we went, up the hill and back into the village before getting to a back road that was to be the sprint finish. At the start of the back road, off we go with Ant taking an obvious lead. I sprint, then run, then wheeze my way to the end of road, feeling all good about getting there when Ant runs past the turn to his house, saying to follow him and he'll tell me why in a minute. At this point, I hate him a little bit but follow anyway.

I'm just about done but I know the route he's thinking of, and it's pretty flat thankfully. This last few minutes had the sole purpose of ensuring our route was over 5 miles. I'm quite sure it was anyway, but Ant wanted to be certain! So huffing, panting and generally looking less than amazing we arrive back at Ant's. He also manages to make me look especially glamorous in photos.

But once I had walked it off and had a pint of squash in me, I got a little glimpse of that post-run glow that I'm told happens. That's not to say I was feeling amazing at this point, but at least pleased with myself I suppose! I was even more pleased when Ant showed me the run map, with a distance of 5.25 miles and a time of 1hr 1 min 13secs. This is both the furthest and the longest I have ever run. So whilst I hated Ant a bit for making me run even further, it's those pushes at the end that allow me to manage the marathon distance. Keeping this pace up for the full 26.2 miles would see me finish in a smidge under 5 hours!

Last weekend's update, albeit a little late.....

Apologies for this being a few days late, but I kind of forgot about updating the blog. Opps, not a great omen for the future!

Not really very much to say about Sunday's run to be honest. I had expected it to be a slow(er) run than last time as I have had two weeks with no running, even though I have been doing other forms of exercise. Ant had spent Saturday at the Rugby, so he wasn't feeling overly chirpy and I had a dicky tummy, so neither of us could really be bothered!

But we did go out and we did do the four mile run, so there is that much to be said for things. The time though wasn't great at a touch over 54 minutes. Which was a bit annoying in a way. As much as I struggled with getting my breath, as well as getting a stitch at one point, the run felt quicker than the time suggests.

Having looked at the split times the running was going well, but I was having to slow to a walk for far longer than I had realised. It was also poor underfoot, with the hills being slippery and me not going fast or hard enough to dig my shoes in and retain a decent grip. But that's something to work on next week.

Ho hum. So not a great result, but not too shabby given the circumstances. I'm hoping this weekend's run will be faster.

It's an anniversary

I've only just realised that Sunday 2nd November was the third anniversary of my initial surgery. It's both good that it was three years ago, and also mad to think it was so long ago that my son, Noah, wasn't even conceived yet!

Not really got much more to say for this week, other than that I was busy at work all Saturday and spent four hours chopping wood and making a bench seat for Noah on an old tree stump. So another week of no running, but I have been busy doing at least some form of exercise. I promise there will be a run this weekend. Probably Sunday as Ant if off to watch the rugby on Saturday.

Actually, make that late Sunday as I doubt Ant will want to be up too early after a long day of tea and cucumber sandwiches.