A semi-succesful run

After a weekend off running, and most other things due to the poor weather, I wanted to get out for a jog. My ankle was feeling better and I was keen to get out, so Felix and I met up after work.

Our plan was to just head out and see how things went. As I was struggling with my ankle hurting last week, I didn't want to over do anything. There's only 11 days to the Wolf Run, and I'll be on call at work for 7 of those, so any chance of turning a minor pain into a major one is to be avoided!

We managed to hit the weather just right, as it has been rather windy of late and was down to a mere blustery when we left. The route was our usual lap of Woodford, with an option to go for a second lap if we fancied it. Once our various gadgets had found a GPS signal, we could start running! Everything was going ok to start with, although I hate running into the wind as it seems to make breathing hard until I really warm up. Thankfully, my ankles seemed to be doing ok, although my right hip was a little sore for the first 1km or so. This often happens, but it soon stops.

After 2km or so, I had to stop and give my ankles a quick stretch. I should really have given them a little more than 5-10 seconds a side though, as it made sod all difference! After a few hundred metres they had calmed down, and this is reflected in the pace graph as it shows a step in speed. Not long after this there is a steeper rise at the 3km mark which felt hard on my feet but we kept the pace up.

This rise is followed by a good long downhill section, which was a relief. It turns out that my ankles weren't quite so keen to go running as I had thought, but I was determined to keep going. The downhill bit finishes at a steep hill, but I only made it 3/4 of the way up before I had to stop. Despite slowing down quite a bit to make sure I made it back in one go, this was quite annoying. This time I did stop and stretch for a proper amount of time to let me carry on and finish the last part of the run. The last section was done at a jog, rather than a run though. Hence the massive spike in the pace chart at the end. I wanted to go faster but my ankles just wouldn't let me. Equally, I did still make it to the end and I didn't feel too bad.

After a bit of stretching, it was time for a sit down and a drink. It was also my turn to take a silly photo of Felix too. This shows part of how the bugger is so good at running, as he's a skinny so and so! He still insists in telling me he weighs a surprising 12st, but I'm not sure I believe him as I'm 15st.

As we were sat cooling down, we were treated to a reminder of how lucky we had been with our timing. We knew a big, black cloud was inbound but we hadn't appreciated quite what that meant until the hail started chucking down 5 mins after we got back. The clouds were part of why we didn't try for a second lap. It may look like rain in the photo, but it's all ice!

So once I had cooled down for a bit, I was starting to feel better. My ankles still ached, but no longer hurt and my hip was feeling good. Overall, I'd class this run as about half way successful. I only wanted a slow paced run to work the kinks out, and that's what I did. On the other hand, I didn't make the run without having to stop. But that also gives me something to work towards for the next run. And after that it'll be nearly time for the Wolf Run!

Cherwell Runners & Joggers

Sorry for the delay in updating this, my head hasn't really been in the game this week. Probably won't be for a few weeks yet to be honest, and it has been noticed that I'm not as motivated as usual.

Having said that, I was dragged over to Banbury on Thursday to join the Cherwell Runners and Joggers for their weekly hill run. This was billed as a 10km road run around the hills of Banbury, and as such I was overjoyed to be going along! But despite my lack of get up and go, I managed to turn up early for once! I was a little nervous though, as I've never run with anything like a group of people who describe themselves as runners. I still don't class myself as a runner, although I guess I'm just about there, so I was a bit worried about being left behind. But they did their best to allay my fears and said that no-one gets left behind as they run as a group and pause at the top of each hill if need be.

So at just after 7pm we set off at a reasonable pace. I had been told that they were a quick bunch and by the end of the first rise we were still near the head of the group and running at 5:30mins/km. Unfortunately, this was also the point I tried to switch the audio cues off in my running app. In a group, they're no use at all and just annoy instead. I only realised at the end of the run that I must have either paused the app or hit something that closed it down as this was the point the GPS data, and therefore the route and timings, stopped. Bah, bloody phone!!

So from that point on, I have no real idea of our pace, other than that it felt at least fairly consistent if not speeding up as we went along. For the first few hills, we were pausing or slowing at the top to close the group back up but as we got further into the run we weren't really slowing at all. Which was proving a bit of a challenge! I had no real idea of the route, so I couldn't figure out how far through we were and how hard to push. Having one guy just about sprint up each hill wasn't helping me figure it out either!!

The hills, whilst mostly short, were also quite steep. In one place we were running down a hill only to get to the bottom and see the lead runner turn round and head back up! As this was in a residential area, the hills were all steep, and often twisty too which makes it even harder work. They certainly look a lot steeper from the bottom looking up. Things were going quite well up to this point if I'm honest, but this was all a bit of a false sense of security. For those that know Banbury, the next hill was the Morrisons hill. This is about the same height as the big hill on the Culworth 4 mile cross country run at 35ish metres, but it is another 250m longer and much later in the run. This might not sound like a huge difference, but I was definitely blowing by the time I got to the top!

From the top of this hill, the run turned back towards the start/finish. Things started to feel better as I knew we were on the last stretch with just one final hill to go. This last hill I took at the same pace until about half way up. Once I'd confirmed it actually was the final hill, I sped up a bit and made the run for the finish line. I was pleased at the speed I managed to maintain and I even caught the front runners too! I did decline to chase the two runners that went off for a sprint finish though.

Once we'd cooled down and had a cuppa in hand, I was feeling a bit smug about the run and how well I felt I managed to keep up. I had expected to feel more tired and achey, but I guess the cross country running and hilly roads that I run on are paying off! The route being 9 rather than 10km may have had something to do with it as well.

Turns out that the feeling smug was also a false sense of security! By Friday morning my left ankle had swollen slightly and I couldn't crouch down without getting cramps. This was not quite what I had expected if I'm honest. It was also still hurting Saturday, so I've not yet been out for another run as I didn't want to do myself any damage, especially not with the Wolf Run in two weeks time. I do have plan to go out tomorrow though  for a gentle run now the evenings are an hour lighter.

A week's worth of effort

Sorry for not updating this sooner in the week, but it's been a difficult few days.

This week has been a fairly active week! I've managed three runs this week, an 7.7km run on Tuesday, a 4.4km run on Thursday and a 4.75km run today.

The first run was with Felix and Hannah, and was longer than I had first expected. It was based on the loop around Woodford that we did before. Only this time we did a second loop around the housing estate. I was expecting just the one loop, but we all felt quite good as we completed the first, so we just kept going. I think the slow start and even speeding up of pace helped to keep things going well, as I haven't cracked my habit of just speeding off down the road yet! But the nice evening weather meant that it was just cool enough to keep going without getting too hot. Felix is also a massive gadget geek, so his running watch was doing a good job of keeping us up to date with our pace. This allowed us to keep a fairly even rate, which is exactly the type of training I need to be doing more of. My own pace is too varied, even if it is a bit quicker. I would be better off slowing down but going further. And that is why I think I felt so good at the end of the run, despite getting into something of a race to the end with Felix! It also turns out that Hannah is easy to upset when it comes to running up hills. I went off a head a little on the last slope, but telling Hannah she's slacking off seems to wind her up!

One thing that does seem to be a bit of a problem is my iPhone. Whilst it only seems to happen in Woodford, it does drop the GPS signal and give weird readings and therefore distances and elevations. Before I altered the route details, I had run 8.5km and managed an almost 500m descent and climb within 4 mins!!

The second run in the week, I have no data for at all! I was out with Felix on Thursday evening, but despite my phone starting the run when I finished it said I had been 4 mins 7 secs and run no distance. The run itself was a fairly quick one as I just wasn't in the mood for running and feeling a bit down. As such, Felix did a slightly longer route, but I turned for home sooner. I had expected to be a bit blown when I got to the top of the hill, but I wasn't at all much to my surprise. So I ended up extending my run to go and meet Felix, after I got bored of jogging up and down the road outside his house! This time we really did have a race to the end, with him beating me as I just can't keep my full sprint up for very long! Looks like I'm still built for comfort rather than speed.

So whilst I have checked how far I ran, and it was 4.4km, I have no idea how long it took for sure. We were doing something around 6mins/km, but I'm only guessing. As such, I'm only half way counting this run.

My last run of the week was today, and on my own. Hannah was Park Running yesterday, and Felix was working. As the weather was so nice, it seemed almost a shame not to go out in the sunshine for a while! I was going out for my usual 4.75km run out of the village and back again. Hannah had informed me of her Park Run time of 25:44 for 5km, so I had a bit of a target to aim for as well. As the weather was so nice, I decided to see about dressing a little differently too. Over the winter I had worn my trousers over shorts as they kept my cramps at bay and my legs warm. Today was quite sunny and warm, so I decided to see if I could manage without them. As such, I was feeling brave enough to go running in just my lycra shorts and my long sleeved top for the first time! I did have a brief look at myself in a mirror before going out, and everything looked just about decent enough! I also thought that I'd see next to no-one whilst I was out as it was so quiet, which was reassuring.

Almost as soon as I set out, there seemed to be people everywhere! There seemed to be women walking dogs and groups of blokes out riding bikes at every turn. But as I was pushing a target time, I wasn't paying enough attention for it to bother me much. I had the audible pace settings on my phone turned on, so for the first time I had something to tell me how even I was running. This was really helpful, and showed me when to speed up and when to slow down a bit to keep things even. Mainly, it was when to speed up a bit, as I was wanting to push for 5mins/km. Despite the good conditions, I still end up with running hair! I also think I need a different running top, as that green colour is not doing my pasty complexion any favours.

As the charts show, I managed a much better job of keeping things smooth than usual. Whilst the pace graph looks spikey, the scale of those spikes is much less than usual. And the push for home wasn't quite as severe as the pace increase shows, although I did try to get my time under 25 mins! As my phone was set to inform me every 5 mins of my progress, I knew how long I had left and how much to push. As I got back home, I was really quite pleased to hear my phone call out 25 mins! This is the quickest I have run by a fair margin, although the conditions where ideal for a good time. Looks like I might stand half a chance of keeping up with Hannah next time out!!

I think the long run broke me a little bit

As Thursday has come round again, as it is want to do, it was time to go for a run. This week though I was solo, as Felix has been burning the candle at both ends a bit and Hannah has angry blisters on her toes from her half marathon at the weekend. Equally, as I'm on a training course all week and driving there and back each day, I wasn't really in the mood either!

With such a promising start, everything was bound to go to plan! And as I set off, it did seem to be going ok. But quite soon, my legs started to feel heavy and my breathing wasn't staying even. The heavy legs bit went away and I think was caused by me pausing to adjust one shoe that I'd done up a bit tight. But as I was heading out of the village, I had expected my breathing to get back in line. As I start a bit too quickly, I expect my lungs to have a quick strop and then behave. But that just wasn't happening today. I don't know why, as I've not had a strenuous week, but I just could not keep my rhythm going. Or at least that's how it felt. I'm not too confident in today's pace chart, as there's no way I was done at 4:30kms at the point I decided to turn for home! The rest of the chart feels about right, as I was trying to push my pace today, and I did my best to finish quickly.

Despite the promising time, today was also the first time in weeks that I have come back from a run and felt the need to use my inhaler. Even now, nearly four hours after I finished, my lungs don't feel back to normal and I'm still a bit wheezy. Which is a bit annoying, as whilst I'm pleased with the pace I managed I think Sunday's big run has had a bit more of an impact than I first thought!

Wolf Run training

With the Wolf Run approaching, I could do with extending the cross country run Ant and I do. Whilst we do normally do 6.5km, the Wolf Run is 10km, with obstacles. So a longer distance would come in handy. During the week Ant had suggested a longer version of the route we normally do that should be about the same 10km as the Wolf Run.

Today came around, and Alex was also around for a run out so the three of us went out together. As the two masochists were together, they found a route that was even longer! Oh yay, just what I was looking to do!! But being a mug, I agreed to it and off we went. I wasn't really looking forward to this, as I've only ever gone so far on the roads and that is hard enough work! This is the relevant section of Ant's map that I am now considering burning.

The run started on our usual route, and included the first of the big hills. I must be getting better at this, as I got to the top without having to put in as much effort as I usually need to. But my ankle was getting a little grumpy as the ground was quite hard, and muddy tracks aren't renowned for being flat. We carried on following the same tracks until we got to the field before the ploughed one. So that was something to be thankful for at least. But we were now into horse fields, which tend to be heavily rutted. This section was tough on my ankle, as there's just about no flat ground to run on. Eventually, we came across a flattened track left by a tractor and I've never been so glad to see one! At the end of this large field, we joined the local section of the MacMillan Way, a rather apt bit of track.

As today was fairly mild, I was only wearing a base layer and my hi-vis top. Alex only had a short sleeved running shirt on,and I was starting to get too hot. It's been a while since I've been hot enough to run in a single layer, and certainly never in just my compression top! As such, Ant decided to take a photo. For once, I don't object to this photo, as black really is slimming!

From here, it's a long, hard slog uphill to Eydon. The first half of this bit just keeps on getting steeper, and is all mud. This was the hardest running I have done so far I think. So hard in fact that I was on the very edge of hyperventilating at one point! I've not had that happen to me for years, so I must have been pushing myself today. The main worry at this point was that Ant was carrying my inhaler, and had buggered off up the hill ahead of me. I knew he wouldn't be coming back any time soon, and as my lungs had given up, I couldn't even shout for him either!! After a short battle of wills with my breathing, I got things back under control enough to get back on my way up the hill. This might sound stupid, but if I had let my breathing completely return to normal I would have struggled to get going again on the steep hill.

Finally, thankfully, I reached the flat of the top of the hill. Only to find Ant with his phone propped on the gate taking photos of me. This was the first point that my shoes started to give me hotspots and the beginnings of blisters. Whilst there is no good point for this to happen, we were now as far from home as we were going to be so there was nothing to be done except carry on.

We were now in Eydon, albeit briefly, and then soon running round the grounds of Eydon Hall. This meant a bit of an easing off of effort as there is a long section of gradual downhill. Not that my feet noticed, as the hotspots weren't getting any better as the tracks were still quite hard. I half way wish I'd put my road shoes on! The trail runs fairly flat from here to near the edge of Culworth, with a few little rises and one larger one into the village proper. This is the point I had expected to turn right and head back for home as I was near the end of my endurance now, with my feet hurting and heavy legs. I was just glad that the tracks were in arable fields, as it meant they were nice and flat.

But no, when we hit the road, Ant and Alex went left and away from the finish line. Ok I thought, we're going up to the church to make a complete mile up or something and I can live with that. Right up to the point where they carried on away from the village and down another track, which I happen to know does not loop back into the village any time soon. Right about now, if they'd been within reach, a slap may well have been administered!!

I was now struggling to keep going if I'm honest. The blisters on my feet had kind of become my point of focus, and I was having trouble thinking past them. The sloping field we were in wasn't helping, as my feet were pushing even more against the sides of my shoes. I was also slowing to a walk/slow jog at regular intervals too, as I was knackered. The last hill into the village had taken more out of me than I realised. But once across this field, it was flat and level from here to home, even if it was on the road which would make my feet hurt. I was also getting quite annoyed at Ant for telling me to dig deep and give one last push!

So when the two bastards didn't take the road home, I very nearly did anyway. Ant knows me well, and knows that my competitive side will just about always surface so I had to follow them. After a short road section, there were a few fields I guessed we'd be running over so I knew my feet wouldn't fall off just yet. I was quite pleased to see Alex go past the turn we needed so I got a brief moment of joy when I called him a slacker for falling behind as we took the right path! Childish? Absolutely, but it helped!

As we crossed the last field, I had hoped that we'd be going back down the main road but I know Ant well too. And I knew full well that we'd be going the long way home. I was sorely tempted to cut things short and head back down the path by the pub, but Ant kept telling me that there was one last bloody push to go and we'd be done. I do believe I even threatened to hit him if I ever hear him say that phrase again! So there was a last loop down the track we set out on and back through the village football field to finally meet the main road and the short run back to Ants.

Overall, I am mainly tired after today! I am also really happy with managing to finish, as I doubted that I would manage the massive increase in distance over our usual run. But we ran further than I had expected at the start by some good distance and for a lot longer than I have ever been out for too. Using the running mapper I do gives an equivalent flat distance in the same time of of 15.4km, so 1km more. But that assumes a hilly road, and doesn't take into account the effort needed for the cross country side of things. I ache less than I had thought I would, but I'm willing to bet that will alter in the morning! It's also no surprise to discover that the elevation changes look so steep on the chart, mainly because they are! If I can keep up this level of training over the next few weeks without breaking myself, I am a lot more hopeful of how I will manage the Wolf Run.

Felix is starting to seem keen.....

Now that Felix has his shiny shoes, he seems keen to get a few miles under his belt. This would normally be a bit brave to start wanting to do so much so soon, but we'll be doing the Wolf Run in a few weeks. The Wolf Run is basically a 10km cross country assault course. Technically it's a run, but there's so many things to climb over, under, through and swim across that it may as well be described as an assault course! The 10km bit isn't so much a worry, as that can be walked if it really comes to it, but having the strength to keep going over the obstacles is. As such, I want to focus on the cross country running and make a serious effort to do some sit ups, press ups and so on in the run up to the run.

However, when it's dark all that goes out the window a little and we're left with road running round Woodford instead. Whilst any training is good training, and there's not really anything else we can do in the dark, I would rather be doing a country run! Be that as it may, I need to help get Felix up to a point where the Wolf Run won't kill him. As he'd like to do some basic runs to get him going, we set off for a little 4km run.

We set off well, as it's downhill, but Felix soon found the pace I was pushing him at a bit much. As we were only doing 4km, I wanted to get him sweating and putting some real effort in. But sub 5mins/km was maybe a bit much in the cold! As such, we slowed down to a little over 6mins/km which is a decent enough pace for what is only Felix's second run out. This was the pace we kept up until the bottom of the hill back up to the old village. This is where I told Felix to just keep up a steady pace and not stop, as he's not a fan of hills. Not that anyone is really, but you get the point.

Being a sneaky bugger, I speed up at this point. Felix managed to keep up, and the pace gradually dropped over the last km from 6:30/km. He was a little surprised when I didn't take the road to his house, but kept on going up the hill instead. If I'd told him in advance we were doing this, I'm not sure he would've followed me! But the pace kept dropping as we went and into a sprint finish. Well, I managed a sprint finish. Felix is still unsure of the idea and prefers to jog in with his phone in hand. However, it was good to see him sweating about as much as I was, so he had put in some proper effort this time and made it round without stopping. I've just got to get him out across the fields now and going for more than 4km!!