Must Get Out More

Dry enough to mow lawn today. Need to get out more. And get fit again.

Could Do Better
Meanwhile, every day in every way retirement is getting more like working:-

• Too much to do
• Choc-a-bloc email inbox
• Computer getting slower and more unreliable
• Ms® software a pain in the butt
• Printer failure.

But I don’t get paid for it.

Plus a loo-flush failure that requires a part that cannot be obtained for a week.

What Went Well
This week:-

• Bus diverted for road works – and stopped nearer to centre of town
• Optician did me a deal on glasses – having said they could not do so
• Blossom and leaves busting out all over
• Birds nesting
• First Run for 2 weeks.

Run Log
211th Run. Starter run after 2 weeks sick. Only four and a half miles.
About as far as my legs and lungs wanted to go.

But enough to shake out the cobwebs with a gentle trot round a few bends.
New shoes feeling good.

Just round the corner....... 

  

“A driver must be physically fit and able to resist fatigue.
If unfit, he is a source of danger, not only to himself, to his vehicle, and to any passengers who may travel with him, but also to other road users.”
Manual of Driving and Maintenance for Mechanical Vehicles (Wheeled) 1937

Every Day Would Be

The First Day of Spring
Today the sunshine and warm temperature - more than 11deg C - brought out the topless cars and ice cream vans for the first time this year. Crocuses in bloom. Must be Spring.

Also got me out for my first run for 10 days.

Recovery Run
Deliberately slow and evenly paced. Technically not a Recovery Run - but for me a recovery from being unwell run.

Did not work out quite as planned tho’ My log says:-

206th Run. Recovery From Flu Run! 6.5 miles in over an hour. Garmin only recorded outward journey - must have pushed wrong button.
Bridge 2 far - usual route and distance hence know it was 6.5 miles.
Standing HR started relatively high - 72 and HR on run also fairly high for amount of effort put in - Ave 159 and max 176. Which suggests not fully well yet. Or maybe loss of fitness whilst off.
As a "marker" also included time for measured mile - did not push it so came out as 8min 50sec as against best of 7min 22sec.
Pleased with result. Felt OK.

Bath Half
Worried - I am not listed on the website - but got the chip and No.

Waiting to hear what the explanation is. I mean I sent them my last year's time and everything so they know who I am.

Don’t think they allow anyone to run under another name.

Sponsorship
Have sent off for a fund-raising pack. Planning on going local this year.

Rise of Paganism in Bath
On the way to my running routes. More tea vicar?

Decorated Apple Trees

Cling, swing,
Spring, sing,
Swing up into the apple tree.
Landscapes - New Hampshire - T S Eliot

Winter Running

How do runners who work manage to fit in their training?
At this time of year - mostly by running in the dark it would seem.

Pensioner Syndrome
Too much to do - so little time.
Lots of things to be fitted in during the past 2 weeks - and more to come.

It has been hard work keeping up the running schedule for the 1000 miles in 2012 challenge.
More than 20 miles last week and 22 this - so just about on the graph.

Rained & Snowed On
A change to more seasonable weather - colder. Still getting out to do the runs between snowfall and rain - avoiding slush and ice.
Hat and woolly gloves a comfort.

Srewfix
Who cares if I look a twit? The hat advertises Toge TSM. Best Screw In Town.
An ad campaign lost in translation.
Its my gardening hat.

Hours per Mile
My recent runs have been:-

• 4 at 7 miles within 70 minutes
• 1 at 6.5 miles within the hour
• 1 at 10 miles within 103 minutes
• 1 hill run of 6.5 within an hour.

Bristol City

The longer runs pacing at 10 minute miles are not really fast enough if I am to improve on last year’s Bath time. Really I need to go at 9.5 minute miles over the longer distances.

Today I was overtaken by another runner and for awhile I kept within near sight of him.
He slowed a little and I speeded up a bit.

Moving the Margins
I need to do more short fast runs to build pace. Even a small margin would help psychologically.
But I need a 5% increase in pace. Not small.


An Economist said:-

“The modest increase in private car sales in January lifts hopes that consumer spending may hold up better than feared … and help the economy return to modest growth” Howard Archer of OHS Global Insight.

Car sales in the UK increased by 0.03% - including business as well as private sales.
Business Telegraph 7Feb.

What does this percentage represent in numbers?

Forty Two.

Inevitable I suppose.

The Last Laugh Saloon

 

Days of Woden

Weather - or Not
Luck rather than good planning has provided me with sunny days on which to run and cloudy wet days on which to rest. The classic pattern of our classic English weather - changing from day to day - has coincided with my alternate run / rest training schedule.

Run - or Jog
But I don’t really have a plan - just a habit. And it seems from my Garmin readouts that I do not run but just get up to a “fast jog”.

Am I bothered?

Weirdo - or Clot
One day I thought I had got a stalker. I was accosted by a female on a bike who said I had “growled” at her.

Unlikely - the last time I growled at a girl was in 1971.

Then she claimed I had stared at her. Hadn’t the faintest idea what she was on about. Kept running and tried to ignore her.

Then it clicked - a week earlier she had tried to mow me down. Rode head-on straight at me.
My “growl” was a yell (audible warning of approach). My “staring” was because of rabbit-caught-in-headlights syndrome - I could not believe she could look straight at me and still steer head-on.

When I told her this she said I was “weird”.

Seems to me that woman out on a bike harassing jogging pensioners is the weird one.

Wandering Only - Cloud Thinking
My weekly mileage has got up to more than 20 as I have done several 7 miles within 70 minutes runs - stretching my usual 6.5 mile out-and-back by a short distance. Practising for the 1000 miles in 2012 challenge on Runners Forum.

But - concentration and pace has dropped. One day I got into a “set” - just followed my usual run and then after awhile wondered where exactly I was and how far.

Another day I pressed the wrong button on the Garmin and lost the record of half the run. This does not do any good for improving my times - although it does help my thinking time. Lots of ideas come whilst out running (or jogging - whatever).

A4 No 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley

Steaming Along
Got whistled at by a steam train. Not directly - it was the other side of the valley. Blue A4 Pacific pulling chocolate-and-cream Mk1 carriages. Bit like locomotive exchange trials in late 1940s - only not quite.

It was the Wednesday steam special.

Heard the whistle again this week but it was behind a hill so don’t know if it was the same loco.

Global Warming
Blackberries in the hedge. In December!

December blackberries for the blackbirds

When two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather - Samuel Johnson

Progress

My running started on a whim and continued on the predication of improvement.

Has this happened? Time to check progress.

Metric
Comparisons can only be made on a like-for-like basis. It was just under 12 months ago that I got my Garmin and this make it possible to compare times, distances and other data.

Except the updated software has erased my notes! Lucky I kept a log on Runners Forum.

Improvement
Taking averages of runs over similar distances I have improved over the past year by:-

1. Average Speed - up nearly 5%
2. Max Speed - up 13%
3. Distances covered - up 25%
4. Heart Rate - average and max - down by 7%
5. Half marathon PB - reduced by 5%

I have also lost 11lbs in weight over the year.

Law of Diminishing Returns
Inevitably it will become progressively harder to add to these improvements. There is also the risk that age and injury may knock back progress.

But that is tomorrow’s issue - onwards and upwards today.

As long as it remains legal.

Pic of Willls ciggies old enamel ad

"As we jog on, either laugh with me, or at me, or in short do anything - only keep your temper."
Tristram Shandy - Laurence Sterne

Koble on Stew

Training
Without a race in prospect my training appears to be going sdrawkcab - backwards.

Before the Bristol Half Marathon my regular 6.5 mile runs were all under 1 hour.
Fastest was 57min 26secs.

The 10.4 mile long runs were 1 hour 42min.

The race produced a Personal Best time.

Or Straining?
Since then: rest, holidays, eating and drinking, have taken priority over running.

My 6.5 mile runs have all taken more than 1 hour,
and my 10 mile run was 10 minutes longer than before. But that was on a very hot October day when I should probably have been resting in the shade.

In order to improve a stronger Will is needed.

But preferably not a Wills Whiff

Mile Eater Meter
Today I did my monthly 1-mile time-trial for October.

Time of 7min 24 secs was only 1 sec slower than in early September - and against a stiff headwind.

Puffed a bit.

Statistics
For those who love numbers - here are my September and October runs.

Run   Miles  Elapsed Time  Comment
140   10.04  1:43:21
141   6.51  0:59:19
142   6.53  0:59:46
143   6.48   0:57:26
144   0.75   0:06:00   Commemorative Run (Previous year - 8min 9sec)
145  10.23   1:42:09
146   7.32   1:08:87
147   6.52   1:00:31
148   13.28   2:06:14   Race
149   6.50   1:05:14   Planned Slow Run
150   6.51   1:00:10
151   7.90   1:19:21
152   10.02   1:51:37   Hot weather
153   3.17   0:36:20   Hill Run
154   6.50   1:01:41
155   6.48   1:05:25
156   7.27   1:10:54
157   6.88   1:05:25

Ciggie Ads protected by Planning Law

"What I will not, that I cannot do." Measure for Measure



Gates Analysis

I have just been Microsoft - again.
Hours of work down the pan thanks to Works Not Working.


Meanwhile, back at the blog. It is a year since I began running on 19th August 2010.

Thought I ought to commemorate it in some way. Discovered on Runners Forum a new initiative . A monthly 1 mile time trial.

Appropriate n’est pas?

Using my traditional ruler-on-the-map method I found an exact mile between the outer ends of two bridges on my “Bridge2far” route. Benefits of this are:-

• Easy to identify marker points
• Can be used in either direction
• Familiar territory
• More or less level - no visible gradient
• Proper warm-up of about 2 miles beforehand.

My time - 7min 26.82sec. Or 0:07:27. Not in Seb Coe territory but OK by me. A mile is a long way when you are steaming along flat out.

Now I have to improve on it next month!

The object of this time-trial is to compete with oneself - not with others. Inevitably one makes comparisons.

An arithmetic average of all the times announced is 7min 12sec. There are 13 faster than me and 10 slower. There is a difference of 4 min 39sec between fastest and slowest times. None of the times are faster than 5min or slower than 10. So on a track over 2 miles the fastest would not be able to lap the slowest.

This puts me into the upper part of the third quartile. Happy with that.

I know my place.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. St Matthew Ch 5 v 41

Steaming Along

Thou shalt have one God only; who
Would be at the expense of two?

Thou shalt not kill; but need’s not strive
Officiously to keep alive

Do not adultery commit;
Advantage rarely comes of it

Thou shalt not steal; an empty feat,
When it’s so lucrative to cheat

Thou shalt not covet, but tradition
Approves all forms of competition.

Arthur Hugh Clough

Earth Tides

In recent weeks my running has had a scientific bent in the spirit of enquiry.

I have got into the habit of running the same route regularly to see how the weather and my state of mind affect my running speed for the same distance.

Only - it is not the same distance.

At first I thought I must be cutting corners - so I carefully stuck to exactly the same route each time I ran. But the distance still varied.

On particularly hot and humid days I have been varying the time of day when I run - sometimes early morning and sometimes evening.

Then I found that the distance varied according to the time of day. Thus:-.

Serial Time of Day Distance Run Time

1. 06-57     10.43 Km     1:01:18
2. 08-12     10.44 Km     1:05:15
3. 12-29     10.46 Km     1:00:42
4. 12-30     10.47 Km     1:03:36
5. 15-44     10.54 Km     0:58:41
6. 16-25     10.46 Km     1:01:11
7. 18-43     10.49 Km     1:03:36

Now my Garmin is pretty accurate on distances. It did match the surveyed distance of the Bath Half Marathon and the 10km distance of the Swindon race.

My conclusion is that I have been measuring the phenomenon known as Earth Tides.

The moon causes tides in the oceans. But the gravitational pull of celestial objects is not just confined to very fluid elements like water but also affects the earth. The largest gravitational pull is from the sun and so this will have the largest effect - much more than other planets or the moon.

So as the sun rises and passes our hemisphere its gravitational pull causes the upper crust of the earth to heave up towards it, slumping down as the sun sets. As with the sea tides and the moon there will be a slight lag - with the highest “tide” occurring after midday. My runs at different times of day record the resulting larger radius curve as a longer distance and the figures reflect this “lag“ with the longest distances - and hence the highest “tides“ after midday.

Except for the run in the evening which shows a bigger figure than the late afternoon run. But this variation could be caused by the gravitational influence of heavenly bodies other than the sun - the figures are not necessarily the same on every day.

For a more scientific explanation, and some mathematics, see CalTech

Or for the rest of us try youtube

There are more things in heaven and earth,Horatio,than are dreamt of in your philosophy - Hamlet.

  

Or - it may just be down to satnav imperfections.

Run Time or Distance?

New Race Entry
Getting a bit slack on the running & decided some incentive was required.
So have entered the Bristol Half Marathon on 11 September.

Same day as Italian GP.
Will have to watch out for poisoned umbrellas on that day - Georgi Markov.

New Discipline
Decided that should regularly run 60/6 - that is about 6 miles within 60 minutes.
Not done every day - or even every other day - but have managed 6 runs of more than this time or distance over the past 20 days. Excuse - heat and humidity.

Quarter Marathons
Distances have been mostly 6.50 miles with one of 6.52 and another 7.24. Variations include an extra loop. Each run involves setting out to a particular marker post at which I turn round - usually after about 28 minutes - reversing the route to the start. Whole thing out and back is 6.5 miles by shortest route.

Time taken has varied from fastest 1hr 0min 49 sec to slowest 1hr 4 min 14 sec for the 6.5 miles.

Injury Avoidance
Not running every day - or even every other day - has meant that aches, pains and twinges are less of a problem. Knee aches less after an hours run than it does over a 2 hour drive.

My theory is that driving at most economical cruising speed is the culprit. My knee aches from the strain of holding off and NOT putting the pedal to the metal. But if it makes a tank of fuel last 400 miles instead of 300 the saving in cost will pay for nearly unlimited quantities of Deep Heat.

Road Works
Lots of these both in the Motorway and on my running route - new gas pipes.
Infrastructure and Jobs.

The Professionals

And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, “Make this fellow return” - I Samuel 29 v4.

You ain't going to believe it but I found the above quote just by opening the book randomly and reading what was on the page. It seemed appropriate. Mostly.

Then I edited it.

Still Here

Fund Raising
Progress so far - more than £27 per mile.

Thanks to all of you who have donated to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

And to those who have not yet - there is still time - hint-hint.


Still Running
After the race my running training has continued - but with no clear focus it is at risk of being desultory. And other activities have had the priority on time.

But even so - more than 125 training miles covered since 6th March. A mix of long slow runs - up to 10 miles - and shorter faster ones - around 4 to 6 - and something new.

Hill Climbs
In the dry weather - so the paths are not muddy - and with limited time available, I have been trying cross-country hill runs. The ground is softer which is good for the knees and the hills are steeper which is good for the lungs and heart.

The steepest parts have to be walked - not just up but down. Like driving in mountains in an old car - the Swiss recommendation of going downhill in the same gear as going up.

Or else brake fade in the legs!  Wheeeee!

The reward at the top is an extensive flat grassland on which to run and the singing of the skylarks.

So - about time for a review and another plan. And admire the Spring flowers.

English Bluebells

"The great thing about not planning is that failure comes as a compete surprise” - attributed to Sir Digby Jones (now Lord Jones of Birmingham)

No Pain - Time to Regain

After injuring my calf I rested up for a few days - with a bit of gentle walking.
Tried running again too soon - short gentle run around the block repeating my first run - left me in pain again.

Ten days lost due to injury - less than 6 weeks to go. Bit like riding after falling off - get back on.

Romeo - “Courage, man! the hurt cannot be much.”
Mercutio - “No, ‘t is not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door; but ‘t is enough,‘t will serve.”

Recent Run Reports
Ten days on - restarted gentle running. Progress in past week:-

• 68th Run - First run for nearly a week. Short Slow Run to test out LH calf. No pain on this run. Sunny but cold day - wore top, over-trousers and gloves. Did not get too hot!  After midday but still some ice about. Steady gentle pace with no speeding.
• 69th run. Cool and damp - full warm gear on including gloves. 4.37 miles in just over 40 min.Followed route taken on day when injured. Legs felt OK - no aches or pains.Did not push the pace - just kept going steady. 
• 70th run. 6.28 miles in 1 hour and 1 minute.  Afternoon run rather than morning one. Dull overcast and a bit cool - westerly wind. Wore full warm gear including gloves and cycling bottoms over shorts to keep hands and legs warm.  Ran as far as 2nd river crossing - aiming at an hours run. Comfortable run - felt good - though not as good as previous longish runs before hurt leg. No aches and pains in calves - so reassured.
• 71st run. 4.49 miles in 42min 42sec. The Answer to Life The Universe And Everything?

Rest days between. Calf feels a bit tight after run today but not painful.

Lessons Learnt
These are five things that I should avoid:-

1. Extending distance by a too great an amount in one go
2. Not resting sufficiently between long runs
3. Inadequate fluid and mineral intake for exercise regime
4. Running hard on too-cold muscles on a cold day
5. Ignoring pain and carrying on.

And when running on a recycling day - watch out for trip hazards - bin tops left off and lying on the path.

Hungry Horse in 4 letters - MTGG

“I would not have the horse I drive
So fast that folks must stop and stare
An easy gait - two, forty five - suits me; I do not care;
Perhaps, for just a single spurt,
Some seconds less would do no hurt.” - Holmes, Contentment.

“Give me another horse!  Bind up my wounds!” - Richard III

“A horse!  a horse!  my kingdom for a horse!” - Ibid

“He doth nothing but talk of his horse.” - Merchant of Venice.

More is Less

Another threshold crossed - a new distance achieved - more than ten miles.
To be precise 10.6 miles in 106 minutes. At my usual pedestrian pace of 10 minute miles.

Red Berries - White Snow

After an enforced layoff of nearly 2 weeks due to snow and icy conditions my fitness levels do not appear to have dropped as much as I feared. Yes, it has been difficult to get back into the swing of things and it has felt hard work at times. Restarted with a couple of short loops of 3+ miles, extended this to over 5 and then decided to double it.

Now that I have done 80% of the distance I am confident I can complete the Half Marathon in March.

Inevitably the shorter runs are faster on average - there is a distinct drop-off in my pace in the last part of a run - more markedly in the longer runs. Ideally I would like to increase my average on the longer runs to be closer to that on the shorter ones.

To do this I need to concentrate on the efficiency of my running. A more “falling forward” stance, better control over arms and legs, and controlled deep breathing rather than gasping, will all create more speed for less effort. I need to recreate the discipline I held to during my 10Km race - when my average speed was above my usual but my max speed was less than usual.

I ache therefore I am.

Rest day today.

In running, every pace
Is but between two legs a race,
In which both do their uttermost
To get before, and win the post;

Yet when they’re at their races' ends,
They’re still as kind and constant friends,
And, to relieve their weariness,
By turns give one another ease.

Butler.

Kind and constant friends - Saxons at Dyrham Park NT

New Benchmark

Global Warnings Advorkaat
Recently we have been having snow and freezing temperatures over a larger area and earlier in the year than in living memory.

Well in my lifetime anyway.

We have not got Frost Fairs on the Thames - yet.

Apparently this is caused by worldwide Warner Bros or some-such human activity. All that hot air arising over Cancun causes a reverse of the usual weather patterns - if I have understood it correctly.

“His reasoning was specious and so he convinced me”. - Bertie Wooster.

Jack Frost

Snow Running
The impact on runners has been two-fold. Some have not gone out because of the danger of falling over on the snow and ice. Others have put on shoes with studs or clipped on gripper devices - wrapping up in extra layers - to get out for some runs despite.

As something of a Shamateur, mindful of injury, and lacking the technical kit, I have been in the former group and stayed warm indoors - decorating.

Snow Stream

Pushing The Envelope
In the mild gap between ice ages I have managed a few runs. More than just keeping the training ticking over. I have tried to stretch my stamina in several ways:-

• Shorter faster
• Hill climbing
• Longer slower
• Rest days

My short loop of just under 4 miles I have been going round in about 33 minutes. This is not quite the speed I managed in the Swindon 10k race - illustrating the booster effect that running with others can generate. Though my route is more constricted, is hillier and has roads to be crossed. And kids with whirling scarves to be dodged.

One day when I had severely limited time I tried what I called “Hill Starts”. This involved repeatedly running up a steep hill with a rising gradient to see how far I could get. Walking back down to the starting point for the next attempt. I managed to increase the distance up the hill on all but the last run. Running uphill improves my running technique - like most beginners I am a heel jogger and rarely get onto my toes - as well as stamina.

Since Swindon I have managed three runs of more than 7 miles - the two most recent longer than 8. The idea is to stretch my distance gradually so that before I have to run the Half Marathon for real I have actually covered the distance in a single run in training. So far I am about 60% there with a couple of (winter) months to go.

Tendency to ache for a day and night after one of these longer runs - so planning in more rest days for recovery is important.

Benches placed beside the path provide a convenient half-way marker point at which to turn for home. Today I achieved a new benchmark. 8.38 miles in 1h 24m 02s. Not very fast - but even so it suggests my target of under 3 hours for the Half Marathon is not ambitious enough.

Should I be aiming for 2 and a half hours or even 2hrs 20min?

Food and Drink
It is noticeable that the last third of my runs are much harder work than the first two-thirds. Always glad to get home to that shower bath.

With these longer distances it is likely that I am depleting my energy reserves and that is why the last bit is so tiring. As a cyclist I used to experience this - but the bike carries the weight of the water and food.

Looks like time for a Nutrition Plan for my training runs. Banana in back pocket?

Shower Bath - Castle Drogo NT

New Training

"A formation of high flying geese
Lit up by the morning's low sun.
To see lovely sights such as these
Is truly reward for my run."

Apparently I train like a typical beginner - extending my distance but not my speed. Need new directions.

New Directions - Choose!

 
New Route
To extend my time and distance without doing repetitive laps of the same circuit I have tried a new route which goes down towards the River Avon and back uphill home.
 
It starts and finishes as my usual circuit - to retain the familiar Karma - but extends out and back to a loop at the other end. It has the potential to be lengthened.
 
Distance >6Km. About 4miles. But I am having difficulty measuring the distance accurately.
 
Four runs at over 40 minutes, one shorter run for 35. The 10+ minute mile average is a pedestrian speed. Whereas “slow“ for a long distance runner is an 8min. mile.
 
Does this matter since my aim is to finish?
 
New Routine
Reading a book from the library - “Everyone’s Guide to Distance Running" by Norrie Williamson - it appears my routine is not good. Apparently one should vary the pace and distance on different training runs.
 
So I have tried doing some bits faster than others. Floating down hill - pushing up. With slower recovery periods jogging along between them. Supposed to add strength and pace to endurance.
 
Mind you Norrie regards distance running as 50Km upwards. E=mc2.
 
This has made the runs more interesting and more difficult - which is probably a good thing. Did find myself with tired legs and lungs at maximum distance from home. Motivator!

New Risks 
MOH suggested I take my phone with me and call home for a lift if exhausted or have an accident. This is a bit like a WWI aviator with a parachute - added weight and a supposed disincentive to fight on. Good advice though - and will be followed.
 
Yesterday morning running style was all over the place - awkward almost stumbling or tripping once or twice. Tired? Over training? Something to watch out for in the event itself. It would be a bad trip to fall in a crowd and take others down too.
 
New Target
My entry has been accepted for the Swindon 10Km. Three weeks to prepare.
Sub 70 min?
 
New Time
Back to GMT. But local time - as on the new sundial at Widcombe - is plus a few minutes.

"I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree." - Kilmer

"Timber" - The Muppet Show 

Westonbirt Arboretum

Time To Rise

A birdie with a yellow bill
Hopped upon the window sill
Cocked his shining head and said
“Ain’t you shamed you sleepy head?”
Robert Louis Stevenson

One morning last week I lay in bed watching a blackbird eat blackberries. He hopped about a bit on the ground and then flew up to the top of the hedge grabbed a blackberry in his yellow bill and flew down to the ground again. He did this repeatedly until he had enough. I marvelled at his skill, energy, and persistence.

Routine
What was difficult has become routine:-

• Up before Dawn (roseate fingers etc - thanks for the reminder Homer)
• Run (well jog really) for 34-35 minutes / 4.8Km
• Shower
• Prepare breakfast

And all before my usual getting-up time.

This has been my routine - with interspersed rest days - for the past week. To many of you it may not seem to be a long running time or distance - but only a fortnight ago I was having difficulty at the end of 20mins / 2.4Km.

Next target - 40+ minutes or 5.5Km.

Upping The Anti
Yesterday I posted an entry for the Swindon 10Km race on 21st November.

Today I jogged for 5 laps - approx 6Kms - 44.4 minutes.

“A week is a long time in politics.” - Harold Wilson

A Footbridge

 

That Was The Week That Was

Today I completed my first training run of more than 30 minutes.

Monday evening, after an exhausting rest day and a sleepless night, I had to backtrack and do only 2 laps. My first evening run. More people about than in the morning - plus a lost duck looking for her pond or a river.

To make up for the missed distance I decided to do 4 laps this morning. At the end of three I was beginning to think of excuses to stop. Knee ache? But went round again and clocked up just over 30 minutes.

Ruler on map suggests almost 5Km - less than a quarter of the Bath Half Marathon distance. Not bad progress for 8 weeks. Lost 8lbs in weight also. Now I need to repeat that for the remainder of the week.

My feeling is that I am on course. But I know it is going to get harder as the days get shorter and colder and my training runs get longer. My local routes are beginning to be a limitation and I need to get to places where I can run longer distances uninterrupted by features.

Am considering changing my routine to a mid-day run - avoiding running in the dark alongside rush-hour traffic. A pre-lunch run is popular with office workers. By doing this I can also postpone buying warmer running kit until I have saved some cash.

No Lidl near here!

Time to consider entering a 10Km race, as suggested by Nurse and other runners. To add pressure and provide a real measure of progress.

Public Bath

Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that! - Lewis Carroll

Dawn Patrol

This week I joined the Twenty Minute-ers. Sort of.

My 5 runs in the past 7 days have all included at least 20 minutes running. But not necessarily continuously. Sometimes interrupted by a car in a narrow lane or, if using my early morning circuit, by the clanging-gated bridge.

Effectively this means that I am at the end of the 5 week Beginners Guide on the Runners' Forum.

Out very early this morning at 6-42 to avoid the rush-hour. Three gentle circuits within 23.03 minutes. Clang! clang! clang! It would have been faster but I stooped to conker.

On the map about 3.55 Km. Not far or fast but I was ready to stop at the finish. Average less than 8 minutes per lap - speed more than 5mph. So above my target pace for the Bath Half Marathon.

Compared with my first run just 6 weeks ago I have tripled my distance and time. And I am not as out of breath either during or at the end of  the run.

All I have to do now is extend my running distance 6 times.

Reality Check
Today's run represents getting from Laura Place to Vicky Park on the half-marathon route. Without stopping at The Ram at Widcombe for a pint.

Useless Factoids

• Dogs seen - 7
• Dog-walkers - 7: carrying laden dog-pooh bag - 1
• Cats on prowl - 1
• Birds twittering - innumerable
• Conkers collected - 2

Temp 42degF. RH 99%  Wind speed 0mph.
Rosy dawn's fingers were cold and damp this morning. Gloves?

In the shower the knob fell off. Loose grub screw.
Allen key?

Dawn Patrol at the FAA Museum

Less Is More

D minus 168

Now here is a curious thing.

In the past week or so I have only been out every other day - instead of 2 or 3 days on the trot followed by a rest day. Yet this morning’s run was the most comfortable, the fastest and longest to date. Was it easier due to the extra rest, or because I was not fussing in my head about the run but thinking about something else?

Recently I have been trying to vary my route as I realised that I had been getting into a rut and comfort zone. One of these routes involves a significant amount of steady if slight uphill work and is only short before it forces a U-turn and repeat. Not the most inspiring but does provide a choice.

Away from home for a weekend I was able to try a footpath and cycle path route along a by-pass.  Not very nice but I could not get lost. Generally level, boring and noisy. But with less visible litter than one might expect - only about 2 cans per Km.

Back to my usual route today I just cruised around. Only walked at the gate and across the footbridge - all the rest was running. 7min 20sec + 9min + 4min to achieve the target 20min. The pace to my 1.25Km waypoint was also the fastest yet.

Distance covered - using the ruler on the map and ignoring the bridge - approx 3Km. A little over 5mph. Modest maybe - but both speed and distance increased, no aches and pains or strained breathing.

It has taken me a month to get to this point All I now have to do is gradually extend my distance over the coming five months. Things can only get better!

While running I was thinking about the previous night’s TV - “The Special Relationship” with Michael Sheen in his TB role and Dennis Quaid as Bill. Wondering which bits were quotation, attribution, or invention. Was portraying TB in his bath-tub meant to be an ironic Churchill-Roosevelt reference?

Surprisingly it was a more sympathetic portrait of the main players than I had been let to expect from the pre-programme spiel.

The fictional drama was more believable than the final piece of newsreel footage that featured the real TB and George W during their “Colgate” moment.

Now here is a curious thing.

Weak Week

D-day minus 179.

Not making progress. Will repeat this week’s programme. My feelings about each of my runs this week - if measured on a scale of Bad 1 to 4 Good - would be 2-1-3-1.

Got up later on the second day so decided to try a new route avoiding the pushchairs and 4x4s on the pavement. Felt like it was mostly uphill and with no familiar timing points I was forever looking at the stopwatch. Had to stop and turn at end of lane. Breathing difficult. Not a happy bunny.

Next day reverted to old route and was happier with my performance. Hope I am not developing a comfort ritual.

Out early today but not comfortable. Bloated feeling and aches and pains niggled at me Probably a mistake to do 4 days in a row but rain forecast for tomorrow and had an OK day yesterday.

• Clouds - 1 overcast
• Silver Linings - 0
• Squirrels (grey) - 2
• Snails - 3
• Trike - child’s - 1 broken, dumped

Now using new Nike running top from Running Bath. Much less clingy-sweaty than old T shirt.As a morale booster though it takes as well as gives. Dressed like a proper runner but not performing like one.

Very bright yellow, but…… Wakey-wakey Mr commuter!

Georgian Bath.

Early Bath

Just by way of a change here is a photo before the spiel. This morning's sky.
It has been "enhanced".

Chilly today - out soon after dawn‘s rosy fingers had crept through my window.

New walk-run regime harder than expected - just when get breathing right have to start walking again. Was not really warmed up until nearly half-way thru session. Co-ordination difficulties - keeping eyes on watch and on path ahead - switching stop-watch on and off. Where’s my key?

Walk-run stages different from last time. Did I get timing right before or am I wrong today? May try more boring route without “modal interchanges” (gates and bridges).

Received a “how are you getting on” query on the Runners Forum after I got home. Moral support as well as advice and guidance. V. Nice!

Today's Statistics

• Temp - 10 deg
• Humidity - 83%
• Wind - 0 mph
• Ley Line strength - 0.4218 zildas
• Schwarzschild radius - about 2 miles

One of the above I made up.

• Dog Walkers - 2
• Buses - in service 0
• Buses - not in service 1
• Cars >10
• Aircraft 2

Got back in time for an early bath.