This evening's track session was due to be 10X800m with 90 second recoveries, with a 3 minute recovery after the 5th rep. This was the same session that we had run in mid October. Just 3 of us were taking part today: Mark I, David B & myself.
For the first 5 reps, I averaged just under 2:50, a second or so behind Mark each time & just ahead of David. After the long recovery, I started to feel soreness in my temperamental achilles. I completed another three reps at just about the same pace, but as we started the 9th 800m, the soreness got significantly worse, so I decided to call it a day.
It's a bit frustrating to not be able to complete the session, but stopping was the only sensible option. I'm now applying ice to the injury & tomorrow I'll have a rest from running. Hopefully there'll be no lasting damage, I've had a dodgy achilles now for about 2 1/2 years. With a bit of look, rest ice & stretching will ease it.
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
A walk & a run
As A is away this week, I'm on dog walking duties, so this morning I decided to head off to Thruscross Reservoir. I've run this route once before, but have never previously walked it.
I parked at the top end of Fewston Reservoir, then headed over the A59 to then walk through the woods alongside the River Washburn towards the dam at Thruscross. After crossing the dam wall, it I followed the path that does a loop around the reservoir. It's quite mixed terrain with woodland, moorland & gravel paths.
I then returned to Fewston by the same path that I took on the outward leg. In total I was walking for 3 hours. I didn't have my Garmin with me, but I would estimate that it was about a 
12k walk. Conditions were perfect: sunny, no wind & pleasant temperature for the time of year.
This evening I decided to go along to do one of the Ilkley Harriers club runs. It's the first time this year that I've done a Tuesday club run, as the timing isn't ideal with the Wednesday track sessions.
I joined a 'steady' group led by Paul S. There were 7 of us in total. We ran a route that was initially flat, but with some hills towards the end around Ilkley & Ben Rhyding. I was happy with the pace, which was comfortable for a conversation all the way round, it was interesting to catch up with the running activities of the other members of the group which included new members as well as longstanding Harriers. Including running to & from the club I ran about 12.5k
Tomorrow is the weekly Carnegie track session, so assuming the hamstring & achilles don't play up after today's steady run it will be an opportunity to run a bit more quickly.
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Dewsbury 10k
The intention this morning was just to do a steady run & see how things were with the sore hamstring & achilles. Conditions seemed to be OK, the overnight rain had stopped & the temperature was a mild 10 degrees (two years ago it had been minus 6 for this race), however there was quite a strong breeze blowing.
The strange thing about the wind today was that it seemed to be a headwind both on the way out & on the way back. I know that this is unlikely on this kind of course, but it certainly felt that way. I ran just marginally faster for the 2nd downhill 5k, finishing in about 39:30 (not seen the official results yet). That's almost 2 1/2 minutes slower than last year, but probably as good as I could have expected. It's my slowest 10k for 2 years.
Talking to other runners after the race, most seemed to find it quite hard in the wind & were a bit slower than they would have expected on a fast course. Sally M & Rob C had quite a close finish for the honour of being 1st Ilkley Harrier in the race, Sally just getting it on the line. I had a good view of their battle being about 15 seconds or so behind for virtually the whole 10k.
My leg has started to stiffen up after the race, but hopefully there's no damage done. I don't have any races planned now for 3 weeks.......then it's an indoor 1500m, so I'll have to try to find some speed from somewhere.
The strange thing about the wind today was that it seemed to be a headwind both on the way out & on the way back. I know that this is unlikely on this kind of course, but it certainly felt that way. I ran just marginally faster for the 2nd downhill 5k, finishing in about 39:30 (not seen the official results yet). That's almost 2 1/2 minutes slower than last year, but probably as good as I could have expected. It's my slowest 10k for 2 years.
Talking to other runners after the race, most seemed to find it quite hard in the wind & were a bit slower than they would have expected on a fast course. Sally M & Rob C had quite a close finish for the honour of being 1st Ilkley Harrier in the race, Sally just getting it on the line. I had a good view of their battle being about 15 seconds or so behind for virtually the whole 10k.
My leg has started to stiffen up after the race, but hopefully there's no damage done. I don't have any races planned now for 3 weeks.......then it's an indoor 1500m, so I'll have to try to find some speed from somewhere.
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Planning a steady run
Like many running bloggers I get a bit fed up of writing about recurring injuries. My hamstring problem that started just before the Brass Monkey half marathon is still troubling me a bit, but it's just a bit sore rather than anything major. I've also had a problem with my achilles on the same leg, whilst this is an injury that I've had before, I think that it's probably been induced this time as a result of slightly adapting my running style due to the sore hamstring.
I've taken 5 rest days in the last week & a half to give the leg a chance to recover. Lack of running seems to make my legs generally seize up, so I seem to have fewer problems when I run compared when I don't.
Tomorrow is the Dewsbury 10k that I entered several weeks ago. There is no question of running it quickly, but I'm tempted to just go and run at a very steady pace. I will need to avoid the temptation to set off at anywhere near race pace......hopefully I've learnt a lesson from the Brass Monkey. I'm sure that a sensible option would be just to give the 10k a miss, but I think that I will feel better to just go and do a steady well paced run, even if it means running a slow time.
I've taken 5 rest days in the last week & a half to give the leg a chance to recover. Lack of running seems to make my legs generally seize up, so I seem to have fewer problems when I run compared when I don't.
Tomorrow is the Dewsbury 10k that I entered several weeks ago. There is no question of running it quickly, but I'm tempted to just go and run at a very steady pace. I will need to avoid the temptation to set off at anywhere near race pace......hopefully I've learnt a lesson from the Brass Monkey. I'm sure that a sensible option would be just to give the 10k a miss, but I think that I will feel better to just go and do a steady well paced run, even if it means running a slow time.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
A different Sunday run
Last Sunday was the Brass Monkey half marathon, this week I opted out of running in the Peco cross country race as I was still feeling soreness in my legs (the hamstring problem seemed to lead to general tightness in both legs). So after a couple of days with no running at all to see if it would improve the situation, I decided to just go out for a run & see how things were.
I set off around the park in Ilkley, dodging the dogs & their owners, kids on bikes & the various rugby & football matches. It was then out along the Nesfield Road. My running seemed to be a bit sluggish, but the pace wasn't too bad for a steady run. The further I went, I was gradually able to speed up without too many complaints from the legs.
I turned back at the Devonshire Arms at Bolton Bridge, with a vague plan to see if I could run a bit quicker on the way home. Somewhat surprisingly I was able to keep increasing the pace, so that for the last 2-3km I was actually running quicker than some of the final kilometres of last week's race.....most odd.
So I ran just over 20k, with the second half considerably faster than the first half. The legs don't seem too bad, so we'll see how the recovery is before getting too excited. Next week it's the Dewsbury 10k, so it would be good to see if I can do a reasonable run there.
I set off around the park in Ilkley, dodging the dogs & their owners, kids on bikes & the various rugby & football matches. It was then out along the Nesfield Road. My running seemed to be a bit sluggish, but the pace wasn't too bad for a steady run. The further I went, I was gradually able to speed up without too many complaints from the legs.
I turned back at the Devonshire Arms at Bolton Bridge, with a vague plan to see if I could run a bit quicker on the way home. Somewhat surprisingly I was able to keep increasing the pace, so that for the last 2-3km I was actually running quicker than some of the final kilometres of last week's race.....most odd.
So I ran just over 20k, with the second half considerably faster than the first half. The legs don't seem too bad, so we'll see how the recovery is before getting too excited. Next week it's the Dewsbury 10k, so it would be good to see if I can do a reasonable run there.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Pyramid track session
This evening's track session was a pyramid: 1x200, 1x400, 1x600, 1x800, 1x1000, 1x1200, 1x1000, 1x800, 1x600, 1x400, 1x200. Recoveries were mainly 75 & 90 seconds. Mark I, David B & myself ran the session with Brit T joining us for some of the efforts. Coach Pete kept us focused on what we were meant to be doing.
Conditions were not too bad, a bit cold, but no ice, dry, but a bit of a breeze (unusually blowing against us on the home straight). My leg was still a bit sore, but didn't impact significantly on how I was able to run the session.....except on the 200m reps where I couldn't run too quickly.
My overall average was 85 seconds per lap, with a high degree of consistency, I was lapping in the 1200m only marginally slower than in the 400s. My running partners were generally faster than me on the shorter reps & slower on the longer reps.
I was quite pleased with the session & I don't seem to be making my leg injury any worse. I'll take it a bit easier over the next few days & hopefully there might be some signs of improvement. I'm probably going to give the Peco cross country a miss on Sunday as the last one did coincide with the start of my hamstring problems.
Conditions were not too bad, a bit cold, but no ice, dry, but a bit of a breeze (unusually blowing against us on the home straight). My leg was still a bit sore, but didn't impact significantly on how I was able to run the session.....except on the 200m reps where I couldn't run too quickly.
My overall average was 85 seconds per lap, with a high degree of consistency, I was lapping in the 1200m only marginally slower than in the 400s. My running partners were generally faster than me on the shorter reps & slower on the longer reps.
I was quite pleased with the session & I don't seem to be making my leg injury any worse. I'll take it a bit easier over the next few days & hopefully there might be some signs of improvement. I'm probably going to give the Peco cross country a miss on Sunday as the last one did coincide with the start of my hamstring problems.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
The Hound of Windgate Nick
Today I went for a run up on to the moors. I decided to visit the 'Hound of Windgate Nick' (see story here).....it's certainly an impressive sight. The route that I took to get there was 10k virtually all uphill, via Hebers Ghyll Drive, Addingham Moorside & Light Bank Road on road, track, fields & moors.
For those who are wondering about the hamstring injury, following Sunday's race, it didn't seem to get any worse. I went for a very slow run around the park yesterday & despite general leg soreness, I didn't have any adverse reaction from the hamstring. My conclusion at the moment is that it doesn't seem to make much difference whether or not I run on it, the main thing that aggravates it is running quickly, but the effects seem to be only short term. Very curious.
Back to this afternoon's run. The good thing about running 10k uphill, is that I had a very long downhill to follow. I returned by way of the Swastika Stone, Parish Ghyll Drive & Grove Road (details here for anyone interested). It's a very enjoyable route, even on a misty day with heavy drizzle. Despite the weather it wasn't too muddy, so running conditions were quite good for the time of year.
For those who are wondering about the hamstring injury, following Sunday's race, it didn't seem to get any worse. I went for a very slow run around the park yesterday & despite general leg soreness, I didn't have any adverse reaction from the hamstring. My conclusion at the moment is that it doesn't seem to make much difference whether or not I run on it, the main thing that aggravates it is running quickly, but the effects seem to be only short term. Very curious.
Back to this afternoon's run. The good thing about running 10k uphill, is that I had a very long downhill to follow. I returned by way of the Swastika Stone, Parish Ghyll Drive & Grove Road (details here for anyone interested). It's a very enjoyable route, even on a misty day with heavy drizzle. Despite the weather it wasn't too muddy, so running conditions were quite good for the time of year.
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