I decided to try running today in my new cross country spikes. I've never run in spikes before, so was a bit unsure about trying them out in the snow. I decided to go to the Strid Wood which still has a good covering of snow, compacted on the main paths & powdery on the fields. At the start of my run it was minus 3, so it was relatively mild by recent standards.
It was very comfortable running in the spikes, especially where the snow was compacted, they gave really good grip & I didn't feel in danger of slipping at all, although it wasn't especially icy. The spikes weren't ideal in the powdery snow & I would probably have been better off with studded fell shoes for those sections.
All in all it was another enjoyable run. My pace was steady, although I did put in a few efforts up the hills (and also downhill) to see what sort of grip the shoes would give me.
The forecast is for the cold weather to last for at least another week, so need to make the best of the conditions. In the 3 weeks that we've had the snow, I haven't run fast except for the Ribble Valley 10k, but at least I've got plenty of running done (more than 50 miles per week).
Friday, 8 January 2010
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Having fun in the snow
I decided that I might as well go out & have some fun in the snow as serious training is out of the question at the moment. I set off running with the temperature about minus 5 & still lots of snow around so I headed upwards towards the moors.
The average depth of snow on the moor was about 8 or 9 inches, but in some of the drifts it was almost waist deep. To say that running was challenging is certainly not exaggerating. I ran up to join the moor at Wells Road, then up past the Swastika Stone & on to Windgate Nick, before dropping down to Addingham Moorside & returning to Ilkley, in total it was 13.7k. There hadn't been many people beyond the Swastika Stone, so it was a question of making fresh tracks in the snow.
This was without doubt the slowest run I've ever done with an average speed of 7:11 per km - not that I've often run through 9 inches of snow on the moor. The snow conditions were actually quite good, very cold & powdery with virtually no ice. Running down the hill from Windgate Nick was good fun as it's quite steep & a smooth surface - a bit like running down a ski jump ramp.
Not sure about training for the Brass Monkey half marathon.... at least if we have waist deep snowdrifts for the race I'll be better prepared than most people.
The average depth of snow on the moor was about 8 or 9 inches, but in some of the drifts it was almost waist deep. To say that running was challenging is certainly not exaggerating. I ran up to join the moor at Wells Road, then up past the Swastika Stone & on to Windgate Nick, before dropping down to Addingham Moorside & returning to Ilkley, in total it was 13.7k. There hadn't been many people beyond the Swastika Stone, so it was a question of making fresh tracks in the snow.
This was without doubt the slowest run I've ever done with an average speed of 7:11 per km - not that I've often run through 9 inches of snow on the moor. The snow conditions were actually quite good, very cold & powdery with virtually no ice. Running down the hill from Windgate Nick was good fun as it's quite steep & a smooth surface - a bit like running down a ski jump ramp.
Not sure about training for the Brass Monkey half marathon.... at least if we have waist deep snowdrifts for the race I'll be better prepared than most people.
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Here we go again
A bit more snow overnight on top of the 6 inches or so we already had. I decided to do the two bridges run today. Conditions weren't actually too bad considering how much snow we've got. Where the snow was compacted it was generally runnable & not icy.
I ran at a pace that was similar to a slow steady run in normal conditions, so it was probably the equivalent of a fast run as the snow must slow me down by at least 30 seconds per km. If we hadn't have had 3 weeks of snow, it would have been quite an enjoyable run, but as it is there is an increasing sense of frustration at not being able to do any regular training.
One positive aspect of the conditions is that my sore achilles hasn't been a problem at all. I think that running on an unstable surface probably helps with strengthening the muscles & tendons in the lower leg.
The forecast is for the cold weather to continue for the foreseeable future, so it's really a question ofaccepting that there will probably be few opportunities for any speedwork before the Brass Monkey.
I ran at a pace that was similar to a slow steady run in normal conditions, so it was probably the equivalent of a fast run as the snow must slow me down by at least 30 seconds per km. If we hadn't have had 3 weeks of snow, it would have been quite an enjoyable run, but as it is there is an increasing sense of frustration at not being able to do any regular training.
One positive aspect of the conditions is that my sore achilles hasn't been a problem at all. I think that running on an unstable surface probably helps with strengthening the muscles & tendons in the lower leg.
The forecast is for the cold weather to continue for the foreseeable future, so it's really a question ofaccepting that there will probably be few opportunities for any speedwork before the Brass Monkey.
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Yet more snow
Yesterday I had a rest day from running after the 18 miler on Sunday & went for a walk in the Strid Wood instead. Overnight we had yet more snow, this time about 6 inches of the stuff on top of what was already there.
Today I ventured out on the Dalesway again, once I got past the caravan park in Addingham, I was making new tracks in the powder snow as no one else had been along there. It's quite enjoyable running in fresh deep snow, certainly much better than the recent ice, however, it's impossible to run quickly. I went as far as Bolton Bridge then decided to come back along the Nesfield Road. There had only been the odd tractor along the road so the conditions weren't too bad for running, certainly much better than they had been on Sunday.
I've just heard that the track session at Carnegie tomorrow is cancelled due to the weather conditions. It's becoming a problem that I haven't done any speed sessions for ages. Apart from the Ribble Valley 10k, I've not done any proper training for three weeks. I have still been running most days, but jogging along through powder snow isn't really comparable to interval training.
Today I ventured out on the Dalesway again, once I got past the caravan park in Addingham, I was making new tracks in the powder snow as no one else had been along there. It's quite enjoyable running in fresh deep snow, certainly much better than the recent ice, however, it's impossible to run quickly. I went as far as Bolton Bridge then decided to come back along the Nesfield Road. There had only been the odd tractor along the road so the conditions weren't too bad for running, certainly much better than they had been on Sunday.
I've just heard that the track session at Carnegie tomorrow is cancelled due to the weather conditions. It's becoming a problem that I haven't done any speed sessions for ages. Apart from the Ribble Valley 10k, I've not done any proper training for three weeks. I have still been running most days, but jogging along through powder snow isn't really comparable to interval training.
Sunday, 3 January 2010
Long run in the snow
Having said in my blog yesterday that I didn't expect much more snow, we got another couple of inches overnight. Seven of us met early at the Old Bridge for a long run advertised as 18 miles at 7:30 minutes per mile pace, the temperature was about minus 5. We set off along the Nesfield Road which was quite icy with the downhill sections being paricularly challenging. Andy W took a fall but fortunately without injury.
We slithered our way to the memorial near Bolton Priory & 3 of the group turned back leaving just 4 of us to complete the distance to Barden Bridge. Once we got off road the conditions improved significantly, we were able to run on fresh snow, making the first tracks in it. Andy took some great photos.
We returned along the Dalesway path, which was a much better option than the Nesfield Road, although it did mean that our average pace was someway short of the 7:30 target. Having said that, effort levels were quite high as it's always more difficult to run on snow & ice. By the end of the run I was certainly feeling the distance & I was pleased to not have much further to go. My 3 colleagues are all training for Spring marathons so have many more of these long runs to look forward to (& much further), for me it will have been my last long run for a few weeks.
We slithered our way to the memorial near Bolton Priory & 3 of the group turned back leaving just 4 of us to complete the distance to Barden Bridge. Once we got off road the conditions improved significantly, we were able to run on fresh snow, making the first tracks in it. Andy took some great photos.
We returned along the Dalesway path, which was a much better option than the Nesfield Road, although it did mean that our average pace was someway short of the 7:30 target. Having said that, effort levels were quite high as it's always more difficult to run on snow & ice. By the end of the run I was certainly feeling the distance & I was pleased to not have much further to go. My 3 colleagues are all training for Spring marathons so have many more of these long runs to look forward to (& much further), for me it will have been my last long run for a few weeks.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
A few hills
Today I did a steady tour of some of the hills in Ilkley. I'm planning to do a long run tomorrow, so didn't want to overdo things today. In total I ran 13.7 km including Carters Lane, Stockeld Road, Eaton Road, Princess Road, Wells Road & CowpastureRoad. The pace was only steady, but felt quite comfortable. The main problem was passing one of the Fish & Chip shops a couple of times made me feel really hungry.
It's good that most of the ice has now gone from the roads & paths, making running a lot safer around Ilkley. There is still quite a lot of snow & ice on the moors, so I might stick to dog walking on the moors, rather than running. The forecast is for it to continue very cold at night, but I don't think that we're due to get a lot more snow.
I've now got 2 weeks with no races, then it's 4 races in 4 weeks, Brass Monkey, Dewsbury 10k & a couple of Peco cross countries. I'm not too concerned about the cross countries (although I am currently second in my age group in the series), but I'd like to run well at the Brass Monkey. The Dewsbury 10k will depend on how I go the 3 previous weekends, I might be a bit drained by then.
It's good that most of the ice has now gone from the roads & paths, making running a lot safer around Ilkley. There is still quite a lot of snow & ice on the moors, so I might stick to dog walking on the moors, rather than running. The forecast is for it to continue very cold at night, but I don't think that we're due to get a lot more snow.
I've now got 2 weeks with no races, then it's 4 races in 4 weeks, Brass Monkey, Dewsbury 10k & a couple of Peco cross countries. I'm not too concerned about the cross countries (although I am currently second in my age group in the series), but I'd like to run well at the Brass Monkey. The Dewsbury 10k will depend on how I go the 3 previous weekends, I might be a bit drained by then.
Friday, 1 January 2010
Fast finish, slow start
On New Year's Eve afternoon, I set off to do a steady hilly route around Ilkley, after 10 minutes or so of running I changed my mind & decided to run the Burley Lollipop instead. On the way back I picked up the pace a bit & ran 3km close to race pace. Clearly this was a very different run to what I had been intending to do & shows that I wouldn't be very good at trying to follow a running schedule. Nevertheless I was pleased with the run that I did & it was good to do some flat faster running after all of the sliding around on ice.
Today I was feeling a bit worse for wear after the New Year festivities having had too much to eat & drink. I opted to do my regular 2 bridges run out to Addingham, with the alternate return via the Dalesway path. The off road sections were generally in good condition with the ground frozen, but not much ice around. The main problem was the large number of people out for a New Year's walk, making the paths very congested in places.
It was a slow, steady run today, but not too bad considering that it is New Year's Day.
Today I was feeling a bit worse for wear after the New Year festivities having had too much to eat & drink. I opted to do my regular 2 bridges run out to Addingham, with the alternate return via the Dalesway path. The off road sections were generally in good condition with the ground frozen, but not much ice around. The main problem was the large number of people out for a New Year's walk, making the paths very congested in places.
It was a slow, steady run today, but not too bad considering that it is New Year's Day.
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