This morning I ran out along the Dalesway path. Even though it starts within 100m of where I live I don't often run along this path as it tends to be quite muddy, however, given that it's not rained for a few weeks I gave it a try today. The last time I ran this route it was thick snow..... no problems with the white stuff today, it was warm & sunny again.
I ran as far as the Cavendish Pavilion, before turning & heading back to Ilkley, covering just about 23km. It was quite a long run, especially a couple of days after the 20km run on Sunday, but I was only running at a steady pace. The route is almost all off road & fairly flat, so it made a pleasant change from running on tarmac.
This afternoon's activity involved a 3 hour dog walk along the canal towpath from Gargrave to East Marton & back. So I've certainly had sufficient exercise today. I'll pass on the Ilkley Harriers club run this evening.
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Monday, 12 April 2010
Just an easy Monday run
The weather was perfect for running again today, so it was a pity that I was feeling quite tired after recent running and another long off road route was certainly out of the question. I opted to run the two bridges run, which is my regular shortish easy running route.
Pace was steady today: 5:15 minutes per km is about average for this route. It still surprises me that I can speed up by about a minute & a half per km when I'm racing or doing an efforts session, as it seems like hard work when I'm just out running at a steady pace.
This week should be a chance to get in some solid training, tomorrow I might do another longish off road run, then Wednesday is the Carnegie track session. On Saturday there is a new 5k Parkrun starting in Bradford, so I might go along to that & treat it as a fast training run.
Pace was steady today: 5:15 minutes per km is about average for this route. It still surprises me that I can speed up by about a minute & a half per km when I'm racing or doing an efforts session, as it seems like hard work when I'm just out running at a steady pace.
This week should be a chance to get in some solid training, tomorrow I might do another longish off road run, then Wednesday is the Carnegie track session. On Saturday there is a new 5k Parkrun starting in Bradford, so I might go along to that & treat it as a fast training run.
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Not quite as planned
When I set off for my run today the plan was to run around the course of the Ilkley trail race. I headed off by the river to the bottom of Middleton Woods, then up through the first section of the woods & across Curly Hill to join the actual route of the race.
On the track up to the moor I met Andrew & Alison B who were running in the opposite direction, they had just run around the trail race route. I reached concrete square, the conditions were perfect for running, warm, sunny dry underfoot & no wind. I then decided on the change of plan, Round Hill was looking very inviting in front of me, so I deviated from the trail race route at headed upwards. I'd never been up Round Hill from this direction, but I figured that there must be a path.
If there was a path, then I didn't find it! The ground became very boggy, alternating with big clumps of heather making running very difficult. I persevered and eventually reached the summit of Round Hill. From there I headed off along the ridge to Beamsley Beacon. The views were spectacular from up there, with the clear visibility: towards Simon's Seat & the Dales on the right hand side, Pendle Hill in front & Ilkley off to the left hand side. From Beamsley Beacon I descended to the road, then rejoined the trail race route from the log piles.
In total I ran almost 20k, most of it off road. I was running very slowly for most of the way, but I was quite happy with that given the number of fast sessions that I've done in the last week. It was a really pleasurable run & remarkable how few people were around, contrasting with the hoards of people who had descended on the park back in Ilkley.
On the track up to the moor I met Andrew & Alison B who were running in the opposite direction, they had just run around the trail race route. I reached concrete square, the conditions were perfect for running, warm, sunny dry underfoot & no wind. I then decided on the change of plan, Round Hill was looking very inviting in front of me, so I deviated from the trail race route at headed upwards. I'd never been up Round Hill from this direction, but I figured that there must be a path.
If there was a path, then I didn't find it! The ground became very boggy, alternating with big clumps of heather making running very difficult. I persevered and eventually reached the summit of Round Hill. From there I headed off along the ridge to Beamsley Beacon. The views were spectacular from up there, with the clear visibility: towards Simon's Seat & the Dales on the right hand side, Pendle Hill in front & Ilkley off to the left hand side. From Beamsley Beacon I descended to the road, then rejoined the trail race route from the log piles.
In total I ran almost 20k, most of it off road. I was running very slowly for most of the way, but I was quite happy with that given the number of fast sessions that I've done in the last week. It was a really pleasurable run & remarkable how few people were around, contrasting with the hoards of people who had descended on the park back in Ilkley.
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Saturday morning hard run
I decided to have a day off from running yesterday. It would have been perfect conditions for a run, but I reckoned that I would benefit more from a rest day following two races & track session this week.
This morning I got up early to do the Ilkley Harriers 'Hard Run'. It's an interval session out & back along the Nesfield Road. Conditions were again really good: sunny, dry, no wind although the temperature was a bit low at 7:45 am. The last time I'd done this session, there was ice & snow on the roads.
We did 2X3 mins, 2X4 mins, 3X5 mins & 2X6 mins with regrouping & jog recoveries in between. I was running the efforts with Steve W who normally is faster than me, but he's training for the 3 peaks race at the moment, so I was a bit sharper than him today.
In total we did 41 minutes of efforts, covering about 10.7k, that is around 3:50 minutes per kilometre pace. I was quite pleased with that as the Nesfield Road is fairly hilly & generally I don't run fast early on a morning. In total I ran 15.7k.
This morning I got up early to do the Ilkley Harriers 'Hard Run'. It's an interval session out & back along the Nesfield Road. Conditions were again really good: sunny, dry, no wind although the temperature was a bit low at 7:45 am. The last time I'd done this session, there was ice & snow on the roads.
We did 2X3 mins, 2X4 mins, 3X5 mins & 2X6 mins with regrouping & jog recoveries in between. I was running the efforts with Steve W who normally is faster than me, but he's training for the 3 peaks race at the moment, so I was a bit sharper than him today.
In total we did 41 minutes of efforts, covering about 10.7k, that is around 3:50 minutes per kilometre pace. I was quite pleased with that as the Nesfield Road is fairly hilly & generally I don't run fast early on a morning. In total I ran 15.7k.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
No fast running today
After 2 races & a track session in the previous 4 days, today's run was definitely going to be a steady one. It would have been perfect conditions for a long run today, pleasantly mild, no wind, no rain, dry underfoot, but again a long run would have been a bad idea.
I opted to run the 'two bridges' run but I extended it by setting off to the road bridge out along the Leeds Road. This added about 3k to the normal route, making about 14.5k in total. I felt fine, but certainly could not have run quickly. There was a slight twinge from my achilles on the way back, although I don't think that it's anything serious.
Tomorrow should be another easy running day, it would be good to get off road somewhere, providing it's not too busy with the Easter holidays.
My next scheduled race is still 3 weeks away, so I'm not too concerned with being a bit fatigued at the moment. The plan is to have a couple of weeks of longer runs, before sharpening up for the John Carr 5k series in May.
I opted to run the 'two bridges' run but I extended it by setting off to the road bridge out along the Leeds Road. This added about 3k to the normal route, making about 14.5k in total. I felt fine, but certainly could not have run quickly. There was a slight twinge from my achilles on the way back, although I don't think that it's anything serious.
Tomorrow should be another easy running day, it would be good to get off road somewhere, providing it's not too busy with the Easter holidays.
My next scheduled race is still 3 weeks away, so I'm not too concerned with being a bit fatigued at the moment. The plan is to have a couple of weeks of longer runs, before sharpening up for the John Carr 5k series in May.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
2 races in 3 days then a track session
Not sure that it was wise to run a track session this evening after the 5 mile race on Sunday & yesterday's Bunny Run fell race. I enjoy the weekly track sessions & so I decided that I'd go along anyway & just do a steady run.
The session from coach Pete this evening was 4X300m, 3X500m, 2X700m, 2X900m, 1X1100m, with 100m jog recovery after each effort, plus an extra 90 seconds recovery before the 1100. We were quite thin on the ground this evening, with only Mark I from my regular running partners able to make it.
Mark set off on the 300m reps at a very brisk speed, equivalent to about 80 seconds 400m pace. I was running considerably slower than that closer to 92 seconds equivalent. As the session went on, Mark slowed a bit & I was able to comfortably maintain 91/92 seconds per 400m. By the time we got to the 1100m, I was able to run relatively much more strongly covering the 1st 1k in 3:37, less than 10 seconds slower than Mark.
The really encouraging thing is that I was able to maintain a constant pace throughout this quite long session, despite the fatigue in my legs. Even though the pace was 5 or 6 seconds per lap slower than I'd normally run on the track, it was still equivalent to less than 38 minutes for a 10k. At no time during the session did I feel to be running at more than 80% effort.
I now don't have any races planned for 3 weeks (we were unsuccessful in getting a team together for the National road relay). It will be good to get some solid training in without the distraction of races for the next couple of weeks.
The session from coach Pete this evening was 4X300m, 3X500m, 2X700m, 2X900m, 1X1100m, with 100m jog recovery after each effort, plus an extra 90 seconds recovery before the 1100. We were quite thin on the ground this evening, with only Mark I from my regular running partners able to make it.
Mark set off on the 300m reps at a very brisk speed, equivalent to about 80 seconds 400m pace. I was running considerably slower than that closer to 92 seconds equivalent. As the session went on, Mark slowed a bit & I was able to comfortably maintain 91/92 seconds per 400m. By the time we got to the 1100m, I was able to run relatively much more strongly covering the 1st 1k in 3:37, less than 10 seconds slower than Mark.
The really encouraging thing is that I was able to maintain a constant pace throughout this quite long session, despite the fatigue in my legs. Even though the pace was 5 or 6 seconds per lap slower than I'd normally run on the track, it was still equivalent to less than 38 minutes for a 10k. At no time during the session did I feel to be running at more than 80% effort.
I now don't have any races planned for 3 weeks (we were unsuccessful in getting a team together for the National road relay). It will be good to get some solid training in without the distraction of races for the next couple of weeks.
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Bunny Run
This evening I ran the Bunny Run on the moors above Haworth. Technically it's a fell race, but it's more like a cross country race really. It's only about 4.5k, there were more than 320 runners with plenty of youngsters.
The start was like a cavalry charge with everyone seemingly going off at a manic pace. I found myself well down the field after the first 400m or so, with the kids in particular setting off really quickly. Then it was a question of trying to work my way past as many runners as possible for the rest of the race. The conditions were quite good, not too wet underfoot, no rain & reasonable temperature.
Ilkley Harriers were well represented in the race, I guess that there must have been 35 or 40 of us. Tom A finished second. I finished just behind Steve W. My time was unofficially 20:27, which is about 35 seconds faster than I did over this course last year, so I should be quite happy with that.
The results of Sunday's Halton 5 have now been published. I was 21st out of 696 finishers in 30:24. The winners time was more than 2 minutes slower than the previous year, which shows the effect of the strong headwind. Looking at the Power of Ten UK rankings, this result should put me in 6th place this year in the M55 category. I was 2nd M55 in the race, the guy who beat me is the fastest M55 in the UK at 5 miles.
P.S. According to the official results, I was 73rd in the Bunny Run out of 308 finishers in 20:27. Last year I was 93rd, out of 286 in 21:03.
(Bunny Run photos by Paul Wood)
The start was like a cavalry charge with everyone seemingly going off at a manic pace. I found myself well down the field after the first 400m or so, with the kids in particular setting off really quickly. Then it was a question of trying to work my way past as many runners as possible for the rest of the race. The conditions were quite good, not too wet underfoot, no rain & reasonable temperature.
Ilkley Harriers were well represented in the race, I guess that there must have been 35 or 40 of us. Tom A finished second. I finished just behind Steve W. My time was unofficially 20:27, which is about 35 seconds faster than I did over this course last year, so I should be quite happy with that.
The results of Sunday's Halton 5 have now been published. I was 21st out of 696 finishers in 30:24. The winners time was more than 2 minutes slower than the previous year, which shows the effect of the strong headwind. Looking at the Power of Ten UK rankings, this result should put me in 6th place this year in the M55 category. I was 2nd M55 in the race, the guy who beat me is the fastest M55 in the UK at 5 miles.
P.S. According to the official results, I was 73rd in the Bunny Run out of 308 finishers in 20:27. Last year I was 93rd, out of 286 in 21:03.
(Bunny Run photos by Paul Wood)
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