The last 3 weeks have seen our football season revive from the winter slumber again. Its been difficult to keep to my schedule as the muscles ache for a day or two after each match. We're still in with a shout of promotion and possibly even a cup. Anyway the past 3 weeks have gone like this.
Week 1 - Ran home for the second Tuesday in a row. Altered the route slightly so now its 9 miles exactly and ran much better. Averaged sub 7 minute miles and felt good all the way home. Whilst running down a street in High Heaton a 9 year old girl started to race me, sprinting to keep up she looked up at me with a broad smile on her face before running out of breath and going in for her dinner. Its nice to know that all kids down aspire to hanging around bus stops hurling abuse at people. Managed to run 4 times in total before playing football for the first time in 8 weeks on the Sunday. A bit rusty but we beat the Cullercoats Piper 2-1 courtesy of a brace from Mason and moved into the quarter final of the Cup.
Week 2 - Woke up on Monday with every bone in my body aching. The match had really taken it out of me. By Tuesday evening I was still in a bad way but headed out for a 5 miler. Took it easy and was just hoping that it would help releive the muscle soreness but I was still a bit stiff on Wednesday. The only other run was an 8 miler on Friday which was a pretty decent if unspectacular run. Away to top of the league South Beach on the Sunday we battled hard for a 1-1 draw.
Week 3 - Legs felt much better after the match and on Tuesday I went out for a 10.25 run. Didn't push the pace and settled into a very comfortable 7:20 to 7:30 per mile pace. Went to practice at The Parks on Wednesday with a few of the lads and my only other run was a trip to the lighthouse on Saturday. Not a very productive week on the running front but rounded off with a 2-1 quarter final victory against the Rockcliffe. Choppington Bomar in the semi final. We've still got 6 or 7 games to play and the season is scheduled to go to the 28th May but hopefully games can be brought forward. Until the season is over I'm just going to have to fit runs in when I can and then step up the running after that.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Sunday, April 02, 2006
A blip in form.
Thu 31 Mar Delaval Arms 43:42
It seems like I've hit a bit of a pothole in my training plan. This week got off to a decent start with the 9 mile run home from work but just one more run, and a disappointing one at that during the rest of the week. My training has certainly taken a bit of a dive over the past two weeks and I'm really going to have to dig in and work hard to get myself back on track.
Thursday's run was exceptional in an unwanted kind of way. Not for the first time whilst running at night, I was abused and harrased by a bunch of teenagers sitting in the bus stop outside the Whitley Bay Leisure Pool. This time two of them chased after me whilst shouting and screaming. I'd had enough and turned and swore very loudly at them which sent them sprinting in the opposite direction. It was just a bunch of stupid girls and I should have just ignored them but this kind of thing is happening too often and I'd had enough this time. It really spoilt my run, sometimes when you're not running well at least you feel the benefit mentally of getting away from everything and can relax with your own thoughts. This incident ruined everything, I felt anger at being harrassed and guilt at the way I reacted. It just beats me that in a decent area with good state schools we still have to put up with kids like this. What kind of parent allows their 13 year old kids to wander the sea front in the dark these days? Do they not watch the news or read the newspapers and realise what kind of weirdos can be lurking out there?
Anyway, rant over. Next week's plan must be to stick to my plan, run 4 times during the week and get myself back on track.
It seems like I've hit a bit of a pothole in my training plan. This week got off to a decent start with the 9 mile run home from work but just one more run, and a disappointing one at that during the rest of the week. My training has certainly taken a bit of a dive over the past two weeks and I'm really going to have to dig in and work hard to get myself back on track.
Thursday's run was exceptional in an unwanted kind of way. Not for the first time whilst running at night, I was abused and harrased by a bunch of teenagers sitting in the bus stop outside the Whitley Bay Leisure Pool. This time two of them chased after me whilst shouting and screaming. I'd had enough and turned and swore very loudly at them which sent them sprinting in the opposite direction. It was just a bunch of stupid girls and I should have just ignored them but this kind of thing is happening too often and I'd had enough this time. It really spoilt my run, sometimes when you're not running well at least you feel the benefit mentally of getting away from everything and can relax with your own thoughts. This incident ruined everything, I felt anger at being harrassed and guilt at the way I reacted. It just beats me that in a decent area with good state schools we still have to put up with kids like this. What kind of parent allows their 13 year old kids to wander the sea front in the dark these days? Do they not watch the news or read the newspapers and realise what kind of weirdos can be lurking out there?
Anyway, rant over. Next week's plan must be to stick to my plan, run 4 times during the week and get myself back on track.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Homeward bound.
Tue 29 Mar Newcastle University to Home 9.1m 1:08:17
I hate taking buses. They’re dirty, smelly and take forever to get anywhere. As I mentioned in the previous post the one-day Metro strike left me with two options on Tuesday night - a) get the bus home or b) run home. To avoid the misery of the number 308 bus, I chose to lace up my running shoes and complete the 9 miles on foot. I was a bit surprised by the amount of planning required. Remembering to pack my running gear in the morning for a start, which wasn’t easy considering most of it was in the dirty laundry. Then as I prepared to run it struck me that the contents of my coat pockets all needed to be locked away in my desk drawers overnight. Money, mobile phone, iPod (forgot to bring the handy clip to attach it to my shorts), the list just seemed to grow and grow. I even had to remove the unnecessary keys from my key ring for the night because they would have been to heavy to carry all the way home.
Anyway, I finally got myself ready and headed out into the unknown. I’ve been travelling from Monkseaton to Newcastle for more years than I care to remember but covering the distance on foot was a whole new experience. My biggest worry was the volume of traffic and how many roads I would have to cross. Initially this was quite a problem, it was difficult to get into any rhythm as I continually had to stop and wait at traffic lights for a safe time to cross the busy roads. However, once out of the city things became a little easier. The wonder of online street maps even enlightened me to a route through the quiet roads of Murton and onto a trail through the farmer’s field. This made the latter stages of the run much more pleasant, which was handy because by that stage I was definitely starting to suffer. The fact that this was my first run for a week probably didn’t help, but I also started to feel a pain on the inside of my knee. Slightly worrying but there are no after effects this morning so I’m hopeful it won’t hinder my training.
Overall, the whole run went quite well. Running through the city and alongside busy roads isn’t ideal but it allowed me to get my long run out of the way for the week. What’s more it meant I could spend the evening relaxing and settled down to watch Arsenal beat Juventus in the Champions League. This is something I’m definitely going to try and build into my weekly schedule and perhaps even try to fit in some lunchtime sessions. Hopefully my colleagues won’t mind sharing an office with a somewhat sweaty runner one afternoon a week.
I hate taking buses. They’re dirty, smelly and take forever to get anywhere. As I mentioned in the previous post the one-day Metro strike left me with two options on Tuesday night - a) get the bus home or b) run home. To avoid the misery of the number 308 bus, I chose to lace up my running shoes and complete the 9 miles on foot. I was a bit surprised by the amount of planning required. Remembering to pack my running gear in the morning for a start, which wasn’t easy considering most of it was in the dirty laundry. Then as I prepared to run it struck me that the contents of my coat pockets all needed to be locked away in my desk drawers overnight. Money, mobile phone, iPod (forgot to bring the handy clip to attach it to my shorts), the list just seemed to grow and grow. I even had to remove the unnecessary keys from my key ring for the night because they would have been to heavy to carry all the way home.
Anyway, I finally got myself ready and headed out into the unknown. I’ve been travelling from Monkseaton to Newcastle for more years than I care to remember but covering the distance on foot was a whole new experience. My biggest worry was the volume of traffic and how many roads I would have to cross. Initially this was quite a problem, it was difficult to get into any rhythm as I continually had to stop and wait at traffic lights for a safe time to cross the busy roads. However, once out of the city things became a little easier. The wonder of online street maps even enlightened me to a route through the quiet roads of Murton and onto a trail through the farmer’s field. This made the latter stages of the run much more pleasant, which was handy because by that stage I was definitely starting to suffer. The fact that this was my first run for a week probably didn’t help, but I also started to feel a pain on the inside of my knee. Slightly worrying but there are no after effects this morning so I’m hopeful it won’t hinder my training.
Overall, the whole run went quite well. Running through the city and alongside busy roads isn’t ideal but it allowed me to get my long run out of the way for the week. What’s more it meant I could spend the evening relaxing and settled down to watch Arsenal beat Juventus in the Champions League. This is something I’m definitely going to try and build into my weekly schedule and perhaps even try to fit in some lunchtime sessions. Hopefully my colleagues won’t mind sharing an office with a somewhat sweaty runner one afternoon a week.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Knocked for six!
Tue 21st Mar Delaval Arms 6.0m 46:17
That's 6 days without a run now. The kids both have a cold which I've picked up and its left me feeling lethargic and caused my asthma to worsen. I went out last Tuesday for possible one of the least enjoyable runs of the year. I felt awful and even had to stop to take my asthma inhaler after a couple of miles. Normally, being an asthmatic has very little effect on my daily life but when I get a cold it can play havoc with my respiratory system.
The cold is still lingering but because there's a Metro strike today I'm planning on running home this evening. The distance is about 9 miles and hopefully the traffic won't cause too much disruption. During the summer I'd like to fit in some runs either after work or during my lunch hour so this is a good time to trial the evening run home. I'm a bit concerned about the volume of traffic but hopefully things will work out OK.
That's 6 days without a run now. The kids both have a cold which I've picked up and its left me feeling lethargic and caused my asthma to worsen. I went out last Tuesday for possible one of the least enjoyable runs of the year. I felt awful and even had to stop to take my asthma inhaler after a couple of miles. Normally, being an asthmatic has very little effect on my daily life but when I get a cold it can play havoc with my respiratory system.
The cold is still lingering but because there's a Metro strike today I'm planning on running home this evening. The distance is about 9 miles and hopefully the traffic won't cause too much disruption. During the summer I'd like to fit in some runs either after work or during my lunch hour so this is a good time to trial the evening run home. I'm a bit concerned about the volume of traffic but hopefully things will work out OK.
Monday, March 20, 2006
I'm back ... and still running
Its been three weeks without a blog entry. Fortunately that doesn't mean its been three weeks without a run. Its been tough weather wise recently with ice, snow and a bitterly cold wind to contend with. However, I've managed to stick to my plan and things are progressing nicely.
In week one of the lost period I ran 3 times for a total of 17 miles. This included an 8-miler that I completed in 58:29. A solid but unspectacular time over what was my longest run of the year so far.
The following week followed pretty much the same theme. Planned 4, ran 3 with a long run of 8 miles. Total mileage was 20 miles. The one big difference was the quality of the long run. This time I completed it in 55:51 for a sub 7 min/mile average.
Conscious of not over-training I dropped my long run down to 6.7 miles this week and ran a total of 20 miles over 4 sessions. Tuesday night was a real easy run to the light house that took the best part of 39 minutes. I put in a 6.7 miler on Thursday with a relatively slow time of 50:51. Just felt tired throughout in some awful weather, not forgetting the effects of an afternoon at soft play with the kids! I introduced a track session on Saturday and ran 2 x I mile sessions. Hoped to run them in around 6 min/mile pace but was pleasantly surprised to achieve a 5:50 and a 5:55. Sunday morning I opted out of football training (match was cancelled again) and went for a 6 miler up to the Delaval Arms. I'd had a curry and a few drinks the night before so I wasn't expecting anything great from myself. Hit the first mile in 6:55 but then slowed by about 10 seconds a mile for the next two. Then as I turned for home I seemed to get a second wind and steamed home in 20:20 for an overall time of 41:42. Sometimes I amaze even myself!!
In week one of the lost period I ran 3 times for a total of 17 miles. This included an 8-miler that I completed in 58:29. A solid but unspectacular time over what was my longest run of the year so far.
The following week followed pretty much the same theme. Planned 4, ran 3 with a long run of 8 miles. Total mileage was 20 miles. The one big difference was the quality of the long run. This time I completed it in 55:51 for a sub 7 min/mile average.
Conscious of not over-training I dropped my long run down to 6.7 miles this week and ran a total of 20 miles over 4 sessions. Tuesday night was a real easy run to the light house that took the best part of 39 minutes. I put in a 6.7 miler on Thursday with a relatively slow time of 50:51. Just felt tired throughout in some awful weather, not forgetting the effects of an afternoon at soft play with the kids! I introduced a track session on Saturday and ran 2 x I mile sessions. Hoped to run them in around 6 min/mile pace but was pleasantly surprised to achieve a 5:50 and a 5:55. Sunday morning I opted out of football training (match was cancelled again) and went for a 6 miler up to the Delaval Arms. I'd had a curry and a few drinks the night before so I wasn't expecting anything great from myself. Hit the first mile in 6:55 but then slowed by about 10 seconds a mile for the next two. Then as I turned for home I seemed to get a second wind and steamed home in 20:20 for an overall time of 41:42. Sometimes I amaze even myself!!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Drunk too much. Much too cold.
Sat 25th Feb St Mary's Lighthouse 4.9m 34:54
Sun 26th Feb Tynemouth Priory 6.7m 46:33
At the beginning of the year I had two New Year resolutions. One was too stick to a running plan and the other was too cut down on the amount of alcohol I drink. While my running has gone particularly well so far I've not really stuck to the other side of the deal. My weekly alcohol intake seems to be rising in line with my weekly mileage. In fact last week it was at an alarming rate. I had half a dozen pints on Wednesday whilst watching the match with the lads. Then on Thursday Terry had endured a difficult day at work so we split a bottle of wine, then Cava and a couple of cans on Friday and the same again on Saturday. It all added up to one pretty tired runner. Now if it was all down to my training it wouldn't be so bad, but most of the fatigue was due to poor quality of sleep you get after drinking. So from now on it’s a concerted effort to bring my drinking under control - although having said that I've a night out planned with the lads this Friday.
No football again this weekend, which was just as well because I needed Sunday to catch up on my running. Felt pretty rotten on Saturday morning and the icy blast blowing off the North Sea didn't help. The first part of the run out to the lighthouse was something of a nightmare but I gamely struggled on and running home with the wind at my back came as something of a relief. An average pace of 7:07 per mile wasn't bad given the condition of both me and the weather! The weather got even worse on Sunday with wind and hail mixed in. I opted for an afternoon run and really had to fight the wind on the way back from Tynemouth. I'd planned only a 6 miler but I felt good enough to run the extra 0.7 miles and go along to the Priory. The wind at my back in the first half was a joy tempered by thoughts of what I would face on the way back. I resisted the temptation of cutting inland to take a more sheltered route home, gritted my teeth and tried to spur myself on with mental images of running for a medal in the Olympic marathon. It worked to a certain extent. Although I'd managed a 6:47 per mile average on the way out, I was quite pleased with 7:07 per mile into the wind on the way home. This was my equal longest run of the year so far and almost 3 minutes faster than the same route 2 weeks ago.
Sun 26th Feb Tynemouth Priory 6.7m 46:33
At the beginning of the year I had two New Year resolutions. One was too stick to a running plan and the other was too cut down on the amount of alcohol I drink. While my running has gone particularly well so far I've not really stuck to the other side of the deal. My weekly alcohol intake seems to be rising in line with my weekly mileage. In fact last week it was at an alarming rate. I had half a dozen pints on Wednesday whilst watching the match with the lads. Then on Thursday Terry had endured a difficult day at work so we split a bottle of wine, then Cava and a couple of cans on Friday and the same again on Saturday. It all added up to one pretty tired runner. Now if it was all down to my training it wouldn't be so bad, but most of the fatigue was due to poor quality of sleep you get after drinking. So from now on it’s a concerted effort to bring my drinking under control - although having said that I've a night out planned with the lads this Friday.
No football again this weekend, which was just as well because I needed Sunday to catch up on my running. Felt pretty rotten on Saturday morning and the icy blast blowing off the North Sea didn't help. The first part of the run out to the lighthouse was something of a nightmare but I gamely struggled on and running home with the wind at my back came as something of a relief. An average pace of 7:07 per mile wasn't bad given the condition of both me and the weather! The weather got even worse on Sunday with wind and hail mixed in. I opted for an afternoon run and really had to fight the wind on the way back from Tynemouth. I'd planned only a 6 miler but I felt good enough to run the extra 0.7 miles and go along to the Priory. The wind at my back in the first half was a joy tempered by thoughts of what I would face on the way back. I resisted the temptation of cutting inland to take a more sheltered route home, gritted my teeth and tried to spur myself on with mental images of running for a medal in the Olympic marathon. It worked to a certain extent. Although I'd managed a 6:47 per mile average on the way out, I was quite pleased with 7:07 per mile into the wind on the way home. This was my equal longest run of the year so far and almost 3 minutes faster than the same route 2 weeks ago.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
The joys of the North East coast
In the summer the worst thing about running along the sea front between Whitley Bay and Tynemouth is the number of charvas hanging out in bus stops or driving by in their daft little cars with the windows rolled down. In the winter the worst thing has to be the wind. To be honest since the turn of the year the weather hasn't been that bad. Or perhaps while my running plan has consisted of 3 runs a week I've been able to dodge the worst of the weather. I'm stepping up to 4 runs this week and endured an unpredictable blustery wind on both Monday and Tuesday. I wanted to get ahead of the game so I went out for an unscheduled run on Monday night. I simply had no idea of how fast or slow I was running for the entire 3.7 miles. Sometimes it felt good and sometimes it felt bad. In the end I averaged 7:21 per mile but just felt relieved that it wasn't any worse. The following night I ran the 6 miles to Seaton Sluice and had a much better time of it. Never quite sure where the wind was coming from I averaged about 7:11 per mile on the way out and then on the way back with the wind (mostly) at my back I was pushed to an average of around 7:01. I'm doing reasonably well at sticking to my plans during the dark nights and inclement weather but I really can't wait until spring finally springs into action - who knows when that will be though, June maybe?
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