Competitive Dad...

The trouble with having a fit 21yr old son who's also into running is that you sometimes get brought down to earth with a bump, as happened yesterday. Spurred on by my excellent time on the Witches Cave run on Monday, James and his mate decided to try to beat my newly established record - so off they went, both carrying weighted rucksacks. I settled down to wait for them to return, occasionally glancing at the clock in the vain hope that they'd come staggering up the drive in 50 minutes or so. But it was not to be; they somehow managed to get round in just over 39 minutes - a full 9 minutes quicker than my time. Huh, that's it, I'm gonna be upping the training from now on and including more speedwork and I'll be aiming for 38 minutes for the Witches Cave run in a few week's time. Watch this space....

Tempo run..

Just by way of a change I donned the rucksack and headed out for a fast run through the Bourne Woods and back via the Witches Cave near Compton Lane http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Ludlam's_Cave.

Despite carrying 8kg I managed to keep up a good pace and finished the 8.5k in 48 minutes which was about 3 minutes faster than my last attempt at the same run.

A couple of hours later I was persuaded to go to the gym with James who wanted to do some weights. I opted to do a 10k row and amazingly set a new pb of 40'37" - not bad considering the earlier rucksack run.

So at the moment my fitness is looking pretty good and I'm looking forward to Thursday's Knacker Cracker which James and I have decided to do with 10kgs in our rucksacks. This should add a bit more of a challenge to what's already a challenging run. Probably not going to bother wearing the gorilla suits though as the masks restrict forward vision too much to be able to safely negotiate the steps and steep hills.

Still coughing a bit...

but have put in a few decent runs over the last few days. Had Christmas Day off of course but went out for a 15k x-country run on Boxing Day and followed that with a steady 8k this morning. Jackson managed to catch a squirrel on today's run; once he'd killed it he carried it round with him for the next 30 minutes, looking very proud of himself and showing it off to all the other dogs. Fortunately he got bored of carrying the squirrel and finally put it down next to one his favourite swimming puddles. I managed to distract him by throwing sticks for him to retrieve and eventually he forgot about the squirrel and we carried on with the run.
It was a bitterly cold day today and I probably should have had more gear on than shorts and t-shirt but maybe it'll help me aclimatize for the Cold Water Swimming Championships which I'll be doing in a few week's time. Brrrrr

Back on the rower...

Sunday 21st was the winter solstice so we can look forward to longer, lighter days in the weeks and months ahead which is good because it'll mean less money spent on headtorch batteries.
I went out with Jenny yesterday morning for an early morning run and felt pretty much back to normal after the virus. However, my session on the rower at the gym was a struggle - I managed to keep going for 30 minutes and registered 7267m which is probably the slowest I've been for a while but not unsurprising really. The good thing about rowing is that you get that screen in front of you which tells you your pace and predicted result so it's very difficult to slack off and take it easy. The competitive juices start to flow as soon as I start rowing and I don't think I've ever finished a session without feeling absolutely knackered!

Today's my last day at work and it looks like being a short day so should get home in time to take Jackson out for a run in the daylight which'll make a nice change.

Recovering...

I'm definitely over the worst of the flu/cold/virus thing. Taken it fairly easy for a couple of days, just keeping to a steady pace and doing no more than 7k runs but went out this morning and felt so much better. Will start to build up the training again starting with a session on the rower today - and that's guaranteed to sweat out any last remnants of those nasty bugs still hanging around.

Last week James and I received our Gorilla suits through the post. To be honest I was too ill to get excited about them but I think that this week we can have some fun with them. We're planning a Christmas Day x-country training run in the suits and then wearing them for the Knacker Cracker on New Years Day. It'll be hard work running with the Gorilla mask on though because breathing's quite an effort and also the eye holes are quite small making it difficult to see where your going. Sholuld be interesting trying to negotiate the steep ups and downs on Box Hill!

Back to running......just

This virus or whatever it is has had me laid low all week, unable to do anything more strenuous than a slow walk round the block. Even then I came back feeling tired and shivery and ready for yet more paracetamols and a steaming hot bath. I'm pretty sure that this has been the longest lay-off I've had from running for quite a few years. I managed to crawl in to work each day but that was through necessity as we're at our busiest at this time of year and it would have been a major deal if I'd taken time off.

Thursday night was probably the turning point in the illness when I developed a fever which meant I sweated buckets and left the bed totally drenched. I was not very popular with Jenny as the bed clothes were fresh on that day and had to be washed again!

This morning I felt a little better and decided to go for a gentle 7k jog with Jenny and Jackson. We did the usual route around Hankley Common but I really found it hard work as though I had lost all my fitness which I guess was probably due to having not completely recovered. I managed to struggle round though and don't feel too bad at the moment so, hopefully, it'll be back to proper training over the next few days.

I keep wondering how I'd cope if I was struck down by something similar when out in Morocco for the MDS. I'd hate to have to pull out for what's essentially a bad cold but the way I felt last week I'd never have been able to run 3k let alone 30k day after day.

Anyway, enough of the negative thoughts and back out for some last minute hill training; it's the Knacker Cracker in two weeks and the quads will have to on top form to get up all those steps.

Feeling rough...

I've developed a nice cold in the last 24 hours which is a real pain. I guess I must have overdone it at the end of last week.

Firstly I had to get up at 2:55am on Saturday morning to drop Richard at school so that he could catch his bus for the school skiing trip. Then I went out for a run a few hours later in the torrential, cold rain and slipped over, gashing my knee in the process. Returned home feeling very wet and cold.

Sunday wasn't a relaxing day either as I had to work at TWI but still managed to get home from London in time for a quick 10k round Hankley before it got dark. Again returned home feeling decidedly cold and tired.

So it's probably my own fault that I'm now feeling so rough. Everyone seems to be down with this bug and I think my resistance must have been low, otherwise I'd have avoided it.

The question now is whether I should have a day off from exercise or try to sweat it out of my system.....

Full Moon

Somehow I managed to get in two runs on Wednesday. Firstly, an early morning run over the common measuring about 7k and then a lunchtime outing from work along the Thames which is about 9k. I guess I was just feeling a bit more energetic than usual.

The best run of the week though was on Thursday evening. I had planned a 10k around Farnham and Hale but opted instead to take Jackson with me on a night run across Hankley Common.
The night sky was partially cloudy and it was bitterly cold when I set off but after I'd been running for about ten minutes the sky cleared and the full moon emerged. There was now adequate light for me to be able to switch off the headtorch and continue the run by moonlight. It was a pretty amazing experience to be out alone, in the middle of nowhere, at night and to be able to navigate without a torch.

I'm keen to get out again tonight for something similar but it's pretty overcast at the moment so it looks like a road run around Farnham is on the cards.

I'll hopefully get in a couple of long-ish runs at the weekend - maybe do some extra hills in preparation for the Knacker Cracker race on the 1st of Jan. I'm determined to better last year's time on that one.

A Grim Sunday..

I had planned to have an easy day on Saturday with the idea that I'd be well rested for the Grim Challenge on Sunday. As it turned out though, Saturday morning was so sunny and pleasant that I went for an 8k with Jenny and Jackson. Nothing too strenuous - just a gentle jog round Hankley Common with a couple of stops to let Jackson mess around in his favorite puddles. And to be honest, I've started to treat races like the Grim Challenge as competitive training runs which are fun to take part in but with too many variables to take too seriously.

Sunday morning was cold and frosty but with clear blue skies and a weak winter sun. The roads were icy though and the race had to be delayed for 30 minutes to allow for the late arrival of a number of runners held up by an accident outside Guildford.

Once underway it was a very slow first couple of miles. With a field of 2000 or so runners there were plenty of bottlenecks until everyone found their pace and spread out a bit. The ground was pretty hard and rutted thanks to the frost and there was plenty of ice on the knee deep puddles that were in abundance throughout the course.

I was running with my ATC 2K mini video camera and managed to get some footage of the course as I ran round. I'll edit it together and stick a link on here when I get round to it. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BLFRn_88hjA

I finished the race in1hr 18 which was about one and a half minutes slower than last year but it's difficult to compare times, not least because the course had been changed slightly. But I was quite pleased with the result and came 775th out of 1900 - so not bad...

Dark, wet and windy...

Yes, at 6am it was a pretty nasty morning but as I'd offered to take Jackson for an early run I ventured out onto Hankley Common armed with a headtorch plus an extra torch which I carried. I was grateful for the extra illumination as the driving rain made it hard to see my way around the circuit. Even then I had a few close calls as my feet slid all over the place in the mud and nearly sent me flying.
And believe it or not, I didn't see anyone else foolish enough to be out in the wind and rain. Even the army were tucked up in the comfort of their sleeping quarters.
By the time I'd made it back to the car my hands were numb from the cold and I was soaked to the skin but, as always, I was glad that I'd made the effort to get out. I can honestly say that, whatever the weather, I've never finished an early morning run and wished I'd stayed in bed!

Had my certificate through from the Snowdonia Marathon yesterday. Apparently it's made from recycled sheep's pooh!!

Training...

No racing at the weekend so it was off for a couple of steady x-country training runs; a 7k on Saturday and about 14k on Sunday. The Sunday run was a circuit of Hankley with Jenny and Jackson after which I ran home, with Jackson, via Frensham, Tilford Reeds and the Bourne Woods.

I'm starting to find that running 14k or more on a regular basis is becoming pretty comfortable even taking into account the hills and mud that are pretty much unavoidable around here. So the training is obviously paying off and I think it'll be good to gradually increase the mileage a bit more over the next couple of months. That's the beauty of having so long to prepare for the MDS - I'm not under too much pressure to increase the mileage too quickly and I'll hopefully avoid the risk of picking up injuries.

Monday lunchtime I had a really pleasant run along the Thames in bright sunshine but it looks like the weather's about to become a lot colder and wintry over the coming week - just in time for next weekend's 'Grim Challenge' race.