Category: Short run

As per the last few Mondays, I did a short run this morning to take the edge off yesterday’s long one.

What was instantly surprising was that, beyond a slight initial stiffness in the legs, I felt no other after-effects and happily increased the speed, varying from 6mph initially to between 7 and 8.5mph.  In fact, I whizzed along very comfortably, the only negative sensation being one of hunger that developed after about 2 miles.

For the sake of balanced reporting, I should mention that yesterday afternoon and evening I had a series of temporary headaches and backache and was very pleased to finally turn my lights out at bedtime!

I am also glad to report that Spring took another step forward and that the door was open from the off this morning… although  we do have the benefit of a secluded South facing aspect!

So 3.25 miles in 26.40 which equates to an average of 7.3mph.

Lately I seem to have been becoming a more reluctant runner and a conversation with the Big Man (Mr DP) yesterday highlighted to me the reason why.  Where once the running used to be about fun and socialising, it now has a clear purpose.  And since each of us has our own running program, mileage targets, time constraints and other variables including at least two different race dates, it’s not so easy to run together.  Realising that I feel a lot happier… I know that there is a peak of fitness to achieve at a certain point in time and then I’ll be able to use that extra strength to enjoy myself even more than I used to before!

Even so, after ten icky miles yesterday and slightly achy knee joints this morning, I was not raring to get on the machine.

But on I did get and after the distances I’ve recently endured, 5 miles seemed pretty straightforward.  42.26 is not fast by the standards of previous weeks, but I’m still being sensible after last weekend’s 20-miler and with the average at just over 7mph, it’s okay.

One other thought from the Big Man is rattling around in my brain though… why am I not outside.  I run on the machine for a series of reasons:  monitoring heart rate, getting used to running at a particular speed, avoiding the ice & snow in the winter, lack of pleasant local pavements to run on, time available and so on.  This has definitely had a positive effect on my long-distance running ability, as witnessed in the consistency of speed in my Woodingdean runs.

But Spring is upon us and that’s my favourite season for running outside so whilst I may continue to do some training on the machine, I will hopefully find time in the next few weeks to do some of my old cross-country routes too.  And since the Big Man is back in town for a while and there’s a rumour that the Bok has overcome some of his back problems, maybe there’s even a chance of the odd social run too.  Just the thought of it has made me smile!

After running 20 miles on the machine yesterday, I was unsure how I would feel about getting back on it again this morning.

But after the inclemence of yesterday,  the day that dawned was beautiful and with sun streaming through the window it was hard to feel anything other than upbeat.  With a hasty espresso to wake me up and a banana for sugar, I got straight on with it.

I started the machine at 6mph to give my legs a chance to warm up but quickly realised they actually wanted to go faster… I kept running onto the front board.  I increased the speed to 6.5mph and while I’m sure I could have run faster still, I thought prudence was well advised.  I actually experienced no discomfort at all, so the training must be having an effect.

I regretted not putting the fan on though… the combination of the heating, sun and my activity quickly brought me to a hot sweat, but I didn’t want to stop so I just had to endure it.

After yesterday’s Kiss FM session, this morning I opted for Radio 4 and endured some politician getting a browbeating from the presenter.  It was clear that the presenter just wanted a percentage number that could be used later in the news, but the guest was having none of it and managed to get away clean from the more telling elephant in the room.

He pointed out that there has been a 45% increase in public spending within local authorities since 1997 and that councils would easily be able to create efficiencies without cutting front line services.

Whether or not this is the case, this is like saying that ‘we think they’ve been pouring money down the drain for a number of years but we’ve not previously done anything about it because… ‘

Slightly hot under the collar, for more reasons that one, I completed 3 miles in 28.24, average speed 6.3mph.

It’s late now, but when I climbed aboard the magic carpet to do my Friday run it was only just light.  More to the point, I was hardly awake… and maybe I just dreamed that I ran.  Who knows?

Because it was early and I was half asleep (and also because I’m building up to a long run Sunday), I couldn’t bring myself to stress my legs by making them do 8+mph, so I pootled along at 7mph for the first 10 quarter-miles and then increased to 7.5mph for the balance of 5 miles.

Although I really sweated it out, my heart-rate stayed below 165 and I finished in 40minutes 49 seconds. .. average 7.35mph.

It makes me tired just thinking about it, but maybe that’s because it’s late!  Zzzzzzz

In the context of training for a marathon, I have wondered more than once whether running three miles on a Monday really gives me any tangible benefit.

As if to answer my question by analogy and knowing that I have no fee-paying projects right at this moment, one of my colleagues called me this morning to pique my mental faculty with some interesting thoughts and ideas.  These ideas might not pay the bills, but they keep my brain muscle exercised in the way that my little Monday runs do for my legs.

So even though my legs took me 15 miles yesterday, I had a quick 3-mile run on the machine this morning.  25 minutes 47 seconds.

Now to do the same for my head.

Strange to tell, but my legs are changing shape… I noticed this morning.  No, they’re not pear-shaped, although they may well be after the marathon, but there are definitely muscles developing that I’ve not seen before… at least on my legs!

So I kept up the pressure earlier with another lunchtime run on the magic carpet.  One and a quarter miles at 7.9mph, two and a half at 8mph and the final one and a quarter at 8.1mph gave me 5 miles in 37minutes 43 seconds and an average of 7.95mph.

This is 8 seconds off my PB on 3rd Feb, although that was an interval session and I was not even outside my comfort zone today.  I’m guessing that those new muscles could be quite useful to my running.

After yesterday’s run I expected to be quite a bit stiffer today than I was… the programme must be working.

Still, it wasn’t that pleasant running on the machine as my hip is still a little painful.  At least I know how to alleviate the pain now though and hopefully, with a little persistence, I can resolve the problem.

So three miles at 7mph, with a little break after a mile to stretch. 25 minutes 57 seconds.

The broadband went off last night and has only come back since about 4.30pm today.  It surprises me how lost I instantly felt without it, being suddenly without access to research tools, internet banking (admittedly, only paying bills), this site etc.

I have actually had quite a good day though, getting some off-line chores done as well as reading a little more of John Mullins & Randy Komisar’s excellent book Getting to Plan B… which, as far as I’ve read so far, is highly recommended!

I also managed to squeeze in my lunchtime run and in sharp contrast to last week, I was really looking forward to it.

My current general plan with my Friday short runs is to slowly push the speed envelope, so where I ran at 7.7mph last week, today I dialled in 7.8… not a whole lot, admittedly, but worth two and a half minutes across a marathon distance.

It was quite a comfortable pace and with my heart rate still sub-160 at the half-way mark, I increased the speed to 8mph for a negative split.  This was also quite easy to maintain (over this distance, at least!) and I wondered about upping it again, but I think the key at the moment is gently building consistency.

So 5 miles in 38.39, which is 37 seconds better than last week and way easier than the intervals that gave me a similar time on the 26th January.  As much as anything, the run left me feeling great… which is always welcome on a Friday!