Category: Short run

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Replay, speeded up

After attending Clive and Nat’s EXCELLENT party on Saturday night (the new extension is a real triumph guys!) I had only a brief window of running time yesterday morning.  Cliff and I had discussed running together, but since he had wimped out of the party on account of having the sniffles (I think that he agreed he was a WUSS, although the rest of us are probably grateful that he didn’t share them with us!), I guessed he’d probably not be up to it.

More through being too lazy to devise another route than any desire to compare times (no, really!), I followed the same route that Dai, Daren & I ran last week.

It had been raining for most of the preceding 24 hours so I guessed it would be muddy, hence decided to wear the orange shoes, but I actually managed to find very little beyond surface mud… the MUD season has clearly not yet started in earnest!  The shoes however, are great… go see Kurt at Run in Hove if you want to be prescribed something similar!

There are a few wooden bridges and stiles en-route and these were perilously slippery, but my ice-driving experience got me through!

Let’s cut to the chase, so to speak.  The time last week (clearly hampered by a self-confessed Division 2 girl guide) was 75 minutes.  My unstressed time for the 7 mile route yesterday was, er um, 62 minutes!

Which brings me to a question regarding Daren’s fitness league.  How do we differentiate between the different players?  Daren might complain that he’s slow, but if cheerfulness is taken into consideration, he’s way up at the front.  Dai is clearly a contender too, as he can get up after months off and run that distance at that speed.  Cliff and Pete, both a lot older than me, could run at that speed even if you made them go around the circuit 10 and 15 times respectively.  Meanwhile Nick might only run it once, but it would be in about 14 minutes flat.

We clearly need a new differentiator.  I propose an annual timed route of about ten or twelve miles, with a handicap system based on the number of miles run by the individual in the previous 12 months… which gives Daren a fighting chance, with only a 65m superyacht to run around for months on end! 

To start the proposals coming in, may I put forward the route from my house to the Beacon and back, or alternatively Clayton Church to Blackcap & back.  What say ye?

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Demolition in progress

The last time I ran with Dai it was chucking it down with rain, so it was rather appropriate that Daren, Dai and I should choose this morning to run since it was once again precipitating in-extremis.  In every other way though, it was a lovely day to go out running.  And a good day to take the orange shoes for a spin.

We headed out past Ote Hall, getting a cheery wave from the lady of the manor as she drove past, out past the pyjama-llamas (I know Debbs, they’re Packham’s Alpacas really) and down into Wivelsfield village.  Then up Hundred Acre Lane and down through the woods.  It was all so beautiful, despite the rain.

Once past the industrial estate (hey Lou, your garage is about the size of my house!) we ran down the magical path and then back across the common to home.

The orange shoes performed well by all accounts and the soles were strangely cleaner at the end, but much wetter!  There’s still little to beat running with friends (other than maybe eating breakfast with friends, or having a beer with friends).  And I found this lovely photo of Daren & Dai hanging over a five-bar gate when they were much smaller.

Seven miles took us one hour fifteen, which must be under 6mph, but only because we were gassing so much!

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Real quick

This is going to be a really quick post, as I’m in the office, but I have a couple of speculative articles to write this morning so this is to get me in the mood.

Tuesday was once again training night with Haywards Heath Harriers and I duly turned up despite the pouring rain and the fact that I had to change in the office to get there on time.

We warmed up with an 800m jog as per normal… normal, that is, except for the rain. 

David had laid out some flags as markers and after stretching out a bit, we hopped on one leg to the first flag, the other leg to the next, jogged to the last flag, did ten squat thrusts and sprinted back to the start.  Sounds easy doesn’t it, but it is surprising how quickly you run out of puff.  By the end of fifteen minutes, the hops were slower, the squat thusts more laboured and the sprints a mild jog!

At one point I was stunned when the whole ensemble raced inside because of a heavy downpour… having run through last winter (oh, and with the protection offered by my Gore jacket, which I had judiciously chosen to wear!) I hardly noticed it.  To be fair though, there were very few other jackets present and many cotton t-shirts, so I can’t say I blame them!

Next up were 200m tag sprints.  One of a team of two sprinted 200m around the end of the track, where the other carried the metaphoric batten for the second 200m and the first walked back across the middle to the start to keep it going.  My partner Mike was quick enough to ensure that I always had to jog back to meet him, but not as quick as two of the others as I was always chasing the same two people down the back straight.  This was a really great target and it made me stretch out far more than I otherwise would have done.

On one lap I found myself behind a young lad who consistently has too much energy, demonstrated rather well by the fact that in addition to being faster than anyone else, he also kicks his heels right up as if he’s still only playing!  I chased him hard down the straight and round the corner, but on on the exit he just stretched ahead while my energy failed!

Having run us out of energy, we then had a gentle 400m jog, followed by a mass start for a 400m sprint.  I started slow (or was that I HAD to start slow, on account of still being puffed out?) but managed to reel a few people in down the finishing straight.

The final 400m jog then started out as a walk for me, as that was all I could manage, but I must be getting used to the training as my legs weren’t quite so troubled later in the week as they had been in previous weeks.

This weekend is another garden special, but I shall hopefully get a long run in at some point to see whether the training is starting to make a difference there.  Have a GREAT  l o n g  weekend all!

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Running after satisfaction

Last weekend I had the good sense not to try to run after a heavy day’s labour in the garden.  Yesterday once again saw me working hard on the new, um, shed and by the end of another eight hours or so, I had adapted the design again and jointed out the floor joists… of which there are eight.  I had also treated all the cuts and stowed everything away in the dry to make assembly slightly easier… whenever that actually happens!

As with my workbench, I consulted with Andrew, my woodworking mentor, which enabled me to take the huge step of getting my ideas off the page!  Though I collapsed in a small heap around 7.30pm, I experienced that rare type of satisfaction that you gain from trying something for the first time and somehow managing to make it work.

Somehow I managed to convince myself that I should run today, despite many contra-indications.  My muscles, particularly in my back, were really stiff from yesterday; it had been raining and it was now hot, meaning that the humidity was high and… isn’t that enough?

I ignored sense & went out anyway.  The going was really tough and unlike normal, it didn’t get any easier as I progressed.  I ran out past Ote Hall, skirted Wivelsfield Church, went round the back of Wivelsfield and then dropped into the village itself.  From here I ran straight along Hundred Acre Lane, cut round the Industrial Estate and returned via the Common.

I was not surprised that this short run took me over an hour, but I was surprised that I managed 7.35 miles.  The one hour nine minutes time meant I had only run at 6.39mph, but even this was faster than it felt.  Now I’m in a quandary as to whether this counts as a short, or long run!

This afternoon I felt the need to move very slowly in case of a personal power outage, but I still managed to lay the weed (or is that rat?) barrier and drill a few holes which will hold the posts up and treat the cuts and holes a second time.  I guess it was quite fortunate that I ran out of wood and hardware, otherwise I might have been tempted to overdo it completely!

Bizarrely I also had grand intentions to move files etc into my new office, but hey!  Enough!

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Off-track training

Last night was training night at Haywards Heath Harriers and once again, Martin was running the show.

There was a good turnout, in spite of the chilly wind and I for one needed the 800m warm-up to do just that, despite three layers.  After stretching out we ran another 400m, this time fast, faster and fastest. 

Next up was a rough 75 jog before turning to sprint back.  There were some quickies in my group so I ended up pushing myself hard and ended up right out of breath after three or four reps. 

Which was a shame as the next session was a timed mile.  I should have had no problem with this, but instead I had two.  First, the chilly wind was giving me ear-ache and second, I couldn’t breathe out enough to get rid of the stitch that I’d got from the spinting.

I laguished home in a sluggish 7 minutes 19 seconds, with only my ease in the last 100m sprint to suggest that I could have got a (much?) faster time.

From here, Martin took us off-track, running down into the local woods to a couple of useful football-pitch-sized grass fields.  Useful also because they had a steep gradient, or in fact several.  Twice up the hill across the middle of the first field and back around the outside left me hot and shedding one layer.

The second field had a similar gradient, but also had large undulations and by the time I had struggled up the first couple of short hills, I had shed a second layer and was much more comfortable.  By the third time around I was coasting happily down the downhill sections and sprinting hard up the final hill.

With twilight fast approaching, we took a gentle jog back up through the dark woods and I really admired the way that the only partially sighted Mike just went with the flow, keeping a smile on his face despite the fact that he clearly couldn’t see the dimly lit multiple cambers, tree-roots, stiles, mud, overhanging foliage etc.

A final 500m jog around the track finished the evening and sitting here the next day, my legs don’t feel too tired… let’s see how they are tomorrow though!

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Tuesday training

It may prove to be too far to drive after work, but I thought I would try Haywards Heath Harriers midweek training session for a second time.  I was not disappointed.

The trainer this evening was Martin, who introduced himself to me after I had run the 800m warm-up by getting me to do another lap on my own, split into fast, faster and fastest.  This meant I was knackered before we even started!

First up was some circuit training: two sets of two minutes each of star jumps, side jumps, passing medicine balls at shoulder height, squat thrusts and press-ups.  If I thought that I had been exhausted, I was now!

Next was 15 minutes of the fast, faster, fastest that I had already experienced.  Wiser now, I moderated my enthusiasm, but after ten minutes or so of keeping pace with the ensemble, Martin pulled three or four of us out to put more effort into it… basically dropping the fast bit and running only faster and fastest.  Two laps of that and I was pooped!

Next were 200m sprints around the end of the track, with a recovery walk back across the middle.  I thought I was going to get away with coasting this, but I soon found myself rising to be competitive!  By the time I had completed eight of these, I was strangely starting to get into the swing of it.

To cool down we had four light & fast 75m runs with a recovery walk back and then stretched out in a group.  A gentle 400m jog rounded off the evening.

I felt pretty good, but my second-morning-after aches were profound and as of Saturday morning I was still suffering.  The sign of a GREAT work-out!  Whether or not I decide to continue, I can thoroughly recommend this club!

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Rain gear engaged

It was raining in a kind of lightweight but persistent way, but after a night of torrential rain I felt that it might be a good morning to test out my new Adidas mud pluggers & make sure that my Gore jacket was still working.  I had only a short window of opportunity this morning, but as I ran off down the road, so my phone beeped and the message ‘I thought you were coming early’  shortened it further.

The new trainers seemed quite comfortable, but as Kurt observed, were a bit clonky on tarmac and slippery on wet wood.  Strangely, despite the rain and overnight downpour, the was no mud at all, but the undergrowth was sodden wet and the routes onto the Common were not at all obvious.  Eventually I braved the stinging nettles and shoulder-high ferns to get through, leaving my wet legs and shorts decorated with hundreds of little seeds.

I ran around the Common once and then another half again so that I could exit more easily and then ran home.  28 minutes, 3.3miles makes just over 7mph which was not bad considering the faffing around getting onto the Common.

My recommendation is not to get run over by a pair of these orange things though… the leaf below was my first casualty!

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A quiche on Friday

6.30am yesterday arrived mid-dream and even though the alarm woke me, it left me unsure for some time how much of the intrigue in my head was real.  I was rising early for a run with the Bok and for once (after consuming my quadspresso) I felt ready for him!

However, 7.30 came and went and with no call to warn of his late arrival, I called him at ten to eight.  It just rang out to voicemail.  Worried, I called back at 8am to be answered by a sleepy voice… just woken up.

Mindful of the time, but not wanting to waste the morning, I went out for a quick run on my own.  Out to the Royal Oak, up through Hundred Acre Wood, back down the magical path and back through to the house.

I managed to maintain the pace that I had run at the track on Tuesday evening for about twenty minutes, delighted at how effective just one training session had been and although my performance tailed off, I was still running well at the end.

En route I got accosted by three boisterous dogs, received a telephone call, which, since it was from John Munn who was a very keen runner himself, I took without stopping, and got rained on, albeit briefly.

I covered a sniff under 6 miles in a mere 48 minutes… just under 7.5mph.  Based on that, I guess I had better continue with the training, although maybe I should give the more local Burgess Hill club a try to save the additional drive!

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Mid week training

At the suggestion of Ray and Marian at the weekend, I joined the Haywards Heath Harriers for a training session last night.  The weather continued to impress as we completed two jogged laps of the grass track, before Brenda warmed up our office-bound muscles with a series of stretches and jumps.

Dave then started us on the hard work, with press-ups, sit-ups and squat thrusts interspersed with short jogs and sprints.

After another jog, he set us on a pyramid run around the track, with two, four, six, four, two minute race-pace runs, separated by one-minute recovery walks.

Brenda then stretched us out again and we completed a final slow lap of the track before heading for home.

It was a diverse and really friendly bunch of people and the training was sufficiently taxing to feel that I had given my body a good workout, without being exhausted.  The facility there at Whitemans Green is pretty good too and I can recommend the group to any locals who want to improve their running.

For the record, I reckon I ran around 6 km, or 3.75 miles during the evening and I noticed one of the younger lads running home afterwards!  Far too much energy!

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Allarming night’s sleep

I’ve actually had two terrible night’s sleep as I sit and write this, but I wish to ignore last night & talk about the one before.

In amongst the myriad dreams and awakenings, I found myself running down the road with the Bok.  I knew I was dreaming because each time my legs started to hurt, I reminded myself I was still asleep and the pain went away.  Several times he disappeared ahead and each time I remembered my somnolence, pushed harder and caught up again. Quite strange.

The Bok is a very sharp cookie.  For two or three stiles on the trot, I arrived first and on reaching the far side ran off without waiting, giving me a good few yards head-start, which I might add, I need!  He didn’t let me reach the fourth stile first, nor any of the remaining ones, disappearing ahead with more vigour each time!

We headed out past Ote Hall and to the north of Wivelsfield where we found the Llamas above… they were SO funny, their fringes cut in what I can only describe as a very haute couture style… for a humble floor mop.  Each time I see them I remember my disbelief when luscious Debbs first told me they were there.  I know that they are really ole-packhams or something, but pyjama-llamas seem so much more fun!

We dropped into the centre of Wivelsfield and past the school.  The Bok likes to run through the school car-park where the footpath goes, while I favour the oncoming traffic along the road.  I waited until there were some trees separating us and I put in a quick sprint, slowing again by the time he could see me. 

This tactic meant that I arrived just ahead at the start of Hundred Acre Lane, which is a gentle hill that leads out of the village.  Here I reminded myself that I was still laying in bed and since it didn’t hurt, I pushed the pace a little.  About halfway up the hill my ploy was rewarded with an extremely gratifying beep-beep beep-BEEP!  Followed by a duplicate that belied the pain that the Bok was experiencing.

I gave a triumphant cheer… and increased my pace a little, knowing that he had nothing left and arrived at the top of the hill some distance ahead.  Maybe I wasn’t really dreaming… I was hurting now too!

After a short walk of recovery, we swooped down the trails through the wood and along to the industrial estate.  We took the magical path along towards the development site that used to be the sleepy St George’s Retreat, down across the Common and back towards the house.

As we approached the last stretch of road I sensed that the Bok was going to stretch his legs and get his own back and unfortunately I had little sleep left in me.  I pushed as hard as I could and though he was a little ahead at the end, it wasn’t the rout that he (and I) expected!

As we staggered past my neighbour, who looked on in mild amusement, the Bok delivered the statistics from the mighty bok-watch.  7.09 miles in one hour and two minutes.  A Sterling performance, one that he reckons is our fastest, certainly in the near distant past.  Only 6.86mph, but mixed in with a number of short walks were several significant stretches where we were running four minute km’s… he might remind me what the actual number was… you know how difficult it is to remember your dreams once you’ve woken up.