So here comes the blog post that has been due since I sprinted across the parkrun finish line on Saturday. Lets get the excuses out the way, life is hectic at the moment. We landed back in the UK on Friday, perplexed by a bright yellow thing in the sky! Not that we had time to rest, as soon as we'd unpacked it was time to pack up the rest of our lives and clear the house. Building work on our extension started yesterday so our weekend consisted of throwing out a plethora of junk acquired over the years, batch cooking meals, taking the cats on holiday to Paula's folks. This meant that despite finding time to run, the chance to update the blog proved elusive.
Which leads me to Tuesday, my first commute for a couple of weeks and the perfect opportunity to put some thoughts down. What would have been a single run, has now become three.....
The Run #1
Despite walking and swimming whilst in Iceland, on Saturday I was lacing up for the first time in 13 days. My last run had been the St Luke's 10 mile race, a satisfying PB. Of course Saturday is parkrun day (only a matter of time before its officially renamed), the question as always becomes where to run? Our other weekend activities dictated this, we needed a town based run so that boxes etc for packing could be acquired. With this in mind we headed to Chelmsford, for the third time already this year (almost a regular). Mrs H couldn't be persuaded into her running gear, so I lined up at the classic course start line. I think this was the first time in 2014 that the main route was possible, flood water has tested the resolve and the Chelmsford team have been excellent with some imaginative course routes to ensure no cancellations.
My expectations were low, this would be like the first session of testing, wanting to push but staying just about comfortably within limits. I was also running without gps as I'd left my garmin on the coffee table. This meant a return to the Nike app on the phone, no way of referencing during the run as it was safely stowed in a pocket.
I settled into a decent rhythm, without anything to guide me I just stuck to what felt comfortable. The effort was greater than an easy run, but it could have been a 28 minute tank for all I knew! For the first 3km I stuck with a couple of runners who felt like they were running at about the right pace for me. I pulled away from them as the course has a brief climb, always a good sign when I have power up hill. Other than a brief chat to myself with a kilometre to go, I was feeling rather good. As we entered the final lap of the first park I was passed by a guy who was getting a second wind and enjoying himself, he was striding away from me but I wasn't overly concerned. With 400m to go a father had joined his son to encourage him to the finish line, I jokingly added that he should easily beat a 30 (only one year out) fatty like me & with 200m to go his dad said to kick, so I went too!
Those final 200 metres were one or my most enjoyable parkrun experiences. I know parkrun is a run, not a race, but with a finish line in sight that's not how we saw it! My competitive spirit kicked in and I surprised myself with the speed and endurance I had, overtaking at least four! After being pipped on the line in Colchester earlier in the year, this was a fun way to end the run. I even managed to haul in Mr 2nd wind, who complimented me on the finish. As someone who never excelled at sport in my youth, it was nice to be praised and feel like a winner, even if the prize was 132nd place!!!!
The Conclusion #1
My official time was 25:18, a respectable return having had my feet up for a couple of weeks. I don't think I'm far away from breaking 25 minutes again and hope to be close to PB pace by Helsinki in 10 weeks.
I was also happy to have paced well, it was nice to know I can keep to a faster pace without some tech on my arm!
The most pleasing aspect of the run was the lack of pain. Perhaps rest is good for you! There were no occurrences of shin splints, achilles or calf pain.
The Run #2
Sunday. Long run day (another renaming opportunity?). After deciding to lie in for a bit longer I was out on the road to see how the long run would go. I noticed my quads were tight, lack of post parkrun stretching!
Taking a look at my schedule seemed to suggest 130 minutes of easy was the order of the day, over two hours?!?! I made the call to run long and just see how it would go, anything over an hour would be satisfactory, despite a half marathon being just two weeks away.
The sun was out, the temperature mid teens, a big culture shock to Icelandic weather! The lack of flood water meant that I could explore other routes, a lap of Bishops Stortford wouldn't be required. I took on the Manuden to Rickling Green route, a track that you'll be lucky to see another person on. It does include a real tough ascent, that you recover from for all of a minute before you dip & climb once more.
After I got into a rhythm the quad pain subsided and I found myself to be settled into a consistent pace around the 6:05/km mark. After 45 minutes I arrived at the cricket pitch in Rickling, downed a High 5 gel and turned for home. I felt great, once I was running alongside the main road I was able to pick up my pace, dropping well under 6:00.
With 4km back to Stansted I decided not to be greedy. This was a day for banking the sunshine miles and not attempt to add extra junk miles by turning further from home.
So I was home, 13km completed in 1:18, a model of 6:00/km consistency.
The Conclusion #2
A bottle of Fridg Cookie Dough was my reward, alongside a day of nagging knee pain. For the rest of Sunday and a bit of Monday I found my left knee to be very tender, just above the cap. The quads were tight when I returned so I went straight on the foam roller, the knee pain was perplexing though. A bit of ice later in the day didn't seem to alleviate either!
It was a shame to spend the rest of the day in pain as the run was so positive.
The Run #3
I'd put my running kit together on Monday evening more in hope than expectation of being able to run. Thankfully an extra night of rest had paid dividends and I felt decent. This was great as the daylight appears to have returned!
I could return to the loop! Regular readers will know that the country lanes around Stansted are my bread and butter, yet off limits in the dark hours. I took on the southern half of the loop.
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