Space Cadet

Blog followers will have gathered that I safely survived the interval session on Tuesday night. It was by all means tough to be back running 1k reps especially with the ghastly uphill finish. The puzzling thing has been the continued difficulty in getting my heart rate into the right zone for these efforts; 90% I can just about do but 95% seems unreachable right now. I've been pondering the problem all week; I'm wondering if my efforts to build the quality through the training week are being inhibited by my old lady legs. 

The heart and lungs are happy and 'up for it' but the leg muscles just can't seem to go as fast as my lungs want them to. I'm beginning to assume this is a natural result of the last few months of patchy training. Though I've been keeping aerobic fitness topped up with steady running, I've missed so much of the tough stuff that the legs have some work to do to restore the muscle strength they once had. A steady 14 miles on Thursday saw my legs die well before my lungs as I desperately tried to reach threshold heart rate levels on the run.

Anyway, I'm not gonna be disheartened and will trust I'm building back race fitness, session by session, brick by brick. The adjustments to marathon volume will be taking their toll. 

A cheeky 5k cross country on Saturday morning was a welcome return to race pain; the Open Kross Challenge organised by fine local club Keighley AC is a great little event, held every second Saturday in the month. These are well organised and very friendly races offering a low key alternative to a speed session at the weekend. The event costs only a quid a go and gets the lungs working hard around the new permanent XC course at Cliffe Castle, Keighley. I knocked 40 seconds off my time from a month ago so felt some satisfaction as I struggled through the stiff early miles of the long run this morning. Another 20 miles logged in crazy windy weather. I'm now feeling very spaced, ready for a large bowl of curry and a Sunday telly marathon. Every session counts.

And It's Kick Off

I've just nicely started colouring in the squares on my training spreadsheet; week 1 of 2011 was kicked off yesterday with an easy-steady 10 miles under dull grey skies. Mr Runningbear was my trusty companion and shared my fatigue following the efforts of Tricky's magical mystery run on Sunday. The 'undulations' over 20 miles nearly did me in.

I'm hoping the last 24 hours are recovery enough to face this first intervals session of the New Year. The 1k intervals; half flat, half uphill should get the legs and lungs burning with a return of sub zero temperatures. I always get nervous on tough days, not sure why... I'm probably just anticipating that sicky, lung bursting feeling that follows running at near enough full throttle. I've got butterflies in my tummy at the thought. Wish me luck.

The Great Escape

Wharfedale in patchwork

A return to some quality on the dreadmill for intervals yesterday saw me hammer out 10x500M reps at a fair lick on the machine. At 11.3MPH and gradient set at 1.3% the pace should have been okay but my heart rate was still a bit short of where it should be. I upped the efforts to 2 mins in the final reps, determined to be exhausted. 

Unthwarted I set about some research online comparing notions of treadmill effort with running in the great outdoors. It would seem that a couple of adjustments are needed if you're seeking to truly match the workload. We located a couple of useful sites here and here for some helpful tips on pacing your session. Essentially you need to adjust the speed and gradient to compensate for wind resistance, undulations and the effort of running on normal road or track surfaces. Running all my sessions at 1.3% gradient was a reasonable judgement but I need to up the speed a notch or two next time for a more satisfying, lungbursting workout. 10 X 2 minutes is the plan; a top treadmill tip according to treadmill aficionado and classy runner, Gary D.

Asquith 18 - course profile

After the treadmill training trials this week I was cockahoop to be out on some firm road this morning. The legs were feeling less than frisky but mighty glad to see some sunshine and tarmac after being kept indoors for much of this week. Today was an 18 miler under clear blue skies and bright sunshine. The overnight frost didn't stop this runningbear from getting the long road miles in but did require nerves of steel as I dodged traffic on some of the busier routes around town. Patches of black ice and compacted snow added interest to this undulating route, which was run at a more civilised 7.23 pace this week. I'm definitely learning my lessons from the marathon training breakdown that was last spring; I plan to stay fresh for quality sessions and run steady and long at no less than 7 minute pace... unless it's a tempo session :] Another fine training week in the bank.

Dreadmill Daze

After my toughie tempo sandwich run on Saturday morning I've enjoyed a relaxing couple of days of easy running to recover well and ready myself for tonight's quality session; long intervals. The pretty but pesky snow has disrupted my nice new training plans but the white stuff didn't get the better of this Runningbear. A shuffle around town last night saw me clock 8 miles in the blizzard that hit Ilkley at 8pm. Thankfully the absence of any cars on the roads left space for hazard free running. 

Tonight was a different matter with no option but to go indoors for some quality. The ice and snow have forced a return to Keighley leisure centre for a bit of dreadmill running. I can just about cope with intervals sessions indoors but remain unconvinced that the physical effort is anywhere near a match for a session on the track. The plan was for something long and taxing so 4 x 5 mins seemed a good start. The trick is to translate the pace; there's no let up once that dreadmill belt starts turning over and you need to get heart rate just right for maximum training benefits. 

I'm not sure I managed it tonight. Starting out at 5.40 pace,  the efforts all felt a bit too 'manageable'; no lung bursting or leg burning of note. I finished with an extra effort of 2 mins at 5.14 pace, in an attempt to end the session on a high note. Somehow the heart rate didn't seem to reach it's usual heights so I'm unsure the session achieved it's true purpose or if in fact I'd selected a dodgy dreadmill. But, a total of 10 miles running was a start at least and not to be sniffed at; it's definitely better than nowt and a sensible start to some quality running.

Tenacious Me

Another blog after another buzzy sesh. It's been a long old week but well worth the madness as we're now off skool for two whole weeks!! I'm in heaven. We've days and days ahead of running, sleeping, reading and lolling with cats on laps. We've truly earned time off and it coincides well with getting back into some quality training and enjoying  daylight runs.

I was particularly proud of my stubborn little training streak this week when on Thursday  M & I battled the swirling winds and horizontal rain to churn out 10 miles around town. Not the gentlest of nights but exhilarating and a feeling of getting back into some proper training. Today was no different with a track visit in the wind and rain and a 400s session, splashing through freezing puddles and battling gusts on the bends. Tiring but fab. The times are down from my achievements on the track over the summer but little old leggy is behaving well.

Winter Tingles

Sorry, sorry, sorry [hands up]. I really did plan to blog on Sunday. I then just slumped in bed with a book post run for the entire afternoon before an evening of crazed pre-week washing and cooking Sunday dinner. It all left me in a crumpled heap before a return to the crazy scramble of work life. I'm here blogging now though :]

Blogging has suffered the blight of the mid year craziness at work as I appraise and account for my job and my team and defend each penny from the public purse we spend trying to do a hard but wonderfully stimulating and engaging job. I love my work but it's aborbing and demanding and I get as obsessed and intense about that as with lots of other stuff, like erm ...running... cake... Need I say more? I'm a freak but hope I'm forgiven.

Running however is starting to be ace again. Though I've had a very gentle few weeks of getting the leggy going I'm now getting back into some quality sessions, including a 16 miler last Sunday (that didn't almost kill me) and a bit of V02 work on Tuesday. 

Though I'm slow and blobby and far off full fitness I am running pain free (yippee) and can start planning races once again. Tonight was an easy 7 around the village with M. The night was cold, clear and starry and left my chilled legs with their first winter tingles of the season. 

Back to Business

I'm positively buzzing that we're already midway through the week and so far the leg is still working. Another bit of a leg test last night indicates that all is on the mend. Following no ill effects from Saturday's exploits I'd pencilled in another slightly tough run for last night; a few interval efforts on the grass. 

I sensibly avoided the track surface (get me!) keeping to soft, terrain I tested the leggy with a few intervals to replicate an 800s session. A bit of stiffness in the warm up soon eased off and once the intervals were underway there wasn't a peep from shinny. 

Despite the lack of pain I was gasping like an asthmatic warthog. It was a bit embarrassing as M strode on ahead of me, relaxed and barely breathing i.e. looking far too fit and easy.  Meanwhile I was feeling sweaty, blobby, lumpy and all wrong in Lycra. THANK GOD I can run again. Strange things happen to me when training stops. Where did my fitness go in two weeks?! But grumbles aside; it's so good to be getting back to the business.

Shinanigans

For anyone holding their breath at my apparent recklessness with recovering body parts, it was all okay. After much stretching and icing and rubbing in funny smelling gels  for two weeks the shin was driven over to Carnegie yesterday (on a purple cushion with tassels) for a bit of a track outing. Saturday was a test to see to what extent the leg has recovered or if in fact I'd created the whole thing in my head, (I'm quite imaginative you see). M likened my approach to driving a car at full speed to see what parts fell off. Needless to say I rejected this analogy, (though knew in my head he was right). But I've been going a bit stir crazy not having a proper diagnosis and I just needed to know. I realise that seems a bit bonkers.

The plan was to warm up with M for a couple of miles and then potter around a few 400 reps and see how the change in pace felt. The spikes were left in the car boot and instead I stuck to some big, clumsy trainers to avoid any extra strain. The warm up felt fine, no tweaks though a bit of stiffness remained. By the time we were ready to work the legs felt well oiled. So, off we went around a very gusty track; working for 400m, recovering with a 90s jog over 200m. The combination of very strong wind and my shin caution brought me in at 78s per rep, a few seconds down on usual pace but respectable and a good stretch for shinny. It all went good but I stopped at 8; no point in overdoing things. There was no pain. Running back on my toes felt so good. It's now a waiting game; no more hard stuff for a few days just to see how everything recovers.  But I'm happy with that.

Track Jams

The track training plan was seemingly doomed yesterday. After a forgetful Friday of failing to phone and check out the bookings we arrived at 10am to find coach loads of kids being emptied out at Carnegie... the tiny little ant-type creatures were crawling all over the place for their school sports day and would have presented a serious squishing hazard. After a bit of dithering we discovered the little blighters had taken over South Leeds track too;  the planned session just wasn't going to happen. 

The drive to Seedhill was just too far in the wrong direction and the morning was hotting up as we panicked thinking what to do. At this point I should confess that we were less than keen to stray too far from the most-wonderful-deli-in-the-world. It makes the best, most gooey and chewy chocolate brownies that are, by far the finest reward  for the virtuous afterglow of a tough track sesh. So, some quick thinking took us to the Uni playing fields for some grass intervals. I revisited the site of an old cinder track, (now rugby pitch) that was incidentally the venue for my first school 800m medal...

The track target had been 14x400m reps with a short recovery and pacing at 75s. We opted for 75s intervals with the same short recovery, though a bit of adjustment on speed would be needed for the howling wind, the blazing sun and the change of terrain; the not quite so springy grassy grass lacks the bounce and mesmeric feel of the track.

I was glad to have Ms company as we set out at a pretty fair lick, sub 5 minute pace felt extra tough in the conditions. The efforts rolled on and by number 10 we were both feeling spent. We pushed to 12 before drawing an end to the session. My absence from grass training was taking its toll as the funny sore bit of my right foot that caused my DNF in the winter XC came back to grumble at me. A good session in any case with reps all on target; encouraging given the conditions. I've even created a pretty chart just to celebrate. The post run cake was well deserved.

Scorchio

After a rather tropical training week hitting the miles I'd been bracing myself for the extra toughness of the weekend sessions in the daytime heat... and I wasn't wrong. Coach Scobie made no allowances during Saturday's session; he worked us hard with a descending ladder  from 2k dropping down to 400M, all at sub 80 split pace with a total of well over 5k. The session was a bit daunting given my lack of speed work this year.

I struggled with the running rhythm early on and lacked the even pacing but settled into some speedy running once I found the Runnngbear groove. I felt floaty light in my Nerve spikes and managed to finish with a final flourish of 2.35 for 800M and 71 for the final 400M.

I'm actually enjoying track work for the first time in this second running life. I've some work to do yet to develop the strength endurance but for now, I'm learning to run fast so I can race fast...

This morning was another running feat in the heat; a steady 16 miles from home run early but not quite early enough to avoid the scorching sun. I was crawling over the doorstep hallucinating giant chilled bottles of chocolate milk by 11.30am. The afternoon was one long rehydrating blur...

So, another fine training week in the body bank soon to be followed by a small spending spree; a fast and furious 3k session on Tuesday night. Keep all those pinkies crossed my cheque doesn't bounce.

A Boiled Bear

I hate to think what someone might have googled to land on this post... It was a tough session tonight with a blazing sun and mile efforts to get through. A tough 16 miles on Sunday followed by a seeing to from Team GB physio Alison Rose at Carnegie on Monday left me feeling a bit bruised and less perky than usual. The calf wringing was eye-poppingly painful and coach Scobie just sat there and grinned as I bit my knuckles!

Apparently I have a rather large difference in leg length and am lucky to not be frequently injured! The analysis of my form suggests this is what saves my bacon; I'm 'very efficient' but I need to build up height in my left shoe to give my right leg a bit of a break. Funny to have not discovered this until now...

So, somewhat overheated and niggly I managed 10 in total tonight with a few mile efforts thrown in. A good session if a bit slow but Saturday at the track will more than make up for that. I am SO getting into this speed work and never want the summer to end. Ho hum.

Buzzy Fun

As the days go by and the training starts to take shape I'm increasingly returning to my old self; that training buzz is returning. After watching M run a fine race on Sat I was inspired to return for the ladies record next year. I set it myself whilst adding half a mile to the course following a wrong turn at the finish. It's been on my mind...

Sunday was a steady 15; my first longish run in weeks that hasn't ended in near collapse. So signs are good that my health is back on track and the Runningbear warrior strength is returning. Time to plan some races.

Last night saw a return to canal towpath training; a medium run of 10 miles interspersed with some efforts; 5 x 3mins to be exact. I was tired but in that satisfying, working hard kind of way that leaves you with a residual buzz and ready for the next session.

I'm being good, avoiding leaps in mileage for now and just trying to regain some strength and confidence. First test is my first track race next Tuesday, a 3k at Trafford track. I'm excited and scared all at once. A track race, moi?!

Mammas & Pappas

A mad scamper about last week in preparation for a week off work left me feeling like a bit of an empty husk on Friday. But, with a birthday weekend filled with numerous treats and ample pampering I was soon recharged and ready to go. This little bit older Runningbear can still honestly describe herself as a thirty something...

Many treats have followed including too much food and lots of sunshine and with a week off ahead, complete with visits from M's ma and pa we have lots more good times planned. A tweak of regret at not being in Edinburgh running a marathon was soon wiped away after a run in the heat on Sunday. Impressively this didn't seem to affect the ladies too much with a star run from awesome super Vet Sarah Gee of Reading; a very inspiring run indeed. 

Anyway, lots of nice sunny running planned this week. A trip to the track today was my speed injection for the week;  14x400M at Carnegie track alongside M and local talent Becky L of Skipton. It was a real pleasure to have such hard working and positive company on the track and left me with a real training buzz, a feeling I've been missing of late. My Brooks track spikes were awesome again and my rather bulging calves are starting to acclimatise to the new footwear little by little. No more tough stuff planned except for a bit longer run on Thursday, I need to test how quickly the endurance is returning. Long runs are still a struggle and I've now promised an Old Man a trip to the Doc's to check it all out.

Back On Track

Back to the springy stuff this week to restart the regime, if not in the same volume then at least with a bit of quality work. An early finish from the office into glorious sunshine gave the session a proper holiday feel. I drove to Carnegie, sunnies on, windows down and summer tunes on the radio. Life felt good. 

This is the first hard session in a while; a real effort to ease off and recover has left me feeling ready to spring back into action and a session of 400m reps was a great start. I was met by the Coach Scobie, complete with notebook and stopwatch and not another soul in sight; there was nowhere to hide. A fine new pair of track spikes were with me, ready to break in so I pulled the beauties on. They feel great on and are so snug they feel specially tailored. 

I set out on the first rep, feeling frisky and light on my toes and managed a seemingly effortless lap, jogging 200 before setting out again. The times were a wee bit down on my pace before Xmas but not far off. By rep 6 I was ready for a change of shoes, keen to avoid too much mincing of the old calf muscles. Another six reps in racers all within 1 second brought the session to a fine total of 12 reps at a strong pace and  I was feeling in fair condition. Track work is mesmeric when you feel right and today was no exception. I'm left feeling mean and keen and ready for more, the bear's mojo is definitely back!

Running Demons

The tough 15 miler on Thursday and my resulting noodled legs enjoyed a very easy Friday; lots of sitting down in a darkened room wearing silly glasses. A trip to Bradford Imax for the matinee showing of Alice in Wonderland 3D felt like a real holiday treat, complete with an overfilled bag of pick 'n' mix though sadly without popcorn, which frankly just felt all wrong. A pair of easy 5 milers sandwiched an otherwise pottering about type of day. I was bracing myself for the killer session this morning; a wet and windy track session over at Seedhill. The drive to Lancashire was met with the usual rainy downpour and generally blustery weather but M & I were unphased and committed to the task; 6x1k efforts on heavy legs with a long run planned for tomorrow morning.

It was great to be running in daylight and so enjoyed a rainy 3 mile warm up around the local park complete with some hissing geese and chirpy Moorhens as we splashed our way through newly formed puddles and an occasional miniature lake. There was limited stripping off as we got to track side and after a few strides to get the sodden old legs moving we were off. M led the first rep and we alternated pacing duty which also ensured some intermittent relief from the windy straights.

The reps proved quite tough but manageable, just about. M looked very strong, more so than me. We squeezed out the full 6 with 90 second recoveries and it felt great to be working it and doing our thing at the track again. I felt a passing guilty pang to not manage the 8 reps of my pre-Xmas form. M was quick to remind me that I hadn't been running 20 mile races pre-Xmas either. The 6 were even and run at sub 35 min 10k pace so fit for our purposes and I couldn't have done any more. A really long and steady one tomorrow then, legs allowing.

8.28 From Keighley

The old legs seem to have survived the sunny 23 without too much grumbling. I'm left wondering how they'll feel racing 20 on Sunday so the plan is to ease down a bit after my medium long one this Wednesday.

I've run a steady 5 early this morning, mostly to clear out any debris and unpleasant gubbins from the muscles (technical term there). This might just smooth the way for a good track workout tonight; a tempo sandwich with some 400 reps for the filling. All pinkies crossed these old legs feel up to the business.

@~@~Sent from my BlackBerry~@~@

Anytime. Anywhere.

Just thought I'd try the novelty of posting from the train on my commute this morning...how productive am I!? I've even attached a splendid pic of a fine train platform for you to enjoy...
It's perhaps a bit too early in the day for my fat thumbs to cope with the tiny BB kyes (oops) and there'll no doubt be lots of spelling to correct later so apols in advance. Track session was good last night but epic; after 12 miles they turned out the lights and M and I could only finish up in the dark for a cool down. I felt fresh for the 12, alternating MRP and threshold miles and now wonder how good a session it was. Only time will tell I suppose and I'm still learning. Tonight's a steady 14 though I might push it up a mile and see how that feels. This marathon training is very time consuming...
@~@~Sent from my BlackBerry~@~@

Dreadmill Daze

After the frustrations of Sunday I was determined to make my first quality session this week count. An easy 5 on Monday night gave the very tight quads time to calm down and relax before my weekly visit to the track for some interval action. Tonight's session was a change of tack; a mixed pace session of alternating marathon pace (6.10) with steady aerobic pace (6.50) 1k efforts; completing 16k in total. After a couple of laps warm up with M by my side we set out at 6.50 pace for the first steady rep.

The mental arithmetic alone was sufficient challenge as we worked out our pacing sums through each 200m split. By rep 2 we began to notice an icy glint on the track and after 20 minutes of running it was clear that the temperature was plummeting and the track had just completely iced over. It was incredible to see running surface transform in such a short time. I could have cried. The constant cold weather up north is a right pain in the a*** and I'm starting to lose my patience. I managed to slip my way around a third rep before agreeing with M that it was another bum cheek injury waiting to happen. Thankfully after a quick chat with the bloke at the desk we'd wangled our way into the gym to finish off the session on a machine. A great decision it was too.

The treadmill felt tough at first, mentally more than anything else as we stared at our spot of whitewashed wall or the few red digits on the miniature screen. After rep. 4 things started to feel good and the rhythm of running started to feel pretty smooth and hypnotic. I ended finishing the full 16k with plenty of juice left over and averaged an excellent pace for the total 10 miles. It's a bit bonkers I know, but I'm beginning to wonder if intervals on the treadmill might be quite a good thing. No wind or rain or ice to contend with and no easing down the pace when things get tough. I can't believe I'm writing this but, I actually quite enjoyed it. Yes. Really.

Well 'ard.

I'm back, I think. Today was a toughie. After my long fast one on Sunday I was expecting today to hurt and wondered if my old legs might even give up. I'd planned a threshold and VO2 sandwich of a session; a whopper it was though I don't think I bit off more than I can chew, (ha! apols for the cheese).

After the nippy 18 with Stewart M on Sunday I wasn't expecting much pep in my legs today and at that pace, I thought I'd overcooked things to the point that today might be a waste of time. The session kicked off with a 3 mile warm up, run at tempo to goal marathon pace. A swift intervals set of 12 x 400m reps with reducing recoveries was the tasty filling with another 3 miles to warm down again at tempo to marathon goal pace to finish.

There were no easy miles and I managed it all pretty good. My trusty M joined me for the trip to Seedhill track to test out his misbehaving bum cheek. His gentle jog soon finished leaving him bags of time to clock my splits and shout at me a lot when I started to look lazy. Apparently I never really look like I'm working very hard.

The splits were very even, all well under 3k race pace and I even managed a bit of a spurt for that final rep, despite the usual Lancashire 'tormentor' headwind on that evil back straight. So, after what seemed such a daunting session I'm buzzin' with the running mojo and counting the hours until my next run. It's been ages since I've felt this hungry to train and I'm loving every minute. A medium steady run tomorrow and from the state of the roads tonight I'll be better off with ice skates. M's cheek is still a bit of a worry; another test run for him tomorrow too. A demain.

Tough Cookies

Missing out on Sunday's race was tougher than I'd thought. It felt strange to not be on the start line along with everyone; hoping for that half marathon PB to kick off 2010. I played it safe and have instead spent the last couple of days mooning about the house like a lost lamb, wishing my niggles better and eating too much comfort food. An easy run on Monday was niggle filled but gratefully less so around the Achilles. A good decision then.

To add to our woes, Monday night was the first week of our college assessments; there are 5 of these to come, last night being an optional practice. We all opted to be assessed and the pressure to pass was tangible. We all lined up in our stiff, scratchy and rather ugly navy dentist style suits, complete with ugly matching clogs. This was our first chance to lay our oily hands on proper paying punters. As the lights dimmed the floaty music led us into our first massage exam; the tutor tiptoeing around each one of us, clutching his clipboard, watching for exposed toes or limb crushing moves. The hour flew by as we tensely recalled our body routine, carefully counting the minutes massaging toes and arms. With 7 minutes for legs and 20 for backs I was terrified of exposing a forgotten boob or bum cheek with all the tension.

I was all done at 8pm. The tension was massive as we saw our clients out and awaited our results. With a grand drum roll...we passed! I still can't believe it. A great start to a week of holidays. No more frantic routine rehearsing in the car. It's the real thing for the next few weeks but if I've passed one I know I can do it again. We'll soon be proper massage therapists. Though I don't think I can give up the day job, it might make us a bit of pocket money...

So, back to running and today was a return to some quality to test the legs with the hope the Achilles was behaving. A 1k road circuit with a flat start and a killer uphill finish was the session of the day. With no company this week the times were down but the heart rate high enough to call it VO2 work. A total of 6 reps with 90s recovery brought the session total to 9 miles and some very wobbly Elvis legs by the end. Fingers crossed I can keep the niggles away.