3.56a.m.
Two things I know about 3.56a.m. on a Sunday morning. Number one: the sun has begun to rise. Number two: it is no time to wake up feeling as fresh as a daisy only to have your heart sink when you realise that it is three bastard fifty six in the bastard morning. I learned these valuable lessons this morning at 3.56a.m.
I then lay there in all my fresh-as-a-daisyness until a shade before 6a.m. when I fell asleep only to be woken by the alarm an hour and fifteen minutes later feeling like someone had been standing on my face. I dragged myself out of bed and downstairs to prepare some breakfast before getting ready and heading out of the door to meet Simon, author of Ware2Barefoot, for an approximate 15km run.
I’d contacted Simon after reading his blog as he a) lives just up the road from me and b) runs in Vibrams. We decided to organise a run together and today was that day. He is training for the Eden Marathon so he ran the 5km to where we had decided to meet. I’d planned to take him on my 15km route and then he would run an additional 5km home bringing his total distance up to around 25km. I was happy just to attempt 15km as this was to be further than I had run in the VFF’s before and, with a few niggly aches, could have turned into a bit of a trial by fire for me.
Anyway, I met Simon as planned, we had a quick chat and then we set off, talking all the while. I think we chatted for the entire run, it felt good to have some company on a long run and the kms passed easily. I was aware that he is a much quicker runner than I and felt I was slowing him down. He very graciously replied that it was good training for him as he needs to learn to pace himself.
I left him 15.5kms later, back where we started, for him to run his additional 5km back home. I’m pleased to report that my feet and legs survived and (currently) feel OK. The Garmin misbehaved again today, resetting itself to zero and stopping – something I only noticed about 11kms into the run, so today’s distance has once again been worked out manually on Running Free Online. It seems the Garmin is also struggling with Juneathon. So, a big thank you to my running partner for the day for being so patient with slow old me and helping the kms pass so enjoyably. And that is day 12 in the bag.
Posts Tagged ‘Garmin
flat
I wanted a short run today. I’ve run nearly 70kms since the beginning of June and my little legs are protesting. After completing all of my Saturday tasks, I’d worked out that I could watch all 3 World Cup games and run in the gap between Argentina vs. Nigeria and England vs. USA.
So, around about 5pm, I got changed and set off on what I’d planned to be about a 4-5km run. I switched on the Garmin and thought about a route I could run. But… in the excitement of the past few days, I’d neglected to recharge the Garmin and it was giving me a “low battery” message. Did I have time to go home and charge it and risk missing some of the evenings football? I certainly couldn’t estimate how far I’d run. I could run a route I know and then go home and map it on Running Ahead and work out my distance that way or… I could just run a tried and tested route that I already knew the distance for. Unfortunately, that meant a repeat of the run I did on Monday which was 6.35kms. Oh well… that’s just what I’d have to do.
So as punishment for forgetting to charge the Garmin, I ended up running about 2kms more than anticipated. My legs feel constantly heavy but, like Sorelimbs, after the first mile or so the niggly aches and pains go away.
So, I know how far I ran as it was a carbon copy of Monday’s run. As for time, I’ve no idea. It didn’t feel fast but it didn’t feel too slow either. Maybe, like baby-bear’s porridge, it was just right.
I’m off to charge the Garmin now…
Juneathon so far: Run – 75.65kms / Cycle – 12.6kms
Start, Stop, Reset, Start – Diminishing Distances – Nearly A Perfect 10
I shall get the whinge out of the way first. A race like this must surely take months of organising and coordination to put everything in place for the big day. So, on the day of the race, you would imagine that the organisers would walk the course to check that everything was as it should be and that the gate at the start of the course was unlocked so the runners could actually get through. Instead we were led to the start area and held there for 25 minutes before we were told that the gate was locked and the start would be delayed. Confusion ensued, people wandered off to answer the call of nature whilst the rest of us stood around trying to understand what was going on. And then we were off… running up a dusty track, the beep of Garmins audible all around as people hit “start” and then we slowed as we filed through / jumped over a narrow gate. And then we stopped. Because the start was being moved to past the offending locked gate. Once again the beep of Garmins as people sighed, hit “stop” and then “reset”. A quick wave of a flag from a local dignatory and then we were off again. But where was the start line? Who knows? Perhaps it’s just better to hit “start” on the Garmin and hope… so that is what I did.
Race HQ was a local school so there was a secure bag storage area, changing area, proper toilets (and no queues), plenty of car parking, somewhere to chain my pushbike… so far, the day was ticking all the right boxes. Added to this, the weather was lovely – clear blue sky, slight breeze – perfect.
The race is mostly run on the Cole Green Way – a bridle path which used to be part of an old railway line. It is relatively flat, mostly straight and has mature trees on either side keeping the path in shade. The route deviates from the bridle path and travels through a few picturesque villages before rejoining the Cole Green Way, looping back on itself around the 5km mark and returning back towards Race HQ. It is a very pleasant route with a few slight uphills compensated by a few slight downhills. Until the 9km mark where you leave the bridle path, pass the football club and turn sharp right before turning sharp left and up the sort of hill you wish wasn’t at the end of a race. It is steep and fairly long and caught a few people out as they turned the corner and slowed from a run to a walk as they ascended. Fortunately, I know the area very well and knew what to expect so mantained a steady pace, stared at the floor a few metres in front of me and slowly ran up it. Anyone who had put a final burst of speed at the 9km mark would have sorely regretted it turning the corner and realising that the last 400m was all uphill. Fortunately the finish line at County Hall is about 50 metres past the brow of the hill and there was a small but vocal crowd gathered that lifted the spirits in time for a quick dash at the end. A T-shirt, a shot glass, water, bananas and slices of orange were all available as we finished.
After my ill fated training run where I needed a quick lie down, I didn’t want a repeat performance. I had had another easy training run mid week and come in at just over 1 hour for a 10k distance. Today I wanted between 5.40 – 6 mins / km. I felt it was acheivable and had it been the full 10km distance, I worked out that I would have come in in 58:56 – slightly better than I had predicted. Unfortunately this wasn’t the full 10k distance. Although the race is generally referred to as the Hertford 10km, it’s proper title is the Hertford Charity Run and the websites small print says “approximately 10km”. The route posted at race HQ showed 9.6km and, because of the amended start line, my Garmin 9.35km.
The frustrating thing is that the atmosphere, the route, even the weather made this a great race. If the organisers could find another 500m to make it the full 10km, get some chip timing and ensure that access to the route was unhindered, this would come as close to the perfect 10km as I could wish for.
Soundtrack to this post: Cabaret Voltaire – James Brown
whoops
No Power – Miscalculations – Birthday Cake And The Accidental Half Marathon
A cheeky, un-blogged 10k happened midweek (55: 13 so a bit quicker than my other recent 10kms) and a planned 18ish kms for my Sunday morning. As it was my birthday and Mothers Day there was a lot to fit into today, so when I turned on my Garmin to find that the battery had run low, I decided just to run approximately what I thought was the correct distance as there was no time to go back home and wait for it to charge. I was fairly confident though as todays route was to be a combination of a couple of well-trod routes and I just planned to loop around some of the component parts to make up the 18-19k distance.
The last few weeks has seen me increase my “distance run per week” by almost 100% in 3 weeks, so a lot faster than any training schedule would advise, and I have been worried about pushing it too hard in case I picked up an injury. Today was to be no different although I planned to step it up towards the end and then do a final sprint 500m. All was well to begin with. I have found it difficult to reach a comfortable pace and I struggle with the first few kms. Discomfort in the calves comes about 4kms in but I know that it’ll pass if I just keep going. Around what I guesstimate to be 8kms, the running became easier and I was just bowling along, keeping a nice constant speed and daydreaming. As I completed a couple of loops of one part of the course and set off on the homeward leg, I was gripped by doubt that I may have miscalculated the distance and come up short. With this in mind, I decided to add another final loop into the run on the way back home. The last 2 km saw a slightly higher pace with a kind-of-sprint for the last few hundred metres then it was back home for a shower before my parents arrived for birthday / Mothers Day lunch and cake.
A few hours later, curiousity got the better of me and I checked the distance I had run. According to mapometer.com, I had covered 22.29km (13.85miles) – further than the 19kms I’d planned and further than I shall be running next Sunday in the Lisbon Half Marathon!!
So no doubt that I can at least complete the race distance. As for time… I’ve no idea. Todays run was probably 2h10mins. What with little niggly aches and pains+subsequent lack of training, I think I’ll be happy with something in the 2hr ballpark. Sub 2hrs would be great but let’s see what next weekend brings.
Soundtrack to this post: Tiger Lillies -The Dreadful Story Of Harriet And The Matches
