Today's Training

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Originally Posted by bigfella

Is that Tile Hill, Canley and Coventry?

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That is correct...

With our track/clubhouse on the University Of Warwick campus to the south-west, it made a good loop.

I'd guessed from the map at 9.5-10 miles, and distances actually varied between 8.7 and 10.3 miles (i clocked 8.9)

Weekly score: 67.5 miles, 11,000ft. A good midweek club session, and then a decent run today. Not bad for xmas week.

Next week... probably won't fit in a club session, but got a track hour booked on wednesday, i might try and get a decent number of 400 reps in. And must get a good long run in next weekend, 15+ miles.

Track session this morning.

Decided on 400's, and wanted to push the pace a little, so went for as many fast reps (ideally no more than about 80secs) as possible, off 1 minute rests.

Managed 8 in the end. Which i was initially a bit disappointed with... but given a few of them were down between 77-79secs, the relatively short rest period, the cold crisp air, slippy track, (any more excuses!!)... i suppose it wasn't too bad...

Not sure what the implications of the enhanced Tier restrictions will be for club sessions and my own track work... but hopefully my next track session i'll be able to go at 400's with 2mins rest, and get a decent amount of 80-ish second reps in (18 would be very pleasing but perhaps a bit of a stretch)

6 miles.

16 miles on the canals and mean streets of northern Coventry this morning, at around 7:35/mile pace.

Gives a weekly total of 75 miles.

I'm no longer keeping track of ascent. After reading Running Hard again this week, and being inspired by Kenny Stuarts's and John Wild's training diaries, i'm going to keep track of weight instead.

For a couple of reasons...

- I'm pretty much hitting and surpassing 10,000ft/week any way, with a couple of steady uphill sessions and usually one bigger (or more intense) session.
- I've now got somewhere well over a year (in fact more like 18-24 months) of consistent 10,000ft/week in my legs.
- Whilst i'm certainly not overweight (i met an old friend whilst out running this morning and he described me as a "pencil"), i am quite heavy and large in stature for a fellrunner, no doubt being 6ft2 contributes towards this. I don't feel i need to do anything drastic weight-wise, but being a little more military about tracking it will perhaps help me to really keep on top of it.

This week has been consistently 80.9kg... I'd really like to be keeping it at 80kg max, but given it's been xmas and the usual intake of food/chocolates, i'm not too alarmed.

Next week... Hopefully another decent mileage... track session hopefully on wednesday, and another reasonable long run next weekend.

Another cold, snowy and icey run this morning over the less well known areas of the Clent Hills (mainly to avoid sledges and snow boarders!) With a long break from work after Christmas, I managed 4 runs in the last week - a solid 50km with just shy of 2000m ascent. A good start to the year and hoping that long standing niggles which have plagued me in 2020 are at least now manageable and hopefully on the mend.

Have also invested in some rollers for the road bike so will be aiming to get some evening sessions in after work.

A cold and windy lunchtime run today on some of my usual cycle trails. A slushy 6.5 miles but only 450' of ascent taking me to the TP at Aleck Low. Fewer folk about than I had expected.

A lovely 10.5 miles and 1,300 feet walk today with son and dogs. From home, down to Alport and up to Stanton Moor and the Nine Ladies, the Cork Stone and on to todays TP at Moor Plantations. Back down to Alport via Birchover and up through the woods at Raper before back home across the fields.

Still a cold NE wind but apart from a couple of snow flurries a dry day. Other than muddy gateways and stiles it was surprisingly firm underfoot. In the total of 3.5 hours we were out only 12 people seen.

I have wondered if should I be doing such a walk. Many would say no, but exercise is allowed and this is a normal type of exercise for me. I'm doing it directly from home and the closest I came to another person was over 20 yards.

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Originally Posted by Llani Boy

A lovely 10.5 miles and 1,300 feet walk today with son and dogs. From home, down to Alport and up to Stanton Moor and the Nine Ladies, the Cork Stone and on to todays TP at Moor Plantations. Back down to Alport via Birchover and up through the woods at Raper before back home across the fields.

Still a cold NE wind but apart from a couple of snow flurries a dry day. In the total of 3.5 hours we were out only 12 people seen.

I have wondered if should I be doing such a walk. Many would say no, but exercise is allowed and this is a normal type of exercise for me. I'm doing it directly from home and the closest I came to another person was over 20 yards.

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Mmmh. The government wording will have been drawn up by civil servants who might have no notion of what exercise means to those that regularly take it - and who clearly don't ride bikes! [Brief pause while I contemplate explaining fell running to Messrs Podgy Gove and Johnson :)].

I wonder what a "Paula Radcliffe" (I don't follow road running) would regard as reasonable to keep herself fit, and sane, in these difficult times?

Club session this morning. I did have the track booked but obviously that option is now gone, so it was onto the snowy and slippy grass.

10 x 400mtrs with 2mins rest. Mostly 79-80secs, though a big effort at the end produced a couple of 78secs to finish.

Having done the same session this time last week on the track, but with only 1min rest, it was remarkable how much difference the extra minute made. It was almost like starting from scratch each time, and i think it was only on the 8th rep that the familiar heavy-legged lactic feeling made its presence known.

8 miles. A solid start to the week, 30 miles down already.

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Originally Posted by Graham Breeze

Mmmh. The government wording will have been drawn up by civil servants who might have no notion of what exercise means to those that regularly take it - and who clearly don't ride bikes! [Brief pause while I contemplate explaining fell running to Messrs Podgy Gove and Johnson :)].

I wonder what a "Paula Radcliffe" (I don't follow road running) would regard as reasonable to keep herself fit, and sane, in these difficult times?

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I presume that the three young women I saw searching for their car keys in the Outwoods today had only driven a short distance for their permitted daily exercise; and also that they were all from the same household (e.g. students sharing a house), rather than violating the rule about meeting no more than one other person for outdoor exercise.

Anyway, I did 6 hill reps: first one in 2m44s, the rest all between 2m50s and 2m54s, so slower than last time. I can't blame the mud: only the lowest section of the path was significantly muddy (I chose this path because of its good gravel surface, as well as its sustained gradient). My recovery times were a little less excessive than on my previous effort.

Each day this week has been the same out-the-back door run up to the trig behind the house (5.2 miles circular, a mere 788 feet) and each day has been hell. We've had snow on the ground since last week.

A run that's usually a doddle, often made before breakfast as a warm up to the day, has been a massive chew this week due to the snow. Snow from ankle depth to mid-shin, but above the knee in places, and formed into a series of chest high 'snow dunes', submerging the 5-bar gate behind the trig. Soft and so difficult to get any purchase on when wading through. Each day, a new covering and new drifting has obscured the previous days prints, with no alternative but to trudge through. It's like running in deep sand and the novelty definitely wore off days ago. I've even resorted to choosing a route back home that ensures the last mile is on the lane, usually avoided, just so I can pick up the pace.