Today's Training

20 very slow and steady miles today.... running across the city (and back) to watch some clubmates in action in local university XC relay...

Jogging down the course to find a suitable vantage point, and what should i see appearing in the distance but the unmistakable silhouette of a Chorley vest.... alas it was not our very own Tindersticks, but a young student... i think a very local XC relay in the midlands would be stretching Fishwicking to the very limit.

76.5 miles for what has been a fairly textbook week.... a couple of decent club sessions, a decent race yesterday, and a good long run today (albeit a lot slower than i'd like, but given the week's efforts i couldn't squeeze in any more effort).

Next week... hopefully similar... possibly a run out next weekend in the National XC Relays at Mansfield in a 5km leg for our 2nd team.

My hip is still a bit tender from last Thursdays tumble and now a horrible green/yellow/brown colour. A 4 mile road run on Saturday and a 9 mile walk in the Hafren Forest yesterday.
Back from Wales this evening and with my Covid/Flu jab booked for first thing in the morning I decided I must go for a run just in case I'm wiped out for a few days.

At 8pm, in torrential rain, I set off on a tarmac loop taking in Bakewell and Sheldon. Past Magpie Mine into a strong headwind, back to Haddon Grove and then home. It rained throughout but surprisingly I quite enjoyed the battle!
10 miles, 925 feet in 1hr 25min.

Hip giving me a bit of jip now but don't expect to be doing much over the next couple of days so hopefully it'll settle down.

Club night last night and 300mtr hill reps.

I was still feeling a bit sore from the weekend so didn't throw everything into this session... ran them nice and relaxed just to get the legs working.

Aim for most of the group was 8-10 reps... i called it a day after 7.

9.5 miles total, 4 miles AM. Hopefully lead to me feeling fresh again towards the weekend.

A decrease in numbers tonight... clocks going back and unpleasant wind and rain, and there were only about 10 of us tonight, instead of the 20+ we had last tuesday!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Travs

Club night last night and 300mtr hill reps.

I was still feeling a bit sore from the weekend so didn't throw everything into this session... ran them nice and relaxed just to get the legs working.

Aim for most of the group was 8-10 reps... i called it a day after 7.

9.5 miles total, 4 miles AM. Hopefully lead to me feeling fresh again towards the weekend.

A decrease in numbers tonight... clocks going back and unpleasant wind and rain, and there were only about 10 of us tonight, instead of the 20+ we had last tuesday!

---

AAC had 22 attend its evening "Kenyan hills on Fisherbeck" session yesterday. Tarmac can show its good side at this time of year.

An anticlockwise circuit of Barden Moor from Barden Tower with my friend and Neighbour MJ. Windy on top and wet underfoot, but no rain. Saw no other walkers or runners, just two keepers and some construction workers by the bottom dam. 13 miles in about 2.5 hrs. Hope I've recovered in time for Guy Fawkes 10 road race on Sunday.

So what exactly is Kenyan Hills, and how does it vary from hill reps?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mr brightside

So what exactly is Kenyan Hills, and how does it vary from hill reps?

---

Kenyan Hills is constant effort up and down, as opposed to uphill/downhill hard efforts.

We typically do 20-25mins Kenyan Hill effort.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Travs

Kenyan Hills is constant effort up and down, as opposed to uphill/downhill hard efforts.

We typically do 20-25mins Kenyan Hill effort.

---

More info needed here and especially as I approach the tarmac/headtorch training season!
I usually aim to do long hill reps (800m) on a variable but >10% incline or a ladder session on the same road with 200/400/600/800 and efforts with downhill always just recovery.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Travs

Kenyan Hills is constant effort up and down, as opposed to uphill/downhill hard efforts.

We typically do 20-25mins Kenyan Hill effort.

---

So you need a long switchback road then?

Yesterday evenings RATRun was from the Druid Inn at Birchover. I did not partake as it was Matlock AC's AGM so I joined a group of around a dozen club runners for a steady road run, prior to the meeting, taking in Matlock, Snitterton, Oker and Darley Bridge. Just over 6 miles, 700 feet in 54 mins.

Mike Blair, the owner of local running shop Run Forest Run, and now new club Chairman, provided 20 pairs of the new Hoka Bondi shoe for us to try. I found them very comfortable but a bit too squidgy. I would imagine that over a longer distance that squidginess might become more useful. They also seemed very wide. I also found that running up steeper hills I had to lift my knees higher to account for the stack. Whether this was just my mind playing tricks, due to the size of the things, I don't know.

An enjoyable change of scenery and folk but back to off road RATRunning next week.