January resolutions... Pah

[Charliecat5]

Tonight was a pub run… these take place on the first Tuesday of each month.  We meet at a pub.  We run. We return to the pub and have a drink.  It’s not complicated.

So at 18:45 I left the house to run to the pub (something I have never had a problem with).  I arrived having already put 0.75 miles on the clock.  This being the first meet of the New Year it attracted about 50 made people all congregating outside the Elly waiting for instructions.  The Crazies left first (it’s good to get them out the way) before the rest of us were split into three groups.  in the confusion I accidently found myself in the fast division of the intermediates.  Also, for the first time, with a different leader… and blimey, she was relentless.  Lovely… but relentless.

We ran down hills, we ran up hills, we took the long way round when there were quicker routes we could have taken.  We ran at a pace that at times was touching 7 min/miles.  By the time I crossed the threshold of home again I had done 8.2 miles.  Not bad for a Tuesday night. 

I keep trying to persuade BGG to join the herd… he keeps finding excuses.  If only MLCMM lived a little closer.

   

[Charliecat5]

The man is relentless…

I’m running well at the moment… I can feel things improving and weirdly, I am managing to keep up with the herd (within reason you understand).  Running with others is really helping and it is great to do the Twitten run each week plus a few extras with Sweder and Rob when our diaries (and knees) align.  The big man on the other hand has been focusing more on the carb loading than the running of late.

The result is that for the first time since I started this running malarkey, I am fitter than he is.  However, I also realise that fitness comes in different forms.  Whilst I can run up the hills quicker and outpace him around town… I can’t actually shake him off.  I also know that if I said let’s run the first half of the Moyleman, he would.  And then if we decided to run the second half, he would do that as well.  He is running a half marathon next weekend… with little (no) training… and I know he is going to complete it.

Like I said, the man is relentless.

On Friday evening we met for another little jaunt around town.  Running with the herd earlier in the week had opened up some new routes which I thought we would try.  For our town jaunts 3 miles has become a comfortable distance, but as I am trying to ramp up I wanted to push five, so decided to put a mile in beforehand and sneak a fifth in on the way home.  This was an excellent plan until my last mile.  The slow rain which had started to show its face in our third mile (my fourth) suddenly turned evil as we parted.  The last mile was a bloody fast one… trying to reach dry land before I drowned.

Twittens tomorrow… with only a slight chance of rain... I can’t wait.  

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Tonight was a pub run… these take place on the first Tuesday of each month.  We meet at a pub.  We run. We return to the pub and have a drink.  It’s not complicated.

... If only MLCMM lived a little closer.

Indeed. I'd be more than happy to stay behind at the pub, you know, just in case any stragglers arrive late. And then I could tell them that they are too late to run, and have a drink with them instead. Yeah, I could do that.

[Charliecat5]

I managed to persuade BGG to join the Herd last night… proper running!  Understandably he wanted to head out with a slower group, so given it was my fault he entered this madness I decided to join them, after all a slow plod wouldn’t do me any harm.

15 hill reps and five miles later and the harm had been done. 

This Thursday for the first time, my diary will allow me to join the Herd for some track training.  This is about building up speed… fartleck training done large.  I will let you know how I get on… if I make it back.  

[Charliecat5]

Tonight was a pub run… these take place on the first Tuesday of each month.  We meet at a pub.  We run. We return to the pub and have a drink.  It’s not complicated.

... If only MLCMM lived a little closer.

Indeed. I'd be more than happy to stay behind at the pub, you know, just in case any stragglers arrive late. And then I could tell them that they are too late to run, and have a drink with them instead. Yeah, I could do that.

You are missing an important point here... the pub will only serve beer to those who deserve it.  BTW the Elly sells over 60 different types of beer... you can have one for every mile completed. 

[Sweder]

When I drag myself back from this Island madness (and I leave the wagon firmly behind me) I'm going to get serious about having fun with running again. That includes drinking a lot of beer in the Elly.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Tonight was a pub run… these take place on the first Tuesday of each month.  We meet at a pub.  We run. We return to the pub and have a drink.  It’s not complicated.

... If only MLCMM lived a little closer.

Indeed. I'd be more than happy to stay behind at the pub, you know, just in case any stragglers arrive late. And then I could tell them that they are too late to run, and have a drink with them instead. Yeah, I could do that.

You are missing an important point here... the pub will only serve beer to those who deserve it.  BTW the Elly sells over 60 different types of beer... you can have one for every mile completed. 

As a visiting Aussie I have a special licence which allows me to drink in any English pub without running for it. It's stamped in my passport: "Entry to EU accepted for 90 days. Licence to drink in any establishment with recourse to exercise granted".

[Charliecat5]

Tonight was a pub run… these take place on the first Tuesday of each month.  We meet at a pub.  We run. We return to the pub and have a drink.  It’s not complicated.

... If only MLCMM lived a little closer.

Indeed. I'd be more than happy to stay behind at the pub, you know, just in case any stragglers arrive late. And then I could tell them that they are too late to run, and have a drink with them instead. Yeah, I could do that.

You are missing an important point here... the pub will only serve beer to those who deserve it.  BTW the Elly sells over 60 different types of beer... you can have one for every mile completed. 

As a visiting Aussie I have a special licence which allows me to drink in any English pub without running for it. It's stamped in my passport: "Entry to EU accepted for 90 days. Licence to drink in any establishment with recourse to exercise granted".

You can pontificate as much as you like… but I ask you… what are the chances of being able to visit us fine folk in Lewes without being dragged out for a pleasant romp over our hills… before we go to the pub?  Remember we do provide mid-run beers just to keep you going.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Tonight was a pub run… these take place on the first Tuesday of each month.  We meet at a pub.  We run. We return to the pub and have a drink.  It’s not complicated.

... If only MLCMM lived a little closer.

Indeed. I'd be more than happy to stay behind at the pub, you know, just in case any stragglers arrive late. And then I could tell them that they are too late to run, and have a drink with them instead. Yeah, I could do that.

You are missing an important point here... the pub will only serve beer to those who deserve it.  BTW the Elly sells over 60 different types of beer... you can have one for every mile completed. 

As a visiting Aussie I have a special licence which allows me to drink in any English pub without running for it. It's stamped in my passport: "Entry to EU accepted for 90 days. Licence to drink in any establishment with recourse to exercise granted".

You can pontificate as much as you like… but I ask you… what are the chances of being able to visit us fine folk in Lewes without being dragged out for a pleasant romp over our hills… before we go to the pub?  Remember we do provide mid-run beers just to keep you going.

Oh, I'm up for it, don't you worry. 

But not in winter!

 

[Charliecat5]

Thursday night track session… you’ve got to be joking!

My first mistake was turning up. The second was not escaping when I had the chance.

Track running involves going round and round a 400 metre loop.  I don’t do loops.  I don’t like running circuits.  I run the hills… that’s where I belong.

But I turned up… turned up like a puppy, big wide eyes full of innocence… full of innocence until I was chucked to the lions.

Before leaving the house I had looked at this week’s track running instructions, these arrive every Thursday morning as an “enticement” to get out there.   I reviewed them carefully and decided that the bottom group was for me (they call it Group 4b).  They run at an 8min/mi pace, which is broadly my parkrun pace (not that I’ve done more than one because I don't like running round loops).  However, on arrival Coach Dave, who I have run with on Tuesday evenings, told me that I should run with him in Group 3a. 

Something else is important to note about this evening.  It was bloody freezing.  Proper freezing. The thermometer said it was a single degree… but a Siberian wind was blowing a hooley which took the temperature well south of zero.  And there’s me dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.  My face was so cold I couldn’t speak… which is why when Dave said “you should join me in Group 3a”, I was powerless to argue.

We ran a few slow laps to warm up… these, I should point out, were laps I would consider quite a vigorous pace in normal circumstance.  Then before I could crack the face ice and shout: ‘Woooahhh, I’m in the wrong group”… we were off.

This is how it went:

2 x 1000 metre laps at a 7min/mi pace with a 2 minute recovery in-between.  THEN

3 * 600 metre laps at 6min/mi pace with a 1.5 minute recovery in-between.  THEN, THEN

3 * 400 metre laps at 6min/mi pace with a 1 minute recovery in-between.

HOLY SHIT BATMAN.... particularly when Dave pointed out that we were running slightly quicker than we should have been.

I have to admit that I dropped out of the middle 400 metre lap because I couldn’t actually breathe.

Apparently if I stick at it for 5 to 6 weeks I will find my feet and see a notable improvement.  That’s if I’m still alive.  The only thing that gives me a glimmer of pleasure is the thought of dragging BGG along.  

I will probably do it again though.  Next week perhaps…

   

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Apparently if I stick at it for 5 to 6 weeks I will find my feet and see a notable improvement.  That’s if I’m still alive.  The only thing that gives me a glimmer of pleasure is the thought of dragging BGG along.  

I will probably do it again though.  Next week perhaps…

Yeah, you go for it Dunc! Faster! Stronger! Trample the weak! Hurdle the dead! Pain is your friend! Or, then again...

[Charliecat5]

I forewent the Twitten running on Sunday for a longer jaunt on the Downs.  My regime of late has been great in terms of building up resilience to shorter, faster runs and, it pains me to say it, running the hard-top… but has done little for distance, particularly off-road distance.  Part of the fault is the Twitten running, which whilst enjoyable (particularly the post-run coffee) is using up a hard earned weekend pass which I would otherwise use to get up on them there hills.

So on Sunday I planned to run 10 miles.  To ease myself back in gently, the aim was to run up onto Kingston Ridge, down the yellow brick road to Southease and then back along the river.

I set the alarm for 7am and when its siren disturbed my much needed beauty sleep I leapt out of bed full of enthusiasm… and… wait for it… it had been snowing!  In-fact, it was still snowing.  The excitement!  The thought of running over the Downs when the snow is laying round about, deep, crisp and even is something that doesn’t ‘appen in these parts very often, as Good King Wenceslas would tell you.

I was quickly out the door… for the first time wearing thermal long-johns around my legs (shorts over the top obviously,  to save embarrassment and probable arrest).

Up the first hill and over Juggs lane was delightful… crossing the road and along the Kingston road was gorgeous.  Up onto the Kingston Ridge was a slow climb (slippy) but beautiful.  The tops were unbelievably stunning.  This is better than Twitten running I thought.  Three miles in the bag and I hunkered down to face the blizzards and continued on… however, in reality the snow was melting, even as it fell, visibly as the minutes passed.  I learnt a very important lesson, and I leant it very quickly.  When snow melts, the sloppy mud it was so eloquently covering becomes even sloppier and mud like than it was previously.

Fortunately, by the time I hit the yellow brick road, the snow was still substantial enough to represent an ice rink… but once I fallen off the end of said road the conditions where just perfect… perfect for a mud loving hippo. 

Another thing I discovered is that melting snow just retains enough integrity to hide the large, shitty puddles and piles of cow poo that can be found on the Downs, particularly in gate ways.  But heck, all of this was a walk in the park, compared to what faced me when I reached the river path. By the time I arrived in Southease, the snow on the lower ground had gone. 

Now a river path in January is going to be a little muddy in places, I accept that… a tidal river path, more so.  A river path in January following weeks of torrential rain and a very recent outpouring of snow is, apparently, going to very muddy. It was very muddy.

With every step, the mud gremlins tried to pull my shoes off.  Each foot sunk in about 4 inches before slurping back out again.  Trying to run any kind of pace was simply impossible… just staying up-right became the goal.  Short, frantic steps for 3 miles about killed me.  My calves were popping, gluts were crying out in agony.  Even my arms were moaning.  The views over the Downs were lovely and worth stopping to admire every now and again (every five minutes)… but oh boy…

Eventually, after much angst and soul searching I made it back to joyous tarmac and the safety of civilisation.  I tried hard for the last mile home… but the legs were buggered, all the energy gone. 

10 miles done… let’s put it down to experience and re-join the Twittens again next Sunday… although, is that Blackcap I can hear calling?
 
               
 

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Yuck!

But fun!

[Bierzo Baggie]

Those are the runs you'll remember most! Love the photos, especially the second one !

[Charliecat5]

Having just frowned at the idea of MLCMM buying himself a new treadmill when he has the outdoors on his doorstep, it’s just occurred to me that two evenings ago I completed my second track session.  This led to the realisation that there is very little difference between running on a static treadmill and running around in circles on a ‘circular treadmill’… except I’m out there freezing my butt off, and MLCMM is in the warm never more than 5 paces away from the beer fridge.

Thursday night was my second evening in the torture chamber.  When the email of doom arrived earlier in the day, the schedule didn’t look that bad.  But that’s because I didn’t read it properly.  Because it didn’t ‘look’ that bad, I decided to run to the club rather than drive.  This is a distance of exactly one mile.  A mile to warm up and a mile to warm down afterwards… seemed a sensible idea to me, at the time... that particular point in time before I had left the house.

I thought the schedule said we would run for a 1000m, and then have a rest, followed by 600m at a quicker pace with a last 200m sprint before another rest and then repeat.  Nope… the bit I miss-read (or indeed had made up)… was the rest bit between the 1000m and the 600m bits.  What I came to understand very late in the day, was that we run the whole set without stopping. 

THREE, ONE MILE REPS AT 7MIN/MILE PACE!

I very nearly backed out of the last one… but I didn’t, I came over the line last, but I did it.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Gadzooks man, you'll be qualifying for the Rio Olympics next!

Next time, take the car, drive to the club run, drive right on past and don't stop until you get to a nice pub somewhere with decent beer and a sports channel on the TV.

Now that's a plan.