In keeping with my latest tradition of doing bugger training in the lead up to a race, I went out today for my weekly run, just seven days before my first 10K since Almeria.
Applied the usual tactics as no GPS. i.e. forget distance, run for an hour and don't stop if at all possible.
Well I'm pleased to say it worked. 60 minutes of plodding along the seafront, (half the time into a stiff breeze) with no walk breaks.
I don't know the distance covered, but it must be somewhere around 5.75 miles or 9.25373 km judging by my Spanish PB over 10K. Pleased with that!
Good man, SP. Running for 60 minutes without a break is no mean feat after your lack of regular running. I guess your tennis must be helping to maintain a good fitness base. Or is it the constant walking to the bar?
By contrast, my training has gone very well, at least in terms of consistently getting something done most days. I've managed to lose about 11 pounds over the past 3 or 4 weeks which I should be happy with, but it's not quite enough. Another half stone down and I'll be much better able to keep running for the time I need to. I'm still over 220 pounds which, experience tells me. is too heavy to run a decent race. Crawley is just a week or two too early, though I'll still give it a good go. Brighton in 5 weeks seems a much more reasonable target for a half decent time. I reckon we can both improve a lot in 5 weeks if we put our minds to it.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
Unusually for a Thursday, no tennis for me tonight. The pub beckoned but I resisted, so there I was wondering what else I could do productively to fill up some of the evening. A run?
With the Crawley 10K just 3 days away I decided on a crafty 2 miler, just to confirm that last Sunday's effort was no fluke. The problem was that I parked the car at one end of my seafront, knowing full well where the 1 mile turn was. With distance known it soon became a bit of a time-trial, and definitely too fast for the present regime. Still, 2 miles in 19 minutes and a bit of a eyeballs-out sprint at the end. It does I suppose bode well for Sunday.
I don't think I've met up with El G since the infamous Lewes Hamburger Moment so I'm looking forward to that, we may even run together for added poignancy.
I'd like to think that we could.
I parked up at the seafront just after dusk. The sun had set but the western sky was still lit up in a wonderful orangey glow. With no wind, it truly was a stunning evening to run.
Yes folks, I'm back in the saddle and unashamed to admit that I've been away from the joys of running for too long.
(15-10-2009, 08:56 PM)Seafront Plodder Wrote: Unusually for a Thursday, no tennis for me tonight. The pub beckoned but I resisted, so there I was wondering what else I could do productively to fill up some of the evening. A run?
With the Crawley 10K just 3 days away I decided on a crafty 2 miler, just to confirm that last Sunday's effort was no fluke. The problem was that I parked the car at one end of my seafront, knowing full well where the 1 mile turn was. With distance known it soon became a bit of a time-trial, and definitely too fast for the present regime. Still, 2 miles in 19 minutes and a bit of a eyeballs-out sprint at the end. It does I suppose bode well for Sunday.
I don't think I've met up with El G since the infamous Lewes Hamburger Moment so I'm looking forward to that, we may even run together for added poignancy.
I'd like to think that we could.
I parked up at the seafront just after dusk. The sun had set but the western sky was still lit up in a wonderful orangey glow. With no wind, it truly was a stunning evening to run.
Yes folks, I'm back in the saddle and unashamed to admit that I've been away from the joys of running for too long.
2 miles in 19 minutes?
Well done.
Fortunately, I'd pretty much conceded this one to you in any case. I'm just putting together an RC entry in which I moan about my foot and its impact on my routine, while bringing the news that it's getting better.
Whether I'll get round the 10K is still to be discovered. Regardless of that, I'm still eyeballs-out determined to get you at Brighton. And should that fail? Wa-hey. Almeria. Almeria, here we come. Say your prayers, big fella......
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
Toe is much better. I had a 45-min bike ride yesterday and an hour in the gym today, including 20 mins on the treadmill. I can walk/run on the toe but I can't bend it without pain, so I'll have to watch those hills tomorrow. Will probably aim to run-walk, but will see how I feel on the day. Main aim is to get round and feel that I've had a good workout. Secondary aim is to manage 70 minutes which I'll be happy with in the circumstances. If I beat SP into the bargain, so much the better though I have to say that seems unlikely now. Still, plenty of opportunities for revenge coming up.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
It's knocking on 2 am UK time and I'm pacing up and down 4000 miles away chomping on a badly-rolled spliff looking not unlike Mickey, erstwhile trainer and grizzled old bastard from Rocky. I hope I don't suffer the same fate; Mickey famously copped a fatal heart-attack during one of the sequels leading to a quite dreadful, snot-ridden post-fight eulogy from the Battered One.
What I mean to say is this must surely be, after the curious case of the Beach Ball In The Six Yard Box at the Stadium of Light (it was, it should be noted, a Liverpool liveried beach ball, presumably poked onto the pitch by some traveling Scousers and subsequently ignored by the away team, ultimately to their chagrin), THE sporting event of the weekend and I won't be there. So, here's wishing our two gladiators the very best of British. May the road rise to meet you, may you be in heaven an hour before the Devil knows you're dead, and I hope that first post-race pint tastes as good as my Guinness will (in 20 minutes' time) in Hurleys tonight.
Cue title music ...
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
A truly brutal off-road 10k route, mud trails and leaf-strewn slippery hills abound. A circuit of the track followed by an immediate log-jam at the entrance to Tilgate Forest didn't help either.
My time, 63.39. More later but off for a well-earned beer now.
Yeah, a tough one, but full marks to SP for turning in an impressive performance. I thought I was way in the lead until I met him coming back the other way. I ended trailing in more than 10 mins after him. Blackberry too annoying for longer msg - more later when I get home.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
Top effort - 63 mins on that track easily worth a sub-60 on the flat. Begorrah!
Congrats to EG too - goutsome toe not withstanding - especially as off-road not a natural element for either man.
I suppose this means I'll have to go to the pub to raise a glass or two to each of you ...
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Let's cut the well-intended crap (for which I thank you anyway).
I was shit today. I need to lose 10 pounds by Brighton. Too much lumber to drag up those mucky slopes today.
That said, I remain positive. Apart from a couple of beers that I am probably about to go and consume while jotting a few notes, the fitness campaign continues, and results will improve.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
It must have been really tough. If you both go on like this, you both will be able to do Almería half under two hours as long as it is a sunny day with no puddles.
Crawley 10K - err, and stuff
60 minutes of plodding along the seafront, (half the time into a stiff breeze) with no walk breaks. 
judging by my Spanish PB over 10K. Pleased with that!
