Return to Long Line

Today's run goal was to do Long Line as well as possible. I've not run up there since last Spring; in winter it's too dark and in summer I'd rather be on the trails. However I was able to leave work a little early this afternoon so I had the chance to run it before dark. Moreover, I'd not run yesterday as I was in town for some shopping and pizza. It's a long steady drag, not exciting but probably good training experience.

I was happy to get a PB on the ascent especially as I'd done well on the ascent through Dore which leads to it.

This has also been my longest run in the Brooks flat shoes at just over 14km and at a good pace of under 5min/km.

Later I've got circuits so I hope I'm not too tired! 

Swimming legs

Until this evening the swimming instructors have been stressing that most of the power for freestyle comes from the arms. Today it was suggested to me that I should use my legs a bit more and that some drills would be useful.

Armed with two floats I set off to kick my way through a length or two. It was very hard work and showed quite clearly that I was barely using my legs for propulsion. Having said that, an online article describes how power is not a primary concern; the key thing is learning to not hinder progress with a poor leg action! I can relate to this as it was clear that during the leg drill my legs were higher in the water than when swimming with arm strokes. Low legs are a source of drag and I need all the efficiency I can get! I can relate to issues of foot flexion as during the leg drills I could feel my calf muscles becoming tight so I'm exhibiting typical runner's feet; more flexibility is stated to be beneficial yet again.

Squelch!

Will it ever stop raining? Perhaps it will tomorrow but I didn't want to break my habit of saturday being the opportunity for a long run. I've started a new 6 week cycle this week and so the Round Walk at 26km or so seemed to be a good place to start, longer ones can follow in a week or so.

As soon as I set off I felt tired and wondered how I'd ever get around. Perhaps it was the rain, lack of a long run last week or too much to eat during the week; or perhaps too little of something? I walked a few of the steeper ascents and resisted looking at my pace until I'd nearly finished. After the apparently hard start I thought I'd got on quite well as I didn't have any sore calf muscles and I managed to jog the usually horrid ascent to Brincliffe edge. The finishing pace was just within 6 minutes including a stop to remove twigs from a shoe so that was OK; especially since I'd had to make little detours to avoid a fallen tree and particularly deep mud..

A sign of Spring or harbinger of worse to come?

My moving average pace from Strava was 5:49min/km which is my best pace on the Round Walk which shows that my perception of pace is dubious and that a few short walking sections doesn't affect the average adversely.

Hard work at the circuit

On the whole I've become accustomed to the Wednesday circuit and know how to pace myself on the exercises. Considering that I started going to the sessions to strengthen my weaker left leg I've not had many instances of it feeling feeble. This evening though I felt  few little twinges on single leg squats if I didn't keep it very well balanced.


Balancing type exercises are where I can detect its limitations. I suppose it's just a little inflammation in something around the joint. It might be due to my boots that I've been wearing to commute  during the wet spell. I must ensure that I continue my exercises at home as I've been a bit lazy with them recently. I can't afford anything to become more than a little niggle if my summer target is to be achieved.

Sprint finish

I've finished my rest week with a quick 6.8km to give me a total above 30km which is fine. Although this was a fairly easy run I determined to make a bit of an effort and I was rewarded with a clutch of Strava awards including a best mile at 6:55 minutes. That won't trouble the record books!

I think that I have also determined that it is the nice fast Brooks shoes which rub my heels. I've done 3 runs in them this week and the skin has become increasingly sore. No blisters, just a little irritation.

Taking it easy

So this has been a week for resting after over a month of effort. From a distance I doubted whether I needed a recovery week but the closer it became the more it felt necessary. On Tuesday I'd intended to do a more-or-less usual road route but a few km into it I decided that I'd had enough and turned for home.

It has been a hectic work week too and so I jogged to the circuit session from work, with a full rucsac, in the rain. Apparently it rained 30 of 31 days in January and I think February is yrying to beat that proportion.

By Friday though I felt a little stronger and completed Tuesday's run. I even managed a few good segment times. A Saturday long run wasn't on the cards but I'm hoping to exceed 30km before the week ends.

What should I do today?

At the end of 2013 the physio recommended that I should aim for consistency, perhaps 45km-ish per week, rather than the fluctuation that I've exhibited previously. But, what about a rest week? During this week I've felt that 5 weeks of over 40km has started to affect me. I'm feeling a little tired and the skin on my heels isn't far from being blistered (I don't think pictures of feet will improve the blog!). Perhaps a rest is needed? Due to various commitments next week I think that my mileage will be low and so that can be defined as my rest week. That means that today had to be a long run day. Earlier in the week the weather forecast for the weekend had been grim but this morning was sunny and the forecast good until early afternoon. This the die was cast for making an effort.

Long shadows from the wintery morning sun 

I didn't want to exceed 30km ideally so I planned a simple route to Hathersage with an intention of avoiding as many habitually boggy spots as possible. The very wet January has made every path wet at the very least so the always-wet bits are now bottomless bogs.

An amazing blue sky over Stanage Edge

My plan was to use a 10:1 run:walk cycle with acceptance of walking uphill to avoid too much effort. As it happens, the wetness of paths sapped my energy and even the road sections had to be run cautiously as there were patched of black ice, even as I was nearing home at 11am. I slightly exceeded my 30km target and although it felt tough my average pace was significantly better than last May. I didn't run quite the same route as last year but I think that the difficulty was at least as high, in part due to the condition of the paths. Importantly I don't think my calf muscles are as tender even though I do feel generally worn-out. It's notable that early on on the run I felt tired and my suspicion is that Tim Noake's 'Central Governor' (click for an interesting podcast interview with him) was trying to keep the pace down at the start, knowing how far there was to go.

Pace per km related to overall average

The chart shows that my early pace was really too fast and that the ascent of Higger Tor was a tough. On the road descent my pace improved, not quite a negative split but not too much slowing; it was an easy gentle road though!

Now I must keep up the roller work and take it easy to ensure that after the coming week's rest I can complete a good February.