2500m week

 Still swimming, and now with the physio's permission, on two sessions per week. This week I've passed a threshold as I was one length over 2500m.Currently I'm doing a warm up and then a long set of 2 easy lengths followed by a harder one, until tired. A decent 800m today in a little over 20 minutes.

I finished with lengths of bilateral breathing alternated with lazy breaststroke but they were slow today (that is not under 45 seconds each). A build up of fatigue I suppose.

Importantly I'm doing more, pushing a combination of speed and endurance and  my arms seem to be coping. Don't over do it!

1000m again (at last)

A month back in the water and I've gradually reached 1000m. Ok, so the session was slow and included some very restful breaststroke but at least I was in the water for half an hour. I also included a fair few bilateral breathing lengths although none were consecutive.

On the tech side, I also retuned to my Garmin Swim as I'm nervous of damaging the pressure/temperature sensor on my 935 again. However a year ago the Swim seemed to become unpredictable, which is very irritating especially if you've just done a long session! Anyway, today it behaved fine and I've almost relearnt the button layout. It's on probation...

Swimming

This afternoon I took my first pool swim for just over a year. Although last week I was in the lake at Doncaster that barely counted as a swim as the major effort was resisting the cold. A hopeless endeavour beyond 10 minutes!

In the lake my arms had lost all memory of swimming, but in the safety of a pool they could recall what to do. I was in the water for about half an hour and swam 700m with brief rests. Even a few bilateral breathing lengths. 

I was pleasantly surprised by my pace which dipped below 2:30min/100m. My impression is that I've lost endurance by forgetting how to manage with reduced respiratory gas exchange.

Let's hope I can move my shoulders tomorrow.

A morning out of work

Today I managed to plan a day off work when it was nice weather. That's quite an  unusual combination. I'm out of practice on longer runs so committed to run/walk from the outset, my overall goal being around 22km in 3 hours. My planned route would keep me well within the Sheffield city boundary so that I was compliant with Covid-19 regulations.

I got a reasonably early start so the sun was still low even at the top of Porter Clough.

I just had to ascend to Oxstones, but after that key waypoint I set off for home via God's Spring and Devil's Elbow and then into Dore through Blacka Moor plantation. That route includes some short but sharp ascents and descents with a scattering of ice patches and bogs. Progress wasn't fast therefore. It also felt hard on my legs! My right knee is playing up again - I've blamed this on some old boots previously and had intend to throw them out...

I'd hoped to achieve 22km to match the date but I've not managed to keep up with the #496 challenge really so why bother today? It was a great outing nonetheless.

Fill Your Boots (with peat-laden water)

Once again Sheffield is in COVID-19 Tier 3 and we're not supposed to leave the city. Luckily I'd been sent a route to revisit the summer run destinations, 9 of which are within the city boundary. It looked as though a 17km loop would encompass these so long as I started at The Norfolk Arms. The day was picked wisely and I was on Houndkirk Road for sunrise. Within 20 minutes I'd got wet feet and legs from knee-height heather but this would prove to be a relatively dry part of the run. 

I have to confess that after 90 minutes was getting disillusioned with skipping through boggy bits and trying not to trip over stone islands that (falsely) promised dry feet. Progress was slow and I decided to complete the run with 7 destinations passed. It's often said to set trail runs by duration rather than distance so 2 and a half hours seemed enough. For just under 15km this shows how 'steady' I'd been.

It was great to be out mid-week and by accepting I'd had enough, and replanning my route as I ran, Type 2 fun was avoided.

Into December

 It's been hard into this winter. We've been in and out of rather lax 'lockdowns' and 'tiers' that restrict opening of gyms. The perpetual change has disincentivized getting back into swimming. Now it's a good 9 months since I was in the water. My early successes in regular morning runs have dissipated now I'm going into work a few days a week and need to be ready at my desk the other days.

Even so we've done a walk or two every day and I've maintained the circuits habit on a Wednesday evening. Sunday morning to Oxstones is a good habit too. This (saturday) morning I managed 5km in the mud. This week I've had an aching right knee which has no apparent cause although I'm thinking it's due to uneven heel wear on my current daily boots. The absence of issues this morning whilst running with my mid/fore foot gait supports that hypothesis. Hopefully OK for a longer run tomorrow then.

Replaced Lone Peak 4.0

 On the last run the Grey/Orange Lone Peak shoes were ripped. For quite a while I'd notes the midsole collapse, the lack of lugs on the sole and the general shoddy nature of the uppers. The rip was the deciding factor though. So, after 1400km, new ones were ordered, as usual there was a new model, and tested today.

As might be expected they felt a bit stiff and the heel tab slightly caught my foot but for 45minutes they were fine. I did run slightly faster than usual but I'll put that down to the chill weather rather than new shoes.