Back to work, 46.8miles

Not a bad week. Out 6 days and a tad over 46 miles completed.

Sunday with Paul and Anthony started the week off well even if it was a bit painful. Monday I took an easy loop with Anthony and added an extra loop which took it to 11 miles. Tuesday was a newish route over the fields and down passed Redbourn Golf course before picking up the 10k route home.
Thursday was epic. Anthony's first set of lung busting reps. 6 x 800m and his performance was really strong, pulling away from me on the last rep. Brilliant.
Friday I managed a cheeky loop involving the fields and Nicky line again, I threw in a loop round Park Avenue to get a nice 4 miler.
Saturday I was down Redbourn, the Redbournbury mill, Childwickbury, West Common and home across the fields. A snitch under 10 miles but another nice route.

So that's two weeks of building. I need to keep the routine going and get the reps done every week. Probably time to put a few races in the diary to give me some focus.

Fatboy Run, 11.8miles

Paul had been to Florida for 2 weeks. No running, American portions, all-inclusive etc, we hoped that he'd be a fatboy and trundle along at our pace. However, who comes back from that sort of trip lighter?

So the fatboys were Anthony and me. We struggled to keep up with Paul, who struggled to keep the pace near 9min miles. There wasn't much to blame for the lack of pace but we tried, the heat, the gale force wind, the steep hills/mountains. Nope none of them really helped make the sorry state of affairs in any way credible.

Still, it was a good laugh and we did get into double figures for the run.

Wedding Week, 36miles

Ok, so its been a bit of a while since I've been on the blog. Moving house and a mad period at work meant running was on the back burner with absolutely no regular running.

This week went much better as both house and work are under control.

Anthony made the call for a run on Sunday and we managed an easy loop around Wheathampstead.

Monday we were out again and this time did the Herts 10k route in 3 sections of just over 2 miles. Tuesday joined me for an easy run over to the airport and so the miles were clocking up nicely.

I've followed that lot by a run home from the airport with a rucksack full of work gear. That was a bit tougher than I expected!

This morning I went round the Herts10k route again which looks like replacing Wheato as my regular run.

A nice solid week. Same again next week I hope.

New Balance, 22miles

It's been a better week, out 4 times for between 3.6 & 10.2 miles. Overall the week had a total just over 22miles.

New trainers purchased on Saturday have put a new bounce in my legs. Normally I'm an Asics or nike runner but New Balance won the day. Very nice and fit like a glove. So much so that I've done 15 miles in them already. Normally I'd wear them about the house for a week before running but these are nice.

Today's run was epic. 10 runners showed up. It got to the point where we started to look for Niall. Surely he'd not miss out on this one.

Spiersy had organised a 19 mile route so the hard core were out. Anthony and I had other plans, stick with them to Sandridge and then head back. It didn't go that well. By the time we'd reached Ayres End Lane the elite were gone. No idea which way they'd gone so we headed through Heartwood to Sandridge.

We got to Sandridge High Street and were about to hit the trail when he heard Spiersy shouting at us to stop! Quite a surprise. The rest of the group came pounding on and passed as they headed towards Welwyn. We made our apologies and took Rob with us for a loop towards Wheathamstead. We got a bit lost and ended up back in Sandridge before heading back via Nomansland common.

Just over 10 miles, most of it in the mud so I'm a bit sore and tired. And my new trainers are not looking so new.

Next week I'll try and get a few more miles in the tank and fit a reps session on Thursday.

What week is it?

So I've missed a few weeks blogging. Work life balance has gone completely. It would be a lie to even suggest it was close.

Not sure how it happened but pants it is. I've even missed lunch a few days on the trot and that is very unusual.

Anyway, this is the week I claim it all back. I'm finishing at 5 no matter what. I'm having a sandwich and I'm going for a run, even if its a short one. Tonight was just 3.5miles.

So the last week was two 4 milers and then an 11 on Sunday. I missed the early start after my mate Dave came and stayed. A late night curry and some chit chat till the wee early hours put the kybosh on a morning run.

I did head out in the id afternoon though. It was a gale force wind so I headed to Redbourn and took the 3 Dumps route passed the watermill and back up Beeson End Lane. I was glad to have the wind behind for the hill.

So the plan for this week is to get out every day. I'll take what I can get and if I'm near a 30mile week I'll be delighted.

Cheers the noo.

Week 2, 27.7miles

A couple more miles this week but to be honest it was a bit of a shocker.

Work's just a bit busy so I couldn't find time to run on Tuesday or Wednesday which should have left me fresh for Thursday's reps. They, however, were a disaster. I've lost so much pace, endurance, determination in the last 3 months that I might as well realise its going to be a long hard road back to form.

The rep pace was poor and I caved for the last 3 or 4 of the session which was 10x2min, 1 min off.

I'm not panicking though and have resolved to get back with my running off heart rate. That's a shocker too with the pace well down in the 9/10mins. Woo. We'll see how long it takes for the 8's to return.

So next week. A bit of travelling planned but hopefully I'll maintain the mileage at or around 25. If I can slot in an extra that would be good.

The rebuild has begun, week 1, 25miles

Hello. It's been a few months since my last blog. Although I've been quiet it's been far from uneventful.

I did a run on October 3rd in prep for the Herts 10k but got a pretty bad chest infection which floored me for a few weeks. It was so bad I ended up having a chest x-ray, and that was so bad I had to go for another. Yep, the first x-ray suggested something suspicious and so I was sent back with my heart very firmly in my mouth.

Fortunately it was just a very bad infection but the evidence was it would be 4-6 weeks before I was fit, well that was November written off. Just when I was about to kick off in early December I got the next round of lurgy that hit everyone down here. So no running until after Christmas. Phew. Sorry about that lot but you might have wondered what's been going on.

Anyway. New Year, new start and time to rebuild the 1000 mile man. Ha ha.

It's been a bit harder than I hoped. The legs have been hurting, the heart pounding and the lungs wondering what's going on. And all at a snails pace.

To be fair, it's got easier and this morning as I set off in the dark to meet Anthony, I had no regrets about a 0645 wake up or running in the freezing cold. It was invigorating.

We managed a good 11 miles at chatting pace at just over 9min. Slow but this was the longest run for quite a few months.

The plan for this next week is to build the mileage, let's see if I can get 35miles in and add a rep session on Thursday. That should be fun.

I also need to get a few races in the diary so any ideas fire them my way. 2011 targets are a sub 40min 10k and a sub 1.30 half marathon. Not sure whether I'll manage a marathon but Loch Ness sounds tempting.