Flippin' Freezin'!

Just me and the Brothers Swift this morning for a snowy run.  John has been staying on even ground for the past few weeks but has now had the all clear by his doctor and, in his own words, could now get back to 'running with the grown ups'.  

We headed straight up to the Pike through the terrace gardens but Ed went off a different way and announced that he would meet us at Two Lads.  John and I ran up to the Pike, which turned out to be easier than running down from the Pike.  It was soooooo slippery I felt like I was skiing down.  I think that is the slowest I have ever come down from there as I just kept nearly falling over.  

We then ran along George's Lane and up to Two Lads.  Once at Two Lads we could see Ed coming up behind us and he shouted to us to keep moving and he would meet us at the wooden bridge on the way over to the mast road.  When we got there I stopped to take a picture of Ed's approach...

We carried on up the mast road and along to the trig point.  Ed ran along to the trig point but John and I stayed on the road and carried on to the diagonal where I took a photograph of the beautiful view however unfortunately it isn't done justice here...

I'm not going to lie, it was absolutely freezing coming down the diagonal.  The wind was so cold and I was chastising myself for not wearing enough layers for the weather conditions.  Despite wearing two pairs of gloves, my hands were numb and I just couldn't wait to get down to the bottom.  Again, the descent was quite scary as you just didn't know when your foot was going to sink through the deep mud because the snow was masking everything.

When we got to the bottom we were so cold that we decided to alter our plans to run to Great Hill and instead to run over to the Bomber Memorial.  Once we got out onto the road, we turned right to Hordern Stoops and then ran the diagonal route towards Higher Hempshaws. From there we went through Simms and out into Lead Mines Clough, where we climbed up to the Bomber Memorial.

We dropped back down again, through Lead Mines Clough, then ran up the road at Alance Bridge, where Ed broke into something of a sprint.  Unfortunately, Ed's exertions left him too tired to fend off the tree trunk monster which we encountered around the corner...

Luckily, he survived the attack and was able to finish the run.  We went along to Dean Brook then up the steps and out onto Rivington Green then back to the barn.  We hadn't done as much mileage today as usual but all felt that we'd had enough for the day and just needed to get home to our warm houses for a well earned cuppa.

Total distance - 9.5 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/248496794

Biomechanics

Well I went to the doctors yesterday about my foot expecting a referral to a podiatrist but instead got a referral for biomechanics.  I couldn't believe it when I received my letter today asking me to make an appointment, however my joy was short lived when I rang to arrange it and the first one they have is on 28 March!  That's two months away!

Has anyone reading this ever seen a biomechanics expert on the NHS?  Any good?

The road was a bit icy this morning and the weather forecast was showing heavy snow all day so I decided to leave the van at home and run down to the station.  To say it was only 2.5 miles and all downhill, I felt wretched!  It was just too early and my heavy bag was weighing me down and I felt so sluggish.

As I had run to the station, I also had to run home.  I had only taken my Orocs to work so had to run in them but there wasn't really any ice or snow down so they weren't really necessary. This run felt a bit easier than this morning's because I had left most of my stuff at work and my bag was much lighter but it still wasn't great.

When I got home I just opened the front door and harnessed Ruby up and then headed back out.  We didn't go very far though but enough to get her a good bit of exercise.


Total distance - 7.15 miles

Run 1 - https://www.strava.com/activities/247823091
Run 2 - https://www.strava.com/activities/247823100
Run 3 - https://www.strava.com/activities/247824434

Born to Run

Having just finished reading a book called Mud Sweat and Tears, which was quite a good read, I decided to make a start on my copy of Born to Run which gets really good reviews, 399 five star reviews on Amazon to be precise.  Unfortunately, I didn't agree with theses 399 people (typical I hear some of you say).  I managed to get to around chapter six or seven but couldn't face any more so gave up.  It just seemed to jump around all over the place and I found it really boring.  Life's too short to waste on a boring book so no point persevering.

I'm about to make a start on Running with the Kenyans now which I hope is better.  Watch this space.

Tonight's run was just a very quick run with Ruby to the barn and back as Duncan was dragging me off to the Trafford Centre so I didn't have time for anything better.  Even though I had my head torch in my bag, I couldn't be bothered stopping to put it on and it was getting darker and darker.  It's amazing how much your eyes adjust to the darkness though and I managed not to fall over anything.  It was pretty much pitch black by the time I got home.


Total distance - 3.42 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/247030899

Getting Quicker Along the Canal

I went for my Monday run along the canal with Kathryn today, having missed out on it for the past two weeks for various reasons.  It was nice to get out and blow off some steam after an annoying morning in work.  The blokes from Kathryn’s work were also doing the canal run but were racing it again on a handicap basis and there was no way I was up for that today.  My foot is still not right and I’m probably being silly running at all but I’ve booked myself in at the doctors to get a referral to a podiatrist this week so hopefully will be able to get sorted soon.

My pre-existing foot problems were thankfully not bothering me throughout this run and my road shoes are really cushioned at the back so protected my ‘Haglunds deformity’.  However, towards the end of our run, the arch of my right foot (the one with all the other issues) started to rub on my shoes!  Talk about adding insult to injury.  That’s four things now all wrong with the same foot – bony bump on the back of the heel, sore arch on running uphill, random shooting pain down the top of the foot into the big toe and now a blistered arch!  I might just chop the thing off and have done with. 

Even though we both felt quite sluggish today, it turned out that our run was the fastest since we started doing this canal run (for me anyway, Kathryn has done it faster on her own).

Kathryn and I both sent off our application forms for the Anglezarke Amble today, a 21 mile (or is it 24 – application form says 24 but website says 21) Long Distance Walkers Association event on 14 February, although we will be running it rather than walking it.  We’re going to run it together along with another girl from Lostock, Maggie, and just treat it as a good long training run to get to know some more tracks and trails in the local area.  Should be a fun day out and I hear the food is pretty good!  Just hope the foot holds up!

Total distance – 5.38 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/246526599/overview

Summary w/c 19/01/15

Monday 19/01/15 - 5.2 hilly miles

Tuesday 20/01/15 - rest

Wednesday 21/01/15 - 5 steady/fartlek miles + 3 easy miles with Ruby

Thursday 22/01/15 - rest

Friday 23/01/15 - 5.1 easy miles with Ruby

Saturday 24/01/15 - 14 miles with WFDBWGUA

Sunday 25/01/15 - 5 mile hilly walk with Duncan and Ruby


Total distance - 32.3 miles running + 5 miles walking 

Altruism

At today's UTUP was just myself, Ed and John.  John was doing the same route as last week but adding on an extra mile and so Ed and I joined him for the first half of our run.  We ran along towards Healey Nab and then down into White Coppice.  From White Coppice we followed the goit towards Brinscall which I have never done before and Ed and John showed me the old derelict cow shed...

Once we got out onto the road, John continued down to Brinscall whilst Ed and I ran up towards Great Hill.  Once we reached the Rambler's Association signpost though, Ed decided that he was out of time to go up to Great Hill and so we dropped back down into White Coppice instead and then ran through Anglezarke Woods before returning to the barn.

Whilst running down past Yarrow Reservoir towards Dean Brook, we got chatting about the subject of altruism or, in other words, selflessness. We were discussing whether there is any true selfless good deed.  This conversation started by talk about giving blood and, whilst this is of course a very good deed which benefits others, it still gives you a warm feeling inside and makes you feel really pleased with yourself and therefore it is not truly selfless.  We tried to come up with an example of a 100% selfless act but struggled to think of one.  Any thoughts anyone?

Total distance - 14 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/245270608

Aches and Pains

For the past few weeks I have had pain in the back of the heel on my right foot when first setting off running.  I thought that a shoe must have rubbed and that the pain was coming from a blister but it wasn't until a couple of nights ago that I noticed a hard lump in the area of pain.  After googling the symptoms, it looks as though I have something called Haglunds Deformity.  I haven't had it diagnosed properly yet, but I'm pretty certain that's what it is.

I also have another problem with the same foot which has been ongoing for a good while now (I have mentioned it in previous blog posts), whereby I get shooting pains in my big toe but this is really sporadic and there's no rhyme nor reason to it.  It also causes a stiff feeling in the top of my foot.

Think it may be a good idea to go and see a podiatrist and get this sorted out before it all gets worse.

My run today was much the same as other runs of late, i.e. rubbish!  My legs just feel really heavy and my calves are cramping up whenever I run up hill.  I'm not sure if I just need a good old sports massage to iron out all the muscles.  I'm just a disaster really!  Everything hurts!

The run itself was incredibly icy.  I just stayed on the trails and ran along to the pigeon tower car park, zig zagged through the terraced gardens to the pigeon tower than ran along George's Lane and home.  Glad I had my Orocs on as George's Lane was just sheet ice all the way along and walkers kept asking me how I was managing to run on it as they found walking hard enough.  Ruby was skidding about all over the place but she looked like she was really enjoying it.


Total distance - 5.1 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/244887052

Slush Pup

I went out on my own this morning for what was supposed to be a steady session around Rivington.  Unfortunately, my legs just weren't up for it and were like lead, much the same as last Wednesday.  Maybe they get midweek blues or something?

Feeling annoyed with myself as I ran back from the barn towards home, I decided to do a bit of a fartlek and try to make the most of a poor session.  It wasn't the fastest fartlek ever as it was very icy underfoot.  Thank goodness for Orocs though as otherwise I think I would have spent more time on my backside.

Run 1 distance - 5 miles 

https://www.strava.com/activities/243991918


I went out for a second run tonight, just a short one with Ruby to see if I felt any better than this morning because usually if I do a second run in a day, it's always quite a good one.  Whilst I felt better than this morning, it still wasn't great and my legs were still heavy.

It was much slushier this evening than it was this morning which surprised me because every time I looked out of the window today, the snow had been coming down quite heavily so I was expecting there to be quite a lot underfoot but there really wasn't.

Run 2 distance - 3 miles 

https://www.strava.com/activities/244094698


Total distance - 8 miles

Take Your Flippin' Broken Sledges Home!

They're everywhere!  Bits of coloured plastic all over the place, especially around the Pike.  Scumbags!

I got home nice and early tonight so I went straight out for a run with Ruby whilst there was quite a bit of sunlight left.

We ran down to the school then up the middle path (not the path to the barn and not the road on the Pike race route, but the one in between the two) and through the terraced gardens up to the Pigeon Tower.

Whilst in the terraced gardens there was a lone sheep in the trees which Ruby spotted.  She went to run up to it and I really yelled at her and, shocker of shocker, she stopped and came back!  Progress!!!

My calves were really sore and I had to stop at the Pigeon Tower to stretch them out but the stretch was even more painful!  I wondered whether I should just head home but decided that it was probably just the climb that was hurting and that once I got on the flat they would be OK and I was right.  We ran along to the bottom of Noon Hill and then went up to the cairn at the top.  By now it was quite dark and I had to put on my head torch.

I now had to make a decision of whether to head back the way we had just come or whether to run across to the Pike which I knew would be boggy.

I decided to run over to the Pike and, as expected, it was boggy although I've seen it much worse as the snow/ice made the ground a bit firmer.  Ruby was sliding all over the place and I did start to regret my selfish decision to go cross-country but she seemed happy enough and her little stump was wagging.  I did manage to hurt myself at one point though when my foot cracked through some ice and went down into the bog but the ice was quite thick and the jagged edge stabbed into my leg as it moved forward.  Ouch!

Surprisingly the Pike was deserted and in fact I hadn't seen a single other person on my whole run which was a bit odd seeing as it was such a beautiful evening.  

From the Pike we ran down onto George's Lane and down through my favourite field then home.

A really enjoyable run in the snow!

Total distance - 5.2 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/243263675

Summary w/c 12/01/15

Monday, 12/01/15 – rest  

Tuesday, 13/01/15 – 3.3 easy miles with Ruby

Wednesday, 14/01/15 – 6.6 hilly miles with Kathryn

Thursday, 15/01/15 – 5 very windy miles with Ruby

Friday, 16/01/15 – rest

Saturday, 17/01/15 – 11 miles with WFDBWGUA group

Sunday, 18/01/15 – rest

Far too many rest days this week!  Must try harder!

Week’s total distance – 25.9 miles (not enough!)

What a Palaver!

I met up with Kev and Ed and John Swift this morning for a long run in the thin layer of snow which came down last night.  I was a bit pushed for time today as I had to get over to Leeds for a wedding so I was playing it by ear as to how far I got.  John, still recovering from his shoulder op, had a route in mind which was mostly over even ground and so the rest of us decided to keep him company.

We set off from the barn towards Rivington Green and then along to the Bowling Club and towards Yarrow.  We dropped down ‘the slipway’ out onto Knowsley Lane, where it started hailing and I wished I was wearing a cap as they kept hitting my nose and were quite big balls of hail. 

We continued along towards the Yew Tree and then turned down the road and headed over to Healey Nab.  Kev went up to the trig point but the rest of us continued along and then ran down into White Coppice. 

From White Coppice, John and Ed had decided on separate routes, leaving myself and Kev pondering over which one to take ourselves.  We both decided to take Ed’s route, my reason being that John’s route would take too long and I wouldn’t get back home in time.  Ed, Kev and I then ran up the quarry out of White Coppice and headed up to Drinkwaters.  When we were at Drinkwaters, Kev pointed out to me that if I was to carry on up Great Hill and then over Spitlers I wouldn’t make it home in time and suggested that I would be better off going back down to White Coppice as it’s much faster moving going that way and is all downhill/flat.  I agreed that this was the best idea but, knowing that it would still be six or seven miles to get home that way, I thought I would be better off ringing Duncan to get him to pick me up somewhere as time was really running out. 

Unfortunately, Duncan didn’t answer his phone.  I eventually got through to him when I was at Watermans Cottage but he informed me that, since the hail, the roads had turned to sheet ice so it would be difficult for him to come and get me from anywhere that involved a hill as the van is useless on ice.  We decided that he would just drive to the Bowling Club and pick me up from there, which is only a few miles away from where I now was.  I therefore ran along the side of Anglezarke, coming out again on Knowsley Lane which is where Duncan rang me.  He said that he would try to get to the Yew Tree so I should make my way there, which was only round the corner from where I was. 

As I was just passing the end of The Street, my phone rang again and it was Duncan saying there was no way he could get to the Yew Tree in the van because it was too icy.  He then suggested that I run along The Street and he would meet me at the other end which is what I did. 

As I neared the end of The Street, Duncan was walking along it with Ruby.  I was 0.1 miles under 11 so I said I wanted to carry on (I have a bit of a thing for having to finish on a round number) so I took Ruby and ran along to the van and, surprisingly, Duncan actually ran with me! 

So after much messing around I eventually got into the van but it then took us an hour to get home!!!  The reason for this is that Duncan decided he wanted to go to the bike shop near The Bridge to get a part for his bike but Horwich Town Centre was utter carnage!  We had no idea because, the un-gritted road to Rivington was absolutely fine, yet the town centre road through Horwich was sheet ice.  There were abandoned cars everywhere and cars, including ours, which couldn’t get up the hill outside the leisure centre.  Even the flat Chorley New Road was horrendous and people were wheel spinning everywhere.  C’mon Bolton Council, it’s not like the snow was a surprise – where was the grit!

Total distance – 11 miles

 https://www.strava.com/activities/242765178

My New Socks

When I posted up my blog the other day with a comment about freezing cold wet feet, Josie recommended some Rooster socks so, given that I value any recommendation by Josie very highly as she definitely knows her kit, I bought myself a pair and they arrived yesterday.

I had planned to do the club's hill session today but, I'm not going to lie, quite frankly I couldn't be arsed going to it.  Why would I want to run up and down the road when the weather is as wild as it is today?  I want to get up onto the hill.

I also wanted to try out my new socks so I hooked Ruby up to my waist and off we went.  I was feeling much better today than yesterday and it showed on my climb up to Two Lads which was two minutes faster!  Admittedly there was some wind assistance but, even so, I was feeling much lighter legged than yesterday and full of beans.  The wind was so strong on top of Two Lads I'm surprised Ruby didn't get blown away!  I love it up there when it's really wild.

From Two Lads we ran down to the kennels.  I avoided my muddy route up to the mast then the Pike tonight because I didn't want Ruby sinking as it's REALLY boggy at the minute and she's only little so goes in up to her neck which isn't really fair.

Once at the kennels the plan was to then run to the Pigeon Tower, double back through the terraced gardens, run up the Pike and then head home but there was a problem... When we got to the kennels a couple of runners were approaching heading towards the Pike but they had a dog with them.  I had to put Ruby back on her lead but then I couldn't follow them because she would have just dragged the entire time which 1) is annoying and 2) makes her get really tired because she's dragging my weight so then she slows down to an amble and I end up having to walk.

I therefore decided to go back towards Wilderswood but had no idea where to go from there.  I thought that inspiration would come to me as I ran along George's Lane but, unfortunately, I made it all the way to Jolly Crofters and still hadn't thought of where I wanted to go.

We just turned back on ourselves and went along Wallsuches, then up to the side of the fishing ponds and climbed back up to George's Lane.  Ruby had had enough by this point so we went down Old Rake and back home.

The socks were amazing!  My feet were so toasty and I even purposely ran through loads of mud and puddles (they weren't hard to find!) to test them out properly.  Excellent recommendation Josie, thanks very much.

Total Distance - 5.05 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/241454451/overview

Oooo, a New Path, Thanks Kathryn!

After Monday's frustration at not getting out for my canal run with Kathryn, we had a much more scenic run today as Kathryn was off work and I was working from home so we went for a morning run in the hills, which more than made up for Monday.

Kathryn came round to mine and we ran straight up to Two Lads.  As you know, I'm rubbish as ascending but today I was even worse than usual.  Kathryn, on the other hand, was really shifting.  She left me for dust on the climb to two lads and stopped at the water tanks to take some pics of my climb...

From Two Lads we ran down to the mast road, crossed over and then ran towards the farm, leading out to Coal Pit Lane.  After running along the road a bit, we turned off through Roscoe's Tenement and out near the shooting hut where we then started to run back up to Winter Hill.

Kathryn commented that there was a path somewhere along this way which was used on the Winter Hill Fell Race route but that she wasn't sure exactly where it was.  We soon found it though and decided to run along it, as I have never been on it before and it's always great to find a new path.  I was still really heavy legged though and found running up it really difficult, even though it wasn't at all steep, must be having an off day.  It was pretty boggy and icy and it's always slightly unnerving when you hear the ground cracking underneath your feet.

The path brought us out on Counting Hill where we paused to admire the scenery on such a lovely morning and I took a piccie of Kathryn...

We then ran up towards the mast and, as usual, Counting Hill was a mud bath although, because it was icy and hard, it made it much easier to run along than usual, but there were moments when the ice cracked and you ended up with a foot and ankle full of mud and cold water.

We then ran down the mast road to the mast and turned off on the right for the cross country route back to Two Lads.

Then came the best bit - downhill from Two Lads to the kennels followed by downhill through the field opposite the kennels.  Yey, descents!!!

Thanks to Kathryn for 1) showing me a new path and 2) putting up with my ridiculously slow ascending and 3) managing to make me look better than I felt in those photos!


Total distance - 6.6 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/240891361

Frustrating

After missing yesterday's canal run with Kathryn and not having time to run in the evening, I ran tonight instead but only had time for a short one with Ruby. We just had a quick run to the barn and back.

It's so frustrating when you can't get out on a run you have planned.  I had a project on at work with a tight deadline so had to work though my lunch.  The problem is, I had already eaten as if I was running so then I spent all day feeling really fat (not literally, I know I'm skinny!) and frustrated about not getting out.

I thought it would be a good opportunity to get out with Josie, Albert and the gang in the evening instead, but I couldn't because I had to get to the club's committee meeting and also cook tea and get some shopping so I didn't end up going out at all.

Tonight's run didn't make up for it at all as it was just a very slow plod with Ruby with the usual stop starts for her to sniff, wee, poo, etc.


Total distance - 3.35 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/240632328

Summary w/c 05/01/15

Monday, 05/01/15 – 5.35 mile steady road (canal) run with Kathryn

Tuesday, 06/01/15 – rest

Wednesday, 07/01/15 – 5 easy miles with Ruby

Thursday, 08/01/15 – 5.2 hilly miles

Friday, 09/01/15 – rest

Saturday, 10/01/15 – 3.15 mile XC race (+ warm up/cool down = 5miles)

Sunday, 11/01/15 – 12 hilly(ish) miles

Week’s total distance – 32.55 miles

I Don't Care...

...but my sub-conscious does!

Last night I had a bit too much to drink but it made me so confident.  All I kept thinking is how much I wanted to do a hill session or a track session or a race but then in the cold light of sobriety I'm just too full of self-consciousness to want to do any of that.  I don't get it.  In my rational thinking head, I don't care what anyone thinks but for some reason my subconscious begs to differ and is filled with thoughts of 'it's embarrassing, everyone must be laughing at me because I'm so slow'.

Seriously, being in my head is not a good place to be.  I'm a complete nutter!  Any regular reader of this blog will already be fully aware of that though.

I had hoped to be up early enough this morning to join Ray McGloin & co at the barn at 9pm but unfortunately, when my alarm went off at 7.45, I wasn't ready to get up yet so I hit the snooze button.  The bottle of wine last night won't have helped.  I did rush like mad to try to make it when I eventually did get up but arrived at the barn at 9.10 and, as expected, nobody was there.  Instead I set off for a run on my own and headed out towards Anglezarke.

I ran around Anglezarke towards Waterman's Cottage and then out to White Coppice.  From White Coppice I climbed up to Great Hill which was really easy going due to the wind assistance.

After a natter on top of Great Hill, I set off on my homeward bound journey along the flagging to Spitlers.  Spitlers was more boggy than I have ever seen it.  At one point, I went into the mud over my knee but luckily my other foot landed on firm ground and I was able to pull myself out easily.  Just makes you wonder what would happen if both legs went in and there was nobody around to assist in getting you back out!

It was such a relief to finally see the road up ahead as by now I had sunk a couple more times and my feet were freezing.  My hands were too as I had gone down on them a couple of times so now my gloves were soaked and I had forgotten a spare pair.

I couldn't face going up Hordern Stoops and into more mud so I ran along the road a bit and then forked off to Belmont Road.  I just ran along to the Pigeon Tower and then ran up the Pike before heading home for a nice cup of hot tea!

Total distance - 12 miles 

https://www.strava.com/activities/239594067

Mid Lancs XC - Burnley

Probably my least favourite cross country race as it's really flat and boring and reminds me of school when we had to run round the edges of the playing fields as a warm up for PE.  I opted for fell shoes today instead of spikes because, as somebody who doesn't run properly and heel strikes, spikes aren't a right lot of use on a flat course as there are no spikes on the heel, although Tony H did show me his spikes which are actually Walsh fell shoes with spikes at the front.  I have never seen anything like them but I know that I really want a pair!!!

Just doing a warm up long lap with Suzanne was tiring enough today, my legs were like lead.

The race didn't go too badly though and it seemed to be over quite quickly.  My teammates consisted of Suzanne, Clare, Erica and Sandra.

Nothing much to report on the race itself as it's pretty boring but the weather was ridiculously windy and was horrendous on the far side of the last field, it was like running with a bungee cord on your back attached to a lamp post!

As usual, I had a fantastic sprint finish overtaking a girl just before the line.  Once I crossed the line and started chatting to Clare though, I found that I couldn't actually speak and my face was numb.  Does that happen to anyone else?  It was like I had just been to the dentist.  Clare had a storming run.  I saw her as we went into the third field as you double back on yourself and she was so in the zone with a look of sheer determination on her face.  Well done Clare and well done to all the other Horwich RMIers too, especially Sandra Kelly on her first ever cross country (and possibly Nick's first one too?).

On looking at my results later on, I found that I was ten seconds per mile slower than last year on this course however I'm going to put that down to the very high winds which were really energy sapping.  To be honest, I'm surprised I ran as fast as I did as it felt more like a ten minute mile pace!

Blackpool next month, should be pretty flat!

Total distance - 3.15 miles (+ warm up and cool down = 5 miles)

https://www.strava.com/activities/239203904

New Course Record on my Favourite Route Home!

Yippee!

I went for a run through the mud and wet this morning, one of my favourite short routes.  I went up to Two Lads then cross-country to the mast, then back on myself and cross-country to the Pike which was horrendously boggy (no surprise there).

After the Pike, I ran along to George's Lane to the kennels and then down my favourite field descent towards home, which is where I got my course record!

I know this isn't going to last for long so I have screen printed it here for eternity (please give it at least a week Josie)...

Total distance - 5.2 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/238307781/overview

Easy Wet One

As the title suggests, just an easy very wet run with Ruby tonight.  It was hammering down and Ruby kept stopping to shake every two minutes.

We just ran along towards the barn, to the Pigoen Tower car park, then down Sheephouse Lane to Rivington Green and then back along the path at the side of the road towards the school then up past the llamas and home.

Nothing exciting to say about tonight's run so I'll just leave it there.

Total distance - 5 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/238045014

Nothing Lasts Forever

Back to work today after 16 whole days off.  I was dreading it so much that I didn’t sleep a wink last night.  I’m not sure why as I don’t actually mind my job but obviously I’d much rather not have to go  to work so that I could spend as much time as I want running, cooking, baking and reading.

The healthy eating starts today too as I have put on half a stone over the past month!  It didn’t go too well though as I had already eaten my lunch by 10.45.  I still can’t believe that 50g of porridge with 300ml of milk fails to keep me full for longer than an hour!

A run along the canal with Kathryn at lunch made me feel much better about being a pig and I didn’t end up buying a second lunch afterwards and just ate a banana and a healthy snack from my Graze box instead. 

Total distance - 5.3 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/237134623

Drinker's False Dawn

Complete with last night's make up still on, I headed off with Ruby for an easy short run this morning. How I did it I will never know.  I woke up feeling like death as I had been out last night with Duncan, Rachel and Markus and had consumed a half litre bottle of wine and four rum and cokes.  Yes, I'm a lightweight and that was enough alcohol to make me feel pretty drunk.

When I drink I always fall asleep easily but I wake up really early and can't get back to sleep.  Today I was awake by about 5am.  Duncan was going up to the Lakes to go mountain biking with my brother and had to be up really early.  I mentioned to him about how I had been awake for ages and he said something to me about 'drinker's false dawn'.  When I got up I googled this and found it to be a real thing, something to do with REM.  Not just me then!

I didn't fall back asleep when Duncan left at 7.15 so decided to get up and see how I felt.  I was really hungry.  I always wake up hungry but ridiculously so after a night of drinking.  Ruby was chomping at the bit to get out though so I decided to resist food and go for a very quick run instead.  When I say very quick, I mean very quick, I was thinking just a couple of miles as I really did feel rough and didn't want to run at all.

Turns out I actually felt pretty good when I got out.  I ended up doing four miles, which isn't much but is double what I intended to do.  I bumped into Martyn and a new club member, Dave, down at the barn and had a good natter before continuing on a loop around lower Rivington.

Bacon and egg butty when I got in.  The healthy eating starts tomorrow!

Total distance - 4 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/236458365/overview

Summary w/c 29/12/14

I have decided to do a quick summary on a Sunday of my week's training, for my own benefit, but feel free to read it if you have nowt better to do.

Monday, 29/12/14 -       3.3 easy miles with Ruby

Tuesday, 30/12/14 -       5.1 mile tempo session

Wednesday, 31/12/14 -  5.6 easy miles with Ruby

Thursday, 01/01/15 -     rest

Friday, 02/01/15-           5 easy miles with Ruby

Saturday, 03/01/15 -      10.25 hilly miles

Sunday, 04/01/15 -        4 easy miles with Ruby


Week's total distance -   33.25 miles

Did Somebody Make the Mile Longer?

Duncan dropped me off at The Royal in Tockholes this morning . From there I ran through Roddlesworth Woods and out to Piccadilly.  This time I actually went the right way and didn't end up over near Abbey Village like last time.

I crossed the road and headed up to Great Hill.

Here's something interesting (well at least I think it is), which I only found out a few weeks ago - Spitlers Edge is actually higher than Great Hill.  I only noticed this when I saw my Strava trace from a run about a month ago and when I told a couple of seasoned Winter Hill fell runners they thought I must be mistaken and it wasn't until I showed them an OS map with the height figures on that they realised I was right.

Anyway, back to my run.  I didn't actually go over to Spitlers today but went down from Great Hill into White Coppice.

Upon reaching the cricket ground I looked at my watch and was shocked to find that it was only showing 4.5 miles.  Really?  All the way from Tockholes???  Has the metric system changed without my knowledge because in my head (and in my legs!) Tockholes to White Coppice is much further than that.

Anyway, from White Coppice I just ran to Watermans Cottage then round Anglezarke Woods and up the road to Yarrow.  I ran along Yarrow and then down to Dean Brook and out onto Rivington Green.  From there I just headed home.

There seemed to be a huge amount of runners out this morning around Rivington and Anglezarke, despite the rain, which is unusual.  Oh no wait, it's January!  That'll explain it then. Give it a month and there will only be the hardy few out in the rain again.  Sorry, that sounds a bit bitchy doesn't it?  Ah well, true though, although much respect to those who do stick with it.


Total distance - 10.25 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/236043173

First Trip to the Pike of 2015

Happy New Year!

No running for me yesterday due to not getting out of bed until lunch time with a touch of a hangover.  I don't even usually 'do' New Year's Eve but this year we went round to a friend's house and were force fed wine all evening.  Not that I'm complaining at all.

Today, Ruby and I went for an easy run in the wind along to the barn then up to the Pigeon Tower, the Pike, then home.  Nothing exciting to report.  It was actually a lovely morning despite the wind and was quite mild.

I'm having a little trouble at the minute trying to put together some kind of structured training plan to try to improve my speed and hill climbing.

I'm kidding myself if I think I'm going to go to the club training sessions because I know that I won't stick to it so I need to make my aims more realistic.  The reason I won't stick to it is because I get home from work two hours before the club sessions start and so I like to get my run done as soon as I get home so that I can then get tea sorted, do the housework and chill out.  I know that some of you will be shaking your head at this and saying I should just do it, but I'm just trying to be realistic and form a plan that I know I can stick to - I'm just not as dedicated as some of you are and don't always find it easy to get my arse out of the door if I don't do it straight after waking or getting home from work.

Wednesdays are my best day for a speed session as I work from home and so can head out first thing to, for example, The Street and get in a good session.  I know I can stick to this as I have done it lots of times and do actually really push myself to the point of near chundering.

The problem I have is when to fit in a hill session.  I did think that maybe I could try to commit to going to the hill session on a Thursday night but then if I do my speed session on a Wednesday, another tough session the following day wouldn't be a good idea.

At the minute my training plan looks like this...

Monday - lunchtime run with Kathryn
Tuesday - rest or easy run with Ruby
Wednesday - morning speed/tempo session
Thursday - rest or easy run with Ruby
Friday - rest or easy run with Ruby
Saturday - long run (or race)
Sunday - rest or easy run with Ruby (or long run if raced Saturday)

So basically, I need to change one of the 'rest or easy run with Ruby' sessions to a hill session, but which one?  I initially thought Sunday because I won't need to worry about Ruby as Duncan will be with her (if I do a hill session on one of the week nights I'd either have to take Ruby with me or wait until Duncan got home but then, as said above, I'm not sure I could commit to it, having already been home for nearly two hours before Duncan gets home).

Only problem with a Sunday is that I'll then be really tired for my Monday run with Kathryn, which I already find hard work.  There just aren't enough days in the week!

Of course the other option would be to just do a hill session with Ruby on a Friday night and for example just do loops up to Two Lads.  Ruby shouldn't slow me down as she's usually faster up hill than I am, plus I could let her off the lead as there are very rarely any sheep up there.  

Any ideas on locations of hill sessions I could do with Ruby would be most welcome, ideally places I can let her off the lead without livestock.


Total distance - 5 miles

http://www.strava.com/activities/235586536