Christmas Club Run

So it was the Christmas club run and about 20 of us headed to Llangollen in Wales. It was the longest and the hardest run for me so far, two and a quarter hours and just under 12 miles over hills and fells and down a great escarpment. Beautiful scenery. The run was followed by the worst shower of the year in some of the worst showers in Wales. Truly terrible - dirty, dribble of water that never warmed up. Lunch later was good in The Bull Inn - very hungry.

I'd map it but I've no idea where we went really.

Boxing Day run: Oxford

So I ran this route again, this time with my brother-in-law Ben. Apparently we did it in 36 minutes which was a whole 9 minutes quicker than 2 1/2 months ago. So training is having some impact, which is a relief.

Running is great

So last night was the club run and I ran the frustrating route. There must be something about being chased because I finished nearly 4 MINUTES quicker which is a massive improvement. 25min 47 seconds down from 29min 36 seconds. So 7 minute miles which is not bad. So, I clearly wasn't pushing myself hard enough running on my own.

Had some good advice on marathon training afterwards, which was helpful.

Oh and today my knees are sore.

Running is frustrating

So I ran the route of my last post again, and began to stretch out my stride and I felt good all the way round. Felt strong, felt like I had good rhythm and fluency. I was hopeful of a good time. 29 min 36 seconds which means yes I was quicker by 6 seconds. 6 SECONDS!!! I mean that's a slow crossing of the road, it's nothing. How does that work? How can I feel so much better about the run and only run 6 SECONDS quicker? Any ideas?

New quick run

Apparently the club are doing a handicap run soon, so I ran the route. As the slowest member I'll set off first, followed at intervals by the quicker runners. If the splits are right we should all finish in a bunch and the first one home is the winner. I did this 5k and a bit in 29min 42 sec on a first attempt, I should be able to knock a few minutes off that though.

Too icy to run

I have been running and hope to go running tonight, but the last couple of mornings have been too icy to run. When you're just trying to stay upright, going for a 7 mile run isn't too clever.