Devon Run

I was staying down in Devon with my Dad so I took the opportunity to run my favourite route.  Its a 7 mile loop from Moretonhampstead and includes a pretty steep hill with approximately 750 feet of climbing.

My brother was also staying so he came along and so did Ezra who stays with my Dad and his partner.  The ice and snow had started to melt so it was a lot easier than it would have been on the previous few days but it was still slippy and very wet.

My brother set a fast early pace and I had to dig deep to keep the pace.  Once up the first hill, I caught my breath and settled into the pace.  I enjoyed being pushed and got to the bottom of the main hill in record time.

I felt good up the hill and I ran all the way up.  My brother Phil and Erza both showed great hill running ability.  Very impressive.

At the top I thought I could gently cruise home but the other two just upped the pace for the last 2 miles to Moretonhapstead.  This was only my second ever run with my brother and he has certainly improved since the Brighton 10k in 2009.

Christmas Day Run

As I've done for the past 3 years, I got a long run in on Christmas day.  Its always one of my favourite runs of the year.

After the kids opened their presents and I had opened my socks and pants, I set off towards Bromley and my sister-in-laws.  I was due there at 1pm so set off at 11:30 (a little late).  It was all going well with a decent pace until I got past Dulwich; after that, the paths got more and more icy.

This cut my speed at times but I managed to avoid most of the ice and I ran on the road for a while which was clear.  It ended up taking a couple of hours, a bit longer than expected but fine for a long, slow run.

I enjoyed my Christmas dinner having already expelled a few calories; it always makes it tasted better.  My knees did hurt a little, probably because of the icy conditions.  Hopefully they'll be fine for my next run in Devon on Monday.

Happy Christmas everyone.

Ill

So, after doing the first 14 days of my challenge and being really happy with everything, the cold I had on day 13 and 14 turned into full-blow man-flu.  Following the rule of "you can run if its above the neck" but not if its "below the neck", I made the tough decision not too run on day 15.

This proved sensible because by this weekend, I was coughing up all manner of nasty stuff.  I am in no condition to run.  I've spent today sitting on the couch shivering.

So, a failure overall but it was always a tough challenge, especially at this time of year.  In my first 15 weeks as a teacher, I can say with certainty that I have only been completely clear of a cold for 2 of those weeks.  So to hope I would be illness free for the 31 days of December was speculative to say the least.

I now just need to continue with my training towards The Brighton Marathon building up the miles again as soon as I feel better.

10k-a-day: Day 14 - Last minute

I originally thought I would have time between work and going out to do today's 10k but the slot vanished before I know what was happening.  So I had three options

• Not run and fail the challenge
• Cancel my night out and run
• Run after the night out

The first wasn't going to happen.  The second would mean letting some people down and as it was a charity quiz night, I couldn't do that.  So it was the third option.  I didn't drink during the evening, nor did I eat the free food.  Instead, I answered a few quiz questions and left at 10pm for a very pleasant run home through London.  I ran from Monument down the Thames, past Westminster and eventually over Vauxhall Bridge.  Then down towards Clapham and then Balham.  Nealy 7 miles.

Day 14
11.1 km (6.91 m)
1:02:30 mins
Total in December: 150.1 km

10k-a-day: Day 13 - Recovery

Not feeling it today.  I feel tired and a little sore.  Couple this with a lack of motivation and it was all I could muster to get out of the door and plod around just to get it done.

Day 13
10.21 km (6.35 m)
0:58:40 mins
Total in December: 139.0 km

10k-a-day: Day 12 - Fastest yet

Had no real aim other than running for a bit longer than usual. No much more but I know I need to be upping the distance of my longest run in January in preparation for the Brighton Half and the Meon Valley 20.  Its all a bit of an unknown at the moment.  My weekly mileage is high (46 this week) as I'm running everyday but I don't know what that will do to my endurance.

I set off round Tooting Common and then headed to Wandsworth Common. It was a bit muddy on the tracks so a little slippery in places in my road shoes but nothing too risky.  After a slowish first mile I upped the pace and felt good. By mile five, I realised I was going really well with my mile average around 7:45 which was surprising. I kept the pace up and finished feeling really good with an 8 minute mile average.


It was also great to wear shorts and no jacket for the first time in weeks. I think I even caught the sun :-)


Day 12
13.1 km (8.14 m)
1:05:14 mins
Total in December: 128.8 km

10k-a-day: Day 11 - Surprised

After an aborted trip to Belgium, a lack of sleep on Friday night, a day spent working on my end of term NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher) report and a lot of rubbish food consumed, I expected to plod round today's 10k.

However, to my surprise, I was feel fine after the first couple of miles so I decided to run a fast one.  I pushed pretty hard and felt strong.  I had to be careful of my footing as it was on the edge of the Common and dark and I had to slow to cross two roads but I still managed a sub 7 minute mile.  6:57 to be precise.  With the same effort in daylight and with no roads to cross I could get that down further and I know I wasn't going at 100%.  It's looking promising for having a go at my 5K pb soon.

Day 11
10.2 km
0:54:01 mins
Total in December: 115.7 km