Risby Suffolk

The end of my 1st week of the Runners World SMART coach schedule called for a long run of 10 miles at a 9.20 mile pace.

Where to run? With the current snowy conditions  I am happy to run 5 miles up and down the same piece of road or in a park but didn't fancy doing the same for a long run.

Luckily over night there ws no more snow and there had been something of a thaw. It being a Sunday morning and very little traffic I ventured out running on the minor roads to Risby in Suffolk. As can be seen from the photo the roads were partially clear. I was able to run around two thirds of the way on the roads and switched back to the snowy paths and pavements when traffic approached.

I ran out 5 miles to my turning point just beyond the Highwayman's Vineyard.  
This is now a bed and breakfast .

My time for the 10 miles was 1 hr 29 mins 06 seconds mile splits 8.52,8.53,9.18,8.39,8.51,9.04,9.11,8.51,9.00 and 8.27

My pace was fairly consistent throughout and I was able to complete week 1 for a total of 31 miles. For the last mile I put in some extra effort and I switched from the Phedippidations podcast ( Steve Runner talking about his ambition to run a marathon in under 4 hours) to the Lillingtons The Too Late Show which always gives me a boost to run a little quicker.

Having completed Week 1 of my schedule I recognise that on paper that this is the easiest week.  I am reasonably tired so I am going to have draw on reserves of energy. Another way to look at it is that Week 1 of a running schedule is one of the hardest because it is the first step out of the door which is the most mentally difficult especially in the current weather conditions.

Timworth Green Suffolk

A good run this afternoon. I did a 10 mile run which consisted of a 5 mile out and back run to Timworth Green.  The conditions were a lot better than of recent with the frost pretty much gone. There was a drizzle and a strong wind that continously pulled at my hat when the cross wind hit me on the return leg.

This run from Bury St Edmunds takes me to Fornham St Martin. Just opposite St Martins the church in the village is a path known as the drifts which provide some excellent off road running on good pathways.

My route took me along the Great Livermere drift which emerges at Barton Bottom the main B1106 road. I run straight acoss this road and continue up a minor road- so minor on Google Maps it just shows as two thin lines with no detail. After about 1.5 miles you reach the tiny settlement of Timworth Green.

I began to struggle on this run around 7-8 miles when I felt tired. I had been listening on the ipod to A Mile with Me a running podcast from Steve Chopper who is based in the Christchurch/ Bournemouth area of the UK. If you are not familar with running podcasts then in my view this is one of the better listens around. Well researched informative content. This isn't a podcast diary of Steve Chopper's running it is more of a magazine with features such as interviews and history of various places that he might visit within the UK.

For the last 2 miles when I was really struggling I switched to the Lillingtons album The Too Late Show. Listen to the Lillingtons here and then download the album for about a £5 from ITUNES. Who doesn't like a zombies tune !!

I saw them crawl out of their graves,
On the night of the living dead
I saw them eating human brains,
And it went right to my head
I saw something at school today,
A-walking through the hall
Were those zombies that I saw
Over at the shopping mall?

They’re zombies
I think I see them everywhere
We’re zombies
And I’m afraid they’re everywhere
We’re zombies
I think see them everywhere
We’re zombies
And I’m afraid they’re everywhere
We’re zombies

I saw them crawl out of their graves,
On the night of the living dead
I saw them eating human brains,
And it went right to my head
I saw something at school today,
A-walking through the hall
Were those zombies that I saw
Over at the shopping mall?

They’re zombies
I think I see them everywhere
We’re zombies
And I’m afraid they’re everywhere
We’re zombies
I think see them everywhere
We’re zombies
And I’m afraid they’re everywhere
We’re zombies

Have we all turn into zombies?
Have we all turn into zombies?
Have we all turn into zombies?
Have we all turn into zombies?

Looking at my mile times for todays run my 10 miles was run in 1.29.31 -  8.23,8.32,9.06,8.28,8.45,8.54,9.32,8.47,9.10,9.50

As you can see even the Lillingtons couldn't speed me up for the last 2 miles.

How am I getting on with the push ups? Anyone else doing them? Well I have completed Week 1 on the 100 Push Ups website and today was the 1st session in week 2. This consists of 5 sets of push ups with a minimum of a minute rest in between. Set 1 is 14 Set 2 is 14 Set 3 10 Set 4 10 and Set 5 is a mimimum of 15 and I did 18. The main thing is to keep good form and complete proper press ups.