Interval Run to Fornham All Saints

I am gradually building up the mileage once again after my recent half marathon though it has taken me 2-3 weeks to do so. I am now training for a 10k race and tonight my schedule called for an interval session.

The plan suggested I do warm up mile and then  4 x half miles in  3.35 and warm down for a total of 6 miles.

It was a little breezy at 5pm and so I wore a t shirt with a long sleeve over the top. This became too warm during the run and I had to lose the long sleeve t shirt  tied around my waist. I am carrying a slight injury at the moment which I hope doesn't get any worse.

I think it is a touch of plantar fasciitis. Having had this before I am pretty sure this is the case and I felt it tonight as I set off for my run in my left foot heel. I have felt it a few times recently and I am hoping it is just a case of needing to replace one pair of my current running shoes which are now warn out. These are my Asics Gel Stratus 2's which have 412 miles on them and are showing wear in the midsole.

However unlike when I previously had this condition I was able to continue to run and I didn't notice any problems after a few minutes. When I previously had this it felt like I was running with a stone in my shoe and running was impossible so fingers crossed!

In the end I did 5 x half miles in 3.36,3.45,3.46,3.38 and an extra one in 4.01. In between I jogged and then finished my run at an easy pace for a total of 6 miles. I didn't hit the target of 3.35 half miles but I wasn't to far out and I averaged 7.28 mile pace for the 5 intervals.

To accompany my run I listened to my IPOD and appropriately Jonathon Richman and the Modern Lovers with Roadrunner. If ever there was a song made for running surely this is it

Runners World SMART Coach - Half Marathon Schedule Week 5

On the way home from work I had decided not to run tonight and put it off until tomorrow. However after a peanut butter sandwich in the car this seemed to work a miracle and by the time I reached home I had changed my mind and I was soon out for my run on day 29 of my training schedule.

Week 5 started with a 6 mile run. The schedule said to run this in a slightly quicker 9.15 mile pace.  This I did and felt pretty good and relaxed doing a 54 min .5 sec run for 6.1 miles in 8.54 pace.

This post includes more photos from the recent cross country race at Nowton Park Suffolk in January.

It being a Monday do visit Kenley at the Essence of Running for his Music Monday motivational song.




For my offering this week its the Talking Heads with the aptly named Road to Nowhere

Talking Heads Road to Nowhere
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Six Mile run at the Saxongate Water Meadows Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

It was a cloudy grey morning as I set off for an easy 6 mile run. I decided to run around the Saxongate Water Meadows in Bury St Edmunds.

Water meadows in Britain are an endangered shrinking habitat constantly under pressure from road and housing development. The Saxongate Water Meadows depend on volunteer support for their general upkeep and well worth it is as it home to many wildlife species. The water meadows here surround the River Linnet and once belonged to the Church and the Abbots in the Benedictine Monastery in Bury.

Wildlife to be found here include

• great crested newts
• palmate newts
• smooth newts
• frogs
• toads
  

Wildfowl:

• coot
• mallard
• moorhen

Mammals:

• water shrew
• water vole
  

Birds in the area include:

• blackcap
• great spotted woodpecker
• heron
• kingfisher
• coal tit

I ran slowly this morning and felt tired from the off. The Runners World SMART schedule is leading me to increase my mileage every week and I am already at 36 miles a week if I complete  my long run tomorrow with no problems. Last year in 2009 I only ran higher mileage than this on 2 weeks of the year. I average 23.5 miles a week last year so the schedule I am following  is a significant increase. No wonder I am a little tired.

My 6 mile to day were run in 54 minutes exactly 9 minute miling so it certainly wasn't quick for me. My splits show 8.19,9.02,9.11,9.20,8.56,9.10

The 3rd photo on my post shows a lost childs umbrella probably dropped and then blown by the wind into the water.


I also completed the 1st session of week 6 of the hundred push ups programme. I stuggled a bit with this as well today and did sets of 40,30,25,25 and 40. I was supposed to do 50 on the 2nd and last set so I will need to repeat this session or go back a week before  I move on again.

Six Mile run at Moreton Hall Suffolk

This was day 12 of my Runners World SMART Coach schedule which called for an easy 6 miles at 9.20 mile pace.

The temperature  was up to 4c and the snow is really beginning to go replaced by rain. This was a run in the rain but for larger parts of the run the pavements were clear of snow until I ran up Symonds Road which was still very slushy. This is also an uphill section and I slowed to a 9.36 mile but it couldn't have been too slippery as I came down the hill in 8.21.

Mile splits were 8.31, 8.47, 9.36, 8.21, 8.41 and 9.01 for a total of 53 mins for 6 miles.

On the podcast I listened to the the latest episode of phedippidations talking about Spring Marathons and his acceptance into the Boston Marathon.