Review of my Running in January 2010

It has been a successful start to the new year for many reasons for my running. I have largely been injury free just a slight IT band ache on the outside of my left knee but only when I purposely try to stretch it to see if it is still there. It doesn't affect my running at all at the moment.
My stats show

•  a total of 152 miles for the month 
• I ran on 22 days 
• My biggest mileage week was 39 miles for this week beginning the 25th of Jan
• My longest run has been 11 miles on the 24th and 31st of Jan 
• Fastest paced run was my tempo run on the 20th of Jan 4 miles in 33 mins for 8.09 pace
• Slowest run was an easy run on the 8th of Jan 5 miles in 46.41 for a 9.20 pace
• My average weekly rate is currently 34.3 miles
• My target for the year is 1400 miles and I am currently up on this by about 30 miles
• I have run 4 tempo runs and 4 long runs
• My weight is down from 86.5 to 84.5 kilos in this month
• No hill sessions recorded which is a weakness for me at the moment
• No races in January

For England and East Anglia January 2010 will be remembered by many as an unusally snowy month. Certainly for the first 2 weeks any runners venturing out had to combat the elements. Snow in Suffolk in recent years has often been confined to February.

I have practically started  again with my running after losing all my fitness following sciatica and then a cracked rib meant my training was patchy and non existent for many weeks at the end of 2009. It will take many months to build up a base of miles but January has been a good start.

For my long run this morning I did 11 mile on road to Risby and then on to Barrow in Suffolk. I did a 5.5 mile out and back run. I don't normally take a drink with me but today decided to take an isotonic bottle. To be honest it didn't work well carrying a bottle in one hand , it was too heavy and at about 8 miles it was a relief to bin and suddenly my arm felt free to move unburdened.

The round towered church in the village of Risby is St Giles
 and th pub shown is the Crown and Castle

It was bright and cold this morning and it was good to see so many other runners out training on their long runs.

The views of icy roads and fields are looking towards Barrow in Suffolk

Gt Barton Suffolk

8am 10 miles in 1 hr 25 mins 57 seconds

Week to date mileage 29 miles

Month to date mileage 66

Average weekly rate 30.3 miles

Average monthly rate 132

Year to date 844

Lifetime 10437

This morning I decided to venture out again to Gt Barton though this time from home. I repeated the same route though this time continued further along Green Lane turning past Holy Innocents Church at Gt Barton Suffolk.

From a traditional site in Suffolk of the village church I then saw something I haven't ever seen before except in zoos. I am not sure whether they are emu's or ostrich's but presume they are the latter as they are increasingly farmed for their meat. They are officially classed as a dangerous animal and can out run any human. Perhaps someone knows for sure emu or ostrich?

Continuing into Gt Barton I passed the old forge, I like the boards which are painted in a duckshell blue.

My turning point for home was reached at the Gt Barton village hall where the village sign is located.

Running home I passed a large field of tall purple flowers in a scrap of a field seemingly growing as weeds. No idea what they are but quite a pretty purple patch as you enter Bury from Gt Barton the A143.



A bit of chicken news for you. Two of our point of lay chickens are now laying and we are getting 2 eggs a day. Both the speckled hen and the blue bird are laying. To date we have had 14 eggs and they are beginning to repay the investment we made. at the end of May.

I would say we spent £500 to set ourselves up with chickens and it has been something I would recommend to anyone. You can of course set up at a lot lower cost than this this and currently it means that everyone of our eggs has cost us about £40!

We bought our hen house at Tillett Pet and Poultry from Beccles and we are very pleased with this house providing as it does a sturdy house with a run. The houses are very simple to set up but I think you can also get a delivery. I think the house was £350.

We bought our hens from Stebbing in Essex from Hens 4 Homes
You can buy a complete set up kit from here including the house, though we got every else that we required including food layer pellets and corn bedding feeders and of course chickens.

There is nothing quite like finding your own eggs in the hen house freshly laid and sometimes still warm. Boiled, poached and scrambled eggs are all getting popular and there is no need for us to buy eggs anymore. We have been using them in cakes as well and once our brown chicken Antony Worrall Thompson starts laying we will be up to about 20 eggs a week.