Legs Eleven...

Day fourteen has come and is on its way towards gone and run number eleven has been run. Another loop of the Hobbs Quarry to tonight to gauge how it's going and I'm happy to report it's another gain. Twenty one seconds tonight. That takes it to an overall improvement of 1 minute and 16s in two weeks. Pleased with that.

It's not really very long until the Saunders Mountain Marathon now so I need to balance further gains verses being rested. Tuesday might be my last run before the event or possibly Wednesday. I'd like to run the Tintern Trot on Thursday but I think that might be pushing the boundary.

These last two weeks have certainly improved my chances of not dying somewhere out in the wilderness of the Lake District on the weekend. I just need to start giving some thought to getting the kit together now...

Got To Be A Good Thing Hasn't It?....

So, I've been hitting the running hard. Recording it all on the Fenix 2 and after thirteen days it reports my VOmax has risen from 45 to 48, in a fairly linear fashion vs the runs/efforts I've put in. Now I'm not sure how scientific the Garmin calculation is or how accurate - or even what it really all means - but the higher the VOmax the better, I think? So I think my tactic to hit it short and hard - sssh, matron, stop it - is working.

I've another run planned tomorrow - had a rest day today to recover from yesterday's 'long' run, and after that I'll play it by ear. I still feel I can make some gains vs being fresh for the Saunders but I need to make sure I hit the sweet spot. One thing I think I've achieved over the last thirteen days is the desire to get back to the form, allowing for age, I used to have. And you know what, I think I need to book myself some travel arrangements and accommodation in Newcastle, County Down for the Mourne Skyline Mountain Trail Race - wot I entered a few months ago - because this Mad Runner is going to make the start line...

Still At It..

So I missed an extra day but I've made up for it. Seven km on Friday and an extremely hot 20km Saturday east of Minehead on the coastal path - I say path but in my book running several miles of it across shingle beach isn't really what I call a path. It fair sapped my energy and I melted in the heat of the midday sun. Ten runs in twelve days can't be bad though.

The Rest Day...

So as it turned out, today was the rest day. After eight straight days of training runs, the lunch run didn't materialise so a rest day it did become.

I'm still feeling good. My body doesn't feel overly broken after this somewhat sudden resurgence of training so, all being well, I shall be back on it tomorrow. The weekend is going to be more of a challenge though as it is Hot Summer Party time but all being well I will keep with the regime. After all, I have the ritual of the Saturday morning hang-over run to maintain...

Garden Gate...

Run numero eight is in the bag. The Blaisdon Wood loop and I pushed it a little on the run in. Feeling a bit knackered now but mission 'going for broke' must continue. I've a lunch run planned for tomorrow but there is a small chance I won't get back from site in time. I have a rest day pencilled in for Thursday but that may be brought forward to tomorrow - depending upon the outcome of lunch run...

And On The Seventh Day...

He did not rest... Run number seven is complete.

I ran the Hobbs loop again tonight. Same as Friday, using the main road variation, and despite feeling more plodding than ever, I managed to get around the route 33s quicker. That's almost a minute improvement in a week. Now I know it's not really very scientific but I think the regime is working. Best of all, it almost feels like I'm getting a routine going...

The Half Dozen...

but I'm not sure run number six actually meets the criteria to be classed a run. It's true, I was wearing shorts, vest and running shoes but that's about as close to running as it got...

Man Alive...

Coity, that's five. Five days, five runs and I'm feeling fine.

Initially I thought we were in for a wet one as the rain descended over the Blaenavon valley but just as the race got under way the rains left as quickly as they had arrived. I set off in the middle order and stayed there. I didn't feel powerful on the short, first climb. I didn't feel fast long the flatish road section. I then didn't feel strong on the longer, second climb before not feeling hugely quick across the top and down again before once again not feeling overly commanding on the last ascent. I did, just by way of a change, feel pretty sharp on the final descent... one out of six ain't bad.

Over all I'm reasonably happy with my run. Despite all of the above I think I was probably ahead of where I'd have been if I hadn't started my bid for fitness last Tuesday. I continue the assault on precinct fitness with another run of some description tomorrow, another on Monday and so and so forth...

Knock At The Door...

Yep. Fourth run in four days has been completed and it felt better. Not sure you can really improve in just four days but it felt a bit more like I running. I ran the Hobbs Quarry loop again but with the main road climb variation. It's the same distance but with a steady steepish climb up the main road - hence the name.

I am loving my new fenix 2. All those lovely fairly meaningless stats; cadence, vertical oscillation and ground contact time - almost a reason in itself to get out there running. My average heart rate was down by six beats and I was 22 seconds quicker. Although it's too soon to draw any real conclusions from such a small sample - ooh matron - I'm happy to at least pretend I'm on the mend...

Bring on the Coity race...

Slow And Getting Slower...

but the mission continues...

Tonight I headed out on the Flaxley loop. Fast I was not. This ain't a game of speed. This is a game of survival. With the Saunders Mountain Marathon just fifteen days away I have a race partner not to let down - although surviving is also a pretty fair allure.

Tomorrow I go again. Probably back to the Hobbs Quarry Loop. Saturday it's the Coity Race followed by something not entirely completely different Sunday...

Sorry Harriers...

I umm'ed. I ahh'ed but in the end I decided I am just too s*!t at the moment to disgrace the Vest. Instead I ran my local Hobbs loop - and it wasn't that fun. I managed a lunch run today - and that wasn't great either. It is my intention to run every day for the next 14 days - barring the Butlins weekend where I will only manage the now legendary hangover long run Saturday. I really need to draw this line in the sand...

Slight Change Of Plan...

..Didn't make it to the hills. Didn't sleep well and felt a bit unwell. I almost didn't do much at all but then I remembered there was some orienteering training on offer so I got myself along to that instead. Still didn't feel brilliant but I actually had a decent pootle. I focused on using the map rather than the compass and on the whole I stuck to the task. I needed the compass on a couple of occasions but overall I was able to use the features of the map to get myself around the course. It got a little tricky late on when the drizzle kept coming as my glasses steamed up and it became difficult to pick out the more distant features but I got to the finish eventually.

Where Has The Week Gone....

It's almost the weekend already. The week has flown by - so quick, I almost forgot to feed the sourdough starter. Anyway, I've been out for a pootle - and dare I say the immortal words.... it's too hot. Hopefully it will cool slightly before Saturday as I've decided to run the standard Pen-y-fan loop starting and finishing at the Blaen y glyn car park.

The Big Question...

..which section of the black mountains to head for this weekend? No races in the diary. A weekend off orienteering planning - as I made good progress last weekend. So the next question is where? I'm thinking, the far side... The big question, do I take vera and make it a two dayer or not? It is a few miles drive for just a single run...

Finally Making Some Headway...

...with planning Novembers Trellech orienteering. It's been far from easy and I've really struggled to locate possible control sites. Half the time I've just plain failed to find what I was looking for. The other half I've been far from certain. Over the last couple of months, of the controls I have been happy with, I have finally been able to construct some semblance of the blue and green courses.

Today I tested out the slowly developing blue and over all I was pretty happy with it. There is definitely some work to do and I will need to double check all the control locations in relation to accuracy on the map but I feel much happier. Of course, I will need to run things up the official flag pole - whatever that might entail - and hope it gets a salute. Also, hopefully the map will get a bit of a spring clean after all the recent forestry destruction.

In all I covered just over 10km, flitting here and there, taking over 2 and a half hours! It was actually pretty good training though, despite the overall slow average pace. I did do quite a bit of running but equally quite a lot of slow walking, carefully checking things.

Okay, It Was Slightly More Bust Than Fit...

but on the upside, I can at least still walk, if somewhat slowly...


On other matters, I'm close to picking the first basil of the season for pesto. Can't believe how quickly it's come on. It was literally just germinating a few weeks back and now it's about ready. The chili are also starting to come on. Almost ready to plant on this years seedlings while being backed up by last years plants that survived the winter. Can't wait to harvest the 'Basket of Fire' and 'Devils Tongue'...