Winter Training

I've found Winter training to be pretty challenging at times. I've had to deal with the cold, icy paths, frozen water, wet feet and mud!

I'm currently on holiday in beautiful Cornwall and don't have access to my usual training facilities. So I ended up doing some sprint intervals on the beach and unfortunately got caught in a hail storm. I got a few sideways glances from the few locals who were out walking their dogs! I was only wearing a t-shirt and thin waterproof jacket (as well aa trousers, hat and gloves!) and the hailstones were quite painful due to the strong winds. As I was only going to be out for a short while and I was quite near to the car, I didn't want to wear lots of layers - I'm always hot while running and especially while sprinting!

Despite the bad holiday weather, I managed to complete a few long runs including a 10-mile easy run along the Camel Train from Padstow to Wadebridge and back. The photo shows the Little Petherick Creek Bridge, a former railway bridge which crosses the Camel Estuary just outside Padstow. Although the weather looks beautiful in the photo, it was actually very windy, and I almost lost my beanie hat while crossing the bridge. I wore my rain proof jacket - for the wind rather than the rain, but the top of the jacket flapped in the wind and kept hitting me in the face and the hood acted as a sail! The sound of the wind running through the bridges steelwork was quite eerie.

Despite the obstacles, I'm hoping that my continued training throughout the winter will pay off in the summer.

Next event: Carsington Water Half Marathon, Saturday 20th April 2024

Hill Repeats

Last week I was doing speed intervals on the flat, today I've been doing hill repeats. After a warm up and an easy jog I arrived at my hill (see photo). Starting about half way up, I had to run for 30 seconds up as fast as possible and then walk back down for a minute, repeating that 10 times. Not so long ago I couldn't have run up a hill at all, so I was pleased to find that I could actually sprint up a hill. I'm not saying it was easy, I was tired at the end of it and glad to get it over with, but I still managed an easy 10 minute cool down jog afterwards. My heart rate which is always high wasn't too bad considering what I was doing, with a max of 183bpm (I can get it up to low 190's doing a Parkrun!). My legs were definitely the weakest link.

#firelighter #fitness #heartrate #parkrun #running #training #hillrepeats #sprinting #runningandmovementhub #coach #speedintervals

Forest Runner, Sherwood Forest 10k

I'm working towards a half marathon at Carsington Water on 2nd December.  As part of my training I've entered a couple of races.  I say 'race' but I'm not racing with anyone. I have my own agenda and a time that I would like to achieve. 

So on the 1st October I ran the Forest Runner, Sherwood Forest 10k, my first proper timed 10k. I completed it in 1:20:40 which is a little slower than I wanted but I ran the whole way (ie no walking) which I'm claiming as a win. The race is on forest paths and rough tracks, which I enjoy, but it is much harder to run on those surfaces than it is on the road. You have to pick you feet up and watch where you are running! There are also quite a few hills which are always challenging.

We started the race in fine weather but by the end it was raining so I finished in an unattractive hot wet mess!  The compere tried to engage me in conversation but I had no energy to stop and chat! I had to go and sit down for a moment as I get a little wheezy at the end of a run when I've pushed myself. Then I headed to the cafe for a well earned cup of tea and something to eat. While sat in the cafe, my Garmin watch gave me a high heart rate alert (twice) but I don't think I need to worry, it was because my heart rate hadn't yet returned down to normal levels.

My next event is the Rasselbock Roliston Rumble on the 17th November. It is a looped course and I plan to do 4 loops which is approx. 17km or 10.7 miles. I hope to complete this in around 2.5 hours.

Walking

I'm taking a two break from training while I'm on holiday. It's not a relaxing beach holiday though, I'm walking a section of the South West Coast Path.

I naively thought this would be good training as I'll be walking every day on steep rugged paths with a heavy rucksack. Despite working very hard in the heat with poor sleep due to camping most nights, my Garmin says that my training load has been low but my fitness is holding steady. I now realise that walking isn't good training for a run. 

#SWCP #training #walking #Firelighter #fitness