Monday, 4 March 2013

Highs, lows & seven weeks to go...

Seven weeks away from London. That's all it is now, as you read this. Just seven short weeks... So why, when everything should be going well, am I experiencing so many ups and downs of late? It's almost as if every time something good happens to me, there a midget dressed in a devils costume ready to run up and kick me in the nuts..???

Getting dressed in the dark can often cause problems, none more so than on Tuesday morning when I got up to run a 5K before work. Skins compression clothing is meant to be tight. It's always a struggle to get into the things. When you're half-asleep then you've got no chance. The way that Skins work is that it's made to fit in strategic places. If you put it on inside out, as I did, then it's highly uncomfortable. So I struggled for a few minutes to get it back off. If you then put it on back to front out, as I did, it's also highly uncomfortable. So I struggled for a further few minutes to get it back off and turn it the right way.
Apart from stretching the legs early in the morning, the 5K seemed to serve no other purpose than to tire me out for the rest of the day. I did a lot of yawning during the day, especially after my swim session at lunchtime, and in the evening I had to fight the urge not to go to bed instead of attending the bun-fight that is the Pomphrey Sports 5K.
As I said in a previous Blog, the Pomphrey used to be called The Bridge Inn 5K but a sports ground (with hot showers) was built just up the road, so the race organisers, B&W AC, moved the race HQ there. Everyone still calls it 'The Bridge' though... The fact that it was the final race in the series and marathon training season, coupled with the cold weather must have affected the race this month as I completed my two mile warm-up and joined the smallest number of runners that I'd seen in a long time at the starting line. Due to the fact that the race starts, and finishes, on the cycle path under a bridge, plus the narrowness of the course, the first few hundred metres was, once again, a frantic jostling for position, whilst a few runners, from a local University team, obviously thought that the whole idea was to knock people out of their way and to cut in front of them in such a way that they had to check their step... A sharp elbow in the ribs and a shout of contempt was enough for them to know that nobody was impressed... To tell the truth, I struggled. I seemed hard pressed to get my body to push itself any harder, although I still averaged 5:56/mi. Whenever I did try to up my game I was rewarded with a sharp pain in my chest, which would remain until, once again, I'd dropped the pace. I crossed the line in a, for me, rubbish time of 18:36 and was thankful for the chance to stop. After another 2 mile 'warm-down' jog, this time with a group of other Bitton runners, I was able to gratefully return to the sports centre for a warm shower.

Woollard Bridge: A flat point in a hilly route
Time got the better of me on Wednesday and, as I was due back in the office, the 15 mile run that I had planned to run in my lunchbreak only made it as far as 12... I ran out of Keynsham and picked up the route of the notoriously hilly Pensford 10K, following it through the hamlets of Publow, Woolard, & Compton Dando, before climbing up Peppershells Lane, crossing down into Queen Charlton, then looping back to Chewton Keynsham, before heading back towards the office. A tough run at the best of times, but in your lunch break, with the pressures of the working day still upon your shoulders, it is even tougher... By way of recompense, as soon as I got home from work I changed my clothes, and went out and ran a slow 5K to make up the mileage. Now, that may sound quite good but, please, believe me when I say that the 5K was painful. After running 12 hilly miles, then sitting at a desk for a few hours before driving home, it really is surprising quite how tight your calf muscles can get.

Thursdays child may have had far to go, but, thankfully for me, I didn't. A short 6 mile recovery run was all that was required, so at lunchtime I headed out to Saltford, picked up the Bristol-Bath Railway Path to Bitton, then headed back into Keynsham. Nice, short, & sweet. The pace, however, was bang on 6:45/mi all the way, so if I can do that and feel 'easy' then my training must surely be heading in the right direction. After work I put in an easy swim session (32 lengths) by way of a recovery. I will freely admit that by the end of the day I was grateful to fall into bed....

Warmley pre-Beeching era Signal Box
There seems to be a problem with my body at the moment. Apart from not allowing me to run past a public convenience without stopping to relieve myself, it's now started hurting in places that it doesn't usually hurt. It almost feels as if my body is conspiring with the Devil to fall apart before I even get to London... First there was the blister debacle, followed closely by the over-compensating muscular problems, now there is a nagging pain in one of my big toes, and a pair of shorts, which I have worn countless times, rubbed my groin into a welt while I was running on Friday lunchtime.
Running from Keynsham to Hanham, and after a brief stop in the public-loos, I headed up through Kingswood and dropped down to Warmley Station. From there I ran along the Bristol-Bath Railway Path. At about the 8.5 mile point I noticed that the inner lining of my shorts was rubbing my groin and that it was starting to get sore. There was nothing that I could do to either prevent or cure the problem and, unfortunately, it carried on rubbing. At the end of my 11.25 mile run I was the owner of a very big, raw, welt which resembled nappy rash... Searching my memory banks, I remembered how I used to treat my kids for nappy rash... Sudocrem! Brilliant idea! An antiseptic barrier cream that I had received a sample of in a post-race goody bag a few weeks before, and, as luck would have it, still happened to be in my kit-bag. Ah, the relief of that soothing white cream...!

My body was protesting at the punishment that I had been dishing out to it of late, so I did something highly unusual. I took a day off from training and enjoyed the luxury of a lie-in... Oh the decadence...

For Sunday my training schedule said that I had to complete a 21 mile run. I'm not quite sure that I was supposed to put in the 21 mile run that I did though... I was already entered into the two lapped, Bath Half Marathon, my annual Marmite race, (Why Marmite? Because some years I love it and other years I hate it.), and my brain, which isn't renowned for straight thinking, told me to just do the race and 'tack on another 8 afterwards'...

1:25:49 - Davros would be proud
And so, after a very early jog around the block in order to get my body working order, MrsC and myself travelled to the fair Georgian city of Bath. Leaving MrsC not too far from the Royal Crescent I made my way to the race village located next to the Recreation Ground. Upon arrival I dropped my bag in the baggage store whereupon I discovered that my number actually allowed me an 'elite/good for age' start. Toeing the start line I was able to rub shoulders with some very fast people. And one of the blokes from my club - dressed as a Dalek. (There were a few of the faster runners who were quite worried about getting beaten by a bloke in a costume).
Caution: Runners in road
As usual, when the race started I went off far too fast. I knew it was too fast because after a few miles I was starting to ache and developing a pain just under my ribs. The crowd in Bath have always been loud and very supportive but there was a small group of members from the Running Club near the turnaround point in Newbridge and, believe me, they were the loudest, most supportive, people on the entire route. And, best of all, I got to run past them twice... I made it through the 10K point in roughly 37 minutes, one of my best ever times for that distance, then, as I was going to run a further 8 miles after the race, I took a conscious decision to ease off the pace. When I say 'ease off the pace', what I actually did was stop looking at my GPS watch and drop the pace in a way that made the running 'feel' easy. Within a mile of heading into the second lap I started to pass the slower runners. Luckily the road was cordoned in such a way that separated the first from the second lap runners. After picking up an energy gel on my way past MrsC I headed back towards Newbridge, but as I got to the junction of Chelsea Road I discovered that whilst the cordon was able to keep the two lanes of runners apart, it didn't allow for some members of the public. All I can say is that, after running straight across the first lane of runners, the bewildered member of public suddenly became akin to a rabbit in the headlights when confronted with an oncoming group of faster runners. She was unceremoniously bounced between several runners, including myself, who swore at her loudly before she was knocked onto the pavement... Stupid sod. After passing the Newbridge cheer crowd again I made the final turn before heading through Twerton towards the finish in Great Pultney Street. Passing the 11 mile marker I upped the pace slightly, knowing that I would need to save a little for the undulating final mile, which I did, for I crossed the line in a new personal best time of 1:21:18. Absolutely exhilarating...

Not the cartoon Rhubarb & Custard
A quick drink of Lucozade whilst collecting my bag from the storage, then I headed to the Bath Leisure Centre to change into some dry/clean kit for the jog back to Keynsham. Once changed I spent the best part of two miles negotiating spectators before I got some clear space and was able to get the pace up a bit more. On my way I used a new, to me, energy gel - rhubarb & custard Torq gel. I kid you not - rhubarb & custard. It tasted sweetly good... Thankfully I covered the 8 miles to Keynsham in roughly an hour and was able to meet the ever faithful MrsC at Keynsham Leisure Centre where I was able to, finally, get a shower & some clean, non-running, clothes, safe in the knowledge that my exercise was over for the week and that there was only one thing left to do - head to Coffee#1 in search of some well earned coffee and cake.

Weekly totals:
Run miles: 65.36
Swim lengths/metres: 130/3250m
Sit-ups: 640
Press-ups: 320


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