Day 358 Sunday 24 December
10.7 miles – 7:37 – 134bpm
First half averaged 7:25.
Second half averaged 7:48.
All too fast.
I need to treat my body as though I am injured only run very easily outside of sessions. This is the only way I am going to keep 60-70 miles a week going.
Day 359 Monday 25 December
8.1 miles
I had no expectations for the Christmas Day parkrun and only wanted to use it as a marker for what condition my legs are in.
I felt ok on my warm up but did need to visit the gents before the start. For some reason there were problems with the ladies toilets so a large queue of very brave women, or perhaps those with strong colds, joined the men’s queue.
After a few minutes of queuing I decided to risk it and left the queue to complete a few strides. This was a very risky decision, but I was wearing tights so any mishaps would be contained and provide an additional layer of warmth – which would be a nice bonus.
I started steady and overtook runners for the entire first mile whilst I built up my speed to eventually reach 5k pace. My pace dropped slightly during the second mile but I was still on target to break 18 minutes and then I turned into Chestnut Avenue and felt the full force of the hurricane intent on destroying my run.
I had no power in my legs and could only submit to the tyrannic typhoon as I watched my average pace for the final mile drop to below 7 minutes. This is unfathomably slow even in a windy 5k.
I managed to pick up a bit of pace towards the end and finished in 18:45.
Another parkrun, another poor performance.
Day 360 Tuesday 26 December
7.2 miles – 7:40 – 147bpm
Boxing Day and I managed a few miles before lunch and after J’s morning cycle.
I am becoming increasingly frustrated with my persistent under-recovery.
Day 361 Wednesday 27 December
9.5 miles – 7:17 – 149bpm
Despite my recent struggles, I really looked forward to this session.
3×10 minutes tempo.
My warm up and strides felt good and all indicators were that it would be a great session.
I sailed through the first mile in 5:49 and felt fantastic.
And then I turned into the wind which felt like someone had thrown a thrown a lasso attached to four tractor tires around my waist.
My pace dropped as I held the same effort and the final km was at 6:09 pace.
It was a fascinating experiment into how a strong wind impacts my pace.
The final rep was 5:50 with the wind behind me and 6:23 with the wind in my face. A 33s per mile difference. Coincidentally, this almost exactly what I used to experience during my track training days. A strong wind would create a 2s difference between the 100m into the wind compared to the wind behind me. There are 16x100m in a mile, which makes a 32s difference.
I hate the wind.
Otherwise another very encouraging session.
Day 362 Thursday 28 December
Run 1 – 5.2 – 8:16
No power.
Short stride length.
But still a very high cadence.
Run 2 – 5.1 – 8:01
I made it home, yipee!
Day 363 Friday 29 December
2.5 miles – 7:41 – 150bpm
I woke up at 4:15am with a stomach ache but still managed a short run in the late afternoon. My legs felt fine but my heart rate wasn’t just a case of a dodgy monitor. It was a warning for what was about to happen later that evening.
Orange (coloured, not flavoured) soup going in, is still orange coloured soup when it comes out.
Day 364 Saturday 30 December
4 miles – 8:14 – 139bpm
I was supposed to lead a family double victory at Linford Wood parkrun this morning but after last night’s disturbances in my force I decided not to risk further damage and instead paced Julia to victory.
Looking at my heart rate, I made the right decision.
Day 365 Sunday 31 December
2 miles – 7:23 – 136bpm
This wasn’t the grand finale I was hoping for.
No final flourish with 100 mile weeks and massive pbs at all distances.
My challenge petered out with a combination of over-training, under-recovering and an illness.
But it feels fitting that my challenge should end with a 2 mile run. And check out the heart rate. Looks like I am no longer ill.
Weekly totals
- 10 runs
- 54.3 miles
- 7 leg freshness score
Yearly total
- 433 runs
- 365 days
- 2555 miles
The Double Ron Hill Challenge 