Training Run 36

Tonight was a practice session for the upcoming LFR20 Anniversary Handicap 5km race, on Saturday 12th June.  We warmed up and then Ed asked us to run two loops of part of Regents Park which he had worked out would add up to 5km.  I was pleased with how this session went - some of the guys set off very fast, but I held back on the first lap, as I know that sometimes I have a tendency to set off too quickly and then run out of steam later.  On this occasion I was able to maintain a decent speed on both laps, and finish a lot faster than my previous 5km PB.  Ed did say afterwards that his loop may have been slightly short but I was still happy that I had been able to run the second lap only nine seconds slower than the first one, so my speed was fairly consistent throughout.  I am looking forward to the Handicap race as its a format I've never done before - people are set off earlier the slower they run the distance, with the idea that everyone will finish at (roughly) the same time.  It should be interesting!

Highbury Fields Parkrun - 3.11 miles / 5 km, 22'39''

The weather was warm and sunny when I woke up this morning, as I headed out for the Highbury Fields Parkrun.  After smashing my personal best the previous week, I wasn't sure how I would do this time, especially as I had a little bit of wine the previous evening!

The run today felt tougher than last week, but I did beat the time I set last week by four seconds which surprised me.  The conditions were warm and dry and I was sweating a lot even though I was wearing a vest.  I am hoping that Porto will not be too hot when I will run the half marathon there in September...

Training Run 35

Tonight's training session saw myself and the Frontrunners working on our speed.  This consisted of four sets of repetitions - the first and second sets were seven lots of 30 seconds running at high speed pace, followed by 30 seconds active recovery, while the third and fourth sets involved the same but with 20 seconds high speed and 20 seconds active recovery.  I usually find training sessions challenging but this one really was very hard work, I am not used to working at such high speed over such periods of time.  The weather was dry and warm as it has been for a while now and I think I might have found it easier in the cold and the rain!  I do feel that the speed work is helping me to improve my technique though, and with three more half marathons this year I need to keep the training up.

Training Run 34 - 7 miles / 11.27 km, 55'28''

This was a regular, 7 mile run along the South Bank, around Battersea Park and back again.  55 minutes 28 seconds is a new personal best for this run, which I was surprised about as it was quite warm and I felt very tired.  There was also a lot of wind which was blowing the tree pollen into my face.  Weather conditions aside, it was very enjoyable.

Highbury Fields Parkrun - 3.11 miles / 5 km, 22'43''

This was the first time that I had run the Highbury Fields Parkrun since October last year.  I usually train with the Frontrunners on a Saturday morning but I didn't really have the time today so thought I would do my local run instead.  This was also an opportunity to see what my 5km time is like, in advance of the upcoming Frontrunners time trial.  Conditions were warm and fine and it was great to really push myself in a race situation for a short distance.  I absolutely smashed my previous personal best time, setting a new one of 22 minutes 43 seconds, which is two-and-a-half minutes faster than my previous PB for this distance.  I really like the ethos of Parkrun and I'm going to do this more regularly, having signed up to volunteer to help run the event too.

Training Run 33 - 7 miles / 11.27 km, 58'17''

A regular, 7 mile Monday night session around Battersea Park and back.  Not much to comment on this time except that I felt more tired than I have done of late and I think that showed in the time.

Training Run 32 - 4 miles / 6.44 km, 32'56''

Today I ran with the Frontrunners, doing one lap of our usual route around Hyde Park.  I enjoyed it very much, a nice relaxing run not at an especially fast pace, followed by a sociable brunch with the other runners.

Training Run 31 - 1 hr 4'22''

Today did not go according to plan.  This was the usual Saturday morning run with the Frontrunners around Hyde Park.  I came out of Paddington tube station and walked around the corner towards the hospital to be greeted by a phalanx of photographers and journalists who were waiting outside the hospital.  I asked a policeman what was going on and he said "the princess' baby".  As I hadn't heard any news that day I had no idea that the royal baby was about to be born inside the hospital.  We joked later that the cameras had turned out for our training session!

The reason the session did not go according to plan was because I got lost.  Yes I have run around Hyde Park LOTS of times before and in theory I do know where all the paths go (roughly).  However today I thought I'd change it up a little bit by running in the opposite direction in the loop around the Serpentine.  Instead I found myself right back at the beginning much too early and with no idea of which path I should take in order to make my way back, so I carried on and ended up losing the path and getting very lost.  I did find my way back to the start later on in the end but I had to cut across the park to do so, through some (very nice) parts that I had never run through before.  Consequently I don't know how far I ran this time, only that it took me over an hour to do so.  I need to invest in a watch that measures distance as well as time!