Training Log Archive: BrandNewMe

Got not a lot of sleep last night. ibuprofen-rot tummy cramps and screamingly sore legs from all the brambles last night. When you grow up and live in Scotland, you don't really think about brambles much, and how much it is worth navigating around them. I think I'll just not go to forests with brambles in the future.

So on the drive home we stopped at Sedbergh, and we ran up some hills. We ran all of the tops on the ridge to Calf hill. This was my first time in the Howgills, and it was super nice. The weather must have helped. The paths were a bit stoney on top, but you could run on the grass beside them. I sent GG and Jonny on by themselves as I wanted to run my own pace, and managed to run every step of the approx 800m climb as a result. Feeling ok now - shivers etc have gone. No calf ache so that is positive after such a big week for me.

Great weekend. In the manner if the Oscars, I'd like to dedicate my victory last night to GG, for driving me all the way there and back, and to the Nick and Nige team for supplying a burger and cuppa last night - a much more exciting prize than a buff!

C • You're driving next time! 3

Run with GG on the hadrians wall footpath. I took a load of ibuprofen / paracetamol first thing and felt ok this morning, and felt good on this run, but the chills / fever set in again in the afternoon.

British nights. No warm up as I felt so ill. I really must ask rheumatology if I ought to be racing when I have flu-like chills / aches / fever etc...

Started through some brambles to 1. Nice. Then to two it was a long path leg, then lots of little paths. I couldn't be bothered to navigate properly, and got predictably lost, but just as I was thinking that I ought to try to relocate, I find a control and it is mine. Bingo!

I took a ropey bearing to 3 and was too far right and hacked through more brambles to get to it. Lost time to 4 as I went off down the wrong path. 5 was good, but thrashed through yet more brambles. I got a bit lost midway to 6, but picked myself up and didn't drop too much time. 7, 8, 9, easy, but to 10 I thought there would be a path into the field and there wasn't, so struggled over a wall and 2 fences, dropping my compass here. Bugger. Stopped and had a look but couldn't find it. Bugger.

11 was easy, slight miss at 12, really concentrating to get the right path to 13 as if I got lost I was going to struggle to relocate. The mid section of 14 was tricky without a compass, as was the mid section to 18. A bit of a hole in the map at 21 didn't help, and I didn't know what I was looking for. Last 2 were tricky too.

Win. Nice. Didn't feel too bad when running.

http://www.leioc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/index.php#1...

Long warm down to 10 to hunt for my compass. No luck. Bummer.

Chills / aches / fever tonight. Early night.

I worked through lunch interviewing people for temp jobs. Then we had the fun of our very first 'SHiP' training. SHiP stands for 'shelter in place' and it is like a fire drill, but we have to imagine there is a sniper - yes, a sniper! - in the office, and follow our fire marshalls to the safety of ... one of the larger (glass windowed) offices. What a pile of bollox. We all heartily agreed that should there be a sniper in the office, we'd be hopping out of the window and running for our lives, not following the instruction of a jobsworth in high vis - so patronising but the powers that be can tick that off the risk management list now.

So, after being robbed of my lunchtime running opportunities I left a bit early and went running from work. 8 mile tempo. Trying to negative split as I used to, and very worried I might die at any point. I was pretty pleased with 59:51. Mile splits:

7:50, 7:39, 7:31, 7:38. 30:38
7:27, 7:23, 7:22, 7:02. 29:14

Not as bad as I expected but a long way off my pb of 53! I felt better today. Head clearer and legs more lively, but still v nauseous.

C • risky business 1

Felt horrific. I am trying to run myself to feeling less exhausted.

C • Confidence boost 5

In a huff, so road running to cheer myself up. Felt marginally better than lunchtime. It couldn't have got worse.

Home via Corstorphine hill. Felt nauseous and exhausted and :-( all day. Went home, showered, put the kids to bed then bed at 8:30. Feeling too ill and tired to eat dinner anyway.

C • Meadows 2

It seemed fitting that my pre-british night panic training should include a jog to the engravers to pick up the trophy and back. So through Holyrood park via the crags, then down Easter road to leith links, then back with the trophy in my rucksack, via the top of Arthur's seat to school to get the kids.

Felt terrible, underpowered, and had to walk the last few 100m to the top on the way back. My not v grippy trainers weren't helping. Nice day, and good to get out after a stressful morning.

Garmin not working, so guessing.