Training Log Archive: OJ

Happy New Year to everyone!

1
On this particular morning Ian stayed in bed. It wasn’t that he slept in; on the contrary, he was wide awake. He lay perfectly still thinking about getting up, pulling on his running tights, his cold heart-rate strap, his thermal top, his reflective jacket, his compression socks, tiptoeing down the stairs, eating half a banana (always only half, it was one of his many rituals), drinking a glass of water, lacing up his trainers and heading out of the door into the half-light of a frosty winter morning. Once outside, he would hobble down his street, joints aching and fatigued muscles protesting, offer a nod to the postman on his rounds, already well accustomed to the sight of this wiry, stiff-looking runner taking his first few, awkward steps of the day, and pick up the pace on the way to Hunter's Bar, where he would meet Phil at 7am sharp. Forty-five minutes to an hour later, he would arrive back home, glowing with an inner warmth, stimulated by the camaraderie of a pre-dawn runwith a friend and buoyed by a minor sense of achievement that would sometimes last until he headed out for a second run in the early evening.

On this particular morning, 7am had come and gone and Ian had not stirred. At 7.30 the alarm rang for a second time, and his wife Kate rolled over in bed, surprised to find an inert figure still lying next to her.
‘Are you alright?’ She asked with mild concern. ‘Shouldn’t you be out with Phil by now?’
At this Ian stirred from his half-slumber and sat up.
‘What time is it?' He saw the clock and grunted. 'I don’t know what happened. I couldn’t get myself out of bed.’ He rubbed his eyes and lay back, his first two finders pressed instinctively to his jugular in search of a heartbeat, as Kate made her way to the bathroom.
‘How are you then?’ She called through the door a minute-or-so later.
‘I don’t know. My pulse seems OK. I just didn’t feel like going running. I don’t know why. I’ll have some breakfast and see how I feel after that.’

At 8 o’clock, the phone rang. Ian had his mouth full of muesli, so Kate picked up the handset.
‘Oh, good morning Phil…I’ve been wondering the same thing. He seems to be OK, but says he just couldn’t get out of bed. I’m sure he will want to…oh, just a moment, I’ll hand you over.’
‘Hi Phil, listen, I’m so sorry about this morning. Were you waiting long?...I hope you didn’t get cold?...No, I don’t know, I didn’t feel like I could get up. I guess it was just one of those things…Yes, of course, I’m still on for tomorrow morning…Yes, I’ll see you there, usual time. Have a good one.’
Ian disconnected and turned back to his muesli.
‘Y’know Kate, I think I’ll work from home today. Maybe I’m coming down with something. I feel absolutely fine, but I don’t want to take any chances.’

C • Instalment One... 2

Short and easy with Rob out to Parson's Pulpit from the tarn. Another wet and wild day, just so much water everywhere. Legs and head were sore, but felt much better for this run.

The foot has beared up quite well considering the hammering of the last few days, but I'm going to give it a bit of a rest for a couple of days to let it settle, before cracking on with the training.

Morning jogging with Rob discussing the impact of livestock grazing on the local ecosystems.

Tim Tett memorial fell race from the field centre, a great route out to the bottom then top of Malham Cove then up Goredale Scar waterfall, which was in full spate after all the rain. I didn't know the best route so opted to cling on to Nails or Pete for dear life. I chose Pete, who was looking confident, but sadly he turned out to be hopelessly lost. The only positive was that we had lured Rob and Nails along with us. Spent the rest of the way working back through the field until I died on the final hill and Rob and Pete sailed away into the distance. Just about managed to catch and pass Tim, which saved some dignity.

Morning run with Rob, enjoying a stunning sunrise and what would turn out to be the last we would see of the sun for the entire visit to Malham.

Risked a longer run with Nails and Rob up to Pen-y-ghent and back via Fountains Fell, and I'm glad I did because the foot stood up to it quite nicely. Pretty horrible conditions lower down, but it was snowing and settling on the tops. A very enjoyable run, most fun for some time.

LOC xmas event on a new area near Rusland. Great little wood and a fun course, which felt incredibly physical as the ground was waterlogged, the rock was greasy and there were fallen trees all over the place. Nice sociable lunch in the pub after, then on to Malham.

Up a coll from the W end of Haweswater and back down Mosedale and Swindale. strong wind all the way, but mainly behind me. My foot started to twinge after I had dropped down into a remote windswept valley and I was starting to think that I would have to limp all the way home with my tail between my legs, but it didn't get any worse and I'm not sure that the pain has the same cause as it did previously. Hard to tell, though, as my feet were frozen solid.

Afternoon run along the concrete road in the driving wind and rain, very nice. Foot behaved but I could feel some kind of niggle by the end, I need to keep an eye on this.

C • careful! 2

Run up to High Raise from Burnbanks, 55 up into a cold wind and drizzle, 40 down meandering through the lower level hills. Longest run yet, but all on a nice wet sponge of moss and grass. Foot seemed OK.

Some easy orienteering at Skipwith Common. Ran with Matt and alternated legs but mainly just caught up on gossip. Nice sociable run.

Some jogging before and after.