Well, it definitely feels good to be able to put that logo up again! It has been 5 weeks since I last went to a Run England session, and I’ve definitely missed them, in more ways than one. It was good to see some familiar faces and feel part of a group again – particularly when out and about as it helps keep me going possibly further than I would have gone without slowing to a walk if I were by myself – proving to myself that I can go the distance if I put my mind to it! Apparently the intention for this week was to do 5.5-6 miles, but we got to 2.5 miles and a few people with dodgy legs were intending to head home, so we headed back the way we’d come and got into the leisure centre at about 5 miles all told – 8km on my watch and for me a most respectable Run England distance. I was a little nervous at the prospect of doing nearly 10km in an hour – but why go with the fast group if not to push my comfort zones?
We went out along the path to Hownsgill viaduct, I’ve done short stretches of it before as part of other routes with Run England, but never gone as far down as we did today and out over the viaduct itself – it’s a shame really that I didn’t get to find out the circular route but I may go explore again myself sometime as it was nice and flat! I could park up at Morrison’s and hardly do any hills at all 🙂 Almost unheard of in Consett 😛 It was good to get back into the group on a flat run, even if it sounded like it would be longer and therefore slightly quicker than normal (we’re out close to an hour regardless of distance travelled and group you run with!). I was also grateful they’d picked a relatively shaded route, there was wind about but when it stopped gusting it was uncomfortably warm. The viaduct itself was awesome – high over the wooded valley, and very windy! It was a welcome cooldown, but also so windy it almost took my visor off and nearly robbed the air from your lungs rather than providing it in vaster quantities! Would be nice to do as a walk sometime if I can drag P out with me 🙂 I’m still dreading the summer proper. I think the combination of lack of exercise and higher, stuffier temperatures is putting between 5 and 10 minutes on my 10k time at the moment. Bring on October and November!
We stopped a few times while the group packed up together again – it was a pretty small group but we still spread out with different paces (bugalugs here being right near or at the back as normal!), and I noticed – as I have before – that my left knee really doesn’t like being stationary after running. It’s fine while I’m moving, but if I come to a stop it immediately feels like it’s starting to seize up. It loosens again when I start to move but it’s not good…It’s the same knee as has a corker of a bruise just above it from Gelt Gladiator – over a week old and it’s only just starting to yellow and fade around the edges, and I don’t know if this is affecting it – I could feel the bruise every step for the first 2-3km of the Pier to Pier the day after. After the first stop, I just walked while getting my breath back for the other stops rather than risking it having a tantrum. I stretched off when we got back as normal, and walked to get my keys and then back to the car, home for a warm bath and it’s been fine. Will just keep an eye on it for now and make sure I do a reasonable walk after any distance or faster running for now!
My average pace for today came out at 06:43 min/km – but I don’t stop my watch for breathers, so it’s factored in stops and walking breaks into that – my actual running pace was coming in consistently under 6 min/km (and even nearer to 5 min/km!) for the first half, and averaging between 6 and 06:30 min/km for the second half when I run the slider along the pace graph, which I’m pretty pleased with 🙂 Tired out by, and I needed those breather breaks! But, pleased nonetheless 🙂 We’ll get back on track in no time 🙂
And now, onto a girl’s favourite topic…shoes!
You may remember I have two pairs of Brooks Glycerins – my original pair from early last year, and a second pair I bought when they were going out of season for less than half the price.
After having some problems with blisters last weekend, I decided I’d try wearing the new ones today. I wasn’t sure whether the blisters were related to the sand-blasting my feet had taken at the Pier-to-Pier the previous weekend, my insoles (dust bunny free, I’ve checked!), the shoes in general or just my feet, but I certainly wasn’t feeling comfortable when running over 5 or 6km and wanted to rule my shoes out. I’m also aware, that at the moment there is no way I will make it round the half marathon in 3 weeks, and if it is my shoes, I need to know I have another pair that are wearable sooner rather than later!
I am, for the first time in ages, blister free! The balls of my feet still felt like they’d had a bit of a pavement pounding, so it didn’t feel like I’d lost any real degree of padding with age, but my post-run feet feel much more comfortable than they have in a while. I think I’m going to wear my newer ones up to and for the half marathon, and may then try my older ones for a 10km just to verify that it’s not just been a timing thing – if I get blisters again, I’ll try replacing the insoles. They’ve not really got a huge amount of miles on them at all. I know they’re a year old, but they’ve not hit the ‘expected’ lifestyle mileage for a pair of trainers – certainly not expensive ones, and many marathon runners go way over this mileage while training before replacing their shoes – they’d be changing them every few months!
I’m starting to feel a bit better about my running now – still concerned about not hitting the mileage I’ve decided I should be, but I am at least going out more and trying, and my calendar’s getting a few more stickers on it than it was at the start of the month!
Blue Runnings 
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