Since my last post I have been busy as usual, but still keeping plenty of time to run and spin. The weather has been awful though - so cold. I suffer from Reynauds which means that I'm ok when I'm running, but once I'm finished running and my body cools down, I suffer massive vasoconstriction and lose all circulation in my fingers (palm up) and toes. It doesn't sound serious, but it can be pretty uncomfortable...
Pretty gross really! In addition, the routes I run are very muddy, and running in the mud is incredibly difficult. I don't think I ever quite appreciated it, as running on bridleways isn't half as bad. I don't think I will ever do fell running - it's so frustrating pushing as hard as you can and not getting anywhere! Plus there are a lot of horses in Cambridgeshire who seem to just destroy any trace of a footpath. For example, mid way through my 14miler on the Inknield Way...
Lovely.
So, I think I have pretty much settled into my yearly training plan.
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 5.5/6m (fast...think I can include some small sprints in this if I can motivate myself) + spin
Wednesday - freestyle...varies each week, just what I can fit in as Weds are my busiest day
Thursday - 7-9m (steady) + spin
Friday - Rest
Saturday - long
Sunday - Cycle
I know it doesn't seem like I'm going to be cranking massive mileages but it is what I can manage, and moreover it's what I WANT to do. I don't love running so much that I want to spend all my free time running (although that's slightly different when I'm home in Scotland) plus, as I mentioned in my last post I am seriously respectful of my body now and it really isn't healthy to be pushing it hard every day. My poor joints won't thank me when I'm 50...although maybe my heart will (:
In February my long runs have been 11.5miles, then I got ill for a week and missed my long run, 13.9miles and 14.5miles. This week I will be back in Glasgow so plan on doing a nice easy 15miler somewhere to round off the month. I have been quite happy with my runs, except times perhaps - like I say the mud and slippy conditions underfoot have added a bit of time onto them. Interestingly I have been using my Nike+ again and am laughing at the paces of my usual routes...I tend not to keep a very uniform pace through my runs!!
To be fair, I do know what the big dip at the end is...I come off the hard surface onto a really slippery bridleway and have to really take care not to go over on my ankle, then after about 1/2mile I hit another road. My long runs are slightly more uniform...luckily!
Something else which I have been looking at this month too is new running headphones. I don't always run with headphones, especially as I sometimes have Derek cycling alongside or am just enjoying being out in the country, but I do love to listen to music. I had a pair of Sennheiser PMX80 until recently...
...but unfortunately after many years of being battered and used one of the ears stopped working. I was really impressed with them but when I looked on amazon to get another pair, they weren't being sold anymore and had received not so great reviews. I'm surprised, and it made me a bit sceptical about believing some of the other headphone reviews. I thought about running with my old Sonys for a while but they are over the ear (i.e. DJ style) ones and I don't like running on the road with them. I eventually settled on these Sennheiser/Adidas MX685 ones:
So far I haven't been disappointed. I wondered about the wee bit on the top but it actually hooks quite well into your ear and holds the headphones in place, despite the constant jiggling around. I listen to loads of dance music with heavy bass and the headphones seem to convey that pretty well indeed....my only gripe is that they don't go up very loud....well, in the house they do but outside it doesn't seem so loud. This could, of course, be my 5+ year old ipod nano packing up on me. Either way, its probably best for my ears if I don't have the music up too loud. I have been listening to quite a lot of new tunes recently and think I have some perfect playlists for these wee sprints I try to do on my 6miler.
I think I will save that for another post though...
