Wednesday is Serpentine night and this week Rich and I had decided to go out for a different route. We had talked about heading out a little earlier and doing 3 parks plus an extension along the Thames. However, just as we were leaving we bumped into a group of people outside who were heading up to Hampstead Heath at a pace we would be able to run at.

I have never done this route before but Rich had and he was full of praise for it and to be honest after only about 1mile I was starting to realise why. We headed towards Regents Park and along the canal behind it, I’ve run around this park numerous times but never knew there was a canal there! The canal path was lovely and nice to know as after a bit of research at home it seems it goes all the way upto Stratford!

After leaving the canal we headed up Primrose Hill, wow that’s a hill but once you reach the top you have the pleasure of an incredible view of London. Again this is something new for me, it seems I really don’t know the north very well! After a quick recovery break we set off up to Hampstead Heath. More hills and certainly more challenges! After a few more miles we headed up Parliament Hill and was rewarded with another beautiful sight of London especially as it was getting dark.

After another rest we headed back to base via Primrose again as a final challenge! The route was 10miles pretty undulating and made a great change to the standard 3 parks run. The hills added an extra challenge and made the run more rewarding! We averaged about 8:20 and looking at the watch stats our fastest mile was the last one – admittedly that was the flattest but needless to say pulling of a sub 8min/mi at 9miles is good to see!

Till next time

N

It’s been another poor week of running this week. That’s almost 2 back to back weeks with very little distance in my legs. Poor discipline is what I put it down to, that combined with spending time doing other sports in the gym.

As usual Monday was spin day, a real toughy this week. Jon got a new training cd and it seemed all the tracks were had a fast beat, including the hills. This session certainly got my heart rate up and as normal there was a nice puddle around my bike at the end!. On Tuesday and Thursday I headed to the pool, after 20mins of stretching I managed a 40mins swim before heading to work. I did do a little 40min jog with my colleague at lunchtime, however this was very short and came several days after the last run with him.

Wednesday is serpentine day. 3 parks decided as usual and as usual was pulled around by an ‘ill’ Rich. It was still fairly humid but we still managed an av speed of 7:40mile even with me sulking and getting an 8min section put in cause I was struggling! After about 3miles in I was the closest to bringing my lunch up I have been in months!! It’s amazing how much slower over the last few weeks I have become, the first week we managed an av 7:15min/mi not coming remotely close to that at the moment.

As I write this it’s Friday night and since weds I haven’t been for a run. I hope to fit something in over the weekend of mid distance. Hopefully 10miles or so just to stretch my legs out. That said it’s hot so that is going to be a challenge!

Sunday is the British 10k and whilst I’m not running it this year I hope all that are enjoy it and that it’s a bit better organised good luck all!

N

…in that order. Since last Wednesdays 2 park run I have been a bit lazy on the running front but have still been reasonably active. On Saturday I booked to visit my sports masseur in the sports clinic Bluewater. Following the 10km just below my knee has been a bit painful and I thought it maybe worth getting it stretched out, before that however I managed to get out on the mountain bike for a 13 mile ride with Laura’s dad. This time he went out on his road bike so the pace was a bit faster and the ride much tougher than the last one. It looked like baring one or two hills my heart rate remained low so a nice little workout. Useful as Monday was spent at Wimbledon so missed out on my spin session!

Tuesday am I managed to fit in a swim session before work a quick visit to baker st fitness first with a gentle warmup on the treadmill, some leg rolls and then into the pool for 30mins of front crawl…

Wednesday is Serpentine running day and it was HOT! Setting off to do the 3 park, sun glasses were determinately at the ready today! We set off with the 8-8:30 pack and as usual went off too fast I think we got through the first in 745 and second in 750, sadly I couldn’t maintain this pace and gradually I got slower. I think the final mile came in at 8:15ish which wasn’t a surprise. By this point I was pretty dehydrated and my mouth was very salty. We still managed to average an 8min/mi pace but just not sustain consistency.

Thursday morning I met up with my colleague at Old St for a little jog up to work. We had worked out the route was completely straight and assuming we started off in the right direction there was no chance of getting lost. After about half a mile I was starting to doubt whether we had indeed gone off the opposite way but fortunately not! Quite a refreshing pace this morning which was nice, also normally two runs back to back is normally an issue for me but today was fine.

Not sure what the weekend has in store for me, but we shall see.

N

I very rarely find myself going out and taking it easy. Going at a steady pace and just holding a conversation with my running partner. This evenings serp run gave me that opportunity.

Having raced on Sunday I was always intending on today’s run being a gentle one. I had set myself up to do a 2.5 park (4.5 miles) run at a 8:30-9min pace, a recovery run! As usual I had my arm twisted and agreed to the 3 parks but I wasn’t going to budge on pace. We set off with the correct pack and plodded along at a nice and steady pace. The conversation was easy and I wasn’t finding it too tough, a breath of fresh air from the previous 3 runs all done at sub 7:30 average pace!

About 3 miles in my running partner complained about needing the toilet and as I was happy enough to do the 2.5parks before turning up I didn’t mind cutting the route short and heading back through Hyde Park to speakers corner. We did a short section at the end at a faster intensity which increased my heart rate a bit but other than that a good little 35min ‘jog’.

This jog followed on from a relatively long swimming session in the pool this morning covering over 50 lengths crawl or over 1km. Not since I was a small child have I swam that far, I’m pretty sure I got a 1000m badge having gone up and down the pool at ‘The Bubble’. Sadly I don’t know how long it took me back then but today it didn’t seem too much of a problem and a good routine to add to my training schedule. Plus Baker St Fitness First is a cracking gym and it seems that after 815 or so the pool clears out to only have one or two people in it! Bonus

Till next time.

N

Very rarely do I have a back to back week of sport and fitness but from mon-friday this week I can genuinely say it’s been pretty good.

On Tuesday before tip day I headed to baker st fitness first bright and early to do a fast treadmill 5k and then cover about 400m in the pool. The run went well and I think (with some holding on) I came through the 5k in 20-21mins (no doubt my heart rate was through the roof) with the obligatory 1% incline to make it more like the outdoors. Quick change into my far from professional board shorts and still red faced I was in the pool to cover the 20 or so lengths I wanted to do. As a little treat I went to the steam room then headed in for a standard “fun” Tuesday.

Wednesday was Serpentine night and whilst I has half hoped to swim again in the morning the later night before meant I wasn’t up for it when the alarm went off. I had intended on taking a steady pace about the 8-8:15 min mile kind of level but typical to form I stuck with the chaps I have run with before and clocked a 7:30 average. Unlike the 7min day I did a bit more stretches on Wednesday and writing this on Friday I am in nowhere near as much pain as back after that.

Thursday was my R&R day, nothing fitness related at all and also had the pleasure of visiting the Meat and Wine co. in Westfield for a great meal with Laura – lots of meat, not the healthiest but hey it was good!!

Finally today, Friday. I have had a busy day organised but managed to fit in a very short but reasonably paced swim session. I pushed myself hard enough to raise my heart rate and also upon finding my goggles again I found it much easier to get into a better rhythm! Felt great at the end of it and the rest of the ‘working’ day was to follow…

Sunday I have ‘Kent’s most exciting race’ as the sweatshop emails have reminded my numerous times and I’m heading to Bluewater 10k. Bit hesitant for my time here – it was fairly hilly and I’m not sure whether I will be able to beat my Newham 10k time which was in the peak of my training. That said I should be able to beat my time of 48:52 last year I hope…

Update of the race to follow on Sunday.

N