Meanwood Valley Trail
I had a good run this morning, after an unpromising start. I'm not normally one for a lie in, even at weekends, and run early if I can. But after Friday night's adventures and a relatively early (and completely sober) night last night, I still managed to sleep in until just before 9am. I really didn't feel like dragging myself out of bed, but knew that if I didn't run then I wouldn't run.
The sensible voice won out, thankfully.
I decided to try a new route again today, and to try to up my mileage again. Even though it's still a month or so til the half marathon, today is the last Sunday when I know I'll be able to get a long run in. Next Sunday and the Sunday after that are definitely out, Sunday is my grandfather's 80th birthday party, for which I have to pick my parents up at Manchester Airport at 6am, drive them to Leeds, change, take them to the opticians and then over to my grandparents house for lunch. The weekend after I'm in France. Then the weekend after that my parents are staying again, and the Sunday after is the race. So I really did want a good long run.
And I got it. I headed over towards Headingley again, but this time instead of going into the city centre and back I doubled back on myself on the Meanwood Valley Trail. I'd never been down it before, and it felt really nice and green and rural (for the city). I even ran past a farm or two! On the down side, the path was very muddy and slippy, and for the middle part of my run (from about 50 minutes to 90 minutes) I was alternating between running and walking because it was just too slippy to run without risking injury. But still nice, and a change from running on pavements.
I eventually emerged back on to the roads after an hour and a half or so and headed home. This time, despite having my bus pass in my pocket, I actually ran the whole way, and then carried up to the garage to pick up my Sunday paper (the joy of a jacket with zip pockets to put a bit of money in!). The best thing about this is that on the last spell of about a mile or so I saw someone running ahead of me and, even after an hour and three quarters of running I managed to overtake her! Speed queen!
I've not been able to track my distance accurately because it was on paths that don't come up on google maps, but I'm guessing somewhere between 10.3 miles and 10.8 miles. The 10.3 figure is taking a pretty straight route from where I headed onto the trail and where I headed out from it, and the path did double back on itself and go round a bit, so I'm tempted to add a little more. Either way, it's between 10 and 11 minute miles which will do me for a long run (particularly on that sort of terrain) and gives me lots of confidence about the half marathon. It seems that a lot of the beginners training plans don't actually ask you to run the 13.1 before race day anyway, so if I can do a long run on Saturday (before my parents arrive) and a couple of 10ks on the treadmill, I should just about manage it even if I don't get as many long runs in as I'd like before the big day.
Then it's time for a bit of "rest" before moving onto training for the big one!
The sensible voice won out, thankfully.
I decided to try a new route again today, and to try to up my mileage again. Even though it's still a month or so til the half marathon, today is the last Sunday when I know I'll be able to get a long run in. Next Sunday and the Sunday after that are definitely out, Sunday is my grandfather's 80th birthday party, for which I have to pick my parents up at Manchester Airport at 6am, drive them to Leeds, change, take them to the opticians and then over to my grandparents house for lunch. The weekend after I'm in France. Then the weekend after that my parents are staying again, and the Sunday after is the race. So I really did want a good long run.
And I got it. I headed over towards Headingley again, but this time instead of going into the city centre and back I doubled back on myself on the Meanwood Valley Trail. I'd never been down it before, and it felt really nice and green and rural (for the city). I even ran past a farm or two! On the down side, the path was very muddy and slippy, and for the middle part of my run (from about 50 minutes to 90 minutes) I was alternating between running and walking because it was just too slippy to run without risking injury. But still nice, and a change from running on pavements.
I eventually emerged back on to the roads after an hour and a half or so and headed home. This time, despite having my bus pass in my pocket, I actually ran the whole way, and then carried up to the garage to pick up my Sunday paper (the joy of a jacket with zip pockets to put a bit of money in!). The best thing about this is that on the last spell of about a mile or so I saw someone running ahead of me and, even after an hour and three quarters of running I managed to overtake her! Speed queen!
I've not been able to track my distance accurately because it was on paths that don't come up on google maps, but I'm guessing somewhere between 10.3 miles and 10.8 miles. The 10.3 figure is taking a pretty straight route from where I headed onto the trail and where I headed out from it, and the path did double back on itself and go round a bit, so I'm tempted to add a little more. Either way, it's between 10 and 11 minute miles which will do me for a long run (particularly on that sort of terrain) and gives me lots of confidence about the half marathon. It seems that a lot of the beginners training plans don't actually ask you to run the 13.1 before race day anyway, so if I can do a long run on Saturday (before my parents arrive) and a couple of 10ks on the treadmill, I should just about manage it even if I don't get as many long runs in as I'd like before the big day.
Then it's time for a bit of "rest" before moving onto training for the big one!
posted by YP at 3:17 PM
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