5 miles I think!

Well I ran last night, but forgot my Garmin!  I think it was about 5 miles and have no idea how long it took!

What I do know is that I got soaked!!  As I was parking up I noticed a couple of spots of rain, within the first minute the heavens openned.  Oh well, kept me cool

I ran a long lap of Willen Lake, which means that from the carpark by Willen Church, I ran around the horseshoe hill, down the zig-zag path by the Pagoda carpark, over the foot-bridge and up to the canal.  I then followed the canal to campbell park, up the hill in the park, past the face statue then back down to the next bridge…  I then ran around the outside of Gulliver’s Eco Park, to the corner of the lake, the first time I actually got close to the lake!  I ran along the bottom edge, back up to the road until I was at the other side of the V11 and then back around to the car…

It was either make the lap bigger or run laps; I chose the former!

Running next the V11, next to the north lake I really pushed myself to really run…  I felt like I was flying, the weather definetly helped thermally.

In the evening I tried watching TV sitting in Kiza, but could only manage a few minutes.  I’ll try again tonight as I really need to get used to the feeling.

6 miles on Monday…

… so we didn’t quite do our usual 6 mile jog on Monday.  Yes we did the distance, but the first 2 miles we ran a bit faster…  then one of us mentioned Fartlek!

2 and a bit miles later (and me nearly throwing up) we were back to a nice jog to the car again!  First session since Marathon that felt like a proper training run!

Didn’t run at weekend…

… but we did cycle

I had to go to the bank, so we cycled from Newport Pagnell to Milton Keynes center and back.   I’ve not felt my quads burn as much in a very long time!  Good fun though and made a nice change from running.

Anyway, off home to get our, now routine, 6 miles in!

Another 6 miles

There is definitely something about Aikido that is screwing up my ankle or calf.  Throughout Tuesday night’s Aikido session I had no problem with it, but last night almost as soon as I started running (don’t think I’d hit a mile) I was feeling discomfort.

We took it slowly and kept doing loops of Willen’s Lakes, so if it suddenly went we wouldn’t be too far from the car.  Keeping controlled and slow (9.15 minute miles) meant I wasn’t in pain.  When we got to about 5 miles it eased up, which makes me think it muscular rather than being a joint / bone problem.

Anyway, by the end I felt fine and Jen sped up the last bit, I was going to let her lead and take it easy, but because there was no longer any pain I kept up…  we ended up sprint finishing   Not sure how wise that was, but it actually felt really good and today my leg is fine.

I’m hoping that with time it will just strengthen and be fine.

Last night and Saturday

Last night was tough!

We ran the same 6 mile route as last week, which is nice and pleasant.  You wouldn’t think you were right in Milton Keynes, following the canal up to Simpson, then cutting down to the river and back through the park to and around Willen Lake.  This week we went a bit further, running around the cresent hill by the Peace Pagoda, and really pushing it!

I was aware of my ankle / calf that has been causing me trouble this week.  I’ve not worked out where it is, but it is definetly showing a lot of improvement.  Although I’m hardly trying to help mend it, I’ve not iced or stretched it as I should have, I forget about it when I’m not running because it doesn’t hurt!  Anyway, last night it didn’t hurt, I was just aware of some shooting sensations.

Saturday we managed a quick 3 miles around Willen Lake.  Hugh was on bike, and although he objected to going, when we were there he enjoyed himself.  Its really nice spending time as a family doing this kind of thing.  I’m glad that he is also getting some exercise, kids just aren’t as active as they were.  My leg was worse on Saturday.

Other training

I’m trying to do some exercise daily now, this basically means on evening when I’m not running or practicing Aikido, that I should be doing press-ups and sit-ups.

I’m interested to see how my body develops under its own steam. In other words, without using any forced methods, such as weights. Not saying there is anything wrong with using weight, I’m just interested to know what my body will look like…

Anyway, last night I did my sit-ups and press-ups: 15 straight sit-ups, 8 on each side, then another 15 straight and 24 press-ups (all I can manage!)… then I got distracted by House and didn’t do any more :/ So not a good start at all!!

3 miles and a little pain

My goal last night was to whip round Willen Lake quick before coming home from work…

Started off well, pushing myself faster as its quite a short run, however just over a mile in something went in my left calf / ankle.  There wasn’t any pain as such, just a sudden feeling that I couldn’t hold my weight.

I had to drop down to a gentle jog, for a while, but felt like I was limping.  I did speed up in a couple of places, but I had to slow as it didn’t feel right.  Stretching afterwards was painful, so I ended up going home without a proper stretch.

I’m due to run again today, but I’m going to give my leg a rest, even though it feels ok today.

6 miles

Jen and I managed 6 miles yesterday evening…

We set off from Willen’s Pagoda carpark, and headed up and along the canal to Simpson.

On the way we had to make a stop off where they are joining Bedford to the Grand Union Canal.  Amussingly the project was first propossed in 1810 and is only just about to go ahead!

After 2 1/2 miles we headed back towards the River Ouse and through Ousel Valley Park to Willen and around the lakes.

The heaviness of the air, and the pollen made it hard work, but another run done.  In fact I really enjoyed it.

More hills!

I was meant to run last night, but wimped out. I was due for some hillwork, so that I can improve my leg muscles for running stamina and Aikido.

I was due to run 12 hills, but as a punishment for skipping, I pushed myself to run 15 hills tonight… and it hurt!

I had quite a lot of cars to deal with tonight, as I was out soon after 6pm and there were a lot of commuters about still.  I would normally run on the grass verge, but its become overgrown.  Most drivers are good to give plenty of room as the overtake though.

The boring stuff…

Aikido

I’ve wanted to learn a Martial Art for a long time, and have found something that appeals to me lots.  I thought that it would be a good idea to keep my progress here as I have done with my running.  Keeping a journal of running progress has helped me a lot, and hopefully it will for Aikido as well.

Last night was my first session with Wolverton Aikido Club.  In fact it was the first ever session of the Wolverton Aikido Club!  There was just myself and Sensei Diesch there, which was good as I’m not good meeting lots of new people at once.  Hopefully this way I’ll get to know people better as I will meet them as the club grows.

I learnt a lot last night and have forgotten a lot of it already.  What did stick with me was how hard it is for me to move my arms and legs independently of each other…  It was like patting my head and rubbing my tummy!

This week I need to practice sitting, standing-up and sitting-down.  I could do with practicing moving forwards and turning too, but we don’t have room in the house and I’d feel like a plonker in the garden.  I also need to relax and not worry about making noises when moving.