Holiday Running, or the Curse of the Highland Midge.....

[AlbertRoss]

Yes, I'm still around albeit not checking in very often!

First the bad news is that having already signed up to do the Rodbaston 10K in September, I now can't due to two other things appearing in the diary.... so if anyone wants the entry let me know... I'm wondering about signing up for the last Shakespeare 10K in Stratford, last because it's run on an old airfield (Long Marston) that is about to be redeveloped - good one for a first in some ways though because it's basically flat and well surfaced! Of course, it could also be wet and windy.....

I've been plugging on with the programmed regardless, and although there's been one or two setbacks (one run went south when I just seemed to run out of energy part way, possibly as it was a pre-breakfast one), I've also had some success in terms of time and distance improvements. I'm just back from two weeks in Fort William, where it turned out I was about a mile from the Caledonian Canal - which then became my regular running spot for two weeks, and other than the bit up Neptune's Staircase it was not only flat, but a good running surface - in fact so good that the day after we arrived it was used for a long stretch of the Fort William Marathon! The only disadvantage was of course the timorous wee beastie the Highland Midge, and despite using Insect Repellent I still have about a dozen bites that are slowly healing..... It was still fantastic to run there, even if I'm sure one or two locals thought I was some sort of lost marathoner.....

So I have now reached the point of a longest run of 8.5km, in about 55 minutes, and a best 5k (as part of a run) of 31:48!

Next step - I'm considering making the "easy run" up to 9km, probably in a bit over an hour, and as I might have an extra 6 weeks before the actual race I'm thinking I'll try and get to the point of running the distance at least a couple of times before the day itself - and go for a PB. I suspect at the moment I'll be looking at somewhere around 65-70 minutes - then I might look at doing some speedwork to improve the 5K time before ramping up for another 10K in the spring.....

[skysue16 Graduate10]

Oh yes those tiny beasties have a big bite! 😉 nice place to run, along the canal there. Very interesting watching the boats go up the staircase! Great time for 8k, you are making good progress. All the best for the 10k race. 👍

[Hidden]

It sounds like you're enjoying the challenge! And I think you'll be surprised the difference it makes running at an event - I knocked 10 minutes off my 10k pb at my 1st (and only) 10k event. It's hard to believe the effect a crowd can have until you're there in it, experiencing it. In the meantime enjoy those epic runs - hope you can manage to outrun those midges!