Apologies for radio silence over past week. I’ve not been cheering on my VRBs - so sorry. I hope everyone is doing well and running strong into 2021. I’d been reading about everyone’s new year plans, and was busy devising my own priorities, and then...: After my post-run shower on 2nd, I started shivering and felt nauseous. Looking back, there were some signs of chill and wooziness the previous evening, although I’d felt absolutely fine on the morning of and during my run (5.7km/ 45 mins). Ruling out ‘the’ virus, I suspect it was a stomach bug. Anyway, the little blighter knocked my energy, and looking at screens was the last thing I could face. And then there was all the craziness of return to work, which will continue for the coming weeks.
So - and with M back for the first time in a while - it was an early run today. A couple of circuits of the nearby park (fairly quiet, thankfully), 4.02km/ 33:49 mins. The idea was to go very gently, gauge M’s capacity, and test more nasal breathing. M has been using his rowing machine over recent weeks, so he’s actually doing rather well in terms of fitness; it’s now a matter of getting his running-specific fitness back.
We also took it as an alternating walk/run, determining the intervals on the basis of breath (instead of time or distance, eg.): how long full nasal breathing could be maintained comfortably. The running intervals were typically 3-5 mins but it was quite variable; walk intervals more like a minute. Interestingly, this method didn’t slow things massively, adding around 30-40 seconds per km to my most recent pace (and bearing in mind that we were trying to slow the pace anyway). I also spotted how I tended to gasp at the transitions from run to walk, so perhaps I need to step back and ease off just a bit further. My plan is to rebuild the running duration using this method. It’s all rather interesting as an experiment. Although he did some of the intervals, M was keener to test his running, and less focused on my project - but even so, he rarely moved very far ahead. I did body scans to check posture and relax any tension (not much!)
We watched dogs at play, including a group of little black pugs playing with a dachshund, one of the pugs sitting in from it’s owner obediently and getting a finger wagging. Lots of people exerting: other runners; older women wrapped up like bundles in their winter coats, pumping their arms while doing power walks; another woman powered her wheelchair uphill by going backwards and using her feet; an older guy set himself up next to a bench with his skipping rope and tunes; a cyclist crossed the diagonal with a little flag attached to his helmet. An orange fluorescent thing is now stuck high in some branches, not far from the other unidentifiable dirty-white thingy with blue and red details. There were gulls, pigeons, crows and blackbirds scattered across the frozen ground, and then they were scattered upwards as the pugs and dachshund gambolled in their direction. A gang of parakeets passed noisily overhead, and the walking stretches enabled us to see blue tits and even a tiny mouse. Funny how walking and running seem to alter the scale of my sight. No distant views were available today, it was too overcast. Didn’t notice any trains. The freeze meant we could use the runners’ mud tracks through the grass; even the sloppier patches were firm. We admired the colours of lichen on the bark of old trees, which seemed all the more vibrant in today’s muted light. I wish I’d taken a photo. (The one here is of gnarled bark and from a sunnier run.)
It was so great to be out again! Happy running, walk-in or running-walking.
week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
How did your parkrun or (not)parkrun go?
