Time: 11.40am Weather: Sunny, clouds gradually disappearing, dry, slight breeze. 16°C
Well, that didn't go according to plan!
A good sleep, a lot of procrastination and some apprehension. Lots of preparation.
I was planning to be out at about 10am. A couple of mugs of coffee and two slices of toast. I filled up the hydration vest with a litre of water flavoured with a couple of squirts of orange juice concentrate and a teaspoon of salt (probably a bit too much).
Definitely tee shirt and shorts weather, so that's what I wore, with cap to keep sun off the pate and clip-on sunglasses on my glasses. More faffing and lots of loo anxiety, and eventually I got out.
It was definitely a pleasant day. There were some thin clouds above but they were rapidly disappearing in the sun. Up the hill for the warm up walk and then a gentle jog.
0km - 6'43"/km - A good start, up the last part of the hill, past the post office, cross to the opposite pavement and onto the straight. The views are great, the breeze is nice and cooling. My legs feel a bit stiff, but that's normal for the "toxic ten".
1km - 6'53"/km - More of the straight, then the roundabout. I have to stop and wait for a gap in the traffic on one of the arms. Past the fire station. It's relatively quiet.
2km - 7'08"/km - Very slight slope with narrow pavement with cross-slope. It's not pleasant to run on, and puts strain on one leg or the other. Up to the church and right round the corner. On the opposite pavement a lady runner with short ponytail. I wave, but she's oblivious.
3km - 7'29"/km - Across the railway tracks, past the bin lorry depot, right up into the new housing estate, where I was stared at like I was some alien visitor by a guy on a mountain bike. On and past the playground, then down the dip and the climb up to the other side and the clay path.
4km - 7'30"/km - The path is very quiet today. I think I saw one group in total in my plod along it. Left onto the path between the fields, then as I'm just about to pass into a farmyard, three small rabbits cross the path just in front of the gateway. The day is developing into a very sunny one, more reminiscent of August than April.
5km - 7'35"/km - Up through the farmyard, left up a substantial short climb, then a gentle downhill curve along a wide potholed track. The driveable track turns to the left but the course continues on with an even more potholed gravelly track with gardens backing onto it. It opens out into a housing estate, and I plod through it on the pavements.
6km - 8'00"/km - There's an open green space to my right in the middle of the housing area, I plod on to the main road, turn left onto it, find a suitable crossing point and almost immediately turn off it to a road on the right. This road is very quiet, except for a pair of driving school cars using it to give their pupils what seems is their first experience of driving. At the end of the road I go straight across onto a path between two sets of high metal fences which leads me under the railway and out onto another road and then an upward curving path towards the bridge over the canal.
7km - 7'49"/km - I don't go over the bridge but instead go onto the canal towpath. There are a few people on here, fewer than last week. In the middle of the canal, a goose is sleeping, afloat, with its head resting on its back. I've got a nice steady plod going on and I'm feeling OK. The towpath goes down under the main road and flattens out again. Then it goes over a little hump-backed cobbled surfaced bridge to swap sides at a lock. As I'm going down the ramp on the far side of the lock, my left leg feels a bit tighter than usual.
8km - 8'02"/km - The towpath is a little more busy. Stealthy bicyclists whoosh past. There's another more modern bridge to climb for the towpath to switch sides and another slope downwards. Some tiny discomfort going down the slope, but nothing worth bothering about. Through the motorway underpass on the pontoon bridge and another lock a little way beyond. Another change of sides and slope down to the new level. Legs feel OK but a bit tired. I seem very sensitive to the unevenness of the surface today.
9km - 7'38"/km - The long flat bit. More stealth cyclists pass from behind. A group of three lads on cycles block the way. A loud "afternoon" and they scatter.
10km - 8'16"/km - The lock keeper's cottage, a chain of locks and a pub with folks outside on picnic tables. Lots of cobbles through the locks.
11km - 7'36"/km - Another long flat bit on the towpath. I wave to a guy on the other bank working in one of "the backs". The next lock has a road crossing at a bridge. I go straight on, and another slope. This one's a bit uncomfortable. I keep going. I'm comfortable on the flat, and the canal towpath is mostly flat.
12km - 7'41"/km - Another short chain of locks. Again things don't feel right on the downward slopes but I'm fine on the flat. The aqueduct over the river which overlooks the local parkrun course.
13km - 7'33"/km - Under the main road, still on the flat. No smell from the vinegar factory today. There had been plenty of muck spreading aroma earlier in the run. As I pass through the "siding" zig-zag on the canal I notice a short-haired bleach blonde lady running ahead and wonder where she'd appeared from. She hadn't passed me. A couple of canal boats are going the same way as me, but slower. I wave and call "afternoon" to the people on board and get similar in return.
And then the wheels came off. The blonde lady had been running ahead to get the lift bridge clear for the passage of the canal boats, and as I approached the road the sirens were going and the barriers were already coming down. Rats! The path was blocked. All I could do was stop, watch and take some photos (see photo above).
It took about 10-15 minutes before everything was back to normal, the road was back in place and the barriers had lifted.
I tried running. OUCH! That hurt. That hurt a lot. I tried a couple of times but my legs (especially the left one which was giving me concern during the downhill slopes) just weren't having it. It felt muscular, especially the lower thighs.
No pain, no pain.
I'm a wimp, and hopefully a sensible one after previous injuries. I decided to abandon the planned run and walk home (about 2 miles from this point). Walking wasn't painful. The muscles were still moaning a little but it wasn't hurting.
I took my time getting home, stopping to take photos and walking a little more sedately than my usual long brisk strides.
I got home, drank the remainder of the jungle juice, then did the stretches, paying particular attention to the thigh and hip stretches. Then I got the Lidl cold compress from the freezer and applied it to the areas that I thought had been most affected.
Stats:
Duration: 2h46' total (1h46' running)
Distance: 18.4 km total (14.3 km running)
Splits: as above
Average running pace: 7'34"/km
The watch? As usual it never likes longer runs. VO₂Max steady at 44 (Excellent) but fitness age increases by 3 to 26.
Podcasts today: The Listening Service (Leoš Janáček: music is a being come alive), The News Quiz (this week's edition), The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry (Back to the Sinister Hand), and No Such Thing as a Fish (Ep 314: No Such Thing as a Tiny Ferris Wheel).
If I hadn't needed to stop for the canal bridge I might have been able to plod through a bit further, but how far and how much damage I might have done by continuing I don't know.
I think I'm going to be sore for a few days, but I it feels like this is muscular not a tendon or ligament thing. I have mentioned in previous scribbles that something didn't feel quite right with the left leg at a few points in the last few runs. I think I'm going to need to look for some specific thigh/glute exercises.
I'm going to take a few rest days now. Gentle walks only.
Holiday diary - Run 2 Canal run (a first for me 😀)
Bridge 71 Grand Union Canal
