Back for more on a Sunday

Today, at last, I got back into the swing of this running lark. It's taken a while, and for most of today's run it didn't feel possible, but at last I seem to have got my mojo back - or something approximating to it anyhow. I don't mind admitting that at first I felt terrible. Seriously. In all sorts of places I felt tight and uncomfortable to the extent that I wondered whether I could stand an hour of running; like always though I just stuck at it to see what would happen and in the end a couple of unexpected events occurred.

The first of these (and if you're eating you should probably look away now) was that by the time we'd made our way down to Regents Park - the halfway point more or less - my guts were rebelling. Ordinarily I'd tough it out (see above) but a voice in the back of my head told me that this wasn't an option and so I put in a little sprint to get me to the nearest toilet. What blessed relief and thanks go out to all the owners of public toilets everywhere. You all deserve medals. With that little job out of the way I felt perky enough as we slogged our way up the steep side of Primrose Hill:

A view like that don't come for free!

Even so I wasn't quite sure how my legs were going to cope with the long drag up to the car park and this remained a source of concern with strong runners like Craig, Daniel, Jo and Mike in the vicinity. So I hung back a little until Rosslyn Hill where I thought it worth lifting the pace a touch to see what would happen - which was that Daniel and Jo stayed close on my heels! So I tried another dig and suddenly I had a gap of 5 or 10 metres and the desire to defend my slender advantage. By sheer will I kept my pursuers at bay all of the way and it felt good, it really did, to glimpse my old form. There's a friend that I hope to welcome back!

Distance: 7.2 miles
Time: 1h 02m 49s

Gone but not forgotten

Today for the first time in over two and a half months (yes, really, a whole 12 weeks!) I made it to the Running School on a Saturday. Crumbs. This is the longest period ever since I started that I've gone without seeing Ira and the guys and yet it feels like no time at all; pretty obviously this has been one busy summer even by Cannon family standards. Nevertheless after flying back from Lenore's aunt's funeral last night this was my first opportunity to rejoin the gang and I took it.

The only problem was that I knew, in my heart of hearts, that I was going to struggle a bit today where once I'd been the young buck forcing the pace. With no exercise since Tuesday and no running since last Sunday I've been feeling a tad stiff and lethargic; the blood is not flowing as enthusiastically as it once was. Anyway a good few of us met up and it was nice to receive a warm reception; there's nothing like being missed to make you glad that you made the effort to return!

That said today turned into a bit of a long one as Ira piloted us towards Finsbury Park via the always pleasing Parkland Walk - particularly now that they've sorted out the drainage. It's no longer a mud-bath and that explains why there were so many runners and cyclists out and about; that and the miserable weather forecast for this afternoon! As expected I had no choice but to hang at the back of the pack, although that is no bad thing sometimes, and my slow-motion running only worsened when we turned round and headed up and up back to the finish.

The damage is obvious!

Luckily there were no photographers in the verge today and I had plenty of company in my personal discomfort; also it's not like I've never had to come back from injury before and so I do know that my condition will improve. It's just that there's not a lot of joy to be had in this intervening period apart from the pleasure of being able to run at all. That's certainly something and none of us should forget it!

Distance: 9.0 miles
Time: 1h 17m 55s

Pangbourne Multi-terrain 10K

Well as I sit here thinking about my race today it's with mixed emotions I think. On the one hand I ran just as hard as I could and given where I was fitness-wise a month ago it turns out that this is pretty hard; on the flip-side when I ran the race last year I was really flying and came in 5th overall and first V40. So this year I was eight places further back and over two minutes slower - a good indication of how challenging the course is and how much it punishes anyone unwise enough to set off too fast. Talking about the route the Pangbourne 10K takes a lovely meander around the village of Sulham - up Sulham Lane, around Sulham Wood and across Sulham Hill. It's all there, you know, if you're a Sulham fan!

As for the race it was a bit of a dash against time just getting there what with half of the family slumbering in bed while the other half made last-minute preparations this morning! So a quick dash down the motorway was required to allow even a few minutes warm-up - definitely a requirement given that the race goes uphill right from the gun - but we managed it without too many cross words. At the start line I wasn't quite sure where to seed myself but I figured that if I was going to have any chance of reprising my result from last year I had to at least be in sight of the leaders.

At least I know what I'm in for!

This was a valiant aim and for the first 500 metres I got a clear view of the large group forming in front of me - almost close enough to touch but too far away to catch. Steadily they pulled away and from my laboured breathing I knew that I wouldn't be bringing them back! So I tried to settle into a rhythm although my right calf felt rather sore/tight and this wasn't helped by running in lightweight trail shoes on the unforgiving tarmac; when we turned the corner into a muddy field I was probably the only one to breath a sigh of relief! From that point I started to feel better and better; catching two or three guys very quickly and then keeping in touch with a guy maybe a hundred metres in front.

From last year I remembered the course very well and knew that the high point came between 5 and 6 kilometres in and that previously I'd pulled back a stubborn resister in just this very stretch; so it held happy memories. Well I don't know if this is the power of positive thinking or what but once again I used this part of the course to my great advantage and reeled in my opponent; a moment when you need to look strong! After this the course fell away to the finish and while I refused to falter it took an awful lot of mental strength to keep my pace high and not look back to see who was chasing. When the finish line finally came into sight I was awful glad to see it:

Ouch - that hurts!

In the end though I managed to put clear water between me and whoever was trying to chase me down; no sprint finish required and for that I am eternally grateful. Almost as grateful as I was with managing to pick up a spot prize (which is one way to ensure that a large crowd remains for the prize-giving) and certainly as grateful as I was to see the massage lady with a spare bed and no queue. That's one tangible benefit to finishing at the sharp end of the field! After being put back together I even felt up to facing the press:

With my aunt Janet having survived the race

Overall though coming 13th out of 251 finishers isn't too bad even it it did take me 41:16 to get round. Like last week pacing was a definite strong point since I managed to push hard most of the way and still had enough in the tank to maintain a stiff pace in the closing kilometres (even if these were downhill!). Even better the weather was absolutely great despite the gale warnings - real sunshine in a way that I haven't felt in months. To celebrate we headed off to the Beer Stampede at the nearby Elephant Hotel and it's no exaggeration to say that rarely has beer tasted so good and that's not the belly talking!

Distance: 7.0 miles
Time: 48m 44s

Too early for the Thames Festival

With only one run completed this week I knew that, at the very least, another one was required and Saturday wasn't an option given my race the next day. So today was pencilled-in and on the face of it conditions were ripe for spending more time in the park. Then I remembered that the Thames Festival is on this weekend and that set me wondering - would there be anything to see along the riverbank if I set off downstream? So my plan was made and if I'm honest the scheme pleased me - it's always nice to have a reason to run beyond the quotidian  response of "to stay fit, duh!".

So off I went down to the Embankment and over Waterloo Bridge - the idea being to avoid the crush of tourists that always exists beside the London Eye, day or night. This deposited me on the South Bank and, wow, it was really busy with office drones enjoying the sunshine and foreigners enjoying the weak pound. However it didn't really matter as I wasn't setting any records and in a way dodging around people gives my muscles an unusual work-out! Outside the Tate Modern a large stage was being constructed but that wasn't what caught my eye; instead I love looking across the river, past the Millennium Bridge and on to St Paul's Cathedral. Magnificent.

No more wobbling here!

From here I wiggled my way past Southwark Cathedral, then City Hall (also known as The Onion if you're feeling polite) and onto the always impressive Tower Bridge; which is even more beautiful now that they've finished repainting it and removed the scaffolding.

Can you get that shade of blue in B&Q?

Sadly the north side of the river is less interesting to run along, once you've got past the Tower of London, and so I just put my head down and beavered away. It was surprisingly muggy at this point, and kind of warm, so I was glad of the stiff breeze blowing down the river. Even so I was beginning to flag a little by the time I returned to Embankment Gardens; however rather than skip back to the office I decided to slip my shoes off and see how long it would take me to lap the park barefoot. Sure there were lots of people watching with interest but I've never been one to concern myself with public opinion! As it turns out a lap takes about 5 minutes and there's some cool grass to be had - so I'll be returning shoeless in the future I believe.

Distance: 5.5 miles
Time: 39m 28s

Discretion is the better part of valour

Isn't it amazing that over 400 years ago Shakespeare was writing lines such as this: 'The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part I have saved my life.' Now I'm no Falstaff or, at least, not yet so long as I keep off of the capons but I know exactly what he means. Sometimes you set out to do one thing and then events set you on a different course - unless you're too hard-headed to realise.

Take today for example; I was all set to slot a run into the lunchtime session and entertained plans to travel a little further than I managed last week. All being well I'd make it up to Hyde Park and a loop on the horse track for good measure. However it quickly became apparent that my legs hadn't quite recovered from the weekend - most specifically in the groinal area and that's never a good place to feel sore - and they didn't start to feel better even when warmed up.

So I resigned myself to chugging once again around Green Park; just a couple of laps. Now there are worse places to be on a late summer's day (down in the sewer or even on the end of a skewer!) but it wasn't what I'd planned and so lacked a certain excitement I think. Nevertheless after a while and a bit of stretching I began to feel slightly more normal and glad that I'd made the effort - although not so happy that I was going to do some barefoot running. Somehow I get the feeling that continually rubbing the freshly-formed skin off the hole in my toe isn't a winning strategy; so I'm going to give it a chance to heal. Discretion and all that....

Distance: 5.7 miles
Time: 42m 49s

Regents Park 10K - September

Today has been a long time coming that's for sure - six whole months of sweat, suffering and effort. But it's been worth it, I think, despite those dark moments where I've wondered what it was all for. Even better I've achieved my initial goal of winning the series overall in my age category and that's something to be proud of I guess. My problem is that victory is only fleeting and when it's been digested, well, I'm looking for the next challenge. Maybe it's good to stay hungry though?

Anyway returning to today's race my main goal was not to blow up, suffer like a dog and live to regret my aches and pains all week; it seems that this is becoming a bit of a theme in my racing adventures but I can only work with what I've been given. So at the start I hung back and left the blocks at a very sensible pace - a little over 4 min/km to be precise. Unlike last month this felt properly comfortable and I felt very able to cruise along like this for as long as it took; in fact at the end of the first lap I still felt very much within myself and had to be careful not to get carried away!

Pretty early on - just cruising

What's funny though is how my expectations have recalibrated themselves - when I glanced at my watch at the halfway mark I couldn't help but smile at the time of 20:30. As much as this is a long way from my best it's also a world away from the torture of tight muscles that I endured in August and for that I'm grateful. Still I couldn't help but lift the pace slightly when I got to the final lap - not so much an attack as a gentle acceleration - and right there I found the area that I need to work on. While my legs said yes, my lungs said no and so general fitness is, as it so often is, the limiting factor.

I probably should have sprinted harder - right?

That said I managed to bring back a few guys on the run in and I felt very much in contention in the little group that I'd pulled myself up to - which explains how the last kilometre was run at 3:51 min/km pace and that still wasn't a flat-out sprint. There is room for improvement! Now before the race today I'd decided that I wouldn't be entering the winter series this year as a break would be beneficial. Wrong! Keeping active is the only way forward and besides when I was chatting to Maurice Raynor, the race organiser, afterwards he mentioned that entries are down this year - possibly because Runners World has got the link pointing to the summer series or something. Well we can't have that and £60 is a small price to pay - although the financial cost of the races is the least of my concerns!

Oh yes, and just for completeness, I crossed the line in 41:07 and this was good enough for 36th place (out of 610 finishing). On the other hand I was third V40 and the first two were right in front of me according to the results; I definitely should have gone harder at the end! More importantly the bulk of my kilometre splits were within the 4:05-4:10 range and that's pretty damn consistent if I say so myself! Although this could all change given that the timing system wasn't started properly. Local races eh? Bunch of amateurs.....

Distance: 11.6 miles

Time: 1h 26m 31s

Laps in the woods

This morning I was all set for a jog around town at lunchtime what with the sun being out, and me needing as much time on my feet as possible, but when the time came it just didn't happen. Why? Well I remembered that I haven't run in my own neighbourhood in ages and I kind of miss it. Funny really! So I decided to head out when I got home with the side benefit of seeing how suited the local pavements are to barefoot running - after a few miles in the woods first.

So at about half-past six I jumped into my shoes (tipping the sand out first) and headed down the road. Not that I got far before bumping into Claude, a school dad who we've become good friends with, and a reminder that in just a few days the whole educational merry-go-round begins all over again! Until then though it's still the summer holiday and, at last, it's warm enough to feel like those long, hot days of my childhood - which meant that by the time I hit Highgate Woods I had a decent sweat on. Luckily I was only planning on a couple of laps to bring the run up to the 30-40 minute mark and thank goodness as I've enjoyed easier sessions! With a stitch on one side and then the other I felt far from super.

On the other hand I was quite looking forward to 6 or 7 minutes of barefoot running along my local pavement; if this works out in terms of surface (smooth is good) and comfort (clean is good) then I can see a long-term training opportunity here. As it happens the paving slabs are quite suitable although bits of branch and seed from the numerous trees hereabouts turn out to be, shall we say, painful. Also I seem to have rubbed a bit of a hole in one of my toes! Oh well - it's only skin and I think that the soles of my feet are starting to toughen up now. I just need to keep at it.

Distance: 5.1 miles

Time: 40m 39s