Petts Wood on an Early Summers Evening

Tuesday night with the running club. James is back leading group 4 and I'm expecting a nice steady even pace. We start off running through Petts Wood itself. There are cows and sheep and countryside stuff. I get stung by a stinging nettle.

We then run past James's house. Outside it is a steep hill leading to the main road. Much joking as to why James is so fast...

The pace seems to be quite juicy. On the run up the hill past Logs Hill I zip off the front shooting for the apex. Alas John is in the group running with his son and he is soon able to drag me in. Sabina catches up as well.

The pace is faster than a usual group 4. Towards the end some people run off the front. I sit in a group of a couple of people including James just behind them and we run through Jubilee Park.

Group 4 can be like that. If there are some faster runners the pace can be pushed by those at the front.

Eventually we return to Willets after a nice run, though faster than expected.

58:17 10.79km (5"24/km)

Run Home PB

I have not run a significant distance (more than an hour) since the marathon. Today I decide to run home. One of my PBs is the run to/from work. This is an interesting one as I allow short cuts. The rule is from the door at work to the door at home, quick as possible. The run home from work should be slower as it is uphill. Though knowing I can flake out at home is easier than having to go to work.

Being in Beckenham Place park the other day inspired me to work out the quickest route across. This is not possible other than the at the height of summer as the park is locked at dusk.

I start off well. The City is crowded but I skip and jump through the crowds. Impressively so, to my mind. The Garmin reports generally positive figures and I keep going. Eventually I reach Beckenham Place Park. An afternoon spent pouring over satellite images suggested sticking to the railway line would be a good strategy. This I do. And it leads me through a wooded trail. Fantastic fun, as I skip and jump over roots and holes. I am aware that a PB could be on the cards. I wonder if the trail running will degrade the pace compared to running on the road. As I exit the woods, I realise that I may be able to go sub 1-30. I set this as my target and push on. I exit the woods and have to slog across Railway field towards Ravensbourne Station.

In a similar way to after the ultra-marathon, I feel that the Marathon has toughened me up. I am able to go on relentlessly. At Ravensbourne station I have 10 minutes to make it back under the 1-30. It has to be less than a mile and I can run 10 minutes miles (though not at the end of a Marathon...) I push and push. I sprint down my road, and the jab the Garmin. 1:27. Nice. The tidy short cut through Beckenham probably contributed to the good time, but even still the average pace was 5:17/km which through the City and with the backpack is pretty good going.

Later the thigh hurts slightly but not enough to regret the run.

1:27:14 16.5km (5:17/km)

Beckenham Relays

Simple concept, 3 legs of 2.5miles around Beckenham Place Park.

Looking at the teams, I probably drag my team down to the slowest. There are some good runners here. I think the theory is to put your fastest runner last. Mike was going to do the last leg but had to leave early. I suggest Mark goes last but realise that I have been allocated the 'C' number, so I am running the last leg.

Mark comes through to set me off earlier than I expected. I start of too fast but once round the corner and out of sight of the supporters I settle in to a more sensible pace. I am following a lady runner. I catch and dispatch her on the hill up to Ravensbourne Station. I know this area from previous Assembly League runs and the Beckenham 10km. I get overtaken by a Dulwich Runner and then proceed to follow him round the rest of the course, but he is out of reach.

I know there is a final climb up to the finish. I make some ground on the Dulwich Runner. On the final straight cheered on by the other club runners, I conjure up a sprint.

I look at the time, do a little math and I am happy with the time. Then some of the other PWR teams finished. It looks like we finished middle of the PWR teams, a pleasing result.

A lovely evening, not too hot and a nice route. Good to see everyone from the club as well. Given I have not been running that much and still feel massively overweight a good night's work.

18:05 4.16km (4:20/km)

Lunchtime on the Embankment

It's the club AGM and they have moved the runs forward to 7:30pm, which is too tight for me to make. I decide a run at lunchtime to make up for the missed club run.

I originally planned to run across to the South Bank and then back across Tower Bridge. I get to Blackfriars Bridge and realise that I have probably come to far West for Tower Bridge. I instead run down and back across Charing Cross footbridge.

It is not until the last 10 minutes that I feel really comfortable. I always seem to be better as the distance gets on. There was some pain in the thigh, but it doesn't seem to hurt after the run and doesn't really impact the running other than being noticeable.

A beautiful day, and not too hot.

This route I have run fast and done it under 30 minutes. I use that as a benchmark of how fast I was running. Today 30 minutes on the dot.

5km 30:00

Rehab at the Dome

It's my first race back since the marathon. The last few days I have been out on the bike for the first time in months because of the marathon training. A couple of mountain bike excursions and a ride to work and back. The fixed wheel ride in particular has done me the world of good.

Tonight it's the assembly league at the Dome. There's a good turn out from Petts Wood as well, with Richard, Martin, Chris and Mike there. On the way there the car tells me it is 24C.

The usual chaos at the start, and the race is off. We run up and down the riverside. At the far end, by the dome we turn round a post and head back the way we come. We shout encouragement to each other as we run past.

I don't feel like I am flying but I'm not doing too bad. There is slight soreness is the thigh but once again it's not agony. The heat did not feel too bad and running by the river is always nice.

As we run past the Dome, someone is having a BBQ. It make me hungry. As we near the finish I see a lady runner in front of me that I have been following for a long while. I decide to push the pace past her. I can now see the finish with all the faster runners waiting. I then see a younger runner in front of me. I decide to try and sprint past him. I expect him to react but he does not and I power past him to a strong finish.

I wasn't sure I was ready to be racing again, but tonight was good. I forgot the Garmin so I had used my I phone to measure the time / distance.

It is a flat, fast course but a couple of things surprised me. The course was exactly 5km. The organisers had obviously taken the feedback and measured the course. The other was the time, 22:35. It probably took me 10 or so seconds to stop the timer. Given my park run PB is 21:50, and I am a long way from fitness this is most pleasing.

Just need to lose some of that weight I have gained on the Marathon recovery and I should be back to tip-top condition.

Lovely run by the river.

5km 22:35 4:33/km

On the way back

I have a bad day at work. I'm still determined to go running tonight with the club. Time to stop slacking and get back on it, so I go with Group 4. James is away and Phil leads the group.

As we head across Chislehurst Common, we go up a path.
"You've taken us up someone's drive" I joke at Phil.
But the truth was we had!. We turn round and bump slap bang into group 3.

Soon we are running in the countryside and as the sun sets it is beautiful. The thigh feels a little sore but it doesn't hurt. After a while the faster-than-group-4 pace starts to take its toll. We come to a gate in the middle of the woods, exactly the same time as groups 2 and 3 arrive. There is a little bit of sorting out and the groups reform. From this point, some fast people go off the front, some slow people off the back. I kind-of hover in the middle on my own. Gradually I hear a couple of runners creeping up on me and so I pick up the pace.

I had hoped for a nice easy James group 4 steady pace but Phil runs a punchy pace, letting the sweepers pickup the tail-enders. I'm far from form but as I run I feel that I am flying along. I am overtaken but opening up at full blast feels good.

11.75km 5:21/km

Backward Blackfriars

The leg is feeling better, but I'm still feeling down. I feel at the bottom of the fitness mountain with a lot of climbing to do.

I decide a lunch time run could be good. I head out to do the North Thameside route backwards. I start of fast but I am still aware of the slight nagging in the thigh. I also still feel sluggish.

Still it is a beautiful day and I am still more runner than non-runner. As I think about the thigh, I notice other pains. Pains in the knee, pains in the calf. Maybe my thigh was like this before and I didn't notice? I decide that unless after the run I am in Chronic pain, to simply ignore it. I think some cycling would be good. Part of my frustration is the aches of pains, the rest my lack of fitness.

I pass through Blackfriars and Paternoster square and get back to the office. I head to the shower.

Then I feel good. Really good. The runners high kicks in. Something like, "Finishing the Marathon de Sable in world record time at the same point as someone mentions that you won the lottery and you finish 2.5 pints of a decent Fullers ale and a decent medium-rare rib-eye steak with crispy frites but fluffy potato centre followed by a tar-thick but sweet Espresso". Nice.

5km 29:29