woensdag 31 maart 2010

Month total 2279=37hrs+59min

Doing longer runs in preparation for the marathon next week has meant my hour-per-day average has been cranked up a bit this month so I've got some extra hours to fall back on if I have to have any time off later. The idea is to try for an average of one hour per day over the whole year.

Muddy Vibrams and the Highland Coos

101 min
Start 15.00










First 45 minutes with the Vibrams. Behind the dijk the grass was wetter/muddier than it looked.








Then about an hour circuit with the Bonny Blues. Spotted a few of the Highland Coos just as I was crossing the bridge that leaves their grazing area so went back to take some photos. A bull, 3 cows and a calf who was busy scraping his winter coat off against a tree. Running was mostly battling against the wind. When running straight into it it was so loud I couldn't hear mYpod at all. There were a few spots of rain now and then but the wind kept any really wet stuff away. When the sun broke through the grey briefly there was just enough falling for a rainbow to appear.
Mud to my knees, wandering wild beasts and a rainbow to finish - what more could a runner want?

dinsdag 30 maart 2010

Dreary Dawn and the Lost St Bernhard

116 min
Start 6.45
75 min run out to the Soesterduinen with the Green Jewels then 41 minutes round the Eng with the Vibrams. Half way through my run I decided that I wanted to build up the Vibram time this week by 5 minutes at a time so headed home to allow me to start that. After next week's marathon I should be up to running an hour with them so can do my training for the 10k on the 18th using them almost all the time. First run was a bit dull and grey. No dog walkers about. Which was a shame as there was a lone St Bernhard roaming about. He had a collar on but wouldn't let me get close enough to catch him and see if there was a telephone number on it. He barked listlessly at me a couple of times and trotted off, looking about him for his owner as he went. Hope he got home ok.
Did 2 rounds of my 'fast' circuit in the Vibrams. First one in 5.52, second in 6.02 so inside the Cooper Test time. And that was after having run for 85 minutes already. Also deliberately ran over some gravel to see how that felt and it wasn't really a problem (though they weren't really sharp stones I suspect).

Week Total 557

Forgot to fill in yesterday - I had had a plan to run another 48 minutes on Sunday evening at sunset to crank my week total up to the 'required' (by me) 605 min which would have been 10% more than last week but it didn't happen. The plan for the coming week is Tuesday morning/Wed evening/Friday morning/Saturday evening. All round the 90 minutes, to give me a total of 5 hours (+ the 'missing' time from this last week). Back to my old 36 hour timetable, with a rest on Sunday before race day. This is as much 'tapering' as I think necessary. If Eddie Izzard can run a marathon every day for weeks then I think the concept of complete rest before the distance is much overrated.

zondag 28 maart 2010

Dusty, the Dead Hare and the Scary Water Crossing

129 min
Start 14.30
Ran half way to Baarn then remembered I didn't have my wraparound clip on dog lead with me so went back to get that and then drove to collect Dusty. We ran out towards the chain-pulled bike-ferry I discovered last time I ran with her through the polder. I couldn't understand how I'd lived all those years there and never known about it before but this mystery was solved when I got to the other side as there's a board there saying it was constructed in 2007. On the way out stopped briefly to sniff at a very dead hare on the verge.






Got to the crossing in about 30 minutes. (I'd already done 30 in Soest.) Home via the sluis, then a detour via Harry's Bar and the other side of the Eem, including an encounter with a brace of fanatical Jack Russels, and finishing with a loop of the fishing lake beside the motorway. The road bridge was closed for traffic as it was being repaired but the bike/pedestrian bit was still in order so I could cross there and have the unique chance of making a photo with the bridge raised.







vrijdag 26 maart 2010

Canal Capers

93 min
Start 18.00
Ran from the Makro to the Loerikseweg in Houten, taking in an extra loop along the canal to make up the time. Passed the 'castle' that I knew from the half-marathon route I've done there before.
Spotted another lost CD lying on the ground. Reminded me of the Iron Maiden incident. Is this a common thing these days? Throwaway CDs?










Did some sprinting to keep up with passing cargo boats.


Took in some nice farmhouses I'd never passed before and ran down a path between some freshly cropped willows. Got to Anita's just before dark and had a bath with some good muscle relaxing stuff bubbles.

donderdag 25 maart 2010

The Mystery Trail

84 min
Start 17.30
Out to the Soesterduinen. Followed a strange flat trail in the sand, about 2 foot wide, wondering if I'd ever catch up with whatever had made it. It led me round the edge of the sandy area to the hilly bits at the edge of the woods on the other side where it then went up and down the hills. Must have been some sort of a sledge with a flat underside. Did another 6minute-circuit but only got 6.10 this time. This was after about an hour's running and it was warmer than it was this morning. Ah well, at least got my speed up briefly from my normal plodding pace. Though as most of it is over sand it must still be doing my legs some good. And the hilly bits were murderous.

V-power

36 min
Start 6.30
Sunrise with Vibrams. Did my 6minute-circuit in 5.39. I believe my best ever time was 5.35 but I was definitely pleased with this for a morning attempt with the 5-fingered ones.

dinsdag 23 maart 2010

Kiterunner?

114 min
Start 17.30
Fairly plodding first hour - out to the Soesterduinen where I saw another kite-stuck-in-a-tree. Who are the dafties who choose to fly their kites at the edge of that huge open space so that they can get stuck in the trees? Got home just before dark and decided to go out for 25 minutes in my Vibrams. It ended up being 28 as I did a '6 minute circuit' in 6.20. Well it was almost dark and I had to be a bit careful where I put my feet but I was a wee bit disappointed as it felt to me that I was going faster than usual.

maandag 22 maart 2010

Riverdance

101 min
Start 17.00
Along to Baarn and back. Re-filled my waterbottles at the houseboat.

zondag 21 maart 2010

Week Total 550 + Urbi's First Marathon (not)

65 min
start 15.00
Had other plans for today but Rens needed a bit of car to fix another car so went along to Houten and whilst he was Doing Car Stuff I went out for a run there. First 10 minutes with the one-eyedRottweiler pup but she hasn't quite worked out what running is yet so brought her home and went out for a run along the Amsterdam/Rhine canal. Am typing this in Tisbar on the new connection, will add photos when I'm home again.


Next day: + 20 minutes Vibram circuit

zaterdag 20 maart 2010

Lynda's Llamas?

87 min
Start 15.00
Soesterduinen. Lots of packs of dogs. Spotted some llamas in a field on the way home. Followed by a 15 minute circuit of the Eng in my Vibrams.