Running On Empty

Let's cut to the chase: I made it to the end I did so in under 10 hours YES. Goal achieved. ✅ One of the nicer shots I took on the way round, this one being a little over a mile in, at 8:35am. Sitting here now, with zero blisters, all the skin still on my heels, and all of my toenails intact (even if one's a bit sore), it seems odd that I'm left feeling... a bit subdued about the whole thing. 😐 I guess I'd secretly hoped to blitz my previous time of 8h45, given that that had been done carrying some pretty gruesome injuries for the last 8-10 miles. In the end, I was almost an hour slower than my unfit self from 2010, registering a time of 9:42:02. The deeply disappointing lack-of-occasion that was the start line. I miss the old mass start. 😢 Granted, I'd intentionally not set off at breakneck speed, so as to preserve my heels and toes, but I'd kind of expected to make up a lot of time on the return stretch. Instead, I had various issues from the past come ba

With the Allendale Challenge just 2 days away, the mantra for yesterday's lunchtime run was nothing more than "Don't get injured". Around this time of year back in 2010, I did exactly that in the run-up to the Allendale Challenge and while the knee problem I picked up wasn't my biggest problem on the day, I certainly could've lived without it. So... nothing daft today. That meant a pretty gentle run along the quayside, heading along Skinnerburn Road to the business park and then back along the riverside path. And, just to complete 5K, the end saw me actually run up the hill back to the office for once instead of quitting by the Guildhall. In the end, despite the fact I would've been content with a 5:45/km or even 6:00/km pace, I maintained a 5:20/km pace for the majority of it. (We'll ignore the much slower pace once I had to climb back to the office. 😂) But the most important thing was that I never felt any kind of twinges that might hint at having

Another weekend visiting relatives in Leeds meant there was no 5K parkrun for me this weekend, but a less-busy-than-usual schedule did mean that we had time for a junior parkrun. And luckily we tend to stay less than 5 minutes' drive from the Temple Newsam parkrun, which has a junior version. This was Daughter the First's 21st junior parkrun, which means she's now completed a full marathon distance and will be awarded with a wristband for that at her next run. That'll be a second milestone she's got before me! 😂 Anyway, it was a beautiful day in Leeds, with the sun shining more than you can tell in my photos. The setting was wonderful too, far more attractive than the Town Moor or the Whitley Bay promenade. It was also noticeably more hilly than either of those two, which meant we knew we were heading for a slower than usual time. Still, to come away with a time of 15:01 was actually quite pleasing; better than I'd expected. More importa

Another lunchtime where I work too long into it and end up with a shortened run. Less than 4km today, as I finished in 20 minutes flat. I aimed for the green vistas of Exhibition Park and just made it before turning round and heading back to the office. How bloomin' depressing. Maybe next week I'll work — and run — from home instead. Or maybe I'll sort my life out and get a bus to start the run. Anyway, nothing noteworthy about the run today except for negative splits. None of them under 5:00/km pace mind. Pe curand!

A proper run at last, but only if your definition of proper means over 5K. And this was only just over 5K. My ennui with the choice of routes from work is probably starting to affect how long I want to run for now. At least, I'm so uninspired that I'm leaving it too late to get a longer run in at lunchtime. Whatever. This one saw me cross the Tyne Bridge then head along Askew Road, under the Redheugh Bridge and along the Gateshead Riverside 'Park' to Dunston Staiths. And then back down the riverside path and over the Swing Bridge to the Guildhall. Almost every metre was a metre I'd run before. If I'd just got ready 10 minutes earlier I could've caught the X63 and run through Jesmond Dene, which is at least nicer, even if I've done that before too. With it being primarily flat and net downhill, I tried to push the pace a little, but still only managed... an average of 5:06/km. Hang on. That's not actually that bad for me. But still, it was

I've been a bit lax lately, both in getting out for exercise and in blogging about it when I do, so here's a quick round-up: Fri 15 March : the day after the Blue House run, I was out again for another lunchtime jaunt, this time just scraping the edges of Heaton Park and Jesmond Vale. It was a 6K run, but it's always a little frustrating as a destination, as time constraints mean I have to turn back almost as soon as I've got somewhere nice. I need to do the X63 to South Gosforth run again sometime; at least then I'd get to do the full length of Jesmond Dene and Jesmond Vale. Sat 16 March : no parkrun again. 🙁 The girls were being parents for the day and they ruled it out. Sun 17 March : A long-awaited return to Junior Parkrun for Daughter the Elder. 🥰 Not only that, she did herself proud, getting a time of 13:14, which is her 3rd best time ever. Not bad for having had zero practice for 6 months. I even got a sweat on myself keeping up with her, but then I hadn