Midweek: Dunston and back, knee bother

Making good on my promise to myself, it was straight back out on a run today to get back to some kind of consistency. I also opted for a spot of self-flagellation, immediately dropping down into the Tyne Gorge (love that phrase), over the Swing Bridge and immediately back out again, heading all the way up to the top of Bensham Bank in Gateshead. That, I can report, was definitely punishing — as you can see in my pace trace:

The first part of the climb from the quayside was up steps, which really affected my pace. In fact, steps do that whether you're going up or down, but there must've been a fair few to give me a 2nd kilometre pace of 6:37. Anyway, nothing wrong with a bit of hill training. Speed wasn't the goal today.

On the way to to Bensham Bank, there was a point at which there was a really nice view up the Tyne. But I wasn't stopping for photos today; I had the phone slotted in the Armband of Greater Photography Scuppering and had no desire to waste a couple of minutes faffing with it while my body forgot how to run. Instead, have a Google Maps street view:

That street view is pretty accurate for how it looked today, but it didn't take long to change. Another 5 minutes later and I was heading towards the Redheugh Bridge in driving rain. That lasted maybe 5 or 10 minutes and was coincidentally the point at which I noticed my right knee starting to complain, or at least get tired. I carried on regardless, past the Life Centre, down to the quayside, past the Copthorne, over the Swing Bridge again and along towards the Millennium Bridge.

By the time I was heading up City Road towards 55° North, the knee really started to become a problem. I'd done 40 minutes by then, but 3 moderate twinges in less than 50 metres saw me ease off considerably and take care with how I planted my right foot. As the discomfort continued, I carried on only as long as I guessed it took me to reach 7.5K before I gave up under the railway bridge. I'd allegedly done 7.7K (which I'll take unquestioningly 😉), so I was happy with that. There was no sudden, dramatic failure from the knee either, so I'm hopeful I've not done anything lasting damage. I'll give it a rest day then hopefully back out on Wednesday for a shorter run. 🤞

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