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Moving on up ...
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Congrats on your shiny new sub 24!!! Well done you, all that hill running is paying dividends:-)That's deadly, well done! Lovely to see it all coming together and paying off
Splendid work, hillside! You must be delighted. Great progress.Great going, keep up the good work and you'll be back to that PB and better soon!!That's super running Hillside and great to be getting back to where you were. You'll smash it up over the summer. No doubt about that!!!Bungy Girl wrote: »Go you! That's fantastic. And without a warm up :eek:. You'll be smashing last year's PB in no time
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Thanks guys. Was happy with it especially as it was a bit of a surprise. Was at a party last night and there were quite a few casual/new runners there so I got to do a bit of parkrun publicity at that.
Thanks for the "smashing" wishes - for now I'm going to just think of it as chipping-away ... will be thrilled when I get those 26secs off!0 -
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hillsiderunner wrote: »weekly total: 19.3 miles
Too many comments about the coughs last night (even though it was been fine for my run in the morning). So going to skip today's hills and see if a couple of days off will help with sorting it. Playing the long game here ....
Seems like the right call - remind us, when is the big race on (other than DCM, of course) 0 -
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So, hours spent on the net reading the differences between cough asthma, silent reflux, and god knows what else ... even blaming two little glasses of prosecco for a flare-up :rolleyes: ... and then a virus hits out of the blue and messes up training for ages (stamps foot).
Sunday 19th-Sunday 26th: 0 miles.
Took myself off to the GP on Wednesday. Would not be making a habit of this but the virus was kicking in big time and I was worried about the number of days off the roads ... they are never ones to shy away from writing the prescriptions in there, and he gave me a prescription for heavy steroids for a few days, & to my surprise I took them and they helped a bit. The virus was badly synchronized with the nice spell of weather we had and the end of that week. On the few occasions I took myself out of the house, I would be casting my miserable eyes on the hills and parks and wishing I could get in a run
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Was just about improved enough to chance intervals on Tuesday, so thought I'd break the deadlock.
Tuesday, 28th April: 3.75 miles w/u, 5x650m, 1.3miles c/d (6 miles total)
Repeats were [2:56, 2:57, 3:02, 2:58, 2:58]. Done with the group and there were 4 of us on the 650m circuit so I had people to chase and even one behind me
. Middle rep was a bit of a disaster & was wondering whether there was any point in continuing, but went out for the 4th one & tried to use the runner ahead to motivate myself and it helped. The runner ahead was my competition from a few week back & has definitely improved a bit since then. Of course my times had disimproved because of being the first run in 10 days .... but good to have broken the run-deadlock & also got the first set of repeats in.
Wednesday, 29th April: 4.5miles easy with 1 big hill @10:43 average
This one was planned to be 2 loops of the Radical Road but I headed out at the crazy hour of 7:20am for this one, and had a good few stops on the first climb. So I changed my route after I came down from that first loop and ran the rest on the flat .... very slow time is due to all the stops on the hill. Not a brilliant run, but at least got a few miles in.
April total: 91.5miles
Poor showing after March, but there it is.
It's going to lash rain on Sunday, so it looks like I have 6 Hills ahead of me tomorrow. Will also be going to out to help at the baby parkrun tomorrow morning.0 -
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Yup ^^ +2, was wondering where you were...so damn frustrating, I feel your pain. Take it easy on yourself getting back into it...remember the runner's maxim: 'a day or two in time saves nine...or ten'
Good to hear from you tho 0 -
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Yup ^^ +2, was wondering where you were...so damn frustrating, I feel your pain. Take it easy on yourself getting back into it...remember the runner's maxim: 'a day or two in time saves nine...or ten'
Good to hear from you thoHope you're on the mend, so frustrating when you can't get out. Best to shake it though. Don't rush the return too much!
DG and Laura are so wise, they can sense through the cables of the internet that I'm still coughing a bit. I'll try to be sensible ... 0 -
hillsiderunner wrote: »DG and Laura are so wise, they can sense through the cables of the internet that I'm still coughing a bit. I'll try to be sensible ...
Haha... well, I did think that starting back with a tough session, followed by TWO LOOPS of the Radical Road was jumping back in at the deep end. Not a bit surprised that you didn't do the second loop.
Take it easy, hope you continue to get better.
p.s. what's baby parkrun? the new one, or one for little kids?
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p.s. what's baby parkrun? the new one, or one for little kids?
The one that was born two weeks ago.
(though in fact the main Edinburgh parkrun is talking about setting up a Junior parkrun soon. You're right we are light on parkruns here, but Edinburgh is only about 1/3 of the population of Dublin ... and the main parkrun has so much space for runners, I've never felt crushed for space even at 600+ attendance).
Right! Unfortunately I can't magic tomorrow's rain off the forecast :rolleyes:. So am getting off the machine to do my shopping, then I run ...0 -
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how are you feeling now M? weather is a total pain I know, roll on the summer
Have a bit of leftover hoarseness and coughs. Only a nuisance in regard to getting the runs in, and the occasional coughing fit - eg, an evil air fresher in someone's office at work, and a few troublesome crumbs in throat etc.
Hoarseness is nearly all gone now, so hoping the rest will follow. Mainly annoyed with the interfere with my run schedule ... would never have darkened the door of the GP otherwise :rolleyes:.
Weather this evening was lovely, rain gone and not a puff of wind. 0 -
A mixed week ... overall the cough/asthma and "issues" are getting better, but they did interfere a bit with a couple of runs along the way.
Monday, 4th May: Pilates.
Tuesday, 5th May: 1.5 miles untimed
This was the run to interval training and the start of a warm-up loop of the park. Wasn't timing it. Was interrupted a few times by stopping to cough. Anyway, I got caught by one of the intervals group and he stopped to discuss
... and after hearing about the virus, the cough asthma, etc etc ... he sent me on my way. Was going to run back to the office but was told to walk it. I think I would have made the same decision (to bail on intervals) though it might have taken one more coughing to settle on it by myself.
Wednesday, 6th May: Pilates.
Also had a appointment with the respiratory nurse to review my plan: she said I hadn't been managing the asthma correctly (should have been taking the rescue inhaler when the coughs started returning 2 months ago) and she also gave me a different morning/night inhaler which combines steroid with airways (rescue) stuff. She didn't think the silent reflux was a primary issue ... and I'm not sure I agree with that, but all the same I left her the office filled with hope that I will be back to normal if I follow instructions. Feeling lucky to live in a world with inhalers and GPs .
(though I imagine the nhs is going to disimprove after the election result unfortunately ....)
Thursday, 7th May: 6.43miles multi-terrain with 1 big hill @9:57 avg pace
This was a run to Holyrood, and one lap of the park, including one Radical Road loop. I deliberately waited to the second half to try the hill, after I was sure I'd be ok to try it. Stopped three times going up the hill, but only momentarily each time. Then after a quick sharp descent back out onto the grass to take the beaten path down through the grass back to the start ... sun was shining. This "back" of the Radical Road loop is the loveliest section of any run I do during the week, and it's definitely worth the climb. I must take a photo of it. Did most of the run at a fairly comfortable pace, but there is a short hill on the route back to the office & I picked up the pace for that.
Friday, 8th May: 3.1miles @9:11 average pace
Done on the flat.
Saturday, 9th May: 2.55miles warm-up, parkrun in 25:11, then 2.55miles cool-down (8.2miles total)
Gave the new parkrun a try this morning. I'd measured the distance from my flat with walkjogrun and decided this was a runnable-commute, so headed out at 10 to nine. No struggle getting out of bed. The Garmin managed fine in timing warm-up and cool-down (both done around 9:20pace) but it dropped out early in the first mile of the parkrun, so I was working-off breathing/comfort-level. The route is three laps of a 1mile route through this park, with gentle up/downhills on the route. I felt I was working a bit harder on the first mile than my recent parkrun attempt, which is what I was aiming for. I came into the funnel behind someone who thought we were definitely under the 25mins, but the official time says not. There was a message on their page saying they had some timing-issues this week and that some times might be out a bit .... *anyway* was expecting this would be slower than the recent parkrun due to the missed-training and a slightly more challenging route. So no worries either way.
I'd been thinking I would do this to "give them a turn" and that I'd stick with the better route out on the promenade for most parkruns. But that was before I had the idea of running out to it. 8miles including a 5k trial ... and a chat .... and back to the flat just after 10:30!! Think I'll be doing this again on a regular basis.
Looks like I will be in shape for 6 hills tomorrow.0 -
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Belated hill report. I never got out for my 6Hills run yesterday - was a bit tired from a "late" night (will not give details of what this means in case any past-hellraisers are glancing in on my log) and the 8miles with parkrun on Saturday. I had some stuff for work that really needed doing and I knew that if I went out for 12-13 miles that I'd never make a dent in it ... so I decided to delay the long run to Monday.
Now ... as anyone could guess ... of course I got hardly any of the work done *anyway*.
Monday, 11th May: "5 hllls of Edinburgh", 12.9miles @12:00 pace
Headed out from the flat at 6:30pm for this with the picture-log in hand. Had dithered a bit because of predicted-rain, lateness of the evening, a few coughs ... Ran from my flat up the back of Calton Hill (hill 7) with just 1 stop on the ascent; then took the route to Castle Rock (hill 1) ... though really this one is hardly a hill at all. Then through the streets to Clermiston hill (hill 2) and the sun was shining and one of the long boring roads had cherry blossom by now which was nice. Was remembering the route fine all the way which was very reassuring. Stopped about 3 times on the climb up Clermiston, but only briefly each time. Then down and out onto the roads and this was just past the 5mile mark and the very first point where I had to look at the picture-log for directions.
Soon after this had a blast of gale-force winds in front, then behind, then a bit of rain. On top of that I missed a turn (one I actually had seen on the picture log) and due to the overconfidence from before I took a good while to realise .. so well over 1mile of a detour there. Got back on track and made my way to Craiglockart hill (hill 3), did my scramble up the slope, and then ran/walked up to the trig point. Then down the hill, out of the park, and followed the route towards the next hill. Weather was nice and sunny again now and it stayed like that till dusk. At this stage I was having to check the directions occasionally. Got to braidburn park which is where I decided to turn for home last time. Overall much more successful route-following this evening, but the single detour I took today was a long one, so the distance on the watch was a bit higher than on the first attempt.
I'd been thinking of cutting-short the run since Clermiston hill ... just being honest. There were many excuses to potentially draw on - the bit of weather (with possibility of more), some coughs, getting late ... anyway now I had a re-think and I determined I would definitely do at least one more and probably the two. There was still over 30mins to dusk time and there's always some people around anyway.
Before I came out of braidburn park I decided I'd search again for the gap in the railings I couldn't find last time. Walked the length of the railings and there was no gap .. and then I noticed one "bar" was not pale-green like the others but rust instead, and without a point on top. And it could be pulled out to create a gap. It's in exactly the right spot to match the picture from Portobello runners, so I think I can rely on a gap being introduced for race day . Result! (maybe 70metres saved :rolleyes:).
Next the route towards Braid hills (hill 4), and had no problem finding my way. There was a road with a bit of a drag getting up to this, and that was tough (I stopped and walked a tiny bit). But the dirt path heading up to the trig point was better and I was able to run this bit up to the summit. Then to find my way out and down ..... there are instructions on the picture log, and I'd recce-d this on a walk with friends in November, but I was at a loss. This hill has a good bit of public ground around the top for the public to use, and there's a big golf course to the side as well. I did a good bit of exploring round the hill itself and then I realised the log was saying I would have to cross the golf course. So I tried that, headed across to tee-number 18, but there was no sign of the road which was my destination. Looked again at the log and sighed at being told to "make sure to take this path" accompanied by a picture of some beaten grass with a bit of gorse in the background (ie, identical to all of the surroundings :rolleyes:). Had given up the ghost and was going to retreat the way I came in and then I decided to try another corner before heading off - and there was the path I'd walked with my friends, and 3 metres later on the left, what looked like the narrow little channel through the gorse which would take me to the road ... and it was . It was quite mucky and slippy this evening, but great to have found it. One less thing for the next attempt.
I'd lost a bit of time floundering on the top of Braid hill so it was only 10mins to dusk. So instead of going for the next hill I turned left and followed the road back towards houses and surburbia ... then a church spire ... a bus stop (yippee!) and home via the pizzeria and the lucozade ventor (gulp gulp gulp).
I ran the watch continuously except for one pause to do my search for the gap in the railings. So the time/pace includes route-finding and log-reading and general flailing (as well as bits of walking, let's be honest). These are strange kinds of runs with the stopping and starting and the extra hills and the getting lost. I'll be glad when I have the route nailed in a couple of more attempts.
"weekly" total: 32 miles
Yes I know today is not part of 4th-10th. But heading out this late deserves some leniency. Didn't really want to go out .. but fortunately I had announced it on this log, and also met one of the girls from work at parkrun at the weekend and had told her I would be doing it.
Anyway, I'll make sure to keep my runs within the specified-week from now on.0 -
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Love reading your hill reports :-) glad to see you cut for home so close to dark.. how are the coughs? sounds like a little less than before on this outing?
The coughs ... they were back a bit for last night, but not as strong as in the past. Had my inhaler but it wasn't quite as effective as I'd have hoped. I did wonder whether there could be a bit of hay fever contributing last night. I will get to the bottom of it all eventually!
Thursday's and Saturday's runs were entirely cough-free 0 -
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I love your hill reports too... although I worry that some day you'll be found wandering in the dark on some big hill waving a picture of a gorse bush or a silver car and raving about railings
I didn't have to look until after the silver-cars-turn today, that's been done.
Am not meaning to sound quite that aggravated (though I was a bit fed up on the Braid hills). A couple more weekends and I should have it off by heart.
Had a few smiles from other runners who probably understood the significance of the printouts in my hand.0
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