After last week’s disruption caused by a stomach virus I’m hoping that this week will be an improvement and I can stick to the plan. I’m not 100% better but largely there and definitely well enough to run so let’s see how we get on.
Tuesday – 10 Miles
The first run of the week was the last 10-miler of the mid-week morning runs and I thought I was fortunate enough to dodge the rain from overnight but halfway round the jacket that I was cursing for making me too hot suddenly came in handy when a deluge appeared.
It’s amazing how a few days off the morning runs can make you lose the momentum and routine of getting up and out there. By the end of last week, even though I did manage a 5am run, the 4am runs seemed a distance memory and I was missing that routine. It felt good getting out there this morning and feeling a big sense of achievement in completely a long run before heading off to the office.
The legs felt a bit heavy, the heart rate was high (166bpm average) but I thought it went well — the Garmin thought differently declaring the run ‘unproductive’.
Distance: 10 Miles
Wednesday – 6 Miles
It was one of those mornings. At 3 miles the telltale signs of a bag leak were emanating from beneath my hernia support belt. A cursory glance confirmed that a bag change was in order and thankfully the SDR Bridge isn’t too busy at 0430. Quite often these things aren’t isolated and no sooner had the new bag been fitted it too was filling up and by 6 miles it was filling up.
To add to the problems, Newport seems to have distinct lack of bins so had to run with the poo bag for 2 miles before I encountered. I guess that’s an improvement on the 6 miles I had to run last year.
Hoping that I don’t have such bag luck on the Tour de Newport!
Distance: 6 Miles
Thursday – 8 Miles
The last 4am of week 18 completed and an 8 mile tempo around the usual places (Somerton > SDR > Pill). Felt really good throughout the run gradually picking up the pace over time. I took the opportunity to try out my new MS Trust t-short that I’ll be wearing on the big day and had a little post-run photoshoot to get a photo for the follow up article in the South Wales Argus next week.
Looking forward to this weekend’s running adventure but due to engineering works Bristol I have to head north towards Cheltenham.
Distance: 8 Miles
Saturday – 16 Miles
This was going to be the last long run before the big day (I have a 10 miler next Saturday) and I chose to head to Gloucester for a run to Cheltenham. The direct route between the two cities is not that far so I opted for a more scenic diversion along some trails. There appeared to be some interesting sights marked on the OS Map which I factored into the route.
The route started at the railway station and headed through the centre of the city and joins Alney Island which was created by the splitting and rejoining of the River Severn. This section is trail and leads to Maisemore with it’s not necessarily old bridge (built in 1956) but one with a lot of history (the first recorded bridge was in 1230. The route rejoins the River Severn which I had hoped would have offered views of the river but unfortunately trees obscured the view.
At Ashleworth I encountered one of the interesting sights that I had seen on the OS Map – a tithe barn dating to 1496. It’s run by the National Trust and is open to the public so I was able to observe the interior. The impressive barn also featured some historic graffiti near the entrances with a number of dates in the 1700s.
The next part of the route took me along a couple of country lanes which were a nice change from the trail and after a few miles I was back off road following the long disused Coombe Hill Canal. It seems that the canal is in two sections with one not visible from the narrow path and the other much more open. I had chosen the obscured section which was a challenge to run along with a very rutted path with occasional muddy sections. This was followed by fields with knee high grass which was both difficult to run through and navigate.
I passed through a few villages until I got to a place called Staverton where the path I wanted to use was closed. I consulted the OS Maps app and decided to take the road through the village to meet up with the other side of the path I wanted. This path then crossed the motorway so was a good shortcut but unfortunately the road over the motorway was closed for repairs. I fired up the OS Maps app again and saw that I could use a nearby path to take a shorter diversion around the road closure but the entrance was overgrown so instead had to take the longer diversion following the road that was being used to get around the road closure.
I eventually got back on the original route and it was then an easy few miles all the way to the railway station and DEYA brewery where I would spend a couple of hours before catching the train back to Newport.
Distance: 18 Miles
Sunday – 60 Minutes
With the big run less than two weeks away the training plan called for 60 minutes today and I didn’t fancy traveling to far for a short run so opted to run around Redwick to recce a lane (Blackwall Lane) that’s on the Tour de Newport route but I’ve never run along it. In addition to the lane I took in the Redwick loop and Whitewall Lane which runs from Magor to Redwick.
It was one of those runs where I fancied a bit of speed and with a flat route it was a good opportunity to pick up the pace for the 10k route. Very quickly the heart rate had ramped up to 170+ BPM and I felt like I was pushing myself. I reached the 5k point at 21:59 and wondered if I’d be able to maintain the pace but I managed to keep it going and finished the 10k in 43:44 so achieved a slightly quicker 5k in the second half (21:45). Even though runs like that are tough, it’s always rewarding when you achieve a good time.
Distance: 6.22 Miles
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