Hello,
Been very lazy on the publishing of training, but I didn't do a huge amount of training in May, but I did have two races over two consecutive weeks so I was resting (or tapering in running jargon). I did however do my first Round Etherow & back run. This was a brilliant run though very long and is probably the longest run I've done to date. Etherow Country park was one of Britain's first Country parks and is a beautiful area. It use to be part of the estate of George Andrew, who built Compstall mill in the 1820's and the waterways and lakes were built to carry water to the mill to power the waterwheel. Nowadays the lakes are used for various watersports (including radio controled sail boats)! However right next to Etherow is the even more spectacular (IMO) Erncroft Wood. Within 10 metres you can go from English countryside to what appears to be a Scottish Pine Forrest where William Wallace could be lurking round the next turn! It also has an ancient silver mine within it rumoured to have been first established in the middle ages! Erncroft Wood is also home to the number 1 most difficult climb on my training routes. It goes on and on, and was too tough for me to run all the way up. Hopefully one day I'll conquer it though :) When you emerge from this climb you are on one of the highest points surrounding Stockport and you actually have to descend to get to the highest pubs in Marple Bridge!
There was also a free GAIT analysis session on at Running Bear towards the end of the month so I went along to find out my natural running style. After a quick run on a tread mill and some slow motion replay it turned out I was a mild to moderate over pronator. So I got some road running shoes designed for over pronator's and marathon type distance, some Asics 2120's.
02/05 - 10km - 47:44
05/05 - Round Etherow and back - 2:59:32
07/05 - Marple & Back - 1:37:35
Great Manchester Run
Buxton Half Marathon
At the end of this month, I was pleased with my achievements in the races, but painfully aware that my training wasn't good enough to get me through a Marathon. So as June started I was left with the bar needing to be raised several notches. I needed to get more enthusiasm into going out running whatever the weather, and a way to make the longer runs more enjoyable.
Cheers
Andy
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Buxton Half Marathon 2007 Special
Hello,
Quick results for those short on time are below
Position Name Time Category Position
96 out of 201 Andrew Shirres 01:45:43 42 out of 68
This was to be the third time in my life I’d run this sort of distance. The first being the Great North Run in 2005 where I’d posted a time of 1:49:49 in what was a hot summer’s day, and the second time was in a training run. Neither of these runs had the course profile of Buxton though and so I was uncertain what to expect.
Thankfully I was joined on this run by Dave and Ben from my Uni days as well as a support crew made up of Jack, Jim & Alison. This really helped to keep the spirits high as weather wise it was a miserable day and turning it into a mini re-union event really helped.
I knew before the race that this would be very different to the more popular runs I had undertook as this was organised by Buxton’s local athletic association. As such I expected most participants to be of a very high standard. We started the race at Buxton Pavilion in some fine rain and a little wind and headed out of the town towards Ladmanlow. This was a steady climb but not too steep. I was surprised to find that whilst I was taking it easy, I was overtaking a lot of people. Given the quality of the participants I was worried that I was starting out too fast, but I’ve always thought that when you have energy you should cautiously use it so I happily overtook people before the climb got too steep.
After the long 3 mile climb I found myself at the top of Axe Edge junction (photo left) and started a welcome, though all too short downhill section! The rain had got heavier by this point, and the exposed nature of being at the highest point on the course meant the wind was strong. At this point I overtook someone on the downhill, and whilst I can’t be certain he didn’t overtake me again, I believe he was the last person I managed to overtake permanently. The significance behind this is that in the Great Run series I’d become use to slowly but surely overtaking the people in front of me all race long, but this was not to be in this race.
After a short but steep climb to the Raceway junction, the weather was still awful and I began to notice the craziness of how the race marshals and hikers had multiple layers and waterproofs on, and the runners were in T-Shirts and shorts. Thankfully I wasn’t feeling the cold, but I’m certain this was because of the heat being generated by running, and if I’d been walking I’d have very quickly been in a bad way. The view was also very good at Raceway Junction despite the best efforts of the weather to ruin it.
As I descended towards Glutton Bridge, the rain became lighter and then had periods where it stopped. Just after passing Glutton Bridge at 7 miles in I was surprised to bump into Jim, Jack & Alison who had managed to drive to a point on the course to cheer us on! They couldn’t have chosen a better position to offer encouragement as this was on a slight flat on the second major climb of the day. This was a vicious climb that really sapped all strength from my legs, and even though it was shorter than the first climb, it felt like it lasted longer. More and more runners overtook me as I slowly climbed this hill, and it was an immense relief to see the top of it and pick up some pace on the downhill as I ran towards Bierlow and the 9 mile marker.
Just as I rounded the corner at Bierlow and started the third and final major climb, Jack, Jim & Alison came passed in the car. Jim was leaning out the window and getting huge enjoyment filming me on his mobile whilst shouting words of encouragement. As they started pulling away I couldn’t help but try and replicate Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky montage sprint which I managed to keep up for several long seconds and was a personal highlight for me!
The third climb despite being the least challenging caused me the most pain and yet another steady stream of fellow runners overtook me. It felt like all my reserves were spent by the 10 mile marker and popping Jelly Babies wasn’t helping and my stomach was sending loud “I’m hungry” signals to me.
Somehow I reached the top of Harpur Hill and then the long descent started towards the finish. As we entered Buxton the course got a little confusing as we weaved through the streets and finally we entered the Pavilion Gardens where I knew the finish line would be!
As I came to within about 100 metres of the finish (photo left) I could here the footsteps of a runner approaching behind me. Having had to put up with being overtaken for the last 10 miles by a stream of people I was blown if this cheeky chappy was going to get past me just before the line and so I threw every last bit of energy I had into a sprint finish and crossed the line to the cheers of Jack, Jim & Alison ahead of the chap to finish in 01:45:43 and set a new PB at the half marathon distance.
I was in a complete daze and had only just pumped a Lucozade down me when Dave came screaming down the final few metres like he was in a 100 metre sprint! It was a sight to be seen as Dave crossed the line in 01:46:35. Dave, the support crew and I waited nervously for a sight of Ben. By any right he shouldn’t have been competing as he had done only one 10km run in training and I started to become a little worried that the hills of Buxton would teach him a lesson, but then Ben turned the final corner and ran home to loud cheers in 01:59:52 which he was rightly pleased and a testament to what you can accomplish with will power!
Overall I was very impressed with the Buxton Half marathon. The weather was terrible, and a huge thank you has to go to the marshals who manned checkpoints waving us on and offering us encouragement whilst controlling the traffic (this wasn’t a traffic free event) on what was a fairly depressing day to be standing around outside. The average standard of the participants was very high in this event and highlighted how much I have to improve to get to average club runner standard, and this high standard was probably highlighted best by this chap who looks around 70 and finished in less than 2 hours! If I’m half as fit as him at his age I’ll be a happy man… an inspiration to all I’m sure you’ll agree.
Cheers
Andy
Quick results for those short on time are below
Position Name Time Category Position
96 out of 201 Andrew Shirres 01:45:43 42 out of 68
This was to be the third time in my life I’d run this sort of distance. The first being the Great North Run in 2005 where I’d posted a time of 1:49:49 in what was a hot summer’s day, and the second time was in a training run. Neither of these runs had the course profile of Buxton though and so I was uncertain what to expect.
Thankfully I was joined on this run by Dave and Ben from my Uni days as well as a support crew made up of Jack, Jim & Alison. This really helped to keep the spirits high as weather wise it was a miserable day and turning it into a mini re-union event really helped.
I knew before the race that this would be very different to the more popular runs I had undertook as this was organised by Buxton’s local athletic association. As such I expected most participants to be of a very high standard. We started the race at Buxton Pavilion in some fine rain and a little wind and headed out of the town towards Ladmanlow. This was a steady climb but not too steep. I was surprised to find that whilst I was taking it easy, I was overtaking a lot of people. Given the quality of the participants I was worried that I was starting out too fast, but I’ve always thought that when you have energy you should cautiously use it so I happily overtook people before the climb got too steep.
After the long 3 mile climb I found myself at the top of Axe Edge junction (photo left) and started a welcome, though all too short downhill section! The rain had got heavier by this point, and the exposed nature of being at the highest point on the course meant the wind was strong. At this point I overtook someone on the downhill, and whilst I can’t be certain he didn’t overtake me again, I believe he was the last person I managed to overtake permanently. The significance behind this is that in the Great Run series I’d become use to slowly but surely overtaking the people in front of me all race long, but this was not to be in this race.After a short but steep climb to the Raceway junction, the weather was still awful and I began to notice the craziness of how the race marshals and hikers had multiple layers and waterproofs on, and the runners were in T-Shirts and shorts. Thankfully I wasn’t feeling the cold, but I’m certain this was because of the heat being generated by running, and if I’d been walking I’d have very quickly been in a bad way. The view was also very good at Raceway Junction despite the best efforts of the weather to ruin it.
As I descended towards Glutton Bridge, the rain became lighter and then had periods where it stopped. Just after passing Glutton Bridge at 7 miles in I was surprised to bump into Jim, Jack & Alison who had managed to drive to a point on the course to cheer us on! They couldn’t have chosen a better position to offer encouragement as this was on a slight flat on the second major climb of the day. This was a vicious climb that really sapped all strength from my legs, and even though it was shorter than the first climb, it felt like it lasted longer. More and more runners overtook me as I slowly climbed this hill, and it was an immense relief to see the top of it and pick up some pace on the downhill as I ran towards Bierlow and the 9 mile marker.
Just as I rounded the corner at Bierlow and started the third and final major climb, Jack, Jim & Alison came passed in the car. Jim was leaning out the window and getting huge enjoyment filming me on his mobile whilst shouting words of encouragement. As they started pulling away I couldn’t help but try and replicate Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky montage sprint which I managed to keep up for several long seconds and was a personal highlight for me!
The third climb despite being the least challenging caused me the most pain and yet another steady stream of fellow runners overtook me. It felt like all my reserves were spent by the 10 mile marker and popping Jelly Babies wasn’t helping and my stomach was sending loud “I’m hungry” signals to me.
Somehow I reached the top of Harpur Hill and then the long descent started towards the finish. As we entered Buxton the course got a little confusing as we weaved through the streets and finally we entered the Pavilion Gardens where I knew the finish line would be!
As I came to within about 100 metres of the finish (photo left) I could here the footsteps of a runner approaching behind me. Having had to put up with being overtaken for the last 10 miles by a stream of people I was blown if this cheeky chappy was going to get past me just before the line and so I threw every last bit of energy I had into a sprint finish and crossed the line to the cheers of Jack, Jim & Alison ahead of the chap to finish in 01:45:43 and set a new PB at the half marathon distance.I was in a complete daze and had only just pumped a Lucozade down me when Dave came screaming down the final few metres like he was in a 100 metre sprint! It was a sight to be seen as Dave crossed the line in 01:46:35. Dave, the support crew and I waited nervously for a sight of Ben. By any right he shouldn’t have been competing as he had done only one 10km run in training and I started to become a little worried that the hills of Buxton would teach him a lesson, but then Ben turned the final corner and ran home to loud cheers in 01:59:52 which he was rightly pleased and a testament to what you can accomplish with will power!
Overall I was very impressed with the Buxton Half marathon. The weather was terrible, and a huge thank you has to go to the marshals who manned checkpoints waving us on and offering us encouragement whilst controlling the traffic (this wasn’t a traffic free event) on what was a fairly depressing day to be standing around outside. The average standard of the participants was very high in this event and highlighted how much I have to improve to get to average club runner standard, and this high standard was probably highlighted best by this chap who looks around 70 and finished in less than 2 hours! If I’m half as fit as him at his age I’ll be a happy man… an inspiration to all I’m sure you’ll agree.Cheers
Andy
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Great Manchester Run 2007 Special
Hello,
Quick results for those that don’t want to read the full report was:
Forename(s) Surname Race No Time Race Position
Andrew Shirres 9206 01:08:49 16266
Well 364 days ago I ran the Great Manchester Run, and today I did it again. However these two runs couldn’t have been more different. This time, thanks to the ever persuasive Kate Thomas of the Manchester British Red Cross, I got to run it as Sharky, the mascot of the Sale Sharks!
I knew it would be hard, but I did think that I’d still be able to do it in a reasonable time and had high hopes of trying to set a Red Cross Mascot record at the distance. After picking the mascot suit up though, my high hopes took a bit of a dent as the head weighed a bit, and the visibility was terrible! It was going to be harder then I expected!
As I got to the Charity village in the G-Mex and put the mascot outfit my hopes took another dent as with the head on it got quiet hot very quickly inside the thing… and that was when I was stood still, but it was too late to back out now! To the left is a photo of me in the Charity village before the start.
A special mention should go to two of my friends who were also running the Great Manchester run for the first time this year. Belch had come back from a long term annoying knee injury that had required surgery, and Justin who was running for Diabetes UK after being diagnosed with the condition a while ago.
After being guided to the start (the head meant I couldn’t see the curbs and bollards) all the mascots were gathered together. Our group consisted of Ronnie the Rhino, Wolfie, Red Ed the Roughyed (who’d told me he’d recovered from a heart attack after wearing the outfit during a match!), Rocky the Robin, Roary the Lion and the Cheshire Cat. The beginning of the race was quiet difficult due to the restricted vision and thankfully I had Kate guiding me during the congested beginning sections.
Running as Sharky was quiet an experience as he’s very popular and there were lots of shouts coming out from the side and so lots of arm waving from me. Very quickly it got hot in the suit so I had to tone the pace down. I’d picked up a pace band for a target time of 55 mins, but it was so hard to see anything I didn’t bother trying to track my progress and just plodded forward in a herd mentality with the rest of the crowd. The head got particularly humid due to the heat and not enough fresh air getting inside. Thankfully I’d worn my hydration pack under my mascot suit so had a ready supply of water to take on via my straw as I needed it.
Quick results for those that don’t want to read the full report was:
Forename(s) Surname Race No Time Race Position
Andrew Shirres 9206 01:08:49 16266
Well 364 days ago I ran the Great Manchester Run, and today I did it again. However these two runs couldn’t have been more different. This time, thanks to the ever persuasive Kate Thomas of the Manchester British Red Cross, I got to run it as Sharky, the mascot of the Sale Sharks!
I knew it would be hard, but I did think that I’d still be able to do it in a reasonable time and had high hopes of trying to set a Red Cross Mascot record at the distance. After picking the mascot suit up though, my high hopes took a bit of a dent as the head weighed a bit, and the visibility was terrible! It was going to be harder then I expected!
As I got to the Charity village in the G-Mex and put the mascot outfit my hopes took another dent as with the head on it got quiet hot very quickly inside the thing… and that was when I was stood still, but it was too late to back out now! To the left is a photo of me in the Charity village before the start.A special mention should go to two of my friends who were also running the Great Manchester run for the first time this year. Belch had come back from a long term annoying knee injury that had required surgery, and Justin who was running for Diabetes UK after being diagnosed with the condition a while ago.
After being guided to the start (the head meant I couldn’t see the curbs and bollards) all the mascots were gathered together. Our group consisted of Ronnie the Rhino, Wolfie, Red Ed the Roughyed (who’d told me he’d recovered from a heart attack after wearing the outfit during a match!), Rocky the Robin, Roary the Lion and the Cheshire Cat. The beginning of the race was quiet difficult due to the restricted vision and thankfully I had Kate guiding me during the congested beginning sections.
Running as Sharky was quiet an experience as he’s very popular and there were lots of shouts coming out from the side and so lots of arm waving from me. Very quickly it got hot in the suit so I had to tone the pace down. I’d picked up a pace band for a target time of 55 mins, but it was so hard to see anything I didn’t bother trying to track my progress and just plodded forward in a herd mentality with the rest of the crowd. The head got particularly humid due to the heat and not enough fresh air getting inside. Thankfully I’d worn my hydration pack under my mascot suit so had a ready supply of water to take on via my straw as I needed it.
Quite a keen race was developing between Wolfie and myself as we kept overtaking each other on the dual carriageway. I bumped into a great many people on my way round and as I was approaching Old Trafford I felt brave enough to leave my minder for a while and try my luck at a faster pace. This year’s run went in the tunnels underneath the stands of Old Trafford and so was a welcome diversion to the usual route, and as I emerged from the last tunnel, a BBC reporter grabbed me and interviewed Sharky! My moment of fame wasn’t to be sadly as it did not appear on TV, why this was I don’t know, maybe because by this point I was so dazed I couldn’t come up with a witty reply to any of his questions, or maybe it was the head stopping his microphone getting close enough to pick up my replies. After finishing the interview I saw Wolfie a good 50 metres in front and knew that it was time to start running again. Thankfully there was an empty lane at this point so I sprinted and caught up with him just as we got to the water stations. Drinking bottled water in Sharky is quiet a skill I tell you! As we went into Salford, I’m afraid I couldn’t see any of the sights, and as we crossed the bridge Wolfie announced to me he had to walk for a while. I felt good enough to carry on, but Wolfie’s outfit was even woollier than mine and I had my hydration pack and given the temperature I’m sure it was for the best that he toned it down a bit, it’s only a run after all.
The last 4 km seemed to take an age to get round. I’d realised by this point from a quick glance at my watch I had no hope of getting under an hour, and was really beginning to suffer with the heat. The humidity inside the suit must have been the highest rating in the UK, and I was surprised that it didn’t start raining inside the Shark head! I really have no idea how anyone could attempt a half marathon in a full mascot suit, let alone a full marathon. I have a new found level of respect for people who’ve managed that feat… incredible!
Around 8 km I was really suffering and my stride length had reduced dramatically. I had to walk for 30 seconds whilst I drank some water as I no longer had the energy to drink from my straw and run at the same time. As I walked I got lots of encouragement from other runners who were patting me on my shoulder and telling there wasn’t far to go, and which gave me enough energy to start running again. I quickly ran out of energy though and if it hadn't been for Kate and another Red Cross runner catching me up and offering further words of encouragement for the remainder of the race, I'm certain I'd have dropped back to a walk.
As the finish line approached, I used what little energy I had to stumble across the finish line in what was an attempted sprint finish, but probably looked more like the drunken end to a Saturday night pub crawl. I managed to finish in 1:08:49, and if I find out the other mascot times I’ll post them up.
It was a great experience, but very tiring and easily the hardest race of my life to date. I’ve not yet decided if I’ll run it again as a mascot though. After talking to the lad who ran as Wolfie at the end of the race, he said he’d run in a few of the other mascot suits and believed Rocky Robin was the best mascot suit to run in for getting a fast time as there are no legs or arms on it so you’re a little cooler.
My friends who also ran it had great races. Belch with his ex-dodgy knee got round in 1:04:08 and was rightly pleased with his time. Justin completed it 1:06:41 and seemed to relish the experience and I’m sure he’ll be back next year when hopefully we can get a few more involved.
I’d like to thank the British Red Cross and Sale Sharks for making it possible for me to run as Sharky. Sale Sharks were particularly hospitable and made me a guest of honour at the England Saxons V USA Eagles Rugby game which was a great surprise and hopefully I did them proud as Sharky
Cheers
Andy
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
April - A new perspective?
Hello,
April was a funny month for me training wise. On the downside I didn't get as many training runs in as I would like, but on the plus side I developed a more relaxed attitude towards the stats element of my training. As I became more relaxed, it allowed me to be much more adventurous in the runs I tried, as it didn't bother me if I couldn't get an accurate estimate of the distance covered on every run. This change of attitude and the excellent weather we experienced in April allowed me plenty of opportunity to run across the public footpaths of Stockport and I found it much more enjoyable than my standard runs and I discovered places I'd never been to in my local area! I also went on a holiday to the Czech Republic and thought it
was a wonderful place. Cesky Krumlov (pictured left) was a particularly striking town which somehow has survived the conflicts over the centruies remarkebly well. When I'm travelling round Europe, I always compare the UK to whatever country I'm visiting, and it goes without saying that my thoughts are based on personal preference, but I do feel that the UK is overpopulated. A train ride in all of the European countries I've been to tends to have endless fields and contryside, with the odd town. The UK is not really the same, and it's only certain area's of the UK (less so in Scotland) that there is not normally a town in sight at some point over a 5 minute window on a train journey.
Hydration pack
The link above takes you to the hydration pack I bought this month. After my first off road run I quickly realised that I'd need to find someway of drinking water on my longer runs. Being somewhat independent minded, I preferred the option of carrying my own rather than buying it at shops on route. The more fashionable (in running circles) camel pak ones come recommended, but these are vastly more then what I paid for my unknown brand which so far has served me very well.
12km Home 2 Home detour
01/04 - 58:57 - Not the best of runs really, the bit cutting through from Poynton to Jacksons lane is actually quiet dangerous as the visibility is obstructed by numerous turns and there are sections without footpaths putting you at risk of being run over
Exploring Woodbank and Vernon Parks
14/04 - 44:36 - Couldn't even begin to map this, just got a feel for the two parks and running on trails. I suppose this was the day that really inspired me into trail running. I reckon if I was to have a guesstimate it was probably around 8km I ran, but it is hard to tell off road as your pace varies much more
Offerton and back
15/04 - 1:00:10 - This was basically following the Fred Perry way from Woodbank to Offerton Marple crossroads in the big dip. This run ended up with me getting slightly lost off road and running through some couples garden! After much apologising, I was put on the correct route. In my defence, the sign for the public footpath was only pointing in the minutest of angle different to where I was running, and the garden was overgrown. Thankfully the chap wasn't to angry and more bemused then anything else!
10km
17/04 - 46:33 - NP (No Prisoners!) - I was determined that this run would be the fastest for this year, and I took just over 3 minutes off my time. It did hurt though, and it wasn't as good as last years time at this stage, but then last year all I had was a 10k run to train for, whilst this year I've had to get myself up to half marathon standard.
16km Round Marple and Back (1)
21/04 - 1:48:26 - A cracking run down the FPW (Fred Perry Way), up through Kirk Wood (worst climb I've experienced to date, very steep and brought me to a crawl, makes Jacksons Lane look like a flat!), onto the towpaths through to Marple and then roughly following the road till Oferton Community farm where I pick up the FPW again. Getting back onto the FPW at Offerton Community farm proved a bit difficult this first time as the public foot path is a bit hidden, but once you've cracked it, it's a clear trail through to Woodbank.
6.2km
25/04 - 28:50
16km Round Marple and Back (1)
28/04 - 1:43:25 - The quicker time doesn't mean a lot here as the first time you run a new trail route, a fair bit of time can be wasted working out which direction to run.
April was a funny month for me training wise. On the downside I didn't get as many training runs in as I would like, but on the plus side I developed a more relaxed attitude towards the stats element of my training. As I became more relaxed, it allowed me to be much more adventurous in the runs I tried, as it didn't bother me if I couldn't get an accurate estimate of the distance covered on every run. This change of attitude and the excellent weather we experienced in April allowed me plenty of opportunity to run across the public footpaths of Stockport and I found it much more enjoyable than my standard runs and I discovered places I'd never been to in my local area! I also went on a holiday to the Czech Republic and thought it
was a wonderful place. Cesky Krumlov (pictured left) was a particularly striking town which somehow has survived the conflicts over the centruies remarkebly well. When I'm travelling round Europe, I always compare the UK to whatever country I'm visiting, and it goes without saying that my thoughts are based on personal preference, but I do feel that the UK is overpopulated. A train ride in all of the European countries I've been to tends to have endless fields and contryside, with the odd town. The UK is not really the same, and it's only certain area's of the UK (less so in Scotland) that there is not normally a town in sight at some point over a 5 minute window on a train journey.Hydration pack
The link above takes you to the hydration pack I bought this month. After my first off road run I quickly realised that I'd need to find someway of drinking water on my longer runs. Being somewhat independent minded, I preferred the option of carrying my own rather than buying it at shops on route. The more fashionable (in running circles) camel pak ones come recommended, but these are vastly more then what I paid for my unknown brand which so far has served me very well.
12km Home 2 Home detour
01/04 - 58:57 - Not the best of runs really, the bit cutting through from Poynton to Jacksons lane is actually quiet dangerous as the visibility is obstructed by numerous turns and there are sections without footpaths putting you at risk of being run over
Exploring Woodbank and Vernon Parks
14/04 - 44:36 - Couldn't even begin to map this, just got a feel for the two parks and running on trails. I suppose this was the day that really inspired me into trail running. I reckon if I was to have a guesstimate it was probably around 8km I ran, but it is hard to tell off road as your pace varies much more
Offerton and back
15/04 - 1:00:10 - This was basically following the Fred Perry way from Woodbank to Offerton Marple crossroads in the big dip. This run ended up with me getting slightly lost off road and running through some couples garden! After much apologising, I was put on the correct route. In my defence, the sign for the public footpath was only pointing in the minutest of angle different to where I was running, and the garden was overgrown. Thankfully the chap wasn't to angry and more bemused then anything else!
10km
17/04 - 46:33 - NP (No Prisoners!) - I was determined that this run would be the fastest for this year, and I took just over 3 minutes off my time. It did hurt though, and it wasn't as good as last years time at this stage, but then last year all I had was a 10k run to train for, whilst this year I've had to get myself up to half marathon standard.
16km Round Marple and Back (1)
21/04 - 1:48:26 - A cracking run down the FPW (Fred Perry Way), up through Kirk Wood (worst climb I've experienced to date, very steep and brought me to a crawl, makes Jacksons Lane look like a flat!), onto the towpaths through to Marple and then roughly following the road till Oferton Community farm where I pick up the FPW again. Getting back onto the FPW at Offerton Community farm proved a bit difficult this first time as the public foot path is a bit hidden, but once you've cracked it, it's a clear trail through to Woodbank.
6.2km
25/04 - 28:50
16km Round Marple and Back (1)
28/04 - 1:43:25 - The quicker time doesn't mean a lot here as the first time you run a new trail route, a fair bit of time can be wasted working out which direction to run.
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