Week 13 - Lions share Series with All Blacks & A Great Week for Me
Sunday 2 July 2017. I cooked a large roast beef dinner in the afternoon. At 8.30 pm after a hot shower and a few stretches I started walking to the glen. I was thinking what a great result I had last week, not running on the first day but still managing 30 miles over the next 6 days. It made me think how much shall I do tonight? I thought anything is better than last Sunday. Anyway, I jogged 200 steps down into the glen and set off on my first lap on the top footpath. I started running a few yards sooner and as well as doing a full loop of the car park, I also done a smaller loop. This brought my first interval up to 550 steps and then 400 steps to finish the lap. My second lap was on the river footpath as the cattle were too close to the top footpath. Again 550 and 400 steps jogging. On the third lap 550 and 500 all the way to the waterfall. I was going to finish off with a 200 step run. However, when I got to the junction of footpaths I turned right over the river and set off on a fourth lap, only this would be an extended lap. It included 620 then 450 all the way back to the waterfall. I finished with an extra 250 steps before walking home. This had been a great workout and it felt that I had almost crossed a new line today by running 620 steps and feeling good, even after I thought I had finished. It was a beautiful evening in the glen. It was dry, mild and not humid. Apart from the cattle the only others I saw were two people in a parked car in the car park. What they were doing, I'm not sure, but as I passed them on the third lap a woman got out and put something in the bin. With all the extras tonight I probably covered 4 miles, and after taking a bit longer to cool down, I was out for a total of almost an hour.
Sitting here writing this, I'm thinking how good can this week be? Yet in the back of my mind I know that I don't want to set any targets. I prefer to to keep going with the attitude I have had for the last 12 weeks. Take it one day at a time, see how I feel and just do what I think is right for each outing. Let's just see how it goes.
Monday 3 July 2017. At 3 pm, armed with my camera, camcorder and a black bin sack, I went for a walk. It was raining gently and as I walked along the pavement, I could hear someone coming up behind me. It was a woman out power-walking who soon overtook me and disappeared into the distance.
I made my way around the glen collecting litter. I managed to fill the black sack. Even though it was raining on and off, I still managed to pass a few people. A father with his young daughter, two women speed walking and a few kids.
On leaving the glen I followed the narrow road up into the town before going home. I walked just over two miles. On the way I stopped behind the sewage works and took a short video showing the works, the road and the metal bars which surrounded the sewage outlet into the river. This was what made the river stink just a few days ago, as I mentioned in last week's blog. You can also see the cattle sitting down in the field. These are the culprits who can get to the edge of the glen and scare the hell out of me at times.
A wet car park whilst raining in the glen.
Sitting here writing this, I'm thinking how good can this week be? Yet in the back of my mind I know that I don't want to set any targets. I prefer to to keep going with the attitude I have had for the last 12 weeks. Take it one day at a time, see how I feel and just do what I think is right for each outing. Let's just see how it goes.
Monday 3 July 2017. At 3 pm, armed with my camera, camcorder and a black bin sack, I went for a walk. It was raining gently and as I walked along the pavement, I could hear someone coming up behind me. It was a woman out power-walking who soon overtook me and disappeared into the distance.
Woman who overtook me on way to the glen.
I made my way around the glen collecting litter. I managed to fill the black sack. Even though it was raining on and off, I still managed to pass a few people. A father with his young daughter, two women speed walking and a few kids.
The black bin bag, I filled, next to the litter bin.
On leaving the glen I followed the narrow road up into the town before going home. I walked just over two miles. On the way I stopped behind the sewage works and took a short video showing the works, the road and the metal bars which surrounded the sewage outlet into the river. This was what made the river stink just a few days ago, as I mentioned in last week's blog. You can also see the cattle sitting down in the field. These are the culprits who can get to the edge of the glen and scare the hell out of me at times.
The sewage works and outlet into the river.
Later that evening, at 8.50 pm, I decided to go out again. No cameras this time and in my running gear. It was still raining gently so I walked swiftly. I started jogging before reaching the glen and by the time I had reached the footbridge over the river this had added up to 225 steps. I done 3 laps on the upper footpaths which included 3 x 550, 2 x 380 and on the last 500 steps jogging all the way to the waterfall. I finished off with a 325 steps run. My laps are getting even longer and with ever shortening recovery between jogs. I am adding one and a half laps of the car park and an extra 50 yards towards the waterfall on each lap. In total I covered just over 3 miles. Probably because of being late and the rain, I didn't see a person in the glen tonight.
Tuesday 4 July 2017. Went for a walk at 5 pm, this time to a glen within the town. It's right in the centre of town, is a lot smaller and you enter it via a gate on either end. However, the gates were closed, so I just walked around the town for half an hour.
At 8.30 pm I set off to the glen. Again started running shortly before I got there. By the time I had jogged down to the footbridge over the river I had counted 220 steps. I set off on my laps hoping to do 4. The first two, on the top footpaths, included 2 x 560 and 2 x 400. The next two laps started on the river path (thanks to the cattle) and included 2 x 600, 1 x 400 and 500 steps jogging all the way to the waterfall. After a few seconds stretching I though what the hell, let's run another lap from here. I started at a faster pace, turned right after 130 yards over the footbridge and along the river footpath. With the extras, going around the car park over the second footbridge along the path and doubling back to the footbridge, it added up to 700 steps - the longest so far. After a slightly longer walk, to recover, I jogged 450 steps all the way to the waterfall again. I finished with a 325 run past the entrance bridge and then doubling back to the entrance bridge. As it was such a pleasant evening, I didn't walk home straight away. Instead I walked down to the footbridge over the river and stood there enjoying the sound of the river and the birds. It was such a great workout and probably my best to date. It was dry about 12 degrees, and apart from one woman, who I saw jogging across the river on another footpath, the glen was completely empty. I also have to admit that the footpath along the river is more bouncy underfoot and more pleasant to run on. It's not a gravelly and it hold moisture more than the upper footpaths. After walking home I stayed outside for a bit longer in the cool air, stretching and taking time to stop sweating. I was out for 70 minutes in total. I had a hot shower and changed before walking to the local shop. I suppose in total today I ran and walked between 6 and 7 miles.
As an extra, I often wonder how long it will take me before I can do complete laps without having to stop and walk between intervals. I know I'm not there yet, and I know it may take some time. However, with more weight loss, baring injury or any other mishap, I know I'll eventually get there. I am enjoying the experience so much as it gives me goals, it makes me feel better in myself and I'm really reaping the benefits. As I called this blog at the start "The Long Run Back to Fitness" I always knew it would be a long time, with lots of running, before I ever get back to where I want to be with my fitness. It's bloody hard work, sometimes it hurts, but by persevering I'll eventually get there. On a lighter note, I appreciate a beer much more after a good workout, and that's not a bad thing.
Wednesday 5 July 2017. Both Tour de France and Wimbledon are on TV. Murray is through to the third round and Froome wears yellow after the fifth stage. It's a warm and humid day and I have to take my mother to bingo at 8.30 pm. So if I want to get out then I have to be finished before then. By 6 pm I had showered and stretched and was on my way walking to the glen. I ran 225 steps down to the footbridge over the river. I completed 3 extended laps on the upper footpaths. These included 3 x 600 and 3 x 400 steps jogging. Each 600 included two full laps of the car park. The heat (18 degrees) and humidity affected me and I stopped, on the footbridge over the river, on completing the third lap and not going onto the waterfall. I stood on the footbridge for a few minutes, recovering and enjoying the river. It's also probably due to the fact I have covered about 50 miles in the last 10 days. I was very tired by the time I got home, but it was still another 3 miles under my belt.
Because of my timing today, the glen was quite busy. There was a father accompanied by his young son on a quad bike; two teenage girls were sitting chatting on a bench near the car park; three cars in the car park and a few groups of people walking dogs. One large black Labrador (on a lead with two girls) even jumped up on me and almost knocked me over. It was as I walked up the hill between intervals on the last lap.
Saturday 8 July 2017. I got up early today to listen to AllBlacks v Lions in the deciding Test in Wellington. It ended 15 points each, meaning the series was shared. Later I decided to weigh myself. Before I started to do exercise I weighed 17 st 6 lbs, today I weighed 15 st 6 lbs. That means I have lost 2 stone in 13 weeks. Considering I haven't cut back of food or alcohol, I'm very happy with that.
Later I cooked fresh battered cod, chips peas for my parents. After a hot shower and some stretching I started walking towards the glen just before 8 pm. I jogged 225 steps down to past the footbridge over the river. Then set off on my laps. It was hot (19 C) but not as humid as it had been for the last few days. In the back of my mind I wanted to do at least 3 laps, but more would be good. I started jogging earlier on the first lap and didn't feel great because of the heat. I started with 630 steps jogging. It included two full laps of the car park and on over the river and to the foot of the steep hill. I walked up the hill then a bit further. The second interval was 415 steps jogging, adding some extra in the direction of the waterfall. With walking back on myself to start the second lap, this extended my lap to about 1200 m (or 1.2 km). The 2nd & 3rd lap included the same intervals and I felt more relaxed. On the second lap I passed two kids on the upper footpath, a very young boy being chased by his older sister and their parents about 100 yards behind. All said hello and looked as they were really enjoying themselves. It reminded me of when my kids were little, they always loved getting out of London and into the countryside. The 4th lap was the same again but with an extra 10 steps jogging on the first interval. The 5th included 640 and 500 jogging all the way to the waterfall. To me that was a great workout. However, as I stretched and shouted out pain, stunning the cattle just across the river, I started to feel good again, so what the hell. I started running quite quickly along the footpath away from the waterfall, and it was the fastest I have ran in years. I turned right over the river and at the same speed along the river path. I kept this going for 500 steps until I got to the car park. I felt great I slowed down to do 2 laps of the car park and then ran over the footbridge and along to the footpath to past the bottom of the steep hill - 700 steps in all. I walked up the hill and then jogged the 500 steps all the way back to the waterfall. That's 6 laps for the first time. After cooling down I ran another 250 steps along the path, over the river, up the hill and doubling back on myself back to the footbridge over the river. I just stood on the bridge for a couple of minutes, enjoying the river and thinking, what a great result. In total I had ran almost 7,000 steps (or 7 km). I walked home with tired legs and only spent a few minutes outside before going in, rubbing myself down, changing and walking to and back from the local shop. I don't add the 1 km to and back from the local shop to my workout, but I thought I should tonight, as I must have appeared drunk in the tiredness of my legs.
One thing I haven't mentioned, is that on my 5th lap, the girl who I often see hid behind a tree as I passed the entrance bridge to the glen. I saw her out of the corner of my eye and did say hello - she didn't reply. It seems to me that people scare her.
Later this evening one of my cousins and my sister came to see my mother. It was a good evening, great company. It was also my 13th week of training (maybe 11th as I missed two with a bad back) and after my unbelievable jump to 30 miles overall (walking & jogging), I thought to get even close to that would be great. Well it's been better than great. I've surpassed that and estimate I've managed between 31 & 32 miles this week. I've managed to get up to 6 (extended) laps for the first time. I just hope I can keep it up. Maybe, taking a break yesterday and only going for a walk was a bonus as it let my legs recover and allow me to do the extra tonight. If I can continue as I am I'll be so happy - even with 20 miles next week. Let's see how it goes.
Tuesday 4 July 2017. Went for a walk at 5 pm, this time to a glen within the town. It's right in the centre of town, is a lot smaller and you enter it via a gate on either end. However, the gates were closed, so I just walked around the town for half an hour.
At 8.30 pm I set off to the glen. Again started running shortly before I got there. By the time I had jogged down to the footbridge over the river I had counted 220 steps. I set off on my laps hoping to do 4. The first two, on the top footpaths, included 2 x 560 and 2 x 400. The next two laps started on the river path (thanks to the cattle) and included 2 x 600, 1 x 400 and 500 steps jogging all the way to the waterfall. After a few seconds stretching I though what the hell, let's run another lap from here. I started at a faster pace, turned right after 130 yards over the footbridge and along the river footpath. With the extras, going around the car park over the second footbridge along the path and doubling back to the footbridge, it added up to 700 steps - the longest so far. After a slightly longer walk, to recover, I jogged 450 steps all the way to the waterfall again. I finished with a 325 run past the entrance bridge and then doubling back to the entrance bridge. As it was such a pleasant evening, I didn't walk home straight away. Instead I walked down to the footbridge over the river and stood there enjoying the sound of the river and the birds. It was such a great workout and probably my best to date. It was dry about 12 degrees, and apart from one woman, who I saw jogging across the river on another footpath, the glen was completely empty. I also have to admit that the footpath along the river is more bouncy underfoot and more pleasant to run on. It's not a gravelly and it hold moisture more than the upper footpaths. After walking home I stayed outside for a bit longer in the cool air, stretching and taking time to stop sweating. I was out for 70 minutes in total. I had a hot shower and changed before walking to the local shop. I suppose in total today I ran and walked between 6 and 7 miles.
The footbridge over the river from the car park.
Wednesday 5 July 2017. Both Tour de France and Wimbledon are on TV. Murray is through to the third round and Froome wears yellow after the fifth stage. It's a warm and humid day and I have to take my mother to bingo at 8.30 pm. So if I want to get out then I have to be finished before then. By 6 pm I had showered and stretched and was on my way walking to the glen. I ran 225 steps down to the footbridge over the river. I completed 3 extended laps on the upper footpaths. These included 3 x 600 and 3 x 400 steps jogging. Each 600 included two full laps of the car park. The heat (18 degrees) and humidity affected me and I stopped, on the footbridge over the river, on completing the third lap and not going onto the waterfall. I stood on the footbridge for a few minutes, recovering and enjoying the river. It's also probably due to the fact I have covered about 50 miles in the last 10 days. I was very tired by the time I got home, but it was still another 3 miles under my belt.
Because of my timing today, the glen was quite busy. There was a father accompanied by his young son on a quad bike; two teenage girls were sitting chatting on a bench near the car park; three cars in the car park and a few groups of people walking dogs. One large black Labrador (on a lead with two girls) even jumped up on me and almost knocked me over. It was as I walked up the hill between intervals on the last lap.
The hill up between intervals.
Thursday 6 July 2017. I spent the afternoon walking around Armagh City. It was a beautiful day, very busy in the centre and lots of buskers. Stocked up on the wine, crisps. cheese and biscuits for my mother's friends for later. I probably walked a couple of miles on my visit. One thing which was very noticeable in parts of the city, was the flags (Union Jacks, Red Hands of Ulster, etc.) and banners. All getting ready for the Orange Order marches on 12th July to celebrate Prince William of Orange's defeat of King James II at The Battle of The Boyne in 1690 - it was a few years ago.
On arriving home I cooked Chinese Chilli Beef and got everything ready for my mother's friends arriving. I changed and set off walking towards the glen at 8 pm. Jogged 225 steps down to the bridge over the river. I set off on my laps on the upper footpath hoping to do 3 - 4 laps. Because it was warm (about 18 C) and very humid, and in the back of my mind I wanted to get back early I just completed 3 laps, all on the upper paths and all included two full laps of the car park. These included 3 x 600, 2 x 400 and finished the last lap with 660 steps jogging. This was all the way to the waterfall, doubled-back over the footbridge over the river, up the hill starting a 4th lap and back to the footbridge. The reason I didn't stop at the waterfall was because there was a young couple sitting on the bench next to it. They looked happy and I didn't want to disturb them. Because of how pleasant an evening it was the glen was busy tonight. Two tall blokes with their golden labrador sitting enjoying the sun near the car park. A family with a few kids playing in the river and two young girls with a small dog enjoying a walk. OK, not that busy, but busier than usual at that time. There were also 2 cars in the car park and one was occupied. Anyway, it was a good workout, the 660 at the end was a bonus, I could have completed another lap, but enough is enough. Overall I covered just over 3 miles.
Friday 7 July 2017. Both Rory McIlroy & Greame McDowell miss the cut in the Irish Open at Portstewart. Konta & Murray through to the 4th round at Wimbledon. I thought it was time to have a break from running. So I just went for a walk and took some videos and photos. It was just after 6 pm and there were 4 cars in the car park at the glen - the most I have seen at one time. A tall young woman, with a dog in tow, was running laps using all footpaths. She was quick. A couple were also running laps. They seem to do the same route as me, but in reverse. They told me they usually do 4 laps. There was also a woman walking her two dogs and I could hear people playing by the river. It was a pleasant walk, the weather was beautiful and I covered about 2 miles.
Tall girl runs past me in The Glen
Later I cooked fresh battered cod, chips peas for my parents. After a hot shower and some stretching I started walking towards the glen just before 8 pm. I jogged 225 steps down to past the footbridge over the river. Then set off on my laps. It was hot (19 C) but not as humid as it had been for the last few days. In the back of my mind I wanted to do at least 3 laps, but more would be good. I started jogging earlier on the first lap and didn't feel great because of the heat. I started with 630 steps jogging. It included two full laps of the car park and on over the river and to the foot of the steep hill. I walked up the hill then a bit further. The second interval was 415 steps jogging, adding some extra in the direction of the waterfall. With walking back on myself to start the second lap, this extended my lap to about 1200 m (or 1.2 km). The 2nd & 3rd lap included the same intervals and I felt more relaxed. On the second lap I passed two kids on the upper footpath, a very young boy being chased by his older sister and their parents about 100 yards behind. All said hello and looked as they were really enjoying themselves. It reminded me of when my kids were little, they always loved getting out of London and into the countryside. The 4th lap was the same again but with an extra 10 steps jogging on the first interval. The 5th included 640 and 500 jogging all the way to the waterfall. To me that was a great workout. However, as I stretched and shouted out pain, stunning the cattle just across the river, I started to feel good again, so what the hell. I started running quite quickly along the footpath away from the waterfall, and it was the fastest I have ran in years. I turned right over the river and at the same speed along the river path. I kept this going for 500 steps until I got to the car park. I felt great I slowed down to do 2 laps of the car park and then ran over the footbridge and along to the footpath to past the bottom of the steep hill - 700 steps in all. I walked up the hill and then jogged the 500 steps all the way back to the waterfall. That's 6 laps for the first time. After cooling down I ran another 250 steps along the path, over the river, up the hill and doubling back on myself back to the footbridge over the river. I just stood on the bridge for a couple of minutes, enjoying the river and thinking, what a great result. In total I had ran almost 7,000 steps (or 7 km). I walked home with tired legs and only spent a few minutes outside before going in, rubbing myself down, changing and walking to and back from the local shop. I don't add the 1 km to and back from the local shop to my workout, but I thought I should tonight, as I must have appeared drunk in the tiredness of my legs.
One thing I haven't mentioned, is that on my 5th lap, the girl who I often see hid behind a tree as I passed the entrance bridge to the glen. I saw her out of the corner of my eye and did say hello - she didn't reply. It seems to me that people scare her.
Later this evening one of my cousins and my sister came to see my mother. It was a good evening, great company. It was also my 13th week of training (maybe 11th as I missed two with a bad back) and after my unbelievable jump to 30 miles overall (walking & jogging), I thought to get even close to that would be great. Well it's been better than great. I've surpassed that and estimate I've managed between 31 & 32 miles this week. I've managed to get up to 6 (extended) laps for the first time. I just hope I can keep it up. Maybe, taking a break yesterday and only going for a walk was a bonus as it let my legs recover and allow me to do the extra tonight. If I can continue as I am I'll be so happy - even with 20 miles next week. Let's see how it goes.
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