Week 15 - Intervals suddenly get longer.
After taking a step down in distance last week, let's see can I get back on track and get those miles under my belt.
Sunday 16 July 2017. I don't know whether to call this a good start to the week or not. I didn't run, but I did flay a full 18 holes of golf at the hilly County Armagh Golf Club. It was the first time I have played since the day before I started out on this Long Run Back to Fitness. It was that previous game of golf which sparked off this current fitness regime. Anyway, I didn't play too bad, but I did walk somewhat further than I should have if I had been hitting the ball straight. It was a hot sunny day and I was carrying a heavy golf bag with me. I got sunburn on my arms, face and head, and in total I probably walked 6 miles. Main thing was that I really enjoyed the day and the couple of beers in the clubhouse afterwards. In sport Tyrone beat Down in the GAA Ulster Football Final at Clones.
Monday 17 July 2017. In the afternoon I went for a walk. I went to difficult places, in the glen, to collect rubbish and filled a whole bin bag. I also took videos and photos. I was out for over 2 hours and probably walked about 3.5 miles. It was a warm day and the glen was busy today. Some people must have thought I was acting strange, carrying a bin bag, a camcorder with a tripod and a camera. I must have also look foolish at times when standing on stones in the middle of the river trying to place my tripod and camcorder close to the water to get a usable video. Here's one of the video's. If you look carefully you'll see a jogger going past in the top right.
At 9 pm I was off walking towards the glen again. It was still warm and humid. I jogged 220 steps down to the footbridge over the river, then set off on my laps. I was determined to see if I could jog a whole lap without having to stop. I managed 1.5 laps before stopping. Instead of walking I stopped and stretched to recover. I then done another full lap, followed by 0.75 and then another 0.75 - all jogging and no walking. So 4 laps and a total distance of nearly 4 miles. This was a step up from my previous intervals counting steps jogged. On the first interval I did start counting steps, but because I covered about a mile, it was too many steps to count without loosing count. I gave up counting steps after that and started counting laps or fractions of laps. I may go back to counting steps if I decide to complete any workouts in smaller intervals. On walking home I felt happy that I had been able to jog a mile without stopping. It's taken a long time to build up to this point and it's been over 10 years since I had done this.
Earlier in the day, when I was out walking with my cameras, there were lots of busy bees in the hedgerow as I walked home in the warm sunshine. They looked really happy and do great work collecting nectar and pollinating the flowers. I took a few videos of them and put it together as one. I hope you enjoy it.
Tuesday 18 July 2017. Again it was a very warm and humid day. At 9 pm, after a hot shower and a few stretches, I set off walking towards the glen. I jogged down to the footbridge over river. After a few seconds break I walked 50 yards then set off on my laps. I was hoping to do something similar to the previous day. I jogged 1.7 laps before a short break to recover. This was followed 1.25 laps, then one lap plus all the way to waterfall. I felt good, but I could feel lactic acid making my legs feel tired. So I headed off jogging from the waterfall and soon starting an extra lap. The jogging on my last was divided into a 0.7 lap, a few steps walking and 0.4 to over river, part way up the hill and back to the footbridge. In total I jogged 5 laps plus an extra 500 metres. I ran up all the hills, mixed the higher path with the river path on starting the laps. I walked home, took a little while to recover. Then after changing I walked to and back from the local shop. On walking to the shop my legs and whole body felt very tired and anyone watching me must have thought I was drunk. This has to be my best workout to date and in total I covered about 5 miles, most of those jogging.
Wednesday 19 July 2017. As I take my mother to the bingo each Wednesday I had to go out early tonight. During the night there had been amazing thunder storms over parts of England. Northern Ireland must have caught the aftermath as it poured down all afternoon. I waited until the rain stopped being a torrent before I headed off. It was 6.40 pm and it was still raining constantly, but not unbearable. I started walking, but that soon became a jog to stay warm. I jogged 250 steps along the pavement, then swiftly walked the rest of the way to the entrance to the glen. I jogged down to the footbridge over the river, but for the first time I didn't stop, I continued along the river path and didn't stop jogging until I had completed 2 full laps and all the way to the waterfall. I felt good, on both occasions running up the steep hill after the car park, and soon recovered to run along the flat path around the small reservoir and straight path above the river. Running along the river path maybe a bit up and down, but it's so soft underfoot you feel as if you are bouncing. Adding the jog down into the glen and the extra, at the end of the interval, to finish at the waterfall means the first interval was about 2250 m - that's 1.4 miles and a new longest interval. After about a minute stretching I started off from the waterfall and jogged another a full lap, starting on upper path and all the way back to the waterfall - an interval of 1250 m. I finished by jogging back to the exit footbridge and up the steep hill to almost the exit of the glen (the last few steps are very steep and my legs were not up to it). In total with the 3 laps and the extras I jogged about 3800 m in the glen and 250 along the pavement on my way there. So out of a 5 km workout I jogged 4 km in total with just a few stops. On the walk home I felt a bit wobbly again and I was soaked as it rained all the time I was out.
Thursday 20 July 2017. Spent about an hour and a half walking around Armagh City this afternoon. Covered about 2 miles and I suppose it all counts. Although the smallest city in Ireland, Armagh is beautiful and has so much history. At present The Frankenstein Chronicles is being filmed in the historic areas of the city.
When I got home I watched the rain pelting down for over an hour. I wondered if it would ever stop, but even if it didn't I was still going for a workout.
By 7 pm the rain had stopped and I was on my way to the glen. I jogged down to the footbridge over the river and continued along the river path on my first lap. My intention was to do complete laps as intervals, but my legs were very heavy. I completed just 0.7 of a lap before stopping at the sluice footbridge. By the time I had stopped at the sluice bridge for the 3rd time it was my 5th stop. That's 2.7 laps by the 5th stop. The next interval was a a full lap back to the sluice bridge and as was the one after that. I seemed to be getting stronger as the session went on. I then jogged an interval to the waterfall. Two teenage girls were sitting on the bench next to the waterfall and I seemed to scare them off. I finished by jogging back to the exit footbridge, over it and half way up the climb towards the exit of the glen. I walked home and after cooling down, I changed and, as usual on a Thursday night, got the wine, cheese, biscuits and crisps ready for my mother's friends arriving. In total I probably covered about 4.5 miles with just over 5 km jogging.
Friday 21 July 2017. After having very tired legs yesterday, I decided to have a rest day. No walking, no running. Just a walk to the local shop and back. It's about 1 km, but I don't count this. Anyway, it's also lucky I wasn't in the glen at 5.25 pm today as two people in a white car tried to shoot a person at a car maintenance company next to the car park. Nobody was hurt, but the car was found 20 minutes later, a mile away and burnt out.
Saturday 22 July 2017. A bit of a lazy day apart from cooking. It's the last day of the week and I'm really hoping to finish well. By 8 pm I was showered, stretched and walking towards the glen. I jogged down to the footbridge over the river and continued on my first lap on the upper footpath. I completed the whole lap. Not a bad start - a 1.2 km jog. I rested for about a minute and eventually completed 4 more full intervals of a lap (1 km) jogging. The last lap also included the extra 120 steps all the way to the waterfall, where I let out a roar of satisfying pain and startled the cattle in the field across the river. I did think about setting off on a 6th lap, but decided against it as my inner thighs where starting to hurt due to my shorts rubbing against them. I finished off by jogging back to the entrance footbridge, over it and all the way up the hill to exit the glen. I even jogged the steep last few yards to the exit. By the time I had walked home I had covered about 4.5 miles and 3.5 of that had been jogging. As usual I cooled down with a few stretches, changed and walked to the local shop. It had been a good workout, I was feeling stronger and had been enjoying the jogging more towards the end. So not a bad way to finish the week, and probably 32 miles in total. One thing I have learned today is having a break can sometimes make you achieve more than you expect. OK! Maybe there was more walking, because of the golf I played at the start of the week, but this week has been the most I have travelled on foot so far in my Long Run Back to Fitness.
It had been a pleasant evening in the glen. Not hot or humid, but there were lots of midges on the highest path. There were a few people walking their dogs and a mixed group of teenagers enjoying themselves on the benches above the car park. On my way to the local shop, it was starting to get dark, yet I saw the girl (who seems to visit the glen a couple of time a day) on her way there. I've seen her going there quite a few times as it's beginning to get dark and often wonder how she can see her way around at that time.
Let's see what next week brings. I may even add a few words of advise and answer a few questions I've been thinking about and maybe you have also been thinking about if you've been following my blog up until now. If you have been reading, I hope you have enjoyed and Thanks.
Sunday 16 July 2017. I don't know whether to call this a good start to the week or not. I didn't run, but I did flay a full 18 holes of golf at the hilly County Armagh Golf Club. It was the first time I have played since the day before I started out on this Long Run Back to Fitness. It was that previous game of golf which sparked off this current fitness regime. Anyway, I didn't play too bad, but I did walk somewhat further than I should have if I had been hitting the ball straight. It was a hot sunny day and I was carrying a heavy golf bag with me. I got sunburn on my arms, face and head, and in total I probably walked 6 miles. Main thing was that I really enjoyed the day and the couple of beers in the clubhouse afterwards. In sport Tyrone beat Down in the GAA Ulster Football Final at Clones.
18th fairway, County Armagh Golf Club with the two St Patrick's Cathedrals in background.
Monday 17 July 2017. In the afternoon I went for a walk. I went to difficult places, in the glen, to collect rubbish and filled a whole bin bag. I also took videos and photos. I was out for over 2 hours and probably walked about 3.5 miles. It was a warm day and the glen was busy today. Some people must have thought I was acting strange, carrying a bin bag, a camcorder with a tripod and a camera. I must have also look foolish at times when standing on stones in the middle of the river trying to place my tripod and camcorder close to the water to get a usable video. Here's one of the video's. If you look carefully you'll see a jogger going past in the top right.
Flowing river with jogger passing.
At 9 pm I was off walking towards the glen again. It was still warm and humid. I jogged 220 steps down to the footbridge over the river, then set off on my laps. I was determined to see if I could jog a whole lap without having to stop. I managed 1.5 laps before stopping. Instead of walking I stopped and stretched to recover. I then done another full lap, followed by 0.75 and then another 0.75 - all jogging and no walking. So 4 laps and a total distance of nearly 4 miles. This was a step up from my previous intervals counting steps jogged. On the first interval I did start counting steps, but because I covered about a mile, it was too many steps to count without loosing count. I gave up counting steps after that and started counting laps or fractions of laps. I may go back to counting steps if I decide to complete any workouts in smaller intervals. On walking home I felt happy that I had been able to jog a mile without stopping. It's taken a long time to build up to this point and it's been over 10 years since I had done this.
Earlier in the day, when I was out walking with my cameras, there were lots of busy bees in the hedgerow as I walked home in the warm sunshine. They looked really happy and do great work collecting nectar and pollinating the flowers. I took a few videos of them and put it together as one. I hope you enjoy it.
Busy bees enjoying the hedgerow.
Tuesday 18 July 2017. Again it was a very warm and humid day. At 9 pm, after a hot shower and a few stretches, I set off walking towards the glen. I jogged down to the footbridge over river. After a few seconds break I walked 50 yards then set off on my laps. I was hoping to do something similar to the previous day. I jogged 1.7 laps before a short break to recover. This was followed 1.25 laps, then one lap plus all the way to waterfall. I felt good, but I could feel lactic acid making my legs feel tired. So I headed off jogging from the waterfall and soon starting an extra lap. The jogging on my last was divided into a 0.7 lap, a few steps walking and 0.4 to over river, part way up the hill and back to the footbridge. In total I jogged 5 laps plus an extra 500 metres. I ran up all the hills, mixed the higher path with the river path on starting the laps. I walked home, took a little while to recover. Then after changing I walked to and back from the local shop. On walking to the shop my legs and whole body felt very tired and anyone watching me must have thought I was drunk. This has to be my best workout to date and in total I covered about 5 miles, most of those jogging.
The footpath past the entrance footbridge & on towards the waterfall.
Wednesday 19 July 2017. As I take my mother to the bingo each Wednesday I had to go out early tonight. During the night there had been amazing thunder storms over parts of England. Northern Ireland must have caught the aftermath as it poured down all afternoon. I waited until the rain stopped being a torrent before I headed off. It was 6.40 pm and it was still raining constantly, but not unbearable. I started walking, but that soon became a jog to stay warm. I jogged 250 steps along the pavement, then swiftly walked the rest of the way to the entrance to the glen. I jogged down to the footbridge over the river, but for the first time I didn't stop, I continued along the river path and didn't stop jogging until I had completed 2 full laps and all the way to the waterfall. I felt good, on both occasions running up the steep hill after the car park, and soon recovered to run along the flat path around the small reservoir and straight path above the river. Running along the river path maybe a bit up and down, but it's so soft underfoot you feel as if you are bouncing. Adding the jog down into the glen and the extra, at the end of the interval, to finish at the waterfall means the first interval was about 2250 m - that's 1.4 miles and a new longest interval. After about a minute stretching I started off from the waterfall and jogged another a full lap, starting on upper path and all the way back to the waterfall - an interval of 1250 m. I finished by jogging back to the exit footbridge and up the steep hill to almost the exit of the glen (the last few steps are very steep and my legs were not up to it). In total with the 3 laps and the extras I jogged about 3800 m in the glen and 250 along the pavement on my way there. So out of a 5 km workout I jogged 4 km in total with just a few stops. On the walk home I felt a bit wobbly again and I was soaked as it rained all the time I was out.
Raining in The Glen.
Thursday 20 July 2017. Spent about an hour and a half walking around Armagh City this afternoon. Covered about 2 miles and I suppose it all counts. Although the smallest city in Ireland, Armagh is beautiful and has so much history. At present The Frankenstein Chronicles is being filmed in the historic areas of the city.
The Frankenstein Chronicles being filmed in Armagh
When I got home I watched the rain pelting down for over an hour. I wondered if it would ever stop, but even if it didn't I was still going for a workout.
By 7 pm the rain had stopped and I was on my way to the glen. I jogged down to the footbridge over the river and continued along the river path on my first lap. My intention was to do complete laps as intervals, but my legs were very heavy. I completed just 0.7 of a lap before stopping at the sluice footbridge. By the time I had stopped at the sluice bridge for the 3rd time it was my 5th stop. That's 2.7 laps by the 5th stop. The next interval was a a full lap back to the sluice bridge and as was the one after that. I seemed to be getting stronger as the session went on. I then jogged an interval to the waterfall. Two teenage girls were sitting on the bench next to the waterfall and I seemed to scare them off. I finished by jogging back to the exit footbridge, over it and half way up the climb towards the exit of the glen. I walked home and after cooling down, I changed and, as usual on a Thursday night, got the wine, cheese, biscuits and crisps ready for my mother's friends arriving. In total I probably covered about 4.5 miles with just over 5 km jogging.
The first half of the climb up out of The Glen.
Friday 21 July 2017. After having very tired legs yesterday, I decided to have a rest day. No walking, no running. Just a walk to the local shop and back. It's about 1 km, but I don't count this. Anyway, it's also lucky I wasn't in the glen at 5.25 pm today as two people in a white car tried to shoot a person at a car maintenance company next to the car park. Nobody was hurt, but the car was found 20 minutes later, a mile away and burnt out.
Saturday 22 July 2017. A bit of a lazy day apart from cooking. It's the last day of the week and I'm really hoping to finish well. By 8 pm I was showered, stretched and walking towards the glen. I jogged down to the footbridge over the river and continued on my first lap on the upper footpath. I completed the whole lap. Not a bad start - a 1.2 km jog. I rested for about a minute and eventually completed 4 more full intervals of a lap (1 km) jogging. The last lap also included the extra 120 steps all the way to the waterfall, where I let out a roar of satisfying pain and startled the cattle in the field across the river. I did think about setting off on a 6th lap, but decided against it as my inner thighs where starting to hurt due to my shorts rubbing against them. I finished off by jogging back to the entrance footbridge, over it and all the way up the hill to exit the glen. I even jogged the steep last few yards to the exit. By the time I had walked home I had covered about 4.5 miles and 3.5 of that had been jogging. As usual I cooled down with a few stretches, changed and walked to the local shop. It had been a good workout, I was feeling stronger and had been enjoying the jogging more towards the end. So not a bad way to finish the week, and probably 32 miles in total. One thing I have learned today is having a break can sometimes make you achieve more than you expect. OK! Maybe there was more walking, because of the golf I played at the start of the week, but this week has been the most I have travelled on foot so far in my Long Run Back to Fitness.
The start of the second half of the climb up out of The Glen.
It had been a pleasant evening in the glen. Not hot or humid, but there were lots of midges on the highest path. There were a few people walking their dogs and a mixed group of teenagers enjoying themselves on the benches above the car park. On my way to the local shop, it was starting to get dark, yet I saw the girl (who seems to visit the glen a couple of time a day) on her way there. I've seen her going there quite a few times as it's beginning to get dark and often wonder how she can see her way around at that time.
Let's see what next week brings. I may even add a few words of advise and answer a few questions I've been thinking about and maybe you have also been thinking about if you've been following my blog up until now. If you have been reading, I hope you have enjoyed and Thanks.
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