One of my favourite local runs is over at Ashridge where, over the years, I have ran with friends and, more recently, members of the Tring Running Club.
For those of you who don’t know it, Ashridge is a local beauty spot of approximately 5000 acres of woodland, used occasionally for film sets such as Harry Potter and, apparently, The Dirty Dozen.
This weekend, whilst the kids were at friends and the weather had turned for the better, I decided to take a drive over to Ashridge, on my own and with a picnic and copy of Runner’s World, to take some time out and relax in the sun. Whilst I was there, I took in the real beauty of the woodland. I had the time to actually look at the magnificence of it all and thought how lucky I was to have it right on my doorstop. After many, many miles treading the paths on lonely runs, I was surprised that I had never actually appreciated it all before now.
Another surprise came in the shape of my first ever sub 2:30 Olympic distance triathlon, with a PB to boot, at Milton Keynes the previous Sunday. Along with 20 other members of my triathlon club (stand up Shires Triers and take a bow) I managed to complete the race in 2:23:58. I was particularly pleased with my swim and bike times although it was a bit demoralising being passed by every man and his dog on the run. Big up for Jo Mitchell for the fastest Shire of the day in 2:10:49 – Jo, how do you go so fast??
Not the most jam-packed of training weeks, but here it is:-
Monday – no training, recovery day following MK Olympic the previous day
Tuesday – no training, again, still recovering from MK!
Wednesday – easy swim, incorporating 400 metre time-trial, at David Lloyd gym in Bushey
Thursday – bike – 10 mile time-trial with my mate Jev O’Neill, time 26:58 – nothing to write home about, but 6 miles was against a very tough head-wind
Friday – run – tough 30 minute interval session with my mate Paul McGee
Saturday – race – Bedford Aquathlon (750 metre open water swim, 5K run) – 38 minutes’ish – 8th position overall, winner in my age group (in fact, only competitor in my age group, but hey you gotta be in it to win it!)
Sunday – race – Bedford Open Water Sprint Triathlon (750 metre open water sprint, 22K bike, 5K run) with Jev – 24th position overall (116 raced) - that's me below in transition before the race
Here's a link to my online training diary.
Next week it’s a lot of run-specific stuff, and the National Relays on Sunday. Am really looking forward to that. Plus also another run or two over at Ashridge. This time I am going to appreciate, for once, how lucky I am to have it all so close at hand.
Until then, happy training and have a great week.
For those of you who don’t know it, Ashridge is a local beauty spot of approximately 5000 acres of woodland, used occasionally for film sets such as Harry Potter and, apparently, The Dirty Dozen.
This weekend, whilst the kids were at friends and the weather had turned for the better, I decided to take a drive over to Ashridge, on my own and with a picnic and copy of Runner’s World, to take some time out and relax in the sun. Whilst I was there, I took in the real beauty of the woodland. I had the time to actually look at the magnificence of it all and thought how lucky I was to have it right on my doorstop. After many, many miles treading the paths on lonely runs, I was surprised that I had never actually appreciated it all before now.
Another surprise came in the shape of my first ever sub 2:30 Olympic distance triathlon, with a PB to boot, at Milton Keynes the previous Sunday. Along with 20 other members of my triathlon club (stand up Shires Triers and take a bow) I managed to complete the race in 2:23:58. I was particularly pleased with my swim and bike times although it was a bit demoralising being passed by every man and his dog on the run. Big up for Jo Mitchell for the fastest Shire of the day in 2:10:49 – Jo, how do you go so fast??
Not the most jam-packed of training weeks, but here it is:-
Monday – no training, recovery day following MK Olympic the previous day
Tuesday – no training, again, still recovering from MK!
Wednesday – easy swim, incorporating 400 metre time-trial, at David Lloyd gym in Bushey
Thursday – bike – 10 mile time-trial with my mate Jev O’Neill, time 26:58 – nothing to write home about, but 6 miles was against a very tough head-wind
Friday – run – tough 30 minute interval session with my mate Paul McGee
Saturday – race – Bedford Aquathlon (750 metre open water swim, 5K run) – 38 minutes’ish – 8th position overall, winner in my age group (in fact, only competitor in my age group, but hey you gotta be in it to win it!)
Sunday – race – Bedford Open Water Sprint Triathlon (750 metre open water sprint, 22K bike, 5K run) with Jev – 24th position overall (116 raced) - that's me below in transition before the race
Here's a link to my online training diary.
Next week it’s a lot of run-specific stuff, and the National Relays on Sunday. Am really looking forward to that. Plus also another run or two over at Ashridge. This time I am going to appreciate, for once, how lucky I am to have it all so close at hand.
Until then, happy training and have a great week.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment