I ran a cut down version of the long run loop I've been doing for the last couple of weeks with the MPU shod in my older NB 832's. My left shin felt a bit sore generally, but nothing too localized. Overall I felt stacks better than the last couple of mediocre long runs, both in lungs and legs. I even finished off the run with a sprint along the Bath Road TT section (untimed, as it would have been a P-poor clocking off the back of a long run), just for kicks!

INTENSE sessions with less than ideal recovery tend to be the biggest stimulators of progress for me, despite how much I hate how they feel. 6 x 5 minutes off 3 minute recoveries at Down Grange in my Nike Zoom Marathoner's fits that particular bill perfectly. My legs felt fresh and pain free, relative to the last week of training, so much so that I'm actually looking forward to this afternoon's 4 mile recovery run. For personal future reference regards my improvement, I will now describe where I finished my repetitions relative to the rest of the field.

I finished in line with Darryl on the first 3 reps, but then he blasted the last 3. I finished ahead of Tom, the long haired 1500m guy, on the first 4 reps, but about 20-40m behind him on the last two, although I'd still covered the same distance. To paraphrase Barry, it was another debutant record for the workout by a significant distance.

Tune in later for more info on today's runs. Same bat-time, same bat-channel...

'EASY' isn't really the true description of this morning's effort. The M.P.U. and I may have kept the pace down, but any time you run the Breen Down loop (ascent and descent on the 'trail'), effort levels always peak at certain crucial points. For the shoe mileage log, I was shod in my WO NB 834's.

I had no aches or pains feeling surprisingly good, even when I was running into the strong prevailing wind.

The views on this loop are pretty special, having seen mountain goats and white farm cattle on this occasion. My Old Man is definitely getting fitter, as he ran all the climbs this time, something he was incapable of 2 months ago. It was definitely a good way to finish the break.

However every run on this vacation has been accompanied by ~2 hours of dog walking, which has resulted in me feeling a little wiped out. I'll be glad to take a break from that chore when I get back. As much as I dig my dogs, I've only got so much energy to dole out...

A brief leg loosener around the park with my Old Man in my WO NB 834's. I felt really good today, specifically I didn't feel sore or stiff anywhere and my ROM was pretty useful. Even though I only started doing my lunges again yesterday (3 x 20, each leg) and they seem to be having a loosening effect already.

I also found out this morning that one of our runners for the 5K has dropped out for the BAL promotion match, leaving me to fill the B-string spot. Darryl May was also on reserve but he must be running something else as he'd run considerably quicker than me over 5k, hence warranting selection. Maybe I can clear up that mystery tomorrow. Of course I'm bricking it as I find normal Southern Men's League races stressful enough (and we creaming every fixture in that). Still, I gracefully and readilly stepped aside when I didn't make the 5k cut. Just because one of the faster runners has dropped out, there isn't any greater expectation on my performance. I can only run to the best of my ability, as always. If I get more than 1 point, it's a bonus. Having said that, I hope the promotion spots don't come down to 4 or 5 points. I'm going to look like a right 'jockey of cockerels' if we're on the wrong side of that sort of cut...