Sunday 24 June 2012

Street Running - It's a nightmare.

On the 26th October I went for a run. It was after my injury, but well before the operation, it was even before the injury had been diagnosed.

I ran 5.12 kms in 32 minutes. I didn't run all the way, it was a bit of running, a bit of walking.

Since the operation I have been running on the gym. The treadmill promises an even surface with no surprises but, as I have said before, it does a lot of the work for you. My best performance in terms of speed has been 10 minutes at 12 kph, or 25 mins at 10.7. Clodagh said last week that I was okay to start running on the road so this morning I waved Katie off to her tennis lesson and set off on the pavement.

Using google-map I had worked out a small circuit with two long sides of 400 metres each, and two short sides of 100 metres each. I ran the first 400 and was knackered by the time I reached the first corner. I walked a hundred metres, feeling like I couldn't go on. By the next corner I had enough breath to run another 400. I continued doing this for 3 circuits. In the gym I reckon I could have run the 3km in about 15 minutes without too much bother, just.

On the mean streets of West London I was dying, and that included walking a hundred metres after every four hundred. I did it in 18 minutes and was shattered. Sitting here now typing a few hours later I am still tired. More tired than after any gym session. Road running is, I estimate, at least 30% harder than the treadmill. One of the problems is judging pace. At the gym you can set it exactly and you get to know your limits. Pounding the streets I have no idea how quickly I started off. I know now it was way too quick.

My plan now is to do the street at least twice a week. I hope it gets easier. About 15 years ago Katie and I went running quite a lot. We'd got to a point where we could run quite quickly, chat to each other and actually enjoy it. Then she tripped over a pavement, cut her knee really badly and that was it. We never got back to that level but that is what I am aiming for.

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