Saturday run

Eventually got myself into the right frame of mind to go running tonight. The weekends are long runs, so focus on keeping going for longer run sections and shorter walk breaks. I was aiming for about 8km, with some of the route off-road to get my legs/ankles back into fell running. The route took me past Mossy Lea farm...up to this point my garmin was telling me I was running at 2:06/km - just not possible so I hoped it would calm down so I could have stats of my run later on (it did thankfully).

Turning right after the farm I head up hill. To this point I'd stuck to 1 min walk, 3-3.5mins running and I felt good. This is where my lungs start to complain about going up. I just don't seem to be able to use the air that I get inside me. Air is going in, but I don't feel like the oxygen is getting around my body. I push on, trying to keep to 1 min run, 1 min walk and do this up to turning left rather than continuing down Doctor's Gate. Now the hill is going up more and I aim to walk to the left turn in the track then run/walk as far as possible. Between the farm building and Spring Cabin I manage a couple of 30 second bursts running but I'm immediately gasping for air and unable to recover at all...not even after walking for 3-4 minutes. I try to keep my walking pace under 12min/km but as I head up through the gap in Shelf Benches I just get slower. Somewhere along the way I take yet another puff on my inhaler, in the hope that it will relax my lungs but it doesn't appear to have any effect at all.

Reaching the high point of the run after about 4km I head over to a well worn trod. I could just bash across in a vaguely south direction but that's on tufty grass and my legs aren't ready for off-path terrain just yet. Slowly slowly is my build up to that sort of underfoot ground. Reaching the trod I turn downhill back towards Mossy Lea. I saw a couple of walkers on the track as I was heading up and I wonder if I can pass them or whether they'll be long gone. I'm fairly recovered now from the uphill section and head into the wind, taking care with foot placement but gaining some momentum as I descend. My speed picks up when I hit the grassy hard packed wide path, quickly through the gate and I spot the walkers down by the stream. Determined to keep running and get my average pace up I keep running, but not before a 30 second walk break. They're important to keep legs fresh.

I easily pass the walkers before the first stile on the way towards Old Glossop and keep running until about half way down the track where I take another very short walk break after the metal gate (bottom of Lightside). Onwards...and onwards....the track seems longer than it should. My lungs are into a steady rhythm now but the legs are feeling it a little. I contemplate going through Old Glossop and back along the road but dismiss it - too much road and maybe a bit too much distance today. Nothing for it but left, over the bridge and up over Shire Hill.....wow that steep bit is Steep!! Legs really feeling it at this point I get to the grassy track and am off again running. One panicky moment as a small dog is quite undecided whether it wants to run through me or round me, and on I go back down to tarmac and the final half km or so back home.

I get home and immediately jump on the turbo - I didn't walk at the end to cool down and that's an important part of exercising. I knew if I wandered around outside today to cool down I would have got cold, so the inside turbo option is great.

Writing this later on I feel a slight sense of congestion in my left calf, gratefully Zephr is on hand to massage it and release the toxins back into circulation to be cleaned. I do some foam rollering too as part of the recovery process, noting my left ITB is particularly tight about two thirds the way down. More rollering tomorrow for me. If it hurts it needs more attention!

Total distance: 8.10km
Time: 56:49
Average pace: 7:01 min/km

I'm pleased when I compare this run to a similar one in May. The May run took me down Doctors Gate a little then left up the steep grass - but overall ascent was the same. However, my May run took me 1:07:31 with an average pace of  8:06 min/km. It appears I am faster now. I hope that's down to the training and rehab programme I've been doing. I'm sure it must be.