Happy New Year! I’m not really one for New Years resolutions, but as the year begins, I have decided to work a bit on my speed with the aim of making my long runs that bit easier. I’ve also been struggling quite a lot with some knee and foot pain, probably caused by a bit of instability, so I thought that some speed work would probably help my technique too. So this week the work started. On Tuesday, it was a hill session at the running club. Running in Leeds means that there are always hills to be tackled, but this session involved trying to find the biggest ones around and running up them multiple times. Nice! Apart from my foot hurting something rotten, I found the session pretty straightforward. All those miles seemed to be coming in handy after all! It was a short off-road run on Wednesday and then down to the running club again on Thursday for one of Marie’s speed sessions. This week the session was 800m reps – basically run 800m as fast as you can, rest for a minute or so, and repeat. Again, apart from the sore foot, the session was ok. But I have to admit I was glad for a rest on Friday!
My long run this week was scheduled to be 24 miles. All that canal running had made me feel a little jaded, so I thought about doing my long run on a more challenging route, perhaps up on Ilkley Moor. Then I looked at the weather forecast! 30mph winds with 50mph gusts. Hmmm, perhaps not. Thankfully a couple of friends had also planned something on t’moors, and had devised an alternative 20 mile off road route in a more sheltered area. So I planned to join them. Unfortunately, the winds hadn’t died down at all and (sensibly) they decided to do their run on the roads instead. Sadly for me, I didn’t think my foot would handle that, so I set out from home on my own for an off road route. Just in case the weather didn’t improve, or got worse, I quickly devised a route which didn’t take me too far from a feasible escape route. Unfortunately, that meant running an out and back route which included 2 laps of the Harewood estate. More than a little repetitive for my liking!
I headed out through the woods and across the fields. The winds weren’t too bad at all, and thankfully there weren’t any trees down across the path – just a few stray branches. And the skies were amazing.
I made my way into the Harewood estate via an incredibly muddy route, churned up by tractors. It was a good job I’d worn my fell shoes… Then I started the first lap of the estate. At the first big hill I really felt the benefit of the wind. I usually struggle at this point, but with the wind at my back I was pushed straight up it! I was struggling a bit as I started my second lap – it’s pretty lonely sometimes doing all this running on your own.
Thankfully, as I passed Harewood village hall for the second time, another runner was just getting out of her car. “Are you just starting a run?” I asked, and was pleased when she said yes. Paula, and her dog Trixie, turned out to be an absolute godsend. We chatted our way through the next couple of miles, and I managed to pick up my pace beyond my usual shuffle! It was just great to have a bit of company. Thanks Paula!
As we parted company, it was time for me to leave the Harewood estate for some more muddy and windy fields. Having had a bit of company for a while, I started to struggle. By now, I’d done 18 miles and whilst my feet were ok and I wasn’t really all that tired, my knee was getting very painful. And I had realised how slow I was, which is never good for my motivation. At 20 miles, I really felt like giving up. But, being me, I soldiered on with my painful knee. I did text my endlessly supportive husband though, to ask him to walk down the road to meet me when I’d finished. I was certainly glad to see him after just over 5 hours having completed 23 miles.
I’m not quite sure what the next week will hold in terms of running, but I am going to try and put myself back together with a sports massage and Physio appointment. I have a chance for a bit of a rest before another 24 mile run in 3 weeks time. Hopefully by then my knee will have settled down and maybe I will even have got a bit quicker. Here’s hoping…
diaryofanultrarunner 
Well done Vicky. Think you need to concentrate on short off road speed work. Give your knee and foot time to settle down. You should find a faster pace over a short distance transfers nicely to your longer runs. It worked for me last year in my brief 10 week run up to London. x