Now here's a stroke of luck; at the race on Thursday, as I was getting ready to warm up, I managed to accidentally hit a random setting on the Garmin that offered me an option to 'ride'. I didn't have time to investigate that any further at the time but before setting out on Friday, I did a bit of research and discovered that Garmin have recently released an update for my model (FR620) meaning I can use it to track cycling too!  Talk about serendipity! Aside from this, my main discoveries have been that whilst I dislike running on cobbles, I really hate cycling on them, however it is more convenient in that I can easily carry a bag. You really notice the hills and any uneven ground far more though. I am not currently on first name terms with my posterior. Having said that, I had such a good time that when the possibility to go for a gentle evening run with a friend popped up the same day, I decided to cycle to her house. The long way... and back! I'm so glad I've finally done this and I really think it's going to open up a lot of possibilities! Days off in the hills, cycling to nicer running routes, getting about more cheaply and of course faster in some cases too. I'm away again next week but I'm very much looking forward to getting my own and really getting some practice in. I think I've already started getting my head round traffic a bit more and I'm certainly learning when to stand up in the saddle! *bump_wince*

On the last Run2Work Day, I wondered what it would be like to approach a run-commute from the other end and run home. Today seemed as good a day as any and being a Tuesday, this would take me past the athletics centre at the Etihad Stadium where the Salford Harriers would be meeting for their weekly speed interval session on the track. As such, the other half of the experiment was what it would be like to do a speed interval session off the back of a six to seven mile 'warm up'. Always up for a challenge and being the sort of runner who naturally runs negative splits I figured this wouldn't be too strenuous, since I always run the two miles there and back from my flat anyway.

Apart from a couple of light showers (not really any bother) the run down went well and I was pleased that I managed to time it exactly right to arrive at the centre for 6.40; the time at which I get a slightly reduced entry rate! I felt warmed up after 6.74 miles and good to go. Unfortunately, the others had also gone out on a warm up and we didn't get started on the speed work until about quarter past 7 by which time I was well and truly cooled down and starting to flag. I did complete the session (6 sprinting reps each of 300, 200 and 100 meters) but I wasn't running at my strongest. In fact, I might even have walked home if I hadn't been quite hungry by then and just wanting to get back as fast as possible!

To conclude, the experiment was semi-successful. I got more familiar with the run to work route, still did the session anyway and demonstrated that I can pace accurately when needed but I might not make a habit of it as it did affect my track performance I think. If I do that again, I think I'll leave later and avoid the big long cool down, or maybe take a gel with me so I can re-fuel quickly before the session!

The best bit about the evening was getting my official club kit shirt! I'm looking forward to wearing that soon and "representin' my bredren, yo!"  though we'll have to hope I go a bit quicker than tonight or else they may not want me on their stats anyway!

Today was the second national Run2Work Day and I was very pleased that the weather, whilst not as nice as yesterday, which would have been perfect for running to work, was a great deal nicer than June the 5th, which had been decidedly wet and muddy! I am extremely lucky in that it is less than a mile from my house to the Ashton Canal, on to which I can easily drop down from the road and whizz along to... erm... well, Ashton. Which is where I work. Wouldn't really be running to work if I didn't now, would it? It turns out public transport isn't the only thing you can 'miss a stop' on though and aside from all the mud, the hiccup last time was that I turned off the canal a bit too early, confused myself and got ever-so-slightly-lost before eventually finding my way. It wasn't a huge diversion but not the sort of stress you want before a full day of teaching... It also sent me off onto a route where I'd had to run up the central reservation of a dual carriage way, which is less than safe. This time I was feeling very proud of myself when I kept going past the point of confusion, only to discover that I had then gone too far instead and was well on my way to Stalybridge! One day, I would like to run to Stalybridge, but not when I have arranged a 9am meeting with my new manager. Thankfully, Northern Folk are a friendly bunch and I was able to get directions which took me back onto my planned route thus avoiding scary roads and getting to work with enough time to shower, breakfast and still have time to check emails! I'm not sure if it was the impending meeting or the breakfast calling that encouraged me to run an average of about 8 minute miles but that seemed a reasonable speed for the distance. I love the bemused manner in which people give you directions when you're out running, especially when to their mind you're quite a long way away from your destination. As it is, I'm used to people thinking I'm a bit odd so this doesn't phase me, otherwise I might have ended up in Huddersfield. It finished up being 9.44 miles today thanks to that little diversion but that's OK, I wasn't late and it was an enjoyable mile!

Last month, I was a lot more worried about actually making it to work; the fact that the students have finished now and it's only staff development, meetings and planning (Hah.'Only.') made it lot less stressful. It being my second time on the route helped too so it felt like much less of a mental challenge. Because of this worry on June 5th, I completely forgot to take any photos (I don't really like stopping anyway) so the only visual records of the event were a rainy pre-run view of Manchester from my flat and a couple of euphoric if muddy selfies (ugh) in the college gym shower room! This time you get some snaps to illustrate exactly why I think I'm so lucky with the route. Though admittedly I elected to avoid the more industrial sections of the canal, they are still just as interesting to run past! Maybe I'll get some of those next time! All in all, A pretty text book run, all things considered, though I became a little concerned at about 10am when I realised I'd been so busy getting to my meeting that I'd not stretched! I took a 15 minute walk at lunchtime though which seemed to help loosen up what had become 'joint of ham' legs. I forgot to leave my compression socks at work too so I went hard core and left it to chance! Having said that, in June I'd come second in a 5k race the night before and this time I actually took a rest day (well.. I did a yoga class but that doesn't count, right?) so I probably had less to recover from anyway.

So an interesting experiment that paid off. That's the first time I've covered more than 17 miles on a work day! I am also quite pleased to find that my legs feel less tired after the evening run than they did before (or for that matter during!!) it. I think I get now how the whole running twice a day thing could be beneficial. Not sure it'll become part of my training plan though!

Hill Rep Friday tomorrow, but  I'm wondering if I should sneak in another speed interval session instead in preparation for the next 10k race in just over a week! Decisions, decisions!

The view that greeted me from my window this morning was not one to inspire a few early morning miles… But it could have been worse. Drizzle is better than a downpour and bleak is better than windy (my least favourite running conditions!). So, after faffing about a bit more than usual in an act of mild procrastination I laced up, zipped up, put up and headed out from Manchester city centre along the Ashton Canal to... Erm... Well, Ashton funnily enough! A bit damp, sure, but at least it wasn't cold! I was also really very pleasantly surprised to find that I felt totally fresh; no residue of last night’s race in my legs; I was good to go! The miles slipped by smoothly as I waved a 'good morning!' to a couple of other runners and a few barges, pranced past puddles, brushed by branches and dodged dithering ducks. The good thing about the wetter weather in England at this time of year is that everything looks so green and lush! I also appreciated all the wild flowers, especially 'Tudor style' roses. Beautiful and almost enough to counterbalance the puddly muddles! (Muddy puddles in case you weren't sure!)

Either way, it must have put me in a literary state of mind and as I've been experimenting with mantras for stronger running lately (I know, it sounds weird but it kinda works if you're in the right mood), I even composed a bit of hippy poetry as I avoided angry geese! It goes like this;

       Feet like water. Mind like sky.
       Part of the universe; I can fly.
       Feet like water, Over wet, green Earth
       Mind like sky, For a mental rebirth.

I'm not asking you to accept that as the best poem ever but hey, it was part of my run and encapsulates my mood quite well! Anyway, airy-fairy musings aside and ignoring the fact that I got mildly, not lost, just a bit diverted, due to an error in route planning towards the end, the fact is I had a great run! Oh and got to work, saving the grand sum of 10p as I only need a single ticket today!

It turned out to be a jaunt of 8.49 miles and I did it in just over an hour and 8 minutes (an average of 8.03 minutes per mile according to the Garmin!). I was also very grateful to the cleaning staff for opening the college gym shower for me extra early though I can't pretend to have been overjoyed by the discovery that there was no hot water. Still, when you've just run through 8 miles of mud and rain a quick cold shower doesn't seem like much of a hardship, especially when the alternative is being covered in aforementioned mud for the whole day! 'Twas but an additional invigoration!

A quick breakfast waiting for me in the 'fridge and it was off for the second challenge of the day; inflicting four intensive life drawing workshops on a bunch of teens! 

An awesome start to a Thursday! I won't do it every day but I wouldn't rule out developing a bit of a penchant! Maybe I'll try running home one day next week... If the weather's better!