2010 Progress Entrant - Jayne Hall

Contents:- -Intro- Report -1- -2- -3- -4- -5- -6- -7- -8- -9- -10- -11- -12- -13- -14-

Report 1 - Week beginning 04/01/10

Training.......... what training?!!

As an 'experienced' runner it isn't necessary for me to be specifically training for a 10k which I will be running in May. I have a few events lined up before then which I should be working towards. However, the weather has put paid to any serious plans I had this week!

I arrived back in Derby after the Christmas break to find that like everywhere else across the country the pavements were sheet ice and absolutely lethal to walk on let alone run! I usually run on Monday evenings with a friend from the running club - we just do a city street route of about 4 - 5 miles but because of the ice there was no chance. So, instead I rang a mate who suggested we went to the local gym to do a 'Body Conditioning' class. Thinking this a good alternative (though I had no idea what 'Body Conditioning' was) I innocently went along....... it killed me! Being a runner and a particularly lazy one at that, I do no 'core strength' work or upper body exercise and this was a level 3 class! Within the first 10 minutes I knew I wouldn't be able to move the next day as it was all sit ups, triceps dips and press ups mixed in with aerobics all done to fast dance music. I did about 75% of what the class did - the aerobic side of things was fine, I wasn't out of breath but my muscles were screaming at me and by the end of the class my mate had to lift my pint for me to drink as my arms didn't work!! The next day I was in bits..... ouch! Still, I'm going again this Monday.

On Thursday I went for a very slow tentative 4 mile run through the city with my running partner. The pavements were OK in stretches and trail shoes coped with the packed snow very well. There were also stretches of sheet ice where we had to be very cautious. It felt good just to be out and running though. It was very, very cold.........

My husband Dave arrived in Derby on Friday night as he'd been in Blackpool for a week visiting with family. I took him out for a run on Saturday morning on one of my favourite routes with Portia, my running partner in Derby. It was clear blue skies, very cold and there had been about 2' of fresh snow in the night. We headed out to Markeaton Park which is about a mile from where I live. Portia and I were supposed to be competing at Markeaton Park in the Derbyshire Cross Country Championships on Saturday but it was cancelled due to the weather conditions (thank goodness - I wasn't ready for it!). The Park is huge and used to be the country house of a big industrialist in Derby. We ran through the snow up the hills through the woods and round the golf course. On the other side of the park we headed out across the fields on the 'Bonnie Prince Charlie Trail'. This is a long distance walking path which follows the route that Bonnie Prince Charlie took when he rode into England to try and take back the crown. We ran to Mackworth village where we stopped at Mackworth Castle to enjoy the view of the thatched cottages and the castle gatehouse which is all that remains of the castle - it was destroyed during the Civil War. The medieval gatehouse is built into a row of farm cottages and looked very picturesque in the snow. We then turned round and headed back across the fields home - a lovely run of about 7 miles. Then for the rest of the day I couldn't stop eating! The run, though done at a relatively slow pace (it took about an hour) took a lot out of us. Running uphill through snow and in such cold weather burns a lot of calories so I just had to replace them.......that's another thing I love about running - I can eat what I want without feeling guilty!

Week one completed..............