Last week a magpie dropped a stick on my head

It was just before I went for a run and, as portents go, it was up there with Duncan's horses eating each other.

And so it was that I ran my second Regent's Park 10k of the summer - only to achieve a PERSONAL WORST.

The first lap I was flying. With two more to go, the announcer bellowed we were on for a 52-minute finish. Given my 10k PB is 54.33, this was a considerable improvement. I was feeling good. Fleet of foot. Forward landing. Hands clasped gently - as if they're holding a crisp or a butterfly.

And then I wasn't feeling good anymore.

With just three kilometres left, I remember thinking I might give up. The last time I'd felt this rotten was mile 23 of the Brighton marathon. I don't think I've ever felt this bad over a distance this short. I'm assuming it was due to my initial over-enthusiasm.

Suffice to say, I did not finish in 52 minutes, I finished in 56.01. Not a PB. And a week on, my shins still hurt. I tried a run yesterday, which turned into a shuffle, which turned into a walk to the pond. Ah... the pond. A cold dip makes everything better.

13 days to the Richmond half. 13 days.

(Stats: 6.2 miles; 56.01; 9.02 minute/mile)

Pic: Do you think this swan cares about a PB?

Addendum: Having just worked out that a 56-minute 10k works out at a 9-minute mile, I feel less cross with myself and that magpie.

Nothing like a deadline...

Since the realization it's six weeks to Richmond, my exercise regime has moved up several gears. And last night, that meant track training at Paddington Recreation Ground.

As I'm told frequently by my physio friend, plodding is not going to get me anywhere fast. To increase fitness or speed, you need strength work (hence the Power Pump class on Sunday) and high intensity training (which I was hoping Paddington would provide).

Listening to the pre-session talk gave me the proper fear. In a nutshell, be aware of faster runners or end up track roadkill. However, once up and running (pun intended) it was fantastic. The session went like this:

6 x 500-metres (at 80% capacity) interspersed with 100-metre walk recovery

4 x 200-metre sprints with 200-metre jog/walk recovery

Warm-up and warm-downs.

I got a bit overexcited during the 200-metres and nearly popped a calf muscle. In fact, they were both like rocks when I got home. A bit of massage seems to have helped and I'll have a go on the foam roller later.

It's easy to see how doing this a couple of times a week could increase your fitness, but the main point being it's just really fun to run really fast - even if the latter is relative.

(Stats: 500 metres - 225 seconds; 200 metres - 45 seconds: Bolt need not fear just yet.)

(Pic: Muscles need protein. Hooray for the English summer.)

Book club

If you're looking for a great book to read on holiday (or on the tube), this one is brilliant:

Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn

(Stats: read it in about four days - couldn't put it down.)

6 weeks today...

In spite of running only three times in the past month, I am confident of achieving a personal best at the imminent Richmond half. Call it denial (or dementia) but I think if I spend the next six weeks immersed in fitness, I can beat my previous PB - and maybe even come in under two hours. Bulls horns were grasped yesterday when I not only did the parkrun 5k, but also booked in for a power pump exercise class. I need to get very strong, very quickly and a few tricep dips while the kettle boils is no longer enough. I'd hoped a recent trip to Crete would kick start the regime, but all it kick started was an all-inclusive binge-fest. On the plus side, I am carbo-loaded up for the next year.

(Stats: 3.1 miles; 29.09; 9.24 minute/mile - which would translate into a half-marathon time of approximately 122 minutes (which would be a PB?! Perhaps I've done my sums wrong.))

(Pic: Not running in Agia Pelagia.)

Below average

My time for Saturday's parkrun turned out to be 27.40 So, slightly slower than last week, but I was reasonably pleased until I discovered the mean run time for the Hampstead Heath 5k is 27.01 - making me 39 seconds below average! That's annoying. In other news, I've been watching Mo Farah's 5000metres at the European Championships. He did it in 14.10 dead. I like to think one day my final 400metres will be just like his.

(Stats for Sat: 3.1 miles; 27.40; 8.55 minute/mile)


Good work Mo!

Nearly didn't go

Last Thursday I burnt my mouth on a hot aubergine. I now have ulcers all over my tongue and it nearly put me off doing parkrun this morning. The bleak grey sky didn't help, but the thought of a nice post-run swim and hot chocolate proved just motivating enough. I can't say it was my fastest run, but it was enjoyable. And the water on the heath has just begun to warm up enough that I could stay in for about 15 minutes. I particularly enjoyed being dive bombed by a heron. Afterwards, instead of hot chocolate, I headed to the local farmer's market and bought the world's most expensive goat's cheese and some beetroot. There are times when I wish I lived closer to Lidl.

(Stats: 3.1 miles; time - to be confirmed)

The art of running

Yesterday was parkrun day and I arrived to find we were sharing our start and finish area with the Affordable Art Fair. From my vantage point (peering through the fence) I could see a Gormley-esque sculpture of a man and a big oval metal thing. Both of which would have looked very nice in my back garden - had they not been larger than my back garden. Plus I suspect affordable in Hampstead might turn out to be a good example of 'relatively speaking'.

Back to the run and it was nice to listen to the pre-race briefing without the residual guilt of not volunteering (having done a stint last week). I was also quite excited to see how quick I could cover the course as I'm now slightly fitter then when I last took part (which I'm shocked to discover was December 2012). My time then was 29.06 (far from the glory days of 26.26 - my parkrun PB - last April).

I did the first lap in 13.41. It hurt quite a lot. However, I still decided to go all out on the second lap. It was quite tricky to fight my natural urge to slow down, but I got a helping hand for the last 100 yards when the man behind me sprinted past. Some strange long-dead competitive instinct forced me to try to keep up and, while he won, I think this knocked at least ten seconds off my total time. So thank you faster man.

(Stats: 5k (3.1 miles); 27.25; 8.50 minute/mile.)

(Pic: If you press your nose up against it, this is the view through the fence at the Affordable Art Fair. I thought the fence itself had a certain Monet quality.)