Water way to have a good time

-

With only six weeks to go until the Manchester Marathon I need to start getting some long runs in. My aim is to get up to 20 miles by Easter which will give me two weeks to taper. I've never done any serious marathon training before and I hope this will help me reach my target of sub 3:30.

As I have been concentrating on half marathons up to this point I have already done 15 miles including a warm up so an extra mile a week should do the trick. The issue is finding the time. My goal is to complete the training at marathon pace - 8 minute miles.

The other challenge this brings with it is finding a route. This week I decided to head out along the Grand Union canal from the centre of Northampton. I've run part of it before as a night run with Parklands Jog and Run but this would take me further.

I parked the car in St James retail park and initially followed the River Nene which runs west, parallel to the canal, through to Upton. A sharp left turn took me over a small bridge and brought me down onto the towpath.

From here the canal turned south past Hunsbury Meadows and under the M1 at junction 15. This part is known as Rothersthorpe Locks and includes a flight of thriteen locks. It is a steady incline but the wind was at my back and I managed to complete each mile at a consistent 8:10-8:12.

Once through the locks I passed Gayton Marina and came to Blisworth Marina where the Northampton arm meets the Grand Union proper. I headed west again following the West Coast Main  Line. The motorway noise faded away and I finally felt as though I was able to relax and enjoy the surroundings. 

The paths were empty save for a lone fisherman and a couple walking their dog. They were the only people I saw in two hours of running. My only company were the ducks and geese, a large heron which led me for a while and the Virgin trains sweeping their way northwest from London to Birmingham.


After eight miles I turned back and retraced my steps. I was still managing 8:10 pace and stepped that up with four miles to go managing to clock sub 7:50's and a 7:24 final mile. At the end I was tired but felt I still had more miles in my legs which is a positive to take into the final weeks of training.

Popular posts from this blog

A bridge too far?

-
Image
A post on Facebook caught my attention. This is how many of my running adventures begin. Bex Band, founder of the women's adventure community Love Her Wild had walked across all the bridges in Greater London. Obviously this meant the Thames River. Less obviously there are 33 bridges in total starting at Hampton Court and ending at Tower Bridge. Of these, 26 have pedestrian access and she had crossed them all. 'Hmm, that would make a good run' was my first thought. Seed planted. A couple of months later on a mild, bright January day I travelled to Richmond. My first run was Richmond parkrun with my friend Vicki and her pal Nicola. 3.1 miles, no dear and a warming coffee later, I ran the nine miles to Hampton Court. Twelve miles done and I was ready to start my run! My goal was to cross each bridge when I came to it. That meant crossing Hampton Bridge and a sign denoting entrance to Surrey before turning and re-crossing it to begin. Yes, I am a pedant. Hampton Court Bridge I
Read more

Bushy, crewing and an Epping ultra

-
Image
What a weekend. It involved some running, some supporting runners and a bit more running. Saturday dawned wet and windy. 300 runners were assembling in Wendover ready for a 43 mile run into London. The fields were boggy, the paths were waterlogged and it was cold. Well, what do you expect on January 8th. These hardcore runners set off while I was driving from east to west London. My first stop was Bushy Park. This, as many will know, was the birthplace of parkrun. On 2nd October 2004 13 runners completed the first 5k with support from Paul  and Joanne Sinton-Hewitt. 17 years later it is a global phenomenon. This was my running pilgrimage. I have wanted to run Bushy since I ran my first parkrun in September 2012. This would be my 291st. A gentle rain was falling as I parked up by the Diana Fountain just across from Hampton Court. To stretch my legs - and kill some time, I was an hour early - I ran around the park exploring the tree lined avenues, gated gardens and open marshland.  Tiny
Read more

The Druid's Challenge

-
Image
This weekend I signed up to be a member of the support team on the Druid's Challenge ultra running event in the Chiltern Hills. My friend Matt was running the three day, 85 mile event. I was allocated to help with set up and checkpoint duties on the Saturday and Sweeper on Sunday. The Druid has been going for 12 years. It is organised by XNRG, a family business that 'help people challenge themselves and break through their mental and physical barriers, whilst providing peace of mind with expertly run events, going the extra mile for every competitor.' They also put on the Pilgrim Challenge and a number of charity events raising money for Humanity Direct. To get there for the 7 o'clock start I left London at 3:30am. The benefit of this was clear roads and the ability to drive through the centre of London with no Congestion Charge to pay. I arrived at the agreed meeting point outside the village of Watlington.  The first wave of competitors were walkers. They were brought
Read more