While working from home more now, I've been able to develop a consistent exercise regime, one which is composed of going for runs (mostly in the early morning at around 6:15) and also doing resistance training in the gym. The individual run distances have reduced, but I have more runs overall, so the weekly cumulatively distance has increased.

Generally, I find that going for early morning exercise is a lot easier because I'm not fatigued and as a result, usually the exercise is less strenuous. I wonder if this is because I'm stronger in the mornings or just feel stronger because I'm less inclined to be fighting off the effects of fatigue. 

Interestingly, I've begun to transition to being a lot more accustomed to wearing a long sleeve running top and tracksuit bottoms. This is not usual for me as I've enjoyed running exclusively in shorts and short-sleeve shirts for most of my running. I think the reduced iterative distances that I run have helped: I'm running for a shorter period which means I'm less likely to overheat due to being more covered. While it has been summer for the last few months (technically we've just entered spring), in the mornings the slight breeze while running is just enough to be noticeably colder.

The other interesting thing and this is probably the main reason, is that wearing tracksuit bottoms reduces the amount of itchy 'tingles' I feel in my legs once I start running. I'm not sure what this is exactly, but I can best describe it (and this is what I've settled down to rationalizing it as) as, is the sensation of sweat just about starting to form, and the combination of the wind hitting your legs cooling it down.

Funnily enough, I only experience this somewhat annoying sensation in my legs and not in my arms. My legs are doing the majority of the movement and are subject to the most wind I imagine so this makes sense. It's really not an important sensation and I can just as easily run through it but the onset is noticeable. 

Apart from that, I've increased in fitness and running efficiency and my VO2 max is hovering nicely around the high fifties having touched 60 a few times.

The routine I've settled into is to go for a run in the morning on Monday, Tuesday, skip Wednesday and Thursday and then run again on Friday and Saturday. This gives me 2 consecutive days in the middle to rest and one day on Sunday to recover. I think that's pretty important. Also, I quite like not running after consecutive days of running. 

So my average run now is 15 minutes down the road and 15 minutes up the road, which is about 7km in the morning. In between, I go to the gym for an hour or so to mix it up. Something like this which I did this afternoon (I didn't run this morning):

I think the combination of running mixed with going to the gym makes up for the reduced overall running distance which I used to do but less frequently (which was about 11km or so).

Also, the above doesn't show the gap where I go to the gym, as I usually just pause the run, go to the gym and then resume the run back up. I do sometimes split the run into a 'down' run and then an 'up' run but it depends if I remember to finish each run on my watch or I just press the pause button (which I do more often lately).

You can see when I reach the gym by the drop in heart rate and I come into land...

 I'm also a lot more forgiving when I don't keep to this running routine, so if I'm feeling a bit tired in the morning (say, I stayed up too late to watch the Olympics for example) then I just go for a run after work - but I find this run more challenging, possibly for the reasons I outlined earlier.

The summer generally has been wonderful, I've been enjoying work lately and the combination of being at home more, being able to exercise more routinely and the run of sporting events have made it a summer to remember. We had the EUFA champions league (where we nearly won!), the Olympics, and of course Wimbledon. There has also been some cricket thrown in every once in a while. Interestingly, I've watched more women's cricket than I have ever before. 

Hopefully, Spring (and Winter) will be as productive (if not more) in terms of keeping fit and healthy and enjoying all that entails!

Since Chequered Leaves and the Yellow Runner, I took a 2 months break from running to heal up from a knee niggle that did not seem to go away. 

Long story short is that I stopped running for about 2 months which was fairly ruthless but it was effective - I'm now running without any issues albeit without the same tempo. 

I started with a few 5km runs and even those were a bit tough, which shows that to be good at running (or rather be comfortable with it), you need to run, otherwise it's kinda tough.

I felt quite rusty, heavy and certainly not a svelte, lean running gazelle and more like an awkward fat rhinoceros. But that's ok - I like to get better so there is scope to improve. 

So anyway, I went for a run yesterday and came across something interesting in my stats. There is a point in my run where my heart rate is constant for a while and then about 20 minutes into the run it just goes to another level and then stays there at constant rate. So there was a kind of jump from one level to another. I don't think its good because it basically said that my heart rate was low for a long time (20 minutes) and then just suddenly went high and stayed there:

Figure: 25th April: What happened to my heart rate(red) at 5km?

Now the interesting thing is that it was a 5km mark (about 20 minutes in ). Now for a while, I'd been running about 5km (everything seems tough for a fat rhino at this point). So I'd been running < 6km regularly and only recently ran maybe two, maybe three runs > 5km, and it appears to be in those runs that we see this effect:

Figure: 23rd April run - Hey, look what happens at around 3km... another jump but before 5km.

Figure: 19th April - Same effect at 6km (don't care about what happens at 3km as that's a drop)

Figure: 16th April - hmm, nothing interesting really only that I'm relatively consistent

Figure: 13th April - hmm, same nothing just consistent.

At first I thought this might be because maybe I stopped and then started again, but that doesn't seem to remember stopping on the last two runs. Also, the two of the last three runs (25th and 19th) seem to happen at the same area of the map - when I circle the park. The other doesn't so maybe it's not conclusive. 

If you look at the temperature outside when those runs are done, something starts to look out of place:

Figure: stair-casing heart rate - but at half 10km distance ie 5k but also temperature > 10 degrees

I'm still not sure what exactly to attribute this effect to. What's clear is that I'm working harder at these discrete points in the run.

It could well be just the point where my body is reaching beyond its usual comfort zone (Training effect > 3.9) - especially as I've been out of usual patterns (10km/4'40) running for a while. This could be a 'fitness' indicator. Not sure. It's interesting but inconclusive:

Table: This year's runs (Source: Garmin)

Table: This year's runs (Source: TrainingPeaks). Its got TSS (Training Stress Score) and IF (Intensity Factor) and Time in Zones

I do remember times where I kinda remember that point around the park when I thought, 'yeah, this is kinda tough'. I'm used to that feeling though - I just grit my teeth and push on through those. 

It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few runs, which I will try and run in the evening so I can rule out the temperature causing this. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised is if the temperature increases the 'fitness indicator' comes sooner.

I went out for another long run, being new years day:

I found that I was being followed by a fellow runner about 2 or 3km in, who had probably the same idea as me. I found that he (it could have been a she) was able to keep in sight of me for most of the run. It was quite rewarding every so often to turn around and still see him there. In fact, it was this that made this run particularly enjoyable.

I was quite intrigued as I climbed up the hill and then turning to see the runner's yellow high visibility clothing following me still. He seemed to always be there, slowly closing in.

I often turned back to see where he was, inevitably he was about perhaps 1 or 2 minutes behind me, maybe longer.

Would I be caught up?

How long will this continue? 

Have I met my match?

I don't often have company on long runs, let alone the persistent kind. After a while, it became a routine of mine to wait until I'd been running in a relatively straight line for a while so that I could turn briefly and see how far off he was.

When I turned back and could not see him, I'd almost worry that he wasn't there but he'd just come into view as the bend straighten, and so the process would continue.

It wasn't until I got into Gerrard's Cross, that his figure seemed to fade away and the yellow figure that I'd been hoping for slowly became smaller and smaller. In a way, it was disappointing but similarly, it was inspiring - I had held him off, I'd succeeded in staying ahead!

After a while, I paid more attention to what was in front of me. He was long gone now, and would not feature in my run anymore.

Only the passing scenery, as the road revealed itself to me, was new. As mentioned before, I'd had decided a while back to continue running straight instead of making any turns, and this had to lead me to new running into surroundings. 

I was impressed by the flowing wide-open farmlands of green that had appeared in my peripheral vision, and the winter chequered leaves that covered the floor as I ran. Usefully, I was not feeling tired.

I ran the first 9.7km until there was no more path to follow as it turned into the main highway of the A7 to Oxford, which had been flanking me the whole way. I found it fairly amusing that I was short 300 meters - something I'd need to make up elsewhere.

The run back was similar, only without any company save a few runners that ran past me, all of which seemed to be struggling a bit. In fact, there were quite a few actually.

Seeing as today was new years' day, I suspected they might be the victims of new years' resolutions - something I've never found myself too eager in having.

I find that many aspirations, possibly ones made in the spur of the moment, or ones that require a dedicated mark in time to be born, to be very difficult to achieve personally, and only those that I've started slowly in realizing - ever amount to anything.

It's difficult to know what had attributed to their current anguished expressions, or if my thoughts even applied to them.

As I found my way back into familiar looking territory, I noticed that I had gathered a good pace and had a good rhythm now. I crossed over the duel-carriageway and past the fire station with much vigor.

However, this did not last and as I made it down the hill (where I had first glimpsed the yellow runner) - fatigue had started to set in. I found that my legs had become heavy and my pace had dropped significantly and it became quite tiresome. Despite this, I pressed on.

The last 2-3 km were particularly grueling and it was more of a fight to keep the stain in my thighs at bay.

I passed through the park near my flat and my legs were starting to give way. I had only 1 kilometer to go, so I decided to continue onto wards the next field and around it.

I made it out the field and up and over the canal before returning back the same way I'd come (as I had passed my flat on the way). After reaching the high street, I struggled along past the Tesco which appeared to be open, which in passing I thought strange.

I reached the end of my journey after an hour and forty-two minutes. I went upstairs and took a shower.

I wonder how long it will be until I cannot do that anymore and when I can't, what will I do instead? Perhaps I'll just take longer or maybe my legs will become tired earlier, and force me to turn around sooner?

I don't know for sure, but when that day comes, doing the best I can, where I am, with what I have - will still probably be enough.