6th-12th January Run notes
Tuesday
The lovely snowscape of Sunday has transformed into a treacherously icy urban assault course. I'm not going far for fear of getting injured away from home so find the nearest semi-quiet road and do laps. It's the middle of the day and the suns up so conditions are as pleasant as they can be. I muster out a couple of laps as it's an easy day and plod off home.
Thursday
Frost on frost on frost and it's a cold lunchtime to boot. I'm down to do a progression run today so I head up to my new favourite road and start the laps. I mess up my watch slightly and have to restart but gratefully not before I've got passed the first progression. Ten minute blocks of increasing pace works nicely although my jump from super easy to easy is probably too big. I manage a more sensible increment for subsequent steps and end up hitting a reasonable 5k pace at the end. This sort of run with laps works well as you have to pay attention but I'm looking forward to next week when things thaw off and I can actually get a bit further afield.
Friday
It's a four run week for once and I'm clocking in for another easy run. The ice is still with us so I briefly saunter up Middleton Park avenue before deciding its far too busy to attempt doing laps along it and I go back to Throstle road. The road is quieter but there's still consistent dribble of traffic, the majority of whom give me space although occasional leaps out of the road are required. Several bags of shopping sit abandoned by a bus stop and eventually on lap 8 they disappear. It's a glorious afternoon with clear blue skies and the sun beating down which takes the edge off another day hovering at around zero degrees.
Sunday
I can't complain about cold, snow or icy today because this weekend the Montane Winter Spine Ultra kicks off and the conditions are wild. These are races from 46 to 268 miles of unsupported running along the Pennine way so all my moaning about a little snow and ice is nothing compared to what they're up against.
An out and back to Woodlesford today, coming into Rothwell via the jawbone and turning around just before crossing the railway line. It's not as cold as previous days but footpaths are still covered in compacted snow for lots of stretches so I'm often hoping on and off the road as much as I can. I track quite a reasonable pace on the way out and get worried I'm not going to have enough in the tank for the fast finish at the end but everything keeps ticking over. I fight my way through a veloforte bar just after the turnaround after having picked the chewiest of the bunch. As I come down into Robin Hood I'm overtaken by a chap running in shorts and t-shirt which I don't mind but as I come to the final stretch where I need a fast finish I catch up with him and we seemingly duel our way up Sharp Lane to the roundabout. I'm not trying to race but my renewed pace probably gives him the impression I'm pushing him, hopefully not in a douchebag sort of way. It's good fun though and I never quite catch him before we go our separate ways at the roundabout.