A cruel cold

My fellow NW Hilleaters are on the up thanks to training and positive mental attitude which rubbed off on me for a fortnight before I succumbed to a cold (heavy) which has pretty much wiped me out all week. I did a couple of ill-advised bike ride commutes to work - but this was quite silly, and very sweaty (yes that is vinegar you can smell).

Whilst I was out in Spain, I really enjoyed my training but became quite alarmed at my heart rate being so high for such a long time, HR Zone 5 seemed to be reached at a crawl. Armed with my new Garmin Forerunner 230 I did a workout in Edinburgh in which I trained myself to stay in HR Zone 3 largely - with a few efforts built in. At times I was 'running' at walking pace to stay in the zone.

With the onset of a cold and in the context of my high heart rate I decided to withdraw from running this week. I am glad to report my fellow NW Hilleaters have reported no ailments so I look forward to hearing their results from Bolton and Wigan tomorrow.

Allez NW Hilleaters.

Running in the heat of Spain

I have been in Valencia a week and ran almost every day. I love running in the heat of summer - perhaps it reminds me of my first marathon in the Stockholm mid-summer sun or the glorious rays of the half-marathon in Palma beneath an Autumn but very warm Spanish sky.

But there has been another reason I have been drawn to running here, the amazing Jardin del Turia, the drained river that now serves as the lungs of the city and is quite simply the greatest park I have visited - Central Park has nothing on this.