Add run notes for week 15 2025

Author: Sparrow0hawk

content/blog/2025-04-13-runnotes.md

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+Title: 7th-13th April Run notes
+Tags: running
+
+## Monday
+
+The loop on a lunchtime. It’s a treat with the sun high in the sky and birds in the trees. Easter holidays means there are
+some boys are playing in the wood but we don’t disturb each other. The trees on the slope still look a little desolate, 
+the fallen leaf litter and skeletal branches. Amongst it all green tips are appearing and in a few months they’ll be full of
+leaves and the lower path will be obscured.
+
+## Tuesday
+
+Spring lane sidings in reverse with added strides up to 1 minute. With the sun out this was a blast and was just cruising
+through some sections.
+
+## Thursday
+
+I'm on the usual slope in Middleton park and it's dead quiet. School holidays have truly descended as this track usually
+gets busy with kids walking down to school at this time. There's no wind either and if it wasn't for the raucous birdsong
+it would be slightly eerie. I manage to acquit myself well today (I think), keeping the first two reps slower to find
+the right pace for the final 3. I use my watch to try and focus on keeping the pace consistent which helps but also try 
+to be aware of how it all feels at this pace so I've got something else to go on. The final rep is a challenge but I can
+keep the intensity so I'm happier than on previous efforts.
+
+## Friday
+
+More Leeds country way for my easy run, this time up to Carlton and back. Didn't set a route so found myself jogging through a 
+small housing estate trying to cut through onto Rothwell Greenway. Eventually found the cut through that brought me
+back onto the right track and down from the Greenway across the fields to Carlton. I turned around halfway through a super
+pleasant climb up to Swithens lane and got a beautiful view back across to Robin Hood. As I rejoin the Rothwell Greenway
+I stumble across a big thrush just sitting on the path, I make my apologies and slip past him hoping he's OK and just 
+resting in the morning sunshine. I immediately encounter some dog walkers with dogs dashing hither and thither and 
+hope they don't also find him. I spend the rest of the route back wondering if I should just have moved him but I'll 
+never know.
+
+## Sunday
+
+Time for my regular Sunday service and a pilgrimage to my favourite haunt, Sissons woods and south Leeds golf course, for
+two hours and fifty minutes of as much ascending and descending as possible. The scribble of a route on Strava may look
+like the rambling of a madman but by taking every incline and turning it into a climb and a descent I manage to rack up
+over 1,000m of ascent over the whole run. This is an unintentional but pleasant milestone and just shy of 1,085m
+the full height of Yr Wyddfa where I'm heading in May. Something about this session also felt like serious progress, 
+maybe it was racking up all that ascent or being faster than previous efforts. Altogether though it felt like all the work
+is making a difference and that's refreshing after having negative feelings last week.
+
+The woods were lovely in the sunshine although there were signs that there had been fires in the shrub in various places
+this week. It wasn't clear if these had been started intentionally or were just due to the exceedingly dry whether we've
+been having (and the large amount of rubbish about) but it was concerning nonetheless, particularly as there's a large 
+housing estate nearby.
+
+For this session I also aimed for a more disciplined approach to nutrition. Previously, I've eaten at about 45 minutes in
+and then around every 30 minutes after. I've varied this in different ways, not eating all at once, introducing liquid calories,
+starting to eat earlier but never really approached it was some numbers and discipline. Thinking about what I usually consume
+I aimed to try and get in 300kcals/65g carbohydrates each hour using a combination of veloforte chews, bars and liquid 
+calories. I'd eat a 3rd of a chew every 20 minutes and half a bar every 30 minutes with sips every kilometre or so. This
+mostly went to plan, although I ate slightly more in the first hour after forgetting my exact schedule. I also found I drank
+more than I expected which was fine and didn't bump my totals up significantly. This all felt good and practical on a training run
+but I appreciate during a race I may need to pick my moments more critically for when to eat.