The four F's of the Big Track

After last week’s challenging half marathon (I’m still not over the Carlton Hill and Porchester Road double – putting that half way through 13.2 miles was a ridiculous idea!!), this week it seemed like a great idea to schedule a flat 10 miler for the weekend long one. Less distance and less of a challenge but still a decent run, especially on a consecutive weekend to the half last Sunday.

Living where I do, it’s quite surprising that I’ve never tackled the Big Track from start to finish. For those who don’t know, this is a 10 mile loop in Nottingham, taking in the canal path, Beeston fields and River Trent. It’s a running and cycling favourite because it boats the three F’s – flat, fast and free from traffic.

Despite rave reviews from many, I’m somewhat disappointed to say I’d give it another ‘F’ – ‘effing boring! Yes the canal is nice, and yes I always like running by the Trent – but by mile five I was almost wishing for the up-hill climb of a brutal hill to shake things up a bit! At least there was a shocking head-wind to keep things just about interesting for a massive chunk of the route!

I won’t knock it completely and I do understand why many enjoy it so much. It was nice not to worry about timing traffic lights right and I’m sure in nicer weather it’s probably more enjoyable. But for me, I need variety to keep me keen and make the miles melt away. And if that means hellish hills and tricky turns, then that’s what I’ll have to do.

Scoring

This is a new feature I’m planning to use for all my route/race reviews!

Difficulty – 3/10 – 10 miles is always going to bring a certain level of challenge

Navigation – 8/10 – almost impossible to go wrong as long as you’ve got a good grasp of the area

Mental stimulation – 3/10 – just not a great deal going on once you’re over looking at water and saying hello to other runners

PB potential – 9/10 – flat as you like and no annoying traffic light stops, just a couple of points where social distancing causes a bit of slowing down if it’s busy

Average score – 5.75/10

Would I do it again?

To be honest, probably yes. I’d do it the other way round to see if it’s any more exciting and I’d definitely use a really good podcast or something similar, rather than my same old long running playlist. It’s a useful way of getting some good miles in and, if I get half way round and I’m really not feeling it, I can peel off and change things up if I want to.

All in all, it was a morning well spent and some good solid miles under my belt. I ran a 10 mile PB (1:37:04) which I’m obviously delighted with and it’s topped me up to another 25 mile week which is becoming the norm in 2021.

The River Trent, shortly after turning back towards home in Beeston

The blog post that never was...here it finally is!

One of my new year’s resolutions for 2021 was to keep my running blog up to date. Clearly, 20 days into March, that’s not quite gone to plan!

I have started writing this post a couple of times. At the start of January, it was going to be a long and reflective post about how everything clicked for me and running in 2020 and just like that I was enjoying it and felt like I was getting good at it again.

At the start of February, it was going to be a very excited post about how I’d signed up for the Manchester Marathon due to take place in October and how I couldn’t wait to throw myself into the training and really see what I can do this time around. Half way though February it was almost about how proud I was of running a solo half marathon at PB pace on a cold and miserable day.

Now we’re a fair chunk through March, there’s nothing in particular I want to write about. But I’ve been complaining about being bored for the last couple of hours, so I gave myself a talking to and here I am finally putting some thoughts down and getting this post written at long last!

Way back in 2015 when I started running, I started this blog as a way to document my training. It’s always been as much for me as for anyone else really, at first it was weekly, then write ups for every event written on the day, then write ups for most events written at some point in the months afterwards.

I’m going to really make a point of getting some words down on a regular basis now. It gives me something to think about while I’m out on the long runs, it’s something nice to look back on (I never anticipated back at the start that I’d still be running six years later) and above all else, I really do love writing stuff for the sake of writing!

Weekly might be asking a bit much, so I’m going to aim for two posts a month. I’m always better at keeping to targets when I write them down, so there it is. At least twice a month, I will be setting aside an hour or so to write about running and share my progress as I prepare myself for marathon number two.

If I can finally get my running on form after being stuck for a couple of years, the writing about it should be a doddle!

Snapped by Des at the very end of my solo half marathon a few weeks ago, delighted to be crossing the line in less than 2:20!