Below is a map of the standard route. I thought it would be fun to some weeks use it for a spot of interval training so as I am using the Strava app to log my runs I thought I would set up a few segments. Not all of the segments below were set up by me (1,2,3,4,5 and 8 are the ones I set up) but here are the ones that are currently active on the route that I'd use for running the interval or fartlek style training. There are two others, the first half and the second half, but they are not relevent to the training in this post.
1. Darenth Road From the un-named Side Road up to Dene Road (0.2km flat-ish)
2. Is the length of the bus-only section of Darenth Road (0.4km slightly uphill)
3. Princes Road, from Darenth Road to Lowfield Street. (0.6km downhill)
4. Heath Lane from the roundabout to Sycamore Road (0.3km uphill)
5. Sycamore Road - Halfords Car Park Road (0.3km uphill)
6. Princes Road, Heath Lane to the Highfield Road South junction (0.9km downhill)
7. Princes Road, from Lowfield Street to Darenth Road (0.6km uphill)
8. Darenth Road - The Final Sprint (0.1km flat)
Of course these segments are too close to each other to run all of them at a hard pace all on the same run without going for an all-out 5k effort (which is of course another training option), but by mixing them up from week to week it should keep things interesting. For example, last week I ran hard on segments 2, 4 and 7 but ran an easier pace (approx 10k pace) for the rest of the run.
All of the segments avoid sections where I have to cross a road, so I can concentrate on running them at my chosen pace and not be tempted to take risks crossing a road at speed or without looking. I'm finding this segment thing quite addictive at the moment so I'm also setting up others around Dartford - The library to the bandstand (and bandstand to library) are two others that I set up - so far I've only run them while being out with the toddler in the running buggy, but that just adds to the challenge!
Update: As of the end of 2013, the Dartford Sweatshop store closed down and despite some initial hope that the run would be able to continue, Sweatshop HQ have decided that it cannot do so under the SRC name. Runners that would like to continue getting their stamps to earn their rewards will probably end up running with the Bluewater branch of Sweatshop, but as it does not run on the same evening it may not be convenient for all. Other options, which do not include Sweatshop, are being considered for the Tuesday night running group. I will update this post when things settle.
