Monday 29 March 2010

26 March - 28 March

Friday: 10.65 miles in 1.28.57 or 8.21 per mile. It was good to achieve race pace over a long hilly run with a backpack. I did not extend myself and felt quite strong in the latter stages of the run.

Saturday: planned to run 10 miles again tonight but faced with rain lashing down I decamped to the gym and ended up running only 10k due to a combination of boredom and lack of time.

Sunday: another lesson in how not to prepare for a run. The clocks went forward last night but the dogs still woke me at the equivalent of 5.30 am. A nap on the sofa turned into watching the grand prix. This was followed by a 30-minute session putting on the new roof rack turning into a 2-hour trial and then a 2-hour bike ride around Bracknell forest with the dogs. We got back just in time for me to dismantle two wardrobes, grab a 30-minute nap and then head out for 13.1 miles. Feeling so tired before |I set off, this was supposed to only be a race-pace run but I actually felt really strong and pushed on to 1.43.48 or 7.55 per mile and was running more strongly with every mile. The firs mile proved to be the slowest and all the miles in the second half were in in 7.30 to 7.45 range. I think I could have set a PB for the half if I had set off with intent. Good to feel so strong.

Thursday 25 March 2010

25 March

First day back after enforced break due to work. Interval session: 40 minutes at intervals of 10 kph and 15-16 kph. Felt good.

21 March

7 miles at a fairly brisk pace (aropund 7.46 per mile) to give 39.5 miles for the week. My biggest week to date. Knees sore but holding up.

Now for three days off whilst at a work conference.

Friday 19 March 2010

16 - 18 March

Tuesday: easy 5 miles on treadmill at 8 min per mile.

Wednesday: rest day

Thursday: a massive 18 miles in 2hrs 29 mins or 8.17 per mile. This was the usual route out to Dorking and beyond in fairly good conditions (warm but a little breezy). The pace was reasonably consistent: a little slower for some uphill miles and a little quicker for downhill. The only difficult miles were the last three, which are notably more uphill than the rest. Having come up the tougher slopes from 16 to 17 miles, the final mile was a bit of a struggle and I did not get to pick up the pace even though the terrain had levelled out (9 min 12 secs for final mile). I think I need to take more than one bottle of fluid on these longer runs now as I ran out after 12 miles and felt a little dehydrated towards the end.

All looking good for April so far. I think I shall plan a 19 mile run and a 20 mile run over the next few weeks.

Tuesday 16 March 2010

15 March

Ok, i wimped out of a run over the weekend. I had planned to wait until Sunday evening to do 13 miles but then had a much longer journey back from Derbyshire than expected and just couldn't face it when I go home.

Monday: 9.5 miles at 8.34 per mile. Hilly course and heavy bag. Also, the first sign of sore knees has been developing over the last few days. I hope its just a temporary thing and not indication of actual damage. I did hit a pothole on a run last week and it may simply be bruising from that.

Friday 12 March 2010

9/10/11/12 March

Missed a day on Monday because of work things but then managed to run home on Tuesday: 10.4 miles at 8.26 per mile along a hilly course and carrying a bag.

Wednesday: a very vigorous run on the treadmill: 5k at 14kph (fast) and then intervals for another 5k. Very tired afterwards.

Thursday: weights session at home

Friday: 10.5 miles at 8 mins per mile along a flat course.This was supposed to be a race pace run but I just seemed to get quicker as the run went along and felt good. I may not get a long run in this week as I am away for the weekend and its too much to run and drive. Hoping for 13 miles tomorrow. That would be 40 miles for the week.

Tuesday 9 March 2010

4/5 March

Thursday: a standard interval session over 5 miles.

Friday: a great run of 17 miles to Westcott and back. Conditions were perfect: the sun shone and there was no wind and a relatively cool temperature. I ran in a single layer. The run took 2.21.35 or 8.19 per mile. I felt good and strong for the whole run and the pace only slacked off in the last three miles as the return hills kicked in. I had eaten very well during the morning and drunk plenty of liquid before setting off. This made all the difference to last weekend's disastrous outing which I had attempted with minimal food and dehydrated. Confiodence came flooding back and the recovery over Friday and Satursday was reasonable. There was certainly not much stiffness although there was a little fatigue.

Total miles for the week: 36. Managed 5 consecutive days of training.

Wednesday 3 March 2010

1/2/3 March

Had a great lift last night when I totted up my fundraising totals and realised I am over 90% of the way to my target of £2,000. That's motivation for you.

Monday: 6 miles in 44 mins 15 secs. A great way to bring back the confidence after Saturday's fiasco. A really good, consistent run without ever truly feeling like the gas was all the way down.

Tuesday: weights session.

Wednesday: decided to try and run 8 miles at my new target pace of 8.20 per mile (equivalent to a 3.40 marathon). It's actually quite hard running that slowly and I kept having to check my watch and slow down. On any downhill section it was really difficult to stay north of 8 mins per mile. I eventually managed to drop anchor sufficiently to come home in an average pace of 8.15 per mile. It was very easy, although the run was relatively flat. I need to use this as a confidence booster to tackle the long training runs.

Miles so far this week: 14

Monday 1 March 2010

27 Feb

Once in every training programme for a marathon there is a sharp reminder about the level of respect you have to show the longer distances. I planned to have an easy Saturday and go for a long run (16 miles) in the afternoon. I promptly managed to forget that I would need to be properly hydrated and fed before such a long run and set out with far from sufficient food or drink inside me and taking only a bottle of Lucozade sport for nourishment.

The result was the most traumatic run I have endured for a long while. I ran our along the A24 to Dorking and beyond and was feeling reasonable at a steady pace to half way. However, the pain began as I turned for home and I began to feel quite tired quite quickly and endured a terrible last 30 minutes where every step was agony and I have no idea how I managed to get home without actually walking. I managed to forget to charge my Garmin and I have no idea how fast I was running in the final few miles but I would guess at slower than 10 mins per mile on the relative flat.

I had to be rescued from the doorstep when I got home and given sugary tea to recover.

Thankfully, I think this was the result of poor preparation and not any difficulty with the distance as I recovered fairly quickly and had a busy day on Sunday.

Note to self: IDIOT!

Miles for the week: 35

26 Feb

Decided to vary my interval session this week so I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the treadmill, alternating 2-minute sessions at 10kph and 15kph, fol owed by around 20 minutes of boxing. Boxing is surprisingly aerobic and I worked up a healthy sweat. The downside was a slightly stiff back on Saturday morning but it felt good to have done something different for a change. The repetition of training is hard to live with.