Training (b)log - the story so far (week eight)

4 sessions (getting lazy?!); 37 miles; Total running time: 4hr 24m 26secs (slacker!)

That hurt!

I don't know why I can't just stick to the plan. It really would be alot simpler (and I suspect, a whole lot less painful!)

Today, being a Sunday, meant it was a 'big one' - the biggest yet. I had to run for 18 miles (easily) with a suggested time of 2hrs 40 minutes. Not one for doing things the 'easy way' I set off too fast, then thought 'I wonder if... I can keep going at this pace!' The fool.

I guess I pretty much did keep the pace up (7 minute miles as opposed to the 9 minutes recommended!), but there is no doubt that I slowed towards the end or that the last 4M really hurt!! So I can confirm that 18M in 2hrs 8mins and 7 seconds really hurts! Can't wait for tomorrow?!

A new PB!

Unofficially!

Today was a kind of fartlek (I think?!) because I had to run 3 miles fast sandwiched in between 2 (slow) 8 minute miles. So I ran fast and clocked an 'unofficial' Personal Best time of 16:08 for 3M (Total running time - 31:58). I'll need to do another Last Friday 5K at the Serpentine to get an 'official' time.

Doh!

I managaed to run the ten miles to Tower Bridge and back with my top on inside out! That's one hour, twelve minutes and fifty-three seconds totally oblivious to my 'condition'. Thankfully on my return Lisa was quick to probe as to whether or not I knew that I was 'inappropriately' dressed?! Handy to know as I got into the shower!

Top running track at the moment? Feeling's 'Never Be Lonely' - great tune!

I cheated!

This morning, being a Tuesday, was a 'fartlek day' - always a joyous occasion!

This morning torturous session involved a 1M jog followed by fast runs for 1 minute, 2 minutes, 4 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute - all punctuated by 1 minute 'recovery' jogs, with a 1M jog home afterwards. You should know I could've done with more than 1 minute to 'recover', but there you go!

Anyway I cheated because having done this once I was supposed to REPEAT the bizarre ritual, but I was a little late leaving home.. (and I was feeling a little lazy!) and so I headed home 'early'.

4M - 31:28

Training (b)log - the story so far (week seven)

5 sessions; 42 miles; Total running time: 5hr 6m 01secs

My kinda town

Today wasn’t about distance or PB's as much as just keeping going. I’d set myself the challenge of running for 2 hours – which I did (2 hrs 1 min 58 secs to be precise!), covering 16 miles in the process.

It perhaps goes without saying that when you’re running for so long you do cover a bit of ground and in a ‘town’ like London you get to see a few things. Here’s some of the ‘things’ I saw this morning…

The Tower of London, the towered bridge that some Americans thought they had purchased a while back, City Hall, Southwark Cathedral, a very empty Borough Market, Drake’s golden Hinde (which I first saw as a 9 year old when it ‘toured’ the UK and made it up to my home town!), Shakespeare’s (the Cockney rogue?!) Globe, the Tate Modern, the Oxo Tower, the Royal Festival Hall, the Royal Courts of Justice, Fleet Street, St. Paul’s Cathedral (which is looking great at the moment – well the parts that have been blasted clean), and the golden crowned Monument. I also ran past numerous people sleeping out where they had dropped and about 13 Pizza Expresses – city life!

Lots of folk travel thousands of miles to see these places, but for me it’s just 16!

Jesus, pride & the humility provider

When Jesus was walking about the place he once chatted about the fact that it's really hard to hide a city that sits on a hill and that you'd be daft to light a lamp and then stick it under a bowl (or some similar covering?!). In 'running speak' I'd paraphrase that to mean 'if you run a personal best time, you'd be daft not to blog about it' (in passing you understand!). If I've got this wrong, please forgive me and ignore the following...

It was Lisa'a fault anyway! She was heading into town with Joshua as I was setting off for a 5 mile run. Conscious that she was watching on I probably set off a little quicker than normal(!) and I guess things just carried on from there. Besides, last one back home was on the teas! A race is a race! And I 'won' it in 28:58. Which is, so far, for me, a PB for 5 miles.

Needless to say, on her return, Lisa was suitably underwhelmed!! Don't wives just keep us humble?!

Back in the groove?

having fed Joshua i was out on the road by quarter past six. Even better was the fact that when I got back 1hr 9min and 3secs later Joshua (and Lisa) were still sleeping! Perfect. It just doesn't happen that often, but we'll take it when we can! Perhaps I should run 9M every day?!

Getting serious!

Having had such a lay-off there's no room for any more 'setbacks' and I really am playing catch-up so the mileage is going to have to be ramped up. But perhaps more importantly I've got to get used to keeping running! In other words timing isn't necessarily as important as running for chunks of time.

So today was about running 8M but it wasn't about running 'fast' as much as running for an hour. I managed both in 61:19.

A little later...

...than usual, but it was nice to get running again. For one reason or another (my bed was just too inviting this morning!) I ended up going out at night for the first time.

Perhaps the ten day lay-off did me good, perhaps I just went off to quick(!), but my time for 4M was good - 26:43. In all honesty I should've dragged myself back to 8 minute pace, but I was enjoying the feeling! We'll see what a good idea it was(!) tomorrow morning when the real work starts again. Anyway here's splits:

1M 6:41
2M 13:26 (6:45)
3M 19:50 (6:24)
4M 26:43 (6:53)

For the record

It dawned on me it might be handy to have a note of my 2005 results (for future reference).

Runner No: 44870
Position (Overall): 5060
Position (Gender): 4428
Position (Age group): 512

Splits:

10K: 0:50:33
20K: 1:43:54
HALF: 1:49:48
30K: 2:36:11
40K: 3:24:04
FINISH: 3:34:05

Room for improvement?

training v. sportsweek

Rather bizarrely I can confirm that a weeks kids camp dedicated to sports is not conducive for marathon training. Its something to do with getting to bed anytime between 12 and 1am and getting back up anytime after 6am just to get into the showers before the kids! For some reason I couldn't get myself out of bed any earlier to pound my way through the pavement-less country roads - especially as which ever way I seemed to run... it was uphill!

So the training has taken a rather disappointing hit, all I have to 'log' is 5M in 33:46 and 8M in 56:32. Still tomorrow is another day!

It's been a long time coming...

...well, four days, but four days is a long time when you're playing catch-up! Nevertheless, after four days ill it was back on the road today. Having never before been ill while training I was rather unsure what to do for the best, but opted not to rush back, best to get it out of the system once and for all - hopefully.

Anyway, today, 'armed' (that really should be 'shoed'!) with my juicy new running shoes the 7 miles flew past 'gently' in 46:55.

It felt good to be running again.