Catchy Monkey

Slowly, slowly and all that.

It's strange how a few weeks ago an 11 mile run in the morning would just be ticked off the list with hardly a thought and yet now I find going out for a 5 mile recovery run pretty exhausting. This is why getting back to "normal" after a marathon is a slow process.

The nice thing about this period of time post race is that none of my runs take that long. I don't have to get up before the dawn chorus, not even on my long run on a Sunday. This weekend will be a 9 mile slow run which will take me less than 1 hour 20 minutes. Barely time to listen to a decent-lengthed podcast.

I've been reading the Hansons Marathon Method book that arrived last week. At the moment I am three quarters of the way through it and I have been convinced that this will be the schedule I will follow for the Manchester marathon in April. I know it's a bit of an experiment since it goes against the grain of normal marathon training so in case it doesn't work I will fall back on the P+D 55-70 mile schedule (minus the double day runs) for Chester next October. We are barely out of this October and I already have to plan for next October! Such is the life of a marathon runner.

Hopefully this new schedule will work and I'll finally get under the magical 3:30 barrier. I will train for a 3:25 marathon (which my half marathon and 10k PBs suggest is achievable) but will run on the day at 3:30 pace to give myself some wiggle room. That's the plan anyway.

My new heart rate strap has arrived and is not causing me any issues at all. My Garmin heart rate monitor snapped onto it with no problems and it appears to be giving accurate readings. Most importantly it is not giving me a rash on my body like the old one. As I said in the previous blog I will be training for the next marathon by pace but it will be good to know that my heart rate isn't being pushed out of the zones it should be in. There's little worse than overtraining for a big race.

I'm roughly halfway through the recovery schedule, only another two and a half weeks of slow running. Then it's base training for three weeks which means more slow running but bigger distances and then marathon training starts. It sounds counter intuitive but I'm looking forward to the variety that marathon training gives, plus I love to follow a plan. Tell me how far and how often and I am a happy bunny.

Decision Time

Three weeks ago I completed the six week post marathon schedule culminating in an 11 mile run. So far, so good yes? Not exactly. Towards the end of the six weeks I started to get a pain on my inner right ankle. It would only start to appear after about 30 minutes of running. It got to the point that I decided to take a week off running to help it recover. When I started running again it still started hurting. Annoying. Like the best hypochondriac I turned to the internet for help.

Turns out I probably had post tibial tendon issues. It's an overuse injury which considering I had run two marathons this year is not unexpected although it is unwelcome. I bought new running shoes since I thought maybe the ones I had been using had come to the end of their usefulness. This didn't work and the pain came back again after 4 miles bang on cue.

I have in the house two pairs of Newton running shoes I bought a couple of years ago which promote a mid-foot running style that I have found so far prevents the post tibial tendon pain. It does take a period of transition though to be able to run in them. According to their website you start off running 20 minutes and then every other day you increase the run by 10 minutes, adjusting according to feel. I reckon if I do this up to an hour without issue I will be able to alter my running style safely and hopefully within about six weeks (the website says that it should take between two weeks and two months).

My main issue is that my Hanson training plan for the Manchester marathon starts on the 6th December. This Thursday. Even more annoying.

So my current plan is to scrap the Hanson method for this race, continue adjusting to the Newton shoes and then follow the P&D 12 week marathon plan. If this fails then I'll have to scrap the hope of running the Manchester marathon (saying goodbye to £42) and get ready for next year's Chester marathon.

So far I'm up to 30 minutes running in the Newtons. Hopefully by the next time I write I should be up to an hour.

On To The Next One

I have entered my next marathon. Originally I wanted to run Edinburgh but that is not until late May which would give me zero time to recover and train for an autumn marathon. So, next step scour the internet, weigh up the pros and cons and the winner is (drum roll) Manchester. It's on April 6th, it is the flattest marathon in the country and it gives plenty of time to rest and train for an autumn marathon (probably Chester again in October).

I've also been looking at different training plans. An 18 week plan would start in December which gives me just over two months to recover from the Chester marathon (about 5 weeks) followed by a bit of base training.

One of the plans I've been looking at is called the Hansons Marathon Method. It's based on the principle that the longest training run is no longer than 16 miles (and not based around catchy mid-90s pop songs). This is quite a challenge since pretty much all the other training plans have runs of 20 or 22 miles. The 16 miles is meant to be run in a depleted state thus recreating the last 16 miles of the marathon rather than the first 16. It's certainly different. I've got the book that the plan is based on so will read it before making a decision, but I am drawn to the shorter long runs and the anecdotal evidence is strong. One to watch I think.

This week I have managed to run the grand total of 9 miles!

After Chester I didn't run for four days. I worked from home on the Monday and then cycled to work the rest of the week. I had DOMS but not as bad as it was the first time I ran a marathon in 2010 when I could barely move the next day. My first run was on Friday, an easy 4 mile loop just to get the legs working. I wrote after the Richmond Park marathon earlier in the year that the temptation to run further and more frequently is strong but must be overcome to reduce the chance of injury. Rest and recovery are the most important thing for the next month or so.

This morning I ran 5 miles. Again at easy pace. In slightly drizzly weather. The temperature has certainly dropped in the last week which I welcome. I love the changing seasons, both spring and autumn. The leaves change colour, there's a snap in the air. As long as it doesn't drop to the sub-zero temperature we had last winter I'll be a happy runner.

Quick note - I've ordered a new heart rate strap. It's a soft version from Polar that is compatible with my Garmin monitor. My current strap is too stiff and causes a rash on my side. Also, it has started to pong a bit (it's about 4 years old and smells like it regardless of how much I wash it). I intend to run my next training plan by pace but I'd like to keep the heart rate monitor on just to make sure I'm not overdoing things.

Next week, much of a muchness. I think I might get my total mileage into double figures. 5 more miles this year and I will top 1500 miles, my most ever!

Chester Marathon

The marathon can be won or lost on the smallest of margins. Go out too fast and you pay a heavy price towards the end. Get your fueling strategy wrong and you hit the wall later on. No other race poses these sort of problems. How fast should you go? How many gels or sports drinks should you take per hour? These aren't issues you face running a 10k or half marathon. Both of which can be run without fuel or water. The only problem then could be a build up of lactic acid but that isn't going to halt you as if you've slammed into a brick wall.

The day of the Chester marathon couldn't have been more perfect. Clear skies, hardly any wind and temperatures in that Goldilocks zone of neither too hot nor too cold. We lined up at 9am, the town crier of Chester shouted a few words of encouragement and we were away!

Me looking forward to the start! Cheesy grin is author's own.

My plan was to stick near the 3:30 pace runners and hope to last out until the last couple of miles where I imagined myself running clear and smashing the 3:30 barrier.

That was my plan. What actually happened was that I went off at a decent pace that was probably a few seconds too fast. For a 3:30 marathon you need to run at 4:59 per km. After the first few miles I noticed I was running at 4:52 per km. Too fast. As much as I tried to slow down I somehow couldn't. I think my legs just carried on running at a speed they were comfortable with. And it was a comfortable pace. The miles went by and before I knew it I had hit 10k in under 50 minutes. Fame and glory was going to be all mine.

The route so far was familiar to me. It was the Chester half marathon route and one I had run on many a training run. At about 9 miles it turned into new territory. We crossed the border into Wales where the next 8 miles would be run. I went through the halfway stage in under 1:45, still on track, still too fast. Looking over my shoulder I could no longer see the 3:30 pace runners. No problem I thought, I've got that time in the bank and should be able to stay ahead even if my pace slows in the second half.

What I didn't foresee was that the course would get hillier and undulating and the temperature would rise as the morning started to turn into afternoon. I took sports drinks at fuel stations when offered every 6 miles. I also took a gel every 4 miles from mile 9 onward. This I thought was the perfect fuel strategy.

After halfway I sped up a little, 4:51 per km. I imagined that this would be fine. I felt great, I started overtaking people and everything was rosy. This was until mile 17.

I don't know why but I started to get doubts. Whereas the miles had previously flown by it now felt like each mile was a chore. I still managed to hit my pace. I slowed a little but nothing major. Between mile 17 and 21 it felt like an eternity. I would seek shade where I could; it was getting hotter. Inclines became more pronounced and felt harder to climb. And my stomach felt like it was full of sugar.

At mile 21 I stopped. Barely. Just for a second or two but it was enough. Starting again felt difficult, but I got my pace back up to what I needed it to be. I took a gel at mile 22 when offered by the fuel station and opted for water rather than a sports drink. I could no longer face the sweetness combination. The gel seemed to work wonders. I felt good. I thought I had got my second wind. It turned out to be a false dawn. I got to mile 23 which was on the road in to Chester that I was familiar with. I had run it the previous day on a four mile loop. Not long now I thought. And then the worst thing happened. My pace had gradually slowed but not too much I thought. "Three thirty" I heard someone call behind me. I looked and saw the 3:30 pace runners about 10 meters behind. Psychologically this was a disaster. I tried to stay with them and did so for about half a mile but I had no more energy in my legs. With the 3:30 pacer pack merrily running off into the distance without me I could see my hope of hitting my A goal fading with them. I had 2.5 miles left and a 15 minute buffer to get it in order to hit my B goal and beat my previous PB. Mentally I was telling myself that a miss was as good as a mile and I could afford more walking stops. Each time I stopped it became harder and harder to start again. The crowds along the road would try and get me running again and as much I wanted to I found it incredibly difficult to get my legs going. I had gone out too fast too soon and was now paying the price. The final two miles took about 10 minutes each. In the last mile I could feel my hamstring and groin start to complain. I stopped again and again. Finally I reached the race course. I could see the finish line but it felt like it was miles away. It was only about 400 meters but it might as well have been 400 miles. I stopped one final time and then made my away along the longest 400 meters in history. No sprint finish. No punching the air in celebration. Even though I had beaten my PB by 7 minutes I felt a bit low. I picked up my medal and then saw my wife and mother-in-law shouting my name in the finishing chute. A kiss, bottle of water, goody bag and technical top later and I was lying on the grass trying to get some energy back in my limbs.

Now the dust has settled I'm actually more upbeat about the whole thing. After all, I had run my fastest marathon ever and in trying to get under 3:30 I had learnt a lot of valuable lessons.

1. Do not. Do not. DO NOT go out too fast. Know your limits. Know what you trained for and stick to it. If anything, go a bit slower than necessary to start with.
2. Look for alternative methods of fueling. Maybe try jelly beans or jelly babies instead.
3. Always examine the course map beforehand so you know what to expect and hills do not come as any surprise.

Looking at my running data I can see that even with two miles to go I could still have theoretically finished in under 3:30 if I ran at 5 min per km. It's easy to see in hindsight and at the time there was no way I could have got my legs going at that pace.

So, what next? Well, I will spend the next 6 weeks doing recovery runs. Then it's planning for the next race. I'm thinking of running the Edinburgh marathon at the end of May. Do I use the P&D schedule again? I'm not sure. I enjoyed the training plan but I wasn't convinced that there were enough long runs. The Runner's World schedule has four twenty mile runs and one twenty-two mile run. P&D only has three twenty mile runs. I am going to investigate the Jack Daniels running schedule. His plan has been around since 1978 and is tried and tested. It is a 24 week schedule so will start in mid-December for a May marathon! That is a long time to be training. I'll look into it a bit further before I commit though.

Here's my Garmin data from the marathon, see if you can spot where the wheels came off!

Can I Play With Madness?

Chester marathon is just 5 days away! I'm currently in the taper period that drives many people training for a marathon slightly crazy. The desire to run is so institutional at this point that the reduction in miles and running sessions is counter-intuitive. But it's important to trust the schedule and know that the hard work is behind, making the marathon itself a treat to look forward to.

I ran the Ealing half marathon on Sunday. Normally I'd be running this eyes out, full speed but this time I had to treat it as a training session. It helped that I ran it with two work colleagues, one of whom had not run a half marathon before. This meant I was able to pace the race for them which happened to be at a little bit slower than marathon pace. Ideal!

It meant that I was able to really enjoy the run. Soaking in the excellent support from the locals and run with a smile on my face. I even high-fived my wife as we ran past the road junction nearest my house. I hope I'm able to run Chester with a similar smile although I think that may be a tougher ask, especially during the middle tricky miles.

I had hoped to run the marathon wearing my lighter racing shoes. I wore them for the Ealing half but I found they put a lot a strain on my lower legs and feet especially my arches and ankles. So I've decided not to risk it for the full marathon. Not yet, anyway.

We are travelling to Chester on Friday evening. My wife still owns a house there which we are preparing for rental, but until then we can stay there for the weekend. I'll run an easy four miles on Saturday morning and then I'll be ready for the big one the next morning. Fingers crossed!

I've given myself three goals for the run. My A goal is to run under 3:30 which would make me smile like a loon. My B goal is to run under 3:44:46 which is my previous best that I set in Brighton back in 2010 and would still give me a big grin. My C goal is to get under 4 hours which considering I ran the Richmond Park marathon in May in under 3:55 with very poor training and a surprisingly hilly course I think I should be able to achieve.

By the time of the marathon I will have trained for 18 weeks and run 750 miles. More than any other training schedule I've followed. I don't think I've ever been more prepared. I have followed the schedule to the letter, only missing out on about 30 miles for the week that I was in Cyprus when I had to substitute other sessions due to the extreme heat and humidity. I'm quietly proud of myself. My next post will be a race report where I've either achieved goal A, B or C. Or none of them!

Downhill All The Way!

This morning I ran my final long run, a 20 miler, before three weeks of taper.

I had planned to run down the Grand Union Canal to Paddington, then along to Regent's Park before heading down to Oxford Street and back to Ealing. As I set off I decided to go "off piste" and make up a route as I went along. I just fancied running a circular route with my house as the centre point. So I ran down to Acton, up the A40, through Alperton to Harrow and Sudbury, then Northolt where I got a little bit lost, found my way to the Uxbridge Road and back to Ealing. My third 20 miler of the training schedule and also the most comfortable. This plan must be working! Although I did end up with a bleeding nipple. Never a nice thing, especially on a white running vest. I could see the wincing faces of passers-by in the street thinking how painful it must be. The truth is that I didn't realise it was bleeding at all until I looked down my vest with three miles to go. I'd even put vaseline on before setting off but maybe I need to look into using surgical tape in future.

Now I have three weeks of taper with no midweek runs over single-digit mileage. That will either make a nice change or will drive me mad. In my experience it's been a little bit of both.

Over the next three weeks I need to decide which pair of running shoes I will run the race in. I've eliminated one pair due to their risk of causing blisters. This leaves my everyday running shoes or my specialist racers. I'd like to race in the specialist racers but I don't know if they'll last the long distance (or rather if my feet will). I'll use them more in the coming weeks so I can make a value judgement.

In the meantime here's my run from this morning:

Back To Life, Back To Reality

I've been home from my holidays for about a week and a half and completed 9 runs. I have come to the not very earth-shattering conclusion that I am very much a temperate weather runner. Going out for a run at 6am and the temperature is about 12C is much, much better than running at temperatures twice that.

Both of my pairs of running shoes have come to the end of their lives. They've now gone to the big running shoe shop in the sky, otherwise known as the local charity shop. I'm now using two pairs of running shoes that I had used for about a month before I had to pull out of marathon training because of injury. Why I had bought new running shoes when I started another training plan instead of using these two pairs I cannot fathom but at least I'm using them now.

I'm also taking what may be a risk. I bought a pair of race shoes back in 2010. I used them to run a 10k and a half marathon (getting PBs in both) but after using them I had peroneal tendonitis. They are incredibly light but I used to overpronate and this is what my physio believed caused the issue. It's been almost three years since then and my running style has altered. I think I am now a bit more of a neutral runner. With this in mind I have used them for an 8 mile run and a 4 mile run. Both times I came through with flying colours. I think I'll use them once a week until the marathon with the hope of using them for the actual marathon itself as I believe the lightness of the shoe will give me a big advantage come race day (such hubris!).

I've followed the training plan religiously since I've been home. My long runs have been 18 miles (with 14 at marathon pace) and 17 miles respectively. Because my watch was being fixed I had to guess my marathon pace. By the time I got home, loaded the route up into the computer and checked it I found that my guessed marathon pace was 4:45 minutes per kilometer which is about 15 seconds quicker than what I should be running if I want to get under 3:30 hours in the marathon. Result! Not that I am going to run at 4:45 per kilometer but it's nice to know that I am capable of it.

This morning I ran 17 miles down to Richmond Park, around the trail path along the edge (following the marathon route from 5 months ago, albeit in reverse) and back via Kew Bridge. My watch (third time replaced, third time lucky?) ran out of battery for the last three miles (my fault, should have checked last night) so I had to run them effectively blind although I've been running the streets around here for the last five years and know the distances very well. I had run a 10k "race" yesterday so today's run was on tired legs to simulate the last miles of the marathon. I enjoyed it a lot. There were moments when I wanted to just stop and walk but kept going instead and managed to complete the 17 miles in 2:21:06 which is a good pace even if the last 3 were estimated.

Next week is my last major week of training ending with a 20 miler. Then it is three weeks of taper until the race itself. Looking forward to the taper, it will almost feel like a holiday but without the stupidly hot weather!

Go Big Or Go Home

Last week my running schedule was pretty much written off, or at least half written off. This week I am returning home from holiday on Wednesday before which my training plan has me doing two runs, an 8 miler and a 9 miler. I was planning on just running a 5 mile loop but this would mean that this week's schedule would also be affected and at would hurt my OCD sensibilities too much.

In the end I decided to push the 9 miler back until Thursday when I am in the UK and I would go all out and run the 8 miler while I am here in Cyprus.

On Sunday I managed to run 6 miles without dying so I thought that 8 miles may just about be possible if I got up early enough to avoid the heat.

It turns out it was possibly my favourite run of the entire holiday. I had mapped out a loop route that would take me from my hotel 2 miles along a coastal path, then cut inland for 4 miles around the back of the hotel where it rejoins the coastal path again for another 2 miles to bring me back to the hotel. Up at 5:45am, out by 6:15am and just over an hour later I was back at the hotel changed into my swimming shorts and cooling down in the indoor pool for 10 to 15 minutes. I got to watch the sun come up over the hills east of Paphos and it looked beautiful, such are the bonuses of running in a foreign land.

So on this holiday I have done 5 runs in total, which is 27 miles, about 30 fewer than my schedule required but given that over 18 weeks I will have run about 800 miles I guess that 30 miles is no great issue.

Looking forward to getting home again. 10 nights is just about right for a beach holiday I reckon. We have done pretty much nothing apart from sitting by the pool reading and swimming a bit to cool down. Not my usual sort of holiday but I have to say I've really enjoyed it. It will be nice to get back home and see the cat again, although I doubt she's missed us at all.

Location:Pafos,Cyprus

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

I have so far managed two runs on my holiday (out of 5 days). A 4 miler and a 5 miler. Both have finished with me covered head to toe in sweat. The humidity is so high in the morning that the sweat doesn't get a chance to evaporate so just clings to you. Very uncomfortable. The alternative is to wait a few hours so that the humidity goes down. The flip side is that the temperature soars. Robbing Peter to pay Paul.

My marathon schedule is not being followed. It would be nigh on impossible to do so in these conditions so I am just maintaining fitness instead of increasing it. Once I get back home next week I'll get back on track.

Another problem is that my watch has broken again. This is the replacement watch that I had because my touch screen became semi-responsive. Well this time the touch screen has become totally unresponsive. It's barely four weeks old! To be fair to Garmin I contacted them and they've agreed to replace it again no questions asked. I can still use it as a fancy stopwatch that also tracks my GPS but that's about it. I'll send it off when I return home.

Having said all of that the running paths around here are very pleasant. Pretty much flat as a pancake and nice coastal views. Tomorrow I think I'll try a 6 miler although I'll probably end up as a puddle on the floor.

But now it's time for breakfast and then to hit the pool!

Location:Pafos,Cyprus

Holidays

I'm writing this from a balcony in a hotel in Cyprus. So far I have not missed a single training session but this may well change over the next 10 days. Running on holiday is a curious thing. The intention is always to get out and carry on with the schedule as if nothing has changed but as more drinks are consumed in the evening it becomes more and more clear that things are not the same. Namely that I wouldn't normally be waking up at 6am nursing a hangover in order to go for an 8 mile run to avoid the heat of the sun.

Here in Cyprus there appears to be a very small window in which it is comfortable to be able to run (for me at least). The humidity is incredible. I have put a pair of swimming shorts out on the balcony to dry and by the morning they are still damp! The temperature is around 24C at 6am and this rapidly rises to 30C by 9am. This means I have to either a) get up in the middle of the night to go running or b) adjust my expectations of what I think will be achievable while I am here.

I am sure that if I can get out and run 4 or 5 miles every other day (or more) then my fitness will be maintained and I can get back on the schedule when I return home next week.

There is always the option of using the running machines in the hotel gym but I'm not a fan.

As I write this I can see a path between my hotel and the beach that is being used by many runners. I'm not sure if any of them are training for a marathon or not but at least it's a popular route. It's always good to run on holiday when possible as it gives you a different viewpoint of the place you are saying (I'm pretty sure I've said that before on this blog somewhere). The problem is getting the legs out of bed to do it.

Up until now my training has been going brilliantly. I've got two 20 mile runs in the bag. The second of which I ran 5 minutes faster than the first one which is always a good sign of progress. Last week was my biggest training week so far, 55 miles. Even the mid-week medium long runs don't seem that long anymore. Which must mean my fitness is building up. Lets just hope that I don't lose it during this holiday!

Location:Pafos,Cyprus

Summer Breeze, Makes Me Feel Boiling Hot!

I'm writing this from my garden. The barbecue is on the go, I have a beer in front of me and the cricket on my ipad (England vs Australia, although with all due respect to my Aussie friends, it's not much of a contest at the moment).

The weather has been glorious. Maybe a little bit too glorious. Britain is in the middle of a heatwave. I feel sorry for those runners who like to run in the evening. The radiation heat off the pavement built up during the day must be dreadful. Fortunately I run in the morning. It's generally cool although the thermometer has topped out at 20C at 6am which is basically unheard of in the UK. Even so, I've not missed one training run yet which makes a difference from my last marathon where I must have missed about two weeks' worth of running in the 16 week programme.

My runs are getting longer and longer, even in midweek. This week I had to run an 11 mile midweek run which meant me having to get up at 5:15am just to get out of the door by 5:45am. These extra miles have made a noticeable difference though. Normally a long weekend run would seem quite daunting but due to the midweek runs being in double figures mileage-wise the weekend runs are not really much of a deal.

This morning I had to run 18 miles. I had a bit of a hangover (went out for lunch yesterday and then stopped off in a pub on the way home and got sidetracked by a blues festival in our local park which we stopped to watch for a couple of hours with more beers naturally!). My back has also been a bit poorly this week. I have pulled a muscle on the left shoulder blade and it has been annoying me for the last four days. It does that clicking noise every time I rotate my shoulder when I think it should be helping to sort out the pain but probably does nothing at all.

Anyway, I set off this morning on an 18 miler. I had planned a route to take me down to cross Kew Bridge run along the south Thames Path all the way to Putney Bridge, cross over and head back to Ealing via Hammersmith and Chiswick. The first two miles were a bit of a struggle as I had a bit of difficulty finding my pace. Once I did though it clicked. And not just in "Oh this is a nice pace" but in the way that you want to run for ages. You feel like this is the best run you've ever done and what a great day to choose to come out and run along the Thames to see it in the morning when it is at it's best. I ran over Putney Bridge and decided then and there to come back along the north Thames Path to take me back along the Thames to Kew Bridge and home to Ealing. I love those sort of runs and I really feel that it's because of the new training plan that my fitness is greater and why this run felt so great. I'm looking forward to next week's 20 miler. I just have to decide what route I want to take. If I can make it as half as good as this morning's route then I will be one happy camper.

Here's the route map:

Parks and Recreation (and Canals)

Sleep, run, eat. And repeat. That's how it's felt for the past few weeks. The P+D training plan is really kicking in on the distances. After four weeks my weekly distance is about as much as it was during the height of my previous training plan. And I like it! I must be a masochist.

I've noticed on my midweek runs that I don't venture far from home. Even if I'm running 10 miles I will choose a familiar circular route that keeps me within a couple of miles from my front door. Yet on the weekend I will happily forge a new route that takes me miles away. I take my Oystercard and some money just in case I get injured or have to stop for some reason. I used to take my iPhone with me to listen to podcasts which meant I could call my wife to come and pick me up should I get into trouble (not that I did!). But now I use an iPod Nano because it's much lighter so leave the phone at home. Anyway, I think the midweek runs top out at 14 miles so maybe I'll be forced to go far from home. Maybe it's just a psychological thing but it's worth mentioning.

I used to have issues on about 90% of my runs where I would feel the need to take a "comfort break" for want of a better euphemism. I'd either have to stop to compose myself or find a nearby hotel, both of which were a major disruption. In my quest to prevent this I've started getting out of bed about 15 minutes earlier and having a cup of coffee. So far this has done the trick and I'm able to go out on my run a happier, lighter man!

Two long runs since my last blog. The first was 14 miles and I mapped out a route that took me around the Grand Union Canal that surrounds Ealing. I managed to plan it such that 10 of the 14 miles were on the canal itself. The advantage of that being that it's flat as a pancake. At that time in the morning (6am on a Sunday) there were three other types of people sharing the canal path - runners, anglers and drinkers on the way home from a late night party. It's a beautiful time to run the canals. All the water birds are out. Coots, moorhens, herons, ducks, geese and swans. Although the swans and geese tend to sit in a big group together on the path which can be quite alarming and requires a bit of careful negotiation to wend a path through them, especially as a lot of them have young. A duck with a little gaggle of ducklings - cute, a swan with a gaggle of cygnets - potential death!

Here's the route (you'll notice that my watch's battery died just at the end during the last mile):

The second long run (today) took me down to Richmond Park for the first time since the marathon two months ago. It was a 15 mile run on a beautiful summer morning. There's a bit of a climb to get into Richmond Park but apart from that it's a flat route. It was one of those mornings were I didn't know precisely where I was going to run. I'd thought of three of four potential routes and in the end just went where my feet took me. Richmond Park on a day like this seemed like perfect sense although I didn't see any deer this time. My fitness is definitely improving and hopefully it will improve again over the next three or four weeks.

Here's the Richmond Park route:

Next week I'm going to be in Chester and will need to find a 16 mile route to run either on the Saturday or Sunday morning. At the moment we don't know which family member we will be staying with so I can't start planning any routes yet.

New marathon, new training plan

Chester marathon is on the 6th October. That is 16 weeks away which is the usual amount of time given by pretty much all the marathon training plans. All except the Pfitzinger and Douglas training plan which is 18 weeks long.

Why change training plans for this marathon? Couple of reasons.

1. I've used the Runner's World training plan for the past couple of years. Familiarity breeds not exactly contempt but I know it too well and needed to do something different to keep things interesting.
2. A lot, and I mean a lot, of people online swear by it as the training plan that gave them the big boost that enabled them to run a PB.
3. I bought their book a couple of years ago and always wanted to try out the plan.

They have a couple of plans based on varying amount of experience and time available. I've chosen the up to 55 miles per week plan because I've looked at the others and they require a hell of a lot of commitment timewise that I don't think I can give at the moment.

So what's it been like for the first two weeks? At the moment, great. The biggest difference I've noticed is that I run fewer days per week (4 or 5 as compared to 6 in the Runner's World plan) but the runs tend to be longer and at a faster pace. My midweek medium-long runs are currently 10 miles which means I have to get up at 5:30am in order to fit them in before work. Also, the runs tend to be broken up into more speed variations. So for example I may run 8 miles but in the middle will be 4 miles run at half marathon pace. Or on my weekend long run I may run 13 miles but the last 8 will be at marathon pace. This is supposed to get the body more used to running faster and in a tired state. I'm hoping the benefits will show as the weeks go on.

I've also decided to run according to heart rate this time instead of pace. From comparing the runs I've done I can see that my pace is still pretty much the same as if I was running to pace. But since this is early days I am hoping that as I get fitter I am able to run at the same heart rate but a faster pace. Time will tell.

The new Ealing half marathon course was published this week so since my run this morning was a 13 miler (last 8 at marathon pace, see above) I thought I'd give it a go. It's still as hilly as last year but I like the slight alterations they've done from the previous course. Anyway, here it is:

Recovering and getting fat

The period of time after running a marathon I find is often the most frustrating. Once the initial aches and pains have gone, which takes me about three days, it is a slow reintroduction back into running. They say it takes a day per mile to fully recover from a marathon during which time the body should be under no stress.

This means only running at most four times a week for the next month starting with short distances and slow pace and build up to longer distances with some speed work involved. I'm used to running five or six times a week and instead of welcoming this reduction I just want to go out there and run. Doing so would be a disaster as this is also the easiest time to get injured. Stick to the schedule and it'll see you through to the other side. That's what I have to keep telling myself.

In the meantime I'm eating like it's going out of fashion. Combine this with less running and the old calories in/calories out scale tips in the wrong direction. It doesn't bother me much as I know that as soon as I start the next training schedule for my next marathon (in just over two weeks' time) I'll soon be tipping those scales the other weigh (see what I did there!).

On another note I had to go to the doctor's the other day and as part of a general health check she took my blood pressure. It came in at 160/110 which is stupidly high. She told me to relax and took it again. Same outcome. She knew I was a runner and am not overweight so didn't seem that bothered but told me to monitor it regularly using the machine they have in reception. As soon as I got home I ordered a home monitor off Amazon (£16, not bad) and started researching everything I could about high blood pressure. Turns out I could have had "white coat syndrome" which is the act of being in the doctors having your blood pressure measured actually increases your blood pressure! The irony.

The home monitor kit arrived yesterday so I used it as soon as I was able. 130/80, which is much better. The ideal is 120/80 so I'll keep monitoring myself to see if it comes down over the next few weeks.
Now it's back to the slow runs. I can't wait to start training for the Chester marathon.

Richmond Park Marathon

I have never been more ill prepared for a race. I reckon I have missed about two weeks of training including 2 half marathon sessions, a 22 mile run and an 18 mile run not to mention the quality tempo and interval runs I've had to postpone. They say it's better to be under trained than over trained when you toe the starting line but I reckon I was pushing that saying to the limit.

Nevertheless, I arrived at Richmond Park with about an hour to spare so my wife and I decided to soak in the atmosphere and avail myself of the toilet as many times as I could fit in before the gun went off.

We started promptly at 9:30am and began the first of three loops of the park (the first loop being a long 12 mile meander followed by two 7 mile circumference loops). I had adjusted my expectations of my finishing time and now hoped to complete the race in about 3:40. I really should have looked at the course profile before making this estimate! The first two or three miles were simple enough, a slight up and down but nothing serious. My pace was good and everything felt fine. Most of the run was on trails rather than road but they were compacted trails and the weather was sunny so it wasn't like running through a bog. Then we passed through the five mile marker and hit the steepest hill on the race. It wasn't long, probably about 200 metres in total but it was steep and must have risen about 50 metres. It was tough and I could certainly feel it in my thighs but I was determined not to walk. Besides, I would be running up this hill three times in total so I was certainly not going to throw in the towel now!

After the hill from hell the course plateaued followed by some nice downhill sections (what goes up must come down after all!). There was a bit of grass running and before I knew it we had covered 9 miles. I also needed a pee. It was a sunny day and I had drunk about 500ml of water before the race and had taken a swig of water at each station (about every 3 miles). There was no getting round it, I would have to stop for a quick Jimmy Riddle. I found a well placed tree and took my relief. Looking at my timing splits it didn't take me more than 30 seconds so no harm done and I could continue running with a bit more comfort.

Another steep hill (which we would only run up once fortunately) brought us to mile 10 and then it was a relatively easy final 2 miles to bring us back to the starting area to begin the first of the 7 mile loops. My wife was waiting for me to see if I wanted to get rid of the running cap I was wearing but since the sun kept peaking out of the clouds every now and again I decided to keep hold of it.

This first 7 mile loop was almost pleasant. I knew my pace was slower than expected due to the trails and the hills and the heat but I was enjoying it. I went up hell hill a second time (still didn't walk) but had to stop at the top to take a drink from the drinks station. They were supplying water in plastic cups and it is nigh on impossible to drink from them while running. The best strategy is to stop for 5 seconds and swig it down. The benefits outweigh the losses.

I quite liked the idea of the two 7 mile loops. It meant I would know what to expect on the final loop. No surprises and I would be able to imagine landmarks that I can tick off as I pass them. Hell hill? Tick. Crossing the road? Tick. Up the slope? Tick. Past the coffee shop? Tick. You get the idea. It helps psychologically.

Before I knew it I was on the final 7 mile loop. Just over 11km. A decent morning training run. No biggy. I was kidding myself of course.

By now I was tiring. It would be take each mile as it comes.

I went up hell hill for the final time and although I was running up it like a snail I was at least running. The miles went by, my psychological landmarks ticked off. Then I hit mile 23 and my groin decided that enough was enough.

I could feel it pulling and pulling. I thought that if I carry on it will snap and I will be out of action for two or three months minimum. I had to make a choice and my decision was to adopt a run/walk strategy for the final 5km. I would run for between 400m and 1km until my groin started complaining and then I would walk for 100m. And repeat. I figured this would get me to the finish line in one piece. I wasn't the only one adopting a run/walk strategy by this point but I'm not sure if others were doing it because of injury or fatigue or a bit of both.

Finally I passed the 26 mile marker and could see the finishing line. I tried to summon up a steady pace to look good for the public but I doubt it actually looked that good in the flesh. Stumbling over the finish line there was the lady mayoress of Richmond handing out the medals and shaking the hand of every finisher which was a lovely touch. Then I picked up my goody bag (technical top and a coffee mug - pretty good!) and collapsed on the floor by my wife who had been to the supermarket and brought milkshakes and flapjacks (I knew I married her for a reason). I had run the marathon in 3:54 something which given the toughness of the course I am very pleased about.

Twenty minutes later we were in the car and on the way home. Job done. Time to think of the next marathon. Chester, October 6th. It will be flatter and I'm hoping for a sub 3:30 finish. This may sound optimistic but given that a) this marathon was much tougher than the average , b) Chester is relatively flat and c) I haven't got a wedding or a honeymoon to disrupt my training, I think it is achievable.

The next few weeks are going to be recovery sessions and then I will choose a new training schedule. I'm thinking of going with P+D rather than the Runner's World schedule that I've used for the past three years. A lot of people like P+D so it may be time to give them a try.

Here's my Garmin readout of the marathon:

Marathon Training Week 14

Sometimes real life gets in the way of updating this blog not to mention fitting in my training runs.

Since the last time I updated this blog I have had a mysterious illness that came and went without warning, got married, been on honeymoon and have had to cope with the effects of jet lag. My training has suffered a bit throughout all of this but I'm still on track (ish) to run the Richmond Park Marathon in two weeks' time, albeit with a slightly adjusted finish time expectancy (more of which later).

Let's start where I left off. The week of my marriage I was hoping to get everything back in order and hit all my training runs. I knew I'd have to jiggle them about, what with the wedding and the honeymoon but still hoped to get them all in. On the Wednesday before the wedding I woke up at 6am to go for an 11 mile steady paced run. Nothing too difficult in that. As I made my way to the toilet for a quick pee before heading downstairs I noticed that something was wrong. Essentially I felt as though I was on the deck of a ship in the high seas. My balance was all wrong and I kept walking into the wall. It was a little bit frightening because there were no warning signs the previous day or night, I hadn't drunk the night before nor had I come into contact with anyone who was ill (at least I didn't think I had). Fortunately I was due to work from home that day so I was able to spend most of it sitting on the sofa trying to make the world stop spinning. By about lunchtime it did but I didn't want to risk going out for the run in case I made it worse. I'm guessing that it was some inner ear infection that cleared itself up. Whatever it was it had gone by the evening and everything was back to normal.

Due to my wedding on the Saturday I had to run my Sunday run on the Friday once again. This time I headed down towards Kingston along the Thames footpath. It's a brilliant route to run winding down past Richmond and Teddington. It was a cold morning as it has been for most of this year so far. Spring had not yet sprung. I headed back through Bushy Park and tried to find a route to Twickenham. This time I was able to make it to the rugby stadium and ran the last five miles down through Brentford and back home to Ealing.

On my actual wedding day I ran an easy four miles in the morning taking a route that led past Pitzhanger Manor where the ceremony would take place about 7 hours later. The wedding itself was amazing, much more fun than I had thought it would be. Everything went to plan, even my bride-to-be turned up which was a bonus!

Obviously on the Sunday I was nursing a raging hangover so wasn't able to run and then on the Monday we were on a plane to New Orleans for our honeymoon. I managed a quick run in the morning as I didn't know what sort of city New Orleans was going to be to run in.

I love running in foreign cities as you get to know areas that you would never otherwise discover. The trouble is in finding decent routes that don't have too much traffic as well as not knowing the safer areas of the city.

My first run in New Orleans was on the Wednesday and did not go well. I woke to a thunderstorm. Still, I got my gear on and headed out onto the streets of the French Quarter where our hotel was. I was supposed to by running intervals of 4 x 1.5 miles but the French Quarter is too cramped and dense with streets so I ran down to the river hoping that there was a decent riverside path. There isn't. By the time I had got there and discovered this I was soaked through to the skin and thoroughly miserable. I decided to put an end to my misery and called it a day. 3 miles done. That was enough.

I decided a major rethink would have to take place. My interval and tempo runs would need to be abandoned but as long as I got some decent distance slow runs then that would keep the fitness levels up. The next day I ran 9 miles having found out where the city park was (we had gone to the art museum in the middle of it the previous day - a wet weather day activity), the day after I ran 6 miles past the New Orleans Superdome (a city bus tour had shown me where it was) and the day after that I ran an easy 5 miles through the Treme area (again, the city bus tour helped me find out where this was). Not too shabby.

The Sunday was my long run. By now I had gained better knowledge of the area so was confident of where I could run. I mapped out a route that essentially followed one of the streetcar lines so all I had to do was keep an eye on the where the overhead lines were and I was fine. I hadn't brought any gels with me (I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take them to the US) so by about 16 miles I was getting a bit short of energy. Fortunately by this time I was back in the city park where there were drinking fountains. Not exactly energy gels but needed all the same. This helped me finish the final four miles back to the hotel where we decided to have a pool day (it was Sunday after all) and spent the whole day sitting by the pool giving my muscles a rest.

From then on it became easier to find places to run. I even managed an interval session. As much as there wasn't a riverside path there was at least a 1km strip that was frequented by many runners. I used this to run a session of 5 x 1 mile. Not the most exciting running going backwards and forwards but still better than nothing. On the final day I was due to run a 6 mile tempo session but the weather turned against us and I thought better of it. All in all I managed to run 8 days out of 10 which is not bad. On my honeymoon! My wife is extremely understanding! I'm a very lucky man.

We arrived back in the UK on the Friday and had to deal with jet lag. I suffer quite badly and this time was no different. Going east to west is easy, it's just a slightly longer day. But west to east (which this is) is a nightmare, it messes the body up totally. It usually takes me about 6 days to get over it. We landed early on Friday morning and struggled to stay awake as long as possible. That night I slept till about 10am the next morning and went out for an easy 5 miles. On the Saturday night I could not get to sleep until 5am. I was supposed to run 22 miles, my longest session in the whole of the training schedule but jet lag put paid to that. The Sunday night I was up until 4am. This time though I had to get up at 7am to go to work. I was pretty much like a zombie for the entire day which worked in my favour because on the Monday night I slept like a baby. On Tuesday I commenced running again. 7 x 800m intervals. I struggled due to my ongoing tiredness but at least I was back in the groove. Things got easier as the week went by and I decided to swap this week's long run (an 18 miler) for the 22 mile run that I had missed. It would be 2 weeks until the marathon but I thought that would be ok.

I'll never find out if it would have been ok because I have come down with a cold. Sore throat, blocked nose, swollen tonsils, the lot. So I have missed my long run for the second week running. Not ideal. My latest plan is to run 18 miles on Tuesday morning (it should have been 12 hill reps) when I am due to work from home so I will be able to recover. This will be my last long run before the marathon in two weeks' time so I really have to get it in.

Because of all the missed training, re-jigged training and general chaos that has gone on in the last month or so I have had to alter my expectations of what I want to achieve in the marathon. I had been training for a 3:20 finish with the hope that because it is a hilly course I could break 3:30. This now is very unlikely. I've adjusted my training schedule to be that of a 3:30 finish with a hope of breaking my previous best which is 3:44:46, which considering the course and the training chaos would still be a great achievement.Failing this I would still like to get in under 4 hours and I think that is definitely achievable.

The moral of the story is don't train for a marathon and get married and go on honeymoon at the same time. One of those things will lose out and it won't be the marriage!

I did think that I wouldn't do another marathon after this one (which will be my third) but due to the slight disappointment I'm feeling about how my training has gone I am thinking of doing an autumn marathon, perhaps Chester again. Hopefully I will be able to follow a schedule to the letter and hit every session. As long as nothing gets in the way. I'm certainly not planning on getting married again!

Marathon Training Week 10

Last week was my stag weekend so I was unable to update with a blog. In summary I had to shorten my week and bring my Sunday long run to forward to the Friday. It was a 20 mile run and I didn't really have much of a plan of where to go. I headed out towards Hounslow with an intention of running past Twickenham. Wales were due to play England the next day and I wanted to run past the English rugby HQ as some ridiculous gesture of support for Wales. Whatever, it must have worked because Wales totally stuffed England and won the Six Nations!

My runs this week have been a bit strained. My easy four miler on Monday was hard work which was either a hangover from the weekend's excess or because I had concatenated all my training runs the previous week. Either way, by Friday I had run 9 miles on intervals, a slow 9 mile run and then a 5 mile tempo run. This has put a strain on my left achilles which feels a bit stiff and sore. On Saturday I went for a 3 mile easy paced run and my achilles came through it with no issues. But then later in the day it still felt stiff and sore.

Today (Sunday) I was meant to run a half marathon. My dilemma is that because of my impending wedding next Saturday I am having to run my 20 mile long run on the Friday again which means that I will have no rest days and don't want to risk injury. So I dropped today's run and will run an 8 mile fartlek tomorrow, followed by 6 mile slow run, 11 mile steady and a 4 mile easy run before the long run on Friday. Hopefully I will get through without injury. On the morning of my wedding I am going to run 5 miles. I had intended to run my 20 miler on the wedding morning but then common sense kicked in! On the Monday we are going on honeymoon to New Orleans and I am going to have to juggle my runs around again. I've had easer training schedules to arrange!

Here is my 20 mile long run from last week:

Location:Ealing,United Kingdom

Marathon Training Week 8

Week 8. Halfway through the schedule. Started quietly and ended quietly.

The Monday was penciled in as a rest day which I was pleased with so I could recover from the previous day's 20 mile run.

The next day I was supposed to run fourteen hill repeats. I woke up tired and still a bit achy from the Sunday run so the duvet called me back and I postponed the run till Friday.

Back off to Holland and an 11 mile slow run on Wednesday morning. I've become more and more familiar with the area around the hotel in which I am staying so ventured out further into the countryside. There are loads of cycle lanes which I have to run in because there are very few pavements. I'm not sure on the etiquette of running in cycle lanes but I prefer to do that on a dark morning than run in the road! I was rewarded with the sight of a beautiful sunrise over snooker table flat farming fields. The temperature had warmed up a bit this week as well so I was able to run just in my t-shirt top.

Thursday is tempo run day (1 mile warm up, 3 miles at tempo speed and a 1 mile cool down) so I ran the 3 mile loop around the hotel to make up the distance.

Back home on Thursday evening and then up early the next morning to run the hills postponed from the Tuesday. I don't mind hills but I do find it a bit boring doing the seemingly endless repeats up and down the same hill for an hour or so at a time.

Saturday morning was back to normal and my 5 mile easy route.

Saturday evening I drank a bit too much and woke up on Sunday with something of a hangover. No fit state to run a half-marathon! So, I called off the solo race (not having found a half marathon race to participate in nearby). My dilemma now is to see if I can fit it back in to the schedule. I am due to have the Monday as a rest day but I don't think I'll have the time to run a half-marathon before work. It's possible but tight. I may just go out for a leg loosener and write this one off to a bad day at the office. Or I may go somewhere in between and run a 6 miler at half marathon pace. At the moment that appears to be the most likely.

I also have the problem that the 20 mile run I am supposed to be doing next Sunday will have to be brought forward to the Friday (when I will hopefully be working from home) because I am going on my stag weekend and will definitely not be in a fit state to run on the Saturday or Sunday. Juggle, juggle, juggle. Over the next few weeks I'll be juggling a lot more runs around as I have my wedding at the end of March on the Easter weekend followed by ten days in New Orleans on my honeymoon. I've run on holiday before but a honeymoon is a totally different kettle of fish!

Marathon Training Week 7

I've had to shuffle some runs around again this week.

On the Sunday night I stayed up to watch the Oscars which left me with only four hours sleep and a general feeling not far off that of jet-lag. This meant that I failed to run my usual Monday morning four miler. But that's ok, I had anticipated it and used the Monday as my rest day.

Tuesday then became the new Monday and I ran the four mile route. Normally Tuesday would be hill day but I would push that back to Friday instead. Later that morning I flew to the Netherlands on business again, with warmer running gear than last time. Once bitten, twice shy and all that.

Woke up at 5:45am on Wednesday morning. Put on my usual running gear as well as a long sleeved running top over my short sleeved running top and also put on a warm running hat. I set off at 6am on a ten mile loop that I had worked out using Mapmyrun, trying to remember the turning points (right at the first traffic lights, right at the first roundabout, follow the road until it meets School-something Straat etc. etc.). Sometimes the joy of running in a strange land is actually just managing to get back without getting lost. My hat quickly became redundant as although it was cold my head warmed up too much beneath it. Better to be too cold than too hot. So I took it off and carried it with me, which actually helped keep my hands warm, almost like a partial glove. My long sleeved top on the other hand worked wonders. As the saying goes, there is no wrong weather, only wrong clothing. My pride had stopped me from wearing the right clothing and last week had cost me 12 miles that I had failed to run. Stupid pride. You can see the route I ran below:

The next morning I ran two laps of a figure of eight nearby the hotel. This allowed me to run seven miles at a steady pace. Being warmer reduced the desire to cut the run short like last week and once again I thanked my decision to bring the long sleeved top.

I flew back to Blighty on Thursday evening and set off on Friday morning to run twelve hill repetitions. I had been looking for a new hill course and finally I think I've found one. The incline is 400 metres long and rises about 10% over the full length which according to the internet is the ideal incline for hill training. Same again next week I think.

Saturday was back to normal and my usual five mile easy paced route.

This left the last run of the week, a twenty mile long slow run. Normally for a run of this length and time (just shy of three hours) I would take two or three gels with me. I have a stash of gels that I buy in bulk. I checked them on the morning (stupid, I know) and found that they were out of date. Great. A glass of water and I was out of the door. It was quite cold and took me about four or five miles to get into my run. The route was one I had done once before about 18 months ago, going up to Wembley, down the Harrow Road to Paddington, traversing Baker Street and then back along Oxford Street all the way to Ealing. The last time I ran this route I remember having to stop in the Hilton at Paddington for a "comfort break". Well, history repeated itself and I found myself using the restrooms of the 5 star hotel. The advantage of being in running gear is that no-one questions whether or not you are a guest. It appears to be the assumption that you are one of those strange creatures who take their running gear with them when they stay at hotels (*ahem*). Anyway, the lack of gels didn't appear to have any major implications although I will need to use some for the marathon itself so I'll buy some from my local supermarket so I can make sure they don't have an adverse effect on my performance.

Here's the 20 miler from this morning:


Next week gives me a day off on Monday which is a nice bonus. I'm back in Holland for two nights a week until the end of March, so I'll be searching for more midweek routes. Then I have to run a half marathon race next Sunday. I don't think there are any locally so once again I'll run against myself on a nearby route that I've used before.

Marathon Training Week 6

This week has shown how a running schedule has to be adaptable to events beyond our control. Namely work sent me to the Netherlands from Tuesday to Thursday on business. This is where Google and Mapmyrun come into their own. Knowing where I was staying I was able to work out a 3 mile circular route for the two runs I needed to do on Wednesday and Thursday (9 miles and 6 miles respectively). I woke up at 6am on Wednesday morning and headed out for 3 laps of the route, only to be faced with a freezing coldness the likes of which I had never faced before. I had only packed my shorts and t-shirt and after one lap I was so cold I had to face the truth and call it a day. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour.

Waking the next morning at 6am I checked the temperature on my iPhone weather app and found it was -5 (-9 with wind chill!) so my sensible gene took over and I went back to bed. Disappointing but practical.
Next week I have to go back to the Netherlands so I am going to pack some cold weather gear (and thus will break my hope of running all winter in t-shirt and shorts, although I'll still wear my shorts. Some things are set in stone!).

The week started as normal with a four mile leg loosener. Tuesday saw my first hill session of the schedule. Ten reps. I had decided to try a new hill that was not so steep as the hill I had normally used. This had a modicum of success but the hill wasn't long enough so I ran the last four reps back on the "steep" hill. Next week I have twelve reps and will go back to the tried and tested hill. It may be a bit steeper than ideal but at least it's long enough.

Saturday morning was the regular five mile run. It was good to get back in the groove after the disappointments of mid-week.

This morning's long run was an 18 miler. As soon as I woke up I didn't fancy it. Not physically but mentally. I wasn't sure what route I was going to take and I had overslept by half an hour so knew my run wouldn't finish until about 10am which may not sound like much but I really like to be back in the house before 9am and if not then shortly afterwards. But, I had already missed a run and a half this week and from experience I know that you never regret doing a run, only missing one. So on with the gear and out through the door before any more doubts crept into my head. It was a cold morning. Not Netherlands cold but still in the minus zero territory and I still (foolishly?) ran in my shorts and t-shirt, a decision I regretted for about 15 of the 18 miles until I warmed up for the last 3 miles and felt reasonably comfortable (given the conditions). I cannot wait for the temperature to heat up. I made up a route that covered some familiar ground but also went down some roads I had never been before which tested my homing instincts. I managed to get back into familiar territory and was then able to utilise my knowledge of some extremely familiar roads to make up the distance and finish the run.

A problem I haven't faced for ages has started again, namely nipple rub. I will have to get out the surgical tape which can be almost as painful removing as if I didn't put any on at all!

Anyway, here's this morning's run which took in a meandering route that shows I really didn't know where I was going.

Next week is more hills (12 reps), hopefully two runs in the Netherlands (10 miles and 7 miles respectively) and a long run of 20 miles (the first of three over the next few weeks). Let's hope the weather warms up!

Location:Ealing,United Kingdom

Marathon Training Week 5

This week started with a fartlek session where I could run 5 miles and vary the pace as I felt fit. I always think I'll take it easy when given the choice but always, always end up running myself into the ground and this was no exception.

This was followed by an eight miler on Wednesday on a route that I hadn't run for about a year. It's nice to reacquaint yourself with an old route.

The weather had been above zero for most of the week until my long run on Sunday when freezing fog decided to descend. I'd chosen a new route. It was fairly simple run up the A40 until just past RAF Northolt and then run down to the Uxbridge Road and run back to the house. The path alongside the A40 disappeared for a bit so I had to leave it to run through a housing estate before finding my way back further up the road. I like to think I have a good sense of direction and haven't got lost, yet! Even when running abroad it's not too difficult to plan a route and then use Google Streetview to help familiarise yourself with the turning points before you head out onto the streets.

Here's this morning's run, you can see where I had to turn off the A40:


Next week hill training starts! And for the next two weeks after that with more and more repetitions. I've been doing some investigation on the internet and the hill that I have used for the last three years appears to be too steep so I'm going to try a new hill and see how that works out for me.

Location:Ealing,United Kingdom

Marathon Training Week 4

A few weeks ago I said I had what felt like shin splints and hoped that it was my legs adjusting to the slightly higher training effort. This week my shin splints have gone, which I presume shows that my leg muscles have become stronger and have adapted to the extra miles.

This week culminated in what was meant to be a 10k race. I couldn't find any local races so had to run against the clock which is tricky because you don't get the extra shot of adrenaline and competition that an actual race gives you.

My midweek mileage is creeping up week on week. This week started with the usual easy 4 mile run. I like the Monday run and pretty much follow the same route every week. In this instance familiarity breeds further familiarity!

Tuesday is interval day. This week it was six repetitions of 800m with a 200m recovery separating them. Quite a tough workout and you certainly know you've been running. I love it.

Wednesday is mid distance day. This has been increasing each week. This week was 8 miles at a slow pace. It took me about four miles to get my head in the game (as proper sportsmen call it) which may have been a hangover from the previous day's session.

Thursday is tempo day. A mile to warm up, three miles at half marathon pace and then a mile to cool down. Not a bad work out, nowhere near as exhausting as an interval run.

Friday is rest day. Much needed.

Saturday is another easy pace run, this time five miles. Again I like to follow the same route each week.

As I said at the start this week's long run was a 10k race. I was determined to beat my last 10k time which was 44:06 and was hoping to get under 44 minutes. I started off a bit too fast and at half way was looking at a sub 43 minutes run which would have been my fastest ever time (currently 43:06). Then I ran into a headwind for the next mile and a half and my pace slowed. I managed to pick up the pace towards the end and came in at 43:56. My second fastest time ever and under the magic 44 minute mark. At the end of the run I tried to cough and almost threw up, surely a sign of having put everything into the run! My schedule gives me Monday off this week so I'm looking forward to a few beers tonight and a bit of a lie-in tomorrow.

Here's my 10k "race":

Location:Ealing,United Kingdom

Marathon Training Week 3

Warmer weather, finally got to do some speed work and a run along the Thames.

No snow this week, a little rain but nothing to worry about. Plus the temperature stayed pretty much above freezing for the majority of the week which made running infinitely more pleasurable as well as allowed me to keep running in a short top and shorts.

On Tuesday I ran some mile intervals (four to be precise), which was exhausting but rewarding. It never feels like I've started training for any race until I have to start doing interval training or speed work. Having missed a session last week due to a combination of snow and illness I was keen to make sure I ran the session this week. I like intervals. I know most don't but I think they help mix things up during the training week otherwise running similar distances at similar pace becomes monotonous quite quickly. I still get slightly anxious before the run but once it's underway all stress dissipates and I can concentrate in hitting the interval targets.

Intervals over with and the rest of the week was relative simple. A seven miler, four miler and five miler at slow, steady and easy pace respectively saw me through to the weekend and this week's long slow run. This time it was a thirteen mile run that, as I hinted at last week, took me down to the Thames and along the river to Richmond where I crossed the bridge and ran back via Syon house and the Grand Union Canal. It's one of my favourite routes and this morning was cold and crisp. Perfect. As I ran along the Thames several rowers were out early in the half dark. They had little lights on their boats that reflected off the water and made them look quite pretty. I ended up running alongside one or two of them as their rowing pace was similar to my running pace. Eventually I sped up a little bit and left the twinkling boats behind.

Across the bridge at Richmond and back up the other side of the bank. Halfway through the run. Homeward bound. Running through the grounds of Syon House and then a short stretch along the Grand Union Canal before cutting over to the Boston Manor Road. I had to add a few twists and turns to make sure that I ran the full distance and that was it. Back home before 9am and a hot bowl of porridge with honey.

Here's the run from this morning:

Next week my Sunday run is supposed to be a 10k race. At the moment I can't find any locally so I may just have to make my own up around the streets of Ealing. There's a function on my Garmin watch that allows you to run against a virtual partner. You set the speed that your partner will run at and you have to try and beat them. Sounds like a race to me!

Location:Ealing,United Kingdom

Marathon Training Week 2

This week has been a mixture of snow, illness and mild discomfort.

The snow that fell late last week managed to hang around until Wednesday. This meant having to plan my running routes to stay on or near main roads where the snow had melted and footing was more secure. Running on the snow takes more effort and can make what is meant to be an easy paced run feel much tougher.

I've been feeling a bit rough for two weeks (sore throat, stuffy nose, the usual stuff) and on Tuesday I woke up with a voice that wasn't a million miles away from Barry White. My chest was tight and my head felt like it had lost a boxing match to a breeze block. As much as I hate missing training runs I realised that the best course of action was to get back in bed and recuperate.

I felt better later in the week so recommenced my running. Fortunately the snow had now melted and running became easier. I started to feel a slight twinge in my right shin. A touch of shin splints? Not sure, could easily be the muscles adjusting to the training schedule, especially given over two months of slow base training since my last half marathon. I've run on it several times now and although the pain is not strong it only lasts for about a mile before disappearing. It'll be worth keeping an eye on it, and hopefully it will fade away over the next few months as my legs get stronger.

This morning I ran 11 miles for my weekly LSD run, following the route of the Ealing Half Marathon. There are a couple of hills but nothing too taxing. You can see the route below:



Next week is not too different but I hope to be able to run some intervals on Tuesday. A 13 mile run awaits on Sunday. I think I'll take a tried and tested route along the Thames at Richmond and back along the opposite bank.

Still haven't worn a long sleeved top yet!

Location:Ealing,United Kingdom

Marathon Training Week 1

Right, where were we?

It's been over a year since my last entry on this blog. A year in which I tried and failed to train for the Edinburgh marathon by getting injured 5 weeks into the training programme. I then spent a couple of months recovering and putting on about a stone in weight (14 pounds or 6kg depending on your unit of preference). Then I fulfilled a long held dream and cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats during two weeks in the summer (you can see the whole story on my other blog mikelejog2012). Then I decided to enter two half marathons to finish off the year. The Ealing half marathon and Run To The Beat which is held down by the O2 in Greenwich. I managed decent times in both (sub 1:40) and had no hint of injury.

I've spent the last two months base training and looking for a spring marathon to enter. My annual attempt to get into the London Marathon by ballot failed again so I searched for something nearby and decided on the Richmond Park Marathon which is held on the 5th of May.

This then was the first week of my sixteen week training plan. I'm going to be training by pace rather than heart rate because my heart rate monitor has been rubbing my skin and causing it to go dry and hard. So I'm going to give it a rest for a while for my skin to recover.

This first week has managed to coincide with not only me having a sore throat and head cold for the past week and a half but also a cold snap that has meant the temperature hasn't risen much above 0C for the entire week. I'm not sure if I'm being obstinate or stupid or a bit of both but I'm still wearing shorts and a short sleeve running top. It may seem a bit odd but I soon warm up and don't really notice although I have had some looks and someone in the street even shouted out that I was mad. I'll see how it goes but my stubborness makes me think that I will see out the winter.

My schedule has me running six days a week with a rest day on Friday. I might shuffle this around a bit as I'd prefer to have a rest day on the weekend.

This week was pretty easy with no speed work (lucky given how dark it still is in the mornings and the fact that we've had snow for the last three days). This culminated in a 10 mile long run on the Sunday which will increase week by week with the odd 10k race or half marathon (if I can't find a race to enter I'll just try to race against myself around the streets as best I can).

Here's this morning's 10 mile long run:

I'm hoping to make this a weekly blog again as I enjoyed writing it the last time I was training for a marathon. Fingers crossed it doesn't end in the same way!

Location:Ealing,United Kingdom