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.