On the edge of the precipice

My shin splints are not getting better. Or at least I don't think they are. So much so that I decided not to do my speed work session this morning. From looking online the suggestion is to stop running for two weeks and then start again gradually. Others seem to think that you should cut back on mileage and not do any speed work at all. From looking at my running data online the last time I had shin splints was two years ago and I stopped running for a whole month!

I'm not quite sure what to do, if I stop running altogether then it means that I won't run Chester this year. I mean, I could but I'm not interested in running it if I can't have the best chance of breaking 3:30. And stopping running and doing no speed work is not the best chance that I can manage. Maybe if it was London or another of the big marathons I would just go ahead regardless of time but the only reason I wanted to run Chester (and Manchester earlier this year that I pulled out of due to my ankle) was to break my PB.

My last hope is getting up tomorrow morning and seeing how I feel. If I can run the speed session tomorrow that I was meant to run this morning then there is hope. But I'm not optimistic about it.

It's a shame also because I ran 12 miles on Sunday and felt amazing. The shin splints hurt for the first few miles as always but once that pain subsided then I settled in to my pace nicely and ran pretty much most of the Ealing half marathon course. It was a shame I had to stop.

If I wake up tomorrow and my shins hurt then my choices are one of two. I rest for a week before trying again. Then I run reduced distance for the next three weeks up until I go to Italy on holiday where I will do a bit of running (maybe three or four times a week) just to keep my fitness up. Once I come back then depending on how I feel I could either train for 10 weeks and aim for a half marathon at the end of October if I can find one to enter or I just run a maintenance schedule of no more than 35 miles per week that will take me into the winter when I can start to prepare for a spring marathon (maybe Manchester again, but more successfully this time by getting to the start line!).

Tomorrow is a big day.

Going the distance

I'm in week 5 of the Hanson 18 week marathon training schedule and it's starting to fit into place.

On the one hand there are no monster long runs to look forward to (or dread). The longest I've run so far is 10 miles and I'm only due to run 12 miles this weekend. On the other hand all the other runs during the week are longer than I have been used to in the past. No single run is less than 6 miles. It all adds a cumulative tiredness into the legs which I believe is the point of the training methodology.

Also, the interval runs which are on Tuesday are run faster than I have previously been required to. Essentially they are somewhere between 5k and 10k pace which doesn't sound too bad but being on the sixth day in a row of running they can feel very tough. Fortunately they are followed by a rest day (hoorah!). This week the intervals were 5x1km which I found very hard going indeed. I think I picked the wrong route because there was a slight incline which added to the toughness. Next week I will be running a pyramid so will need to choose a flatter route to help me maintain pace better.

Apart from the interval sessions I love the training. My foot/ankle is holding up. I do have a slight shin splint on my left leg but am hoping this will ease up as it gets stronger. I'm also looking forward to running some new routes although that gets harder and harder as time goes by. I think I must have run pretty much every road, canal and dirt path within a 5 mile radius.

I am going on holiday to Italy for the first two weeks of August. It's going to be a road trip from the south to the north. It's bound to impact my training somehow but I'll see if I can minimise as much as possible. The last road trip my wife and I went on was to the west coast of America and I still managed to fit in about 80% of my training runs including a 20 mile run in San Francisco!

The weather is much warmer at the moment which is great for morning running. At that time of day it's cool but not cold. Also there are a lot more runners about due to the weather no doubt. It will be interesting to see how many remain when the mornings get darker and the temperature drops below zero! Still, make hay while the sun shines.

Mmm-Bop

So, I've finally managed to start the Hanson marathon method.

Last week I clocked up 40 miles for the first time in about 9 months. I came through with no niggles or issues. To be fair it's only the second week of the plan so it shouldn't be too difficult (I missed the first due to a spasm in my back remember!).

Anyway, on the Tuesday I was supposed to run a speed session (12 x 400m fast) but didn't feel up for it. I considered whether I was biting off more than I could chew. So, I decided that I'd follow the training plan for the rest of the week (whilst adding in an extra session to make up for the missed speed session) and see how I felt. If it was too much then I'd choose a less strenuous plan.

By the weekend I was more conditioned to the rigours of the schedule and felt like I could follow it. So today I ran another speed session (8 x 600m fast) and came through tired but successful. This gives me confidence that I'll be able to complete the training and be ready for the marathon in October. Speed sessions are always hard and it takes a while for me to enjoy them but normally by the end of the training plan I look forward to them more than any other session. Maybe I'm a masochist! I do find they test you more than any other type of session, even tempo sessions are easier. Although, I have a tempo session on Thursday so I may be eating my words by then!

Back, back, back. Ow.

I ran the BUPA 10k a couple of weeks ago now. It was a hot day and I met up with my wife's family members who were also running. Good organisation, plenty of toilets and a decent wave system of releasing the runners.

I was in one of the front waves and set off at a decent pace. My plan was to go off at 45 minute pace or a bit faster and then see how it goes. This went well until about 4km when my lack of training and fitness started to tell. I slowed slightly which helped because the weather started to heat up even more.

Due to the doubling back nature of the course, at about 7km I started to see my wife's family members coming the other way. Managed to get a high five in as we crossed paths.

Finally managed to get over the line in 47:01 which is not too bad given the amount of training I'd done and the conditions. I went back to the 200m to go line and started cheering in fellow runners. After everyone had crossed we all went to the Strand and had a few beers. And by a few I mean loads. Can't really remember getting home but do remember having a great time.

This week the Hanson method marathon training was due to start on Thursday. I say due to because I didn't manage to start at all. I was on a business trip to the Netherlands so took my running gear and had planned out a 6 mile route around the area near the hotel.

I woke up on Wednesday, went for a shower and went for breakfast in the hotel. As I walked down the corridor my back spasmed and by the time I go to the breakfast room I was doubled over. I couldn't stand straight and my back was killing me. I went into work and managed to earn the nickname "Robocop" because of the way I was walking.

Anyway, I woke up on Thursday and although my back was better (70% of the previous pain) there was no way I could run. Walking was still a bit tricky. I flew back to London that day and woke up this morning again with pain (about 40%). So no running again. Maybe tomorrow but I am thinking of writing off this week to let my back completely recover and then start from scratch on Monday. Not the best start to a marathon training schedule but better that than to run and make things worse. I seem to be saying that a lot these days!!

Let's see how it goes. Hopefully by the next time I write I've started marathon training.

Whether the weather be hot

The BUPA 10k is this Sunday. My training is going well and my ankle is holding up well. The only unknown is the weather.

It has become noticeably warmer in the last week. The five day forecast says that it will be 21C on Sunday. If it is then I can probably kiss goodbye to a sub-45 minute finish and I will reset my expectations to sub-50 minutes instead. That's no bad thing as I may not be ready to run at pace for 45 minutes yet and doing so could agitate my ankle. Better to run and enjoy the race than push myself too hard and kill any chance of running a marathon this year.

Once the 10k is done I will have one week until my 18 week marathon training schedule begins. Fingers crossed I get through Sunday unscathed.

10k Here we come!

I only managed to get one run in when I went to Chester for the Easter weekend. But while I was there I was offered a place in the BUPA London 10k at the end of May.

My wife's cousins are coming to London to run the 10k and they had a spare place. I figured a 10k would be perfect to see how my fitness is coming along. It would give me three weeks after the end of my recovery training to tune up. And then I'll be a week or two off starting marathon training.

Several of the "team" haven't run a 10k before so it should be a fun event. And I haven't run an official 10k race since Gunnersbury Park 10k in August 2012. I'll have three goals: a) under 45 minutes, b) under 50 minutes and c) under an hour. c) would pretty much be a disaster and an indication that something terrible has gone wrong. a) would be brilliant but is a tough ask. I ran 20 minutes at a sub-45 minute 10k pace last week and it felt very hard going but with the adrenaline of the occasion and a bit of friendly competition I may just be able to pull it off.

The three week 10k training started this week and involves a lot of threshold and interval running. I think the longest run is about 70 minutes so nothing too taxing hopefully. I'll update hopefully next week with more of how the training is going.

Easing back into things

It's been a while since my last post. What has happened?

Well, I took a week off running after my ankle flare up last month and then decided to follow a recovery schedule to get back up to full strength. I'm currently in week 3 of a four week schedule and so far so good.

If I want to run the Chester marathon this year in October I need to start training in early June. That gives me about a month after finishing the recovery schedule to get my ankle up to strength such that it can cope with runs of more than an hour at least. It may mean that I won't be able to run as fast as I would like but I'd rather that than run too fast and hurt my ankle again.

It's been about 4 months since my ankle started hurting and it's incredibly frustrating. Everything else is fine. Maybe my age is telling me to slow down. Perhaps I should start listening!

I'm going to a wedding in Chester this weekend so I hope to go out for a couple of decent runs (4 or 5 miles) along the canals and country lanes around there. It always makes for a nice change of scenery.

The weather has been kind so far this year, I've been wearing my running vests since the start of April. Normally they don't come out of the drawer until May. Hopefully this is the sign of a good summer to come!

Not much more to catch up on. With luck by the next time I post I'll be almost back to fighting fitness.