Week One Mon 6.03 , Tues 6.17 , Wed Rest , Thur 7.09 , Fri 7.14 , Sat 11.34 , Sun Refereed
Week Two Mon 6.12 , Tues 7.42 , Wed Rest , Thur 8.15 , Fri 6.63 , Sat 8.36 , Sun 8.03 => Total Mileage 82.49
I did not realise that I had left it so long to post and much has happened since the new year. I started my programme on 5th January with an easy run which turned out to be rather painful. After about two miles my right knee began to get sore. I shortened my stride and tried a shuffle style which helped a little. I had to stop three miles in to stretch my hamstrings and again this helped a little. On Tuesday I chose to run easy, rather than the planned intervals to protect my knee. By Thursday and after wearing a fetching knee support for a couple of days, I went out for a tempo run. There was some pain after the run, but the leg held up better than I thought that it would. Friday and Saturday were both easy runs at up to two minutes slower than marathon pace, which for me is about 9:30 miling. I decided not to run on Sunday and to take an additional rest day, although I did referee an U13's rugby match. So all in all the first week went alright. I have used a knee support, ibuprofen gel on the sore knee and have taken painkillers when needed. I also did a great deal of cross training, with exercises to strengthen the quads and lower back.
The second week was much of the same. I managed to get through the speed session on Tuesday and the tempo run on Thursday without any major problems. However, the runs on Saturday and Sunday could not have been more different. They were both easy runs of eight miles. Saturday I felt very loose and the running was fluid. On Sunday everything felt tight and laboured. I ran more or less the same route using the hills down to Leigh railway station to load the slow run and help build stamina, but Sunday was a real drag. I was so glad when it was over. However, I was pleased how the week went as I got through the "Something of Substance" runs and this is where the quality training is to be had. If I can keep progressing like this throughout the programme I will be on the start line in London and hoping for a good time.
Tuesday, 20 January 2015
Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Festive running or not
Wednesday 8.40 miles, Thursday Rest, Friday 7.12 miles, Saturday Rest, Sunday 10.80 miles, Monday 5.97 miles, Tuesday Rest, Wednesday Rest, Thursday Rest, Friday 13.26 miles, Saturday Rest, Sunday Rest, Monday 3.17 miles and Tuesday Rest => 48.72 miles
Well I hope everyone had a happy Xmas, I know I certainly did. Running had to give way to real life at times and I did not get in as many runs as I wanted, but Hey Ho Ho Ho! One sad point to report is that I picked up a slight ITB band issue on my right knee when I decided to turn a run into a half-marathon. Here is the story. So I am heading out on a sunny, but cold Boxing day. Feeling relaxed after a couple of days rest I headed out east towards Shoeburyness. It is a good route, even if you do hug the main road for a while. You reach a point on the run where you can cut back and head up towards the High School for Girls, this would give you a run of about nine miles. I decided to head on towards the shore and come back along the beach road. Swinging round at the turn the wind was coming in side ways off the estuary. There will be no headwind on the way back today. At this point around the eight mile mark I was feeling good and picked up the pace a little, even though the legs themselves were feeling tight and my lower back a little sore. By mile ten the head was still good, but my right leg was swinging awkwardly and pain developing in my right outer knee. Any sensible person would have stopped at this point or at the very least slowed down, but not I. Having had a similar issue with my left knee back in March you would think that I would have learned my lesson. The up shot is that during my run yesterday, Monday and after a two day rest at that, the pain began to develop again after a mile. I cut short my run straight away, but as I was a mile from home I decided to slow down and jog home. Slowing down reduced the pain considerably, so I continued at this level and topped out the run at a decent 5k. Last night the knee felt fine, no pain and free movement. This morning it feels a little tight, so I am going to stay off the running for a few days. When my official programme starts in January I will keep to the schedule - low mileage to start with and slower speeds, building up in weeks three and four. In this way I hope that the knee will heal and strengthen at the same time. I can also do some crosstraining to build up, glutes, quads and core. I have to get to the start line in April in one piece and I do not want to defer my place.So with no more running planned for this year the December total is 116 miles. I hope you have a Happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Here's to 2015.
Well I hope everyone had a happy Xmas, I know I certainly did. Running had to give way to real life at times and I did not get in as many runs as I wanted, but Hey Ho Ho Ho! One sad point to report is that I picked up a slight ITB band issue on my right knee when I decided to turn a run into a half-marathon. Here is the story. So I am heading out on a sunny, but cold Boxing day. Feeling relaxed after a couple of days rest I headed out east towards Shoeburyness. It is a good route, even if you do hug the main road for a while. You reach a point on the run where you can cut back and head up towards the High School for Girls, this would give you a run of about nine miles. I decided to head on towards the shore and come back along the beach road. Swinging round at the turn the wind was coming in side ways off the estuary. There will be no headwind on the way back today. At this point around the eight mile mark I was feeling good and picked up the pace a little, even though the legs themselves were feeling tight and my lower back a little sore. By mile ten the head was still good, but my right leg was swinging awkwardly and pain developing in my right outer knee. Any sensible person would have stopped at this point or at the very least slowed down, but not I. Having had a similar issue with my left knee back in March you would think that I would have learned my lesson. The up shot is that during my run yesterday, Monday and after a two day rest at that, the pain began to develop again after a mile. I cut short my run straight away, but as I was a mile from home I decided to slow down and jog home. Slowing down reduced the pain considerably, so I continued at this level and topped out the run at a decent 5k. Last night the knee felt fine, no pain and free movement. This morning it feels a little tight, so I am going to stay off the running for a few days. When my official programme starts in January I will keep to the schedule - low mileage to start with and slower speeds, building up in weeks three and four. In this way I hope that the knee will heal and strengthen at the same time. I can also do some crosstraining to build up, glutes, quads and core. I have to get to the start line in April in one piece and I do not want to defer my place.So with no more running planned for this year the December total is 116 miles. I hope you have a Happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Here's to 2015.
Wednesday, 17 December 2014
A little bit of R n R (Rest and Recreation)
Wednesday Rest, Thursday 7.18 mi, Friday 6.40 mi, Saturday 4. 1 mi, Sunday Referee 50 mins, Monday 6.52 mi and Tuesday Rest => Total 24.11 mi
I have been juggling real life with my running. Everyone has to do this and I am no exception. However, as much as I enjoy my hobby or recreation, I also need to rest. I need that R n R. But resting is not something that comes easily and you have to resist the urge to run every day. The body needs some time to recover. So don't be too put out if you have non-running days because you just might be doing yourself a big favour. This week I had to travel up to London and by the time I got back there was no time to fit in any running. So this week I had two rest days and this cut down the mileage a little. But I felt better for the extra time off. The next week may not have a rest day as such, just the normal refereeing Sunday. So let's see how the body holds up? I may throw in some shorter, faster runs in the coming week to mix things up a little. The problem with the free running I've been doing this month so far is that the runs tend to become the same types of runs. In January, when the programme kicks in, I need to work harder on making the runs more distinct. The slow runs deliberately much slower and the faster runs crisper.
I have been juggling real life with my running. Everyone has to do this and I am no exception. However, as much as I enjoy my hobby or recreation, I also need to rest. I need that R n R. But resting is not something that comes easily and you have to resist the urge to run every day. The body needs some time to recover. So don't be too put out if you have non-running days because you just might be doing yourself a big favour. This week I had to travel up to London and by the time I got back there was no time to fit in any running. So this week I had two rest days and this cut down the mileage a little. But I felt better for the extra time off. The next week may not have a rest day as such, just the normal refereeing Sunday. So let's see how the body holds up? I may throw in some shorter, faster runs in the coming week to mix things up a little. The problem with the free running I've been doing this month so far is that the runs tend to become the same types of runs. In January, when the programme kicks in, I need to work harder on making the runs more distinct. The slow runs deliberately much slower and the faster runs crisper.
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
Ramping up the mileage and GPS woes
Fri 7.50 m, Sat 7.36 m, Sun Referee and Crosstrain, Mon 4.34 m, and Tues 7.12 m => Total 26.32 miles
It has turned colder, but remained largely dry here in England (Brits really do like to discuss the weather and I am no different). Perfect for increasing or ramping up the mileage. If you are a beginner then be careful about increasing your mileage too much as it can lead to injury. About a ten percent increase week on week is the accepted rule of thumb. However, I have a pretty good base fitness having completed a marathon back at the end of October. So, I feel confident that I can add in a few extra days and a few longer runs. Just be sensible about it. I was encouraged by two men either side of the Atlantic: Mo Farah tweeting away and Luke Humphrey posting on You Tube. I find it kind of special that an ordinary runner like me can be in touch with elite runners. I could never in a million years keep pace with these guys in a race, but they are willing to share their love of the sport and pass on a few tips along the way.
I have been doing some free running and really enjoying it. This is basically going out of the door with no set plan. I am just going with the flow. However, frustratingly there has been a problem with GPS reception on my android phone which has made my running app unusable. As much as I like the app and how easy it is to use, if it will not pick up and keep a signal then it is no good. I dug out my old Garmin 305 and after an evening of sorting out an issue with the Connect / Expess feature of the software it is now working again. I can upload data to my laptop and monitor my progress. It looks like this will be my frontline running buddy leading up to London 2015. Only the last two runs have been measured accurately and I probably ran about three miles on Sunday refereeing the under 14's. This would give roughly 30 miles for the week which is fine for now.
Is it important to have a GPS device? Well it is not essential, but I would like to knock ten or so minutes off my marathon time and get under 3 hours 30 minutes. In order to do this I will need to average 30 seconds per mile faster pace than at the Chelmsford Marathon. The apps and watches are a good tool to help you pace out your runs and achieve your goals. Did I say knock ten minutes off my time? Well I would really like to get a good for age time which for london would be 3 hours 20 minutes, but that would be a big jump, maybe too big a jump. Why is this a big deal? Because this would enable automatic entry to London the year after Let's see how the training goes.
It has turned colder, but remained largely dry here in England (Brits really do like to discuss the weather and I am no different). Perfect for increasing or ramping up the mileage. If you are a beginner then be careful about increasing your mileage too much as it can lead to injury. About a ten percent increase week on week is the accepted rule of thumb. However, I have a pretty good base fitness having completed a marathon back at the end of October. So, I feel confident that I can add in a few extra days and a few longer runs. Just be sensible about it. I was encouraged by two men either side of the Atlantic: Mo Farah tweeting away and Luke Humphrey posting on You Tube. I find it kind of special that an ordinary runner like me can be in touch with elite runners. I could never in a million years keep pace with these guys in a race, but they are willing to share their love of the sport and pass on a few tips along the way.
I have been doing some free running and really enjoying it. This is basically going out of the door with no set plan. I am just going with the flow. However, frustratingly there has been a problem with GPS reception on my android phone which has made my running app unusable. As much as I like the app and how easy it is to use, if it will not pick up and keep a signal then it is no good. I dug out my old Garmin 305 and after an evening of sorting out an issue with the Connect / Expess feature of the software it is now working again. I can upload data to my laptop and monitor my progress. It looks like this will be my frontline running buddy leading up to London 2015. Only the last two runs have been measured accurately and I probably ran about three miles on Sunday refereeing the under 14's. This would give roughly 30 miles for the week which is fine for now.
Is it important to have a GPS device? Well it is not essential, but I would like to knock ten or so minutes off my marathon time and get under 3 hours 30 minutes. In order to do this I will need to average 30 seconds per mile faster pace than at the Chelmsford Marathon. The apps and watches are a good tool to help you pace out your runs and achieve your goals. Did I say knock ten minutes off my time? Well I would really like to get a good for age time which for london would be 3 hours 20 minutes, but that would be a big jump, maybe too big a jump. Why is this a big deal? Because this would enable automatic entry to London the year after Let's see how the training goes.
Thursday, 4 December 2014
Pre Marathon training December 2014
Mileage = Tues 6.53 , Weds 5.93, Mon 6.00, Weds 8.93 ( the last two readings have been blighted by poor GPS reception) => Total 27.39 miles
I have started my pre marathon training with hills being central to building up the fitness needed for the new year. I have not decided on the training plan that I will follow for the VM London Marathon next year, but I want to lay down a good base before Christmas. The great thing about hills are that you can run them in different ways; slow, fast, long or short. I do not have any monster hills near me but I do have lots of undulating roads and paths to explore. Last night was a long, slow grind uphill all the way from the airport to the High Street at Rayleigh. It was a nine mile round trip and taken at an easy pace. I have also run hill repetitions in the last week. These are fast, intense uphill runs followed by easy, recovery runs on the down hill sections. The sessions are all to a certain extent free runs at the moment. I can quite easily see how I feel on the day, go out and enjoy myself. After all, it is about enjoyment as much as it is about fitness. When the training schedule kicks in on 1st January 2015 the goals change. Fitness comes to the fore and enjoyment may arrive in a more twisted format. Having a schedule helps to keep you on track until you arrive at the start line in April. It gives you a reason, a compulsion to step outside the door. On the really bad days when you do not want to go running you can blame the schedule, but at least you will have the miles in the bank.
I guess I have a few weeks to decide what training plan to follow. I used the Hanson Marathon Method for Chelmsford 2014 and it worked well. I would like to revisit this plan at least one more time, because I do not feel that I gave it my all. My IT Band* injury in February 2014 really messed up the rest of the year and so I could not do all the sessions that the Hansons programme requires. It was not until the last few weeks leading up to the race that i could complete the six days a week sessions and feel the benefit of the cummulative fatigue central to the method. The alternatives all seem to start with fewer, shorter sessions during the week and a much longer weekend run, typically on the Sunday. Well I do not need to choose just yet, but I bought the Hansons book so I guess I should re-read it before January.
If you have any running related questions I am happy to help out, but I am no expert. I have simply absorbed a great deal of information from different sources which I am happy to share with you.
* Iliotibial Band Syndrome
I have started my pre marathon training with hills being central to building up the fitness needed for the new year. I have not decided on the training plan that I will follow for the VM London Marathon next year, but I want to lay down a good base before Christmas. The great thing about hills are that you can run them in different ways; slow, fast, long or short. I do not have any monster hills near me but I do have lots of undulating roads and paths to explore. Last night was a long, slow grind uphill all the way from the airport to the High Street at Rayleigh. It was a nine mile round trip and taken at an easy pace. I have also run hill repetitions in the last week. These are fast, intense uphill runs followed by easy, recovery runs on the down hill sections. The sessions are all to a certain extent free runs at the moment. I can quite easily see how I feel on the day, go out and enjoy myself. After all, it is about enjoyment as much as it is about fitness. When the training schedule kicks in on 1st January 2015 the goals change. Fitness comes to the fore and enjoyment may arrive in a more twisted format. Having a schedule helps to keep you on track until you arrive at the start line in April. It gives you a reason, a compulsion to step outside the door. On the really bad days when you do not want to go running you can blame the schedule, but at least you will have the miles in the bank.
I guess I have a few weeks to decide what training plan to follow. I used the Hanson Marathon Method for Chelmsford 2014 and it worked well. I would like to revisit this plan at least one more time, because I do not feel that I gave it my all. My IT Band* injury in February 2014 really messed up the rest of the year and so I could not do all the sessions that the Hansons programme requires. It was not until the last few weeks leading up to the race that i could complete the six days a week sessions and feel the benefit of the cummulative fatigue central to the method. The alternatives all seem to start with fewer, shorter sessions during the week and a much longer weekend run, typically on the Sunday. Well I do not need to choose just yet, but I bought the Hansons book so I guess I should re-read it before January.
If you have any running related questions I am happy to help out, but I am no expert. I have simply absorbed a great deal of information from different sources which I am happy to share with you.
* Iliotibial Band Syndrome
Wednesday, 26 November 2014
A Marathon Prologue - after a fashion
So I am running my first marathon a couple of months ago and getting near to the finish.It's the business end of the race and I am prepared for it. I am prepared for the pain, the 'upanddown' emotion, the mental toughness. What I am not prepared for is the question that suddenly enters my head, "Where is the finish line?" You see I like to prepare in detail, but the map of the course wasn't great to start with and on top of that the organisers had to make last minute changes due to the bad weather. So have I run enough loops of the park? Can I turn off and head down the avenue to where the finish line should be? Well clearly not as my gps watch says that I have only run 23 miles. My brain is starved of oxygen and my legs want to keep going forward ,but my head decides to turn me around. I am now running back the way I came and for a hundred metres I haven't a scooby what I am doing. It is at this point that Pete O, my fellow Raven and seven times marathon finisher, turns the corner and shakes his head at me in disbelief while his finger points in the direction I need to be heading. Without question I obey and my legs approve, albeit that I am now covering the same patch of ground for the third time. I'm embarassed and I use the redfaced, adrenalin fuelled moment to slowly pull away from Pete. Thank goodness that there are few spectators on this section. The final loop of the park is completed, I am back at the fork in the path, the watch says 26 miles and I can confidently head to where the finish line should be. The crowds grow bigger, the noise gets louder and I am suddenly taken to attempt a sprint finish down the 0.2m mile of beautiful tree lined avenue remaining. Then the thought hits me that I am heading towards the start line! Well I am too tired to care now. The legs, who ever they belong to for they are not mine surely, are moving of their own accord and have no breaks to slow them down. There are so many people gathered around the gantry that I can not see the big digital clock ticking away the hours, minutes and seconds. As I cross the line I know that all is well and realise that in a spirit of serendipity the organisers decided to use the line for both the start and finish of the race.The marshalls that were obscured by the well wishing friends and family are now all too obvious. They thrust bananas at you, water at you, a goody bag at you and that all so important finishers medal. I take the moment to celebrate with a bout of sports induced asthma. I wheeze an apology to the girl that wants me to move further down the finishers funnel, but I can't move. That sprint finish wasn't a great idea evidently. However, I soon recover and move over towards my family and friends that have come to support me today. This is the day that I ran my first marathon. I am no longer a marathon virgin and in roughly six months time I will do it all again at the Virgin Money sponsored London Marathon 2015.
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