Home and 2x1.5miles at Half Marathon Pace

I didn't manage an early run in Bristol this morning. Instead it was an evening run round the Avenues.

The weather is fine, nice and dry with a slight chill in the air. Perfect for running.

Tonight was my last big effort before Sunday's half marathon. The idea was to do 2x1.5mile segments at half marathon pace. The target was 7:25 for the first and 7:10 for the second.

I got a bit carried away and they were a tad faster. I felt good on lap 1 with the pace varying because of cars on Maple Road causing me to stop. Lap 2 was steady and the heart rate profile shows a steady level just below my lactate threshold.

The two segments averaged at 7:16 and 6:48. I'll be aiming for a negative split on Sunday but I doubt it will be at those kind of speeds.

A few easy miles over the next few days and I'll be ready.

Tuesday Reps in Bristol

I brought my rep session forward a day to give me a couple of extra rest days this week. I also made the  session a bit easier than over the last few weeks and cut the reps to 400m.

I was going round the harbour in Bristol which is littered with turns and obstacles so it was difficult to keep a good pace up. The session was 6x400m with 1min off.

The legs felt quite fresh and my cadence and form were good. The heart rate didn't really get stretched because of the pace having to slow occasionally. I enjoyed a good stretch and core session in the hotel gym after the run.

Tomorrow I'll probably get a few more miles in early doors possibly doing 2x8mins at half marathon pace.

Rest day & short recovery run

Trust the sun to be out today! We had the first signs of spring this morning which is great and let's hope it continues through to the weekend.

My legs have felt remarkably fine after yesterday's 20miles. I've a few aches and pains but nothing serious.

I had to go an pick up a car so decided to jog down to the station and pick up a train to Luton. I then jogged up to the airport at an easy pace. The legs freshened over the 20mins and were better for the stretch.

This is going to be a fairly easy week, less mileage and less intensity in the key sessions, as I prepare for the Berkhamsted Half Marathon. I need to be fresh as I've got injured the last twice I've done this race.  This time I'm going to be sensible and try and stick to my marathon pace for the first half of it. I also want to do a negative split which means running the second half of the race slightly quicker than the first. All that should be achievable if I turn up fresh and with a good plan worked out.

Tomorrow I'm contemplating 6x400m reps, Wednesday possibly 2x1.5miles at race pace and then an easy few miles on Thursday. If I do 30miles this week I'll be pleased.

Long Long Run… 20miles

It was time for another 20miler today and to fit it in I was up before dawn and out the door before the sun had got his hat on.

The weather was a bit damp and the wind was up which made for a wobbly first four miles. I seriously wondered what I was doing!

I started by doing the Herts10k loop and then coming back to the house after 7miles to pick up my gels and drink. The rain had stopped so I decided to leave the jacket at home and hope it stayed away. Luckily it did until the last 2 miles when I was glad of it.

I eventually found some rhythm and held a pace just under 9min pace. That was comfortable on the heart and lungs but the legs were feeling weary and it was a bit harder at times than I would've liked.

The downhill sections were worst by a long way with the quads and feet aching.

The route is pretty good and relatively quiet although I did get the fright of my life when a Range Rover crept up behind me and tooted to get passed.

Although it was a tough run I was pleased that I maintained a pretty steady pace and effort. The 20miles were up in 2:55 which is a good 7-8 mins faster than 2 weeks ago and on a par with my times from 4 years ago.

My nutrition was a slice of toast & marmalade before setting off, two gels and a diluted orange juice drink with one tea spoon of sugar and a pinch of salt.

I'm looking forward to an easier week. The Berkhamsted Half Marathon is next weekend and I plan to taper nicely into it.

Tempo Friday

It's been a cracking day today. The sky was blue and the day started with a bit of frost. No rain is such a treat and it led to a nice session at lunchtime.

My calves were a bit tight this morning. Looks like the 5 miles yesterday evening was a little too much on the back of the hill session on Wednesday. I'll need to remember that as the real objective of the week is to be strong for the Wednesday and Friday sessions.

The target today was 6 miles at tempo pace which is around 7:20 min/miles for me. That means I can run steadily under my anaerobic threshold and in theory not suffer from a build up of lactate acid in my muscles, meaning I can run again comfortably tomorrow.

I decided to head down to the A1081 and run along the path. It's relatively flat and from what I'd seen in good condition. After a warm-up I was off. The wind was a bit of a factor on the way out making the work rate a little high but I sustained a good effort and pace for 3 miles out.

At the turn I regrouped. Just reminding myself what the pace/effort was supposed to be and to concentrate on my form - good cadence, strong core, high chin, lower arms.

The way back was slightly downhill and I found the pace was a bit faster. A negative split is unusual for me but very pleasant.

The effort was manageable and I probably could've sustained a few more miles. That's what I'll need to do at next weekend's Berkhamsted Half Marathon.

Overall I completed the 6 miles at an average 7:09 pace. Slightly quicker than intended and I'll see how I recover. An added bonus was to log another Strava segment and end up second overall behind the legend Simon Speirs. Happy to be in his company.

Easy 5 after a day in the smoke

I've been eating for Britain today. Porridge, a muffin from Starbucks, 2 Pret sandwiches and I'm not saying what I've had for tea. Bad news is I'm still hungry!

I had a day in London attending a planning inquiry. Not the most inspiring day and I was glad to be able to get out for a 5 mile run this evening. 

I was feeling strong, probably on the back of all that food, and had to concentrate on keeping it steady. The route took me all the way out to Kinsbourne Green and then back along the A1081. Not the most pleasant of roads to run along but well lit and fairly even.

So another 5 easy miles followed by a good stretching session means I should be pumped and ready for a solid tempo run tomorrow. At this point I'm thinking 6-7miles at 7:20 pace should be about right but we'll see. Hopefully I'll be joined by David if we can coordinate our schedules.

Theo's Big Day

It's Theo's 7th birthday. He's so excited it's incredible. He's having his own birthday party in a few weeks - some sort of Star Wars laser theme with boys only! He's always had shared parties before, with girls from his class and he's so happy to be on his own.

There's cake galore and all sorts of unhealthy treats! Good reason to get out and do a good session.

Tonight was reps. I've not done hills for a good few weeks so thought 6x90secs would be good.
I was happy with the pace and effort through them, averaging 6:45-7:00 pace. I felt strong and recovered well after each rep. I probably could've done a couple more but lets see how I'm feeling tomorrow before increasing the load on that session.

Tomorrow I'm in London for the day but hopefully I'll get a chance to run a few easy miles at some point.

Thanks to everyone who has sponsored me over the last few days. It has definitely helped with my motivation over this week. Thank you.

Less than 8 weeks to go, time to stay focussed

It's getting to that stage of the training programme where panic, anxiety and rash decisions can occur. None of which will bode well for the big event.

I've been working steadily with my 3 key sessions a week - reps, tempo and long run. In between those the idea is to keep the legs turning over. No pushing it or trying to cram in some extra work. It'll only lead to fatigue, injury and tears.

So after a very lazy rest day I was back to getting things going again this morning. I started by doing a couple of slow miles and then a good stretching session before breakfast. That woke me up and got me into a good frame of mind for work.

At lunchtime the idea was a slow steady run up to the airport to pick up a car. The legs felt very fresh and strong for the first time in a few weeks. That made keeping the pace low tricky. Instead I focussed on keeping a good running form. High hips, high chin and good arms. That seemed to work and with a steady cadence I was comfortable at 8:30 pace for the 6.5miles.

I've refuelled pretty well and need to keep off the chocolate. Tomorrow is going to be difficult as Theo is 7 and there's a cake fest planned ;-)

Bitty Weekend in the Grey Zone

That was a bit of an exhausting weekend. 4 runs, a Pilates class and a trip to the swimming pool with the kids. A nice easy day tomorrow is very apt.

I had to make the most of the brief opportunities to get some mileage in this weekend. It began with running around town dropping kids off at the gym, picking up mail from the post office and getting to my Pilates class. I'm normally pretty disciplined on what I want out of a run but this was all over the place - a bit of a grey zone. Not much use.

I've only ever done a couple of Pilates sessions. Hated them. Couldn't quite get the knack of using my core muscles and breathing at the same time ;-)

This one was a little different using a machine to get you in the right position and engagement of core and hips. I actually found most of it ok. The real embarrassment was when it came to stretching and flexibility. I need to do a bit of work loosening down from the hip flexors.

After surviving that I managed to get out for another quick run. There's a lot of stuff out on the web about the perfect running cadence. The general view is that 180 steps a minute is the most efficient. I downloaded a playlist of music at that beat and set off to see how much more of a wally I could look.

Again it wasn't quite as bad as I expected. Marginally quicker than my normal turnover. I couldn't really tell whether it would make any difference.

We had a late one on Saturday evening and a busy Sunday ahead so there was no way I could fit in a decent run. Instead I had to make do with 2 separate runs. The first was an early run round the Herts 10k route. I fell into the trap of not thinking about what I was to get out of the day and it was another grey zone mix of everything and nothing.

After Church I managed to get a drop from Susan down by Luton Parkway and made my way home from there. Again it was a mix of everything and nothing. Just some more mileage.

The day finished with a trip to the swimming pool. Everyone seemed to enjoy it even though it was freezing.

So a few duff miles in the can. I'll take tomorrow off and regroup. I need to make sure I'm refreshed for the big sessions - reps & tempo and then recovering in between. Next weekend I'll aim for another big run.

Tough Conditions

Man, this weather is unrelenting. It's pouring and for the last couple of the days the wind has been getting stronger and stronger.

This evening's as bad as its been. Not a good night for my attempt at a tempo run. I couldn't get going at all with the wind, rain and darkness. I was concerned about pot holes - last thing I need is a twisted ankle.

So it was a steady with the only bit of good effort coming along Southdown Road which improved my position on the Strava segment.

Yesterday I had a run home from the airport. I'd forgotten the Garmin and had no idea of what pace I was doing until I bonked with 3 miles to go. Too little food pushed me over the edge and I had to struggle up Cooters End Lane. The only positive was that I kept jogging even though every bit of me was shouting WALK!

Tomorrow is meant to be an easy day followed by a long run on Sunday but I think I'll see how the weather is and just take advantage of any respite.

Gale Force Reps

Conditions are bleak to say the least. Britain is getting battered and tonight it's hurricane winds battering the west coast.

We're not seeing the full force here but it's still brutal.

I went out to do my reps this evening. 6x800's with a 2 min rest between. The wind and rain were driving so it wasn't exactly motivating.

I got through the session but the effort wasn't really there until the last couple. I guess I was a bit hesitant with bits of tree flying about! The legs may not have recovered fully from Sunday's 20mile bash.

It's supposed to be a bit better tomorrow so I'll get a few easy miles in.

Long Run, 3 hours, 20miles

A 3 hour run wasn't the plan this morning but I decided to throw in a loop which was a bit longer than I thought and so the miles added up.
It was pretty windy out there this morning. There's still loads of giant puddles everywhere and off-road is just a mud fest.
I was hoping to run with David this morning but a text at 6.20 giving his apologies meant it was the iPod, Bono, the late Stuart Adamson, Runrig and a few others who kept me company.
It was pitch dark and blowing a gale so I decided to do a 10k loop and come back home to drop off my head torch and pick up a drink.
The Herts10k was a bit wet underfoot and Richard's sink hole was back. The mother of all puddles was ready to swallow me up but I managed just to get one foot wet.
I got back to the house after an hour. Had a drink, dropped the head torch and hat, and then headed off for Luton via Thrales End Lane. Down on the Lea Valley path I was feeling strong and decided to go to Parkway, then come back via Someries Castle and Peters Green. I hid my water bottle and decided to pick it up on the way back which worked well.
The loop up to Peters Green was a bit longer than I bargained for and I realised I was heading for a 3 hour run. I had a gel and dug in.
The pace was fairly steady and even though there was a fair amount of ups and downs I was feeling strong.
After climbing Cooters End Lane it was down onto the Nickey Line. I expected a quagmire but was surprised to see it is in the process of being tarmaced and it was quite pleasant.
On the final section round Park Avenue I saw another runner ahead and decided to chase him down. When I got there and said hello I was surprised to see it was golfing legend Ken Brown out for his sunday morning jaunt. We didn't mention the rugby.

Overall it was a very positive run. 3 hours and 20 miles with 8 weeks to go is good. I felt strong and could have gone further if I had too.
From a nutrition perspective I had 2 gels, one at 7miles and the other at 12. My drink was an orange juice and water mix.

Friday Floods and a Tempo Run

It was a bit of a shock to find Harpenden completely flooded this morning. The drainage system couldn't cope and the water was a foot deep in places. Scary stuff but fortunately most of the yummy mummies have 4x4's for just these sort of conditions!

I had to brave the damp conditions and drop a hire car over at the Airport and then the plan was a warm-up followed by  5 miles at Tempo Pace.

The 5 mile section was along the Lea Valley from Airport Parkway back to Harpenden. The weather had brightened and the rain had stopped which made it quite pleasant. I tried to ease into it rather than go off like a train. That didn't really work and I was off at 6:45 pace when I was to hold 7:20's. I eased off and tried to steady the ship but it took a while to get the rhythm of a steady pace.

The route is a quite undulating so I was up and down in pace and effort all the way. Eventually I stopped looking at the Garmin and went by my perceived effort. I didn't want to be eye-popping but neither did I want it to be too easy.

By the time the last mile came I was relieved. I was feeling tired and didn't want to kill myself before a big weekend.

At the end of the day I was happy to average 7:24 pace over the 5miles. There was a fair spread in pace over the distance but that was mainly due to the undulating route. I just need to remember to ease into these efforts rather than flying out and hanging on!

Back from the South West

I've just spent a couple of days in the South West. Down by the Somerset Levels, a place everyone in the UK is aware of.

It must be said it is grim. The amount of flood water is scary - it is everywhere. Over the last few days they've also been battered by strong gale force wind which have blown down trees and resulted in power outages.

I managed a couple of runs in amongst the puddles.

Wednesday is reps day and the session was 3x800 with 2mins off, 3x600 with 90secs off, and 3x300 with 60secs off. The wind made it difficult to hold a steady pace, I was either flying, when it was behind me, or grimacing and pushing for dear life when I was into it.

I'm not yet pushing 100% so rep 1 was just to get me going. Rep 2 & 3 were comfortable. It started to hurt a bit from Rep 4 onwards as I tried to hold a faster pace. I was pleased overall with the session and happy that all of the laps were sub 7min pace. I can't be too hard on myself about the swing in lap times as the conditions played a massive part.

This morning I was up and about early so took the opportunity to stretch the legs around the harbour. The wind was gone but there was debris all over the place as well as humongous puddles. The legs felt a bit tired after the night before's efforts but after a good stretch most of the aches and pains disappeared.

Tomorrow is tempo Friday and the plan is to drop the hire car off and run home. Hopefully stepping the distance to 5 miles and holding a 7.20ish pace.

Steady miles with David, 6.7miles

I had a good day with my feet up yesterday. The calves needed a rest after last week.

Today was a steady run up to the Airport. I was joined by David who I hadn't seen since before Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed catching up.

The pace was steady and probably a tad faster than I'd have gone if I'd been on my own but it was good having someone to run with. Hopefully we'll manage another on Friday.

It's definitely better running with company. It certainly stops me from slacking but also makes the miles pass much more quickly and without as much focus on the pain!

Tomorrow is reps. The weather looks wet again but there's no excuses I'll need to get out there.

Tempo Saturday, Long Run Sunday

I'm looking forward to having my feet up tomorrow. I need a rest.

Two tough sessions back to back takes its toll but hey ho.

Friday was a wash out, weather and work conspired to keep me from getting my tempo session done over the lunch hour. Instead that was my pleasure on Saturday morning.

I dropped the kids at trampolining and headed for 4 miles at tempo pace - roughly 7:20ish for me.
The weather was breezy and a bit chilly but the main issue was dodging the puddles and mud from the deluge we've been having.

I went off too fast and from there was on the back foot struggling to maintain a steady rhythm. I'm better easing into it than chasing the pace from the start. I'll try and remember for next time.

The session finished down near Southdown where I was dodging cars and pedestrians so the pace was all over the place in the end.

Normally I'd have an easy day between hard session but today had to be a long run. I had to be back early to get off to Church so that meant a 6:30 start and a  16 mile loop to St Albans and back the plan.

To be honest it was pretty steady all the way and a tad tedious with no company. I might have to resort to an iPod in future.

I kept the heart rate around 155 all the way which is zone 2 and very comfortable. The route had a few ups and downs.  On the way back I decided to head over to Piggots Hill Lane and throw in an up and down. That was tough on the legs but bizarrely did the job of getting me back in rhythm.

The hip flexors and calves were feeling it on the last stretch home but overall it was a good run and the wheels didn't come off.

Tomorrow I'm chilling. It'll be a bit of core work and stretching but no miles are planned.