Xmas running

I've been keeping up the running over the Xmas period, as part of the running streak.

Since Xmas Eve I've done the following.
Monday (Xmas eve).  1 mile
Tuesday (Xmas day).  2 miles
Wednesday (Boxing Day).  5 miles.
Thursday 27th.  3.80 miles
Friday 28th.  7.12 miles with the Club
Saturday 29th.  1mile.

My weekly mileage is slightly down this week, but I've managed to keep my weight at a sensible level whilst still enjoying the Xmas festivities.

The Friday run with the Club was good.  Some club members hosted the run and provided loads of food (chilli, pork, cracking, stuffing etc etc) which was very nice.  Also, half way through the run some other members set up a table with some refreshments.  What an awesome club!!  It was a bit of a grim day weather-wise, but below is a picture from the route with Preston beach in the background.

I'm starting to think about kicking off the training again in the New Year, once the streak has finished.  I think I need to become a bit more organised with a plan and start thinking properly about weekly mileage and particular sessions.

Mince Pie Marathon

Since being member of the Teignbridge Trotters I haven't made it to a Monday night club session.  However, this Monday was the "Mince Pie Marathon" where all the Trotters went around to 5 houses in turn and ate mince pies, sausage rolls and cake, plus washed it down with mulled wine.  Due to this it seemed rude not to turn up for this training session.

We actually ran about 7 miles and it was a good fun run.

Xmas Shenanigans

I got a nice 11 mile run in with the club on Saturday morning, and then it was the club's Xmas party on the Saturday night.  It was the first social event I'd been to since joining the club and it was a great night out.  There were plenty of drinks flowing, but I managed to stay relatively sober which was good.  The Xmas party also incorporated the club's awards ceremony and it was inspiring to see so many people do so well in 2012.  I'm hoping I can continue to improve in 2013 as well.

Tonight there is a "Mince Pie Marathon" training session.  I don't usually attend the Monday night sessions, but a quote from the club magazine says, "There will be mulled wine and mince pies in abundance — no need for tea that night!".....it would seem rude not to attend that!

The running streak is still going

The streak is still going, but this week is going to be a bit difficult to say exactly what mileage I'm going to do and when.  However, I got a 4-miler in yesterday which is good after the 15-miles I did on Sunday.

The rest of the week is a little variable, due to me being on leave from work one day and at a meeting I have to travel to for another.  Also, there is my running club's Xmas party on Saturday night which may have an impact on any Sunday running plans!

So, broadly what I'm thinking about is:
- Today (Tuesday) - 1 mile.
- Wednesday - I'm on leave from work but I hope to maybe get a 5 miler in on the morning, but it is dependent on the road conditions.  Today it looks very icy out.  I won't be attending the club training session on this day.
- Thursday - 1 mile
- Friday - 8ish miles with hopefully 6 at half marathon target pace
- Saturday - 10ish, probably.
- Sunday - 1.

Runner's World forums

To coincide with my new found enthusiasm for running (which was sparked by joining a running club, as mentioned in the last post) I also started reading the Runner's World forums.

I had an account, but had never really used it. However, since rediscovering the forums I have found them to be very useful, with a friendly user base.

All sorts of stuff is discussed there, but I came across a thread to help train for a marathon. It was by an unknown (to me, at the time) person whose login name is Shades. The thread has literally 10s of 1000s of responses. I emailed Shades and she responded with her training plan, which was great. I started posting the odd comment, and it turns out that Shades (and another regular to the thread....Valley Runner) are local to me. In fact, when I went for a run after announcing myself to the thread, I actually ran past Valley Runner on my session!

Both Shades and Valley Runner are pretty inspirational. They both happen to be members of Teignbridge Trotters as well and Shades has ran nearly 300 marathons and VR has recently completed her 100th. What an amazing achievement and it really puts into perspective what is possible through running.

Joining a Club

I got a PB in the Torbay 10k in August 2012 but at just over 50mins I was very much aware that the time could still be improved. I was pleased with the time (a PB is a PB after all!) but I left the event thinking that if I could devote more time to training and have a more structured plan, I could improve more particularly in my favourite distance (the half marathon).

To help with these goals, I decided to join a running club to help give me some structure and also to give me the opportunity to mingle with other runners. I joined the Teignbridge Trotters at the start of September 2012 and I very quickly began to wish that I had joined years earlier!

The first session I went to, I must admit I was nervous for some reason. I think it was because I knew my times were nothing special and at that time I didn't really know where I'd fit in with the other runs. However, the club is really well run with sessions for every one. They have seasons on Monday, Wednesday, some Fridays and weekends. I can't get to all of those, but my training now revolves around the Wednesday session and also the weekend run.

The Wednesday sessions are what I think have brought on my recent improvements. On a Wednesday there is in the region of 50 runners who turn up and there are 4-5 organised sessions for different types of running. For example, there is usually a hill-repeat session, a times sprint session and a 10-mile group, amongst others. The hill repeat session may be something like a pyramid or Kenyan hill session, which are things that I had never done by myself in 5+ years of running. The sprint sessions may be 20x100m sprints with jog recovery.

The weekend runs are more informal longer 'social' runs and again there tend to be 3 groups depending on your speed - A, B and C. I seem to have settled nicely into the B-group pace (which on the weekend is around 9-10 min/mile pace) and although I can't always get to the sessions I have really enjoyed the ones that I have attended. I've been on local routes I have never run on before and I have really enjoyed getting the miles in as a part of a group compared with trudging along by myself.

So, what has this all meant for me and my training? In no particular order:
- I have become much more motivated! The different Wednesday sessions mix things up and I actually look forward to those.
- A more structured training plan has to started to emerge for me, which helps with the motivation and seeing improvements made over time.
- I knocked 5mins off my five year old half marathon PB. It's still not an amazing time (1hr50) but I was genuinely really pleased with it! My PB on that course (Dartmoor Vale, which is hilly) was previously 1hr57.
- I have dropped a few pounds in weight, which can't be a bad thing.
- It has made me reconsider the amount of alcohol I drink, and I have drastically reduced my intake over the last 3 months, which again can't be a bad thing.
- I'm actually thinking about entering another marathon (I'm thinking about North Dorset Village marathon in May 2013). As I type, I haven't entered yet but I am seriously considering it.
- The improvements I've seen have been motivating. I've entered the Bideford Half in early March 2013 to see if can get closer to that elusive 1hr45min target time.

So, all in all, I'm really pleased to have joined a great club and I hope I can continue to keep running with them for some time yet! Throughout the last few months I've been building up to around 30-35 miles per week which for me is quite a lot. The overriding factor for me though is to keep my back healthy throughout this.....I really don't want to injure it again!!

Restarting the blog, with the start of a streak

Well......I've hardly been blogging at all, but I've started again today as part of a December running streak attempt.  I've created a separate page for that (accessible from the tab at the top) and will endeavour to keep this more updated.

I have a few things to say about a) me joining a Club, b) getting a 10k PB, c) getting a half marathon PB, d) considering another marathon (although I distinctly remember saying "never again"), e) discovering the Runner's World forums etc etc.  I'll no doubt bring all that up later in more detail....