A quick catchup

I haven't blogged since the marathon a couple of weeks ago but I'm pleased to say that I've been keeping the running going.

Since the marathon I've done a total of 7 sessions with nothing too severe and totalling about 36 miles.  I've generally felt pretty good with no major niggles.  In fact this morning, I did a cracking run near the town I was brought up in and took this photo along the way.  Although I hd my Garmin with me, it was nice not worrying about pace and I just went out and ran for the enjoyment, which was great.

I'm turning towards getting a plan sorted out for the next event, which is the Torbay Half Marathon in June.  There's not long to train now, but I've got a plan sorted and I'll give it my best shot.  If it's hot though, any chance of a PB will be scuppered and it's also a fairly hilly course so we'll see how that goes.  Torbay traditionally has been my "A-Race" and I want to do well in it, especially as my Sister-In-Law (who is younger, fitter and faster than me) is running it this year.  A (not so!) secret aim for me is to beat her at this event!

Not that I consider myself "advanced" in anyway, but I've purchased a copy of the renowned Advanced Marathoning by Pfitzinger and Douglas (commonly known as P&D).  I feel I'm a long way off of going for their training plans which start with a plan that peaks at 55 miles per week and go up to 85+ miles per week).  Never-the-less, some of the concepts in their book are really useful for a relatively low mileage runner like me.  Also, it is interesting to see what is required to get the best out of yourself for the marathon, so it's a good/motivating book to have from that perspective too.

I do feel in a position where I'm really motivated to build on the fitness I've built up over the last few weeks and months and other than the Half in June and a 10K in August, I'm trying to work out what my next steps are.  I still think the Half marathon is my favourite distance and I'd like to chip away at that time and I think that is my main aim.  I am already thinking about another marathon and I haven't got a short list or anything, but a secondary aim is to do another marathon and get under 4 hours.

I'll see how the training pans out over the summer months and see where I am with the fitness.  Although I'm now building up again for the June Half, I must admit that I still don't feel that I've got the marathon out of my legs.

Another decision to make is around my weight and food.  I've stabilised at 13st (which traditionally is a very good weight for me) but deep down I know that this isn't the perfect running weight.  The easy thing to do would be to keep doing what I'm doing and I think in reality this may be the option I choose.  I've lost the last stone in weight relatively easily, but I think if I try and lose another (say) half a stone it will be tough to do and some changes will have to be made to my diet.  I don't know if I'm ready to do that just yet!

North Dorset Village Marathon - done!

I had been carb loading all day Thursday and Friday and also up to Saturday lunchtime and I was feeling pretty full by this point, but all was looking good.  My wife and I jumped in the car and travelled up to North Dorset as we had a B&B booked for the night before the race.  I packed a lot of stuff, but I'm glad I took it all even though some of it I didn't need.

We arrived at the B&B at 3pm-ish and as we had some time we decided to drive the course.  This probably seems like a stupid thing to do, but in a way I'm glad I did as a) it's a nice picturesque course and b) I had a better idea of where the hills were.  It turns out there were only really 2 main hills, and on the day of the race itself I didn't really notice them.  We had a meal booked at Prezzo in nearby Blandford so we went out for that at 6:00pm.  I had the same as what I had at the Bideford Half which was garlic bread and meatballs/pasta but I was still hungry, so back at the B&B I had some flapjack and Jaffa Cakes which went down well.

I got a reasonable night's sleep and Sunday morning the alarm was set for 05:45 as I was having breakfast at 6am.  The B&B owners were great (and even got up with me) and I had my usual pre-run breakfast of shredded wheat, sultanas and a coffee.  Staying at the B&B were 2 South Africans also doing the race, one of who had done the renowned Comrades Marathon (on a year when it was ran going "down").  This year he is to do it on the "up".  Comrades is a 54 mile race and is supposed to be pretty gruelling.  I caught up with the two guys at the end of the race and they had both down really well, one of them bagging a PB.

On the morning of the race, I walked up to the school (which was the race HQ) and picked up my number and dropped of my bag, and then wandered back to the B&B for final preparations.  I was incredibly nervous, but also pleased that the day had finally arrived although it was forecast to be quite sunny which was a worry.  I walked back up to the race HQ at 8:15 and I'm pleased I managed to see Shades from the Runner's World thread I'm involved in.  It was great to meet her and her last bit of advice was to not go out too quickly, which I kept in my mind.  The race start was literally 10 metres from our B&B, so I'll remember that if I do this race again.

Onto the race itself and it was more or less perfect conditions at the start.  The sun was out, but there was cloud cover and there was virtually no wind.  I started off gently just to get the first 3 or 4 miles under my belt and to see how I felt.  Everything was feeling good with no sign of my knee niggle or any stomach issue rumbling so I was going well.  I remember thinking at about 13 miles and also again at 16 miles that I was doing well but to just keep it steady and see how it goes.  

At around this time I had a bit of a strange (very brief) conversation with someone on a moped.  I had seen this moped earlier and then I saw that she had pulled into a lay-by.  She still had her helmet on but as I came up to her she made eye-contact with me and the conversation went something like:

- Moped driver:  "Do you know where the air field is?".

- Me: "Eh?"

- Moped driver: "Do you know where the air field is?".

- Me: "Urrrm...sorry, no"

.....and off I trotted, without breaking stride.

The route itself was very picturesque with lots of nice scenery, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and and some horses all along the route.  The course is quite a rural one so there wasn't that much support along the way, but the marshals were great and in fact the whole organisation was brilliant.  I had a personal drink at the station at mile 19 so I picked that up and carried on.

At around 20 miles I was just about on for a sub-4, which was at the very top end of my expectations but by this time I was beginning to struggle slightly.  The sun was out (I have a red face this morning to prove that!) and by mile 22 my calfs were cramped and I was reduced to having to walk a few times, which is a shame.  At around this time I was running near a fellow Trotter who I later found out was also struggling.  He tried to drag me along, but I wasn't able to go with him unfortunately.  I then reassessed with the true main time goal to finish under 4:30, but kept pushing (firstly trying to do 4:05 and when that slipped by to get under 4:10).

The final mile was tough.  It was a very slight gradient on a gravel track and it just seemed to go on and on.  About 200 metres from the finish I caught sight of my wife and she spurred me on.  She took this picture and I have to say I don't look too bad here!  I was feeling a lot worse than I look as my legs were shot by this point.

I'm pleased to say that my official finish time is 4:08:12 and I am genuinely over the moon by that.  My one and only previous marathon was 5:15 at London 2010 (which admittedly was a pretty soft target for me) but I'm pleased to say that I smashed that time so all the training, weight loss, change in drinking habits etc seems to have paid off.

I picked up my race medal (picture below) and t-shirt and caught up with my wife.  There were a few fellow Trotters at the finish and most of them had struggled in some way, I think due to the heat.  The organisers had put mini-buses on to get back to the start but I decided to walk back as I thought the walk would do my legs some good.  I got back to race HQ 10-mins later, grabbed my bags and had a shower.  I also had some food (scotch eggs, flap jack and Jaffa cakes....) which went down well and also did a bit of stretching.

We jumped into the car and drove home, where I promptly had a large mixed grill and a pint which did go down well, but I was very tired so I did go to bed fairly early and I'm glad it's a Bank Holiday today!

So, what have I learnt from this race:

- There are no short cuts to training.  It helps me to be pretty well organised and disciplined in the marathon training and remembering to ease off a bit if injured.

- Even with the above, the marathon is a distance that has to be respected.  It can smack you in the face, and it's good to expect this to happen and have ways of dealing with it.  For me, it's along the lines of "get to that lamp post" or "get to that spectator" and just trying to keep my form and relax my shoulders.

- I think the carb loading helped a lot.  I may have to practice this some more as it wasn't really right that I was still hungry after my Saturday evening meal so I need to look at what I can eat the night before.  I worry about stomach issues though (which I have suffered a lot with in the past), so I do need to practice this before an LSR.

- I had some Jaffa Cakes with me on the race, and these were an epic fail.  I had practiced with them through the winter months and had some at Bideford but whilst running this race they just didn't want to do down so I didn't eat them.  I had some jelly beans and melon at one of the food stations and that helped kick start me.  I need to look at this if I'm to do another marathon, maybe revisiting gels again.  I have used gels in the past and I didn't get on with them but I need to think about this again.

- I learned that I could dig in when times were tough and get through in a good time for me.  It's a shame that I had to walk a bit, but even this was tactical as I walked up the slight inclines and trotted down the other side, thinking that I as probably walking quicker than I could run at that point anyway.

So, all in all I'm really pleased.  I must say I'm looking forward to going back to the 10Ks and halfs, but I reckon there's a good chance I'll be putting my name down for another marathon at some point!

North Dorset Village Marathon - the final preparations!

Well, this time tomorrow I'll be well on my way in the North Dorset Village Marathon.  I'm feeling nervous already and wondering if I've forgotten something.  I have a long list at the top of this page, which I'm in the process of going through to make sure I don't forget anything.

Over the last couple of days I've been carb-loading for the event, and using the basic rule of trying to get 8-10g of carbs down for every 1Kg of body weight.  Getting that many carbs down me is difficult as I should be looking in the region of 700-800, but I've given it a good shot.  I didn't really measure it yesterday but on Thursday I had 4 tea cakes, a large bowl 75g bowl of porridge, 3 bananas, a large pasta-based meal, garlic bread, flapjack, 2 shredded wheat, juice and a sports drink which came to a mere 550g.  I had similar on Friday, but I'll be easing back a bit today as I am feeling pretty full!

I am having a mild panic about the drinks that I use.  I use Torq Energy which is a powder that I add water to and it comes in big tubs.  I noticed last night (because I stupidly checked...if I hadn't checked, I would have been non-the-wiser) that my current pot is a month or so past its "best before date" and another pot I use I have a very very slight doubt over as there is 0.0000000001% chance it caused a stomach issue I had recently on a run.  I think I'll just go with the pot that is past it's "best before date" as I'm sure it won't be an issue.

Shades from the Runner's World thread I frequent a lot is also doing the race.  I haven't met her face-to-face before, but I'm hoping I bump into her on the start line so I can say a quick "Hi" and wish her well.  That thread has been a great source of advice and general good banter and I check it regularly.

On a light hearted note, there was a thread on Runner's World this week about a guy who seemed to have got a bit confused with his race number.  Having a read through this is good for a bit of laugh.

So, this time tomorrow I'll be about 3 hours through the race, with probably another 1-1.5 hours to run. I know I've done everything I can so I've got everything crossed that it'll go well!

North Dorset Village Marathon - it's the final count down now

The North Dorset Village Marathon is fast approaching now, and there are only 12 more days and 5 more training session until the event.

The course
I mentioned in a previous post from March about having a look at the propfile of the course and the below image shows the profile from Garmin Connect.

All in all, it looks like a good undulating course.  Some notes for me are below:

• There are two hills near the start.  One right at the start and one 1.5miles in.  This is probably a good thing as it will force me to go off relatively steady.
• It's then fairly undulating but nothing too taxing from about 3 miles to 18.  12.5 to 18 tends to a downhill slope.
• At 18 it looks to be an undulating/uphill section until 21.
• From 21 to 24 it tends to a downhill.
• Finally from 24 to the end it's slightly uphill but nothing major.

If (and it's a big if) I can get to 21-ish in reasonable shape it looks like a good run in to have a crack at.  Like I say, that's a big if though and I may be just hanging on by then.

Race instructions

The organisers have released some final instructions available off of this page.  The important points to note seem to be:

• Race registration is on the morning of the race and opens at 7am.  For me, I expect this will mean leaving the B&B to get the race number and then heading back the B&B for final preparations etc.  There are two numbers (front and back) with the front number having a detachable strip for a kit bag.
• There are water stops approximately every 5K, with water bottles being available at 9.5miles and 22.1 miles.  
• Personal drink stations are set up where I can leave my own drinks.  These are at 12.45 (20K) and 19 (30K) miles.  I'm currently not sure how to make use of these of these yet as my wife has also offered to stand on the course at around half way.
• There are mile markers as well as 10, 20, 30, 40K and half marathon markers.

Race strategy

I think this will remain to be seen and I'll see how I am on the day.  At the time of writing this I think I am probably 80% sure I'm going to do the event.  I'd be absolutely delighted to get sub-4 and my current thought is to go out at just over 9min/mile and see how I am after 20-miles or so.  

If I am on target, this would bring me in under 4 hours with a little bit to spare.  With 09:09 bringing me in dead on 03:59:59.  I wouldn't want to be that close as a) the Garmin may not be that accurate and b) I'll probably ending up running slightly more than the 26.2 miles I don't expect I'll be exactly on the racing line for all of it.  This is why I've settled on targeting the 9min/mile as a first target.

If after a few miles it seems obvious that this isn't going to happen, my secondary pre-race target would be 4:30.  Regarding paces, these are the main ones for me:

9min/mile - 03:55:58

09:15        - 04:02:31

09:30        - 04:09:05

09:45        - 04:15:38

10:00        - 04:22:11

10:15        - 04:28:45

10:30        - 04:35:18

10:45        - 04:41:51

11:00        - 04:48:24

If before the race I don't think that 4:30 is possible due to injury I expect I'll pull out.  If I make it to the start though I'll endeavour to finish no matter what the end time.

LSR, stag do, VLM and a sports physio session

It's been nearly a week since I last posted, and there has been a fair bit going on in that time.

As I mentioned, I have a knee niggle and it is still there but I'm pleased to say that I got the miles in that were on my plan last week.  I actually managed 35 miles last week with a 16 LSR, which is slightly more than what was planned but I did this because I basically missed the whole of the previous week.

I had the day off work on Friday to a) get the LSR in and b) go to a stag weekend.  The LSR itself wasn't great as I suffered with toilet issues for the first time in a long time.  I needed to stop 3 times and I remembered after about 12 miles that I had absent-mindedly been very liberal with the semi-skimmed milk that morning, so I think that is what caused the issue.  Importantly though I got the mileage in and in the end was out on my feet for about 2.5 hours, and overall the knee wasn't too bad.

After the run, I had a couple of things to do around the house and then headed off to the stag do weekend which was just a short train ride away.  I was really in two minds about drinking alcohol on the weekend as I didn't want to disrupt my marathon training too much.  However, I am not able to attend the associated wedding so I decided to have a few drinks on the Friday and not have any on Saturday.  I was quite pleased with this and think I struck a good balance and I don't feel that I had too much to drink on the Friday.

Sunday was arguably the biggest day of the British running calendar as it was the Virgin London Marathon.  I got up early from the hotel to get back in time to watch the race and I'm really glad I did.  I knew about 25 runners who were doing the event and the VLM website made it really easy to track runners who I wanted to follow.  The website gave 5K, half marathon and full distance splits together with an estimated finish time.  When the elite runners had finished, the BBC provided a "red button" service whereby I could watch the finish line and I'm pleased to say that I saw 5 people I knew cross the line to finish their marathons.  The data on the VLM site together with this red button service really added something to the whole viewing experience.  Also, by club's Facebook page was very active on that morning so it was a great time to watch the VLM this year.  I am definitely going to enter the ballot (which opens on 29th March) and this time hope I actually get a place in 2014 rather than hope that I don't!

I mentioned that one of my friends did Paris a couple of weeks ago.  He managed 2hr58 that day and he also did VLM where he managed a brilliant 3hr09 only two weeks later!

After I had watched a lot of the race I went out for a short 5 mile run which was okay but my knee was playing up a bit.  I had actually booked a sports therapist/massage session for tonight (Monday) as I was still worried about my knee and I wanted to give myself every chance of getting to the start line in 2 weeks time.  It's the first sport therapy/massage session I've attended and the therapist was very well recommended by my running club and he offers a discount to club members.

Before doing any treatments, he insisted on doing a pretty thorough examination of me and took notes relating to certain things about my stance, my spine, the length of my legs etc.  He thinks I have one leg slightly longer than the other one which could be causing some issues.  Also, he confirmed that my hamstrings are tight but concluded that the root cause of this is because I have tight hip flexors.  After giving my legs a thorough massage using a massage machine etc, he gave me some specific stretches to help with the tight hip flexors.  All in all, I was in there for 1.5 hours so that was £15 well spent!  I think I am going to have another session the week before my marathon to give myself the best chance of getting to the start line in good shape.

Physio visit and "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook"

(I won't mention Boston on here, except to say watching the footage on TV was very disturbing and I hope the people who caused the carnage are caught soon.).

I got a slow 8-miler in yesterday and although still a bit of an issue with my knee, there were no real issues the morning afterwards so I think I'm definitiely on the mend and I'm now back to being 75% sure I'll turn up to the start line of my marathon.

I did see a physio today and she was very good.  I haven't had much luck with physios in the past but this one seemed to know what she was doing.  I had kind of practiced what I was going to say and I started by saying "I am a runner and I don't want to stop running, but I've got this issue….", as I didn't really want to be told to stop running.  She was a runner herself, so knew where I was coming from.

I think I've basically been doing the correct stretches, although she has added another one that I'll have to ask my wife to help me with (I have to kneel with someone holding my heels and then let myself fall forwards in a controlled way).

The physio diagnosed the issue as "hamstring enthesopathy", and recommended getting some Ibuleve gel as well to work into where the hamstring meets the knee.  I haven't been taking Ibuprofen and she recommended against doing so.  She did want to tape up my leg, but she couldn't as my legs were too hairy and the tape wouldn't stick...  The physio did recommend getting a sports massage done so I'll look into that and also to continue with the icing.

Importantly, she didn't tell me not to run so all-in-all I'm happy.

After a recommendation from a friend, I've also got hold of a copy of "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" which seems very good, and I've started using some of those techniques with my stretching/self-massage.  In summary, it's a book that shows through diagrams of the joints/muscles where pain can come from.  Often, according to the book, the root cause of a pain may actually originate from somewhere else in the body.  I.E., a knee problem may originate from a thigh trigger point, or a heel issue may originate from a calf trigger point.  The book basically uses massage techniques to ease these trigger points and hence help with the pain.

So, all-in-all, things are looking up.  All being well, I'm aiming for an easy 5-miler tomorrow, 14 or so on Friday and then another 5-miler on Sunday.

A very light training week for me

Unfortunately, this week has been a very light training week.  The niggle I mentioned in my last post has been causing me a problem, so I've only done 2 sessions this week with the second being an easy 4 miler today so a total of only about 12.5 miles.  It's a bit concerning as this week was supposed to be the biggest week of the training in terms of mileage, and all this is after a very successful Jantastic where I hadn't missed a run.  It's definitely come at the wrong time (not sure if there ever is a right time really).

However, easing off was the right decision because if I had pushed on there was a very big chance that I wouldn't have made it to the start line of North Dorset Village Marathon.  As I type now I'd say it's 50/50 if I race or not.  I just have to take it day by day and assess the situation each day.

I did an easy 4 miles today and it wasn't a total success, but it could have been a lot worse.  After 5 days off of running with plenty of stretching/icing I felt I was ready to go out and try a short run.  The first mile wasn't great and I was feeling a twinge again but I carried on.  The last 2 miles were the best miles and all-in-all I'm glad I went out.  I have done plenty of stretching after the run today and my next run will be on Tuesday (all being well).  I'll keep an eye on my leg tonight and tomorrow and hopefully nothing will flare up.

I'm not entirely sure what miles to attempt this week, so I'll play it by ear I think.  If I can, I'll resume the plan I've been following which shows a total of 32 miles (5, 5, 8, 14) and just try and forget about the 22-miler that I've missed.  I think/hope I've got plenty of miles in my legs anyway, so it's all about seeing if I can get to the start line in reasonable shape.  If I feel I am not going to make it, I just won't run and potentially rejoin the gym so I can cross train to keep some form of fitness.

Spring marathon season has well and truly kicked off, plus a bit of a niggle!

On Sunday 7th April 2013, it kind of felt that the Spring Marathon season well and truly kicked off with loads of people from Teignbridge Trotters and Runner's World doing marathons on that day.

I was really interested in the Paris Marathon this year as I knew a few people who were travelling out to attempt the event.  One was going for Sub-3, another Sub-4 and the third out to enjoy.  I'm pleased to say that all three managed their goals!

I watched the event on the TV (it was shown live on Eurosport) and I must admit that as a casual observer I'm not sure if I would travel over for the event myself.  From the TV coverage it looked like a bit of a shambles from where I was sitting:

- I reckon some people must have taken an hour to get through the start, maybe more.  The commentators mentioned that there were no toilet facilities in the start area, so it's not ideal if you've been standing around for an hour and lots of runners end up doing their business in shop doorways.
- For some reason the organisers kept closing one arch off.  I am guessing this was to help with clearing up bin liners etc, so is therefore understandable but you could see people getting frustrated.
- Right at the start there were loads of people (I am presuming media etc) in the middle of the road.  Even the elites had to dodge around them.  It could have been nasty for the "second tier" of elites who would have arrived at the scene unsighted.
- Live on TV, within around 50 metres from the start one runner from the masses who was looking at his watch ran right into a camera. Hopefully he was okay, but he looked like he clattered it quite hard!
- The route wasn't really closed to the public.  At one point, there was a lady out for her run going along on the racing line.  The elites, which at this point were in a bunch of around 25, had to dodge around her.

Having said that, it was well organised in terms of being able to track runners.  There was a free iPhone app available and it allowed you to track runners by their name or number.  It gave you their time for each 5K, plus their half way and the end times so that was really good and added a different dimension alongside watching the race on TV.

As well as Paris, about 30 of my club mates went off to do Taunton Half and full Marathons with a good smattering of PBs achieved as well.

In terms of my running, this week is a big week with a 22 miler (the longest of training) planned.  I do have a bit of a niggle though and I've been pointed towards the following URL as a good source if information.
http://www.physioadvisor.com.au/7652450/injuries-sports-injuries-injury-treatment-inju.htm

My issue is at the back/inside of my left leg, level with the knee.  It doesn't seem like a joint issue but more of a tendon/muscle issue.  I've been doing a lot of stretching and icing and it does seem to be getting better.  I was out for an 8-miler today and nearly turned around after 1-mile, but strangely it seemed to get better over time so I did manage to complete the run okay.  When I stretch my quads or lift my lift my foot up towards my bum it hurts a bit.

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it but I'm a bit concerned about getting my 22-mile LSR in this week.  Let's see how it goes.

Jantastic is finished!

Marathon Talk's Jantastic is over and I have done well and found the whole process really motivating.  As mentioned previously, I did lose a couple of percentage points because I beat my 10K target by quite a large margin, but importantly I didn't miss any session since the challenge started on January 7th so I've been really consistent which is the point of the challenge.

I ended up with 100% in Jatastic and Febulous, and 94% in Marcvellous which ended up being a overall score of 98%.  From my Garmin, I've wracked up some big numbers:
- 49 individual runs
- 420 miles
- 64hr 40mins of training

It is the Paris Marathon this weekend and I know a couple of people who are running the event, which is the first big marathon of the Spring.  It's being shown on Eurosport so I'm going to try and catch that on the weekend.

Club session, LSR, results analysis and some rambling before the BH weekend!

It's nearly the bank holiday weekend, so I'm planning on relaxing a bit and enjoying some time off work which will be really nice.

I have quite a bit to talk about today!

Wednesday club session
I got a tough club session in yesterday evening.  It was 5x1m intervals with 2mins recovery.  I haven't done this session before, and my legs were aching afterwards but I'm glad I went.  It wasn't a "perfect" session in that I slowed a bit at the end, but I'm pleased as all the splits were a fair bit under 7min/mile.

1 06:49

2 06:43

3 06:40

4 06:54

5 06:51

This week's LSR
Following the above club session, I'm in two minds about when to do this week's LSR.  I have a 20-miler to do and I could a) try and to it after work or b) do it tomorrow AM?

If I do get time to do it after work, it will be on tired legs from the session last night.  I think it's probably a good thing to try and run an LSR once in a while on tired legs, so I may give it a go and see how I get on.  Also, if I get it out of the way this evening it will mean that I can enjoy the beer festival more tomorrow!

Exeter "wrap up and run" 10K
The results are out for the 10K I did on the weekend, and I'm pleased with the results.  Out of 550 finishers I finished 87th, which I think is my best relative position.  However, although there were lots of quick runners, there were also quite a few fun/charity run/walkers so that has to be kept in mind.  Even so, I'm pleased.

Also, for my age category (M35) I finished 13th out of 36 which I am sure is the best age category position I have finished in.  Onwards and upwards!

Runner's World Sports Psychology web chat 
Every so often, Runner's World have an expert on a particular subject where forumites can ask question sand the expert answers them in the form of a web chat.  This week, there was a sports psychologist and I posed a question about what to do to help avoid nerves on the start line of an important question.

My post/question:

I also suffer with nerves alot before a race that I want to do well in (i.e, if it's an event I've been training hard for and my goal is a PB).  However, the other day I did a 10K and got a PB and wasn't nervous at all on the start line.  I think this was because it wasn't a main goal for me, but I was still expecting I would do well.  However, if it hadn't gone well I know I would have genuinely brushed it off and moved onto the next race.  I do have a routine at the start of each race (which I also practice on my LSRs) around food, loo, stretching etc but even this doesn't help on the start line of an important event.

I know the obvious answer is to try relax at the start of my important races, but I find that easier said than done.  Therefore if you any tips on this it would be appreciated.

A couple of other people asked similar questions and there were some useful tips, including:

• Expect anxiety if you have had this before in similar events.   
• Imagine how you will preform, how you will manage the day, how you will execute your strategy. 
• Recall all your good training. You're ready, aren't you!   
• Food wise, eat what you'd normally eat, try not to over do it, or eat anything that a nervous stomach will not like.  Go easy on fibre - as your stress hormones reduce your ability to digest and increase the need to evacuate (bowel movements).   
• Nerves are normal, they prepare you to fight or take flight.  The marathon is a long 'flight'.
• Tell yourself beforehand that you are going to do your best, stuff may happen, and if it does you will do your best at the time to handle it. 
• However things go, you will be proud of yourself, live to fight another day and seek other goals. This is one, but not the only goal for you in running, activity and life!  Go for it.

Exeter "wrap up and run" 10K

I'm pleased to say I did really well in the 10K today and my results are here.

With a 43:40 chip time, it's quicker that I've ever ran a 10K (by 6 minutes!) but it was down hill for the first 2K.  I reckon this is more like a 45 or 46min time and based on that it would still be a 3 or 4 minute PB so I'm really pleased overall.

Today was a bit odd, and another "lesson learned" for me.  I've written before that I usually get extremely nervous before a race, but I think I should qualify that in that I get really nervous before a race that I really want to do well in.  I've had this race on my calendar for a couple of months, but it wasn't an 'A-race' for me.  As such, I felt much more relaxed than usual on the start line, although I still went through all my usual preparations before a race (getting up a couple of hours early for food, stretching etc).  For this race, I had decided to go out quick and see if I could hold on knowing that if I blew up it wouldn't be the end of the world for me; really I was treating it as a training run, but I admit I was quietly confident.  If only I could take that confidence and not being nervous into other events, but I suppose that comes with experience.

That's the last race before North Dorset Village marathon, so I now have to get stuck into the training over the next few weeks with the priority on getting those LSRs completed at a slow pace.

A nice run yesterday and a 10K tomorrow

I got a nice mixed paced 5-miler in after work yesterday.  It's the first time in a while that I have run with music, but for some reason I just fancied it  yesterday.  Rudimental's "Not Giving In" was on my iPod and it was great to run to.

I googled the song afterwards, and it is a cracking video as well.  It's basically about two young Pilipino   brothers who are very close, but at one critical point in their lives they choose a different way of life leading to one of the brothers ending up shot.  The lyrics are pretty simple, but it put a spring in my step on my run.

This time, I'm gonna be stronger I'm not giving in,

This time, I'm gonna be stronger, no, I'm not giving in.

I have the Exeter "Wrap up and run" 10K tomorrow, and I'm hoping for a PB at this distance.  However, I'm getting my excuses in early as I got an email from the organisers saying "Please be aware that the route is going to be very wet and muddy, so make sure you dress accordingly".  It looks like it could be a bit of a mud-fest!

Back in the groove?

After writing yesterday that I hadn't had the best of weeks, and that I was thinking that this would be the first week that I wouldn't get 100% in Jantastic I pulled out a great run after work today.  I did 15 miles (which was my Jantastic mileage goal for this week) in 9min/mile with the final two miles being 08:14 and 08:21so it is a real confidence booster following the Sunday run which didn't go so well.

I know this is not an advisable pace for an LSR (it's at my target marathon pace) but I was feeling good so decided to go for it, and I think it was the boost I needed after feeling at a bit of a low for the last few days.  It's also still a few weeks away until the marathon so I still have plenty of time to do LSRs at the correct training pace. I've got a 20, 15, 22 and a 14-miler planned and then a 20 week taper before the marathon date.

Interestingly, I have actually put on some weight over the last few weeks which is annoying!  I was 12st10 a few weeks ago whereas this week I was 13st1 so it is a fairly sizeable increase in weight, even though I have been increasing the mileage in that time frame.  I have been eating a bit more these last few weeks as I have been more hungry but I need to keep an eye on this and try and get the weight back down under 13st if I can.

Exeter "wrap up and run" 10K

My race number arrived today for Sunday's "Wrap Up and Run" 10K, which is in support of Age UK.  It's a fast course, so I'm looking for a PB at this event with my current PB standing at 49:39.  If I can get close to 45:00 I'll be pleased so we'll see how it goes.

As has become usual for me, I've been looking at the course profile and it is a fast course.  Below are three profiles from last year's event:

 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/161444182

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/161318360 












http://connect.garmin.com/activity/161295616

As can be seen, it is a fast course with no major hills so it'll be interesting to see how I get on.  The majority of it seems to be on the same route as the Exeter Half Marathon I did a few weeks ago, although the start is in a different place in the city centre.

I haven't had the best of weeks so far and I've only done one 4-mile run so far.  I did a 20-miler on Sunday and it knocked me about a bit so I've been taken it a bit easy so far.  I was supposed to be doing a 15-miler today but I had a bad stomach ache so decided not to run today.  I'm hoping to do 15 tomorrow, an easy 4/5 on Friday or Saturday and then the 10K on the Sunday however the weather doesn't look great.  There is a chance I will miss my 100% Jantastic score this month which is a shame. My current status is:

A 5x1K with 2mins recovery Club session last night

I mentioned back in January (7 weeks ago) that I had a really good session with the Club.  That was a 6x1K session with 200m jog recovery.  I had a similar session yesterday with the Club, but it was a 5x1K with 2-mins jog recovery so although not identical they are similar.

I remember thinking 7-weeks ago that it was a strong session and that I was improving, but the session yesterday was even better which shows that I am still improving which is really encouraging.

There are some discrepancies as the route we run on is not a measured course, and in fact yesterday's was approximately 100m longer than the course we ran 7-weeks ago.  However, both sessions were on the same basic loop (which is running around a flat industrial estate).

The splits from the efforts on yesterday's session are below, with the "Distance" in miles and the "Av Pace" in min/miles:

Split    Time     Distance      Av Pace

1          4:14.4   0.65             6:33

2          4:15.7   0.65             6:31

3          4:08.7   0.65             6:22

4          4:09.6   0.66             6:20

5          4:03.5   0.64             6:18

Average pace: 06:24

The splits from the session 7-weeks ago were:

Split   Time     Distance     Av Pace

1         4:10.7    0.59           7:04

2         4:11.5    0.61           6:55

3         4:12.4    0.60           6:59

4         4:09.7    0.60           6:54

5         4:10.7    0.59           7:02

6         3:53.4    0.61           6:24

Average pace: 06:53

Like I say, it's not a direct comparison because the sessions weren't the same, but it's interesting non-the-less.  For the efforts, my average pace has improved by 29secs/mile in those 7 weeks, which is really encouraging.  My quickest pace 7-weeks ago was the last one (06:24) and I know I was very tired after that split (our club record holder was dragging me a long).  However, that same time was my average yesterday!

Also, it's good to see that my paces were increasing through the session and I was able to put a bit of a spurt on the last one, although I again had nothing left at the end.  So, all in all, another good session and I'm pleased.

An extra run today

I got an extra run in today, which makes it the fifth run this week and the sixth in 8 days.  Also, the extra session takes me to over 41 miles this week and (with the Half Marathon from last week) it takes me to over 54 in 8 days.  I am wary of pushing it and getting injured, but I feel fine so I was happy to get the extra run in tomorrow knowing that it may end up being a rest day tomorrow.

I am due to do a 9-miler tomorrow but according to the weather forecast it's going to feel like -5 with gale force winds which I don't really fancy!  Today wasn't ideal conditions as it was quite cold and rainy but it was a good session.  There is a new cycle path that has opened near me so I ran along that and got 7.33 miles in.  I did get a bit lost getting back onto the main road so that slowed me down but I averaged 8:02 min/mile so I was really pleased with that.

Getting my long run in on the Friday this week maybe a good strategy in the future, but it is dependent on what time I manage to finish work on a Friday.  I have a few thoughts on this:

1. It gets the run out of the way early in the weekend!
2. I am obviously tired after a long run, but there is the potential of getting sleep soon after the long run, whereas that isn't possible if I do it early on a Saturday or a Sunday.  Anything over 18-ish does make me feel tired and can have a negative impact on the rest of the day if I do the LSR on a weekend morning.
3. Doing the LSR on the Friday this week has enabled me to get a 5th run in this week.  Although I may not be able to do that every week (not wanting to risk injury, being too tired, not enough time etc) I do know that a 5-day a week training schedule can be more beneficial.
4. Getting the long run in on a Friday does mean that I won't go out with the running club on their weekend LSRs.  Having said that, it has been a good few weeks since I've been with them on an LSR anyway; I think the last time I went out for an LSR with the club was on the Xmas social run on 28th December.  This is a shame actually, as I do enjoy the runs with the club.  However, I am finding that I am more able to control the pace I want to run at when I run by myself.
5. Doing the LSR on a Friday does mean that I don't practice my morning fuel routine.

North Dorset Village Marathon preparation

It's a long way off (9 weeks training remaining), but I thought I'd have a quick look on Garmin Connect of some profiles.  When I did the same for Exeter, there was some discrepancies between people's profiles so I want to check out a few and think of some kind of average.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/175721311  (733ft elevation gain)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/175703353  (899ft elevation gain)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/188262724  (659ft elevation gain)

There doesn't seem to be much discrepancy this time, but I think I'll keep the first one in mind as it seems quite a smooth profile and is roughly in the middle of the three elevation gains.  

This is an important month for my training

This is a very important month for my marathon training, so I hope it goes well.  Time will tell.

I got a 4-mile recovery run in yesterday and felt fine, if a little achey.  This morning I'm fine and think I could got for a long run if I wanted to.  That's good as it means I have recovered pretty well from the weekend's efforts.

(**If you're slightly squeamish, please don't read the next bit).
I think I may lose a toenail though.  I did lose the same nail that is causing issues after London 2010 and it is a bit sore today as well.  I've been advised to Lock Lacing, which will help the laces stay tight and help avoid movement in the shoe.

(**You can carry on reading now...).
A I mentioned, this is an important month for me with a couple of  20 milers in the plan.  I may actually up one of those to 22 if I feel I can.

The rough plan is:
w/c 4th March
5 mile easy
Club speed/hill training
8 mile easy
16 mile LSR
Total:  about 34

w/c 11th March
9 mile easy
Club speed/hill training
6 mile easy
20 mile LSR
Total: about 40

w/c 18th March
5 mile easy
15 mile mid-week long run
8 mile tempo
10K race
Total: about 34

w/c 25th March
10 mile easy
Club speed/hill training
5 mile tempo
20-22 LSR
Total: about 40-42

If I do that lot, it'll be around 163 miles (including the half I did on the 3rd), which I think will be a record.  In a way, the 10K race has come at the wrong time for me as that week's mileage is down a bit on what it should be, but I think it should work out okay.

I'm still on 100% for Jantastic, which I'm pleased with.  The March challenge is to specify how many runs a week I'll do (I've said 4 again) and  say what the longest runs each week will be (I've planned the above and input that into the Marathon Talk website).  The extra challenge for March is to say what I'll do a set distance in.  For that, I'm using the 10K race and I've said 46:30, so we'll see how that goes!

The morning after the night before...

Well, it's the day after my PB and I'm still really pleased.  I'm trying not to overanalyse it too much, as I went faster than I thought was possible for me on the day.  However, after my Exeter Half 3 weeks ago I posted a few questions and frustrations I had, and I'm going to update a bit on that below on a few items that I think helped me get my PB.

Fuelling.  In Exeter, I ended up feeling a bit hungry on the start line which can't really be a good thing.  In the run up to Bideford, I had two lots of pasta on the Saturday as well as teacakes and plenty of water throughout the day.  On the morning of the run, I had my usual shredded wheat plus I added a couple of pieces of toast.  During the run itself, although I didn't particularly feel that I needed them I forced myself to eat 2 or 3 of the Jaffa Cakes I was carrying with me.

Water.  I had plenty of water in the days leading up to the event and also around 1.5 litres on the morning of the event (plus coffee).  This all obviously had the effect of me needing to go to the loo a few times before the start but I didn't feel thirsty on the run itself.  In fact, I probably only had about half of the drink I took with me.  It was quite a cold day though and I did take a couple of sips from the water that was provided on the course which was very refreshing and cold.

Understanding of the course:  I think spending time understanding the course profile by looking on Garmin Connect as well.  I had some key bits in my mind and even though it wasn't a hilly course, knowing where the major inclines were helped even if it was only a rough estimate.

Resting and B&B.  It was a bit of an extravagance as I know that many of my Club mates travelled up to Bideford on the morning of the event but I think travelling up on the previous afternoon and staying in a B&B less than 2-minutes walk from the start line helped with my nerves a bit,  It also meant I could go about my business on the morning without worrying about getting to the start line.

Negative split.  This is obviously the main thing to take away from this event, and it is something that I promised myself I would attempt after Exeter went so wrong.  I remember purposefully slowing myself down when I saw a few people I know run away from me in the early miles and I purposefully stuck rigidly to my plan.  This is clearly shown in the splits from yesterday, and is something I am definitely going to do again.  This is the massive "lesson learned" from this race.

Regarding the negative split, I am still not really sure that size of a split is totally the best thing.  Could it be that I was slightly too conservative in the first half?  I really don't know, but finishing strongly is a much better way to feel than blowing up at mile 10 which I have done many times.

Also, I'm not really sure how it translates into a smaller event (i.e., a 10K for which I have at the end of March) where I feel I could (and probably should?) go out quick and try to hold on.  For my full Marathon in May I am specifically training for a fairly comfortable 9 min/mile pace but the same "negative split" rules still apply, except I think they are even more important in the marathon.  For example, getting to half way and pushing on probably isn't really advisable; if (and it's a big if) I'm feeling okay at mile 20 or 22 maybe I could look to step it up a bit then if I feel able to.

When I look back over the last few months, I know I have made some big improvements to my training and also (more importantly??) my alcohol intake.  In June 2012 I struggled to a 2hr+ Half Marathon at the Torbay Half, on a route I know very well.  I joined the Trotters in September and then in October 2012, February 2013 and March 2013 I got successive PBs culminating in yesterday's 1:42:02 time.  So, since June I have knocked 18 minutes off which is nearly 1:30 min/mile!  As I mentioned yesterday, my focus is now directly turning to the LSR miles for my marathon at the start of May (apart from a 10K I have at the end of March, which is not a priority), but I confess I have half an eye on seeing if I can sneak under 1:40 at the Torbay Half in June.  That's a long way off yet though.

Bideford Half Marathon, and a PB!

I ran the Bideford Half Marathon today and I'm pleased to say that I got a PB, so I am absolutely delighted.  Unlike the Exeter Half that I did 3 weeks ago (which overall I was disappointed with), this one couldn't have gone better.

My wife and I decided to make a weekend of the event, so we booked a B&B in Bideford, which was literally less than 2-minutes from the start line.  I'm not trying to put Bideford down as it looks a lovely place, but after a quick wander around the town it became apparent I wasn't going to get a decent evening meal so we jumped in the car and drove to the nearby Barnstaple where I knew they had a Prezzo restaurant and I continued my carb loading there.

On the morning of the race, we had breakfast (shredded wheat, coffee and toast) and as the owner of the B&B was also running the event we had quite a long chat about the funny little ways each of us has when it comes to running.  Unfortunately, I saw the owner at about mile 9 and he was limping in the wrong direction.  I later found out that he had hurt his knee so had to pull out.

I was incredibly nervous in the morning, but got to the start line in good shape and I was feeling fairly confident.  The disappointment I had in Exeter was still clear in my mind and I had a strategy which was to really try and negative-split the race to see if I could sneak under the 1:45 target.  I wrote after the Exeter Half the following:

 I must stick to my plan, get to half way more or less on target (not under target) and reassess how I am feeling at that point. 

I'm really pleased to say that I stuck really well to this plan.  I knew I had to average under 8 min/mile to get under 1:45 and I wanted to run the second half faster the first half.  I purposefully held back a bit in the first half of the event and I got through mile 7 in 57min 03sec.  I found that I was feeling really good so from there I purposefully tried to step it up and I did it quite comfortably.  From mile 7, no other runner overtook me and I must have overtaken between 50 and 100 people myself.  At mile 9 I was on target for 1:45 and I'm delighted to say that I managed 1:42:02, so which ever way I look at that it's a strong PB....5mins+ quicker that my last effort at Exeter (which was also a PB).

The splits are below:

Split	Time	Cumulative Time
1	08:25.0	00:08:25.0
2	08:04.8	00:16:29.8
3	08:20.1	00:24:49.9
4	07:57.2	00:32:47.1
5	08:06.5	00:40:53.6
6	08:07.2	00:49:00.8
7	08:02.6	00:57:03.4
8	07:27.5	01:04:30.9
9	07:24.0	01:11:54.9
10	07:21.8	01:19:16.7
11	07:18.7	01:26:35.4
12	07:26.1	01:34:01.5
13	07:18.1	01:41:19.6
14	00:45.0	01:42:04.6
Summary	01:42:04.5

Looking at them is really interesting.  You can see that for the first 7 miles all but one of the miles was over 8 min/mile, and from then onwards I didn't go above 07:30.  This is a huge negative split, where I ran the second half of the race a full 4 minutes quicker that the first half.  I'm not actually sure if this is the best way to do it, but I do know for sure that I feel a lot better finishing strong as opposed to what happened in Exeter.

So, all in a great race.  There are no more halfs for me until June, so now the attention firmly turns to building up the LSRs for the marathon in May.