parkrun PB and some inspiration

My wife and I went and did a parkrun on the weekend, and we both got PBs which is great.  I finished in 21:32 and was 27/142 with an age grading of 62% which I'm really pleased with.  This time is nearly 90seconds quicker than my first attempt on 8th June and nearly 30 seconds quicker than my previous official PB of 22:05 on 15th June.  I do have my eye on getting a 20.xx as I think I should be able to do that on a flat course, and I under Barnstaple parkrun is flat so I'm thinking of heading there soon to see what I can do there.

I have recently finished a great book; Running with Kenyans, by Adharanand Finn.  It is a great book, but I wanted to blog about one particular section.  I know that runners are often asked "Why do you do it?"or "What's the point?" and I think a couple of paragraphs in one section of Finn's book really stand out for me to help explain this.

"As humans, on a basic level, we get hungry, we sleep, we yearn for love, we run.  Just watch small children left unsupervised to play.  They can't stop running.  It is part of what makes us human."

I'm not sure if I should directly quote much more but it is a great book, and Finn was interviewed over two recent episodes of marathonTALK which I also think is definitely worth a listen.

First run of the week and Febulous starts

I got a 7 mile run at target half marathon pace and it was okay, but not brilliant.  I think I'm not fully back to normal following the weekend's excesses!  It was good to get the first run of the week out of the way though, and I had pleasure in marking my first run of Febulous off!

I averaged 07:57 min/mile, so on track for the sub 1:45 PB on the weekend, all being well!  It's a tough ask for me to knock another 5-mins off of my 1:50 PB and it's not a given at this stage, but I'm in with a shout if everything goes well (weather, food, drink, race tactics, race crowds) etc.  As I'm sitting here writing this, I'll be a bit disappointed if I don't get a 1:4X time....we'll see how I get on.

Shades from the Runner's World thread has posted a "Noddy's guide to marathon preparation", which is really useful.  It talks about what to do in the taper work, things to keep in mind for the Saturday before the event, preparation for the day of the, the race itself and some important post-race things to do.  I've printed it out actually, and I will take it with me to my marathon in May!

So, tomorrow is a rest day where I'll do some more stretching and to try make sure I continue to get some liquids into me.  I am planning a club session on Wednesday, a slow/easy 4-5 miler on Friday and then the race itself on Sunday.

There looks to be some good sessions on the Wednesday night club session, so I'm not sure yet what I'll choose:

• Churchills 3 hills challenge - 45min continuous running, 2 uphill & 1 downhill
• 10 x 400m - Even paced efforts with 90 second recovery
• Lamp Post relays - Run warm up, lamp post reps and run cool down

It's not big and it's not clever!

I had a weekend off running and my wife and I had a weekend away, which was very nice.  We went out for a few drinks, saw a comedy show, had a nice meal out on the evening and a nice breakfast in the morning.

I did enjoy the weekend, but Sunday was more or less a write off due to the alcohol....!  I think I had 8 pints on the Saturday afternoon/evening and although the ales weren't particularly strong it really knocked me about on the Sunday.  It didn't help that we had some "noisy neighbours" at the hotel, so I didn't get a lot of sleep but it was the alcohol that was the main culprit for me feeling rough.

I had about 8 pints in around 9 hours.  In my previous "non-running" life, this wouldn't necessarily have been a huge amount for a 9-hour "session" so I think it shows my body is changing and it obviously didn't like the booze on Saturday.  I had plenty if fluid and got a reasonable night's sleep on Sunday so I'm feeling much better today and raring to go again.

On to this week.....

I am now entered into a half marathon on the 10th February.  It is a flat course, so I'm going to go for a PB.  We'll see how that goes!  Shades (from Runner's World) has said for me to go for the PB, and depending on the time she will help reassess my training paces (especially my LSR pace) to make sure I'm doing okay.

It's month two of Jantastic (Febulous), and after my 100% in January I'm aiming for it again in February so hopefully I'll stay injury free and keep on the plan.

Talking about the Runner's World forums, there are a lot of posts about people's first marathons and a lot of buzz/fears/concerns etc.  The forum has a competition where 6 (I think) forumites get some "personalised" training via the forum for a target-paced marathon.  I'm currently lurking on the sub-4 hour thread as if I get under 4 hours I'll be extremely pleased.  I'm in a bit if a dilemma as I've said all along that I just want to try and enjoy this one, and that is still the main aim!  However, I want to also do my best.  I think really what I mean is that I want to get through 18-20 and not blow up, but ideally run through the finish line with not much left in the tank...the proverbial "sprint finish" would be great.  We'll see!

4 mile (fast) recovery

I got a fast 4-miler recovery in today (following the 16-miler yesterday) and I felt good.

It was probably helped by the fact that I wore a new pair of running shoes.  It's not the most fascination picture, but the shoe on the right is an old one and the one on the left is a new one.  They are the same model, but different a colour different.  According to my Garmin Connect site I've done round 700 miles in my old ones.

It seems there is a relatively even wear on it, although the top left of the picture (that is the inside of my left heal) wears quite a lot more than the right.  I'm not really sure if this is "normal" or not, but I do know the shoe has quite a lot of support in that area.  I have a race next Sunday so I may wear my old pair for that, but then move permanently over to the new pair.  We'll see.

I did buy 3 more pairs of the shoes I wear (they are Asics GT-2170) as I do get on with them well.   Sportsshoes.com had a sale on, so I got 3 more pairs, and got 10% and free delivery via Quidco.  I do now have 6 pairs (7 with the my old 700-mile pair!).

With the 4 miles today (fourth run of the week) that is Jantastic completed at 100% :-)  February gets a harder challenge where you have to say what your longest run each will be, as well as how may runs a week will be done.  I'm up for it though!

16 mile long run after work

I got a long run in after work last night.  The run was okay, but I was very tired after it and was dreading the run all day at work.  However, I have had to rearrange the training days this week so unfortunately I had no choice this week.  I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to run at around 09:30 min/mile (ideally slower) and I'm pleased that I did it.

I averaged 09:31, and the splits are below.

1    9:32

2    9:32

3    9:28

4    9:34

5    9:29

6    9:33

7    9:41

8    9:30

9    9:27

10  9:19

11  9:47

12  9:48

13  9:33

14  9:26

15  9:34

16  9:43

I did struggle on miles 10-12 which was on a slight incline, and I was very tired after the session but I'm glad I went out.  Part of the tiredness I think was due to the fact that I was at work all day, so hopefully I'll be able to build the miles up slowly over the next few weeks.  Due to the decreased pace on some of the inclines, I wonder if I need to start doing some hill sessions?

Having said that though, February is a bit of a strange month and my plan doesn't show much of an increase in the longer-run mileage due to a couple of planned events.  The plan is:

w/c: 4th Feb.      13.1 mile (Exeter Half event where I'm hoping for a PB).

w/c: 11th Feb.    18 mile

w/c: 18th Feb.    15 mile long

w/c:  25th Feb.   13.1 mile (Bideford Half event).

Had a great club session last night

After feeling a little despondent on the weekend, I had a great club session last night.  It's made even better by the fact that I very nearly didn't attend the session because as I was leaving it was raining very heavily (with snow/sleet in the air) and it was also very cold.  The session started off being the worst weather conditions that I have ever ran in, but the weather eased up and I'm really glad I went.  I'm not sure who said this or where it came from but the following quote always seems to ring true:

Don't doubt if you should run today, just decide that you are going to.  You only regret runs you didn't do and rarely regret runs that you did.

Anyway, back to the session last night.  It was 6x1K loops, with approximately 200m jog recovery where on each loop you're supposed to push yourself hard but maintain control.  On my last loop, our club 10K record holder (Tommo, who was on his 7th loop) caught me up and dragged me along which really pushed me.  It's interesting, as he took one look at me and just said "relax your arms, mate" which really helped.  It's hard to describe (and I don't know if it's just in my mind), but I seemed to "flow" a bit easier from consciously relaxing my arms.  I'll have to remember this for my other runs, especially ones where I am pushing myself hard.

Also, looking at my splits (I remembered to hit the lap button at the start and end of each loop) I was quite a bit quicker following Tommo.  I'm not saying I could have done that speed on each of the previous 5 loops because I was absolutely shattered after that 6th one.

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

I ran back to the club house with Tommo and it was interesting chatting with him.  He has just turned  40 (so has just entered into the MV40 category) and holds various club records from when he was 23 etc.  However, last weekend he ran a 10K and was just 13 seconds off of his PB for the 10K (set when he was 23).  He reckons he is going to break his PB this year.  He is also gunning for the MV40 records in half and full marathon as well.  What a cracking achievement!

A cold 12-miler

I got a cold 12-miler in today.  It wasn't snowing or icy (unlike in many places in the UK) but it seemed to get colder the longer I was out.  I'm pleased I got it in though, and I'm looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow.

It means that I am am at 100% for the first two weeks of Jantastic, which I'm pleased about as well.

Looking ahead to next week, I'm looking to do:

• Mon: 6 mile tempo

• Wed: Club Run.  I'm not sure which session yet but there is a choice of:
• 6 X 1K loops, with approx 200m jog recovery added
• A hill session consisting of running continuously for 5 X 5 mins and rest for 2 mins.
• 3 x 1200m.  Push hard for maximum benefit.

• Thurs: 7 mile easy

• Sat: 12 mile.

11 miler this morning, with iPod

I went out for a gentle 11 miler (at the time of writing for some reason the Garmin Connect site isn't allowing me to upload my run details) from Paignton-Torquay and back, twice.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was going to out with my iPod and listen to the Marathon Talk Podcast.  I actually enjoyed listening the podcast and this episode had Mike Tomlinson (Jane's husband) on the show.  It was a thought-proving episode, and Mike explained what Jane went through with her illness, including a lot of "hassle" from people questioning her illness etc.  As the episode mentioned, there are some strange people out there.  Mike has this month opened the York Marathon for entries, and after a quick Google it appears that the original 5000 place sold out in 2 days.  At the time of writing, 5500 places have now gone and they are seeing if they can raise it 6000 entrants.  See here for a report.

Another thing about the Podcast is that someone from the Runner's World marathon thread I am a member of was mentioned as she did 2 marathons back to back in January.

Anyway, I'm pleased to see that my achilles seems okay and didn't hold me up or bother me on the 11 miler, although it does seem a bit tight after the run.  I am planning on doing a "normal" week next week, to include the Wednesday club session that will involve a hill/tempo/sprint session of some sort.

I've also logged my four runs this week on the Marathon Talk website so I"m currently on track for Jantastic!

Foam roller and iPod experiments

My achilles is feeling okay, so I'm planning an 8-10 miler tomorrow.  If it's still okay after that, I'll be back to the "normal" training next week, as although I will have done four runs this week they have all been at a purposefully slow/easy pace.  Also, I expect this will only be around 26-27 miles so I want to try and do 30-35 miles next week if possible with an LSR of around 13, and slowly build up the mileage over the next few weeks.

A few years ago, I used to run with an iPod but I found that I got a bit bored of it and used to settle into the rhythm of the music as opposed to running at whatever pace I wanted.  I'm going to try again tomorrow though, but this time listening to a Marathon Talk podcast and see how I get on with that.  If I find that I'm either not really taking the podcast in, or alternatively I find it too distracting I'll just turn the iPod off.  It's not that I don't enjoy running by myself and taking in the scenery etc, but I just feel like giving it a go to see how I get on.  If it works well, it will be a good way of "killing two birds with one stone".  I.E., getting the LSR in, plus listening to a podcast at the same time.

On a couple of the threads I follow on Runner's World, foam rollers have been mentioned and seem very popular with other runners.  I know that I have tight hamstrings and although I do stretch I never really feel that they get any looser.  I have been thinking about getting one for a little while as on some runs I feel that cardio-vascularly I'm feeling fine, but my legs feel "heavy" some how.  Therefore, for the sake of £10 delivered, I thought I'd order one so mine should be turning up from Amazon some time next week.  I'll report back here on how I find it.

First run of the New Year

It's been a late start of the year for me, since completing the December running streak on NYE.  As I mentioned though, I have had a slight niggle in my achilles so have eased off to try and clear the injury up for me to start my marathon training properly.

So, I went out for a slow and steady 4-mile run on a flat route after work today and I'm pleased to say I felt okay.  The achilles did feel a bit tight for a mile or so, but after that it felt fine.  It was good to get back out again, and it was a nice run out on a scenic seafront route.

I'm going to continue to ice and stretch the achilles over the next week or so, and presuming I am okay tomorrow and not hobbling around I'm planning a 5-miler on both Wednesday and Friday and hopefully a slightly longer run (8-10 miles) on Sunday all being well.  All of this will be at a slow and steady pace on flat routes.

I've also got off to a start on the Marathon Talk Jantastic challenge as well, where I have set myself the target of doing four session a week through January.

Achilles is getting better, but I haven't ran for 6 days

The achilles issue I mentioned in the previous post is getting better, but I have decided not to run for a whole week and have been going to the gym instead (yawn!!).  It feels ok (not 100%, but it's not painful as such ...more of a very slight discomfort) when walking around but when I lightly squeeze it there is some pain. The pain/discomfort has been reducing over the 6 days I've taken off. I'd say on a scale of 1-10 the pain when I squeeze it is only a 2, but I am wary of achilles injuries. 

Annoyingly, I felt it go when I was out for a long walk in the new year and not when running although I appreciate it still could be running induced. I do have a dilemma as my gym membership runs out on the 8th Jan and I was planning on not renewing it.  I'm thinking I'll go for a slow trot tomorrow and see how it is and then make my mind up about the membership.

I'm hoping to do the MarathonTalk Jantastic challenge and I've set my goal for January to run 4 times per week.  From the website, there are the following rules which help keep the motivation and consistency going in the early part of the year, with the objective being that you set the goals at the start of each month and report your progress against those goals on a weekly basis.

January = How many runs per week?

February = January + How far will you go?

March = January + February + How fast will you go?

Jantastic = January + February + March

You set it. You stick to it. You run. You get your 'Jantastic' score!

Looking forward to the New Year, and little look back at 2012

Today is the first day of 2013 so I'm talking the opportunity to think about some running goals for 2013 as well as looking back over 2012 a little bit.

Firstly (and most recently), I managed to complete the December 2012 running streak that I set my self where I ran at least 1 mile each day in December.  I actually ended up totalling 140 miles (off of an initial target of 120) which is the largest monthly total to date.  At some point in the run up to the marathon I have planned in May 2013 I guess this will nudge closer to the 200 mark, but I'll see how that goes.

In terms of 2012 as a whole, it was kind of a year of three thirds from a mileage point of view!  The first third (Jan-April) I did very little running at all totalling about 120 miles in total.  I can't quite remember why this is to be honest, but I know I was going to the gym a fair bit at that time.  The second third (May-August) I did about the same amount of miles but I know I completed two events (more about below).  However, the final third (September-December) are where things really took off for me, and is directly related to me joining a running club - I did nearly 500 miles in that period.

I completed 3 races in 2012.
- The 24th June Torbay Half Marathon.   I did this in slightly over 2hrs and I felt awful!  I was pretty despondent at this time, but I was really proud of my wife who did the course in 1:55:56 which is a 5-min PB for her and is the first time she got under the 2hr mark.  She did brilliantly!  Looking back now, even though I was hoping for a 1:55 or under (which would have been a PB) I know I was no where near prepared for it and I was kidding myself that I was doing the required training.

- The 26th August Torbay 10K.  At this I did a PB of under 50 minutes for the first time (49:39) so I was really pleased (my previous PB was 51:06).  However, I also felt that I had a lot more in me - I remember thinking that I had found it difficult and also when I looked at the results for my age category, I was 21st out of 34 competitors which to be honest I wasn't happy with.  I also remember looking around me at fellow runners and a lot of them seemed to be enjoying their running and because they were wearing club vests (and hence being a member of a club) I made a correlation between "happy running" and "running club" and decided to join a club.  3 days later (29th August) I had joined the Teignbridge Trotters and had been on my first session with them!  Joining the club has been the best thing I've done from a running perspective, and I wish I'd joined years ago.

- The 21st October Dartmoor Vale Half.  At this point I had been in the Trotters for about 2 months and I know that I had already started to improve.  I entered this event which is on quite a tough hilly course got a PB (shaving over 5 mins off) with a time of 1:50:17.  This was 10-mins quicker that my June half and also a 5-min course record.  I was delighted with the time (okay, I was a little annoyed with the 17 seconds!) but I did flag around miles 10-12 so I know there is still room for improvement.   I'm sure the improvement that did come about was due to me joining the club.

Weight loss and drinking habits
Another change in the "final third" of the year is that I have dropped 1 stone in weight.  As I sit here on January 1st (and I confess a little bit groggy from last night), I'm at 13st 2...my previous "bench mark" for a healthy weight was 14st which happens to coincide with just about sneaking into the "healthy" BMI range, and is a weight that I used to fluctuate around quite a lot.  This coincided with the increased mileage but also by me restricting my alcohol intake considerably.  At one point I went 7 weeks without a drink which is a record for me in 20 years of drinking!  I will never be tea-total (and I don't want to be), but for me the restriction of alcohol has been a massive change.

So turning to goals for 2013:
- I would like to get down consistently below 13 stone.  I'm not obsessing about this though....if it happens, that's fine.  The 1 stone weight loss in the last third of 2012 came about very easily and I think with the increased mileage I'm planning I will probably get below 13st.
- Be wary of my alcohol intake and go for "streaks" of being tea-total (probably between holiday times).
- Crack a 1:45 for a half marathon.  I have two attempts planned - one in March and another in June.  This is my main "time challenge" of the year.
- Get around a full marathon and actually enjoy it (unlike London 2010)!!  A time of sub-4:30 would be great and I have a marathon booked in early May to focus the mind in early 2013!
- If I can get under 45-mins for a 10K that would be superb.  As I sit here typing, I think I'll find this the toughest time challenge but I'll see how I get on.  I have two events in mind - one in March and one in August.
- Keep it going with the Trotters.  Try and get a long to as many of the Wednesday training sessions as possible, do as many weekend social runs as I can and also do some marshalling if I am able to.  I think this will help me stay consistent with my training/running and slowly/safely build up the necessary miles for the events I have planned.
- I'd like to think I could rack up 1200-1500 miles this year.
- I really want to try and keep my back healthy, by stretching and generally being careful with it.  I did my back in during 2011 and it put me out for weeks - I really don't want to go through that again as it was very painful.  Although this is the last goal, for me it's the most important.  If I'm not feeling right, I will back off the training knowing that it could impact some or all of the above.

I know that's a long post, but thanks for reading and good luck with your running goals in 2013!