Getting the schedule right

I confess, I was a bit "subdued" yesterday with regards to the running (and also generally) but I'm not really sure why.  Last week's runs weren't too bad in reality....in fact the Monday (10K PM training run) and Wednesday (the club speed session) were very good.  Thursday's was fine and Saturday's was also okay, if a little cold.

I think my issue is is that I am still not 100% sure on my training paces, and I'm worried that I am doing my LSR's too fast.  Even Saturday's session was 9min/mile pace and I think that needs to be more like 9:30-10:00 min/mile really.  This week on the LSR, I am really going to try and slow down and make sure I do more like 9:30min/mile.  I am well aware that that Internet is strewn with examples of people ignoring this advice and then blowing up on their marathon day, which is something I want to try and avoid.

Having said that, today's session was supposed to be a quicker session and I got 6 miles in at variable pace, some of it quick so I was pleased with that.  It was interesting actually, because I could have (and in some ways, I actually wanted to) run a lot further and I finished strong and steady.  Reflecting on this a bit, I wonder if I have stumbled across a schedule that suits me better.  Last week I ran Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday (as opposed to the more usual Mon, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) where as often my LSR is on a Sunday so on Monday's session I would not usually be quite as fresh.  I really feel that I could have gone on to do 10-12 miles today (not all at a quick pace), so I think I'll keep that in mind for future weeks as well.

I've mentioned before that I have drastically reduced the alcohol intake over the last few weeks and I've been continuing on that vein since the New Year.  However, to be honest I think that was getting to me as I was feeling that I didn't have much to look forward to in terms of non-running activities/weekends.  This is especially because although I have February Half Term off of work, it's close to my planned Half Marathon event, so I know I won't be able to "let my hair down" on that week either.  Therefore, my wife and I have organised a weekend away soon which is something that I am already looking forward to!

Another thing that I experimented with on my LSR on Saturday is fuel.  I know when I start regularly going over 16+ I will start need to practice a fuelling strategy for the marathon.  In the past I have used Go Gels, but I didn't really get on with them and to be honest they are quite expensive.  On the forums, I have seen talk of jam sandwiches but on Friday I made some flapjack!  I must say, it went down pretty well and it wasn't too crumbly and it was fairly easy to chew.  I've frozen 3 batches of it, and I think I'll make it again but maybe next time I'll add more Gold Syrup and probably throw in a few sultanas.  They don't look like much, but they were very nice - even if I do say so myself!

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!

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.

My first post - a bit about my running "career" and why I've been out for a few weeks

I am somewhat of a "reluctant runner".  In fact, it's only relatively recently that I've allowed myself to be called a "runner".  Somehow, for a lot of the time I do not "feel" like a runner - even though when I'm running I kind of look like a runner.

Up until about 5 years ago, I had hardly ran at all.  Then, at about the age of 30 something kind of crept up on me and I decided to give it ago.  I'm not saying I had the sudden urge like Forest Gump; my reason was much more simple than that - I needed to lose a bit of weight.  Before my wedding in 2005 I was of reasonable fitness and weight, but then between 2005 and 2006 I realised that I was putting on weight and decided to try and do something about it....running was the thing I decided to do.

I've hardly got a glowing career, but I completed my first Torbay Half Marathon in 2007, and completed it again in 2008 and 2009.  I then trained for and managed to complete the London Marathon in 2010 and completed the Dartmoor Vale half marathon in 2010 as well.  None of these have been great events in terms of time, but it helped keep the weight off and meant I could have a few beers and a mixed grill at the weekends without it really troubling me.  For the London Marathon, I had a separate blog, with the final entry available here.

Then, in 2011 I was entered into the Torbay Half Marathon again and 2 weeks prior I injured my back.  I'll never know now, but I was on for a PB (my current PB for the half is 1hr 55min) and I'm hoping to get back to that if possible and I still think I've got a 1hr 45min in me.  We'll see.

Since January 2011, I've also been doing some cycling and was up to about 25-30miles fairly comfortably.  There is a thought that although cycling is generally good for you, it may not be great if you have a bad back, so I'll have to continuously review how I'm feeling on the bike if/when I get back on the saddle

For the last few weeks, I've been doing lots of back stretching and also concentrating on my hamstrings which I've been told are very tight.  Tight hamstrings aren't good for a runner because they pull your hips forward, which in turn pulls your back out.

Reluctantly, I'm going to have to re-join the gym and slowly build up the fitness over the next few weeks.  I'll be blogging about how that goes....