The scores on the door are....
Miles 335.23
Avge Pace 6:42 per mile
Runs 33
Rest Days 0
Races 1
Podiums 0
Time Running 37hrs 24mins
Time Core, Flex, Strength 10hrs 20mins
Monstrous blood blisters 1
A very pleasing first month of the year. The miles are a little lower than last January but they have had a lot more quality in this time so that's good. All in all feeling very fit and healthy and building nicely for London.
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Sunday 29 January 2012
Week 6: 23rd - 29th January
M 7.18 miles recovery (7:27mm avge)
T 10.08 miles general aerobic, including 10X100m strides (6:35mm avge)
W 13.21 progressive (6:25mm avge)
T 6.04 miles recovery (7:15mm avge)
F 10.05 miles general aerobic (6:35mm avge)
S 6.00 miles recovery (7:15mm avge)
S 16.09 miles progressive (6:18mm avge)
Total 68.65 miles (6:42 mm avge)
Well this week was billed as a cut back week and indeed it was from the perspective of total miles and the pace and effort of the runs. With the exception of the strides in Tuesday's run there was nothing at a pace quicker than marathon effort. Having said all this, strangely this was the week where I had three fairly uncomfortable runs!
The schedule that I am following is from Pfitzinger & Douglas' Advanced Marathoning second addition. It's the 70 - 85 miles per week one in case you were wondering. Now as I have mentioned in previous blogs the book calls for lots of flexibility and core training which I am doing quite consistently and feel like I'm starting to reap the rewards from this tedium. You may recall that last week I said I was going to try the strength work out, well this week I did with the intention of doing one session on Wednesday and then a second on Friday. Now let me tell you, I was looking at the exercises in the book thinking oh this'll be easy, cant even see myself building up a sweat. Especially the fact that I only need to have 4.5kgs on the dumbbells! How wrong could I be? I spent Thursday (I had a trip to Edinburgh with work so it meant an evening run), and Friday walking around feeling like I'd been hit by a bus!
The exercises consisted of squats, lunges, push ups, and all sorts of other things but I really thought I had a good understanding of the muscles in my body, but I definitely learnt of a few new ones that I didn't know existed until Thursday! I can guarantee that they will be of some use but I will stick to only one session per week until my body adapts to it. I wouldn't say the session affected my runs too much on Thursday, Friday and even Saturday but I certainly didn't feel as smooth as I had done in my running of late. Still, none of this is supposed to be easy. It wouldn't be worth doing otherwise.
A brief comment on Sunday's run which was lovely and felt nice to be running very smoothly again after the beasting the strength session had given my body. It was nice to increase the effort throughout the duration of the run finishing with some surprisingly nippy miles for the effort. This run turned out to average 1008 beats per mile which tells me it was aerobically very efficient. I couldn't bring myself to log it as a long run though because it was only 16 miles but that's fine because the point of this week was to let the legs recover a bit after the previous few weeks harder training. Job done. :-)
Now it's time to crack on with the next phase of training, which looks the most challenging. 84 miles in store for me this coming week, with some nice testing looking sessions.
T 10.08 miles general aerobic, including 10X100m strides (6:35mm avge)
W 13.21 progressive (6:25mm avge)
T 6.04 miles recovery (7:15mm avge)
F 10.05 miles general aerobic (6:35mm avge)
S 6.00 miles recovery (7:15mm avge)
S 16.09 miles progressive (6:18mm avge)
Total 68.65 miles (6:42 mm avge)
Well this week was billed as a cut back week and indeed it was from the perspective of total miles and the pace and effort of the runs. With the exception of the strides in Tuesday's run there was nothing at a pace quicker than marathon effort. Having said all this, strangely this was the week where I had three fairly uncomfortable runs!
The schedule that I am following is from Pfitzinger & Douglas' Advanced Marathoning second addition. It's the 70 - 85 miles per week one in case you were wondering. Now as I have mentioned in previous blogs the book calls for lots of flexibility and core training which I am doing quite consistently and feel like I'm starting to reap the rewards from this tedium. You may recall that last week I said I was going to try the strength work out, well this week I did with the intention of doing one session on Wednesday and then a second on Friday. Now let me tell you, I was looking at the exercises in the book thinking oh this'll be easy, cant even see myself building up a sweat. Especially the fact that I only need to have 4.5kgs on the dumbbells! How wrong could I be? I spent Thursday (I had a trip to Edinburgh with work so it meant an evening run), and Friday walking around feeling like I'd been hit by a bus!
The exercises consisted of squats, lunges, push ups, and all sorts of other things but I really thought I had a good understanding of the muscles in my body, but I definitely learnt of a few new ones that I didn't know existed until Thursday! I can guarantee that they will be of some use but I will stick to only one session per week until my body adapts to it. I wouldn't say the session affected my runs too much on Thursday, Friday and even Saturday but I certainly didn't feel as smooth as I had done in my running of late. Still, none of this is supposed to be easy. It wouldn't be worth doing otherwise.
A brief comment on Sunday's run which was lovely and felt nice to be running very smoothly again after the beasting the strength session had given my body. It was nice to increase the effort throughout the duration of the run finishing with some surprisingly nippy miles for the effort. This run turned out to average 1008 beats per mile which tells me it was aerobically very efficient. I couldn't bring myself to log it as a long run though because it was only 16 miles but that's fine because the point of this week was to let the legs recover a bit after the previous few weeks harder training. Job done. :-)
Now it's time to crack on with the next phase of training, which looks the most challenging. 84 miles in store for me this coming week, with some nice testing looking sessions.
Sunday 22 January 2012
Week 5: 16th - 22nd January
M AM 6.03 miles recovery (7:21mm avge), PM 4.1 miles recovery (7:08mm avge)
T 10.06 miles including 4 miles @ 5:23mm (6:11mm avge)
W 15.16 miles progressive (6:33mm avge)
T 6.09 miles recovery (7:17mm avge)
F 13.20 miles progressive (6:28mm avge)
S 6.19 miles recovery (7:10mm avge)
S 18.05 miles, including 10 miles @5:41mm (6:11mm avge)
Total 78.88 miles (6:36mm avge)
This week has been the first week that I looked at the schedule and thought WOW that looks like it's going to be a bit of a stretch. Not only did it have a 4 miles at lactate threshold within a 10, but it also had the standard midweek 15 miler, a half marathon and then to round the week off the schedule asked for a long run of 18 miles which in itself is not too hard, but when you are supposed to run 10 of those miles at marathon pace/effort it does seem like a big week indeed. Luckily next week is a cut back and I will end up doing a touch under 70 miles. Most of which will be at a very easy pace.
Tuesday was a Lactate Threshold session. Lactate threshold is supposed to be the pace/effort at which you can race for one hour - it's great for building speed endurance which is very very important during the marathon, in fact it's nearly as important as the endurance you get from the long, easy miles. For me at this stage of fitness, on a good day is I think just over 11 miles per hour or lets say 5:25 per mile. It was an early start for this session and I was pleased to hit some decent mile splits (averaged 5:23mm) for a constant effort level. My Heart Rate gradually rose to 90% of max throughout the workout without increasing off the scale which shows that the effort was correct and my body was effectively getting rid of the lactic acid being generated in the muscles. It was nice to see that from an aerobic efficiency perspective this was my best run so far with my heart beating on average 966 beats per mile. I know if I start to see my heart rate going below 1000 beats per mile then I am running very efficiently and in good shape. So hopefully I'll see this a lot more over the coming weeks. I was lucky though that it was great conditions for the session, just above 0 degrees with no breeze to speak of.
The 15 miler the day after didn't feel fantastic but the pace and heart rate was where it should be so it didn't bother me too much but it just goes to show that you will always have a day when you just don't feel like you're having a good run. The trick here is to just get the run done, and move on. I may have still had some tiredness in the system from the previous days tempo run which may explain feeling a little lacklustre.
Friday by contrast was excellent, everything just clicked into place and I felt like I was running strongly, moving through the gears and despite it being a challenging route and it being really rather windy, the pace was very pleasing for the effort and heart rate level.
And so to Sunday, I set off to do 7 miles before I got to the 10 miles @ marathon pace/effort section. These runs are always funny because you know how tough it's going to be at the end of the effort section. So your early miles tend to be a bit slower than normal. Perhaps it's psychological but the body does seem to have a way of holding back when it knows what's coming. Anyway, I didn't feel too great in those early miles and I felt like I was working a little harder than the pace suggested I should be. It was a very windy day with 35mph gusts and it was again blowing in the 'wrong' direction from the south west like the the time I did 8 miles at MP at the end of a long run on New Year's Day.
The embedded link below shows that it was a strong run though and I was only really hitting true marathon effort levels for the last four miles or so. This resulted in an average pace of 5:41 per mile (56:52 for the 10 miles) which is very very encouraging given the weather conditions, where I am in the schedule, and that I also didn't feel like I was 'on fire' today. I would take that as an average pace on the 22nd April as it'll get me home in around 2:29. All going well.
I have again continued with the flexibility and core sessions - which I feel are really starting to play dividends in feeling fresher day after day. I've also bought some dumbbells so am now going to start doing a couple of strength sessions per week if time permits.
T 10.06 miles including 4 miles @ 5:23mm (6:11mm avge)
W 15.16 miles progressive (6:33mm avge)
T 6.09 miles recovery (7:17mm avge)
F 13.20 miles progressive (6:28mm avge)
S 6.19 miles recovery (7:10mm avge)
S 18.05 miles, including 10 miles @5:41mm (6:11mm avge)
Total 78.88 miles (6:36mm avge)
This week has been the first week that I looked at the schedule and thought WOW that looks like it's going to be a bit of a stretch. Not only did it have a 4 miles at lactate threshold within a 10, but it also had the standard midweek 15 miler, a half marathon and then to round the week off the schedule asked for a long run of 18 miles which in itself is not too hard, but when you are supposed to run 10 of those miles at marathon pace/effort it does seem like a big week indeed. Luckily next week is a cut back and I will end up doing a touch under 70 miles. Most of which will be at a very easy pace.
Tuesday was a Lactate Threshold session. Lactate threshold is supposed to be the pace/effort at which you can race for one hour - it's great for building speed endurance which is very very important during the marathon, in fact it's nearly as important as the endurance you get from the long, easy miles. For me at this stage of fitness, on a good day is I think just over 11 miles per hour or lets say 5:25 per mile. It was an early start for this session and I was pleased to hit some decent mile splits (averaged 5:23mm) for a constant effort level. My Heart Rate gradually rose to 90% of max throughout the workout without increasing off the scale which shows that the effort was correct and my body was effectively getting rid of the lactic acid being generated in the muscles. It was nice to see that from an aerobic efficiency perspective this was my best run so far with my heart beating on average 966 beats per mile. I know if I start to see my heart rate going below 1000 beats per mile then I am running very efficiently and in good shape. So hopefully I'll see this a lot more over the coming weeks. I was lucky though that it was great conditions for the session, just above 0 degrees with no breeze to speak of.
The 15 miler the day after didn't feel fantastic but the pace and heart rate was where it should be so it didn't bother me too much but it just goes to show that you will always have a day when you just don't feel like you're having a good run. The trick here is to just get the run done, and move on. I may have still had some tiredness in the system from the previous days tempo run which may explain feeling a little lacklustre.
Friday by contrast was excellent, everything just clicked into place and I felt like I was running strongly, moving through the gears and despite it being a challenging route and it being really rather windy, the pace was very pleasing for the effort and heart rate level.
And so to Sunday, I set off to do 7 miles before I got to the 10 miles @ marathon pace/effort section. These runs are always funny because you know how tough it's going to be at the end of the effort section. So your early miles tend to be a bit slower than normal. Perhaps it's psychological but the body does seem to have a way of holding back when it knows what's coming. Anyway, I didn't feel too great in those early miles and I felt like I was working a little harder than the pace suggested I should be. It was a very windy day with 35mph gusts and it was again blowing in the 'wrong' direction from the south west like the the time I did 8 miles at MP at the end of a long run on New Year's Day.
The embedded link below shows that it was a strong run though and I was only really hitting true marathon effort levels for the last four miles or so. This resulted in an average pace of 5:41 per mile (56:52 for the 10 miles) which is very very encouraging given the weather conditions, where I am in the schedule, and that I also didn't feel like I was 'on fire' today. I would take that as an average pace on the 22nd April as it'll get me home in around 2:29. All going well.
I have again continued with the flexibility and core sessions - which I feel are really starting to play dividends in feeling fresher day after day. I've also bought some dumbbells so am now going to start doing a couple of strength sessions per week if time permits.
Sunday 15 January 2012
Week 4: 9th -15th January
M 6.19 miles recovery (7:21mm avge)
T 10.11 miles general aerobic, with 10 X 100m strides (6:42mm avge)
W 15.22 miles progressive (6:28mm avge)
T 6.03 miles recovery (7:22mm avge)
F 12.26 miles progressive (6:33mm avge)
S 6.18 miles recovery (7:16mm avge)
S 20.09 miles progressive (6:32mm avge)
Total 76.15 miles (6:44mm avge)
This week seems to have been a bit of a consolidation week if I'm honest, whilst marginally increasing the miles of previous weeks there hasn't been any particularly tough sessions. This week did include the first 20 mile run which I was most concerned about given the progressive nature of how they are supposed to be done.
So it's a little difficult to talk about the three key runs this week when they've all been much of a muchness but even so I'll do my best. Tuesday's run with the strides was a good indicator that I can run quickly! The strides were all around 15/16 seconds which means they were roughly 4:20mm on average which is pretty nippy. They also felt much better and in control than last time. Felt really good to be striding out and holding good form.
Wednesday's progressive run to work was really enjoyable and another indicator that the previous two weeks training was starting to bed in. I gradually moved through the gears, ending with around 4 miles at 6:05mm for a 6:28mm avge across the whole of the run. Very pleasing. It's also quite nice to arrive at work feeling rather smug that you've already achieved something for the day. The looks on colleague's faces when I tell them that I've just run from home is a pleasant indication that they have a silent respect for my running (or is it disbelief and they're actually concerned for my mental state!?!?).
And so to today's run which was the first 20. I wasn't too worried about it, I've lost count of the amount of 20's I've done in the past it's just that it was to be at a pace that was quicker than I normally do them. I am usually one for sitting in my armchair while I plod out 7:30mms feeling very comfortable and just getting the miles in the legs. Following the P&D schedule essentially calls for you to run them progressively, starting slowly and then moving through the gears to finish with the last few miles at c10% below marathon pace/effort. So off I went and did my favourite road 20 mile route which is not without it's bumps. You can see more detail on the embedded link below but in a nutshell the first 5 miles averaged 7:02mm (73%HRMax), second five miles averaged 6:38mm (77%HRMax), third five miles averaged 6:22mm (79%HRMax), final five miles averaged 6:07mm (83.4%HRMax). So judging by the last split it's currently indicating a marathon pace of roughly 5:34mm as I typically race a marathon at an average of 87.3%HRMax. Marathon racing is never that simple though and conditions were perfect for running this morning (very cold, dry and still)but I can be very positive that it was a strong training run and I finished feeling there was a lot more in the tank, which is great. I'll also get to test what current marathon pace is in next Sunday's long run as the schedule calls for 18 miles with 10 miles at Marathon Pace
I'm also pleased to report I did three decent stretching and flexibility sessions this week as well as a couple of core strength workouts and plan to do another this afternoon.
T 10.11 miles general aerobic, with 10 X 100m strides (6:42mm avge)
W 15.22 miles progressive (6:28mm avge)
T 6.03 miles recovery (7:22mm avge)
F 12.26 miles progressive (6:33mm avge)
S 6.18 miles recovery (7:16mm avge)
S 20.09 miles progressive (6:32mm avge)
Total 76.15 miles (6:44mm avge)
This week seems to have been a bit of a consolidation week if I'm honest, whilst marginally increasing the miles of previous weeks there hasn't been any particularly tough sessions. This week did include the first 20 mile run which I was most concerned about given the progressive nature of how they are supposed to be done.
So it's a little difficult to talk about the three key runs this week when they've all been much of a muchness but even so I'll do my best. Tuesday's run with the strides was a good indicator that I can run quickly! The strides were all around 15/16 seconds which means they were roughly 4:20mm on average which is pretty nippy. They also felt much better and in control than last time. Felt really good to be striding out and holding good form.
Wednesday's progressive run to work was really enjoyable and another indicator that the previous two weeks training was starting to bed in. I gradually moved through the gears, ending with around 4 miles at 6:05mm for a 6:28mm avge across the whole of the run. Very pleasing. It's also quite nice to arrive at work feeling rather smug that you've already achieved something for the day. The looks on colleague's faces when I tell them that I've just run from home is a pleasant indication that they have a silent respect for my running (or is it disbelief and they're actually concerned for my mental state!?!?).
And so to today's run which was the first 20. I wasn't too worried about it, I've lost count of the amount of 20's I've done in the past it's just that it was to be at a pace that was quicker than I normally do them. I am usually one for sitting in my armchair while I plod out 7:30mms feeling very comfortable and just getting the miles in the legs. Following the P&D schedule essentially calls for you to run them progressively, starting slowly and then moving through the gears to finish with the last few miles at c10% below marathon pace/effort. So off I went and did my favourite road 20 mile route which is not without it's bumps. You can see more detail on the embedded link below but in a nutshell the first 5 miles averaged 7:02mm (73%HRMax), second five miles averaged 6:38mm (77%HRMax), third five miles averaged 6:22mm (79%HRMax), final five miles averaged 6:07mm (83.4%HRMax). So judging by the last split it's currently indicating a marathon pace of roughly 5:34mm as I typically race a marathon at an average of 87.3%HRMax. Marathon racing is never that simple though and conditions were perfect for running this morning (very cold, dry and still)but I can be very positive that it was a strong training run and I finished feeling there was a lot more in the tank, which is great. I'll also get to test what current marathon pace is in next Sunday's long run as the schedule calls for 18 miles with 10 miles at Marathon Pace
I'm also pleased to report I did three decent stretching and flexibility sessions this week as well as a couple of core strength workouts and plan to do another this afternoon.
Sunday 8 January 2012
Week 3: 2nd - 8th January
M 6.19 miles recovery (7:24mm avge)
T 10.02 miles including 5 miles @ 5:40mm (6:25 avge)
W 15.08 miles progressive (6:39mm avge)
T 6.20 miles easy (6:59mm avge)
F 10.0 miles general aerobic (6:57mm avge)
S 9.16 miles, including 7.1 miles @ 5:42mm XC (6:12mm avge)
S 16.54 miles general aerobic multi terrain run (7:07mm avge)
Total 73.19 miles (6:47mm avge)
The three runs of note this week are Tuesday's Lactate threshold session which was quite literally hilarious. As you will know most of Britain was suffering from very stormy weather and even in the 'sunshine town' of the UK, Orpington was experiencing some Biblical conditions. I was pleased with the run, firstly for getting out there when it would have been very much easier to stay in bed hearing the 60mph gusts going past my window! And secondly for managing some decent miles at a fairly consistent tempo effort. The pace however was very up and down, and depending on what direction I was going was as slow as 6:20mm and as quick as 5:10mm!
Wednesday's run was a very pleasing progressive run which shows I'm starting to get into shape. This was a run to the City and so although net downhill (hence the pace being a bit flattering) it was nice to be running this strongly so soon after Tuesday's hard effort.
On Saturday I raced the Kent County XC Championships with the link to the race below. It has to be said that there's nothing like a County Cross Country to bring one down to earth and remind how actually average you are in the grand scheme of things. Not that I was expecting to win anything, but the only thing I 'won' was the lovely blood blister to the right. I worked very hard and moved through the field on the last couple of laps from about 30th up to 21st and then was outkicked by a V50 and a V40 with 150 metres to go to finish 23rd. The V50 was a former UK bronze medallist at the 1,500m (in 1988) but still I should be able to outkick someone over 20 years older! I'm trying to take the positives from it and struggling to find many to be honest. Perhaps my heart wasn't in the race, I wasn't fresh, was particularly tired after a busy work/home week and I didn't want it bad enough. Although I felt strong I just didn't feel sharp at all. A pleasing thing was that I did manage to beat a couple of 2:30:xx and a 2:31:xx marathon runners so perhaps it wasn't too bad after all, especially considering where I am in the build up and that I didn't taper for it at all. If it did one thing though was 'stoked the fire' a bit and has made me very motivated to get better. There were people in front that I should be closer to/in front of.
Sunday's run was a very pleasant easier and shorter long run across a mixed terrain route with plenty of bumps. The legs felt pretty good too.
I do have a confession to make though - I have only done two stretching sessions this week and no core or strength work. Really must try harder!
T 10.02 miles including 5 miles @ 5:40mm (6:25 avge)
W 15.08 miles progressive (6:39mm avge)
T 6.20 miles easy (6:59mm avge)
F 10.0 miles general aerobic (6:57mm avge)
S 9.16 miles, including 7.1 miles @ 5:42mm XC (6:12mm avge)
S 16.54 miles general aerobic multi terrain run (7:07mm avge)
Total 73.19 miles (6:47mm avge)
The three runs of note this week are Tuesday's Lactate threshold session which was quite literally hilarious. As you will know most of Britain was suffering from very stormy weather and even in the 'sunshine town' of the UK, Orpington was experiencing some Biblical conditions. I was pleased with the run, firstly for getting out there when it would have been very much easier to stay in bed hearing the 60mph gusts going past my window! And secondly for managing some decent miles at a fairly consistent tempo effort. The pace however was very up and down, and depending on what direction I was going was as slow as 6:20mm and as quick as 5:10mm!
Wednesday's run was a very pleasing progressive run which shows I'm starting to get into shape. This was a run to the City and so although net downhill (hence the pace being a bit flattering) it was nice to be running this strongly so soon after Tuesday's hard effort.
Sunday's run was a very pleasant easier and shorter long run across a mixed terrain route with plenty of bumps. The legs felt pretty good too.
I do have a confession to make though - I have only done two stretching sessions this week and no core or strength work. Really must try harder!
Sunday 1 January 2012
Week 2: 26th December - 1st January
M 6.06 miles recovery (7:20mm avge)
T 8.11 miles general aerobic with 8X 95m strides (6:47mm avge)
W 13.2 miles progressive (6:56mm avge)
T 6.18 miles recovery (7:23mm avge)
F 11.04 miles progressive (6:42mm avge)
S 6.06 miles recovery (7:27mm avge)
S 17.25 miles, including 8miles at 5:54mm (6:34mm avge)
Total 67.9 miles (6:54mm avge)
So week two of my training for London is in the bag. It started off as an easy week and finished with a very hard long run. Tuesday's run was an interesting one as it included 8x95metre strides and I haven't really done these too many times in the past! The purpose of them is to get the legs turning over quickly so that running at slower paces feels easier and more natural. In a way they are training you to run more economically which is obviously a big benefit over 26.2 miles. Anyway, I think I actually did them a little too hard and perhaps wasn't in control of them as I should be. I felt like Phoebe from friends when she sprints off through Central Park so something to work on there definitely.
Another thing that I have done this week is introduced some flexibility and core training. I find this stuff so incredibly boring but it is pretty much recommended by anyone that knows anything so I'm prepared to put some effort in to this. In fact its pretty much my only New Year's resolution to do more of this stuff because it could end up being the difference of a good and bad day at the office. I'm also going to introduce some weight training too to build strength but I will only do this a couple of times a week.
Friday's run was really good and I felt very strong moving through the gears as the effort increased over the duration of the run.
And so to today's run - the one that I was dreading all week but also looking forward to most in a perverse kind of way. It was just over 17miles with 8 at Marathon Pace (I tend to run these to effort rather than a predetermined pace) - a fairly brutal start to the new year! I did the MP bit after a 7.3 mile warm up and then a couple of miles to finish off. It was very windy in Orpington today and it was blowing from the south west which is not kind given the section of c2 mile road I do my MP bits on. It is slightly downhill from south west to north east which meant that every time I was running south west not only was I running slightly uphill but had a gale to fight against too. As you can see from the embedded link below it made the splits a bit interesting! It was a very hard run, and my MP was about 5:54 per mile which interestingly is just over what I averaged at London last year but if I'm brutally honest, I was working harder than marathon effort especially in the last couple of miles. Still it's in the bag and will have done a lot of good although I would have hoped it would be a touch quicker, even this early in the build up.
Finally, to anyone that reads this... there maybe a couple of people(!) - Happy New Year and do feel free to post any comments or questions.
T 8.11 miles general aerobic with 8X 95m strides (6:47mm avge)
W 13.2 miles progressive (6:56mm avge)
T 6.18 miles recovery (7:23mm avge)
F 11.04 miles progressive (6:42mm avge)
S 6.06 miles recovery (7:27mm avge)
S 17.25 miles, including 8miles at 5:54mm (6:34mm avge)
Total 67.9 miles (6:54mm avge)
So week two of my training for London is in the bag. It started off as an easy week and finished with a very hard long run. Tuesday's run was an interesting one as it included 8x95metre strides and I haven't really done these too many times in the past! The purpose of them is to get the legs turning over quickly so that running at slower paces feels easier and more natural. In a way they are training you to run more economically which is obviously a big benefit over 26.2 miles. Anyway, I think I actually did them a little too hard and perhaps wasn't in control of them as I should be. I felt like Phoebe from friends when she sprints off through Central Park so something to work on there definitely.
Another thing that I have done this week is introduced some flexibility and core training. I find this stuff so incredibly boring but it is pretty much recommended by anyone that knows anything so I'm prepared to put some effort in to this. In fact its pretty much my only New Year's resolution to do more of this stuff because it could end up being the difference of a good and bad day at the office. I'm also going to introduce some weight training too to build strength but I will only do this a couple of times a week.
Friday's run was really good and I felt very strong moving through the gears as the effort increased over the duration of the run.
And so to today's run - the one that I was dreading all week but also looking forward to most in a perverse kind of way. It was just over 17miles with 8 at Marathon Pace (I tend to run these to effort rather than a predetermined pace) - a fairly brutal start to the new year! I did the MP bit after a 7.3 mile warm up and then a couple of miles to finish off. It was very windy in Orpington today and it was blowing from the south west which is not kind given the section of c2 mile road I do my MP bits on. It is slightly downhill from south west to north east which meant that every time I was running south west not only was I running slightly uphill but had a gale to fight against too. As you can see from the embedded link below it made the splits a bit interesting! It was a very hard run, and my MP was about 5:54 per mile which interestingly is just over what I averaged at London last year but if I'm brutally honest, I was working harder than marathon effort especially in the last couple of miles. Still it's in the bag and will have done a lot of good although I would have hoped it would be a touch quicker, even this early in the build up.
Finally, to anyone that reads this... there maybe a couple of people(!) - Happy New Year and do feel free to post any comments or questions.
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