Running for Charlie - London Marathon 2017 Week 1 of 16

M 10 miles TM (5:47mm), 4 miles (7:42mm)
T 10 miles (7:23mm), 5 miles HA (7:52mm)
W 16 miles (7:25mm), 4 miles (7:50mm)
T 8.5 miles (7:25mm), 5 miles (8:14mm)
F 12 miles including 10 miles TM (5:54mm), 4 miles (8:01mm)
S 20 miles (7:15mm)
S 10.5 miles (7:01mm), 5.5 miles (8:13mm)

Total 115 miles (7:12mm)
Core 45 mins

Aerobic efficiency 1059 beats per mile




First things first, what happened to Ribble Valley? Well, I didn't run. I made the decision about a week before the race that mentally I wasn't in the right place for such a hard effort. Sometimes life has a way of getting you down and I was, if I'm honest, in a bit of a dark place. I had lost a bit of focus on whether running really mattered that much for various reasons and it all seemed a little pointless! Having suffered from the blues many times previously, I knew the fog would lift eventually, I just had to be patient and I would come out the other side. So with decision made, I wanted to enjoy Christmas as much as I could with my wonderful family and get back to training on Boxing Day but with the one condition that I wouldn't be training particularly hard for a while. With that in mind I agreed with Mike that I would just run as I felt but look to build a decent base ala Lydiard. Essentially in the base phase Lydiard calls for plenty of miles, most at an easy-moderate pace with a couple of harder workouts each week but still a lot easier than I would be doing if in training for a half or full marathon. So exactly the type of running I enjoy!


So, this was my first week back and as one can see, a decent amount of mileage was covered without too many headaches. I get a sense of satisfaction from covering high miles so this should help me find my mojo again in the not too distant future. It should also prepare me well for the stresses of the marathon specific phase when it finally comes around. In the meantime, my weeks will follow a similar structure to the above. I plan to run the Brass Monkey half marathon at a sub maximal pace, just to get back into the type of environment I enjoy so much. I suspect I will be running no quicker than around 75 mins albeit I could probably run around 71 all out right now.


It was a tricky decision to forfeit the Yorkshire XC champs this week as I enjoyed it so much last year but I simply don't feel ready for such a competitive race (and I cant trust myself not to race hard!) nor am I ready for it having only done one XC session all winter. I shall be doing one of my harder workouts (mainly 10 miles just below marathon effort) on grass each week to at least bring me back into touch with the surface. I then hope to run at the Northerns just as a bit of a fitness check at the end of January. I will be taking a similar approach with the National at the end of February.


It will then be a move to focus on London which is my main goal for the Spring but with an added personal dimension.


This year I have been asked by a colleague if I will help her with her fund raising for her son, Charlie who suffers with Cerebral Palsy amongst other severe medical conditions. Ordinarily I decline such requests as running is something I truly love and don't need a reason to do it! But this case is different, Jo has been a colleague of mine at Raymond James for over eight years and not only is she a great colleague I cant imagine the stress that such a situation must bring on her family. The long and short of it is that Charlie needs Spinal Chord surgery and this is not funded by the NHS. So Jo is raising money to pay for the surgery and post-op physio herself. This is a mammoth task as she is looking to raise £85,000 so I would be highly grateful if anyone that reads this blog could consider donating to the cause. I and many readers are incredibly lucky to have the quality of life that Charlie can only dream of and hopefully some of you will help Jo with her efforts. I for one will be running my heart out for Charlie on April 23rd.


Charlie's Footsteps