Week 15 of 20 weeks to sub 2:20?

M 12 miles (6:38mm), 6 miles (7:15mm)

T 8.5 miles (6:50mm), 5 miles (7:01mm)

W 17.5 miles inc 24 mins, 18 mins, 12 mins, 6 mins, 3 mins (3mins) (5:46mm), 5 miles (7:26mm)

T 10 miles (7:12mm), 6 miles (7:24mm)

F 6 miles (7:38mm)

S 10 miles (6:55mm)

S 17 miles (6:35mm)

Total 103.6  miles

Weight 141.5 lbs

Body fat 10.1%
Aerobic efficiency 949 beats per mile

I went into this week’s training super motivated after a strong over distance run last Saturday and on my runs on Monday and Tuesday my legs felt really good giving me confidence that I had recovered really well. I had noticed however that my cardiovascular system was struggling a little as my heart rate was a little higher than it has been recently for the pace output. It didn’t click at the time but I should probably have taken this as a prompt to perhaps take a couple more easy days in the week before trying a session. I didn’t do that and bowled straight into the session which was 24mins, 18 mins, 12 mins, 6 mins, 3 mins the plan being to start at roughly marathon pace and gradually get quicker. The session itself went well with the first section coming in at a nice 5:18 per mile, the second and third at 5:13s and then 5:08 and 4:58 for the six and three minute efforts respectively. It was super hard towards the end and I do think I overcooked the first a little meaning the rest were a real battle of survival. I then felt pretty smoked for the rest of the day and although tried a recovery run, it wasn’t pleasant.

On Thursday and Friday I was in a world of hurt, my legs were in absolute bits and I was completely wiped out so although the plan was always to run easy on these days, the easy was a lot slower than I have been used to recently! I just wanted to run as easy as my body would allow without doing any more damage. By Saturday I was starting to feel a little bit more normal and Sunday’s run was good from a CV perspective despite the legs still feeling quite tired.

Mike had initially suggested putting in a tempo session on the Saturday but we decided that there was just no point even starting it given how wrecked my legs were and also took a shorter long run to ensure proper recovery.

Marathon training is hard and sometimes it is ridiculously hard. I was in a pretty dark place Thursday through to Sunday but think that the easy days that I have taken will hopefully allow my body to absorb some of the hard work of recent weeks and I am confident that I will come through the other side, stronger than I have been before. In a way, I think the ideal marathon build up is to stress your body as much as possible with specificity to the event without breaking. If you can do that and get fresh for race day, you give yourself the best chance of running a stormer.

Weight is starting to drift down a touch and I am getting a little leaner which is really positive and I still have quite a few weeks before I need to be at my leanest so that’s all positive. Aerobic efficiency dropped back a little this week and I think that was probably due to me just being completely knackered from the hard run last Saturday. I will continue to monitor. c950 as an average is still a good place to be but I would like it to get back to c930 as an average before Berlin.

So on reflection of the whole week, it wasn’t quite what I hoped for mileage wise but I am glad to have another 100+ mile week with a top session ticked off. It is the whole campaign that counts and at least I am putting some good consistent work in which will hopefully pay dividends come 27^th September.  Of course, I hope I don’t have any more weeks that are that hard as I say Thursday - Sunday did leave me wondering whether all this hard work was really worth it at times. Each time that creeps into my mind I just have to remind myself of how good it feels on race day; the whole event, the excitement and then trying to deliver on all the hard training.  And then getting a little bit drunk afterwards. :-)

Week 14 of 20 weeks to Sub 2:20?

M 9 miles (6:35mm), 6 miles (7:13mm)

T 7 miles (7:11mm)

W 11 miles inc. 10X60s(60s float), 5 mins easy, 10mins MP (5:56), 5 miles (7:11mm)

T 10 miles (6:45mm)

F 7 miles 7:14mm)

S 27.5 miles including 26.2 at 5:56mm

S 7 miles (7:09mm)

Total 90.5 miles

Weight 142 lbs

Body fat 10.4%
Aerobic efficiency 936 beats per mile

For anyone that read my blog last week will know that it contained two pretty big sessions so it was always the plan to have a bit of a cut back this week and let some of the hard work soak in. Of course, it wasn’t all easy and there were a couple of workouts that are worth discussing! The main focus became the Saturday long run which was to be a full distance run at a reasonable pace. The aim of this really is to have a good length of time on the feet, but not to plod it out either. Rather run pretty steady and pick the pace up a bit towards the end. Of course, I quite like doing these runs largely fasted as it helps the body utilise fat a bit more as a fuel which is imperative for a good marathon. So with an early alarm call, a quick banana and a double espresso I was out the door.

Anyway, the run started off quite nicely and I had in my mind that I wanted to average approximately six minute mile pace as I had done when I'd done the run previously. I do the course on my tempo loop and for the marathon distance it is 18 laps and the stretch back to home! It is both irritating and fun in equal measure counting up and down the laps. I do find it is a good place for this type of run though as it is quite flat and I can just concentrate on hitting steady mile after steady mile without huge fluctuations in heart rate. My word it can get a bit boring though! I think this is quite good for the mental aspects of marathon racing - it is likely that you will have large segments of the race alone, especially in the second half. To be honest I've never minded running on my own in a marathon unless the weather is really bad where you can get some occasional shelter if running in a group.  All was going well and my legs were moving very well and the pace was hovering around 6:05 per mile. I decided to keep at this sort of effort until half way to see how I felt then. I felt really strong and as boredom was setting in a bit I thought I'd pick up the effort a little over the next seven miles to see how it felt. It felt great and my legs felt really strong, stronger than the last couple of times I've done this. This could be down to the easier week in terms of miles. I ran it well the last two times I did but this felt a lot more controlled. Indeed as I got to 20 I decided to pick the effort up a bit more and was seeing 5:45s for the last 6.2 miles or so with the last mile being my quickest at 5:31 feeling like it was solid but nowhere near all out was really encouraging. My HR averaged 158 for the run so about 20 beats below marathon Heart Rate. It's quite funny doing this type of run and comparing it to for example last week's tempo. I found this so much easier than running 15 miles at a pace just 15 secs per mile quicker. Now this could be due to a couple of reasons such as I was tired from the outset of last week's training run and two I am starting to see some of the benefits of previous weeks' training coming through. In all likelihood it's probably a combination of the two. What it also suggests to me is something I have been pondering for a while is that my endurance clearly seems to be pretty strong (I feel I could have run another 10 miles at 5:55s in my full distance run), my speed is OK but my speed endurance is probably my weakest link, so this gives us something to really focus on over the next few weeks. Don't get me wrong this run was not easy and 26 miles is always a long way and at a reasonable pace it will take some recovering from and I couldn't run at this pace every day but as a specific session within the build up I think I pretty much nailed it.

The other session of note this week was an easier session on Wednesday, which was a slight deviation from the plan. Mike wanted me going in fresh to the long run so we cut it back and put in a bit of speed. It was 10X1min(1min at 6:40), 5 minutes easy, 10 minutes at marathon pace. It was a really fun session, in fact it barely felt like a session at all after last week's hard training sessions. The minute efforts average about 4:45 on the Garmin so could be a bit out but even so that's quick running for me and it felt really controlled rather than sprinting! Then the 10 minutes at target MP.... Well I really had to hold back on this as despite my ongoing niggles the pace felt so comfortable. This may have been due to me knowing it was only 10 minutes of effort but it could also be because of the faster minute efforts got the legs moving quickly that 5:15s ended up feeling like a relative jog!Of course I don't expect race day marathon pace to be 5:15s but I wouldn't mind if it was! Let me confirm now that if 5:15 ends up being my marathon pace this time out I will gladly eat my hat.

My weight has dropped very slightly this week which is nice, but could do with a bit more dropping off yet. I was however really pleasantly surprised to see my aerobic efficiency take a giant leap forward to an average of 936 beats per mile, around 30 better than last week. Looking back over my previous training this is the most efficient week I have ever had, showing that some of the hard work of previous weeks is starting to kick in and hopefully that I am starting to bring myself to a peak of fitness that I have never been in before. 

Week 13 of 20 weeks to Sub 2:20?

M 13 miles (6:36mm), 6 miles (7:11mm)

T 8.5 miles (6:52mm), 4 miles (7:10mm)

W 16 miles including 8X1M (1/2M float at c6:40s) (5:53mm), 6 miles (7:14mm)

T 10 miles (6:50mm), 6 miles (7:14mm)

F 9 miles (6:58mm), 5 miles (7:18mm)

S 20 miles including 15 miles at 5:41mm (6:01mm)
S 10.5 miles (6:21mm)

Total 116 miles (6:36mm)

Weight 142.5 lbs

Body fat 10.5%
Aerobic efficiency 964 beats per mile

Quite a chunky week this week with two big sessions of 8X1M on the Wednesday and then a long progressive tempo run as my long run on Saturday.

Firstly the Wednesday session which I was looking forward to as Mike and I had discussed it was worthwhile trying to keep in touch with some of my speedier running during this specific phase and this session would allow me to do that. The aim was to run the miles at about 5:10 pace for the first 6 and then pick the last two up if I could! This was made more difficult by the fact that the recoveries were more of a float steady run than a true jog shuffle type recovery! They ended up being about 6:40 pace so still reasonably nippy, in fact a touch quicker than most of my other general mileage throughout the week.. The miles went well and I was pretty consistent only really struggling on the last one, but even so it was still pretty quick for me given the combined volume and intensity of the session. The miles averaged 5:06 pace, which should be roughly my theoretical 10k pace. Shame I’ve not yet run a 10k that fast! I also actually need that to be closer to my theoretical half marathon pace for 5:20 as a marathon pace to be at all realistic. We can all dream….

The next session had originally been planned to run as a solid tempo run within a 20 miler of 15-20s per mile slower than MP. But Mike decided it’d be ‘fun’ to try and do it progressively;  so increasing the pace each five mile block. I started at 5:48s and I was already feeling it if I’m honest, the legs were quite tired and I could also feel my pelvis and glute issues again. The next five miles I increased the pace to 5:34s and I was starting to grow in confidence that I may be able to go quicker still in the last five mile section. I was wrong. Despite my best efforts I just couldn’t get the legs to turn over quickly enough. Aerobically I was quite comfortable and the HR data suggests the engine wasn’t under much strain, it was just a problem with the wheels! Even though the pace was really drifting I held it together to average 5:41 meaning the whole 15 mile tempo effort also averaged 5:41 which is still within c20s of goal marathon pace. This must still go down as a very good workout and as Mike reminds me this has such relevance to the marathon as it is so specific. The way my legs felt the last couple of miles I have to agree with him, it did feel like those last few miles of the marathon when you feel like you’re sprinting but really you’re starting to tread in treacle… It is intended to get another of these longer tempo type runs in before Berlin.  I then did a decent steady 10 miler on Sunday to round the week off at 116 miles there or thereabouts which was another pleasing step in the right direction.

My weight doesn’t seem to be budging for some reason and I could do with getting leaner as race day approaches and I am sure if I keep doing what I do it will gradually drop off with the heavy sessions and mileage. Aerobic efficiency has improved very marginally this week so not really much change over the last three weeks for some reason but it is still at a decent level.

Reflecting on this week in isolation I am really chuffed as I got a lot of miles in, two pretty monster sessions and all this whilst on a week’s holiday from work doing touristy things around Yorkshire so spent a lot of time on my feet outside of running too which I wouldn’t ordinarily do. Maybe the odd additional holiday treat I have been having (fish and chips, pizza, the odd pint with my mate Adam who was visiting from Poland) may have something to do with the static weight situation. I am slightly concerned to see the return of my injury issues but luckily it is not stopping me from training, it’s just pretty damn uncomfortable most of the time! I will continue to see the physio and do the work she suggests to try and correct my issues. 

Introducing Adam to a pint of Leeds Best. He liked it. So did I!

As a whole I am now seven weeks away from race day (well six and a half if you excuse the tardiness of publication of the blog!) and I am generally pleased with how things are going. It is not perfect but things could be far worse. I am running much better than I was a few weeks ago and I am gaining in confidence. Sub 2:20 still seems a long way off right now but that’s no bad thing. I know I can peak well when it matters and of course I will run the hardest I can on the day and take whatever result comes from that. But there’s a tonne of work to be done before then and I’m looking forward to every minute of it.

Week 12 of 20 weeks to Sub 2:20?

M 11 miles (6:53mm), 6 miles (7:13mm)

T 8 miles (7:07mm), 4 miles (7:21mm)

W 15 miles including 4X15mins (5:47mm), 4 miles (7:19mm)

T10 miles (6:49mm), 6 miles (7:20mm)

F 9 miles (6:48mm), 5 miles (7:18mm)

S 24 miles (6:24mm)
S Rest

Total 104 miles (6:43mm)

Weight 142.3 lbs

Body fat 10.5%
Aerobic efficiency 966 beats per mile

This week I decided that I was going to go cold turkey on caffeine. Bad idea! And I wasn't successful at all! My friend and fellow runner Jamil Parapia had recommended at least cutting down as it could potentially help me get leaner. Something to do with cortisol levels and the timing of the caffeine intake. Anyway Monday seemed to go OK although my head did start to throb a little bit in the afternoon. By 20:30 I was crawling into my bed absolutely exhausted. I thought I was coming down with a horrid cold, little did I realise at the time what I was experienced was sever caffeine withdrawal. I didn't think I even drank much generally; three maybe four cups a day. I awoke after sleeping for near enough 10 hours feeling dreadful, but went out for my run regardless which was just awful. My muscles were so stiff, I was completely bunged up, massive headache.  I was convinced I was coming down with the lurgy just as my proper training was about to begin. Damn! I then had a physio appointment and the phsyio was doing the usual manipulation on the pelvis area and she told me she had straightened me out quite a bit. To be honest I did feel somewhat less crooked but the proof would be in the pudding on my next session which was scheduled for Wednesday morning. To be honest I didn't know whether I was going to be in good enough shape to do it! As Tuesday wore on it did start to dawn on me that I may be suffering from my lack of tea/coffee intake and so I looked up common withdrawal symptoms on the internet and all became clear. I went straight to the kettle and had a good cup of Yorkshire Gold. 15 minutes later, I felt fine! It was a good job I realised this as I had to drive to Luton Airport and back to pick up my Brother-in-Law who was visiting from Poland. Not sure I'd have made it without caffeine.

Then onto the Wednesday session. One always has a bit of trepidation as the big marathon sessions start. This was to be 4X15minutes with 3 minutes recovery and Mike Baxter had suggested I start them at the same pace that I did the session pre-London and then pick up the last two if I could. Well, the sessions went really well. the first 15 minutes was at 5:25, second at 5:23, third at 5:21 and fourth at 5:18. In the session pre-London I averaged about 5:25s for these so a significant improvement. Although to be fair the last one maybe a little flattering as I had to head home(so marginally downhill!) as could feel the onset of tummy troubles and as my tempo loop is in a residential area, I didn't fancy having to pop for an Al-fresco! I cant emphasise enough how much confidence this session gave me. I was running freely probably for the first time in months and the physio has most definitely corrected something, hopefully it'll stay that way. It is also worth pointing out that to break 2:20 for the marathon I will have to average 5:20.6 or quicker per mile so this was encouraging. Not sure I can say it felt like race day marathon pace just yet though!

The rest of the week went well, a couple of easy days before a decent steady 24 miler on Saturday. This did feel really comfortable. I am making sure my days between sessions and long runs are sensibly easy to ensure I am recovering appropriately and not overreaching. In hindsight although it all ended up OK in the end at London I do think my pace on my easy days meant I was hitting sessions a little more tired than I should be. As a result I didn't get the absolute best out of most of them.

I missed a planned run on Sunday but this was no bad thing really. We had more visitors arriving late on Saturday night for my Daughter's baptism on Sunday and so with a very full house I decided it was pretty futile going out early and had an extra 45 minutes sleep instead.  The legs would have been happy to but I was pretty shattered so it was a sensible decision. Still happy to get my first 100mile+ week in of the campaign though. It all feels like it's going in the right direction. Fingers crossed it continues to.

Weight and aerobic efficiency has been pretty much static this week as last which is fine although I hope to see some improvements over the coming weeks as race day approaches. Other than being off work this week and doing Yorkshire touristy stuff I don't think I have too many social events to go to between now and Berlin so hopefully I'll be able to get on top of my diet a bit more. Last weekend a little too many pies and cakes were consumed!

Week 11 of 20 weeks to Sub 2:20?

M 10.5 miles (6:36mm), 6 miles (7:13mm)

T 17 miles (6:37mm), 4 miles (7:17mm)

W 11 miles (6:59mm), 6 miles (7:08mm)

T Rest

F 6 miles (7:17mm)

S 10.5 miles (6:43mm)
S 22 miles (6:24mm)

Total 94 miles (6:46mm)

Weight 142.4 lbs

Body fat 10.6%
Aerobic efficiency 966 beats per mile.

This week was the first week of the marathon specific stage where the aim was to just get in some decent miles in and ready for the proper work to start this coming week with a big session, big mileage and a big long run!

From a training point of view it went fantastically well. My health is much better than recently and my easy runs are now actually feeling easy, which makes a difference from struggling to go quicker than 7 minute miles just a few weeks ago. I decided to slightly front load the week with miles as I was in London on Thursday with work and knew I would be coming back with a hangover so I would only get minimal miles in on Friday. I had been planning on doing my long run on Saturday but to be honest still felt a bit rough from the wine fest so moved it to Sunday instead. The aim was to get my first 20 in with it not feeling too much of a struggle. I was really pleasantly surprised to be running really well and aerobically I felt incredibly strong. The legs weren't tired either despite the uplift in miles this week. The only thing that was bugging me was my ongoing niggles. A visit to the physio on Tuesday confirmed what I thought in that I have a tilted and twisted pelvis which is causing bad sciatica down my right side and a lot of tightness in my right hamstring/glute. This is basically exactly the same injury I had just over a year ago but the other side. The physio doesn't quite know why it has happened as there has been no specific event or trauma that caused, it has just sort of gradually got worse over the last few weeks. Maybe I just need to make sure I stretch a bit more and get the foam roller out more frequently.

Weight is down about a pound from last week but my body fat has increased slightly (although I doubt that and is probably just a flaw within the scales!). Aerobic efficiency is really good at 966beats per mile average, a similar sort of level that I had at the beginning of March when I was starting to come into some decent fitness.

The big work starts here now with nine weeks to go. I just hope I can get in what I intend to without too many interruptions!

Week 10 of 20 weeks to Sub 2:20?

M 7.5 miles (7:26mm), 6 miles (7:09mm)

T 5 miles (7:27mm), 10.5 miles including 4X1M(0.5M) – 5:04, 5:02, 5:03, 5:06

W 5 miles (7:25mm), 8.5 miles (7:15mm)

T 7.5 miles (7:16mm), 5 miles (7:03mm)

F 5 miles (7:20mm)

S 9 miles including Podium 10(?)k - 31:42
S 6miles (7:10mm)

Total 76 miles (6:57mm)

Weight 143.2 lbs

Body fat 10.5%

So the final week of the phase whereby I am trying to build some speed before embarking on the marathon specific phase. It was all to culminate in a 10k race at Barrowford in Lancashire. This is a race that has been set up on a completely flat and smooth tarmac cycling track. It should be a quick course, if you can cope with laps and the weather is kind. It ended up being perhaps quicker than I was expecting but more on that in a bit…

I was keen to still get reasonable miles in for the week given various inconsistencies of the last few weeks and only had one session on the Tuesday before the race. This would be a helpful gauge of what sort of shape I was in for a 10k race. I did 4X1mile with a half mile jog recovery within a run. The mile came out at 5:04, 5:02, 5:03 and 5:06 and they hurt, especially the last one! This told me that my somewhat optimistic target of 31:30 was probably going to be too optimistic so decided that I would settle for aiming to beat my longstanding PB of 32:05 instead and hoping to creep under 32 minutes.

So quite a lot of easy running to freshen up for Saturday. Race day arrived and I was keen to make sure I ate a sensible amount pre-race and didn’t hit the start a little bloated which I think I may have done at Askern and Stretford races earlier in the summer. The weather was dry and cool for a mid-July evening but there was a pretty strong wind. Thankfully it wasn’t as strong as had been forecast 48 hours earlier but still I think strong enough to make a material difference to the times that would be run on the night. The A-race kicked off and there’s a decent field of runners with Ben Fish leading off the front. I found myself in a nice little group with Matt Shaw and Nathan Kilcourse for the first few laps. After a while I could see a couple of runners, one including Frank Beresford starting to drop off and so I gave chase to try and pull him in. I gradually caught up with him and despite thinking I would probably go past him Frank held firm and we raced hammer and tong for about four laps towards the end. I felt really good up until the mid-part of the race when I really had to try and hang on. By the 8^th k it really was starting to slip and Matt and Nathan caught back up and went past . I could then no longer hang on to the pack as they pulled away. On finishing I was incredibly surprised to see the clock at 31:42. It didn’t feel like a PB run, surely I hadn’t got into that good shape in the space of a week? I ran 15:51 last week for 5k on a track in slightly more favourable conditions. I checked the watch and it read 6.15miles. This is in when the doubts started creeping in. I like Garmins, they’re very useful training aids but I don’t trust them in races or to truly reflect distance run. In fact they’re far far more likely to measure long given the technology of how GPS devices work. One has to trust that the course has been measured by a qualified course measurer with wheel. Now, I am not sure how it happened but looking at the course measurers site the 5k is apparently exactly 4.8 laps of the course, therefore the 10k should have been 9.6 laps. We simply did not run 9.6 laps of the course on Saturday evening. My estimation is that we ran 9.35-9.4 laps. So I believe the distance I ran on Saturday was equivalent to around 9.7-9.8k probably adding 45 seconds to my time is about right so around 32:27 which given the windy conditions (perhaps worth 20-30 seconds) I still think is an OK run. I am in roughly 10k PB shape 10 weeks out from a target marathon but it would be disingenuous of me to claim this as a PB as I just don’t believe it was!

 

Hammering it out with Frank Beresford
Photo credit: Jamie McIlvenny

 

Although I got to be nowhere near as quick as I was hoping to be this summer I have not arrived at 10 weeks out from a target marathon in as good shape as I am now and I am very grateful to the support and guidance of Mike Baxter who has taken me through this different approach to my training. I look forward to doing the same sort of thing in future training blocks.

Other things of note this week was that I went to the doctors to get a print out of my recent blood test results. They tested for literally everything! It was very interesting trying to decipher what everything meant and having accepted that I was probably a bit too thick to do just that I wrote to Phil Townsend (coach with Leeds city and also a GP) to ask for his view. In a nutshell I had a low (compared to the general population) haemoglobin concentration of 135g/L, below range Haematocrit 0.39 and below range red blood count and above range mean cell haemoglobin level. To be honest this struck me as odd as I thought the number for haemoglobin and RBC would be higher for a runner who is trained. But apparently that value can be low due to the blood being a little thinner than a sedentary persons. The doctor had assured me I was ok so I initially went home a happy bunny. I double checked with Phil as I just couldn’t make sense of it all though and while initially we thought it may be that I had a bit low iron, my ferritin level was good. Apparently ferritin is an acute phase protein that gives a decent indication of how much iron is in the body so I probably don’t need supplementation although ferritin levels can be raised when under the weather/fighting off an illness. So maybe I was ill when the test was done which showed a higher reading than what it actually is? After playing with it in my head for the best part of 24 hours I decided that it wasn’t worth wasting my energy on. I have gradually started to feel a lot better recently and am nowhere near as exhausted as I was a few weeks ago. So basically I will continue to eat a varied diet, try and stay off the booze and hope I continue to just feel better. I have my Echocardio gram on Saturday which I am hoping will show nothing untoward. That said I am looking forward to it as I continue to learn more about my body!

 

So now starts the 10 weeks to the big race. I will take a week of easy running, but with reasonable mileage with no sessions before really ramping things up next week and returning to the Steve Way type sessions I (and many others) have had success with in the past. Back into the blog will come the monitoring of my weight, aerobic efficiency and now percentage body fat. This will not be that accurate given it’s from the bathroom scales but it’ll be interesting to see the changes for added geekery. I will also stick in the odd different thing training wise like mile intervals and some hills sprints as recommended by Mike Baxter to keep in touch with my speedier running.

All in all I’m really excited to get going now with the specific phase. I just have to hope that a niggly pelvis/sciatic issue that seems to have been gradually getting worse over the last few weeks can be quickly remedied by the physio!

Weeks 8 and 9 of 20 weeks to Sub 2:20?

W/C 29th June

M 10.5miles (6:42mm)

T 9 miles including 2X1k (3mins), 5X500m(90s, 3mins), 5X300(60s)

W 7 miles (7:02mm), 5miles (7:20mm)

T 9 miles (6:58mm)

F 10 miles acceleration run (6:18mm), 5 miles (7:19mm)

S 15 miles (6:35mm)

S 7.5 miles (6:58mm)

Total 79.3miles

W/C 6th July

M 5 miles (7:07mm)

T 6 miles including Trafford Open 5,000m (15:56.82)

W Rest

T 10.5 miles (7:01mm), 6 miles (7:26mm)

F 17 miles (6:53mm), 6 miles (7:22mm)

S 10 miles (7:07mm)

S 4miles (7:48mm), 7.5 miles including Northern League 5,000m (15:51.3)

Total 73 miles

Last time I wrote about getting some checks with the doctor as I’d not been feeling all too good for a number of weeks both in myself and especially in my running! I am happy to report though that my blood tests came back as normal so that’s great news. This has coincided with feeling quite a lot better in myself and more energy generally. I have had an ECG and am waiting for a referral for an Echo so no diagnosis has been made just yet on whether there is anything untoward with my heart.

This past couple of weeks has been a bit of a rollercoaster again though! Leaving me one minute thrilled that I’m in great shape, then the next minute feeling like I’m a 90 year old arthritic with a heart condition! Still, I finish the two week block in a positive frame of mind.

The Tuesday session I did on 30^th June was quite simply one of the best of my life! In equatorial temperatures at the track with a bit of a gust I was knocking out interval times I didn’t think I had in me. Full details are on the link above, but I felt quick and with splits of 2:55, and 2:54 for the k’s and then c1:25s for the 500s I was really running well. If only I could convert that into a race performance….. The rest of the week I was quite wearisome probably due to how hard I had pushed in that session and an acceleration run I did on the Friday whilst OK was by no means spectacular and my legs felt tired from the off.

It was then onto last week where my two sessions would effectively be two 5,000m races. The first of which was a planned Trafford AC open race and the second was a late call up for the Northern League meet at Scunthorpe where I would be the B-Runner with Leeds City legend Alan Buckley taking his place in the A-string. At Trafford I was a little disappointed to be put in the B-race and although I wouldn’t have been in contention  in the A-race I would have had a lot more people to try and hang on to! I had gone there with the intention to do some damage to the 15:51.5 PB and although it was windy felt I was in a good place to knock some chunks off it! The race started quite slowly and perhaps I panicked a little but I was keen to get back on pace so took the lead up about 300m in and then tried to push on. As you can see from the splits above it was not the most brilliantly paced race and indeed I was disappointed when eventual winner came past me with about 1k to go and I didn’t have the minerals to go with him. I was hating every stride if I’m honest and couldn’t wait for it to be over. That said I still thought I would PB. I was wrong! It just shows if you lose concentration for a few minutes it can really ruin the outcome. I finished in 15:56.82 and really disappointed with how it had all panned out. The result was the least of my concerns though as I could only jog a quarter mile to warm down as my left foot was in in real pain having stubbed it on the bed on Sunday morning! It had some pretty nasty bruising so I went to get some ice form the café where I was surprised to see Dave Moorcroft asking me if I wanted a free coffee on behalf of the BBC (they were filming a piece for Join in UK, an organisation that promotes volunteering). I learned later that evening that it was exactly 33 years to the day that he broke the World 5,000m record. He really is true legend of the sport and his coffee making skills weren’t bad either. I urge you to watch this video with the last few minutes of that record breaking run – it’s simply breath-taking.

I took Wednesday off as my foot was just too sore but thankfully it gradually got better over the following days. Then onto the Northern League 5,000m where another windy day was in store. The primary goal was to win the B-string and secondly to try to run a quick time too. I was pleased to achieve the primary objective winning the B-race finishing 2^nd overall a long way behind Alan but my time was still poor. I finished in 15:51.3 so a bit quicker than Tuesday’s effort and an official PB by a whopping 0.2seconds but still some way short of what I should be capable of. This was OK, especially given the miles in my legs from Friday and Saturday but on reflection I really should have been braver. I perhaps had the opportunity to push on and try and get back to Alan when I found myself in second place about 20 metres back but instead I allowed the pace to drift. As I wasn’t checking splits other than at the km mark I didn’t know until it was too late. I'm learning that these shorter distances really are supposed to hurt from very early on and I think if I can accept that I should be able to run one quite a bit quicker, especially if I can get some good conditions! All this is really good prep for Berlin though and I do feel that what I have been working on with the support of Mike these last few weeks is working, I just haven’t seen the results in a race yet. Next Saturday I am racing in the Podium 10k and I really will be looking to put myself in the hurt box. I would love to have a real confidence boosting run before the long steady mileage starts in earnest. But only I can be in control of that.