British National 100k Championships - 24th April-14th May Training Log

W/C 24th April
M 20.5 miles (6:43mm)
T 6.5 miles (7:55mm), 7 miles (7:09mm)
W 16 miles (6:27mm)
T 10.5 miles (6:17mm), 10 miles (6:39mm)
F 11.5 miles (6:01mm), 6.5 miles (7:11mm)
S 8 miles (6:55)
S 40.5 miles (6:12mm)
Total 138 miles (6:33mm)
Total Training Time 15hrs 02mins


W/C 1st May
M 15 miles (7:04mm)
T 12 miles (5:57mm), 5 miles (7:49mm)
W 8 miles (7:19mm), 5 miles (7:44mm)
T 20 miles inc. 30mins, 4X5mins, 30mins (5:55mm)
F 8.5 miles (7:24mm), 5 miles (7:50mm)
S 10.5 miles (6:34mm)
S 22 miles (6:13mm)
Total 111 miles (6:40mm)
Total Training Time 12hrs 24mins


W/C 8th May
M 10.5 miles (7:36mm), 4 miles (7:26mm)
T 8 miles (6:46mm), 4 miles (7:15mm)
W 11.5 miles inc. 15X1min (5:21mm)
T 10 miles (6:42mm)
F 8 miles (7:59mm)
S 5 miles (6:34mm)
S 14 miles inc. Yorkshire 5,000m Championships (16:15!), 5 miles (6:46mm)
Total 80 miles (6:50mm)
Total Training Time 9 hrs 5 mins


This first week post-London was really critical in terms of the specificity for the ultra and I was keen to get in some big miles including my longest run ever. It went well with a 20 miler the day after London. There was still definitely some fatigue there but doing a 20 miler at a half decent pace on tired legs is good conditioning for what is to come on the 21st. The rest of the week went ok with some decent miles at not too shabby paces but it was all building to Sunday which was planned to be a 40 mile run. this would give me the opportunity to practice my fuelling as well as hopefully run a bit quicker than planned pace for the ultra. I split the session up into 4X9.5 miles (not your standard interval training!) just to break it up a bit. I did it on my usual tempo loop but changed direction after each rep. This confirmed what I already suspected in that my Garmin is quite optimistic in one direction and quite pessimistic in the other! The efforts were at 6:11, 6:02, 6:09 and 6:12 pace with the whole run averaging 6:12mm. It was a really useful exercise as it allowed me to gauge how much fuel I would need to take on in the race. I was running ok and started eating after 45 minutes then every half hour but only 150 kcals at a time. As I approached 30 miles I started to feel like I was close to 'bonking' so quickly ate a bit more and then felt better and finished the session quite well. That said I do think that the final rep pace was reflected by the lack of fuel and also perhaps that it was seven miles further than I had ever run before. It was such a satisfying run to get done though.

The second week I was just keen to ensure that there weren't too many ill-effects from my 40 miler as well as continue to get some decent miles in and a hard session. Although I had planned to run a few more miles this week I was sensible in that I eased back a little as I was suffering from DOMs quite severely on Tuesday and Wednesday. I had left the session until Thursday as my legs really weren't up to much faster running before then. The session itself went ok, not particularly fast but it was blowing a gale and considering how my legs had felt 24 hours earlier I was quite chuffed with the paces of 5:31mm for the first 30 mins, c5:15mm avge for the 5 minute efforts and then 5:38mm for the final 30 minute stint.

Last week was the first week of taper which included one 'sharpening' session and the Yorkshire 5,000m. I did a sharpening session of 15X1minute on/off on the treadmill with the on efforts at 20kph and off at 16kph. This gave me confidence that I might be good to run a reasonable 5,000m but it seems the miles of recent weeks have left my legs very strong but not very fast! I struggled in with 16:15 in what was pretty much a full effort! There was one benefit from it though in that it allowed me to calibrate my Garmin Footpod so I should get much more accurate readings for pace on the treadmill going forward! It confirmed my suspicions that when I run on the TM I am not running at the pace my Garmin has been giving me. This means it would appear that my mileage wont have been quite as high as I have reported in recent weeks although it wont be too far away!

I thought it would be sensible to get a blood test this week, given the change to the plant-based diet just to ensure I am not deficient in anything. The results are below and typically for Vegans there may be a deficiency in B12 and Iron. But these seemed ok. My Haemoglobin and Haematocrit seem to be in a similar place to where they have been when I was eating meat too so hopefully this is a positive sign. I don't really understand much about blood tests to be frank but it looks very similar to previous results so I don't think I should be worried. I will be having a vegan hiatus for a few days while I deplete my carb stores and go back on the dairy for a bit before loading up from Thursday.

So one week to go and I'm very excited about my first ultra. I have some idea what I think I might be capable of and think I can get to 75k in pretty decent shape but what happens after that is a complete unknown. For anyone that wants to track, you can do so here. The race starts at 7:30am on Sunday and there should be splits every 5k. See you on the other side!

Running for Charlie - London Marathon 2017 Week 16 of 16

M 14 miles (6:19mm)
T 13 miles (6:32mm), 7 miles (6:34mm)
W 17 miles inc 3X4.5miles (6:05mm), 4 miles (7:31mm)
T 14 miles (6:37mm), 6 miles (7:14mm)
F 9 miles (6:42mm), 6 miles (7:35mm)
S 7.5 miles (7:10mm), 4 miles (7:46mm)
S 28.2 miles including London Marathon (2:34:33)

Total 131 miles (6:34mm)
Total Training Time 14hrs 20mins

This doesn't look like a standard taper week I am sure you will agree! For folks that read my last blog I decided to knock London on the head as a PB attempt and instead focus on my debut at the British 100k Championships on 21st May. Of course I would still run London as I was keen to fulfil my promise of trying to help raise funds for my colleague's son Charlie who needs surgery and physio for his disability. Thank you everyone that has donated and there is till time if you could spare a few pennies. I have been humbled by the generosity of folks that have donated, some of whom I have never even met! So thank you once again. If you are inclined to donate the link is here.


Running the London Marathon at a steady effort would also prove to be a good training run for the 100k.


I travelled down on the Saturday and made my way to the expo, which is a necessary evil! It is so busy on the Saturday and it takes a good three hours out of one's day to get over there, get sorted and get back, even if you do fly through there! There was something positive though and that's that I got to see many of my old club mates from Orpington Road Runners who do a sterling job of volunteering with number and chip collection as well as manning one of the baggage lorries on race day.


I stayed near King's Cross on my own and made my way across to Blackheath on Sunday. Once inside the Champs start it was great to see so many of my running friends from far and wide and catch up on what their plans were for the race ahead. I was so excited and for this once I wasn't nervous as I would be taking it relatively easy.


I started quite a bit further back than I normally do but was still over the line in a few seconds and was running a long with Rob Downs before he shot off into the distance. I was also with Mark Offord and Stuart Beaney for large parts of the first half. There was also the novel situation of running with a chap dresses as a carrot until the 9 mile point. I even tried to do Facebook live interview with him on the go! It was a guy called Andrew Lawrence who actually runs for Morpeth. I'm not sure his kit would have stood the test of UKA scrutiny to count for team prizes but he ran very quickly for a carrot.


The race wore on and I felt great, I was having an absolute ball, high fiving and getting cheers from the folks at the roadside, some of whom I knew and others that I didn't. London really is ace as you get to feel a bit like a Rock Star for a couple of hours. The race proved to be a very good training session and I completed in a slight negative split with 2:34 feeling on the whole very comfortable. It is still a long way though so the legs are always going to be a touch tired especially with 130 miles in the legs for the week.

London Marathon Splits


So following the race there was exactly four weeks until the 100k. That would give me couple of weeks of big miles before tapering down!

Running for Charlie - London Marathon 2017 Week 14 of 16

M 10 miles HA (6:21mm), 7 miles inc. strides (7:12mm)
T 9 miles HA (6:43mm), 6 miles inc. strides & drills (7:14mm)
W 22 miles (6:01mm), 6 miles (6:37mm)
T 7.5 miles HA (6:49mm), 6 miles (6:37mm)
F 5 miles (7:13mm)
S 11 miles inc Long Leg at 12-stage Road Relays
S Ill.

Total 90 miles (6:37mm)
Core & Drills 25 mins
Total Training Time 10hrs 23mins
Aerobic efficiency 937 Vs 913 beats per mile


Oh crap! I'm ill with a horrid virus. It has taken me a few days to write this as I was just so grumpy about things. I had a decent last long run last Wednesday over a hilly route but then I started to feel a bit off. I was super anxious about the national relays and while I'm not much use at the shorter stuff anyway, I felt even more pressure on myself than ever before. I know now why that was the case as I woke up on Sunday with next to no energy, bunged up and a splitting headache. Since then I have felt achey all over and haven't run a step. It may explain the bad run (28:46 on a long leg) when I had been expecting to run closer to 27 minutes given recent sessions but the run itself didn't feel too bad. I felt strong but just couldn't get the legs moving.

Final bit at the Relays. Photo Credit: Adrian Royle.

An interesting thing I noted during the week was that my aerobic efficiency had gone down quite a lot. This should have been a tell-tale sign that I was coming down with something but I chose to ignore it. Runner's denial is a powerful thing.


So it has left me with a quandary over the past few days and one I have finally made a decision on. London was always the big focus for Spring and I felt like I was getting into sub 2:20 shape, my confidence was high but like anything to do with marathons you have to have everything go your way, especially in the last few weeks and on race day to come out with what you want. As much support from friends I have had over recent days, I have unfortunately lost the faith now that I can PB. A weak mind is not what one needs when looking to hurt themselves for 26.2 miles. Of course some may argue that it is too soon to make a call on London and that a few days off wont affect anything too much and that is a valid point but I do know my body best and my mind has now irreversibly shifted to loftier goals.


Of course I will run London. I am Running for Charlie but from a personal point of view it is no longer about striving for that arbitrary time that I have had myself so worked up about for the past few months. That will have to wait until the Autumn when I have another crack at Berlin.


What now? Well this mishap has allowed me to look at what else I can do and as I was already entered for the English 50k Championships at the end of May that was a possibility but I had been dabbling with the thought of doing the 100k instead which doubles as the GB Championships. I have never run that far and it will be somewhere around seven hours of running but I am convinced the distance will suit me! I don't have a top gear but I have a decent engine and I feel I can endure. So now my goal has shifted to challenge for a podium spot at the GB Championships at the 100k. I will train through London, assuming I am back running in the next few days but look to get some decent miles in before my first Ultra on 21st May.


As readers will know who read my blog, this year I am trying to help my colleague Jo raise funds for her son Charlie. Charlie suffers with Cerebral Palsy amongst other severe medical conditions. 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. Please donate if you can spare a few pounds.

Charlie's Footsteps

Running for Charlie - London Marathon 2017 Week 13 of 16

M 13 miles HA (6:04mm), 6 miles inc. strides (7:07mm)
T 9 miles HA (6:48mm)
W Canova Special Block Day; Session 1 - 16.5 miles (5:49mm) Session 2 - 11 miles (5:53mm)
T 7 miles (7:54mm)
F 11.5 miles HA (6:05mm), 5 miles (7:34mm)
S 9 miles (6:40mm)
S 27.5 miles inc a cheeky steady marathon (5:55mm)

Total 116 miles (6:20mm)
Core & Drills 30 mins
Total Training Time 12 hrs 42 mins Vs 15hrs 25mins
Aerobic efficiency 913 Vs 940 beats per mile
Weight 139.34lbs Vs 139.97lbs
Body Fat 9.97% (13.90lbs) Vs 10.41% (14.58lbs)
Lean Body Mass 85.5% (119.14lbs) Vs 85.1% (119.11lbs)
Water 65.33% (91.03lbs) Vs 64.57% (90.37lbs)

Another big week this week, not so much in miles but in sessions. It was Canova Special Block Week! For any readers that followed my build up to Toronto, this essentially consists of one day where you run two hard sessions. It's one that makes you a little nervous as you know it's going to be so tough and makes you wish you just did this running lark to keep fit. Then it would have been easy to stick in a couple of five mile jogs instead! But know I can be quite stubborn as well as obsessive so I looked to repeat what I did last year.


This first run of the day was 5.5 miles at around 90% of MP which came in at 5:54mm, 4 mins jog then 8 miles at 98.5%MP which came in bang on at 5:27mm. This was comparable with what I did pre-Toronto and the HR was a little lower for the efforts. The second session of the day was 6X4:30 with 2 mins jog. The idea was to run these at around 5:07 pace but I managed to hit 5:00mm average for the efforts despite it being quite breezy. It was super tough but it was once again so pleasing to get done. Going into the second session you have no idea how you're going to get through it given you're already quite tired, and the legs a little dull, from the first session early in the morning.


The following days were tough and the legs were definitely feeling it, I also felt pretty wiped out so just ran what I felt necessary. I missed out on a couple of doubles but it's no biggie given this was my critical week of training and the last thing I would want is to pick up an injury from overreaching. I ensured I got as much rest as I could ahead of Sunday's long run. I planned to do a steady marathon which I did after a mile's warm up and covered the distance in 2:35:18 which was 3 seconds slower than what I did the same run pre-Berlin 2015 but my HR averaged 5 beats per minute lower. This hopefully implies I have developed my engine some more. I know I was in 2:20 shape at Berlin if it hadn't been for the stitch, so I am coming to the boil quite nicely now. Don't get me wrong, it was getting hard towards the end and I was looking forward to finishing, but I never felt like I was getting close to the red line. I did this run through the day for a change and given it was a lovely spring day there were lots of people out and about. I got the usual heckle but the highlight was about 14 miles in when a car of young guys pulled up alongside and followed me for about half a mile with the theme music from Rocky blaring out of the windows. It gave me a lift when I was starting to get a bit bored and I couldn't stop smiling after that! Running is ace!

The weight has come down a little as well as body fat again which is nice to see as I am being rewarded with sensible diet choices of plant based stuff. None of this low carb high fat nonsense I see folks posting about!

On finishing my long run on Sunday it was nice to check my Garmin's race predictor. See below! It thinks I'm ready, even if it has a tendency to be a tad optimistic!

So nearly there now, and nothing will be as hard as I've run this week so I hope I can say the hay is in the barn.

As readers will know who read my blog, this year I am trying to help my colleague Jo raise funds for her son Charlie. Charlie suffers with Cerebral Palsy amongst other severe medical conditions. 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

Running for Charlie - London Marathon 2017 Week 12 of 16.

M 5 miles (6:57mm), 11 miles HA (6:15mm)
T 12 miles (6:20mm), 6 miles inc. strides & drills (7:08mm)
W 5miles (7:34mm), 15 miles inc. 8X1mile (1/2 mile float) (5:52mm)
T 12.5 miles HA (6:23mm), 6 miles inc. strides (7:13mm)
F 10.5 miles HA (6:13mm), 5 miles inc. strides & drills (7:06mm)
S 33 miles (6:22mm)
S 14 miles (6:35mm)

Total 136 miles (6:29mm)
Core & Drills 45 mins
Total Training Time 15hrs 25mins Vs 11 hrs 35 mins
Aerobic efficiency 940 Vs 966 beats per mile
Weight 139.97lbs Vs 142.34 lbs
Body Fat 10.41% (14.58ls) Vs 11.11% (15.82lbs)
Lean Body Mass 85.1% (119.11lbs) Vs 84.44% (120.2lbs)
Water 64.57% (90.37lbs) Vs 63.66% (90.61lbs)


I keep telling myself that last week's race was a blip. After this week I am now convinced more than ever that it, sort of, was. Thankfully! Ordinarily after a race I struggle to do anything faster at all the following week, but my running has been quicker and felt much better this week. I also had a bit of an epiphany, not in the sense that the Lord came and spoke to me. I am sure He/She has more important things to worry about. I realised that I hadn't been training hard enough! Of course last week and the prior week I am allowed to be a bit gentle on myself as I was under the weather and recovering from a bug but I noticed my average pace for general runs was not as quick as I have run them in the past. Yes they were easier and I am sure I was getting some benefit from them, but I was wasting an opportunity to build my engine in a relatively low stress way. I am pleased  I realised this now as it has given me three weeks to get in serious shape. The average pace of my running across the week has improved from 6:43mm to 6:29mm.I'm not saying that training wasn't going well, it was ok but I was drifting and I don't think I truly committed until this week when I realised I had to really pull my finger out. Thankfully I am fit, so now it's just about adding a bit of icing to the cake I've been baking.


And so to Wednesday's session of 8X1mile with 1/2 mile float which would have been a big no-no generally after a race as I simply wouldn't have been in a state to run that hard. But it went brilliantly well and I felt strong throughout, with the mile splits going 5:27, 5:21, 5:19, 5:16, 5:16, 5:15, 5:13, 5:11 and the 'recoveries' at about 6:30pace. When I did this session prior to Toronto, the average pace of the miles was 5:07 vs 5:16 this time but my recoveries were slightly quicker this time and although I was chuffed with the session last time out ,this one was definitely more controlled with my heart rate not even getting up to marathon heart rate in any of the efforts. It would be great if 5:16s ended up being marathon pace as it would get me in somewhere around 2:18 which would be comfortably under the IAAF World Champs qualifying time. One can dream!!!


Another big factor this week is that the unwanted body fat has finally started to drop off quite substantially and this always gets me feeling better in my running and could be down to the faster pace of my running but also more likely to do with the plant based diet I am on. I'm not missing meat, or dairy, one bit! And I feel much better in myself, my energy levels are higher than ever and it's great getting to make new things in the kitchen. My wife, Hania also seems pretty pleased!

Roasted Sweet Potato, Spicy Vegan Lecho and Spinach, Beetroot, Tomato, Cucumber, Avocado and mixed seed Salad. #plantbased

So to Saturday's long run which was two weeks overdue! I missed it two weeks ago because of my cold but I was keen to run further than I ever have done before and so I set off to do 33 miles. Three 11 mile loops on an undulating course. The first ticked by quite nicely and I felt good with the legs ticking along nicely. The second lap was better and I felt very strong and was running very nicely. It was only around halfway through the third lap that I started to feel quite tired and hungry. I was a touch thirsty by this point too but as it was pretty cold I wasn't sweating a great deal. My watch clocked 33 miles at 3:29:59 which I had thought might be doable without ruining myself. I only lost 4.5lbs in 3 and a half hours of running which was an interesting stat for me to reflect on!

As readers will know who read my blog, this year I am trying to help my colleague Jo raise funds for her son Charlie. Charlie suffers with Cerebral Palsy amongst other severe medical conditions. 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

Running for Charlie - London Marathon 2017 Week 11 of 16

M 10.5 miles HA (6:40mm), 3.5 miles inc. strides (7:43mm)
T 15 miles inc 24mins, 18 mins, 12 mins, 6 mins (6:00mm)
W 7.5 miles HA (6:47mm), 5 miles (7:08mm)
T 5 miles (7:49mm), 10 miles (6:47mm)
F 10.5 miles HA (6:47mm), 5 miles inc. strides & drills (7:28mm)
S 5 miles (6:36mm), 3.5 miles (7:00mm)
S 20.5 miles including Thirsk 10 (6:24mm)

Total 101 miles (6:43mm)
Core & Drills 19 mins
Total Training Time 11 hrs 35 mins Vs 9 hrs 42 mins
Aerobic efficiency 966 Vs 949 beats per mile
Weight 142.34 lbs Vs 142.3lbs (avge over the week)
Body Fat 11.11% (15.82lbs) Vs 10.86% (15.45lbs)
Lean Body Mass 84.44% (120.2lbs) Vs 84.71% (120.52lbs)
Water 63.66% (90.61lbs) Vs 64.06% (91.14 lbs)


A tentative start back this week after missing last weekend due to a cold. In fact most runs until Friday felt pretty bleurgh. My Heart Rate seemed to be behaving itself but the legs just felt like they didn't have much strength. I was still keen to do a session and on Tuesday I did a session of 24 mins, 28 mins, 23 min, 6 mins with the intention of speeding up throughout the session. As it turned out I clearly wasn't fully recovered as there was no 'top gear' and even getting close to marathon heart rate was impossible, so I kept it as high aerobic as I could without pushing myself over the line. The efforts came in at around 5:33mm avge so it was pretty slow and I know that it was sensible that I didn't try to go any quicker. In a way it reminded me of last year's Dewsbury 10k which was just after recovering form a cold. That day, I just really couldn't get to the level of effort I wanted without my legs saying 'no'!


So this week was a bit weird as I had been planning to taper down for the Thirsk 10 on Sunday but as I had missed last weekend's running thought it'd be sensible to just get the training back to sensible levels and train through the race. Of course I planned to give it a full effort if the cold had fully evaporated but I went in no longer thinking of a PB but just to have a solid outing!


There was a very strong wind the morning of the race with gust of over 40mph and it looked like this would be a headwind for the first half of the race so actually made me relax even more about the chance of a PB.


Off we went and I didn't feel too bad initially but it didn't take long before I felt like I couldn't really push to my max. I guess a combination of post-cold race syndrome and fatigue from marathon training meant it was going to be a struggle. I would go through spells of feeling great then 30 second slater would feel like I was coming to a standstill. I was running in a nice group until about 4 miles when I started to drop off the pack and from there just tried to keep going. I was happy that I managed to pick off one guy with around 2.5 miles to go but I was very conscious that John Hobbs of Valley striders was hunting me down so had to keep working to make sure I stayed in front. I managed it, just about! I crossed the line in seventh place in 54:16 and my initial feeling was one of disappointment as I had been hoping this would be my sharpener race for London and give me the confidence that sub 2:20 was on! Of course the pace I ran wasn't even what I hope to be able to run come April 23rd (5:18mm-5:20mm hoped for target) so I felt a little 'meh' about it. It didn't take long for me to come to my senses and realise that a) the conditions were pretty poor (maybe worth 45 seconds), b) I was fatigued from 100 miles in the week, c) I had just got over a bad cold and d) considering Tuesday's session where I couldn't run any quicker than 5:30mm, 5:26s was actually not a bad effort! I also feel like I wasn't quite at max and couldn't 'go to the well' as I have done in previous tune up races. Comparing this to the effort I put into running at the Vale of York Half last year, I should put it down as a tempo run really even though I genuinely don't think I could have gone much quicker on the day. It was nice to catch up with a few running buddies too, especially Andrew Challenger (cool name!) making his return to racing after 10 months and recording a solid time of 53 and bits. I met Andy at Berlin in 2015 and although we didn't run together that day enjoyed some(!) post-race beverages and shenanigans together.

Photo Credit: Karen Newton. Trying not to be hunted by John Hobbs

As I inferred last week when I'm ill I seem to put on weight rather than lose it so it was a bit of a relief that by the end of the week it had returned to where I was pretty much.

I now have three weeks of big training to put in to get in serious shape and condition before tapering off. I'm somewhat relieved that I don't have any races now until London as I can just focus on my training. I know come the big dance I will be ready to go.

As readers will know who read my blog, this year I am trying to help my colleague Jo raise funds for her son Charlie. Charlie suffers with Cerebral Palsy amongst other severe medical conditions. 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



Running for Charlie - London Marathon 2017 Week 10 of 16

M 9 miles HA (6:37mm), 5 miles inc. strides & drills (7:33mm)
T 20 miles inc. 30 mins (3:00), 4X5mins(2:00), 30 mins (5:45mm), 6 miles (7:37mm)
W 9 miles HA (6:45mm), 6.5 miles (7:58mm)
T 11.5 miles (7:04mm), 6 miles (7:02mm)
F 7 miles HA (6:42mm)
S Rest (lurgy)
S Rest (still lurgied)

Total 81 miles (6:45mm)
Core & Drills 38 mins
Total Training Time 9 hrs 42 mins
Aerobic efficiency 949 beats per mile
Weight 142.3lbs (avge over the week)
Body Fat 10.86% (15.45lbs)
Lean Body Mass 84.71% (120.52lbs)
Water 64.06% (91.14 lbs)


A bit of a frustrating week this week as I felt like I was starting to get nicely fit but then came down with a cold which meant the weekend off running. So my mileage wasn't anywhere near as high as I wanted and I didn't get a long run in. I guess it's that time of year though with the change of the season where colds are in big supply and avoiding one is very tricky. I suppose I can be grateful that it is not the week of London and would much rather have a cold now than then! Every cloud.


Apart from that I managed to get in a decent session on Tuesday morning. this is traditionally the big marathon session that I do a couple of weeks out from the target race so doing it this early would be an interesting experiment. I was not expecting the resultant paces that came out and although it wasn't as quick as pre-Toronto, it was almost certainly more controlled with the 30 minute efforts coming in at 5:25mm avge and the 5 minute efforts coming in at 5:09mm. It did demonstrate to me that I am quite fit though, especially this far out.


Weight seems to have stayed pretty stable despite dropping a bit of body fat. This seems to happen as an adaptation to the HA runs I do where my body seems to hold onto more water. Perhaps this is due to the increase in plasma volume that HA runs are supposed to induce?!?! I didn't however weigh myself over the weekend as I wasn't running so may well have put some weight back on as seems to be the case when I take some time off running. Most folks seem to lose weight when they're ill, but not me!

So far from ideal at this stage of the game, but it is now Thursday of week 11 and I was back running on Monday which was a relief although most runs have felt a bit bleurgh since then. I am supposed to be doing Thirsk 10 on Sunday as a tune up but yet to make a decision on whether I'll race.

As readers will know who read my blog, this year I am trying to help my colleague Jo raise funds for her son Charlie. Charlie suffers with Cerebral Palsy amongst other severe medical conditions. 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