Monday 25th August
Not feeling too bad today, which tells me I probably didn't run hard enough during the race yesterday. Even so, I planned to do the RPM class scheduled for 6pm to loosen my legs up, but what with Fitness First being the last bastion of efficiency and quality customer service, nobody turned up to teach it.
Ended up going out with the running club which was a big mistake, as well as being tired I had chest pains and a really bad stitch. Fortunately Andy was there and stayed with me, otherwise I would probably have gone back. Managed to knock out the five or six miles of the Cheney route, but much slower than expected.
The main group did the route at about 8 mins 22 per mile, which is faster than I managed at the race, and far too quick for me the day after a race.
Tuesday 26th August
Speed interval session on the treadmill tonight, 2 sets of 1 minute efforts with 1 minute recovery, 2 minutes between sets. Did the first set at 14kph and the second at 15kph. The former wasn't really challenging enough, so must do all the efforts at the better pace next time and possibly with shorter recoveries.
Good session though, and I like the fact that I can do this sort of thing indoors when I don't feel up to going to the track.
Wednesday 27th August
Meant to do body pump tonight, but it was cancelled with no warning or explanation. What did I say about fitness first earlier? Found out later it was because Ali refused to teach the class because the music system still hasn't been fixed, and had got fed up with having to shout instructions while teaching the class. I don't blame him one iota.
Went for a long-ish run tonight, up the railway path, through Old Town, along Marlborough road and back along Queens Drive. 1 hour 20 mins approx. Not the best of runs, not helped by the face I only had my cheap trainers (I planned to do RPM after pump) and I felt very tired mentally as much as anything - got far too much on my plate at the moment and my holiday after the marathon really can't come quickly enough.
Thursday 28th August
Interval session at the lake tonight, managed five laps this time. Quality session, my t-shirt was absolutely soaked with sweat when I got back to the gym. I need to make this my regular Thursday or Friday session if I'm going to get that half marathon time down.
Plan now is to rest or have a very easy session tomorrow, body pump Saturday morning followed by a long run (probably the Swindon half route from home) in the evening. Reason being I am at Lords on Sunday for the one day international so I won't be able to get my long run in then. Let's just hope it doesn't f**king rain this time and I finally get a well-earned day at the cricket!!
Thursday 28 August 2008
Monday 25 August 2008
Pewsey Half Marathon
Thursday 21st August
Interval session at the lake. Was aiming to do three laps, but only managed two in the end as I needed a "pit stop" after the second and was feeling tired after seven consecutive days of training. Steph joined me for this session as I had given her a lift from work to the gym and she didn't feel inclined to wait around for the running club either. I think she found it hard, which proves how good I am at pushing myself.
Really need to do this session more regularly.
Friday 22nd August
Complete rest. Full body massage with Ali in the evening. Ouch.
Saturday 23rd August
Body pump in the morning. No cardio. Went lighter with most of my weights on most of the tracks. Decided to give squats a go but with a much lighter weight to see how my knee held up.
Was about to do the same on lunges but was promptly reprimanded by Ali, reminding me I have a half marathon tomorrow. I know he is only trying to help, but I wasn't expecting to get a great time at Pewsey as it isn't really a PB course and with my recent trip to Germany I wasn't able to taper down for the race so would be running with tired legs anyway. Oh well. At least everyone who goes to body pump now knows I run half marathons.
Sunday 24th August
Pewsey Half Marathon, my third time at the event. Managed what was then a PB two years ago of 1 hour 51 mins and got roughly the same time last year. I knew I would have to settle for a similar time this year, and I was right.
The event had a lonely feel to it this year, in the last two years both Andy and my brother-in-law Richard have run with me but neither were able to attend this year. The only people there I knew, and said hello to, were Steve and Julie Goulding, the race organisers.
As usual, started at a good pace, knocking out the first five miles in just over forty minutes. But I was already starting to slow down, so I turned my watch off and tried to just run at a challenging but comfortable pace. Despite drinking plenty of water and in the week and no alcohol since I came back from Germany I felt quite dehydrated in the second half of the race. Fortunately there were four water stations in the race and while I just took a sip at the first two, I stopped and downed the whole cup at the last two.
Worryingly my dodgy hamstring felt a bit sore during the race as well, so I am going to have to be careful with it leading up to the Berlin marathon.
In the end was a bit disappointed not to get under 1 hour 50 minutes, but at least I had managed a better time than the last two years. On the day I think that was probably the best I could hope for. It was worth doing the race for the excellent race t-shirt with crop circles and aliens on the front and a claim that PVRC run the best races in Wiltshire on the back - well justified in my view. At just ten pounds to enter, I would expect local, friendly races to do better out of the credit crunch.
Thought briefly about going out for another training run later in the day but soon decided that was a stupid idea and my legs would be better served by me going home and putting my feet up, which I did.
Interval session at the lake. Was aiming to do three laps, but only managed two in the end as I needed a "pit stop" after the second and was feeling tired after seven consecutive days of training. Steph joined me for this session as I had given her a lift from work to the gym and she didn't feel inclined to wait around for the running club either. I think she found it hard, which proves how good I am at pushing myself.
Really need to do this session more regularly.
Friday 22nd August
Complete rest. Full body massage with Ali in the evening. Ouch.
Saturday 23rd August
Body pump in the morning. No cardio. Went lighter with most of my weights on most of the tracks. Decided to give squats a go but with a much lighter weight to see how my knee held up.
Was about to do the same on lunges but was promptly reprimanded by Ali, reminding me I have a half marathon tomorrow. I know he is only trying to help, but I wasn't expecting to get a great time at Pewsey as it isn't really a PB course and with my recent trip to Germany I wasn't able to taper down for the race so would be running with tired legs anyway. Oh well. At least everyone who goes to body pump now knows I run half marathons.
Sunday 24th August
Pewsey Half Marathon, my third time at the event. Managed what was then a PB two years ago of 1 hour 51 mins and got roughly the same time last year. I knew I would have to settle for a similar time this year, and I was right.
The event had a lonely feel to it this year, in the last two years both Andy and my brother-in-law Richard have run with me but neither were able to attend this year. The only people there I knew, and said hello to, were Steve and Julie Goulding, the race organisers.
As usual, started at a good pace, knocking out the first five miles in just over forty minutes. But I was already starting to slow down, so I turned my watch off and tried to just run at a challenging but comfortable pace. Despite drinking plenty of water and in the week and no alcohol since I came back from Germany I felt quite dehydrated in the second half of the race. Fortunately there were four water stations in the race and while I just took a sip at the first two, I stopped and downed the whole cup at the last two.
Worryingly my dodgy hamstring felt a bit sore during the race as well, so I am going to have to be careful with it leading up to the Berlin marathon.
In the end was a bit disappointed not to get under 1 hour 50 minutes, but at least I had managed a better time than the last two years. On the day I think that was probably the best I could hope for. It was worth doing the race for the excellent race t-shirt with crop circles and aliens on the front and a claim that PVRC run the best races in Wiltshire on the back - well justified in my view. At just ten pounds to enter, I would expect local, friendly races to do better out of the credit crunch.
Thought briefly about going out for another training run later in the day but soon decided that was a stupid idea and my legs would be better served by me going home and putting my feet up, which I did.
Wednesday 20 August 2008
Long run that wasn't so long
Sunday 17th August
Long run today. Decided to add several of my routes together to make a long one. Starting from the gym, take the Blagrove route backwards, and then pick up the Lethbridge route. Up the railway path to the top, through Old Town, along Marlborough Road and then back along Queens Drive. Back through the town centre, but picking up the Cheney Manor route via the church.
I imagined this would take a good three hours and was surprised when it only took 2 3/4 hours. I wasn't sure if I was going along at a good pace, had missed a bit somewhere, or it just wasn't as long as I thought. Very confusing - without the Blagrove and Cheney routes the run would normally take the best part of two hours so how come I only had to run another 45 minutes?
Maybe my legs were fresh from a few days off, I don't know. Still, it's another long run in the bank.
Monday 18th August
Running club tonight, 6-7 miles approx. Up the railway path and took a slightly confusing way back through the town centre. Ran with Andy and tried to motivate him, was glad to see he wasn't struggling as much as he has been of late.
Tuesday 19th August
Speedwork with Andy on the treadmill tonight. Was going to do an interval session at the lake but was curious to find out how he does speedwork on the treadmill. This was worth doing in the end as he uses a speed interval function where you programme your running and jogging speed, but you have to time your efforts yourself.
We did 10 * 2 minutes @ 14 kph with one minute recovery. Andy struggled a bit and we had to have a couple of two minute recoveries. He actually wanted to give up after 7 reps but I told him not to, better to do the last 3 reps at a slower pace and finish the session.
Could have done with a longer session but the good thing is I know how to use that function on the treadmill now, so can regularly do speedwork indoors when it's raining.
Did some carb-loading at the cinema later, went to see "You don't mess with the Zohan" with Andy and Steph, which was very funny indeed - recommended.
Wednesday 20th August
Just body pump tonight, no cardio as I had a prospective lodger coming round.
Struggled a bit, but not as bad as I did at the weekend. Ali did some older tracks which made a welcome change, interesting that on the tricep push-ups he shouted at me to do deeper push-ups - he knows how important it is to me to get the most out of the class.
The lad coming round to see the room decided to take it, which is very good news - with my new salary and two lodgers I should be able to improve my financial position substantially and can afford the Nike Pegasus on offer on dorunning.com after all :)
Long run today. Decided to add several of my routes together to make a long one. Starting from the gym, take the Blagrove route backwards, and then pick up the Lethbridge route. Up the railway path to the top, through Old Town, along Marlborough Road and then back along Queens Drive. Back through the town centre, but picking up the Cheney Manor route via the church.
I imagined this would take a good three hours and was surprised when it only took 2 3/4 hours. I wasn't sure if I was going along at a good pace, had missed a bit somewhere, or it just wasn't as long as I thought. Very confusing - without the Blagrove and Cheney routes the run would normally take the best part of two hours so how come I only had to run another 45 minutes?
Maybe my legs were fresh from a few days off, I don't know. Still, it's another long run in the bank.
Monday 18th August
Running club tonight, 6-7 miles approx. Up the railway path and took a slightly confusing way back through the town centre. Ran with Andy and tried to motivate him, was glad to see he wasn't struggling as much as he has been of late.
Tuesday 19th August
Speedwork with Andy on the treadmill tonight. Was going to do an interval session at the lake but was curious to find out how he does speedwork on the treadmill. This was worth doing in the end as he uses a speed interval function where you programme your running and jogging speed, but you have to time your efforts yourself.
We did 10 * 2 minutes @ 14 kph with one minute recovery. Andy struggled a bit and we had to have a couple of two minute recoveries. He actually wanted to give up after 7 reps but I told him not to, better to do the last 3 reps at a slower pace and finish the session.
Could have done with a longer session but the good thing is I know how to use that function on the treadmill now, so can regularly do speedwork indoors when it's raining.
Did some carb-loading at the cinema later, went to see "You don't mess with the Zohan" with Andy and Steph, which was very funny indeed - recommended.
Wednesday 20th August
Just body pump tonight, no cardio as I had a prospective lodger coming round.
Struggled a bit, but not as bad as I did at the weekend. Ali did some older tracks which made a welcome change, interesting that on the tricep push-ups he shouted at me to do deeper push-ups - he knows how important it is to me to get the most out of the class.
The lad coming round to see the room decided to take it, which is very good news - with my new salary and two lodgers I should be able to improve my financial position substantially and can afford the Nike Pegasus on offer on dorunning.com after all :)
Saturday 16 August 2008
Getting back into it
Monday 11th August
Ran from home before breakfast, about 7 miles approx. Down the railway path, then decided to do the Lethbridge route backwards (for the first time) and ran back up Kingshill. My legs felt very tired during this run and I thought to myself it might not be a bad thing to give myself 3 complete days off in Germany and allow my body to recover.
Tuesday 12th - Thursday 14th August - Complete rest
Arrived in Munich Monday night, flew back Thursday afternoon. Had a very pleasant few days, the training in the daytime was draining as I not only had to learn the system but also had to do a lot of translating and interpreting. The evenings were great, went out to eat at the local restaurants and spent a very nice evening drinking beer with some German colleagues from the office in Salzgitter.
Couldn't help but feel that this is the kind of life I was born for, and would really like another extended period living in Germany. Relocating at 40 won't be as easy as it was at 23, but apart from deciding what to do about the house, there isn't an awful lot holding me back. Watch this space.
Friday 15th August
11.4 km on the treadmill in just under an hour. Wasn't sure whether to do this or run outside - it was a nice evening - but opted for a calorie burning session instead. Was nice to bump into an old friend from work, Graham Kirk, who has just joined the gym. He commented that I was looking well from running marathons, which was nice.
Legs felt a bit tired afterwards however. They must have enjoyed a rest.
Saturday 16th August
Double classes, RPM and body pump. RPM was not so good today, got a sweat on but there were too many recoveries for my liking. Anthony told me not to bother with spinning for the time being, and I know he's right, I just didn't want to tire my legs out before my long run tomorrow.
Body pump on the other hand was a real struggle, and my body seemed to be saying to me "I thought we'd stopped doing this?". It didn't help that Ali rushed through the tracks like a mad thing because he wanted to watch the cycling after the class. At least Kathryn said she found it hard the first time after a couple of weeks off, so it isn't just me. Hopefully Wednesday will be better.
Ran from home before breakfast, about 7 miles approx. Down the railway path, then decided to do the Lethbridge route backwards (for the first time) and ran back up Kingshill. My legs felt very tired during this run and I thought to myself it might not be a bad thing to give myself 3 complete days off in Germany and allow my body to recover.
Tuesday 12th - Thursday 14th August - Complete rest
Arrived in Munich Monday night, flew back Thursday afternoon. Had a very pleasant few days, the training in the daytime was draining as I not only had to learn the system but also had to do a lot of translating and interpreting. The evenings were great, went out to eat at the local restaurants and spent a very nice evening drinking beer with some German colleagues from the office in Salzgitter.
Couldn't help but feel that this is the kind of life I was born for, and would really like another extended period living in Germany. Relocating at 40 won't be as easy as it was at 23, but apart from deciding what to do about the house, there isn't an awful lot holding me back. Watch this space.
Friday 15th August
11.4 km on the treadmill in just under an hour. Wasn't sure whether to do this or run outside - it was a nice evening - but opted for a calorie burning session instead. Was nice to bump into an old friend from work, Graham Kirk, who has just joined the gym. He commented that I was looking well from running marathons, which was nice.
Legs felt a bit tired afterwards however. They must have enjoyed a rest.
Saturday 16th August
Double classes, RPM and body pump. RPM was not so good today, got a sweat on but there were too many recoveries for my liking. Anthony told me not to bother with spinning for the time being, and I know he's right, I just didn't want to tire my legs out before my long run tomorrow.
Body pump on the other hand was a real struggle, and my body seemed to be saying to me "I thought we'd stopped doing this?". It didn't help that Ali rushed through the tracks like a mad thing because he wanted to watch the cycling after the class. At least Kathryn said she found it hard the first time after a couple of weeks off, so it isn't just me. Hopefully Wednesday will be better.
Sunday 10 August 2008
Friday Night Long Run
Friday 8th August
I decided to do my long run after work tonight as I am off the Oval for the cricket tomorrow and know I won't be able to run hard on Sunday.
Did 11.4k on the treadmill in an hour followed by the Elcombe route (10 miles). As I headed out that since Sunday I will have notched up over 50 miles. Not bad considering I had a race mid-week.
The run outside was tough going and took longer than it should have, my legs and feet did feel very tired but I kept telling myself I have to get used to spending this sort of time on my feet. Didn't get home until nearly 10pm and was absolutely shattered - very time consuming this marathon training.
Saturday 9th August
Complete rest. Very disappointing day at the cricket as we only had the morning session, and even that was cut short. Still, I managed to visit my Uncle for the first time in over a year, and headed to central London for dinner and a few more drinks before heading home.
Sunday 10th August
Managed a run in the evening, 6-7 miles steady - railway path and back through the town centre.
I fly out to Germany for SAP training tomorrow so this week will be a write-off as far as training is concerned. Will take my trainers just in case but there isn't a gym at my hotel and I doubt there will be time in any case. Plan to run 7-8 miles hard tomorrow, may be home in time for a run Thursday. Think I will have to forget a PB for the half marathon until after Berlin as I will need a hard training week leading up to the Pewsey half on 24th August and have offered to run the Chippenham half with my brother-in-law to help get him round in under 2 hours.
I decided to do my long run after work tonight as I am off the Oval for the cricket tomorrow and know I won't be able to run hard on Sunday.
Did 11.4k on the treadmill in an hour followed by the Elcombe route (10 miles). As I headed out that since Sunday I will have notched up over 50 miles. Not bad considering I had a race mid-week.
The run outside was tough going and took longer than it should have, my legs and feet did feel very tired but I kept telling myself I have to get used to spending this sort of time on my feet. Didn't get home until nearly 10pm and was absolutely shattered - very time consuming this marathon training.
Saturday 9th August
Complete rest. Very disappointing day at the cricket as we only had the morning session, and even that was cut short. Still, I managed to visit my Uncle for the first time in over a year, and headed to central London for dinner and a few more drinks before heading home.
Sunday 10th August
Managed a run in the evening, 6-7 miles steady - railway path and back through the town centre.
I fly out to Germany for SAP training tomorrow so this week will be a write-off as far as training is concerned. Will take my trainers just in case but there isn't a gym at my hotel and I doubt there will be time in any case. Plan to run 7-8 miles hard tomorrow, may be home in time for a run Thursday. Think I will have to forget a PB for the half marathon until after Berlin as I will need a hard training week leading up to the Pewsey half on 24th August and have offered to run the Chippenham half with my brother-in-law to help get him round in under 2 hours.
Thursday 7 August 2008
Pewsey 5 mile race
Monday 4th August
Complete rest. Felt very tired after my long run so just went home and relaxed. The increase in mileage is starting to take its toll. Race number for Wednesday arrived though.
Tuesday 5th August
Was thinking about the track today but it was pissing down with rain so I couldn't face it. Went to the gym, did just 5k on the treadmill, very steady. Just wanted to get the legs working again before tomorrow, and break in a pair of Nike Air Perseus trainers I got for £20!
Wednesday 6th August
Pewsey 5 mile race. Enjoyed it last year and always support PVRC's events so was keen to have another go at it. Not really sure what to write about it - I like this distance because it's over quickly but it was hard work tonight. Managed a reasonable pace all the way but don't think my heart and lungs could have worked much harder, plus I always think evening races are harder than Sunday morning ones.
Disappointed that I only knocked off 1 minute off my time from last year but at least the hills didn't feel as bad. To be fair I haven't done so much speed work lately, concentrating instead on longer distances.
I usually try not to drink mid-week but had a few hard-earned beers when I got home.
Thursday 7th August
Cheney Manor route via the church, 6-7 miles, very steady. Recovered from yesterday and got my legs moving again. Plan to do a long run Friday as I will be at the Oval Saturday so will struggle to do any decent distance on Sunday.
Complete rest. Felt very tired after my long run so just went home and relaxed. The increase in mileage is starting to take its toll. Race number for Wednesday arrived though.
Tuesday 5th August
Was thinking about the track today but it was pissing down with rain so I couldn't face it. Went to the gym, did just 5k on the treadmill, very steady. Just wanted to get the legs working again before tomorrow, and break in a pair of Nike Air Perseus trainers I got for £20!
Wednesday 6th August
Pewsey 5 mile race. Enjoyed it last year and always support PVRC's events so was keen to have another go at it. Not really sure what to write about it - I like this distance because it's over quickly but it was hard work tonight. Managed a reasonable pace all the way but don't think my heart and lungs could have worked much harder, plus I always think evening races are harder than Sunday morning ones.
Disappointed that I only knocked off 1 minute off my time from last year but at least the hills didn't feel as bad. To be fair I haven't done so much speed work lately, concentrating instead on longer distances.
I usually try not to drink mid-week but had a few hard-earned beers when I got home.
Thursday 7th August
Cheney Manor route via the church, 6-7 miles, very steady. Recovered from yesterday and got my legs moving again. Plan to do a long run Friday as I will be at the Oval Saturday so will struggle to do any decent distance on Sunday.
Sunday 3 August 2008
Increasing the mileage
Thursday 31st July
Running club tonight, ran with Terry and Steph. According to Terry we did 7 miles in just over an hour, but I may have sneaked under one hour as I put in a sprint finish. Struggled a bit tonight, think I may still not have recovered from Sunday.
Friday 1st August
Complete rest. Bit of a calorie fest today as the boss paid for us all to have a cooked breakfast (wouldn't have had my porridge if I'd know) plus I went out for a meal in the evening at the Cosmo in the town centre which is basically an all you can eat buffet. Overdid it a bit and had a touch of indigestion. I think my body liked it though, at the risk of supplying too much information, it is getting increasingly good at taking all the nutrients and getting rid of everything else.
Saturday 2nd August
I really can't take my beer these days and didn't manage to run until the evening. Went out from home, 7-8 miles approx, down the railway path, lethbridge route, back up the railway path and through Old Town. Nearly got run down by a mini crossing a road - how embarrassing would that have been?
Sunday 3rd August
Long run, 20 miles approx. Usual route from the gym, up the railway path and picked up the half route, came back via the railway path as well. Managed it in just over 3 hours but struggled a bit and had to have a few walk breaks. Think I was still dehydrated. Note to self: always have a bottle of powerade with breakfast on long run days!
Not in the best frame of mind today either, was obviously disappointed at the cricket but was also saddened to hear of Michael Vaughan's resignation today. May have to write a special piece on my other blog in tribute.
Finally got round to seeing The Dark Knight after my run, which is absolutely brilliant but possibly not a film to watch when you're feeling a tad depressed.
Couple of easy days now as I am doing the Pewsey 5 mile race on Wednesday. Or at least I hope I am - I still haven't had my race number?!
Running club tonight, ran with Terry and Steph. According to Terry we did 7 miles in just over an hour, but I may have sneaked under one hour as I put in a sprint finish. Struggled a bit tonight, think I may still not have recovered from Sunday.
Friday 1st August
Complete rest. Bit of a calorie fest today as the boss paid for us all to have a cooked breakfast (wouldn't have had my porridge if I'd know) plus I went out for a meal in the evening at the Cosmo in the town centre which is basically an all you can eat buffet. Overdid it a bit and had a touch of indigestion. I think my body liked it though, at the risk of supplying too much information, it is getting increasingly good at taking all the nutrients and getting rid of everything else.
Saturday 2nd August
I really can't take my beer these days and didn't manage to run until the evening. Went out from home, 7-8 miles approx, down the railway path, lethbridge route, back up the railway path and through Old Town. Nearly got run down by a mini crossing a road - how embarrassing would that have been?
Sunday 3rd August
Long run, 20 miles approx. Usual route from the gym, up the railway path and picked up the half route, came back via the railway path as well. Managed it in just over 3 hours but struggled a bit and had to have a few walk breaks. Think I was still dehydrated. Note to self: always have a bottle of powerade with breakfast on long run days!
Not in the best frame of mind today either, was obviously disappointed at the cricket but was also saddened to hear of Michael Vaughan's resignation today. May have to write a special piece on my other blog in tribute.
Finally got round to seeing The Dark Knight after my run, which is absolutely brilliant but possibly not a film to watch when you're feeling a tad depressed.
Couple of easy days now as I am doing the Pewsey 5 mile race on Wednesday. Or at least I hope I am - I still haven't had my race number?!
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