New training schedule

Thursday 20th November
Had a phone call from Anthony today offering me advice on training. From my entries here, he said, it was clear that my enthusiasm is waning, I'm struggling to juggle training with work and my writing, and generally my training isn't right for someone running the biggest and best race in the world in less than six months.

What he suggested was basically to concentrate on speed work for the next 3-4 works. Roughly 4 sessions per week, plus one long run of about 15 miles at the weekends. This way I could also fit in my RPM and body pump sessions, and as the sessions are essentially short and sharp, they should leave me feeling invigorated and with plenty of time for the editing process, which, for the time being at least, has to take precedence over everything else.

No time like the present to start a new schedule so tonight's session was a speed interval session on the treadmill, except it involved three minute intervals instead of two minutes.

2k to warm up, then 8*3 minutes @ 14kph. It was just like Anthony said it would be, ie the first one was hard work, the second was a bit better, by the fifth and sixth one I was working hard, and the last two took care of themselves. 1.6k to warm down, stretch and home. I can't recall the last time I sweated so much during a workout. Plus, I was buzzing after the session, so knew I was onto a good thing.

Friday 21st November
Complete rest. This is becoming my day for going to the supermarket.

Saturday 22nd November
RPM. I couldn't have done body pump as I had to go to Melksham for a contact lens appointment, but as it turned out Ali had his weekend off and there was no cover.

I thought RPM would be ok as it would just be a gentle session with Rich Jones. As it turned out, Shaun from Eldene was taking the class and he decided to do a full hour. I was careful not to overdo it on the resistance, but possibly not ideal the day before a 10k..

Sunday 23rd November
Competed in the inaugural Swindon 10k today. It was out at the go-karting centre near Wroughton, and organised by grass roots events (Steve Goulding). The weather in the morning was horrible, and when I arrived I seriously thought about turning the car round and heading to the warmth and dry of the gym.

As it turned out, the rain stopped, but it was very chilly and I hastily kept my jacket on. I wasn't aiming or hoping for a fast time, and although I started my watch at the start of the race I didn't look at it until the end and just concentrated on enjoying the run, which was a fairly flat, 2 lap course through the local villages. There were potholes and a strong wind to contend with, plus my legs were tired, so a PB was never on the cards. In the end I was pleasantly surprised with a time of 48:45 (48:55 the official time) given my form of late. Plus I won a spot prize which meant it was well worth the trip - a useful beanie hat, water bottle, a gel, pen, lip gloss and the usual flyers.

After the presentations I headed to the gym and managed to knock out 7 miles on the treadmill. It was at a much slower pace, especially as by this time I was starving so my body was having to use fat as a fuel. To be fair, I need to do a lot of that over the coming months. All in all, I had covered over 13 miles and got a much faster 10k time than I would have managed a year ago, so I had reason to settle back, crack open a beer and enjoy the shortened one-day cricket match on TV in the afternoon.

Monday 24th November
Feeling a bit tired today but still managed a speed session (indoors). 2 miles warm-up, followed by 8 * 2 minutes, speed 14-16kph (I think). No cool down, the session had played havoc with my stomach, so stretched and went home.

Tuesday 25th November
Hill reps tonight, wasn't sure whether to go to the ridge or jog out to Kingshill and do them there. Opted for the former in the end and did 20, which was a change in as much as I normally do 2 sets of 10 but tonight did all 20 on the bounce. That hill is definitely not challenging enough for me now, I even found at the end of the session I didn't need as long to recover before jogging back to the gym. Still, roughly 50 minutes on my feet and I am a lot faster going up that slope than I used to be, and it was a lot easier than the last time I did that session.

Took a night off from writing and went to the cinema to see "Zach and Miri make a Porno", a very enjoyable comedy which successfully mixes some gross-out scenes with a sweet and enduring love story.

Wednesday 26th November
Body pump tonight, no cardio. Good session however, used good heavy weights on all of the tracks including 2 reds (10k) on each end of the bar on the triceps track. And I must have done it right, because Ali didn't say anything.

Thursday 27th November
Speed session. 2 miles warm up, then 8*3 minutes @ 14-14.5kph, followed by 1 mile cool down. 7 miles total, so a good "all in one" session. Need to get those 3 minute intervals up to 14.5kph minimum. Still, this session already feels easier than it did a week ago.