Friday 14th November
Complete rest. Went shopping after work, bought a bottle of whisky, sugar and lemon juice and dosed myself up on hot toddies.
Saturday 15th November
Feeling a bit better, so went to body pump and then went for a run outside. Up the railway path and back through old town / town centre. About 7 miles. Made a nice change to go outside and run at a nice steady pace. Felt better for it.
Sunday 16th November
Wasn't really feeling up to it, but decided I needed to do a long run today. So I went to the gym, did 7 miles on the treadmill and then the same(-ish) distance outside. Stuggled with the last bit, but still, I wasn't that well and at least it was miles under my belt.
Monday 17th November
Really didn't feel too clever at work today so went home and relaxed in the evening, ie complete rest. Sometimes your body just needs it.
Tuesday 18th November
Feeling a bit better, so decided to do a speed session on the treadmill. 2 miles warm up, then 10 * 2 mins with 1 minute recoveries. Run speed was 14.5 - 16kph on the first eight, cranking it up in the last 30-60 seconds. Took the last two a bit easier at 14kph. That didn't feel too bad, which is encouraging as I need to be running about that pace to get a 40 minute 10k.
Wednesday 19th November
Just body pump tonight, as I wanted to get home and do some editing.
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Sodbury Slog and more..
Wow. Almost two weeks have gone by with no update. The truth is, I've been so pre-occupied with editing my novel, this blog (and my training, to an extent) has suffered. If there's one thing I've learnt this year, there's only so much I can take on before something has to give.
Sunday 2nd November
I took on board what Anthony had told me about keeping up my long runs, and decided to do the Swindon half route, starting from my house. It wasn't the best of runs, and probably not the best of days to do it. For some reason I decided to do it wearing my glasses, which was pretty silly - it was raining hard and I had to keep stopping and wiping them.
There were too many walk breaks in this run and as it went on I just ran out of energy. I had obviously done too much yesterday and tired myself out. Oh well, at least I got out there.
Monday 3rd November
A nice surprise for me today when my friend Lisa at the gym approached me and asked me if I wanted to go for a run outside. She hasn't run for about a year with a hip injury, so it was great to hear she is able to go out again. She only wanted to do about 3 or 4 miles, which was fine with me tonight. So we just jogged out to the lake, did a lap, jogged back, and had a good catch-up. Result.
I had no inclination to do any more on the treadmill when I got back. Time to ease off a bit, if only for one day.
Tuesday 4th November
Speed session with Martin on the treadmill. 3.2k warm up, then 8 x 2 minute efforts, 1 minute recoveries. 2k to cool down, so 10k total. Lowest speed was 14 kph, highest 15.5kph. Quality session.
Wednesday 5th November
Double classes tonight, body pump and RPM. Upped my weights in pump a bit, successfully. Ali commented that I had taken Steph's comments about his weights putting everyone else to shame to heart. Yes I had, but sometimes you have to push yourself don't you.
RPM seemed a bit flat tonight though. A run of some kind would probably have been better.
Thursday 6th November
Complete rest tonight. Went to Bath for a well-earned night out with Pete and a much overdue catch up. We haven't been out on our own since his wife had a baby in Megan so we had both been looking forward to it. Nothing heavy, just a couple of beers and a curry. And maybe a wee dram on the train home..
Friday 7th November
Just ran on the treadmill tonight as I had no energy to do anything else. Wanted to do 7 miles but ended up knocking out 10k. I had had a really shitty, stressful day at work and just felt drained. No wonder I'm burning the midnight oil in pursuit of a career change..
Saturday 8th November
Body pump, but missed out squats and lunges. Went fairly light on most of the tracks, resisting the temptation to try and impress anyone.
Sunday 9th November
Competed in the Sodbury Slog. I think this will be a regular event for me, as I really can't think of anything better to do on Remembrance Sunday (well, I can..)
Drove down with Andy and Steph, two "Slog virgins". Not sure they knew what they had let themselves in for. Anthony was also there, with his club the Brackla Harriers.
I had a good run, just staying with Andy for the duration of the course. I think he struggled a bit, his core strength perhaps not being as good as my own. Steph ran her own race and finished a few minutes before us. Fair enough - she went face first into the trench at the end and had to run to keep warm. Andy also had a nasty fall, going flat on his back, which knocked the wind out of him. I had a few close shaves but managed to stay upright (for once).
Not sure those two went home as happy as they should have, but I guess it's not everyone's cup of tea. As I say, I would do this event every year, by dint of the fact that it is excellent value and great fun and you go home with a fantastic long sleeved t-shirt for the winter and a more than decent goodie bag. I do hope though, that however good I get, I will only ever treat this as a fun event, and not worry about my time or position.
Monday 10th November
2 miles on the treadmill, then I did a really silly thing and went out with the running club. 7 miles and I struggled to keep up - I was more tired than I thought. To be fair, the rest of the gang admitted they wouldn't have been able to run the day after Sodbury. Maybe my recovery periods are getting shorted, which augurs well for London next year.
Tuesday 11th November
Speed session again, same as last week except I cranked up the speed to a low of 14.5kph and a high of 16kph. Must aim for 2 minute reps at 16kph, if not faster.
Wednesday 12th November
Just body pump tonight, then I went home and did some editing.
Thursday 13th November
Ran on the treadmill, 7 miles. Not feeling too good, have a sore throat. May be an incipient cold. I hope not; I've got enough problems without that.
Sunday 2nd November
I took on board what Anthony had told me about keeping up my long runs, and decided to do the Swindon half route, starting from my house. It wasn't the best of runs, and probably not the best of days to do it. For some reason I decided to do it wearing my glasses, which was pretty silly - it was raining hard and I had to keep stopping and wiping them.
There were too many walk breaks in this run and as it went on I just ran out of energy. I had obviously done too much yesterday and tired myself out. Oh well, at least I got out there.
Monday 3rd November
A nice surprise for me today when my friend Lisa at the gym approached me and asked me if I wanted to go for a run outside. She hasn't run for about a year with a hip injury, so it was great to hear she is able to go out again. She only wanted to do about 3 or 4 miles, which was fine with me tonight. So we just jogged out to the lake, did a lap, jogged back, and had a good catch-up. Result.
I had no inclination to do any more on the treadmill when I got back. Time to ease off a bit, if only for one day.
Tuesday 4th November
Speed session with Martin on the treadmill. 3.2k warm up, then 8 x 2 minute efforts, 1 minute recoveries. 2k to cool down, so 10k total. Lowest speed was 14 kph, highest 15.5kph. Quality session.
Wednesday 5th November
Double classes tonight, body pump and RPM. Upped my weights in pump a bit, successfully. Ali commented that I had taken Steph's comments about his weights putting everyone else to shame to heart. Yes I had, but sometimes you have to push yourself don't you.
RPM seemed a bit flat tonight though. A run of some kind would probably have been better.
Thursday 6th November
Complete rest tonight. Went to Bath for a well-earned night out with Pete and a much overdue catch up. We haven't been out on our own since his wife had a baby in Megan so we had both been looking forward to it. Nothing heavy, just a couple of beers and a curry. And maybe a wee dram on the train home..
Friday 7th November
Just ran on the treadmill tonight as I had no energy to do anything else. Wanted to do 7 miles but ended up knocking out 10k. I had had a really shitty, stressful day at work and just felt drained. No wonder I'm burning the midnight oil in pursuit of a career change..
Saturday 8th November
Body pump, but missed out squats and lunges. Went fairly light on most of the tracks, resisting the temptation to try and impress anyone.
Sunday 9th November
Competed in the Sodbury Slog. I think this will be a regular event for me, as I really can't think of anything better to do on Remembrance Sunday (well, I can..)
Drove down with Andy and Steph, two "Slog virgins". Not sure they knew what they had let themselves in for. Anthony was also there, with his club the Brackla Harriers.
I had a good run, just staying with Andy for the duration of the course. I think he struggled a bit, his core strength perhaps not being as good as my own. Steph ran her own race and finished a few minutes before us. Fair enough - she went face first into the trench at the end and had to run to keep warm. Andy also had a nasty fall, going flat on his back, which knocked the wind out of him. I had a few close shaves but managed to stay upright (for once).
Not sure those two went home as happy as they should have, but I guess it's not everyone's cup of tea. As I say, I would do this event every year, by dint of the fact that it is excellent value and great fun and you go home with a fantastic long sleeved t-shirt for the winter and a more than decent goodie bag. I do hope though, that however good I get, I will only ever treat this as a fun event, and not worry about my time or position.
Monday 10th November
2 miles on the treadmill, then I did a really silly thing and went out with the running club. 7 miles and I struggled to keep up - I was more tired than I thought. To be fair, the rest of the gang admitted they wouldn't have been able to run the day after Sodbury. Maybe my recovery periods are getting shorted, which augurs well for London next year.
Tuesday 11th November
Speed session again, same as last week except I cranked up the speed to a low of 14.5kph and a high of 16kph. Must aim for 2 minute reps at 16kph, if not faster.
Wednesday 12th November
Just body pump tonight, then I went home and did some editing.
Thursday 13th November
Ran on the treadmill, 7 miles. Not feeling too good, have a sore throat. May be an incipient cold. I hope not; I've got enough problems without that.
Saturday, 1 November 2008
Meeting up with friends, old and new..
Friday 24th October
Complete rest. I was due to visit Anthony in Bridgend tomorrow, and wanted my legs to be fresh as I knew he'd want to see what I'm made of these days.
Settled down to a night in front of the TV, and particularly enjoyed Friday Night With Jonathan Ross. I had no idea at the time that it was quite possibly for the last time..
Saturday 25th / Sunday 26th October
I'd been hoping to meet up with Anthony for quite a long time by now. Apart from wanting to catch up with a good friend, I'd lost count of the number of times I'd said to my various running buddies how much I wish he could see the improvement in my running, and the weight loss that has been a major contribution, since he left Swindon over two years ago.
I had a fairly pleasant train journey to Bridgend, but started to feel nervous as the train pulled in. Would he be chuffed to bits with the change in me, merely satisfied, or even a tad disappointed?
He soon put me at ease, however, and drove me to his home in one of the villages on the outskirts of the town. We had a coffee and a brief catch up, and then got ready for our run before it got too dark. Then we jumped in the car and made our way to the infamous "big dipper" - Europe's largest sand dune, and the start of the Merthyr Mawr Christmas Pudding 10k (which I have signed up for).
We did a 10-minute warm-up, and then it was time for a real test of my physical and mental toughness. About two-thirds of the way up, I didn't feel too bad at all. A bit further however, and things were different; my legs were feeling the effects of running on sand and my lungs were on fire from the stress of the uphill struggle. I was reduced to walking more than a few steps, but feel I can be proud of making it to the top without stopping.
We carried on for about another fifty minutes, across more sand dunes, and out to the beach before heading back to the car. As always, I struggled on the downhill stretches, and I could tell Anthony was pushing me along - I was sweating profusely by the time we finished. He described me later on as "a massively different" runner from the one he had coached a couple of years ago, so I must have done something right.
Later, we had a very pleasant evening, sharing a bottle of wine and having a lovely chicken salad dinner before heading to one of the local pubs for a good catch-up and a couple of beers. Well, that was the intention - we ended up having about five or six pints each, playing on the fruit machines and at pool (I lost 2-0 - I never was any good).
It was a cracking evening and I think both of us were sad when it had to come to an end. The next day, before I caught my train home after lunch, we talked more in depth about training and my race schedule in the build up to the London marathon. He made it very clear that the only thing stopping me getting very good times now is my weight, and if I can get my body fat down to a minimum then a 1:30 half marathon and a 3:30 marathon should be well within my capabilities.
I didn't manage to get out for a run when I got home however, I was rather tired and felt a bit listless and depressed, mainly due to the realisation that my weekend had come to an end and it was back to reality. The clocks going back and the onset of winter nights didn't help much either.
Monday 27th October
Running club tonight. 7 miles approx with Terry, Kev and Marie. They picked up the pace after the first couple of miles and I struggled to be honest. It may be that I was tired from the weekend, it could also be that I struggle with the change in temperature until my body gets used to it. It's not as if I've no insulation..
Tuesday 28th October
Complete rest and time to meet up with another friend, only this time it was one I had never met before! Mike Gayle, one of my favourite authors and a facebook friend, was doing a reading in Reading which I found about from his myspace blog, and I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity of meeting him, getting some books signed, and maybe picking up some useful advice.
As it turned out, it was an almost surreal experience. When he entered the room he recognised me immediately (impressive when you consider my profile picture on facebook is normally one of Daniel Craig in his speedos) and even came over to say hello and shake my hand! I was too pre-occupied to notice at the time, but I wonder what some of the other attendees made of that?!
He proceeded to give a reading from one of his books, Mr Commitment (I'm hard pressed to pick a favourite - but if I'm pushed I would have to say this would probably be top of the pile), then talked in some detail about his career and how he came to be a novelist - which I obviously found particularly interesting - before finishing with an excellent short story and a question and answer session.
I hung around to get his latest book signed (which I will probably save for my holiday after the London marathon) and ask a few questions. He had a few questions of his own, about my novel, which was a bit mind-boggling; not long ago the idea of writing a novel was little more than a pipe dream, but here I was, chatting to a best-selling author, who almost spoke to me as if I was a fellow novelist, and a member of a fairly elite club.
But then to be fair, in a way I think it's fair to say that while I've got an awfully long way to go before I'm published, in a way I've already earned that sort of kudos. Mike mentioned in his piece on becoming a writer that most people either talk a lot about writing a novel and do nothing about it, or they start writing with great enthusiasm, manage about 15,000 words and then run out of steam. Little and often, he said, is key and that's exactly what I've done.
It's been awfully hard over the last six months or so, holding down a responsible job, doing my training, and then coming home in the evenings and having to sit down and try to knock out 500 words of a novel. But that's what I've done, and if there's one thing I'm bloody good at, it is the ancient art of not giving up. It occured to me later, as I enjoyed a few beers in a pub in Reading before making my way through the snow to catch the train home, that people like Mike Gayle and Matt Dunn must get a plethora of people asking for advice on writing a book, but they probably come across precious few who actually go away and get the first draft written.
It's precisely for that reason that I feel I can look forward to the future with a fair amount of cautious optimism.
Wednesday 29th October
Time to start burning calories, and it doesn't particularly matter how I do it. Body pump tonight, followed by 5 miles (8k) on the treadmill, steady. Managed to up my weights on a couple of the tracks which was good.
Thursday 30th October
I kind of feel obliged to go out with the running club on Mondays and Thursdays, but I need to be aware exactly where my priorities lie and protect my own interests. It doesn't make sense to work late needlessly or hang around the gym for ages waiting for 6.30 to arrive and the others to show up. So I got to the gym, had a coffee and a quick read, and got on the treadmill before 6pm. I know running outside would be better, but like I say, it doesn't matter how I burn calories as long as I do.
Knocked out 7 miles (11.2k), again at a steady pace, so plenty of calories burned, and got home at a decent hour which enabled me to get on with some editing. I've realised that this part of the writing process is not something I can do late at night when I'm tired, I need to have my wits about me when I'm doing it.
Friday 31st October
Complete rest. Had my kit with me, but I was itching to see the new James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, and there was a showing at 5.30, giving me an ideal opportunity to see it straight after work.
I certainly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes an action flick, but a follow up to the outstanding Casino Royale was always going to be fraught with danger. It was very entertaining, but seemed to lack any depth, both in terms of the plot and character development, and just felt too short for a proper Bond yarn. Or maybe I just need to see it a second time..
Saturday 1st November
Had a good lie-in this morning, and nearly didn't make it to the gym for 10am, but I had made a pact with Andy and Steph to do both classes, RPM and body pump. I was glad I did - no disrespect to Rich Jones, but Shaun from the Eldene gym was covering for him and he makes the class a lot harder. I guess some people are just naturally better at motivating others.
Enjoyed body pump, still using good heavy weights, and after a brief chat I also managed to get on the treadmill and knock out 5 miles (8k) even after both classes. Was tempted to make it 10k, but my dodgy hamstring was starting to hurt so I played it safe. Even so, good session and a massive amount of calories burnt - by the time I got home I should have made some inroads into those fat stores.
Complete rest. I was due to visit Anthony in Bridgend tomorrow, and wanted my legs to be fresh as I knew he'd want to see what I'm made of these days.
Settled down to a night in front of the TV, and particularly enjoyed Friday Night With Jonathan Ross. I had no idea at the time that it was quite possibly for the last time..
Saturday 25th / Sunday 26th October
I'd been hoping to meet up with Anthony for quite a long time by now. Apart from wanting to catch up with a good friend, I'd lost count of the number of times I'd said to my various running buddies how much I wish he could see the improvement in my running, and the weight loss that has been a major contribution, since he left Swindon over two years ago.
I had a fairly pleasant train journey to Bridgend, but started to feel nervous as the train pulled in. Would he be chuffed to bits with the change in me, merely satisfied, or even a tad disappointed?
He soon put me at ease, however, and drove me to his home in one of the villages on the outskirts of the town. We had a coffee and a brief catch up, and then got ready for our run before it got too dark. Then we jumped in the car and made our way to the infamous "big dipper" - Europe's largest sand dune, and the start of the Merthyr Mawr Christmas Pudding 10k (which I have signed up for).
We did a 10-minute warm-up, and then it was time for a real test of my physical and mental toughness. About two-thirds of the way up, I didn't feel too bad at all. A bit further however, and things were different; my legs were feeling the effects of running on sand and my lungs were on fire from the stress of the uphill struggle. I was reduced to walking more than a few steps, but feel I can be proud of making it to the top without stopping.
We carried on for about another fifty minutes, across more sand dunes, and out to the beach before heading back to the car. As always, I struggled on the downhill stretches, and I could tell Anthony was pushing me along - I was sweating profusely by the time we finished. He described me later on as "a massively different" runner from the one he had coached a couple of years ago, so I must have done something right.
Later, we had a very pleasant evening, sharing a bottle of wine and having a lovely chicken salad dinner before heading to one of the local pubs for a good catch-up and a couple of beers. Well, that was the intention - we ended up having about five or six pints each, playing on the fruit machines and at pool (I lost 2-0 - I never was any good).
It was a cracking evening and I think both of us were sad when it had to come to an end. The next day, before I caught my train home after lunch, we talked more in depth about training and my race schedule in the build up to the London marathon. He made it very clear that the only thing stopping me getting very good times now is my weight, and if I can get my body fat down to a minimum then a 1:30 half marathon and a 3:30 marathon should be well within my capabilities.
I didn't manage to get out for a run when I got home however, I was rather tired and felt a bit listless and depressed, mainly due to the realisation that my weekend had come to an end and it was back to reality. The clocks going back and the onset of winter nights didn't help much either.
Monday 27th October
Running club tonight. 7 miles approx with Terry, Kev and Marie. They picked up the pace after the first couple of miles and I struggled to be honest. It may be that I was tired from the weekend, it could also be that I struggle with the change in temperature until my body gets used to it. It's not as if I've no insulation..
Tuesday 28th October
Complete rest and time to meet up with another friend, only this time it was one I had never met before! Mike Gayle, one of my favourite authors and a facebook friend, was doing a reading in Reading which I found about from his myspace blog, and I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity of meeting him, getting some books signed, and maybe picking up some useful advice.
As it turned out, it was an almost surreal experience. When he entered the room he recognised me immediately (impressive when you consider my profile picture on facebook is normally one of Daniel Craig in his speedos) and even came over to say hello and shake my hand! I was too pre-occupied to notice at the time, but I wonder what some of the other attendees made of that?!
He proceeded to give a reading from one of his books, Mr Commitment (I'm hard pressed to pick a favourite - but if I'm pushed I would have to say this would probably be top of the pile), then talked in some detail about his career and how he came to be a novelist - which I obviously found particularly interesting - before finishing with an excellent short story and a question and answer session.
I hung around to get his latest book signed (which I will probably save for my holiday after the London marathon) and ask a few questions. He had a few questions of his own, about my novel, which was a bit mind-boggling; not long ago the idea of writing a novel was little more than a pipe dream, but here I was, chatting to a best-selling author, who almost spoke to me as if I was a fellow novelist, and a member of a fairly elite club.
But then to be fair, in a way I think it's fair to say that while I've got an awfully long way to go before I'm published, in a way I've already earned that sort of kudos. Mike mentioned in his piece on becoming a writer that most people either talk a lot about writing a novel and do nothing about it, or they start writing with great enthusiasm, manage about 15,000 words and then run out of steam. Little and often, he said, is key and that's exactly what I've done.
It's been awfully hard over the last six months or so, holding down a responsible job, doing my training, and then coming home in the evenings and having to sit down and try to knock out 500 words of a novel. But that's what I've done, and if there's one thing I'm bloody good at, it is the ancient art of not giving up. It occured to me later, as I enjoyed a few beers in a pub in Reading before making my way through the snow to catch the train home, that people like Mike Gayle and Matt Dunn must get a plethora of people asking for advice on writing a book, but they probably come across precious few who actually go away and get the first draft written.
It's precisely for that reason that I feel I can look forward to the future with a fair amount of cautious optimism.
Wednesday 29th October
Time to start burning calories, and it doesn't particularly matter how I do it. Body pump tonight, followed by 5 miles (8k) on the treadmill, steady. Managed to up my weights on a couple of the tracks which was good.
Thursday 30th October
I kind of feel obliged to go out with the running club on Mondays and Thursdays, but I need to be aware exactly where my priorities lie and protect my own interests. It doesn't make sense to work late needlessly or hang around the gym for ages waiting for 6.30 to arrive and the others to show up. So I got to the gym, had a coffee and a quick read, and got on the treadmill before 6pm. I know running outside would be better, but like I say, it doesn't matter how I burn calories as long as I do.
Knocked out 7 miles (11.2k), again at a steady pace, so plenty of calories burned, and got home at a decent hour which enabled me to get on with some editing. I've realised that this part of the writing process is not something I can do late at night when I'm tired, I need to have my wits about me when I'm doing it.
Friday 31st October
Complete rest. Had my kit with me, but I was itching to see the new James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, and there was a showing at 5.30, giving me an ideal opportunity to see it straight after work.
I certainly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes an action flick, but a follow up to the outstanding Casino Royale was always going to be fraught with danger. It was very entertaining, but seemed to lack any depth, both in terms of the plot and character development, and just felt too short for a proper Bond yarn. Or maybe I just need to see it a second time..
Saturday 1st November
Had a good lie-in this morning, and nearly didn't make it to the gym for 10am, but I had made a pact with Andy and Steph to do both classes, RPM and body pump. I was glad I did - no disrespect to Rich Jones, but Shaun from the Eldene gym was covering for him and he makes the class a lot harder. I guess some people are just naturally better at motivating others.
Enjoyed body pump, still using good heavy weights, and after a brief chat I also managed to get on the treadmill and knock out 5 miles (8k) even after both classes. Was tempted to make it 10k, but my dodgy hamstring was starting to hurt so I played it safe. Even so, good session and a massive amount of calories burnt - by the time I got home I should have made some inroads into those fat stores.
Thursday, 23 October 2008
An abandoned race
Friday 17th October
Complete rest. I had a race number for the Hogweed Major Muggle 15 the following morning, a 15 mile cross country race near Chipping Norton, and the first time the race was being held. When I entered I thought it would make a good, cheap training run and would give me the rest of the weekend to chill out and do other things.
As it turned out I couldn't find any motivation to go (I was too tired to even get my kit ready) and worst of all, the blister on my heel started peeling. By the time I had got rid of all the loose skin it was quite raw and needed a plaster. Several, in fact.
Saturday 18th October
Didn't go to the race. It was painful walking to the shop to get my paper, so God knows what effect 15 miles cross country would have had.
Went to the gym instead, did both classes, spinning and body pump. Spinning was better than expected, I pushed myself and opted out of Rich's excessive recoveries and got quite a sweat on. Body pump was interesting, Ali did the new release for the first time, which I actually quite liked. The squats track is hard, but the chest track is a bit easier than the last one, and the lunges track is a bit different. Found the abs track really hard, but I need to build up my strength in that area to be fair.
Sunday 19th October
Off to visit family in Melksham today for Sunday lunch so no time for a long run. Went to James' hour long spinning class at 10am which was really good. Unusually for a class at that time on a Sunday, it was full, which shows how good it is.
Had a really good day with the family, lunch with my sister Fiona, her husband Rich, their little girl Holly and my Dad. I also visited my sister Amanda and met my great nephew, Taylor "Dink" for the first time. I've never met such a happy baby, but he did cry when he was left alone with me for a little while. Oh dear.
Monday 20th October
Went out with the running club tonight which proved a bad move. Basically my legs were sore from the classes, and if I'm honest had enjoyed the weekend a little too much. Gerry was out and bossing the pace as usual, and I was struggling to keep up. In the end Andy and I did a different route, which was still about 6 or 7 miles. At least this was a wake up call to tell me how much my form has dropped and how I need to get back into some sort of structured training.
Tuesday 21st October
Speed work. Arranged to meet Martin Davis at the gym to do some speedwork on the treadmill. 1 mile to warm up, then I did 8 * 2 minutes at 14kph with 1 minute jog recoveries. Martin did seven reps, but at 18kph! Still, I think we managed to motivate each other. I managed to push the speed up to 15kp on the last few reps but to be honest hadn't done 2 minute efforts on the treadmill so didn't know how I was going to cope. 1 mile jog to cool down, then home for some tea before going to see the excellent Taken at the cinema. Why did I wait so long before seeing this?
Wednesday 22nd October
1.6k on the treadmill, body pump, then 3.4k on the treadmill. Would have run for longer after the class but had some trapped wind that made it uncomfortable, so I stopped. Still, not a bad session.
Thursday 23rd October
Hill reps tonight. Thought this would be good training for the Downton half marathon on 30th November, which will be my next major focus. Jog out to the ridge, one set of 10 reps, jog to Lydiard, another set of 10, hen jog back to the gym. Good session, but I need to find a longer and steeper hill - the obvious one would be Kingshill, but the problem with that is, there is a lot of traffic and I'd be breathing in all the fumes?
Anyway, still an effective session. Rest tomorrow so I am fresh for my run with Anthony on Saturday afternoon - the first in two years!
Complete rest. I had a race number for the Hogweed Major Muggle 15 the following morning, a 15 mile cross country race near Chipping Norton, and the first time the race was being held. When I entered I thought it would make a good, cheap training run and would give me the rest of the weekend to chill out and do other things.
As it turned out I couldn't find any motivation to go (I was too tired to even get my kit ready) and worst of all, the blister on my heel started peeling. By the time I had got rid of all the loose skin it was quite raw and needed a plaster. Several, in fact.
Saturday 18th October
Didn't go to the race. It was painful walking to the shop to get my paper, so God knows what effect 15 miles cross country would have had.
Went to the gym instead, did both classes, spinning and body pump. Spinning was better than expected, I pushed myself and opted out of Rich's excessive recoveries and got quite a sweat on. Body pump was interesting, Ali did the new release for the first time, which I actually quite liked. The squats track is hard, but the chest track is a bit easier than the last one, and the lunges track is a bit different. Found the abs track really hard, but I need to build up my strength in that area to be fair.
Sunday 19th October
Off to visit family in Melksham today for Sunday lunch so no time for a long run. Went to James' hour long spinning class at 10am which was really good. Unusually for a class at that time on a Sunday, it was full, which shows how good it is.
Had a really good day with the family, lunch with my sister Fiona, her husband Rich, their little girl Holly and my Dad. I also visited my sister Amanda and met my great nephew, Taylor "Dink" for the first time. I've never met such a happy baby, but he did cry when he was left alone with me for a little while. Oh dear.
Monday 20th October
Went out with the running club tonight which proved a bad move. Basically my legs were sore from the classes, and if I'm honest had enjoyed the weekend a little too much. Gerry was out and bossing the pace as usual, and I was struggling to keep up. In the end Andy and I did a different route, which was still about 6 or 7 miles. At least this was a wake up call to tell me how much my form has dropped and how I need to get back into some sort of structured training.
Tuesday 21st October
Speed work. Arranged to meet Martin Davis at the gym to do some speedwork on the treadmill. 1 mile to warm up, then I did 8 * 2 minutes at 14kph with 1 minute jog recoveries. Martin did seven reps, but at 18kph! Still, I think we managed to motivate each other. I managed to push the speed up to 15kp on the last few reps but to be honest hadn't done 2 minute efforts on the treadmill so didn't know how I was going to cope. 1 mile jog to cool down, then home for some tea before going to see the excellent Taken at the cinema. Why did I wait so long before seeing this?
Wednesday 22nd October
1.6k on the treadmill, body pump, then 3.4k on the treadmill. Would have run for longer after the class but had some trapped wind that made it uncomfortable, so I stopped. Still, not a bad session.
Thursday 23rd October
Hill reps tonight. Thought this would be good training for the Downton half marathon on 30th November, which will be my next major focus. Jog out to the ridge, one set of 10 reps, jog to Lydiard, another set of 10, hen jog back to the gym. Good session, but I need to find a longer and steeper hill - the obvious one would be Kingshill, but the problem with that is, there is a lot of traffic and I'd be breathing in all the fumes?
Anyway, still an effective session. Rest tomorrow so I am fresh for my run with Anthony on Saturday afternoon - the first in two years!
Friday, 17 October 2008
Trying to get back into it (and struggling)
Monday 13th October
Very sore and stiff today. Fortunately it was only me, Andy and Steph going out running so we did the Cheney Manor route (6-7 miles) at a very steady pace.
Tuesday 14th October
Was meant to be doing a speed session on the treadmill with Martin Davis tonight, but neither of us were really ready for it so soon after the race. I just did 8k (5 miles) in the treadmill, nice and slow - I think my top speed was about 11.2kph!
Wednesday 15th October
Had a day (or rather an afternoon) in London today, sports and social club to see Jersey Boys. Managed a run in the morning, only about 20-30 mins round the block. I thought I'd get a good session in but I had too many other things to do, even though I was on the 1:30 train.
Had a good time at the show, spent a couple of hours sitting in a pub editing my book, which is not conducive to getting back into shape but needs to be done time.
Does a fifty minute walk from Blagrove to Old Town constitute training??
Thursday 16th October
Very tired today, by the time I had walked home I couldn't get to sleep and stayed up far too late. Went out with the running club anyway, there were four of us and no one wanted to go crazy, so we did the Kingshill route - about 5.5 miles at a steady pace (approximately 9-minute miles). Perfect for how I was feeling.
Very sore and stiff today. Fortunately it was only me, Andy and Steph going out running so we did the Cheney Manor route (6-7 miles) at a very steady pace.
Tuesday 14th October
Was meant to be doing a speed session on the treadmill with Martin Davis tonight, but neither of us were really ready for it so soon after the race. I just did 8k (5 miles) in the treadmill, nice and slow - I think my top speed was about 11.2kph!
Wednesday 15th October
Had a day (or rather an afternoon) in London today, sports and social club to see Jersey Boys. Managed a run in the morning, only about 20-30 mins round the block. I thought I'd get a good session in but I had too many other things to do, even though I was on the 1:30 train.
Had a good time at the show, spent a couple of hours sitting in a pub editing my book, which is not conducive to getting back into shape but needs to be done time.
Does a fifty minute walk from Blagrove to Old Town constitute training??
Thursday 16th October
Very tired today, by the time I had walked home I couldn't get to sleep and stayed up far too late. Went out with the running club anyway, there were four of us and no one wanted to go crazy, so we did the Kingshill route - about 5.5 miles at a steady pace (approximately 9-minute miles). Perfect for how I was feeling.
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Swindon Half Marathon 2009
Friday 10th & Saturday 11th October
Complete rest. No going to body pump or anything silly like that. Not that I was expecting to do all that well on Sunday, but I wanted my legs to be fresh and my enthusiasm level to be high (ok, high-ish) for the race.
Usual Saturday pre-race routine consisted of a trip to the cinema, the film this weekend was the excellent How To Lose Friends and Alienate People. I'd been looking forward to it for some time, and obviously any film with Kirsten Dunst and Megan Fox is going to get my vote, but it was very good indeed, very funny and a nice story line. Simon Pegg goes from strength to strength in my view, and I'm thinking if my book were to be made into a film, it would have to be a choice between him and James McAvoy to play the main protagonist. Tough one that.
Sunday 12th October
Anyway, back to the present day. I really wasn't expecting to get anything out of the race, especially with it being just a few days after coming back from holiday. I agreed to run it with Terry, which would make it more enjoyable and stop me going off too quickly.
It was certainly enjoyable running with Terry, but sadly it didn't stop either of us going off too fast. We were going at roughly 8-minute miles until we got to the hills at about 4 miles. Slowing down then was inevitable, and it was getting increasingly hot that day.
We did, however, stop and walk at most of the drink stations - I usualy try to keep running, but Terry finds it hard to run and drink at the same time. The short recoveries definitely helped, and we didn't lose too much time doing it.
The target time was under 1:50 but as it got hotter and hotter that became increasingly unrealistic. In the end all I cared about was finishing the run. I managed to stay with Terry almost the whole way, but I knew how hard the last mile was going to be and wasn't going to take any chances.
As it turned out, we were only about twenty seconds apart, and I was happy with my time of 1:51:35 given the conditions. It was disappointing not to have improved my time at the event in the last few years, but it did occur to me later that on each occasion I have always just come back from holiday and not been on top form.
Next year, could be different; most likely I'll go on holiday after the London marathon and be in better shape come the Swindon half in October. But I'm not going to think too far ahead yet; there are plenty of challenges over the next twelve months.
Complete rest. No going to body pump or anything silly like that. Not that I was expecting to do all that well on Sunday, but I wanted my legs to be fresh and my enthusiasm level to be high (ok, high-ish) for the race.
Usual Saturday pre-race routine consisted of a trip to the cinema, the film this weekend was the excellent How To Lose Friends and Alienate People. I'd been looking forward to it for some time, and obviously any film with Kirsten Dunst and Megan Fox is going to get my vote, but it was very good indeed, very funny and a nice story line. Simon Pegg goes from strength to strength in my view, and I'm thinking if my book were to be made into a film, it would have to be a choice between him and James McAvoy to play the main protagonist. Tough one that.
Sunday 12th October
Anyway, back to the present day. I really wasn't expecting to get anything out of the race, especially with it being just a few days after coming back from holiday. I agreed to run it with Terry, which would make it more enjoyable and stop me going off too quickly.
It was certainly enjoyable running with Terry, but sadly it didn't stop either of us going off too fast. We were going at roughly 8-minute miles until we got to the hills at about 4 miles. Slowing down then was inevitable, and it was getting increasingly hot that day.
We did, however, stop and walk at most of the drink stations - I usualy try to keep running, but Terry finds it hard to run and drink at the same time. The short recoveries definitely helped, and we didn't lose too much time doing it.
The target time was under 1:50 but as it got hotter and hotter that became increasingly unrealistic. In the end all I cared about was finishing the run. I managed to stay with Terry almost the whole way, but I knew how hard the last mile was going to be and wasn't going to take any chances.
As it turned out, we were only about twenty seconds apart, and I was happy with my time of 1:51:35 given the conditions. It was disappointing not to have improved my time at the event in the last few years, but it did occur to me later that on each occasion I have always just come back from holiday and not been on top form.
Next year, could be different; most likely I'll go on holiday after the London marathon and be in better shape come the Swindon half in October. But I'm not going to think too far ahead yet; there are plenty of challenges over the next twelve months.
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Jon runs London 2009!
Good news on my return to Blighty, I have been very fortunate to receive a place in the Flora London Marathon 2009!
Apparently there were 120,000 people applying for just 20,000 places so that shows how lucky I was! Maybe poetic justice for the trauma and disappointment of having to pull out of Berlin...
I don't intend to start training in earnest until Jan '09, and most of the races I will do in preparation will be ones I can use as hard training runs (Rough 'n Tumble, Slaughterford, Tough Ten or Terminator, Hogweed Hilly Half etc).
I have already spoken to Samaritans and will be on their team, I anticipate that the money raised for Berlin 2008 will be moved to the new appeal in some way, shape or form.
As I have now more or less finished the first draft of my first novel I will be juggling my training routine with the editing/re-writing process as well as approaching agents and publishers so it should be a very interesting time to say the least!
More details to follow as and when..
Apparently there were 120,000 people applying for just 20,000 places so that shows how lucky I was! Maybe poetic justice for the trauma and disappointment of having to pull out of Berlin...
I don't intend to start training in earnest until Jan '09, and most of the races I will do in preparation will be ones I can use as hard training runs (Rough 'n Tumble, Slaughterford, Tough Ten or Terminator, Hogweed Hilly Half etc).
I have already spoken to Samaritans and will be on their team, I anticipate that the money raised for Berlin 2008 will be moved to the new appeal in some way, shape or form.
As I have now more or less finished the first draft of my first novel I will be juggling my training routine with the editing/re-writing process as well as approaching agents and publishers so it should be a very interesting time to say the least!
More details to follow as and when..
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