Lloyd Biddell

Coast to Coast 2008

2008-11-09T17:58:00.005Z

http://runningthecoasttocoast2008.blogspot.com/

A post that is very late coming...

Quite a lot of story to tell over the last few months - I'll hopefully update the blog sometime soon!

Next Steps...

2008-04-18T20:22:00.003Z

Over the last few weeks I haven't been happy with a number of things in general, and now wonder whether perhaps its time for a change in direction.

For a while now I've felt that my blog has just been treading water as of late and is coming towards the end of its natural life cycle. In essence the majority of my posts have been repeating the same thing time and again and I suspect its as boring to read as I find it to type. The last 16 months or so have been a big journey and I never thought for a minute I would have improved to the level I have from a starting point of nil, eventually culminating in a 2.53 marathon.

Although I started my blog in December 2006, I never knew at the time that the MdS would soon become my focus. To begin with my only reason for training was with the MdS in mind, with every event used as progression towards the big one in March 2009. However as time passes my fitness level has far exceeded my wildest expectations resulting in the MdS goal becoming progressively less of a target and just another event to do. In a round about way I've become a victim of my own success as I now realise I have some genuine road running talent. Ok, I'm never going to be an Olympic athlete or anything but I can see myself running some pretty decent times and no longer need the MdS as motivation. In fact the MdS now comes fairly low in my list of priorities and perhaps I'm not giving the event the respect it deserves. At its worst I see the event as a distraction if I'm brutally honest. Perhaps I'm just going through the mid training blues that everyone gets at some point and perhaps the recent injuries are making me feel pretty low. Who knows?

I think this has come to a head recently where my training has become pretty confused. Am I a 10k runner, half marathon, marathon, ultra, cross country, or Mountain/Fell runner, as clearly if I want to succeed I can not be everything. I really want to be the best at my chosen event rather than be ok at everything. The culmination of all this is that I feel ready to move to the next level and I have some ideas of where I want to be and what I want to achieve.

I don't regret doing the blog as with over 2,000 hits its shows that it has been a worthwhile exercise. I still intend to continue here for the next few weeks until some of my outline plans become a bit more concrete at which point I'll probably park this blog (or archive it to a sister site) and start afresh. That said it might still be possible that all I need is a few weeks off to reinvigorate myself and I'll come back as if nothing ever stopped! Maybe I'm just being a drama queen over nothing!

As for the MdS? I have several opposing views at the moment ranging from 1) I've already paid £500 so may as well do it as I don't want the money to drain away. 2) I've already paid £500 so now is the time to pull out of something that is going to cost me another two and a half grand 3) Its going to be a hindrance and just interfere with other stuff that I want to do in the build up to and the event itself. 4) It wont interfere as much as I fear and the thing will be a blast when it actually comes to doing it. Anyway, I still have plenty of time on my side and I'll make a decision when it comes to the crunch later on in the year.

What ever I decide I know that I deeply care as its taken me quite a long time to write this much and I feel quite emotional over it all.

Anyway, Adios for now.

7Pools Run

2008-04-13T11:39:00.003Z

Yesterday I did my 10k route but kept off the gas going round at a fairly easy 6.50 min mile pace, in case I wanted to do the race the following day.

In the end I did decide to do the race today, mainly because I felt that a run at race pace would make up for the lost mileage earlier in the week more than a long distance training run would. As the race was in Sutton Park it was only a 10 minute drive away. I have done the race once before, probably about 12 years ago as a junior although the start back then was in a slightly different place. The course is a multi terrain race, starting on the roads before sections of mud, grass, gravel and stony paths. Its supposed to be about 10k, but I don't know how accurate the distance is. It was thankfully dry throughout with bursts of sunshine making it a bit humid at times.

At the start we had the usual loons going off like a headless chicken and in fact the pace was surprisingly quick. I had aimed to do a slowish start and come through as I knew the course would be quite tough and undulating. In the end I went half way and went a bit faster than I was going to but still at a reasonably comfortable pace. Only after a km or so did things begin to settle down a bit and I was roughly in about 10th place heading off the road section into the cross country section.

Very soon after I had overtaken a couple more people which placed me 8th with runners strung out ahead up to the leading group of three about 50 metres ahead of me. After about 2.5 km I had overtaken a couple more people and was roughly the same distance behind the leaders. As we headed up one of the grassy hills I managed to move into 5th and then suddenly fourth as the runner just ahead of me suddenly stopped. Although I was feeling reasonable I could also sense the run in my legs from the last couple of days. I don't think it massively slowed me down although I could certainly perceive I was not as sharp as usual.

One thing that I'm not sure on was my choice of footwear. I went for my trail shoes as opposed to trainers as I knew the forest section of the course would be very muddy and slippy, and just accept that my trail shoes wouldn't be that good on the road sections. As it was turning out it was very slippy anyway so I'm not convinced I made the right choice and I was certainly the only one to opt for trail shoes.

Heading towards half way one of the leading three was falling back a bit and the other two leaders were pulling away from me, about 75 metres ahead at this point. Bit by bit I was reeling in third place before I overtook him and I pushed on heading into the muddy and undulating forest section. In the forest I really couldn't see anybody in front or behind me so it was almost like a time trial. Very briefly at around 7km I briefly saw the chap in second and I was only about 20 secs behind him and slowly catching him or so I thought. Over the next couple of km I tried to reel him in, but I think it was at this point the training over the last couple of days had left my legs a little bit too flat. Although I probably got to within 12 seconds of him I was catching him too slowly and in the end he was never within any danger. I was also concerned that I could hear clapping behind me which is a surefire way of telling that somebody wasn't all that far behind.

In the end I finished a comfortable third place out of roughly 500 in a time of around 35.30. If it is an accurate 10k then I'm quite pleased with my time as its only a minute off my pb from last weekend especially considering its a cross country course that is quite muddy and undulating. It was only meant to be a training race so I'm happy with the result. I've now got two weeks to the Stratford Half although my knee and right calf are still causing me some serious cause for concern.

There will be some free photos, so i'll post these online, hopefully within the next day or two.

Another Write Off

2008-04-11T20:54:00.002Z

Another week of immense frustration after the high of last weekend. During the 10k my legs felt pretty good and tactically I had about as good a run as possible. Perhaps what was equally positive was that I came away without any sign of injury.

I took Monday off because of the race the day before and didn't want to aggravate anything. Tuesday was going to be another nil return as I had my first sports massage. It was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, although occasionally uncomfortable. The chap doing the massage who incidentally was a 2.28 marathon runner in his prime reckoned that my tight calf's are just a symptom of high mileage and nothing to be massively concerned about. Hopefully a few sessions will keep things in check.

On Wednesday I was out for the evening so that day was another write off which was followed by my stomach feeling out of sorts the next day. Finally I managed to go out for a run on Friday. Due to all of the rest my legs were bursting with energy, although also felt a bit rusty at the same time. I didn't push too hard, but it wasn't a jog either. I did just over 9 miles at an average pace of 6.30 min miles. I know that it pretty quick, but I think it was more as a result of my legs feeling quite fresh.

My training over the last 3 weeks or so has frankly been crap, so I really could do with a month of quality training to get back to where I want to be. I probably haven't lost much fitness, probably no more than a couple of good weeks of training would resolve. What I have lost though is where I would have improved to had my recent woes not surfaced.

I'm the sort of runner who blows hot and cold. The run last week at Leamington was very uplifting, punctuated by a week such as this where I almost feel like jacking it all in. I suppose I'm a very negative runner, rather than looking at things positively I keep looking at how crap I am. However I use this as a way of pushing myself to improve (perhaps I push too hard sometimes and this is what results in injury). I need to keep telling myself how far I've come over the last year, running 38.00 10k's to begin with which is now down to 34.35. I just need to keep plugging away and hopefully the results will come.

Back to the plus side I found out that in the end I came 6th at Leamington. The only photos available are of the sort that you have to purchase. Unusually for me I have decided to fork out the ridiculous amount to buy them, with the snow in the background I think it might be worth the wait. When I get them I'll post them to the blog. Only other news is that I'm now currently ranked 435th in the UK for 10k, although by the end of the year I expect this to fall to around 1,300 based upon 2007 rankings.

I have yet to decide what I will do over the weekend, there is a tempting multi terrain race just a couple of miles away from where I live, but at the same time it might just be worth having a couple of days of decent training instead.

Leamington Regency 10k

2008-04-05T19:03:00.004Z

I decided to give the Leamington Regency 10k a go in the end, even with my current injury problems. I did do the race last year so in theory it's my first direct comparison I've got on the road between this year and last. The course is not the quickest out there as early on it goes off road around a golf course, before hitting the roads around Leamington but with some very sharp hairpin bends. As a result I did 37.08 last year (my pb is 35.54 which was set a few weeks later).

Anyway, I woke up at 6.45am to find a blanket of snow outside, clearing it off the car showed that there must have been 3-4 inches, although the road surfaces were a bit better. I had wondered whether the race would be on today, but decided to go anyway. On the whole I had to drive a lot slower to get there but thankfully I had allowed plenty of time. As I was on the M42 doing 70 mph I went past a SPECS camera and I thought, that's a bit strange you only see them at roadworks normally, before realising there were loads of signs covered in a blanket of snow (these were difficult to see as well as they were white on white). On came the brakes, but then the next question was to decide what speed to brake to, 40, 50 or 60?? On the way home the snow had melted off the signs so I now know it to be 50mph. I'm now expecting a lovely letter from the Police very shortly, but will definitely fight that one if it comes. I don't condone speed (especially since I work in the industry), but there were literally no signs (that anyone could see) to indicate a speed restriction. Anyway, back to the race...

I got to Leamington and if anything there was even more snow. Thankfully the race was still on, but I would guess it must have been a close call. The start was in a field with a small surfaced track which didn't have any snow on it. I made sure I wasn't on the front line at the start this time as I didn't want to run like a headless chicken as I normally do. About 20 people set off quite fast and I decided to just do my own thing. As the race markings were every km I decided to base my pace on 3.30 mins per kilometre as its easy to work out, even though it is 35 minute pace and well ahead of my pb. I went through the first km in 3.22 so although a touch quick I was comfortable with my start. Bit by bit I started to catch the smaller groups ahead of me, not so much because I was speeding up but more because others slowed down. Early on I decided to take a quick breather behind the runners I caught before moving on. It was clear quite early on that my knee was giving me no trouble, but the off road bit around the golf course was very wet with the odd patch of ice, so I was careful with the sharp bends.

Kilometres 2 & 3 were run at roughly 3.30 min/km pace (5.38 miling), but then I had a bad fourth kilometre as it was mainly uphill and the surface was quite uneven. I think at that stage I was about 8 secs behind target pace which is normally a bad sign when that happens. However the next kilometre to half way was much quicker as it was mostly downhill and the advantage was regained. I think I went through half way in about 17.24, so about 6 seconds ahead of my pre race baseline. It was at this stage that I thought I'd really give 35 minutes a go although meant I needed a good second half. I was feeling strong at that point as I was still catching people up as we headed onto the roads in town. Just as we headed into town I caught sight of the race leaders bicycle at the front of the field and could work out I was 8th and about 30-40 secs behind the leader although the people ahead were well spread out. Bit by bit I worked my way up to 6th and although my lungs were really burning after 8km I still felt reasonably strong. It was also at this stage that I was about 18 seconds ahead of target pace so knew that not only was I going to smash my pb, but also I was almost certainly going to run sub 35 minutes.

Just after 8km I managed to overtake one more person to be fifth and was bit by bit catching 3rd and 4th placed runners, although they were some way ahead and of course the pace differential becomes less and less so takes longer to catch people up. In the end I ran out of distance and I finished in the field by the river in several inches of snow in about 34.35.

I'm really pleased with my run, partly because I felt so strong throughout, partly because of my time and smashed my pb in the process, but also because of how I ran the race. I'm pretty sure that I wasn't any slower than the race leaders in the second half and it appears the second part of the race was faster than the first half. I think the first 5km was done in about 17.23 and the second 5km in 17.10ish. I'm not entirely sure of my exact race time other than it was 34.3x. It also means that I will now have a UK ranking for the 10k distance, probably around 1,300 by the end of the year. I'm convinced that Leamington is not the fastest course around so hopefully there may be a bit better to come. I think the difference between now and last year is that although I'm not that much quicker my overall fitness and form has improved considerably meaning that I can hold the same pace for longer.

I'll take tomorrow off and probably Tuesday too to give my knee a rest even though I didn't notice anything during the race. Once I know my final time I'll update my blog and I know there will be loads of photos so will add these in due course.

100th Post and Injury

2008-04-05T18:42:00.002Z

Sorry I haven't posted to my blog recently, unfortunately silence usually means injury and this is no exception. Whenever this happens I tend to feel in the doldrums and don't want to post anything...

What would be the week before last I started off on Tuesday with my usual 10k blast. I absolutely demolished my 10.2k best time on that course and when I worked out the equivalent for exactly 10k I found I was only 6 seconds off my race pb in a time of 36 minutes exactly! I was absolutely flying! The following day I ran from work back to home (11.5 miles) and again in a new pb time, although this session I rarely push very hard.

On Thursday I did another 10.2km this time in a more relaxing time of 42.23. The tightness of my calf's have been getting steadily worse since when I first posted about this a month or so ago. It got to the point of me calling someone who is a runner who specialises in sports massages to see whether he can sort them out. He reckons its nothing to be worried about on 60mpw distance and is to be expected. Anyway the next day I was walking from my bus stop to work (about 15 mins) when I could feel an odd locking sensation in my left knee (the bad one). Its not locking out in the literal sense, its the tendons running on either side of the leg going in and out of the knee just not working correctly. Anyway, I thought no more of it, and Friday was a rest day anyway. On Saturday I went for what was my 21 mile long run. I have to say the conditions were pretty bad, strong winds and driving rain in what was just above freezing temperatures. Everything started off ok and I felt pretty good all of the way through then suddenly my left knee went. I knew instantly it was bad news so stopped straight away. I think it was after 13.5 miles that this happened. The downside was that this was my country run where I can be up to 6 miles from home. Thankfully at the point it happened I was just about to cross the main road which leads back home, about 2 miles away. I tried a very very slow jog a couple of times, and instantly I knew it was a no go. As a result I was faced with a 40 minute walk into the strong wind, with just my running clothes, no gloves and it tipping it down. Needless to say the walk was one of the most unpleasant experiences I've experienced. By the time I got back, not only my hands but also my arms were numb. I was struggling to get the door key out of my pocket, and then to open the door. I had to head straight into the shower to get some temperature back into my body as I was fairly hypothermic. I'm not going to pretend that I was near unconscious or anything, but had I been any further from home in the countryside I could have been in real trouble.

As a result this week has been a total write off, although the only good thing coming from it is that it also gives my calf's a rest. The next problem is that I have a 10k at Leamington tomorrow. Its not a race I care about much, but obviously if I can run it I want to do it. I did a 3.5 mile evaluation run on Friday at a very light jog and the jury is still out. The clicking sensation in the tendon has gone, but the knee is still sore, probably as a result of some inflammation. Of course with the history of problems in that area I really shouldn't risk anything.

Anyway I think I'll risk tomorrow. Shit or bust as they say.

A Hard Week

2008-03-23T12:55:00.002Z

Another 5 day week this week, but of a far higher quality...

On Monday I had the day off as per the norm at the moment. The following day I did a hard 10km session averaging 6.10 min miles.

On Wednesday I did a 12.5 mile route at an average of 6.39 min miles and felt pretty good all of the way round which was surprising considering I had such a hard session the day before. This was followed up on Thursday by going out for a 7 mile run on my 'summer' country route averaging 6.33 min miles. Again I felt pretty good all of the way round. I hadn't done this route for a while as its not really possible to run here safely in the dark and the road becomes almost impassable with heavy rain. As I had the week off work, it was good to do this route again.

Friday was another rest day before deciding to go for a long 20 mile run on Saturday. I haven't done one of these in training for a while, the last one about 2 months ago before tapering for the Draycote Marathon. As seems to be normal I don't particularly look forward to these runs, but its just a case of going out and doing it. I decided to do a new route and just guessed how far it was. I felt fine for the first 12 or so miles before it was really windy for about 3 miles with virtually no respite. The only other thing of note was that it snowed on and off for the the first 6 miles. I finished my run in 2hrs 14 mins so knew it was going to be under 20 miles, but sometimes its best not to over plan these things as I do have a habit of trying to do a certain number of miles in x minutes. Afterwards I measured the route on mapmyrun and found it to be 19.5 miles so averaged 6.52 min miles which I'm pretty pleased with, especially considering the wind. I did carry an electrolyte replacement drink around with me that didn't include carbs/sugars as I want to train my body to do without and make better use of fat burn. As it happens I didn't drink any liquid whatsoever, so whether this was a brave or stupid decision I'll let you decide!

The final run of the week was today's recovery run. I say recovery as I did 12.7 miles at an average of 6.33 min miles so it was way way too fast, but still a good run to end the week with after the long run the previous day.

Total mileage for the week is 58.5 which was fairly comfortable, even though it is my fourth longest week ever and only included 5 runs. Hopefully more of the same next week, although I'll be back at work!

Back on it

2008-03-16T21:05:00.000Z

Couldn't be bothered to post last week as it was just going to be the usual mindless drivel.

After the half marathon my legs were fairly stiff so didn't run on the Monday and wasn't going to on the Tuesday either before having a late change of heart. As I've said in earlier posts I've lost a lot of motivation after working so hard for the Draycote Marathon I've been finding almost any excuse not to go out for a run. Anyway this first run was my usual 10k route at an easy 7.12 min mile pace.

The following day I ran the 12 or so miles from work back home. I normally do it in the other direction, at the crack of dawn and with a rucksack. I managed to run home in a record time of 1.21, but to be honest the majority of the difference was due to not wearing the rucksack. My legs felt dead most of the way round and it was a bit of a struggle if I'm honest. I think part of this might just have been as a result of having done a full day at work and the half marathon still in my legs. Still, I averaged 7.08 min miles.

On Thursday I went out on the usual 10km loop again. I was intending to run just under 7 min miles, but as often seems to be the case with me I just ended up going bit by bit faster so it ended up more like a tempo run. It was a good session though and I averaged 6.36 min miles. Friday was another rest day.

Saturday is normally my long run day, but as I'm not working towards any long events at the moment I settled with just under 13 miles but at a decent average of 6.51 min miles. My legs were quite tired early on, but eventually got going about half way in. On Sunday I did the same route, but managed to go a minute or so faster at 6.47 min miles. The total mileage was therefore 49.5 for the week.

I started this week off with my usual 10km route on Monday at an average 6.45 min mile pace. The weather wasn't very pleasant as we had the storm the forecasters had been harping on about for days so ended up being quite wet. During the run I could feel both my calf's tighten up and were quite sore when I finished. I suspect it was probably in part down to the wet clothes and the cold tighten the muscles.

As a result I rested both Tuesday and Wednesday which seemed to do the trick. I decided that if the tightness did not sort itself out by Thursday then I'd just run through it - I don't have any major races planned at the moment and the injury itself are just tight calf's rather than me hobbling about the place. The rest days seemed to do the job until a mile or two into my run on Thursday when it returned again. That aside I did a new route of 10.5 miles and other than my calf's felt pretty good, probably down to the two days of rest and did it at an easy 7.03 min mile pace.

I followed this up on Friday with my usual 9 mile loop into the park at a faster 6.33 min mile pace, although it didn't feel that fast. Only other thing of note was that the wild ponies were on the road side which is the first time I've seen them in that part of the park as its densely forested. I tried to keep my distance as they are quite nervous creatures.

Yesterday I did another newish route (more like putting bits of various routes together) and set off earlyish for me. My legs were dead all the way route and I put it down to the previous couple of days training plus little in the way of breakfast. My calf's were still very tight not helping things. Anyway I did 13.2 miles at an average of 6.55 min mile pace.

Today I did 12.8 miles at an average of 6.42 and felt a lot better, except for the calf's again and now I've got some tenderness in my foot. Total mileage for the week is 52 miles, not bad considering the whole week could have easily been a write off.

I think that I'm back into the routine of things now so hopefully I wont have to drag myself out as much anymore. I've also been thinking that the last couple of weeks training have been pretty poor. Having just looked at my diary I think I'm being a bit hard on myself as this week for instance was my fifth longest week ever and at a far harder pace than other similar weeks. I think my misconception has been down to dropping to only 5 sessions a week (as opposed to 6), and the feeling of having to drag myself out. The times I'm doing are suggesting that my fitness has improved another notch in the last few weeks, so will be interesting to see how I do in race conditions at some point over the next few weeks, assuming I'm relatively injury free.

MK Half Photos

2008-03-03T18:13:00.002Z

Results are now out and I came 35th out of 2,000.

Well it turns out that I actually beat my 5km PB by 6 seconds which is a bit embarrasing. At the 10km mark I was 13 seconds outside my 10km PB.

And now for the photos. After my fashion faux pas at the Draycote Marathon I opted for a little black number this time...

This was around 5 miles in. Just been overtaken, again...

Not far from the finish

Milton Keynes Half

2008-03-01T17:47:00.003Z

As my legs were feeling really drained the first week after the marathon I decided in the end to do nothing this week - yep zip. As a result I've let go a bit and have been eating just about everything that's bad for me, and been drinking a fair bit too. Although I wont have lost much fitness I've no doubt put on a couple of pounds this week that will need burning off when I start re-training properly.

As you can probably tell I really wasn't bothered about the Milton Keynes Half and right up to the middle of Saturday I was thinking about not bothering to turn up. Normally when I feel like this it means I end up running really badly as the motivation just isn't there.

On the day I went down with a friend from work who is using the event as part of his training for a marathon at the end of April. As I was warming up my bad knee jarred slightly and felt quite sore which was a bad omen. I lined up at the start and tried to stretch it a bit and a few minutes later we were off.

Basically I set off way way too quickly and did the first mile in 5.30 and the next mile in 5.45. As a result I could feel my legs not feeling all that great quite early on. However I managed to tag onto with a group of 5 or so runners and stayed with them to about 5-6 miles when they gradually went ahead, or more accurately I started to slow down. In retrospect I shouldn't have tagged with them as it was too quick for me and although I could keep with them for a few miles they were too fast.

I went through the 10km barrier in 36.00 dead, which underlined how fast I went off at the start as it was only 6 seconds slower than my pb!! Bit by bit I was slowing down after this point and I didn't overtake anyone after 4 miles but managed to lose loads of places which is never a great feeling. Between 8-9 miles it was very windy and I had a really bad mile. It also blew any remaining energy out of my legs.

Although I'm painting a really bad picture I was still way ahead of my half pb at this stage and was probably on for about 1.18.30 (probably 1.17 after 10km). That said, I was slowing down considerably so knew I was realistically not going to run less than 1.20

I went through 10 miles in 59.53 so in fact I actually beat one of my targets to run 10 miles in less than 60 minutes! Not much else to report other than I was just getting slower and slower, although about 600 metres before the finish I could hear the first lady just behind me and about to overtake. I used this as a spur to put in a bit of a kick and managed to leave her behind up to the finish. In the end I ran 1.20.30 which is a new pb by 2.07 minutes. My average pace was 6.09 min miles.

I'm not particularly impressed with the way I ran even though it resulted in a pb, in fact I'd say it was fairly diabolical. Just went off too quickly plain and simple. In fact the last 6 miles of my half marathon were probably no quicker than my last 6 miles of my marathon at Draycote. It was never a particularly important race for me so I'm not massively bothered, although just disappointed I wasn't more tactically astute. One positive though was that if I ran the first 10km only just a few seconds behind my pb for that distance, then it looks reasonably certain that I'd have a good chance of running quicker. Its slightly surprising as I thought my 10km pb would be difficult to beat as I've focused away from speed for endurance.

There were a few cameras around the course so if there are any photos I will post them as of when I find them. The course also used chip timing with 5km split times so will add them tomorrow evening.

First week after the marathon

2008-02-24T17:55:00.002Z

Since my exploits at the weekend I had rest days on Monday and Tuesday. My joints were a little sore on Monday and there was a bit of stiffness in the muscles. Most of this went by Tuesday except some continued tightness in my quads.

On Wednesday I went for my first run and to be honest I felt pretty good although it was clear that my legs felt tired. I did my usual 10k route at an average of 6.55 min miles which was fairly quick all things considered.

The following day I did a 3.5 mile run at pace averaging 6.18 min miles. Although my legs still feel tired I just cant seem to help myself and ran fairly hard. I know that I'm meant to be recovering but I find it easier said than done! No pain, no gain as they say! On Friday this was followed up with a 9 mile run at an average of 6.38 min miles - again pretty quick. My legs still felt like they were running on empty.

As a result I had to have a rest day yesterday as my legs need the time. If I'm honest my legs could probably do with several days of rest but like that's ever gonna happen! Today I ran the 11.75 miles from work to home, which although is a fair distance I did at a gentle pace, so perhaps I am learning after all! That said it was my fastest run from work by some margin at 1.22, but the key difference was that I wasn't wearing a rucksack. Its a strange feeling with the legs, I can still run near enough normally, its just that they don't feel as they should.

I have decided now that the plan for the next few months is continue training as I was before the marathon so there will be no increase in mileage, except that I'm going to crank up the intensity a notch. Unfortunately I tried to crank it up too early after the marathon this week so will attempt to rest for the next week or two first.

Although I have the half marathon next week it really isn't a target race for me. I'll still give it my best shot as I always do, but I wont be too bothered about the end result. For me its more about enjoying this one and I see it as just a fast training run. As a result I wont really taper for this (although will still rest a bit because of the legs needing the recovery) and with the marathon still in my legs its unlikely I'll be at my freshest for it anyway. That said, I reckon that I should still have a good shot at beating my current pb of 1.22.30 set last April where I averaged 6.17 min miles. If I'm honest I'll be a tad disappointed if I don't comfortably beat my pb as I feel that my fitness has really improved over the last few months. That's all for now!

Rankings and Recovery

2008-02-20T20:00:00.007Z

My run from the weekend has now been added to the rankings list so as of today I'm 11th, although as I said in my earlier post I'll probably be around 600th by the end of the year!

A couple more photos floating around the net:

Probably taken at the start of the second lap

Getting a gel out of my pocket - honest! Probably end of fourth lap - hence pained expression!

I've been showing some of the photo's around work for a bit of fun. I did receive a comment about whether I'm running in my boxer shorts and forgot to put any shorts on!

Now that its been a few days since the event I'm more pleased with how I executed my run rather than the end result. I really wasnt expecting to run a negative split with each mile beyond half way getting faster and faster. It shows that the long runs must have been doing some good as I was strong right to the end (even if I didnt feel like it!). I never really expected to run as quick as I did although I did think that as a best case scenario 2.55 might have been possible. To beat this time shows I'm in far better shape than I was giving myself credit.

On the downside I kind of feel a touch deflated as I've worked so hard for this one event that I hadn't really given any thought to what I should do next. I was kind of expecting the marathon to give me some answers as to where my weakness in training lies, but in the end it looks like my training has been more or less correct. As a result I intend to do more of the same for the time being until May time.

Between now and then I've entered the Milton Keynes Half Marathon next week. I'm not sure whether I'll be fully recovered by then but hopefully I shouln't be too far away. I've been on my first run since the marathon this evening and just did one of my 10km routes. My legs felt fine and went round at moderate intensity of 6.54min miles. Between now and the end of the week normal training will be resumed except that I wont be going out for a long run at the weekend and overall intensity will be reduced.

Draycote Water - Photos

2008-02-18T20:31:00.012Z

First photos from the Draycote Water Marathon below. I have to confess that I'm not particularly proud of my dress sense, especially the bottoms which are actually my swim shorts! All the photos during the race must have been taken quite early on as I took off my woolly hat half way round the third lap. I'm sure they'll be more photos in due course.

Me leading just after the start

Chatting to the bloke next to me - about half a mile in

Start of third lap (12 miles), still feeling ok. Jimmy Saville towards the rear of the photo - being lapped

Getting a prize!

Draycote Water Marathon

2008-02-17T15:58:00.014Z

After my post earlier in the week I've been using a large amount of Vicks First Defence as I had developed a very slight dry cough. I was worried that it might develop into a full on cold but thankfully it didn’t and on Friday I went for my final 3.5 mile run which confirmed things were not as bad as I had first thought.

At 7.30am I set off for the Draycote Water Marathon and arrived at 8.30 giving me 1 hour to get ready. The temperature was very cold early on with a low of about -2 degrees (-4 when I set off from home!) just before the start and was predicted to rise to about 7 degrees later on. There was also no wind and it was sunny therefore making the conditions as near to perfect as possible. As it was quite cold early on I decided to wear my Helly which is unusual for me along with a woolly hat which I would throw to my friend later on who had come to support me. The total field for the marathon was only about 100, but there was a 35 mile race with another 100 people starting about half a mile ahead of us. For the marathoners there was a short 3 mile loop, before a further 5 laps around the lake. The water station was at the end of each lap which meant water could only be taken every 4.7 miles, but on the plus side you were allowed to leave your own drinks.

The start just sort of happened without any warning and I happened to be in the lead for the first half mile even though I was just jogging. Soon enough things began to sort themselves out and a couple of other runners moved a metre or so ahead so after the first mile I was third. It was at this point that one of the two runners ahead just zoomed off and that was pretty much the last I saw of him. On the plus side I was running at the same pace as the other runner and we just chatted for a while before I gradually moved away by a few metres to the second mile, however soon after he overtook me and opened up a small gap of about 15 metres so I was relegated back to third. It was around this point that we were catching the main groups of runners doing the 35 mile race who started slightly ahead of us. To be honest much of the race was like this - constantly overtaking and lapping runners all over the place, plus also having to dodge quite a lot of leisure walkers etc.

At mile 3 my friend was waiting and he shouted that I was averaging 6.35 (was actually 6.37) min miles suggesting that I was going a bit too fast since my target for the first half of the marathon was to average 6.45 (with a 7 min mile target pace for the second half). It was also at this point that we finished the mini lap and so had five proper laps remaining. After a while I managed to catch the person just ahead of me so we ended up chatting again although after I while I must admit it became a touch tedious and soon enough I dropped back again about 5-10 metres behind. As I found the pace comfortable I just tagged behind for the free ride. Bit by bit our average pace was falling away slightly to about 6.40. Towards the end of the first lap the person just ahead was faffing with his camelbak and I overtook him and opened a small gap. As we started the second lap he had caught me again and I was more than happy to follow behind once more. Part way through the lap I caught him (yet again) and some more chatting ensued. As a result I think we both slowed a fair bit at mile 8-9 and our 30 seconds of credit ahead of 6.45 pace disappeared so my average at mile 9 was bang on 6.45. I think my friend who happened to be at that point was thinking that our pace dropping away wasn’t a very good sign (as the last few miles must have been quite a bit slower to bring the average to 6.45). However up to this point I was still feeling pretty reasonable and the miles just came and went.

I think the poor split time at mile 9 came as a bit of a shock and the person I was running with was just beginning to run a touch too slowly for me. As a result I pulled away slightly and from this point onwards I was on my own. I averaged at around my target time to the half marathon point and went through 13.1 miles in around 1.28.26.

It was pretty much at this point I decided to put some extra effort in even though it wasn’t part of my game plan to average quicker than 6.45 (sorry I keep mentioning the target time, but it reflects how much I was focused on this target pace). I don’t recall the reason why I started to run a bit faster - I think it was a case of having a good mile and somehow this new pace just stuck. I was content to continue running a bit quicker as I knew that for every mile I could keep going at this pace it would bank me some time later on if/when I hit the wall.

It was around 15 miles I was beginning to hurt and I couldn’t even remember how far I had run. Such was the increase in speed from mile 13-16 my split pace for these three miles was 6.34 min miles therefore also bringing my overall average down. Miles 16-19 were really hard as I knew I was still a long way from finishing. To say it was an un-pleasurable experience was an understatement. I could feel my muscles starting to seize up and my tendons were starting to really tighten. The final lap and thus last 5 miles were really difficult and I was concerned that I was starting to hit the wall. Thankfully although I was always feeling that I was about to hit the wall it never really happened. With just the last lap remaining I knew that assuming I didn’t slow dramatically I was going to break 3hrs easily, and with just 3 miles remaining my friend shouted that I was on for a sub 2.55 . I used this as a spur although I was pretty much at my maximum by this point anyway and was starting to really struggle. Thankfully the finish was not far away and I just kept trying to tick each mile off one by one. Not far after I was in sight of the finish but had nothing left and I crossed the line in a total time of 2.53.24 which I'm very pleased with. I also finished a very comfortable second.

The below shows my pace at various points as taken by my friend. The splits are not my average pace, but my pace between the previous marker i.e. my 3 mile split is my average pace for miles 2 & 3.

What it basically shows is that my first half of the course was bang on target pace, although up to that point I was slowing down bit by bit. However it was a different story in the second half of the course where you can see my splits suddenly improve between half way and mile 16 and in fact get even quicker thereafter. I have to say the second half didn’t feel that way at all. Don’t be deceived that although I was running quicker I was really hurting in those last 10 miles and frankly I'm amazed with my splits. As a result I seemed to have achieved one of the holy grails of marathon running in that I managed a negative split and by some margin at that! 1.28.29 in the first half and 1.24.56 in the second half!

As seems to be usual these days once I finished I was ready to keel over which caused some concern for the marshals, but a few minutes later I managed to steady myself. Having said that my legs really began to seize up big time so I suspect I'll have a comedy walk for the next few days. As I came second I won a prize which happened to be £55 in cash!!!! All in all a very good weekend! I had a chat a bit later with the guy who won in about 2.47 and he told me that he is also doing the Marathon des Sables next year! As a result a one two for the MdS.co.uk! Third and fourth place finished in a time of 3.00.15 and 3.01 respectively.

The other thing I'm pleased about is that as I've run less than 3hrs I have automatically qualified for the London Marathon over the next two years. Whether or not I do it next year though is debateable as its only a couple of weeks after the MdS! I have also run fast enough to be given a UK ranking - the current 2008 list will place me 10th, though obviously is a bit false as its so early in the year. Based upon the 2007 list it would have placed me 615th which I don’t think is bad for a first attempt.

Finally, there were loads of photos taken which I guess will take a few days to upload. Naturally I'll put them on my blog as soon as I find them!

I'm now going to have a few days off, and will then decide what my plan is for the next few months. As I've run pretty well at Draycote I don’t intend doing another Marathon now until the Autumn.

Got cold - buggered

2008-02-14T18:04:00.002Z

Theres a cold being going round work over the last week and looks like I'm going down with it too. Started to feel a bit chesty and my throat is starting to feel lumpy. To say I'm annoyed is an understatement - worked so hard for this and I've been screwed at this late stage.

Will make a decision closer to the time whether I run, and if I do whether to race it.

Week 2 of taper

2008-02-05T20:30:00.000Z

On Monday I rested as planned and followed this up with a 10k run on Tuesday. I've changed to a new pair of trainers and could immediately feel the difference in cushioning. Having said that although my knee felt a little better its still quite sore which is a little worrying. On the plus side I've got plenty of rest days planned between now and the marathon a week on Sunday. As for the run itself I just aimed to go round at my marathon target pace of 6.52, but ended up completing a little quicker at 6.42 min miles. I felt really strong throughout, I guess partly because I'm quite well rested and it felt like I was just jogging and I struggled to go any slower. Over the last couple of weeks I've noticed that my pace has improved substantially, the standard fare for a 10k run was about 7.30 pace, and now anything under 7 min mile pace is the norm - that said I feel like I've put in a lot of effort in my training recently and I'm now beginning to reap the rewards.

On Wednesday I had intended to run to work one final time before the race, but decided against it as only 12hrs rest and a rucksack to carry would not be good for the knee. As a result I did a 9.25 mile run in the evening, again targeting marathon race pace of 6.52. I didn’t feel as good as the day before, probably in part because of not having the benefit of a day off. The end result was that I averaged 6.30 min miles, yet again far too fast - so would probably explain why I wasn’t feeling as good as I was moving faster. That said the pace was still fairly comfortable and could have carried on further had I wanted. The knee didn’t bother me in that I could run un-impinged but I still felt it wasn’t right.

Thursday was yet again another 10k and I just jogged round at 7.24 pace. Considering my speed I actually found the run harder than it should have been for some reason. Friday was another rest day and today would have normally been my long run day. As its only a week to Draycote I cut back to doing 12.5 miles at an average of 7.06 min mile pace. I had intended to go slower and to take all intensity out of the run but for some reason went a bit quicker. In the early stages my legs felt dead and it was only with a few miles to go did they get going. Only other thing to add was that I wish the marathon was today - little wind and lovely warming sunshine. Perhaps the first signs of spring are upon us!

Tomorrow I will go out for a 3.5 mile jog which means the total mileage for the week will be 38. Then it will be a rest day on Monday, 6 on Tues, rest Weds, probably another 6 on Thurs then that'll be it until race day.
_______________________________________

I have now received the race pack for the Draycote Marathon - not much to report other than as its five laps I can place my own drinks on the refreshments table every five miles. What’s less impressive is that the mile markers are every 5 miles! I'm really going to struggle to get my pace right as a result - this really is bad news in my opinion.

Before I found out about the mileage issue my intention was to run the first half of the course at 6.45 min mile pace, which basically means I can then afford to drop to 7 min miling in the remainder. If I'm still feeling good after half way then I will try to maintain my 6.45 pace up to 18 miles ish, then at that point put in what ever I have left in the tank. Of course the mile markers being every 5 miles is going to make things far harder to judge so I am really going to have to rely a lot more on how I feel. I suspect that even if I do feel good late on, it will be more of a case of putting in any spare effort into maintaining my pace as I start to tire rather than going faster.

If things go to plan I hope to achieve 2.59 or better. On the flipside the mile markers will make pace judgement very difficult and I'm sure I'll be running a great deal of the race by myself with a field of only 80. I also worked out that as its five (and a bit) laps, I will pass the start area six times so monotony might be an issue too. The only caveat to my target time is that on the off chance I'm near the head of the field I'll race for position rather than time.

Dunno how to add movie's to my blog, but attached is a youtube inspirational marathon music vid!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYJzcUvS_NU

Wish me luck!

Week 1 of taper

2008-02-03T18:21:00.000Z

Now that I am in the beginning of my taper I was thinking about taking the Monday off, but in the end my mind was made up for me as I felt dreadful all day. I suspect eating a large bag of Haribo Tangfastic's had something to do with it as a colleague worked out that I had consumed about 250g of sugar in that sitting alone, forgetting everything else I had eaten that day as well.

Tuesday was back to the 10km on my usual route. I was thinking about doing 7.15 pace, but had a change of mind whilst out and aimed to do marathon pace of 6.52. As I set off the weather was just about dry, but gradually deteriorated with heavy rain in the second half. In the end all timings just went out of the window as I was soaked through so ended up averaging 6.38 pace. I suspect I quickened just to get out of the rain!

On Wednesday 6am I set off for my 12 mile run to work. I ended up intentionally running a bit quicker than normal and got round in a new record of 1.25.41, about two and a half minutes quicker than my previous best. Having said that I never aim to run this route quickly so I suppose the increased pace is mainly notional. One of these days I'll have to run it without my rucksack and blast it, but not sure whether I'll be good to do a full days work!

On Thursday I did my 10km threshold session. On the way to work it was blowing a gale (and bust my brolley in the process) so was thinking about doing a slightly easier session as a result, but thankfully things calmed down a bit by the evening. Having said this it was still pretty windy out there! The first couple of miles I averaged 6.20, but by the end the overall average was brought down to 6.00 min miles (so towards the end I must have been doing sub 5.50) exactly which I'm pretty pleased with as I was still feeling pretty good. It’s also the first time ever that I've averaged 10mph for a moderate length training run, having beaten my previous best the week earlier. This is probably my final session at this speed, but will still an easier speed session early next week.

On Friday I had another rest day although I'm a bit upset with myself for gorging on cakes whilst at work - 13 cakes all counted; 2 vanilla crème (Danish’s with a splodge of custard on top), 2 Horns (cone things filled with cream) and 9 fairy cakes. Needless to say I felt quite bloated which isn’t ideal when I'm meant to be as lean as possible. It’s not easy though as I work just above a Tesco's so not sure what the answer is!

Yesterday I went out for my long run and was intending to do about 16-17 miles. Within about 5 mins of setting off I felt my knee go and had to quickly decide whether to abort the run. It’s only the second time it has gone in the last year, but with my history of knee trouble it is always something to be concerned about. I decided to carry on but ease off my pace to little more than a jog and to change my route so I could cut off early if needed. After 25 mins I had reached the park and decided to run off road for the next hour which is unusual for me as I normally stick to the tarmac. As there are lots of tracks to follow I just went wherever I felt like going and was nice to run in some more remote sections in the winter sunshine. The final 30 minutes was spent back on the road towards home. I'm not entirely sure of my distance, but the main point was that I was out for 1.57 at an easy pace and felt really good, except for the knee of course. I don’t think the knee is too much to be concerned about at this stage, but is just something to keep an eye out for.

Today I went out for an easy 9 miles on one of my usual routes. I just went at a fastish jog and was surprised to find that I averaged 7 min miles. I had to do double check this with mapmyrun.com but it also confirmed the distance was accurate. The knee was nowhere near as bad but began to throb a bit towards the end. Total mileage for the week is 47.5

As a precaution I'm going to change my trainers to a new pair - the old ones have now done 600 miles so were due to be changed anyway. The old pair began life in mid-September so have only lasted four and a half months!

Monday is going to be another rest day which is convenient for the knee. Not sure what my mileage will be but guess its going to be around the 40 mark or slightly less.

Last full week of training

2008-01-27T17:34:00.000Z

On Friday I did end up going out for another 10k but knowing I had a 21 mile run the next day I took it very easy, running at about 8.10 min mile pace, which is about as slow as I've ever run.

Yesterday I went out for what would be my final 20+ mile run before the marathon. Within the first 30 seconds of setting off I could feel that my legs were very heavy. As a result I quickly decided against doing an early small extension to my planned loop which would have made the total distance 22 miles. In fact between miles 2-5 I found it a real struggle and was beginning to harbour serious thoughts about doing only one 10.5 mile lap. In the end my tiredness didn't get any worse and the miles pretty much came and went. I knew I was running at a slightly quicker speed than before and just ran at a pace that I thought was suitable rather than clock watching which is more normal for me. I did the first 10.5 mile loop in about 1.15.30 and still wasn't feeling great, but a lot better than earlier.

With about 6 miles to go on the second lap I was feeling relatively good by this point so put a bit more effort in. I think it was more of a case of putting in some of my spare energy in the latter stages just to maintain the same pace. In the end I did the second lap in almost exactly the same time as the first - 1.15.30, therefore 2.31 in total for 21 miles which is about 7.10 min miles. In marathon terms this equates to about 3.08 pace. What was most pleasing was that I ran 7 minutes quicker than when I have done the same route over the last two weeks.

Even though I was running at a good pace, I still remain to be convinced that I'm at a sub 3hr standard. I think my current pace suggests that I'm more than capable of running a sub 60 min 10 mile race and I also reckon that I could run around the 1.18.30 mark in a half marathon. As a result I fully expect that my next half marathon will be about 4 mins quicker than my current pb. This suggests that my equivalent marathon time should be around 2.45 using various calculators. However I'm finding the link between pace and endurance quite hard and I'm not sure I've got it quite right yet. The only way of finding out will be in three weeks time I guess!

Anyway, back to the training I finished off the week today with a 12 mile run from work back home. My legs were feeling very tired throughout the run, but especially so in the early miles. It was only in the last 3 or so miles that things began to feel a little more comfortable. That said I still managed to do it in 1.29 so was one of my quicker runs, even though I wasn't pushing.

This makes the total distance for the week at 63.5 miles. Although not quite my longest week I have more than made up for it in intensity so for that reason it has been my hardest.

As I've only got 3 weeks left to the marathon I will now begin to ease off the training gradually. Next week I plan to do about 50 miles, with the long run at around 16-17 miles.

Mid week update

2008-01-24T18:56:00.000Z

As said in my last post I had another rest day on Monday so the week started on Tuesday with a gentle 10k at 7.15 min pace. I must have quickened in the second half as I was bang on 7.30 pace for the first couple of miles. I have to say that I felt really good so must have been down to the two days rest. I had originally intended to do a second lap but decided whilst out on the run not to bother, it just seemed like doing miles for miles sake.

Just 10 hours later at 5.45am on Wednesday I ran the 11.75 miles to work. I aimed for 1.30 and beat the time by just eight seconds although I had to increase my pace over the last 30 minutes by a fair bit to achieve this. As usual when I run to work I had my rucksack on, although I decided to do without the heavy coat which must be why the rucksack felt so heavy last time. The run was pretty good other than I set off an hour earlier than usual so meant the canal section was still pitch black. After 2.5 miles I did run past a camera crew by the law courts doing something presumably for the TV. They were taking up the whole pavement so was going to run between the camera and presenter, but had a last second change of heart and skirted behind the presenter! Still, not what you'd expect at 6.10am in the morning in the pitch black!

Today I went out for my usual 10.2km run. Have to be honest and say I really wasn't up for it, more so as its tempo run day which makes it even harder. Well, cutting to the chase I ran pretty hard and am amazed to see that I ran the course in 38.30 which is 6.04 min mile pace. Frankly, I'm surprised that I've gone so quickly around a course that you could hardly call flat. I went through 10km in 37.42 which is quicker than some of my 10k races in the first half of last year and this was done in training! Isn't it bizarre how sometimes your best runs are when you feel least like going out?! In terms of the marathon it doesn't mean much, though gives me extra evidence that my overall fitness is still improving.

I'm not sure how the next few days will pan out. Tomorrow is normally a rest day, but since I took Monday off I'm tempted to go out for a jog. I've also got to go in work at some point over the weekend so am not sure what distance I'll cover.

On another note I have decided to join Hinckley Running Club who are based only a few miles away from me. Why join a club? Well, although the MdS is at the back of my mind my primary focus has turned to the road. I feel that my fitness has come on leaps and bounds over the last few months and the best way to make another large step forward is to join a club. To be honest I prefer to do the majority of my running alone (de-stressing and can run at my own pace), but things like intervals etc are best done in a group when you really push yourself to destruction. I chose Hinckley as its main focus is the road/XC as opposed to athletic clubs, it has a mix of abilities with some top runners to help push me along and quite a few runners in the 20-40 age group. What helps things is that the membership was cheap and means I avoid the £2 surcharge for not being affiliated as well. At the moment I wont be able to go to training with them as I haven't moved into my new place yet, but hopefully will be some time in the next couple of months.

Finally, I received an email from the Thames Meander organisers asking whether I now wanted to run as they have had some cancellations. It took me all of a few seconds to decide against it, I would have to change my training and I think its difficult to build up the sort of motivation required at such a late stage. Not helping is that I would have to write off the cost of entering the Draycote Marathon.

Slightly shorter week

2008-01-21T19:37:00.000Z

Since my last post earlier in the week I did 9 miles through the park at an easy enough pace of 7.27 min mile pace. That sort of pace should have made it pretty easy but for some reason I found it harder than it should of been - just slightly more sluggish than normal but could be down to the hard run the day before.

On Thursday I had to wait most of the day for some furniture to arrive so wasn't able to go out for a run until later in the evening. I tried another attempt to run at marathon target pace of 6.52 min miles, but still managed to run far too quick and ended up doing 10km at an average of 6.29 pace. Never mind, I still have four weeks to get it right. It doesn't really concern me too much as in race conditions there will be mile markers making things easier to judge.

Friday was a rest day as is customary at the moment. On Saturday I did another 21.5 mile run although I found it far tougher than the previous week even though I was running the same pace. My legs never really felt comfortable for some reason and even after a couple of miles I was very tempted to cut short at 10 miles. In the end I continued my intended route and thankfully the legs didn't really worsen. I ended up doing the route just 4 seconds slower than the previous week when I was feeling pretty good. I actually added on another 100 metres or so because of a busy road crossing so in fact I did run marginally quicker. Total time was 2.38 at an average of 7.26 min mile pace. Unfortunately when I have a run such as this it becomes far too easy to think how on Earth I'll be able to run sub 3hrs marathon pace - I'll have to run 36 seconds a mile quicker which is a big ask.

Yesterday I was going to go for a recovery 9 miles but for various reasons didn't in the end. Overall mileage for the week is 52 miles. I've now got just four weeks to the marathon so next week will be my last full week of training. Having said this I haven't gone out for a run today either, basically to give my legs a bit of a recovery.

Slight error of judgement

2008-01-15T16:56:00.000Z

Been a bit of an idiot over the last couple of days. Again after a hard weekend of training I went out for a 6 mile recovery run yesterday, except that I did it at 7.24 min mile pace. No matter how hard I try I just cant seem to run in the 7.45-8 min mile range. Hey ho.

Today I intended to do a 9 mile run at 3hr marathon speed which is 6.52 min miles. This is a fairly brisk pace to run 9 miles at in training, especially since the route has 150m of climb. I went off at a reasonably hardish pace and went through the first mile in 5.58!! Oops, slight mis-judgement of pace me thinks! You can guess the rest, my legs soon started to feel extremely heavy and it became a case to hold on as best as possible. Still, I managed to get round the course in 57.15 which is 45 seconds quicker than when I pushed the week before.

However this is not the end of the story. I've noticed that the distance measuring device on my foot seems to under calculate whenever I push really hard - and not by a small amount either. When I'm running at 7.30 min mile pace the course tends to measure roughly 14.6km but like today when I really pushed it said I only did 13.7km which is a huge difference. Whenever this happens I tend to ignore the thing and go with the longer distance as it feels nearer the mark. However there is always that thought at the back of my mind that says "Well perhaps I'm not running as quickly as I think I am...". So today I've used the Mapmyrun device and mapped my run using aerial photography at high magnification so I can even map which side of the road I'm running. OK, I know aerial photography can have its errors as well, but I figure it has to be as close to reality as it can be. Thankfully it suggests 14.6 km, but taking into account I'll run the shortest possible route I'm going to go with 14.5km.

As a result my pace for the run was 6.21 min miles - a really bad misjudgement of pace considering I was aiming for 6.52 min miles. I'm going to switch my training around a bit this week and use today as my tempo run and switch the marathon pace run to Thursday.

On the flip side this sort of run at high speed confirms last weeks suspicions that I'm running at a good speed at the moment. Bearing in mind my half marathon pb of 1.22.30 equates to 6.18 pace and I'm pretty much achieving that speed in training shows that things are moving along nicely.

Just a normal 6 mile run tomorrow - but knowing me that could mean anything!

Another 60+ mile week

2008-01-13T16:33:00.000Z

Well another week of training has quickly gone and not a great deal other than the usual to report. I have been feeling slightly off colour all week, ever so slightly phlegmy, but at the same time avoiding the cold which is doing the rounds at the moment. In some ways I'd actually like to catch the cold now so I have time to recover from it before the marathon, rather than in a couple of weeks when it is unlikely I would have enough recovery time.

On Monday I did my tempo run although my legs were still tired from the 26 odd miles over the previous two days. Although I went off a touch too fast I managed to complete just over 10k in 41 mins at 6.30 min mile pace. In some ways I was a tad disappointed as its only 22 seconds a mile faster than my marathon target pace. On the flip side I still had something in reserve, it was pretty windy and all the miles from the previous week probably took its toll.

Tuesday evening was just a gentle jog, partly as a recovery run but also because I was going to run the 12 miles to work first thing the next day so only had 12 hours recovery time. It was probably the windiest conditions I've run in over the last year so was probably best I just jogged anyway. It was funny to feel the gusts of wind which caused a sudden drop of leg speed before easing off again. In the end it was the same 10k as the day before but at an average of 7.48 min mile pace in 52 mins.

Wednesday was my 12 mile run to work and for some reason I had an extremely heavy rucksack. I ended up doing it slightly slower than usual in 1:33 and if I'm honest my legs were beginning to feel quite tired now. What was most problematic about the run was that I developed a number of sores on both feet, mainly around the side area of the ball of the foot and the side of my large toe. It actually made walking around in my work shoes that day fairly painful.

Thankfully I had 36 hours recovery to my evening run the next day so some of my problems with the feet had eased off a bit then, but I still used a copious amount of Vaseline to reduce friction. I did my 10k+ route (again!) and ran at a moderate intensity, not pushing too hard but at the same time still putting a bit of effort in without danger of burning up. I didn't bother looking at my watch whilst out which was unusual for me so was surprised to see that I went round at 6.50 min miles which is marginally quicker than 3hr marathon target pace. Total run time was 43 mins. The Vaseline had seemed to do the job as my feet felt a lot better this time.

As usual I had a rest day on Friday and yesterday I went out for my long run. I was feeling a bit lethargic and didn't really want to do it but forced myself out anyway. I decided to do a different route this time as I thought the country roads might be waterlogged what with all the rain/sleet over the last 36 hours. I did two laps of my normal 9 miles route in the park, except for a slight extension from my 10k route making it 10.5 miles per lap. As usual I felt sluggish to begin with even though my first mile was a bit too fast, but soon settled into a rhythm. In the end I didn't feel all that bad and even managed to increase my pace over the last few miles. The total distance was 21.3 miles at an average of 7.24 pace with a total run time of 2.38. What was particularly pleasing was that it was the best I've felt after a long run, but also managed to sneak in another 1.3 miles from my previous longest run!

Today I did another 9 miles at a moderate 7.03 min miles in 1.04. The weather is what I would call 'pleasantly grotty' as it drizzled all the way round and quite windy at times, but also means that there are not so many people to dodge in the park so you can appreciate the wilderness a bit more. What was pleasing was that I was still able to run at that pace having done 21 miles the day before. My knees were very stiff in the first mile but the soreness gradually eased off (but not entirely so) and found the run quite easy. I don't know why this is the case, but often I feel a lot better when I've run quite hard the day before.

Total mileage for the week is 61.5 which I'm fairly pleased with. I've got next week off work so am hoping I can do something similar, before I gradually begin to taper.

Going Bananas - 65 miles

2008-01-06T20:29:00.000Z

Well the title describes my week, though has nothing to do with the fruit!

After the poor mileage last week along with my desire to give a sub 3hr marathon my best shot I have decided to really push myself this week. I felt that I was really fannying about with my training so have decided to up the mileage and the intensity for the next couple of weeks before I begin to taper.

On Monday I ran the 11.75 miles to work which took 1.28.30 which was as fast as I've ever done it but still within comfort levels. Following this on Tuesday (New Years Day) I did my 9 mile loop but as fast as I could. I had my doubts early on as my legs were clearly quite tired from the day before. In the end I settled down at as fast a pace I could comfortably live with but still held a small amount in reserve. In the end I finished in 58.15 which is 6.26 min miles and frankly is bananas, but taught me a lot in the process. It was the quickest I have done that loop by about 4 minutes.

Before I did this run I thought I had lost a lot of my speed and assumed I was well off my 10k and half mara best. Clearly this run suggests otherwise as I was only 8 secconds a mile slower than my half marathon best in non race conditions on a far hillier course with a long run in my legs from the day before. Extrapolating this time in race conditions it suggests that my marathon pace could be as quick as 2.50. I don't think for a minute that I'll run a time that quickly and frankly would be stupid to attempt to do so at my first marathon. However, it suggests that I'm in far better shape than I realised unless my course measurement is a bit out! As a result I'm thinking that my marathon pace is somewhere in the region of 2.55-3.05 at the moment assuming I don't bonk during the race itself. I still have many questions that need to be answered but generally feel a lot more positive than a couple of weeks ago.

On Wednesday I again ran to work with a fairly heavy rucksack and did the same 11.75 miles in 1.29. Although my legs felt quite tired just before I set out I was pleasantly surprised to feel reasonably ok for the majority of the run, so much so that I was more or less able to run at normal speed. I did tire in the last 15 minutes or so which is mainly uphill, but that was no real surprise. Over the first three days of the week I did 33 miles which is certainly the longest back to back runs I've done, let alone for the midweek.

On Thursday I did a gentle 6 miles at nothing more than a jog so felt pretty good all the way round and Friday I took as a rest day.

On Saturday I went for another one of my 20 milers. To be honest I had been slightly dreading it as I find it difficult at the best of times, let alone with 39 miles already under my belt for the week. I started in dry and sunny conditions but it was a bit windy in places. The only downside was that some of the country roads had quite a lot of standing water but it could have been worse. The first couple of miles I struggled with a bit and hoped that it was because my muscles needed to get going. Shortly after I began to to feel ok and just aimed to go at a steady 7.30 min mile pace all of the way round. After about 10 miles I felt ok and wasn't breathing heavily at all. At the 15 mile mark my legs started to feel like they were on a downward curve and had to put proportionately more effort in to keep going at the same pace. What wasn't helping was that the last few miles were uphill as usual but the biting wind was also in my face for 2-3 miles. After 16 miles I was still feeling reasonable, and in a far better state than when I've previously done this loop. I decided to open my legs a bit at the start of the main hill to see how they responded and was surprised to maintain the improved pace without not too much difficulty, although I was breathing a bit more heavily by now. In the last couple of miles I decided to increase my pace a bit more and was pleased to see that my legs were able to cope. Ok, I was only averaging 7.20 odd pace in the last 5 miles which is only about 10 seconds per mile faster than normal, but what was pleasing was that a) I was able to increase my pace at all and b) the last 5 miles contain 50% of the hills so I should have slowed down if anything.

Over the 20 miles I averaged about 7.22 min miles which isn't quite the quickest I've done, but I felt far better at the end when compared to my other long runs. Or to put it another way I still felt bad, but not quite as bad as on previous occasions! It makes me realise that perhaps a 3hr marathon is a big ask and would involve a substantially faster pace which I have no idea whether I would be able to maintain. On another note what is really beginning to annoy me is that when ever I go out I seem to suffer from a runny nose. I can normally cope with that, but after 15 miles having to constantly wipe my nose started to become tedious. Any ideas why this happens? Answers on a postcard please.

I rounded off the week today with a gentle 6 miles around one of my usual loops. I was going to do 9 miles but my knees were quite sore and as this was just a recovery run I didn't see the need to go any further. Having said that I still went round averaging 7.25 min miles, but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't seem to go any slower!

Overall for the week I did 65 miles which is by and far the longest week I have had by some margin, and also the most intense. I felt it was best to do it now rather than leave in much later to ensure my legs have a good recovery time for the marathon in mid Feb but also so I can begin to realise the benefit. I intend to have a similar week next week, but perhaps only around 60 miles. After that I'll probably aim for around 55 miles the week after before beginning my gradual taper over the remaining four weeks.

Lethargic

2007-12-29T21:15:00.000Z

Although I haven't really mentioned it in my blog I've been feeling really lethargic over the last few weeks. I'm not very sure why, but I have been sleeping really badly so this will have something to do with it - the best analogy I can come up with is that its like going to bed really tired but with a head full of stimulants.

As a result this week my mileage has dropped off significantly. My first run of the week was on Wednesday (Boxing Day) to do my 9 mile loop through the park. To be honest I didn't enjoy the run at all, the place was heaving; literally thousands of people in the park - I've never seen it so busy. I had to weave a lot to pass groups of people, but also be wary of dogs off their leash, plus kids with their new bikes and rollerblades etc. To cap it off, the park roads were choked and had to make a couple of late manoeuvres to avoid oncoming vehicles. On the plus side, taking this into account I went at a fairly hard pace and averaged 6.55min miles.

The following day I intended to go for a slightly longer 10-11 mile run, but a combination of being knackered and the legs still heavy from the previous run meant I chickened out and only ran 10km. Again to compensate a little I went at a hard pace and averaged 6.54 min miles.

I would have gone for a long 20 mile run on Saturday but I was doing overtime at work, so decided to run the 12 miles home. I have to say that was one of the most enjoyable runs I've done - just as I set off it was getting dark very quickly and the lights around the canals and local buildings were amazing. I just went at an easy pace with my light rucksack on and averaged 7.45min miles. It was just one of those runs where I felt that I was putting in very little effort and felt great all the way round.

The total for the week is a frankly pathetic 27 miles though slightly compensated by harder mid week runs, but I'm hoping to have a better week this week.

On a slightly different note I've bit the bullet and entered the Draycote Water Marathon on 17th Feb - so basically I have four weeks to be ready before a gradual wind down in mileage ready for the event. This is my first Marathon so I hope my recent training will be worth it!

2007 Review. The good, the bad and the ugly.

2007-12-26T23:01:00.000Z

Another year is almost over, but incidentally is also almost one year to the day since I started blogging. Heading into 2007, before I had even contemplated entering the Marathon des Sables I set myself four targets. To recap these were:

1) Sub 13 min run on the Mungo Bone
2) Sub 36 mins for a 10k road race
3) Cycle sub 48 mins on my 14.5 mile lap
4) Improve upon my average cross-country position of 59th.

These targets were set with the idea of improving my physical fitness rather than as preparation for an ultra marathon which is what I am now heading towards. As a result the targets do seem a little strange, as if nothing else they are all a bit on the short side. On the other hand it shows how far I've come over the last year when I hadn't really contemplated running anything over 10km. The first target to fall was the sub 48 min cycle ride which I completed in April. Arguably this was the easiest of my targets, where to be honest all I needed to do to improve my time was a bit of extra fitness, some bravery and luck! Following that I managed to break a sub 36 min 10km at Silverstone in May. I found this target the most difficult to achieve and now that I'm running longer distances I'm not sure whether I have the basic speed to improve this further for the moment.

The last target I achieved was to beat my average position of 59th at the cross country. I thought this target would be very difficult but in the end my average race position was 32nd with a season best of 17th. This was really when it hit home how much my fitness has improved as it was the first time I could compare myself against the year before.

The final target of sub 13 mins for the Mungo Bone I failed to achieve, basically because I chose not to run it in favour of doing a long 20 mile run instead that day - in essence I felt the target to be no longer relevant now that I'm branching out to longer distances.

As for my best and worst performances of 2007? Well my top three were:

1) Stratford Half Marathon
2) Leek XC
3) Stoke XC

and the worst...

1) Milton Keynes Half
2) Stafford XC
3) Air Products Crewe 10k

My half marathon time of 1.22.30 set at Stratford in late April was very satisfying and I was probably at my peak 'speed' fitness. As with my 10km pb it currently looks unlikely that I'll be making any further inroads at this distance. My other two best races were the XC races a couple of months ago. Just a couple of years ago I would often place somewhere around 80-100th so to now have two performances where I came 17th and 25th was a big boost to my confidence.

As for my worst performances - well the worst by miles (pun intended) was the Milton Keynes Half. I had been injured for the two months beforehand, but as I had already entered I decided to give it a go thinking that I couldn't have lost that much fitness. My biggest mistake was to set off at my pb pace, which in essence resulted in me bonking and the second half of the course was as painful as I've ever experienced. The 1 mile walk back to the car almost resulted in my collapsing.

As for my two other worst performances, the XC at Stafford was pretty bad as again I had been injured a couple of weeks beforehand. I'd lost my sharpness and mentally I really didn't want to run so it was just a recipe for not doing very well. Finally the Air Products 10k completes the list - the race wasn't too bad other then thinking it was far hillier than I was expecting and ended up running slower than my start of year 10km pb time (before I started training). It was a dent to my confidence but to be honest deep down I knew that the slowness of my time was mostly down to the course.

I suppose the biggest issue over the course of the year was my feet - I could barely run 3 miles without my feet blistering badly - I couldn't begin to tell you how frustrating it was for several months. I think it was partly a case of time of my feet which eventually resulted in them toughening up a bit and getting some orthotics but they weren't without their problems too. I've now been injury free for a couple of months and I now hope things will settle down a bit.

So now comes the time to set myself some new targets for the year. I've had to think for quite a while to decide what I want to achieve in 2008, but in the end have come up with just two targets:

1) To run a sub 3hr marathon.
2) To finish a 50+ mile ultra marathon

I think the sub 3hr marathon target is going to be tough, very tough in fact but one that I'd love to achieve. At the moment I reckon that I'm running about 3hr 10min pace, but the honest truth is that I have no idea having never done a marathon. I'll probably have four opportunities over the course of the year to achieve the time so is not something that I can do without thorough planning in advance. My first attempt is almost certainly going to be at Draycote Water in February.

My first ultra-marathon attempt has now been put back to the second half of next year, but to be honest that's no bad thing, what with the MdS taking place in March 2009.

At this stage I have no idea how the year is likely to shape, but will probably aim to do the Draycote marathon in Feb, followed by the Stratford marathon in April. After that I have no idea other than I intend to train at around 50 miles until April, then gradually increase bit by bit in the run up to the MdS.

Another 50 miles (well 48.4...)

2007-12-23T14:49:00.000Z

I started off the week with an easy 10k at a very slow pace and followed this up on Wednesday morning with a 12 mile run to work at whatever pace that felt comfortable. I'm beginning to really enjoy this run on a cold winter's day, setting off whilst its still dark, then running underneath Spaghetti Junction and the last half an hour along the canals. Although I was slightly slower than usual I was carrying a fairly heavy rucksack in compensation. Only other thing to note was that at the Christmas Lunch I broke my 10 month abstinence from alcohol since entering the MdS in early March!

I was getting increasingly tired during the week and for some reason or another I just couldn't get a good nights sleep. As a result on Thursday I was totally shattered, but still forced myself out for a run, but gave it up after just 1km which is the first time I've mentally caved in.

I decided to not bother with a run on Friday; apart from anything else I'm not sure whether I could have coped with another knock to my confidence if I bombed on my long run again the next day. On Sat I went for the same 20 mile run that I've done a couple of times before, but this time took half a litre of liquid with me and made sure I drank regularly. The only downside was that carrying a larger bottle was a bit of a faff and was hurting my arms in the early stages. On the plus side it must have done the trick as although I was fading away after 15 miles or so I still felt ok and good enough to really push in the last 4 miles when it gets a bit hilly. Although I was slightly slower than the previous week (when I hit the wall), I felt that if there was another 6 miles to make it a full marathon I could have coped with it. It was certainly my best of the three 20 milers I've done so far.

Today I rounded off the week with a 9 mile recovery jog which was the first back to back run I've done after one of my 20 milers. Well, I say recovery jog as that was the intention, but in the end it turned into a time trial as I was feeling pretty good and I zoomed around in 62.30 with 150m of climb averaging 6.55 min miles! Oops!

Overall for the week I've done 48.4 miles so is the third longest distance I've covered. I'm pretty pleased with how the week turned out in the end and hope next week will be more of the same.

Hitting the Wall...

2007-12-15T21:15:00.000Z

Since the cross country last weekend I gave blood on Monday so decided not to go out for a run as it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Then didn't run on Tuesday either because I couldn't be bothered, but also because I decided to run the 12 miles to work early the next day instead. I had a really enjoyable run to work and got there a lot quicker than usual but without the additional effort. It took me 1:28 instead of the usual 1.32-35

I followed this up on Thursday with a short but intense 3.5 mile run just to zap the legs as I haven't done a proper speed session for a while. I averaged 6:30 min miles so was fairly happy with the effort although very tiring. Finally on Friday I did a 10km recovery jog, and unusually for me didn't look at my watch at all and just ran to how I felt. I was slightly surprised that my recovery jog was still 7:30 min miles but I couldn't have gone much slower than I did.

Today I went for a 20 miler, but have to say that I felt knackered from a week of work, plus the sessions this week took a lot out of me. Not helping matters was that my car was booked in for a MOT and I didn't realise quite how far away it was, so had a 40 min walk to get back home. As a result my legs didn't feel great from the outset and wondered whether my intended route was such a good idea. I felt a bit better between 6-12 miles, but after a couple of hills I had pretty much hit the wall after 15. I kept thinking about cutting home early but felt that it was a bit wimpish to take the easy option, and thought that these extra miles would be 'character building'. I somehow managed the last 5 miles and struggled home in 2.25, a touch quicker than when I did the same run a few weeks ago. The downside was that I felt bloody awful. Its runs like this that make me wonder whether I'm cut out for the marathons, let alone ultras such as the MdS. I kind of feel like packing it all in - why should I put my body through this amount of pain and pay £3k for the privilege? Needless to say I wont be doing any training tomorrow, although I had originally intended an easy 9 miler. 41 miles in total for the week.

On a separate note it seems that the Thames Meander event is already full with three months to go before the event. As a result my plan for next year in slightly in tatters. I've had a quick look at possible events and there are a couple of ultras such as the Gloucester 50k or the Draycote 35m, but to be honest the distance isn't much more than the marathon that both events also offer. As a result I'm looking at the possibility of doing the Draycote Marathon on the 17th Feb if I'm going to do anything at all. I know at the moment that I'm nowhere near sub 3hrs fit which is the benchmark I would like to aim for, but am probably somewhere around 3.05 - 3.15 fit at the moment. If I do Draycote I wont go for a sub 3hr run (unless my fitness improves dramatically) for fear of burning up, but go slightly slower on purpose so I can get used to the distance as I've never run that far before.

North Staffs Cross Country - Race 4, Leek

2007-12-08T22:44:00.000Z

During the week I did next to nothing in preparation for Saturday's race at Leek, just a 3.5 mile jog to keep the legs ticking over on Wednesday.

On Saturday the final race of the North Staffs Cross Country League was held at Leek. The conditions were frankly awful with heavy rain in the days leading up to the event making the ground saturated and foot conditions very heavy, with the course well churned by the time of the men’s race. As a result, all of the downhill stretches were very slippery whilst the rest of the course was extremely boggy with calf deep mud most of the way round. There was also heavy rain during the event itself making for horrible conditions. The course was very hilly and is by far the hardest race of the season containing several significant climbs, but thankfully the laps tend to be a bit shorter than normal because of this.

As it was tipping it down I tried to stay in the car as long as possible before getting changed inside the school. With about 10 mins to go I went outside to go down to the start and it began to hit me how cold, wet and generally miserable it was! Just before the start I was feeling really cold.

The start was uphill so I went off at a very gently pace and after half a lap I was a little bit further back that I would have liked, but I knew that as this race was so physical it was essential that I paced myself. I'm guessing that at this stage I was about 30-35th. One of my team mates was just ahead of me so I just tried to stay about the same distance behind for the time being as my legs were still feeling sluggish. Slowly but surely I was picking off people, particularly on the hills although I struggled on the downhill with my grip so lost a little distance.

Towards the end of the first lap I was alongside my team mate at the hardest hill of the lap and once at the top I began to pull away. For the most part of the second lap I was pretty strong and managed to overtake quite a lot of people and was feeling good. I felt that I was running a fairly intelligent race by working to my strengths on the muddy flats and hills, whilst relaxing downhill.

On the third lap my legs were beginning to go a bit but still felt ok. I was just behind a group of runners strung out over a fair distance and slowly catching them. On the sharp descent at the start of the lap they pulled away as I'm a pretty poor descender and it took quite an effort to pull some of the distance back over the remaining part of the lap. I eventually caught and overtook one of them on the large hill towards the end of the race and had to work hard up the hill to try and put some distance between us. Just as I was getting to the top my legs were starting to feel like jelly and I was really hurting. It was then just a case of running the last 300 metres up to the finish and managed to pick one more person off. I think that had I not descended so badly at the start of the third lap I might have been able to get a couple more, but its just nit picking really.

Overall I was amazed to see that I finished 17th out of 172, a career best performance by some margin so I am really pleased. The course worked to my strengths, i.e. energy sapping hills and plenty of boggy and muddy bits making it slow and physical. Again it proves that my fitness has come on leaps and bounds bearing in mind I was about 80th a couple of years ago.

Before this race Walton Chasers Orienteering Club were lying fourth in the second division, 24 points adrift of Telford Harriers in third, but just two points ahead of fifth so everything was to play for. In the end some solid performances resulted in us snatching third place and some trophies so was pretty ecstatic. However, on seeing the results published on the web we are shown as being fourth - I think what happened was that the organisers saw that we beat the team who were ahead of us without realising the team who were fifth leapfrogged both of us. None the less its still the best result for Walton Chasers who still managed to beat some notable running / athletics clubs in the process. Not bad at all for an orienteering club.

On the whole I have been really pleased with my performances and means I have achieved my start of year objective by improving on my average 2006 cross country position.

Although I have an idea of what events I'm going to to in the early part of next year I have nothing firmly planned. My priority is to get a couple of solid weeks of training in and make a decision towards the end of the month.

Another week goes by...

2007-12-03T21:23:00.001Z

Not a particularly interesting week. Monday was a rest day, followed by 6 miles on Tuesday and Thursday and then 9 miles on Sat and Sun. I did the Sat 9 miles at a moderately hard pace of 6:48 min miles (60:26). On Sunday my legs felt dead so the day before must have taken more out of me than I thought. In the end I just jogged round the same route, but still managed to go round comfortably in 7:24 pace which was pleasing. In the end it was just 30 miles for the week but couldn't really do any more because of work commitments.

This weekend I have the final cross country race of the season at Leek so wont do much this week, just a couple of 3.5 mile runs to keep the legs ticking over.

The main issue for me is that after the cross country race this weekend I have no events planned going into next year. I've been looking for something over xmas, but cant find anything suitable. Any ideas? I have agreed to go for a long run out somewhere hilly on the last weekend of the year with a friend, so perhaps this will break the monotony of running near home by myself.

I'm fairly certain that I'll be doing the Thames Meander (54 miles) on 16th Feb, injury permitting. The 20 miles I did last weekend felt reasonably good, so the plan is to do another 25+ mile run, maybe back to back with a 15 miler the day after around xmas time.

After that I've agreed to enter the High Peak Marathon (7/8 March) which is a 40 mile race around the Peak District so is quite hilly, but the fun part is that it starts at midnight. Its a four man team event, but I'm secretly hoping that our entry doesn't get accepted as I'm doubtful as to whether I'd be fully recovered from the Thames Meander, plus it will in all likelihood rule me out of my first Marathon on 27 April. Its not so much the recovery period, but the lost training time in the run up to the Meander, then post event recovery and taper to the HPM a month later followed by another recovery period before the taper in the run up to the Stratford Marathon.

I've then agreed to attempt the Coast to Coast with a friend from work at the end of May, but the mad bit is that we'll try to cover the 180 miles in five days, four if things go well. For those not aware the Coast to Coast goes through the Lakes, N York Moors and finally the N York Dales so is pretty hilly.

Another 50 miles...

2007-11-25T16:07:00.000Z

At the start of the week I went for a 6 mile run on one of my newish winter loops and took it fairly easy. The following day I was down in Bristol with work and by the time I got back at 8pm I really couldn't muster the energy so took a rest day instead. As a result on Wednesday morning I decided to try make amens by running the 11.5 miles to work which I haven't done for a while. Its a bit of an early start setting off at home at 6.45am and arriving at work just after 8.15am. I didn't particularly go hard, partly because I have a day of work ahead of me but also because I was carrying a fullish rucksack with work stuff inside. In case you were wondering, yes work do have showers!

On Thurs and Fri evening I went on the same evening loop but with a tiny extension to make it 10km. On the Thursday loop I went moderately fast in the second half to do the 10km in 44.40 which isn't too bad as there is a fair bit of climb.

During the week I've still been getting the foot pains and I've been wondering whether the orthotics have got something to do with them. As a result on Friday I did the loop without the orthotics for the first time in months. Even though I only went fairly steady I was surprised to see that I only went slightly slower than the day before. I have been wondering for a while whether the orthotics slow me down because of the harder inserts and it seems to me that there is something in this theory. The other good news is that the foot pain is already a lot better than it was before I took the orthotics out.

Yesterday I had a rest day because I was out all day. Today I went out for a minimum of a 12 mile run but with a target of about 16-18 miles. I went fairly steady throughout with an aim of about 8 minute miles. In the end I went a bit faster at an average of 7 min 24 sec miles, but the key for me was that at 14 miles I still felt ok so continued on and just about managed 20.2 miles in total so is easily a new distance record for me. I am absolutely shattered though and the deterioration was significant over the last 5 miles. I reckon I could have just about gone on for the remaining 6 miles to make it a marathon in about 3hrs 15mins but didn't see the point as I achieved everything I set out to do. In the end I did 20.2 miles in 2hrs 29 at an average pace of 7.24min miles including 250 metres of climb. My plan is to do one of these runs every couple of weeks over the winter so hopefully I can condition my body to the distance. Runs like this make me realise how hard events like the Thames Meander must be at over 54 miles!

Although I've only just realised I've also set a new weekly record by a whopping 300 metres! A grand total of 50.2 miles for the week!

I plan to have a slightly easier week this week as I have a cross country race on the 8th Dec so I need to be fully recovered for that. After this race is over I have no further events planned so I can get some real quality training put in before making a decision on the Thames Meander.

Bit of Everything Week

2007-11-18T00:18:00.000Z

After the cross country race I didn't do any training until Tuesday because of my continuing sore foot. I then went out for a 5.5 mile gentle run and the foot felt ok. What was unusual about this run is that its the first time in months that I went out whilst it was raining. About half way round it bucketed it down and in a funny kind of way quite enjoyed it. Must do it more often!

I followed this up by intending to do an 11 mile run on Wednesday. About 1km into the run my left knee 'went' quite badly. For those unaware I've had a very long history of knee trouble which was what stopped me from running for several years until I discovered cod liver oil last year. It was clearly bad news and I had to hobble straight back home. What was worrying for me was that it is the first time I've had any serious trouble since starting the supplements last year. Although I know I'm injury prone, this is the one injury I seriously fear. As a result I didn't go out on Thursday to ensure any potential inflammation had time to settle down.

On Friday I had devised a new route and went round a new 11.5 mile route at a fair pace, averaging 6:54 min miles. I have to say that I really struggled in the second half, probably because I went off a bit quick, plus I haven't done much training as of late because of all the recent events and injuries. On the plus side the knee didn't give me any trouble, so hopefully it was just a one off.

On Saturday I did mostly the same route, but with a small addition making it just over 12 miles. Even after the first mile my legs were really stiff from the day before and struggled most of the way round even though I was going fairly easy. In the end I averaged 7:30 min miles which I was fairly pleased with all things considered. Some of my foot pain has returned after I've finished training, but it doesn't seem to affect me at all whilst running, so am going to continue training for the time being and just monitor it.

Although I normally go for a long run on Sunday I'm going to take this as a rest day to let my legs recover and resume on Monday. In all I did just under 30 miles this week, which is ok considering I haven't been out as much as I would have liked.

North Staffs Cross Country, Race Three - Stafford

2007-11-10T19:56:00.001Z

A few days after the OMM I experienced a pain on the underside of my right foot in the bones that link to my small toes. Its fine when I don't put pressure on the foot but quite uncomfortable whilst walking. The pain was getting progressively worse during the week, partly because I have a short walk to and from the train station when getting to work which was aggravating things. The more I think about it I am beginning to wonder whether its some form of minor hairline fracture as there is no swelling and don't feel any pain when prodding it either. As a result I've only been out for one run since the OMM (the run was before the foot pain developed). Its now been two weeks since the event and the foot doesn't feel any better.

Today was the third race of the North Staffs Cross Country League held at Stafford Common. The race is my least favourite of the season and after all the trouble over the last two weeks I really wasn't mentally up for it. My body was also feeling really sluggish for some reason, perhaps because I haven't really done any training worth writing about for the last few weeks because of all of the events and injuries.

The course today was 9.3km involving one 'small' lap and two large laps. I set off at an easy pace and let loads of people overtake me. After the short lap had passed I was about 35th and feeling ok. I then tried to open my legs and there was nothing there and was like that for the whole race. Generally feeling alright but just couldn't step on it. As a result I lost a lot of positions hand over fist and ended up finishing 51st which was really disappointing.

I think the course didn't suit me as its really fast rather than slow and technical and I just don't have the pace that's required. I really struggled with the uneven surface and I kept tripping up and didn't get into a rhythm. I was also not mentally prepared for this and to be honest I just didn't have the motivation to give my all for some reason. As I'm writing this I've got an upset stomach so I don't know whether something is disagreeing with me - maybe this as well might have something to do with being off form.

As for the positives, well I finished a lot higher than I did last year so its not all bad, plus my foot didn't give me any trouble at all during the race. I'll see how it feels on Monday before deciding whether to resume training.

The only event I have planned is the final cross country race of the season in a months time and after that I don't intend to do any more races until February, so I can get some decent training in before deciding whether to do the 54 mile Thames Meander race.

Original Mountain Marathon - Day 2

2007-10-31T19:48:00.000Z

At the start we could see that it was likely we would have a steep uphill beginning from all of the competitors ahead. There were quite a few teams though deciding against it and going along the valley instead. Although this was tempting when we got our maps we decided to go with the majority and head up hill to control CA which was worth 25 points. It was very steep and involved about 250 metres of climb. Up the first half of the slope I was leaving Steve behind again, which I have to say I was slightly annoyed about as I was feeling good and wanted to push on. Having said that we did overtake quite a few teams on the way up. The control itself was fairly straight forward and we hatched a plan to control DA in the north east.

As we descended down to a col I was again leaving Steve behind, but this time on the downhill which worried me even more. The one bit of enjoyment I got though was that I could perform a bum slide down the hill which was fun. I must have descended 50 metres in the matter of about 10 seconds which was exciting!! It was just after this that Steve began to find his legs as we found a small sheep track and contoured around to the control. It got to the point where it was me that was struggling and as it turned out it was like this for the remainder of the day. I always felt I could keep up, but at the same time found the pace quick (almost certainly quicker than had I done the course myself). I always felt strong though and chipped in where I could up the steep hills where I was traditionally better.

The weather was loads better than the day before and although there were cold sections where it became windy on the hill tops, on the whole it was very pleasant. Visibility was also very good throughout the day. Perfect! From DA we went to AQ which involved more contouring in the first part - as Steve was running well and is better at contouring I let him take the lead and I was just happy to follow just behind. We then had a brutal slog up a steep hill to a crag about three quarters of the way up the mountain.

We hit the control without a hitch and moved on to continue the final part of the climb. At the top we had a long debate as to whether we should go for CN on the other side of the valley as it was only a few hundred metres away involving a descent followed by a 200 metre reascent. We decided to go for it, but we were also trying to plan ahead what we could do with our remaining three and a half hours. We then changed our minds, before deciding we would do it after all. Finally when we were about to make the turn off we saw the control in the valley and decided against it. In the end we felt there were enough controls for us, and although we could bag 25 points we felt we would probably lose that much by not being able to have the time to get at least one of the controls near the finish.

We decided to go to AR which involved climbing to the peak of the mountain where the Lowther Hills gets it name from, namely Lowther Hill at 725 metres. At the top of the mountain are several masts with a large golf ball shaped one dominating the landscape. We followed a well maintained track to the top before curving round and following the Southern Upland Way for a distance and then contour to the control. As it happened we found a nice sheep track whilst contouring so we were really able to motor. We found the control easily enough, the only question remaining was whether such a detour was the correct route choice as there was still a fair bit of climb early on in the leg. If I am brutally honest I suspect it wasn't the quickest route, however we did manage to avoid most of the extra climb so in turn save our legs for later.

At this stage we were really going at quite a pace and we often found good sheep tracks. The next control to DX involved more contouring so I just let Steve take on the lead again and he really went at quite a pace, so much that at times I struggled to follow him. We must have run the 1.5km to the control in less than 15 minutes. We did make a small error in that we thought the control was the fence when it turned out to be the stream, but we only lost a couple of minutes.

Following the control we decided we had plenty of time left to continue eastwards to CK. We followed a couple of tracks down before following a field boundary and then a diagonal ascent and lastly some more contouring into the control. Again our progress was swift.

We were mindful that our next control was just a case of running down to the road which didn't take more than a few minutes before following a flattish track for 3km and another control at the end of it. We ran the most of it, just occasionally walking quickly at steeper sections. We got to the end of the track after 3hrs in total, so still had 2hrs remaining. It looked like we would have plenty of time to complete the remaining controls before the finish. At no time did it ever look like we were in danger of time penalties. After the track we had a steepish ascent, but again we were lucky in finding a good track to the col before contouring around to the control in the distance. Over the course of the day the contouring really destroyed my already weak ankles (this is why I'm crap at contouring as I have to be more careful), and I favoured the more direct approach onto a track created by other competitors into the control. In the end I just went along with Steve and contoured round. Steve went a little too low when looking for the control and I pointed out that we need to be slightly higher and we dropped onto the control without any problem. We now had one and a half hours to the finish.

On the way back down we now decided to take the direct approach as it was definitely quicker this way back down and I took on the lead. We then had a surprisingly sharp climb onto Black Hill where the next control was. Again I took the lead for most of this control as I was back on ground that didn't involve contouring and Steve followed close behind. I decided to navigate to the trig point and then take a bearing from this for the final 200 metres.

Our penultimate control involved a bit of contouring around Black Hill which I let Steve take the lead on once more. I was really swearing like a trouper as the sheep track became really muddy from loads of other competitors and I was sliding all over the place. This was partly because I am crap at contouring but also because my fell shoes have nowhere near enough the sort of grip on muddy terrain. Once the contouring was over it was a series of mainly descents followed by short climbs and I again took the lead on these to the control.

We only had one control left to the finish but still had best part of 40 minutes remaining. My only concern now was that we had too much time remaining. I was slightly tempted at a contouring option to BM which was worth 10 points but at the same time knew that really we didn't have enough time for it. It was now just a case of the final descent off the hill onto a track following the river to the last control into the entrance of the finishing field and the final sprint to home.

In the end we finished with 26 minutes remaining which is more than I would have liked, but at the same time there was nowhere near enough time to get any other controls by the finish area. There is a question as to whether we should have gone for CN early on (the one we debated about for a while), but we both feel that a) it would have taken longer than 26 minutes to do and b) it would have taken the legs out of us for later on in the course which would have cost time. In the end we were very satisfied with our run. The first hour was slow but I knew the remaining four hours were done at an extremely fast pace. I just knew that we would probably gain a few positions today as long as our control choices were sound. In the end we finished 24th on the day, again out of 250 which was enough to pull us from 44th after Day 1 to 29th Overall. It was also good enough for us to qualify for the 'Gold' standard where we scored more than 75% of the top team's total.

I think it is fair to say that we were both well satisfied with our weekend, especially the second day which was near perfect. The only downer was a missed 20 pointer, but hey that's minor in comparison. There was also the possible missed opportunity on the second day to continue north east from Lowther Hill for some big points which other teams splits suggest we would have had time for, but hey thats hill racing for you.

Me on left :)

All that was left to do was to have our photo taken by the finish photographer, get our free meal, get changed and start the 9hr journey back home. I got home at 11pm ready for a shower and a 7am alarm call for work the next day...

In the aftermath I actually feel pretty good with my legs not at all stiff. I honestly feel that I would be good enough had there been a third day. I do have one swollen ankle from the contouring and that's about it. I'll now rest until the weekend to let the body recuperate.

Original Mountain Marathon - Overnight Camp

2007-10-31T19:13:00.000Z

As we finished I was still feeling strong and not near to collapse as I was at the RAB. I was also pleased that the rucksack gave me no trouble even though I was carrying the tent and team food. Just after we finished we downloaded our dibber and went to the camp area. As we had an early start we were also amongst the first to pitch camp. Unfortunately as we reached the field the heavens opened and it was still very gusty. All of the other people already at the camp had the same idea as us which was to pitch tent just behind a stone wall which would act as a shelter. We had to make do a few metres further away.

As we began to put the tent up I was beginning to feel cold as my damp clothing was beginning to take effect. I put on all of my spares on top (so my lower layers will dry themselves) and made sure I had a quick snack to eat as I didn't eat anything over the six hours other than a few jellies and a load of lucozade.

As Steve was finishing the tent I went to the stream to go and get some water. Once things were sorted we hopped inside the tent as by this point it was hammering it down outside. I then began to watch Steve try to blow up his balloon bed which amused me as his fingers were too numb to tie the knots! About 40 minutes later he had everything sorted which was a bit of light entertainment for me!

The next task was to get a brew going, but it was fair to say the pepsi stove we used which burns meths was a total disaster. Basically the wind got to the flame too much and it didn't heat the water very well at all. I did say to him before the event that I thought gas would be better because of high winds forecasted, but to be honest I didn't force the issue. In the end we managed one luke warm cup a soup, luke warm noodles and followed by luke warm coffee as well. We didn't have enough fuel for the second serving of noodles, more coffee or the custard pud. On the plus side I was well stuffed with cola bottles, marsh mellows, chocolate and a kinder surprise (which incidentally was a small car...). Not only was the food luke warm, but a total faff as well - I think the lesson is if in doubt use gas. The only other thing to note was that about half way through cooking the matches got wet so Steve had to go to our neighbours to get a light. It was all a bit of a dent to morale. On the plus side though as Steve was getting a light from another team, he tripped over a guy rope on the way back whilst flames were spurting out from the pepsi stove; how I laughed!

By about 5pm I was starting to get quite cold and figured that it was probably down to my cagoule which I was still wearing being soaked. I was never at the stage of being hypothermic, but cold enough for it to be uncomfortable. I was starting to get miserable (poor Steve being on the receiving end...) I knew that if I was wearing all my clothes now things were only going to get colder during the night. In the end I decided to get my space blanket out, which helped a bit. On the plus side I was glad that I took my better sleeping bag for this event. Even at 5pm I was clock watching, working out how many more hours we had to endure inside the tent! The problem was that because it was raining, it was just a case of being inside the tent the whole evening (we arrived at camp at 2pm). Just to add insult to injury the clocks went back that evening which meant we got an extra hour in bed. Sounds like heaven, but believe me it isn't!

At about 8pm I went out to the stream to get some more water and was in awe of the people still descending down to camp in the pitch black with just the light from the head torches visible. Not long after, with nothing better to do I went to bed.

Lets just say it was a disturbed nights sleep! The wind woke me up quite early on, about 11pm and the wind was howling outside with the rain lashing down. It just got worse and worse to about 2am when I thought the tent wasn't going to be able to take any more. The tent we have is a Terra Nova Argon which weighs just 1.3kg and isn't designed for those sorts of conditions. I think the stability of the tent is pants at the best of times. With each gust the vertical poles were swaying all over the place which was made all the worse as the tent has no horizontal pole, just guy ropes to keep things in place. I was also beginning to feel cold again, but thankfully it was never bad enough for me to begin shivering.

I managed to doze off a few times every now and then, but at 6am the bagpipes began which is a traditional beginning to the day when the OMM visits Scotland. We emerged from our tent at 7am and was surprised to see that the worst of the weather was over with the wind nowhere near as bad as during the night and it was dry with even the sun trying to make an appearance!

Thankfully our tent managed to survive the storm, but there were many stories of those who were not so lucky. I heard one several cases of people having to retreat to the portaloos to spend the night in! This comment from a message board I particularly liked:

"Why, oh why, did I buy those 1g titanium pegs which were on sale the evening before the race? They were almost useless (and I know that I should have realised that just from looking at them)! We ended up using a pencil, some wood we found, and a mess tin handle snapped in two to make a couple of sturdy aluminium pegs. Even so, the tent came down on us at 2am, then we spent an hour in the men's urinals (making hot drinks in the not-so-hygienic surroundings ), followed by five hours in the start/finish tent, hunched in space blankets, along with a steadily increasing crowd of similarly affected competitors. So if anyone saw people shuffling about in the morning clad in a space blanket, they were not wimps, but 'survivors'! I have also heard that SuperSaint spent four hours sat in a portaloo to escape his flooded tent. Any other tales of carnage?"

It was also bizarre to see large chunks of the field flooding with springs that bubbled up during the night. Imagine camping, just to find that at 2am a spring bubbling up underneath your tent! Thankfully we were not affected event though we were just five metres away from it all!

It was then just a case of pack everything away and get ready for the start of Day 2! I was feeling good and hoped that Steve was the same.

Original Mountain Marathon - Day 1

2007-10-29T20:26:00.000Z

After a 7 hr journey on Friday afternoon we arrived at the Lowther Hills (Galloway / South Lanarkshire) for the 40th Original Mountain Marathon. The pre-event camping field was less than impressive being full of liquid sheep shit which got everywhere but other than that was a good event centre with all the facilities close by. For those not familiar with the format of the OMM it is the biggest Mountain Marathon in the calendar (about 3,000 people in total) and involves teams of two to run/walk across mountainous terrain self navigating to each checkpoint (no paths!) with the aid of map and compass. Over the two days each team has to be self sufficient with a remote overnight camp with basic facilities (i.e. portaloos and a stream for drinking water) so all kit has to be carried. This year we were entered in the Medium Score class which involves 6hrs on Day 1 and 5hrs Day 2 to find as many controls as possible.

Although we woke up on Saturday morning with plenty of time me and Steve (my team mate) were a bit casual eating breakfast at the food stand so had to rush getting ready. I ended up cramming in as much food as possible, not for any strategic purpose - was just plain greediness! A sausage and egg bap with a large bowl of museli to follow! With just a few minutes before we got to the pre start I went to find a quiet spot for a wee and managed to get back just in time but my partner was not there! With loads of people milling around the start area I couldn't find him anywhere - thankfully we found each other with seconds to spare. As is usual with these things we were only a few metres away from each other all along! As we were about to start it was still dry, but with a cold wind beginning to blow and the cloud level was very low so navigation was going to become an issue once in the hills.

Me (second from right) and Steve (far right) planning our route...

We got our maps and quickly began to plot a possible route. We were mindful of not being over ambitious as we had been in the RAB last month so made sure we kept things simple. We decided to go for the obvious control about 1.5km from the start and I decided to go for a fairly direct route up hill before hitting a track. Just after we started the first ascent we hit a lot of heather which was strength sapping. I don't think Steve was that impressed as he had wanted to keep to the track all the way up. I was clearly feeling ok as I kept pulling away from Steve and having to wait for him to catch up. Having said that I'm a strong ascender while Steve is better at descending. I was still worried about his fitness as his rib injury at the RAB last month had prevented him doing any training, followed by a cold a couple of weeks ago. We hit the track ok and began to follow it along for the remainder of the ascent. At around this point the fog was becoming quite thick with visibility quite poor. It was also very windy so had to put my cagoule on. Just before we were about to turn off I caught a glimpse of a control down in a small valley that looked like it could have been ours but Steve reckoned otherwise and I wasn't 100% convinced either. We turned off a little afterwards when it became obvious the control was not where we expected. We had a quick debate and then decided the control I saw must have been the one we were looking for all the time. It wasn't a major error - we probably lost 3-4 minutes which wasn't a lot considering the poor visibility.

The next control to aim for was fairly obvious and we decided to contour around the fell into the control rather than go up and over. It was pretty straight forward and we ran along most of it in no time at all. As we got there there was a bloke with a professional video camera who asked us how we were getting on and I garbled some message about being good but the visibility was quite poor. After a quick debate we felt we had enough time to get another control before heading into the north eastern section of the map. Steve wanted to go due South before hitting a track but as before I favoured a more direct approach and hitting the track later - in the end I think we did something in the middle. Any of the flat bits we ran whilst walking up the strength sapping hills. The visibility was now becoming extremely tricky as the visibility was no more than 50 metres in places over complex terrain. We hit the track without any problem and followed it along before turning off and into the control. We ended up a touch too low, but it became obvious and we only lost a minute or so in the murk.

After the control we had a quick debate as to whether we should head north east into the next section of the map or continue south east. We both agreed that north east was safer and felt that there was plenty to keep us amused anyway. We followed back the way we came along the track before cutting off and following a fence boundary for 2km and we ran most of it. We followed the fence until it turned away and we took a bearing from there. What greeted us was not pleasant - a load of peat hags that looked particularly uninviting. We followed our bearings through this as best we could, bearing in mind we couldn't see a great deal ahead anyway. As the terrain opened we made a couple of small corrections and dropped right onto the control which was a deep gully. As it happened it was manned so had to provide our team name to the marshal. I noticed a few other teams milling about not far away so made Steve run out of the control before navigating away to our next target. It was good fun looking back at the other teams scratching their heads trying to find the control. The problem for most was that there were loads of gullies about with few marked on the map.

We were making good progress and I was still feeling strong with still less than 2hrs gone. The next control to CH was worth 30 points and involved a direct compass bearing. We had to walk the ascent and knew this control would be tricky in the hill fog as it would be very easy to overshoot and end up down the wrong spur. We found the cairn nearby on the right hand side which confirmed our bearing was accurate. As we reached the top of the climb we couldn't see much so continued our bearings but took it very slowly. I wanted to go a bit further to the right, but in the end we went with Steve's bearing and hit the control perfectly.

From CH we decided to hit BU which was worth a whopping 35 points and would involve a large descent on the way. Our morale was good and we both felt strong, more so since we were making good progress. Rather than hit the control direct we decided to descend to the north east along a long spur before turning into the control. As we began to descend we found an unmarked farmers track so followed this along for as much as possible. After a short while the murk lifted as we went below the cloud level and could clearly see where we needed to go to reach the control. We hit the control spot on and things were looking good.

We had a choice of going to CU next which was worth 15 points or head along a track to the controls on the other side of the road. We decided that CU was not worth enough points and would involve a hard ascent so we headed towards the track. In some tussocky grass on the way I found a whistle and compass which some poor bugger had dropped - these were not the conditions to lose your compass! What the chances are of finding a compass in the middle of nowhere? Answers on a postcard please!

The track was well made so we motored along into the forest. We were aiming to hit the ride to the west which would cut off a lot of extra distance. We couldn't really find it and decided that the map was wrong (often this is the case as plantations change). As a result we followed the track a bit further along until this petered out as well. We then had to cut across some rough ground before reaching a large stream. I think the forest bit was a bit of a dent to our confidence as everything to now had been going really well. We crossed the stream, followed by another one soon after. I enjoyed the crossing so much I did it another three times to make my way to the road! I think that with hindsight had we known that the forest area was going to be problematic we might have headed for the 15 pointer after all, but you don't know these things until they happen.

After the road we had a steep ascent to DC which was a hill top. It was at this point after 3 hrs that Steve's legs were beginning to go and he was really slowing up. I kept the lead to try and pull him along but still had to wait for him a lot. As we got closer to the hill top it was becoming really windy and even with my helly and cagoule on I was getting quite cold.

The next control was AF which was a large cairn. We decided to contour as much as possible before a steep ascent to the control. Again as we ascended the visibility really began to deteriorate to the point where we couldn't see much at all. I did have an altimeter on my watch so made use of that so we knew give or take that we were at the right height. Steve was again struggling up the hill and to be honest we both lost our concentration a bit and weren't sure how far long we had gone. With little visibility we had no idea where we were in relation to the control. We wondered about for a few minutes before having a lengthy debate as to what we should do. Just a moment later the mist lifted just enough for me to see the control 100 metres away on the other side of a re-entrant. In the end we lost about 5 minutes - god knows how much longer we would have taken otherwise.

Following AF I was now extremely cold with the wind very strong, so had to got my gloves out and was starting to shiver and swear like a trooper in the process as my hands were too numb to get them on. In the end I just said to Steve that I had to get moving and didn't care where. As a result (and I say this with hindsight) we didn't plan our route to BT properly. We descended off the mountain before contouring around around and having to redo an ascent a bit further on. Steve's legs had really gone by this point and I could see that he was struggling to move at all and he had to continually stop. If I am honest I was getting a bit annoyed as I was still feeling really good - but its one of those things and has happened to me in the past too. I think that part of the reason why I was feeling so good was that I had a large breakfast. Normally I will only have a light breakfast for road races, but as the OMM is more of an ultra a larger breakfast seems to be the way to go. Not far from the control the murk set in again so I ran off ahead to try and find the flag before running back to Steve so we could visit it together. This was probably our worst route of the weekend as we should have stayed high all the way round from the previous control - we were about 20 minutes slower than other teams in a similar position to us who had done the same leg. Some of this was because of Steve's legs, but I think the majority was down to poor route choice on our behalf.

As we descended we now had just under an hour before we had to be back at camp. As Steve's legs were clearly an issue I felt it best to play safe and head for camp but he felt that we should try and get CT. In the end I let him decide as he knew best as to whether he would be able to do it, plus we had a cutoff time that if we couldn't find it with less than 30 minutes to go we would head for home. I took a bearing and contoured slightly to miss some of the unnecessary ascent. I was slightly worried about this control because in the poor visibility it would be easy to hit the wrong stream, but in the end we saw people ascending away from it which was a giveaway. At this point we had 34 minutes remaining and began to head for camp. We stumbled across some really good tracks and made good progress as we descended down the mountain. In the end we finished with 13 minutes spare and I have to say that what was a good start was tinged with a small amount of disappointment towards the end. Like I say I cant blame Steve for it as I've been there and done it myself - when you have nothing left in the tank there is little that can be done about it. Also as we finished we both realised that we could have almost certainly done control DV in the time we had spare so were 20 points down on what we could have realistically expected to achieve. At the same time we also knew that its virtually impossible to have a perfect run in an event such as this.

We felt that our run was good enough for the top 100, and I thought we were likely to be around 70-80th. I was very surprised to read the results that night which showed we were 44th out of around 250 teams. Had we got that extra 20 points it would have placed us 22nd. I thought the course was actually very well planned, more so considering the number of out of bounds areas. I think this is highlighted by the number of routes similar placed teams took.

Penultimate week before the OMM

2007-10-20T16:50:00.000Z

Since the cross country race last weekend I have felt about as confident as I have ever done since starting running again at the beginning of this year. It was the first time I could really compare where I am at now to where I was last year. Having looked at the results more closely I reckon that I'm running about 5 minutes quicker. Although I'm usually hyper critical of my performances, last weekends race was as close as I have ever felt to perfection. I don't think there was much I could have done to improve my position further. As a result I've been running with much of a buzz all week.

As this is the penultimate week before the OMM I've tried to do a decent week but at the same time avoiding doing too much. The day after the race I did a gentle 3 miles but felt a very slight twang in my ankle so didn't do any more. On Monday I did a 7 mile run at a reasonable but comfortable pace of 7.10 min miles. Tuesday was a rest day as apart from anything else I went to see Freddie Starr at the Lichfield Garrick! Wednesday I decided to go along the country lanes as it seemed light enough at the time, but the end of the 7 mile run it was very dark so wasn't a very bright idea (no pun intended...) all in all. I went at a fairly hard pace of 6.43 min miles. Thursday was another rest day and yesterday was just a gentle 5 miler. Today I did a 13 mile run at a comfortable pace of 7.53 min miles and didn't feel too bad at all. I could have gone quite a bit further but didn't want to take too much out of myself with a week to go. Tomorrow I'll try and do another 5 miles before winding down for the OMM. Total mileage for the week will be about 37. During next week I'll only do a couple of easy 3.5 milers to keep things ticking over.

There's been something nasty going around work which when I began feeling flemmy on Monday and Tuesday began to fear the worst. Thankfully nothing has materialised and hopefully its all systems go for next Friday!

North Staffs Cross Country 2 - Park Hall, Stoke

2007-10-13T16:57:00.000Z

Since the race last weekend I've done next to no training again during the week. I wanted to make sure my legs have recovered properly from the RAB Mountain Marathon and the Cross Country. I was intending to do a couple of short runs on Tuesday and Thursday but due to laziness it didn't materialise. I ended up doing a 3.5 mile fast run at 6.30 min mile pace on Wednesday though just to keep things ticking over.

The second cross country race of the season was held today at Park Hall Country Park in Stoke. The last time I ran there was about 4 years ago and never particularly liked the course, usually finishing around 100-110th position. The course had changed slightly this time, mainly by extending the length of the lap so we only had to go round twice. Its very up and down with relatively little flat and a few extended climbs on each lap. Its also quite twisty in a number of places so you cant always see that far in front of you. The weather was pretty good, about 15 degrees with occasional fine drizzle that wasn't noticeable. Most of the lap is either on stony ground or firm grassy patches with the odd sandy area thrown in.

As I finished 35th last week I started just behind the front and went off at a reasonable but comfortable pace as I wanted to avoid the significant bottlenecks in the first few bends. My plan was to take the first third of the lap easy as this was where the worst of the hills were. I ended up getting overtaken by what felt like a lot of people. After this was over we hit a flat section near the start area about 6 mins into the race. I was intending to keep going at a comfortable pace and hold something in reserve for later. The problem was that I was still getting overtaken by more people on the flat section so decided the best thing to do was tag on before too much ground was lost.

In the second half of the first lap I began to open up my legs a bit and began to overtake quite a few people. Quite often on the hills I would gain ground quite quickly before holding my position on the flat section. There were a few groups of 7-8 people and I tried to tag on to one of them although I found the pace uncomfortably fast. I still felt this was the best thing to do so I could be dragged along. With about 1/3rd of the lap left one of the Walton Chasers supporting us shouted my position and told me I was 35th. I had secretly hoped that I was doing a bit better than this and it acted as the spur for me to keep pushing. It was a bit of a risky strategy as I was already fairly knackered. At this stage I was just off the back of the group of runners, but slowly and surely I managed to gain a bit of ground and overtake them one by one before finding myself at the front. Just before the end of the first lap I dropped them and was in around 30th place.

I was well knackered by this stage and if I am to be honest had someone offered me to finish in 30th position I would have snapped their hands off as I wasn't sure I could keep the pace. In the second lap there were small groups of runners a fair distance apart from each other. In the early part of the lap I managed to tag along the back with a couple of other runners but didn't quite have the legs to overtake them. We hit the steep hill that took us back to the start and I had managed to catch up a small gap from them but back on the flat and the downhill they pulled about 10-15 metres ahead of me. However the three of us were clearly running well as we caught up the next group ahead of us and I managed to overtake another 2-3 runners about half way into the lap.

I had a quick glance back around half way through the second lap and was surprised to find the next runner about 60 metres behind me and must admit the thought had occurred to me to ease off the gas as I was really hurting. Somehow I managed to recatch up the runners that left me earlier in the lap but couldn't overtake them and ended up running just behind for a while. With about 1/3rd of the lap to go we hit a series of short and sharp climbs and I managed to overtake and drop them, god knows how as I had little left in the tank. In the process of the three of us running well we caught up one more group of runners that were strung out a bit and managed to overtake a couple of them. The other runners in the strung out group were just too far ahead for me to do anything about plus on the flat I was beginning to tire. With about 500 metres to go I got re-overtaken by one of the runners who I had been running just behind for best part of a lap. He quickly built up a gap of 10 metres and was pulling away which I couldn't do anything about. As luck would have it he made a wrong turn and I followed before quickly realising and cutting across to the correct path - a strange way to gain a place! There was just a very sharp climb to the finish with people closing on me so I made an extra special effort up the hill and managed to keep my position easily. In the process I was rapidly catching a runner who was some distance ahead of me at the bottom of the hill but he just about held me off by a metre at the finish.

I got my tag and knew that I must have been in the top thirty but was very happy to see that I finished 25th! Again another career best performance by some margin! I probably ran about a minute quicker than the previous week and was loads quicker when compared to when I ran here in 2003 and finished around 100-110th.

I was very pleased with how I judged my run and although I ran harder than I wanted to early on it was definitely the best thing to do. Mike Barnby finished in 79th, getting the better of Iain Stamp in 81st and Ian Turner just behind in 82nd. The team score was 267 which is another great performance. It turns out that last week the team ended up second, not third as I reported as another team had their score amended. This puts us in the second promotion spot though I doubt we will hold onto it after this race, not because we had bad runs but there were several rival teams that seemed to be fielding stronger squads. We'll see where the team lies in a couple of days and will edit the blog accordingly.

The third race of the season is on the 10th November at Stafford Common though its not a race where I expect to do that well in as there isnt enough climb in it for me to pick people off. If I can just have a solid performance I'll be happy. In the meantime my next event is the OMM Mountain Marathon in two weeks time which is what I have been building up to all year. I will try and put in a 30-40 mile week before easing off in the week leading up to the event.

North Staffs Cross Country - Race 1, Newcastle

2007-10-06T17:03:00.000Z

During the week my legs were extremely stiff as the after effect from the RAB Mountain Marathon. On Monday and Tuesday it was extremely difficult to walk down stairs and even getting in and out of my chair at work became a bit of an operation. By Wednesday some of the stiffness began to recede and on Thursday my legs were back to normal although I could feel that they were drained of energy. As a result I did not even attempt to do any training prior to the cross country race today.

Today was the first cross country race of the season, held at a new location in Newcastle (Staffs). The conditions were near perfect, about 15 degrees with no wind and ground conditions were dry. The course was mainly flat except about two thirds around the lap where there is a steep ascent before dropping sharply back down quickly followed by an even steeper ascent shortly after. It was a bit of a strange course as there were plenty of tarmac paths to take advantage of. For the men's race it was 9.9km comprising of three large laps.

Unusually Walton Chasers had a full team out (seven runners with four counters required) and arguably our strongest since we began doing cross country. When warming up I could tell that my legs were still very drained from the weekend so I was a bit unsure how I was going to fare. In any event I decided to take the first lap easy and decide from there.

I had a reasonable start and took it easy, but even so I was surprisingly near to the front. I eased off the gas and quite a lot of people overtook me in the first half of the lap. At this point I was feeling ok and decided to continue at much the same pace. I guessed that I was around 75th at this point. We then came to the first hill which was a bit of a surprise how sharp it was as I was new to this course. As usual I overtook a few people on the ascent before a very steep descent back down. Coming towards the end of the first lap my lungs felt fine but my legs felt fairly dead and so was difficult to judge how to run. I was surprised to see Iain Stamp and Mike Barnby not too far behind and if my legs hit the wall I knew would have difficulty staying in front of them.

In the second lap I tried to run at much the same pace and managed to pick off a few runners, and as I caught someone I would try to take a breather behind them before making a conscious effort to overtake. I did this in the hilly sections in particular where I found it easier to catch people, before deciding just to tag along and overtake a bit later. After the second lap I had pulled further away from Mike and Iain, but still not as far as I had hoped. My lungs were still feeling fine and the legs still felt dead.

In the third and final lap someone tried to overtake me in the start of the lap so I used this as my cursor to push on (I was also mindful of Iain and Mike behind). Although we picked off a couple of runners ahead I couldn't shake him off until we reached the hills where I eventually dropped him. During this section I overtook a couple more people before the flat and very fast section back to the finish. I could sense people closing up on me behind so put on a bit of a sprint and managed to overtake one more person about 20 metres before the finish.

I then got my finishing tag and was amazed to find that I was 35th (out of 170) in a time of 38.45 and my best ever position! I clearly was not as far back as I had first imagined so not surprisingly I'm quite happy with my run. I do wonder what I could have done with a fresh set of legs, but I know that sometimes I'm like this. When I was running properly at the age of 13 I would often have two races in two days and would almost always come away with a better performance in the second race. Even so, I reckon that I could have possibly come in the top thirty. This now confirms that I'm a hell of a lot fitter than compared to a couple of years ago when I would often finish around the 90-105 positions.

Overall the team did fantastically with everyone coming away with best or near best finishes. Iain came back 2.30 behind me in 61st with Mike just a second or so behind in 62nd. I did see them in a couple of places and it looked like a good battle. Ian Turner had a very good run too in 72nd which gave us a team score of 230 points which is easily our best ever result - not bad for an Orienteering Club mixing it with the big athletic clubs! There were also solid performances by Dave Thomas in 119th and John Batchelor in 161st.

The second race is next week so there is not much time for recovery. I'll see how my legs feel but will probably aim to go for a couple of light runs during the week.

RAB Mountain Marathon Day 2

2007-10-01T20:22:00.002Z

My legs were still quite stiff but thankfully as I walked around camp a bit they didn't feel too bad. We were one of the last to start and decided to keep things really simple and avoid the stupid risks from the day before. The first control was a steepish climb to a control on Lingmoor Fell. Below is a photo of Steve on the ascent which had a nice track about half way up.

After reaching the first control the next one seemed pretty straight forward although in the end was a fairly tricky descent through a lot of bracken. At this stage I could feel that I was in for a good day as my legs were moving nicely. We decided to ignore the control heading west by Blake Rigg as we felt it was a lot of ascent for what would only be 20 points and we began to plot a route that we felt would be achievable and realistic.

The next control was just worth 5 points but was dead easy with a short amount of road running thrown in. Only thing of note was that at this point we were beginning to overtake loads of teams and as it happened we were catching up loads of teams throughout the rest of the day which is always a good feeling. As we were heading to the 5 point control there was a stream crossing but as our feet were already wet I just decided to plough straight through it rather than fannying about trying to find a crossing point.

The next control was a sharp ascent to begin with followed by some contouring into the control number 118. The navigation was dead easy as there were teams dotted about straight in front of us so was just a case of follow the leader. We both made a conscious effort to put the minimum of effort on the hills to save our legs as much as possible and this tactic seemed to pay dividends throughout the day. As we approached the control we both felt it was in the wrong place, but having looked at the map as I write this it was probably correct after all.

Upon leaving this control it was clear that all the teams around us were splitting in two directions. We decided to head SW for the 30 point control near Great Carrs and ignore the 15 point control further South which involved a similar amount of climb. With hindsight we probably had the time to do both, but would have involved an element of risk quite early on the stage so I still think we made the right decision.

Like most pairs we headed towards the control at an angle, mainly to avoid the crags if going direct. It was a very, very long ascent up the mountain and towards the end my legs were beginning to feel a bit tired. Thankfully it began to level out a bit and we hit a track and even managed to run any flat bits when the opportunity arose. Towards the top of the climb I had to put my cagoule on as it was noticeably chilly and was something I had to repeat several times later that day. In all the control took us 45mins to do with about 90% of it uphill.

Our next control was at Seathwaite Tarn and was again pretty straight forward. Although I'm not the fastest of descenders it was fairly runnable and we eventually hit a track running along the edge of the tarn. As we approached the control there were loads of people wandering around looking for it. Most people decided that the control had disappeared and moved on so thankfully we didn't really lose any time.

We then had what we planned to be our final significant ascent of the day leading to control 104 about half way up Dow Crag. This was the only control where we had any doubt regarding navigation, more so for Steve than myself. It was at this point that Steve was beginning to struggle a bit with the climb and started to lag behind a bit. I was still feeling pretty good so took the lead on the navigation as much as possible. As we hit the control two things became clear: 1) That most teams were doing the same control sequences as us, but the way the controls were positioned meant that even the slow running teams were likely to get similar points as the faster ones. We found this a bit annoying really as we knew we were putting in a lot of effort for little reward. 2) We were likely to reach the finish area with a fair bit of time remaining so it was at the back of our minds to see whether we could grab another 5 points just north of the finish. With hindsight perhaps we could have done something a bit different such as going north of Levers Water to get the 15 point control and loop round that way but again there was an element of risk and to be honest the possibility never really entered my mind. The other consideration was that Steve was tiring quite badly so it was best to play safe and get to the finish area as early as possible.

Beyond control 104 we finished the ascent of Dow Crag before a sharp descent the other side to Blind Tarn. The descent was so steep that and harsh on the ankles that I decided to slide down as much as possible on my backside as it was loads quicker. Eventually it became too rocky to do this so I just said to Steve that he should go ahead at his own pace then rest at the control until I caught him up a minute or so later. We now had exactly 90 minutes to get to the finish which was plenty of time and I was harbouring thoughts about getting the extra 5 points north of the finish which was looking like a real possibility. We continued the descent from the tarn down onto the Walna Scar Road where we were able to run at a fairly fast pace as most of it was gently downhill. Again Steve was flagging a bit in places but generally our pace was good. There was a small ascent just before the control before a mad descent down to near the finish. I said to Steve that if we get to the finish with anything more than 40 minutes left that we should attempt the extra 5 points. Steve being a better descender led the way and we got to the finish area with a full 45 minutes remaining.

Steve agreed that we should go for the extra 5 points but I could tell that he wasn't really keen and didn't have much to give. In some ways I felt like that I was being a real taskmaster for what was just a measley 5 points. Steve was really struggling to keep going so eventually I took his rucksack and carried it for him up the sharp ascent to the control. I just didn't want to get so near the control to then give it up because we didn't have enough time. Thankfully we got there with 24minutes remaining so I knew that we had plenty of time to get to the finish. I think this extra 5 points was worth it though just because it shows that we were able to push ourselves beyond what we thought were our limits.

In the end we finished with 12 minutes remaining and I soon as I crossed the line I walked a few metres back towards the event centre and felt like I was near collapse. I started to get pins and needles in my face and began to struggle walking in a straight line. The pins and needles then spread to my arms then into my torso. I think that simply I had pushed myself too hard and was suffering from a combination of cramp, dehydration, low blood sugar levels and exhaustion all rolled into one. About half way down the 1km walk back to the event centre I had to stop for 10 minutes to eat something (anything!) and drink a fair bit of water from the stream. Steve thankfully was feeling ok by now and looked after me well. It took a full 40 minutes for me to walk the 1km back downhill to Coniston. I then got my event centre meal and two large cups of tea and slowly but surely began to start feeling a lot better. The best analogy I can think of is when marathon runners see sight of the finish and then collapse just before crossing the line as the body just switches off. Thankfully I had crossed the finish line, but had nothing to give beyond that.

Overall it was a really pleasing day and we managed to finish 3rd out of 15 teams which was pleasing. The only downside was that teams that were best part of 40 minutes slower than us got the same number of points as us all bar the extra 5 we achieved, which I think reflected the lack of route choice. Overall we gained two positions on day 2 and finished in 7th overall out of 15. I'm fairly pleased really as had we not cocked up the route choice on day 1 we would have easily been in the top three and probably even better. We only intended this to be a training event in preparation for the OMM next month and we learnt a lot that we can take away from this event.

I thought it was clear that me and Steve worked well as a team and although we have very different strengths it worked out quite complimentary. I'm definitely the stronger in the first couple of hours which is not surprising really having come from a 10k background. Steve is by far the better descender (and had a better middle three hours on the first day) but I'm a bit better on the ascents overall. I also had a very strong second day which was pleasing as the one and only time I've done an event with the same time allowances before I hit the wall really badly after just 3hrs. I think this is the first time I've really been able to feel the benefit of my recent training. I can now go into the OMM with confidence. Interestingly my rucksack never felt heavy throughout the event which again is probably down to the recent mileage building up my overall strength.

The other positives I can take away from the event was that although I forgot my ankle brace I didn't twist it at all during the event which is a first for several years. It could be down to the new Innov8 shoes and probably partly down to the strength exercises I've been doing at home. The shoes themselves were really comfortable throughout and I think its fair to say that I'm a convert. As for the caffeine gels I took I thought that they were absolutely disgusting - extremely bitter with a bad aftertaste. If I'm going to take any gels in the future its going to be of the standard variety!

Its now two days after the event and my quads are like stone. I'm not even able to get down the stairs without sitting on my bum and sliding down! I have got a cross country race this weekend which I will probably still do but the chances of my being at the peak of my fitness are nil so may just take it easy. As a result I'm not intending to resume training this week.

Bring on the OMM!

RAB Mountain Marathon Overnight Camp

2007-10-01T20:22:00.001Z

The campsite by Mountain Marathon standards was luxury (incidentally suposedly the same campsite that the 7/7 London bombers did their 'training') - toilets, nice field, showers and rather bizarrely a burger van which most people took advantage of. I didnt have much money with me but thankfully Steve had a fiver on him so we had a bacon butty with a hot drink. Up until this point I was shattered - badly dehydrated, very low blood sugar levels and was beginning to feel extremely cold. I ate a nutri-grain bar plus had an energy gel which restored the balance a bit and put on all the clothes that I was carrying. The problem was drinking the tap water which was very cold, so too much gave me the chills but at the same time I needed to rehydrate.

Eventually we found the energy to put the tent up and sort out sleeping kit. What cheered me up was watching Steve with his new balloon bed taking ages to get the balloons pumped up. We then sorted out the stove and began cooking our evening meal which was in essence a type of pot noodle. Instead of taking gas this time we opted for something different - a pepsi stove which is, yes you guessed it a pepsi can cut down with some holes round the side and burns meths. Surprisingly it was a resounding success and only weighed 10 grams and the fuel was way lighter too. As the water was about to be boiled I tried the SIS Rego drink, which frankly I didnt like that much so only had half. I'll have to try one of the other flavours though before I totally give up on the idea.

Above: Steve, team and tent mate.

Me feeling a lot better after dinner!

After the noodles we couldnt eat any more so went straight to dessert which was custard with chocolate coins! I thought it was an inspired choice!

Although my legs were still completely shot I was beginning to feel a lot better now that I had eaten a good meal. I was still concerned about my dehydration as at 7pm I still hadnt been to the toilet since 9.45am earlier in the day. A few drinks of coffee and a cup a soup eventually gave me the urge, but I felt it was a constant battle to drink enough water right up to the next morning. As with the rest of the weekend it stayed dry throughout the evening so was able to sit outside of the tent for most of the time.

At about 8pm it was pitch black so we returned to the tent before having an early night. I did try out a couple of new bits of kit - the Petzl e+lite head torch weighing something like 30grams including batteries. I thought the light was pretty good - ok so you cant navigate with it, but other than that a superb bit of kit. I had also bought a new sleeping bag - the RAB Quantum Top Bag Special which weighs a miniscule 340g (actual weight, advertised as 300g!). Its basically a sleeping bag with down insulation on the top side only - as down does not insulate on the back when squashed. I fell asleep nice and toasty until about 1am feeling fairly cold. At about 5am I realised that somehow the sleeping mat I had inside the sleeping bag to ensure it didnt move was on top of me - as a result I had no down insulation what so ever! I think the problem (apart from me turning over so many times!) was that the mat (aluminium foil with about 2mm of foam)was not thick enough to keep the bag steady. I think its still a good bag, but doubt I'll risk it in a months time for the OMM when it is likely to be colder. Only other thing to note was that one of Steve's balloons popped extremely loudly as he was about to lie down in his sleeping bag which put me into tears of hysterical laughter (with hindsight it wasnt that funny).

It was then just a case of waking up at 6.45am to be ready for the day 2 start...

RAB Mountain Marathon Day 1

2007-10-01T19:07:00.000Z

After final preparations we were walking along the road leading out of Coniston onto the famous Walna Scar Road which is anything but a road. It was only very near to the start did I realise that I forgot to put my ankle brace on so knew that my left ankle was in for a severe bashing. I knew I was going to go over, it was just a case of how many times and how badly.

After a few minutes deciding upon our general route we ran along the Walna Scar Road at a decent pace before turning off to a well made track heading past Goat's Water. Everything was fairly straightforward to this point and we made our first steep ascent to Goats Hause before contouring round to the control. We made a small navigational error and descended too steeply before realising the mistake and finding the control. We lost about 5 minutes which was a bit annoying but we were still trying to tune ourselves into the map but on the plus side no real damage was done.

We decided to head to the next control called Foul Mart. My partner Steve suggested heading up Tarn Head Beck but I favoured the steeper but shorter route via the left of Knotts. As we got closer he agreed that the latter route was the better option and we started our first serious climb of the weekend. It was a bit treacherous in bits and involved a fair bit of scrambling on all fours in places but 20 minutes later we were near to the top. The picture below is near the top by Knotts looking back towards our first control.

A few minutes away from the second control at Foul Mart I took a picture of Steve - I think he was happy to have reached the top!

At this point the photos become few and far between, basically because I was too knackered to take anything! We reached the control without any problem and so bagged another 20 points. We then headed towards The Steeple for our next control and would decide then where to go with our remaining time. On the way down we were comparing our strengths and weaknesses. It was obvious that I was a strong ascender and Steve was exceptional on the descents (I was pants). Just as he said 'I like descents' he put his foot in a really boggy bit, went flying landing on his chest before rolling onto his back. I was about to burst out laughing until he started to make strange gargling noises as if he was winded. I also knew that he had fractured some ribs a couple of months earlier and if the problem returned we were out of the competition. He eventually got going again but you could tell for the rest of the weekend he was never really operating at full stretch.

From Foul Mart we tried to head gently downslope whilst moving forward at the same time. We descended a bit too far and hit the out of bounds wall too low but didn't really cost us much time. We then followed the road up a small section of Hardknott Pass before taking a bearing to the Steeple. In the end we didn't follow the bearing too much as we were able to read the contours on the map ok. It took us just over an hour to get there with about 2.35 on the clock overall. Up to this point I was still feeling reasonably good and we made a decision to head towards Great Moss as the control was worth 40 points and we still had plenty of time. There was a nice runnable descent down before it became a bit up and down in the last mile before the control. We found the control without too much problem and we had a couple of minutes rest to decide what we should do next.

Although we didn't realise it at the time we were about to make our only but significant mistake of the weekend. We had 2hrs 50 mins left before the finish so were just over half way through the day. We were still feeling ok although I could tell that my energy levels were beginning to fall. We decided to take a risk and head north for the high value 50 point control before heading eastwards to Rossett Pike for another 30 points then down the Langdale valley before picking up another 40 points and then finishing. Well that was the plan that never quite materialised.

We headed North and eventually met up with a path (I use the word path loosely - a very severe rocky scramble was more appropriate) and followed the stream up called Tongue. Quite early on I became aware that our plan was not going to happen as our progress up the slope was extremely slow. I later found out that Steve was harbouring the same thoughts at this point, but at the end of the day we never discussed it, I guess because there was no plan B option available to us. With hindsight the alarm bells should have begun ringing as no other teams were heading the same way as us.

About half way up I was completely knackered and really struggled to keep going as the end was never in sight. I just kept plodding and tried to keep Steve in sight. I reckon it took us 45 minutes of hard climb to get to the top. We were now only about 1km from the 50 point control but as we only had 1.45 to get to the finish I said to Steve that we should leave it. To be honest I really wanted to get to the control after all the effort we put in; we were both knackered and Steve wanted to get the points anyway. The problem for me was that there was a deceptive amount of descent/re-ascent to do and I didn't think we could do it. It was a tough decision to make but at this stage it was looking increasingly likely that we would not even get back within 30 minutes over our allotted time. If we were to finish over 30 minutes beyond the 6hrs then we would be disqualified for the day. Things were becoming desperate.

We headed to the 30 point control at Black Crags at a fair speed as we descended most of the way. We then had 1hr 38mins to get to the finish - sounds easy but after 4hrs 22mins with heavy rucksacks it looked like a certainty that we wouldn't finish on time. It was just a question as to whether we would lose all of our points for the day.

The start of the decent from Black Crags was a total nightmare. Some of the descent was the worst I've ever had to endure - give me the ascent of Tongue any day. I think it took us about 20 minutes to do about 200 metres with some very risky drop downs on the way. Knackered and demoralised are just not suitable words.

Eventually we hit the Cumbria Way which we both knew was quite runnable but to begin with it was quite rocky but eventually the track became quite runnable. We had 58 minutes to do about 8-9km. This may sound easy but consider doing it off road with stiles thrown in after 5hrs being in the fells with full rucksacks and no water. Steve's ribs were clearly causing him some trouble and I was determined to minimise our losses. For the first time in ages I began to feel like we could get back without being more than 30 minutes late. I think this determination resulted in me having a second wind and I did most of the leading.

We were really motoring and for the first time in ages started to harbour thoughts about not just finishing without losing all of our points, but the possibility of finishing with no points deducted at all! The more things were beginning to look positive the more I was pushing and I think at this point Steve's legs had gone. We eventually managed to get home with a full three and a half minutes spare and most importantly no points deducted!

We knew that overall we had scored far less than we should have done because of our bad decision making, but we did have a very strong finish which lessened the blow a little. We think the last 10k was done in well under 60 min pace. Overall in our age group (open category) we came 9th out of 15 with 150 points.

RAB Mountain Marathon Prep

2007-10-01T18:42:00.000Z

A few weeks ago a work colleague suggested doing one of the fell events organised by Dark & White. It didn't take my fancy but noticed a Mountain Marathon advertised on the same weekend we were going to do pre OMM (Original Mountain Marathon held in last weekend of October) training. One thing led to another and we eventually entered this as a two man team with the intention of it being a good training event. Its a two day mountain marathon held in Coniston, Lake District with a score format - 6hrs day 1 and 5hrs day 2 with a self sufficiency camp in between.

From Thursday onwards I was getting the various bits of kit together, forgetting how much preparation is required. Foolishly I was tasked with getting the team food for the event. For the Friday pre-event camp I settled on Hot Dog Rolls, sausages and onion. Except I forgot the sausages. So I went to the petrol station and got some bacon. Unfortunately I then left that in the fridge at home so it was looking like a meal of hot dog rolls and onion. Unsurprisingly we opted for fish and chips on the way to the event in Ambleside.

At the event centre I tried wearing my orienteering shoes for the first time in ages having left them in the garage for a while. The fit was not comfortable to say the least so had a look at the Innov8 shoes at the event shop. The first pair called the Mudclaw 330 had far superior grip but were way too narrow for my feet so settled on a similar pair called Roclite 315 but sacrificing some grip in the process. On the plus side they were some of the most comfortable fell type shoes I've ever worn.

I then visited the SIS stand and had a chat with the bloke leading it. I told him about the MdS and he seemed to know a lot about the event and he said that they get a lot of queries. He basically advised that the GO Electrolyte stuff is the best. I tried the Lemon & Lime flavour and thought it was very palatable. He then suggested using Rego at the end of each day to aid recovery. We then talked about the other products on the market and I feel that he gave a fair opinion on whats out there. Basically he said Lucozade is good stuff but only contains basic sugars and little in the way of minerals. I cant remember what he said about High5, but I think the stuff is minging anyway. He said NUUN tablets were very good but lacked carbs. I suggested a possibility of using GO Electrolyte in one bottle with a NUUN in the other for the MdS and he thought it would be a good strategy. This is probably what I will go for but I need to try NUUN first! I then bought a packet of Rego to try at the end of Day 1 and a caffeine Gel which was new to the market.

Finally I went to the Rab stall and bought a new fleece for £32 as a replacement for my KIMM fleece which seems to have disappeared on me. It was then just a case of having a fairly early night ready for a 7.15am wake up the next day.

The Bionic Man

2007-09-22T01:13:00.000Z

Right I wasn't going to post again before the event next weekend, but just been having a mooch at my site hit count for the week and stumbled across this link.

It appears I've been linked from their site (see June 13 entry). So what, you might ask? Well its a site that appears to be devoted to the advocation of prosthetic limbs! Maybe there is an answer to sort my toes out after all...

Nike Triax 9 Trainers RIP

2007-09-22T00:35:00.000Z

This week I have decided to retire my Nike Triax 9 trainers which I bought in February. They are only seven months old but the soles have pretty much worn out as has the cushioning. Although I've upped the mileage recently I was just beginning to get slight knee pain after each run so now seemed the suitable time to get a new pair. What have I replaced them for? Well exactly the same pair but bought on eBay and shipped from the USA - for the princely sum of £46 including shipping compared to the £70 I paid in the shop earlier in the year. Although I've had several foot problems, I thought you cant argue with the price and it was a case of 'better the devil you know'. I've worked out that if a pair of trainers is supposed to last 500 miles and I'm running an average of 35 miles a week (lower than the mileage I'm currently doing, but then in race weeks I'll be doing very little) they are going to last just four months!!

The state of my toes have been getting steadily worse. One toe nail has gone (well two halves to be precise), another has never really returned and a fourth one looks like it no longer wants to be part of me. Its got to the stage that after each run the toes feel really bruised. Up to now I've just been using plasters and some zinc tape which only offered the most basic of relief. Well yesterday I've bought some more plasters, Scholl Pressure Point Foam Padding and some Padded Strapping Tape which is a sort of plastic foam type tape that you see rugby players use on their hands. Its become a bit of an operation now before each run. First plaster up the four toes, then put a layer of the strapping tape on top, followed by a piece of the foam padding stuck on top of the big toes. Finally some Vaseline on the underside of the big toes to reduce friction! I've only been for one run so far but early signs suggest a marked improvement. Lets hope it stays this way and that my toenails want to stay part of me.

Done an easy week on the mileage front as I'm now tapering for the RAB Mountain Marathon next weekend. Did 6 miles slow on Tues - I wasn't going to run but then felt guilty and ended up setting off around 11.30pm, followed by 5 miles fast on Weds then 7 miles slow on Thurs. Over the weekend I'll do 9 miles on both Sat and Sun slow. That's a total of 36 for the week.

Next week, I'll just go for a couple of 3.5 milers to keep the legs ticking over to ensure they are as fresh as possible for the event. 6hrs Day 1 and 5hrs Day 2 await. Wish me luck!

Six Month Review

2007-09-16T21:57:00.001Z

Well the first six months of training is complete and I thought it worthwhile to review current progress (both good and bad) and the six months ahead. As usual I've thought of lots of things to write whilst I'm out running, but when it comes to putting pen to paper (or whatever the computer equivalent is) I've got a bit of a mental block! Here goes...

After my entry to the MdS was accepted in March its been a case of steadily building up my mileage. I knew (or thought) I had a decent level of what I call 'residual fitness' - the ability to be able to do events such as the OMM and orienteering which in effect keeps me ticking over, but nowhere near full potential. Up until the start of the year if you don't include events my training was quite literally nil and had been for several years. In effect this meant that my training was doing one event one weekend as preparation for the next and so on. Clearly this had to change if I am to have a chance completing the MdS.

Up until my entry was accepted I was running about 15-20 miles a week, most of which were 3.5 mile runs. I occasionally did a 5-6 miler but my endurance wasn't really there, and perhaps it was always easy in training to 'cut short' whilst in a race situation its not possible to do this. I think now in hindsight one of the reasons why I wasn't able to run the extra distance was because I was going way too fast - from what I recall sub 6 minute miles was not unheard of. The other problem I had to contend with was that my feet kept blistering badly, especially underneath the arches. These problems continued until after my MdS deposit has been paid in March and quite early on I was harbouring lingering doubts that if my feet were getting mashed after 3.5 miles then what is the MdS going to do to me? In the first couple of months of training alone I must have gone through several boxes of blister patches.

I started off by racing several 10k's as it was my strategy to become 10k fit before increasing the distance. In virtually no time at all my pb went from 38 mins to 36.23 (and subsequently 35.54 in May) and was happy with progress other than the state of my feet which was a constant worry.

In April I went to see a podiatrist and and eventually got some orthotics created a month or so later. In the meantime I entered my first half marathon and although I was running longer distances now wasn't sure whether my body could cope with 13.1 miles. I was very surprised to find that although the last few miles were agony I ran a very competitive time of 1.22.30 which I thought was not bad for a first effort. I think it proved that my training was going pretty well and around this time my weekly mileage had increased to around 30. It was not long after this that things began to go downhill. When the orthotics eventually arrived most of the rubbing in my feet subsided (though to be honest it was reducing of its own accord by then anyway), but a couple of weeks later a tendon/bone in my right foot became very sore. It resulted me in not training for best part of two months and being back to square one. I suppose I could have done some cycling to keep some of my fitness, but I just lost a lot of my motivation as well.

Two months later my foot, although not perfect had improved enough to consider starting running again. The downside was that before the injury arrived I had entered the Milton Keynes Half and it was the following weekend. I decided to run it anyway and it just demonstrated how much fitness I had lost. Not only did I run 13 mins slower, but it was the manner in which I did it and how bad I felt afterwards. I can honestly say that was the most painful race I've ever done.

Since then its been a case of putting some solid training in and although I had a further two weeks out of training because of a cold my mileage has steadily increased to a new record last weekend of 50.

So what are the positives and negatives so far? Well the positives are: 1) The problems with blistering have all but gone 2) None of the knee pain that I've had over the last few years has returned 3) My overall fitness has improved considerably as had my endurance.

The downsides are: 1) My feet are still not perfect, especially my toes which are constantly bruised and is something I will need to look at detail over the next few months 2) The injuries I've had so far which has resulted in 50% of potential training time being lost 3) A probable loss of top speed as a trade off for endurance - I'm fairly sure that I'm no longer capable of running sub 36 mins for a 10k but need to look at the bigger picture. I also suspect that running sub 1.22 for a half marathon is not likely now either.

So what is the plan for the next 6 months? Well stay injury free for one! I don't see the need now to increase my mileage for the foreseeable future so its just a case of maintaining what I'm doing into early next year. The only thing I want to change is to do one longer weekend run, say 16-20 miles and not feel dead to the world as a result.

Here's to the next six months!

Stop Press - 50 Mile week achieved

2007-09-14T21:26:00.000Z

Well finally after weeks of annoying injuries and colds etc the 50 mile barrier has finally been breached:

Mon - Rest
Tues - 7.1 miles
Weds - 12.0 miles
Thurs - Rest
Fri - 7.4 miles
Sat - 10.0 miles
Sun - 13.5 miles
Total: 50.0 miles

Since my last post I ran home from work on Weds and felt generally lethargic all of the way, probably as a result of a long day. I therefore rested on Thurs before doing a 7.4 mile run on my country loop on Fri. As I'm still not running with my HRM I just went at a pace that I felt comfortable with and felt really good all of the way round. I was surprised at the end when I found that I was running 7.13 min mile pace which is a bit quicker than average. I have realised that I enjoy my running more when I'm not with my HRM which I guess is because I'm not checking and sometimes chasing set times.

Yesterday I did 10 miles, 7 of which were on my usual country route before adding a further 3 on a short loop near home. I went too fast and knew the pace was swift after a couple of miles but its difficult to consciously change the pace so just carried on. In the end I was surprised to find I had averaged 7.04 min miles but was well knackered as a result. Today my legs hadn't recovered and really didn't feel like going for a run, let alone my longest of the week. It was one of those runs where on one hand felt comfortable with the pace but on the other felt very tired. My pace was quite consistent and averaged 7.28 min miles. For some reason I was craving anything sweet upon returning back home so guess my blood sugar levels were quite low.

Strangely I achieved the 50 mile total with two rest days this week but was compensated for by longer runs. Looking back at earlier posts its taken some time to achieve - my first 40 mile week was on 1st June and a 46.5 mile week on 26th Aug.

As I've got the week off work next week and I'm roughly six months into training I'll write a review of how I think things are going so far. Watch this space!

The wrong type of woman on the line...

2007-09-11T18:57:00.000Z

Although this blog is almost exclusively devoted to training I have had one of those strange days which I think warrants its own entry. First of all on the train to work someone got on the train with a wheelie-bin. It was obviously quite heavy as it took the bloke some effort to get it on. The guard then came over and chucked him off the train.

Later on in the morning we had a power cut at work which was probably the first for a couple of years. Nothing too unusual there, but then my computer wouldn't turn back on once the power had been restored. I got one of the computer guys to take a look and it turns out its been fried so had to get a new one.

On the way home at New Street Station I was in a semi doze on the train then heard loads of screaming a couple of metres away from me. Turns out that a young woman fell in the gap between the platform edge and train. A few people pulled her out then she sat on the platform for a while waiting for the paramedics to arrive. As far as I can tell it was nothing serious, just shock. How can anyone (especially young) fall between a small gap is beyond me but there you go. Even though she was pulled out within 30 secs the train was subsequently cancelled. Oh joy.

Back on the training theme I didn't do any running yesterday because of a sore knee. I was going to have a rest day either yesterday of today anyway so it kind of made my mind up for me. Today I went out for a nice 7 mile run in the country. I didn't wear my HRM for a change and it was a nice feeling just to run at the pace I want to rather than constantly monitoring it. I should run without my HRM more often. There was an ulterior motive though - on Sunday's run the strap of the HRM has rubbed part of my chest raw and am left with a rather fetching friction burn type scab.

Edit: Was just looking at the hit count for this blog and couldnt help noticing someone who found my blog on yahoo with the search terms "aching calves and orthotics". My blog is the number 6 hit for the search term. Sums my training up really!

Back again

2007-09-08T18:05:00.000Z

Over the last couple of weeks the cold has hit my training hard having only just restarted yesterday. I was intending to do a couple of easy runs starting last Monday once the cold started to begin clearing. In the end I felt a little too chesty, partly had lots going on at work and part laziness I guess.

I'm now 95% recovered with just the odd cough and flemmy throat so went out for my first run in 13 days yesterday. I did 7 miles but went out a little too hard and suffered a fair bit towards the end. I averaged 6.38 min miles in a total time of 46.45 which is a record for that loop - so much for a nice easy stroll! I found the run quite hard which is partly due to the pace I went, partly not down to full fitness but also because its my first run back for a while. Now my first run is out of the way I can return to normal training.

Today I went on my usual 9 mile loop at an easy pace, but for a bit of variation I put in 10x50 metre steep uphill reps with a 20 sec downhill recovery at the 5 mile mark. The deviation resulted in 10.5 miles in total. The idea was sound but don't feel I got much benefit as the hill was not long enough. There are another couple of hills which might be better next time.

I've got my first major race in three weeks time mainly as preparation for the OMM at the end of October. I've entered the Dark & White RAB Mountain Marathon which is going to be held at Coniston in the lakes. Its 6hrs day 1 and 5hrs day 2 'score' event. I've entered it as a pair with my OMM partner as preparation as we have not really trained together before (just one 15 mile run to date). Early indications are that I've got more pace, but he has better endurance - I'm nowhere near fit enough for 6hrs running around the Lakes with a full rucksack. We've decided to run day 1 at race pace and see how we do at the overnight camp before deciding how much energy to put into the second day. In essence I've got 2 weeks of hard training available to me before I'll begin winding down for the race.

Over the last week I've bought a couple of bits of kit, part for the MdS and part for the OMM. I've bought a new sleeping mat weighing in at 100g. Its part aluminium foil and part foam (about the width of a crisp). I've also bought the RAB Quantum Top Special sleeping bag which weighs in at about 330g. It only has down on the top side as the idea is that down provides no insulation when you lie on top of it. To ensure the bag doesn't move during the night, I'll put the sleeping mat inside it. Whether I'll use it for the UK events is going to be very much dependant upon the weather forecast. I don't really have the money to buy kit at the moment so have been selling loads of my old uni books and have also been trying to clear some space on the bookshelf. So far I've made a net profit of £65 on amazon so the kit has already almost paid for itself.

Cold

2007-08-29T16:26:00.000Z

Since my last post the chestyness I was experiencing has turned into a full on cold. Although I could go out for a few short runs there doesn't seem to be much point so my training for this week will be zilch. I have been lucky until now and knew I was well overdue for something as I escaped last winter unscathed. Still annoyed though - if its not an injury then its an illness. Will I ever manage to put in a full months training without disruption? Answers on a postcard.

A record week!

2007-08-26T21:37:00.000Z

After the exertions at Mallory Park on Wednesday it has been back to training. On Thursday I went for an 8.5 mile run although I ran fairly slowly as my legs were still quite heavy from the race the day before. On Friday I had the day off work - my first full day off since mid February! As a result I went out for a 9 mile run on one of my usual routes. Although I enjoyed the run it was very warm around 26 degrees so I wilted a bit. For the first time ever though I took a drink round with me to at least quench some of the thirst.

Yesterday I went for an easy 5.5 mile run but with the tiredness of the week creeping in together with the heat I had to ease off a bit. Today I woke up feeling quite chesty with a dry cough and slight loss of breath. At first I thought I might have the beginnings of a cold which is going round work, but as the day went on I had wondered whether it was the cumulative effect of the extra mileage and warmth of the last few days. It was sods law really as I had earmarked today as being my first real 'long' session. I still decided to go out for a run and see how I felt later on. In the end I did my 7 mile country route but as I was still feeling pretty good I decided to continue on to Sutton Park and add on another 9 miles. After the seven miles had passed my heart rate was only about 140 which confirmed that I felt ok. After 11 miles things were beginning to hit me and every mile thereafter became exponentially more difficult to do. By about 14 miles my legs were pretty much gone before staggering back. In the end I did 16 miles at an average pace of 7.33 min miles (2hrs exact running time). This is by far the longest I have ever run on the roads with my previous best being half marathon distance. I should have come back feeling well chuffed but in the end just felt bitter disappointment that I found it so hard. It was so bad that I could barely stand up and had to have a lie down for an hour. My body was also feeling extremely hot but also cold at the same time. I think some if not a lot of this was down to the heat - another 26 degree day with only 250ml of fluids being carried by me. Either way I have even been questioning whether I can manage the MdS. Frankly I could do with the money as well as the 3k required could easily be spent buying furniture etc at the new flat (currently living with my mother and sister so I have to start from scratch). I know I need to keep persevering, but if all runs are as hard as that then I wont make it to the start line. On the plus side I was absolutely fine to 11 miles before things hit me. The other plus is that it has been a record week with the mileage - 46.5 miles including one race. I'm now going to rest tomorrow so I can recover a bit from today's run and general chestyness.

I had been harbouring thoughts about resurrecting my marathon debut in mid September, but after today's run I think all bets are off. The problem is that with the schedule I have I now wont be able to do one until early next year. I need to decide quickly whether to do another half before some other races I have planned in Oct/Nov.

Mallory Park 5k

2007-08-22T20:30:00.000Z

On Monday and Tuesday I had two 'away days' through work which was held at Dunchurch Park, near Rugby. The main problem was that at every turn there were fresh cream scones, cakes, Mars Bars and it was hard to resist. Even so I managed to go out for a quick run on Monday covering just over 4 miles. I went a little too hard considering I had a race two days later but I don't think my pace was too detrimental.

I rested Tuesday and today was my first 5k held at the Mallory Park racing circuit in Leicestershire. I was hoping for just under 17mins, but taking one look at the circuit told me it was going to be unlikely. There was one very short but sharp hill which we had to run up twice plus a couple of other very small inclines. In a long race it wouldn't make much difference but in such a short race it can be critical. The main issue though was the wind - it was blowing very hard in places which killed any chance of a good time.

Mallory Park itself is nothing like Silverstone which is the other racing circuit I've been to. Its only 1km long (Silverstone is 5km), tight and twisty, and the facilities were crap - basically a circular strip of tarmac, a couple of toilet blocks and that's just about it. As a result the course involved doing a lap and a bit of the circuit clockwise, before heading into Kirkby Mallory village and then returning back to the circuit for another lap, this time anticlockwise. As a result I thought it was a fairly dull course, more so considering it was only a 5k.

There is not much to report other than I went fairly hard to begin with, and after a km when things began to settle down a bit I caught a few people up, but after 3km I was just about spent and couldn't keep up the pace so dropped back a fair bit over the last 1.5km. I finished in 17.46 26th/261) which is way off what I was hoping for and is not far off my 10k pace, but in fairness it wasn't the course for fast times. I think one of the other reasons why I was not at my best was because of still feeling quite bloated/sluggish from the work event the two days before. On the plus side I got two pairs of running socks as a memento which was nice...

I don't think I learned a lot from the experience, other than the distance is way too short. In one of my previous posts I mentioned that I needed to think about my priorities and I think this has made my mind up for me - I'm going to concentrate on half marathons and above as anything less is just too short for me. I need to try and find some suitable races between now and Christmas.

Another Bloody Injury...

2007-08-18T21:46:00.000Z

Began the week by going for a short 3.5 mile run but went as hard as I could. As a result the following day my legs were just about dead and had to cut down the intended 9 mile route to a 5 mile run. I struggled in the early stage but after about half way the legs were not feeling so bad once they had got going. On Wednesday I went out to do my 9 mile route and have to say I felt great throughout so decided to extend the route slightly and did 10 miles in the end. The extra mile wasn't much in the end but it felt more than it was, and was good to break the psychological barrier having only done a max of 9 miles during the midweek in the past. Even though I was running at much the same pace as usual my heart rate was nowhere near as high so I wonder whether my body is adapting well to these runs.

The week was going oh so well until Thursday where I was going to go for a short 5 mile run. I really didn't feel like it and so was going to have my rest day instead but forced myself out anyway. Quite early on I felt the soreness in my foot return (the bone before my large toe), so decided to slow right down and return home after just 3.5 miles. This is a worrying development as the last time this happened I had to stop running for 2 months. As a result I didn't run yesterday or today as a precaution and have iced it a few times. It doesn't seem as bad as last time and I'm feeling no real soreness at the moment but we'll see what its like when I next go out for a run. Thankfully the timing isn't too bad as I would have started to taper down before next Wednesday's 5k race anyway. I'm contemplating a very short run tomorrow, or if not on Monday to test the water.

I've think my training at the moment is a bit confused and as a result my body doesn't know what distance to adapt to. The worst case scenario is that I could actually be losing some of my natural pace but at the same time not significantly improving my endurance. I don't run to a set programme and this might be the core of the problem (if there is one). I'm going to have to give it some thought over the next couple of weeks.

Getting paid to go for a run.

2007-08-12T15:47:00.000Z

Its been a bit of a strange week. As usual I rested on Monday before going for a 9 mile run through Sutton Park. I struggled a bit towards the end but was generally pleased as its the furthest I've done in training for a while. I was intending to put some good training in during mid-week but work commitments meant that by the time I was getting home I was far too tired. I also had my usual calf strain coming back so decided that going for a run wasn't going to achieve anything.

Yesterday I went for a 6 mile run not on any of my usual routes and for a good while in the countryside I wasn't entirely sure where I was going or how far I would end up running. In the end it was a nice enough steady run.

Today I went into work on a Sunday which is a first for me for quite a few years. It took me 90 mins to get into work by bus (rail replacement service) so decided to run home as it wasn't going to be any slower. As I don't normally work on a Sunday I get paid for travelling to and from work, so it was my ideal type of run getting paid for it at double time! The first 30 mins are along the canals going mostly downhill, but quite a few short and sharp inclines going over the bridges. The next 30 mins is mostly gradually uphill and involves running under Spaghetti Junction. After 45 mins in I had to stop off at a shop and buy a drink - it was very warm and was getting rapidly dehydrated. Shortly after I ran past some kids who were taking the piss by running along side me and saying 'cant you run any faster'. So I challenged them to run about 100 metres to the traffic lights - needless to say I won! As a result I have a nice 'spike' on my speedometer readings!

All in all it was a 11.6 mile run which was done with a light rucksack on in 1hr 27mins which is about 7:33 min/mile pace. The total for the week is 26.5 miles which is shorter than last week but is compensated for by the average distance being longer. Not a bad week in the end!

Getting back into training

2007-08-03T20:34:00.000Z

Pretty straight forward week. After my first long run for a while on Sunday I rested on Monday, did a easy to moderate 3.5 mile on the Tuesday followed by an easy 5 miles on Wednesday. For some reason this made my knees quite sore and with the state my toes are in (never really recovered properly from Milton Keynes) I rested on Thursday. If I don't lose some toe nails by the end of the month I'll eat my hat, though I'm doing my best to keep them attached to me (literally) by putting plasters on them. On Friday I did my 7 mile countryside route which was one of the most enjoyable runs I've ever had. The weather was pleasant and I took it steady all the way round at almost exactly 7 min mile pace, so I didn't really tire except for the last mile a little. Its a great feeling covering the distance feeling as though I haven't pushed that hard even though my pace was reasonable. For a change my heart rate stayed fairly steady as well. I think I need to do more quality training like this rather than pushing myself to the limit. On the downside my knee was sore all the way through but it didn't really affect me much but is worth keeping an eye out for.

On Saturday I did a steady five miler on a new route and just decided where to go as I ran. Part of the route involved going through the Little Aston Park private estate with multi-million pound houses and its own golf course complete with a Ladies Entrance. The downside was when running through it there were loads of flies (big swirling balls of them). When I got home and told my mum of the flies in the estate she said 'well at least they will be posh flies'. Enough said.

Today my car was in for a service (yes on a Sunday!) near Rugby so decided to go out for a run instead of waiting around. Shortly after starting I realised I didn't have enough cash on me so had to find a cashpoint (I was in the middle of nowhere). I ran to the nearest large village called Dunchurch, but couldn't find anything so had to continue to the outskirts of Rugby where eventually I found a Sainsbury's. I then turned back and had to stop off to buy a drink as it was really hot, 26 degrees according to my car when I returned. Overall it was an 11 mile run which was further than I thought, but with a couple of small stops included. After all that I was told that a part on my car needed replacing and he insisted on being paid once the work is done next week. Oh well! Overall it's been a good week - 32.8 miles in total.

I've been trying to find a decent race to enter over the next few weeks. I don't want to do anything too long but all I can find within a reasonable distance is a 5k at Hinckley on the 22nd August after work. That said I haven't raced the distance since returning to running a few months ago. After that there is a 5 miler at Little Aston on 2nd September which I think encompasses much of my countryside route which should be fun. I'm going to see how these races go before re-committing myself to the longer distances.

Autopsy of Milton Keynes

2007-07-29T18:03:00.000Z

Since the Milton Keynes half last Sunday I let my legs recover for a few days, especially since they haven't done much training over the last couple of months. I was going to go out for a run on Thursday/Friday but in the end didn't bother.

Yesterday I went out for a very short 3.5 mile run at a fairly easy 7 min mile pace around my usual loop. I was intending to do another half loop, but as you get tired its all so easy to cut it short which was what I did. My legs were ok but were relatively quite tired considering the short distance.

Today I was going to do the same loop but at the last second went out into the countryside so I couldn't do any shortcuts. I took the early part nice and steady and although my legs still had a few aches from the last week felt pretty good. In the first half I was running around 7.15 min miles, before not being able to help myself and increasing the pace in the second half to around 6.45 min miles. Overall I did 7.1 miles averaging 7 min miles. Bizarrely I was running loads quicker than the race last week even though I was in training mode. I think with hindsight last weeks poor performance was partly down to lack of training, part blisters, part setting off too quick and maybe part down to some sort of bug. I did have diarrhoea in the two days before but just put it down to eating too much fruit at work! Maybe I had something which although I hadn't noticed caught up with me in the race. Either way after a good run like today I am feeling a lot more positive and perhaps am not as unfit as I first feared. Perhaps I should also feel positive because my foot injury seems to have gone for the time being.

I'm going to rest tomorrow and maybe Tuesday as well but will see how I feel. I don't want to do too much too soon. I don't really have much planned for August so I'm about to go onto Runner's World website to see whats on. One thing I am certain of is that the marathon I had originally planned for mid September is now out of the question so I need to have a bit of a re-think.

Half dead at Milton Keynes

2007-07-22T16:51:00.000Z

I was 50:50 right up to the night before as to whether I was going to run the Milton Keynes half. I knew that I had lost quite a bit of my fitness over the last couple of months because of various injuries. In the end I decided to run as much as anything because the entry fee was steep and I didn't want to not get my monies worth!

I got to the land of the roundabouts ok and the weather was surprisingly sunny, about 18 degrees and quite humid. In fact the humidity made things feel uncomfortably warm. As I knew that I was nowhere near pb form (1.22) I decided to try and get round in about 1.30. The first mile I somehow did in 6.00 which was way too fast (though didn't feel so) and then settled down into race pace. The first three miles I did in 19.15 (6.25 av.). It was at this point that I knew my legs were not right - they just felt like lead. I knew that if they were bad then things were just going to get a whole lot harder. The strange thing was that my lungs for the main part felt fine but the legs were unresponsive, I suppose a bit like a car stuck in third gear.

Although people had been overtaking me pretty much since the start it was just getting worse and I really couldn't latch onto anyone either as the pace was just too fast. One thing I noted early on was that I've decided that I don't like the plastic cups of water in a race. For a start half of it comes out when you first grab the cup, followed by slopping it over your face as you cant take the water on board easily, followed by choking on the remaining third that you are able to get in your mouth. There were only water stations every three miles in this race which was never really enough.

For the first time in a race I was wearing my HRM. Although I knew my body didn't feel great the watch confirmed my suspicions with my heart rate around the 175 mark after the first couple of miles. Things then gradually deteriorated - I started running 6.30min miles which slowed to 7 mins, which turned to 7.30 and at its worst got to 8.75 min miles such was the drop off. As a result I was losing places hand over fist. This never really bothers me, but its demoralising all the same and I wasn't able to latch onto anyone. Having now had the benefit of downloading the data from my HRM it seems that the deterioration was almost linear between the first and tenth mile when my pace was at its worst. Not only was I physically suffering but the dreaded curse of my blistering had returned and from the third mile onwards the burning sensation was evident.

The course in the main part was fairly flat but with a quite a lot of short, sharp ascents climbing out of underpasses and the like as the race was run almost entirely off road (but still on a sort of loose bound gravelly tarmac). After 10 miles there were two runners who I decided to latch onto as I could no longer suffer running by myself anymore. I had to increase my pace a fair bit but managed to run the last three miles in an average of 7.15 which was a considerable improvement.

In the end I finished in 1.35.45 which is miles off my pb (literally), and I have to say that was the worst I have felt in a race. Ever...

To give some idea of the suffering I hit 175bpm after only 2 and a bit miles, 180bpm after 4.3miles, 185bpm at 10.8 miles and 190bpm at 12.7miles. Very briefly I hit 203bpm which is supposedly 112% of my maximum intensity! I've attached the graph below - the blue line going downwards is my speed, whilst the red line going upwards is my heart rate (note it goes off the chart after 10 miles as I exceeded my maximum intensity and went beyond the red zone!). The browny coloured chart is the elevation.

After finishing I was very close to keeling over and things were becoming a bit blurry. I think it took me about 25 mins to do the one mile back to the car. So why did it go so badly wrong? Well I think my fitness was a lot worse that I realised and this accounted for the majority of the problem. The blister on my right foot made running torture which didn't help things along with the heat, dehydration and my start which was too fast. The one positive was that although my body was screaming to stop I somehow managed to carry on which is something. I suppose the second positive is that I don't feel any immediate niggles but we'll see tomorrow once the legs have stiffened up. As a result I'm fairly certain that I'm going to give the Capricorn a miss next week - and instead will try to restart training again.

EDIT: 132nd in 1.35.47 out of 1,179 runners. PB pace would have been good enough for 16th! D'oh!

Priorities

2007-07-15T12:38:00.000Z

Last week I haven't done much again because of the foot problem but I also rested a bit anyway after the exertions at the footpath relay. This week I went out for a very short 3.5 mile run on Tuesday to test the foot (without the orthotics) and I didn't really feel much during the run, although I felt a small amount of stiffness afterwards. Hopefully I'm heading on the right track now.

Today I've done some of my first 'proper' orienteering at Pooley Fields near Tamworth. The weather was dreadful - heavy rain for most of the morning and some of the worst conditions I have run in for a while. Having said that by the time I finished it had stopped raining (didn't notice), but the damp undergrowth ensured I stayed soaked anyway. To be honest I didn't enjoy the run very much, as was demonstrated by the amount of swearing... I was making the most simple of mistakes and couldn't even stay on or find the paths which is pretty basic. I think some of it was because I haven't orienteered enough recently so am out of practice. Overall I came 17/46, some 16 mins behind the leader. The only positive was that I was first M21 and ahead of the leader in the West Mids league. I'm now 81 points behind but with one race to spare so am well positioned (my average is 98 whilst the leader's is 94.6).

The last few 'proper' orienteering races I've been to I really haven't enjoyed which is partly why I've not done much over the last few months. I'm beginning to think about stopping or heavily reducing the amount I do and focus on my road running/cross country instead. I'm thinking about still doing things like mountain marathons, long-o, sprints and the odd night event, but just stop doing the standard day events.

I'm entered in the Milton Keynes half marathon next weekend - I'll see how I feel and make a judgement about the foot during the week. If I do run I'm not in pb form so might just take it relatively easy and aim for 1.30 pace.

Podiatrist & Footpath Relay

2007-06-30T17:31:00.000Z

During the week I have been resting the foot again so another nil return on the mileage front. On Friday I visited the podiatrist and told him about my problems. He seems to think that its a tendon strain - we both think its likely to be caused by my unusual running style where it looks like I run with my toes in the air (sort of pointing excessively upwards). This would also explain the state of my big toe. For what ever reason the orthotics seem to be exacerbating the problem. He's put some foam on top of the orthotic in my right shoe which he thought could stop the excessively movement in the toe but admitted that it was trial and error.

Today I ran in the footpath relay held in the Derbyshire Peak District. The weather wasn't great as it was raining, sometimes heavily all day. Having said that, although its not pleasant to stand around in, its almost perfect running conditions as it keeps the temperature down. I really didn't notice the rain once I started.

This year I had been given the longest 13.7km leg which included 400 metres of climb. As I was on second leg quite a few runners came in not very far apart. Our first leg runner, Mike Barnby handed over just 6 secs down in second place. There was another runner about the same distance further back and a couple of others in sight. I set off and had already decided to keep it nice and easy as the first 1km is a 150 metre climb, and ignore what the others are doing around me. Well as it happened even though I was trying to run conservatively I caught the guy in first after 300 metres, said some pleasantries like 'nice weather', and 'I take it the barbecue is cancelled' before overtaking him. The guy in third was still about 9 secs back.

I then turned off the road to continue the climb and although I was trying to run conservatively my legs had taken a hammering, but upon exciting this section I had a quick look back and was surprised to see that I had already built up at least a 40sec lead in the first km. Had I gone off too fast?

We then hit a long straight road section which continues the climb for about 200 metres, before descending and and reascending again. At the end of the second ascent I took another look back and I could just about make out one of the runners further back who must have been at least 90 secs back. Although I didn't know it that was the last time I saw anyone. My legs were not feeling brilliant even though I had only run about 3km by this stage, but then I reckoned that with such a difficult start of the stage everyone must be in the same boat. Normally you would just open up the legs on the nice flat and downhill sections but it was difficult. Throughout the whole of the leg I never felt like I had reached my normal running speed. At the same time I did hold a little in reserve in case anyone caught me up.

It was then a mainly long descent into the village of Monyash -there were a couple of steep climbs but thankfully they didn't last too long. Just before reaching the village I had hidden a bottle of water in the bushes 90mins before the start. In the end I couldn't be bothered to pick it up and wasn't really thirsty anyway. I knew I must be feeling tired if I couldn't be arsed to pick up the water. Throughout the remainder of the run I kept looking back every few minutes expecting to see someone but never did. I reached Monyash in around 26mins, about 10 mins quicker than in training so I knew that I was doing ok. The race organiser had predicted a finish time of 1hr 15mins, but after looking at the route a couple of weeks previously I told our team captain that I could do it in 64mins. I knew that I was still on schedule for this and had thought that I was within a shout of 60mins.

I then excited Monyash going steadily uphill and joining what is known as the Limestone Way. In training the footpath was teeming with people and we had quite a lot of bottlenecks at various stiles. Thankfully because of the conditions I didn't see anyone so was able to run un-obtruded. I should at this stage mention that conditions on foot were quite tricky and I kept slipping in a number of places along the whole run, but it was particularly bad here. I was starting to get very tired now but had only just gone past half way! The legs just never recovered properly after that first climb near the start.

I then descended into a very steep gorge. I knew this was going to be slippy so eased off a bit. I then had an immediate climb out of the gorge and this was the bit I feared most. The climb involved about 100 steps cut into the rock. After the first ten I decided that I couldn't run up them so just tried to walk briskly. Even so my legs were just about gone. Upon exciting the gorge there was a further climb of about 1km to the top and I have to confess that I was tempted to walk a bit. The other problem was that throughout the whole of the leg there were loads of stiles of various types. They really upset the rhythm and it was difficult to get the legs into gear after each one. In the latter part of the route I would lose a couple of seconds at each. I just couldn't get the legs moving, they just seemed to be too full of lactic. I kept looking back more than ever, but still no-one.

My foot which had the alteration to the orthotic was feeling ok, but was starting to get a burning sensation under the arch from the foam. It was beginning to become uncomfortable and I knew I was in for a blister but tried to not let it get to me. After the large climb was over it was a mainly gradual descent of about 3 km into the finish. I tried to open the legs but they didn't really respond much. It was a strange feeling as I felt that I could push on, but the legs could never respond much. That first and subsequent climbs must have done it.

Just as I was starting the descent I came across the first runner who was doing the opposite loop. He was running swiftly as were the others a couple of positions back. As I was moving through one of the last field sections before returning to the road I made a small error and headed to the wrong corner of the field, before realising and correcting myself. It probably cost me about 10 secs. I think it was because there was a farmers track to the left which confused me.

I then hit the road for a long descent down to the finish. Even now I couldn't really open the legs even though I kept feeling like I could. I knew I had slowed down a bit as 60 mins came and went but eventually finished the leg in 61 mins. When I got to the handover there were loads of people about, so many in fact that at first I couldn't see the control point. In all the confusion the next runner I was handing over to wasn't there. A couple of people (probably organisers) shouted out and managed to locate the next runner for us. She clearly wasn't aware that I had finished (all the Chasers had their back to the direction I was running) so I chucked her the electronic dibber whilst she took off her jacket. She then headed back to the control but told her that I had already done it - she then legged it. The confusion cost about 15 secs but these things happen.

I was told by a couple of other Walton Chasers about that I wasn't expected for another 15mins. I think they must have gone by the organisers estimated finish times as I told them that I was only a couple of mins ahead of the schedule that got emailed a couple of days ago.

I knew my lead was at least three minutes just from not being able to see anyone behind me, but was slightly surprised that after 6 mins still no one. Eventually 7.30 or so later the next runner behind me came in from Ashbourne Running Club. He told me that his first leg runner came in a minute or so behind the leader so he still lost a fair bit of time on my leg. There was then a fair wait to the third placed runner (don't know how much further back). It was becoming clear that my run was a lot better that I was giving myself credit for. In the end I didn't actually get the fastest split, about 15 secs back but then I had the disadvantage of running the leg without seeing anyone and having to run with with a bit in reserve just in case I was chased down. The guy who ran the fastest had the advantage of overtaking six people along the way. Always best to chase than to be chased!

I then drove back to my start (and took a couple of others on the same leg as me) to wait for Allan who was running the reverse of my leg, so I could drive him back to his car at the start of his leg (he dropped me off at the start of my leg). Unfortunately I didn't leave a drink in my car so by the time I got back to Allan's car it was a good hour to 90 mins before being able to take on water and even then it was only 200ml. I then had a fair drive home - it was at least 3.5hrs since finishing before I could take on some more water. By this time I had a stinking headache - but three cups of tea and a pint of squash seems to have done the trick.

Overall Walton Chasers won the loop I was on by a few minutes, but combining the times of all four loops we came 6th out of 12.

I'm not sure what I'm doing over the next week so will play it by ear.

Tamworth Sprint-O

2007-06-23T19:43:00.000Z

I wasn't going to do anything this weekend, partly because I've got to pick my mum and sister up from Birmingham International Airport at 1.30am on Sunday morning. I wasn't going to do the Sprint event this evening either because my mum conveniently decided to order the Sainsburys delivery at the time when the event was on. The shopping came early so decided to make a late rush to the event. I wasn't exactly prepared, having just eaten four bags of crisps about half an hour before and nothing else that day so was a touch bloated.

I decided to park my car at the new flat that I'm not living in yet and walk the rest to the Snowdome. I came across a few of the controls on the way. In the end it didn't make any real difference as my legs were like lead after just a few controls probably because of my bad diet and maybe the exertions from Shugborough a few days before. I had a really scrappy run, hitting most of the controls ok early on but lost 5-10 secs here and there. I lost 20 secs from 4-5 forgetting that I needed to cross over the river, 11-12 not realising the control was at the castle as I was way too low. At 14-15 I lost 30 secs - I went straight to this control but it was in the wrong place in the edge of the circle on a grassy area next to the path. It also had the wrong number on it so ran around for a while before punching it anyway. As I punched I noticed that a small sticker had been placed on top of the box with the correct number. I was later told that this was a replacement control as the original had been nicked. 15-16 was also dire exiting the control in completely the wrong direction and almost went off the map in the process. Must have easily lost 5 mins here.

Overall I enjoyed the run and the course was well planned but my performance was pants. The last mistake in particular made me go from a reasonably respectable 8th ish to 21st out of 30 which is really pathetic. What was most concerning for me was how bad the legs felt. I'm not so bothered about the navigation errors as I haven't orienteered for a few months and I'm a part time orienteer these days anyway. I'm going to rest again this week as my foot is still not right - I have an appointment with the chiropodist on Friday, before running the footpath relay on Sunday.

Only other thing of note was that as I helped the Stodge (Event organiser) carry the printer and laptops out of the Snowdome we got apprehended by some ugly (whose face only a mother could love) and miserable security/bouncer who said 'had we got receipts for those' - we just thought he was joking and laughed before carrying on until we realised he was being serious. Stodge told him it was our own equipment for the orienteering but he still wanted our names anyway. Jobsworth.

Shugborough Relays

2007-06-21T17:25:00.000Z

Last night I went to the Shugborough Relays which is a four leg, 2 mile relay around the estate grounds. Its quite a large relay event with 250 teams entered this year ranging from the serious athletics clubs down to the under 11 teams and local runners. Walton Chasers Orienteering Club entered a team with me to go first leg, handing over to Iain Stamp then Mike Barnby and finally Mikey Hopkins.

Being a weekday evening event I had to leave work early so got home for 4.30pm. By this time my mild headache which began at work was getting steadily worse so took a couple of paracetamol and lay in bed for 45mins. When I woke up the head was no better so took two more (slight overdose...) which eventually managed to calm things down a bit.

I got to Shugborough at 6.45, met some of the other Chasers and did a warm up by jogging part of the lap. The course was surprisingly firm on foot considering the rain we have had over the last week. It was a warm humid evening but not unpleasantly so. Whilst warming up it was clear that my legs hadn't fully recovered from the 17 mile run at the weekend. They were slightly sluggish with my quads still a bit tight and I was concerned that with the long runs I've being doing that I may have lost some of my pace for the shorter events such as this.

I lined up at the start with plenty of time to spare to ensure I was at the front. One of the problems with this event is that a lot of the youngsters line up too close to the front and with the start being a bottle neck its crucial to get a good position. When the gun went off I sprinted away and got slightly carried away in the process as after 50 metres I was leading the race (for all of a metre), before settling down into race pace. I found it quite difficult early on to judge what speed to run as on one hand its too easy to burn up but at the same time very easy to run too conservatively. Either way it still feels uncomfortably brisk. Before the start I had decided to run hard at the beginning and then just try to hold on for as long as possible.

Upon leaving the start/finish field I was in about 8th and I was already finding the pace a bit fast. Along the road I gained one position but lost a couple as things settled down a bit. We then turned left into the wooded track where I was having a bit of a battle with a couple of other runners and it was quite difficult to overtake. During this section I managed to keep the status quo gaining one and losing one position. I finally managed to overtake and get a small gap on one of the runners and then went through the first mile in 5.10. We then turned onto the track exiting the forest and it was at this point my legs and lungs were really feeling it but was a case of just holding on. I lost a couple of positions on this section before rejoining the start/finish field for the last half mile. I lost one more position in this section from the guy I was battling with in the forest but with the legs and lungs totally gone by this stage there was nothing I could do about it. Overall I did the second mile in 5.19 and finished in 10.29. I think I handed over to Iain in about 12th position.

Overall I was quite pleased with my performance as the last time I ran there in 2005? I think I ran around 11.15 so it shows a good improvement in my fitness. At the same time I'm a touch disappointed to have lost a little ground towards the end but I cant grumble too much. All of the others in the team had a solid performance and I think we came about 20th overall - though it was very difficult to tell as a lot of the teams were getting lapped. A special mention to Mikey Hopkins who having run the first leg for his school didn’t realise he was also on our team sheet as well. Even still he did a solid run but didn’t look as though he was enjoying it much though! It was good to see that an orienteering club can still mix it with the big name athletic clubs.

I'll update the blog if I can find the official results and there seemed to be a photographer out on the course as well so I'll try to find some photos as well in the coming days.

Reccying the Route for the Footpath Relay

2007-06-17T19:36:00.000Z

This week I haven't done much as the toe injury still isn't right. I'm not sure I would have done much running anyway as the weather has been dreadful over the last week in my neck of the woods. I keep feeling that I'm losing loads of fitness - I probably have lost a bit but not that much but its difficult to resist the urge not to go out and do some training.

Today I went with Steve (a fellow Walton Chaser and colleague) to recce the leg I'm doing at the Footpath Relay in a couple of weeks. It was good to run with someone else for a change, especially since we are doing the same leg albeit in reversal of each other. I'm doing the second leg of 20 so I fully expect to still be in contact with some others at handover - but for Steve it could be a bit lonely as he is running leg 14. The length is 13.7k but what makes it a killer is that it has over 400m of climb with 150m in the first km after the start. I expect Mike Barnby who is doing first leg to handover to me in or very near to the lead so the pressure will be on. Either way I've decided that the leg could be ruined quite early on by the killer ascent, so I'm going to jog the first km and let those in front of me pull away (or let those behind make the extra effort to catch up), before increasing the tempo thereafter. The other thing that became clear is that I will need to drop a bottle of water out on route as dehydration will be a factor (it was 20 degrees and very humid today).

As for today's run we decided to park the car half way round the route in Monyash and run the first bit heading towards the start of my leg (i.e. backwards) and then turn round and come back again. The loop was about 8 miles in total and we did the outward bit in 37.30 and the return in 36mins. We were going at a reasonable, but comfortable pace but the constant hills were hard on the legs. My toe was still not right but it never became so much of an issue that I needed to stop.

When we returned back to the car we had a 5min rest and grabbed some water etc before running over to the handover area for leg 3 in Youlgrave. The first bit, although undulating wasn't too bad, before a sharp descent into a gorge then out again which involves another very sharp climb. The final section is a long sharp descent into Youlgrave for the handover.

Whats clear is that the course is tough, really tough and I'm regretting volunteering for an extra 3.8k leg straight after (leg 3). I'm going to email the club captain to see whether someone else can take it on - though I'll still do it if need be. I couldn't recce the route for this extra leg as I haven't yet got the course so will have to run it 'blind' in a couple of weeks time.

At Youlgrave we stopped off at the pub for 15mins for a pint of lemonade before heading back to the car in Monyash. Well if the start of my leg was a killer then Steve's is just as bad as he will have a 200m climb in the first 1.5km. I was ok up the hill but as we reached the top my legs really started to feel it and I was struggling to keep up with Steve. I could just about keep the pace but had he run even slightly faster I would have dropped back. In the end the outward section of this loop was done in 43mins and the return slightly faster in 42.30. I'm glad we got to the car when we did as I only had a couple of miles left in me.

In Monyash I had a pint of orange squash and Steve an ice cream and I was feeling really rough and could barely walk. I managed to perk up about 20 mins later once the sugar from my fig rolls kicked in. The estimated completion time for the whole leg is 1hr 15 but we did it in around 1hr 18 and were nowhere near race pace so I reckon its doable in around 61-64mins.

Overall because of having to run back to the car we covered twice the race distance -a total of 17 miles in 2hr 40mins which is easily a new record for me, my previous best being 13.1 miles (and that distance was on flatter ground). It was also useful running with Steve as we have entered as a team for the OMM (aka KIMM) doing Medium Score. Early impressions are that I have more gears but Steve has a bigger tank - i.e. I have the speed but Steve has better endurance.

I'm now resting the legs (which don't feel very good at the moment) ready for the Shugborough relays on Wednesday where I'm doing 1st leg for the Men's Open team and then leg 3 for an Ad-hoc Chaser's team. The laps are not that far, about 2 miles from memory. I'm not sure whether the legs will have recovered sufficiently by then but I'm hoping to put in a half decent performance.

Still out of sorts

2007-06-12T18:14:00.000Z

Not much to report since my last entry. I went out for my first run at the weekend and did 7 miles. I was going to go longer but it was very warm, had no water as usual and my foot problems returned after about a mile into the run. Its one of those injuries that doesn't stop me running, but is really annoying and could manifest itself into something more serious if I don't rest it. I could have done some more cycling but haven't bothered - feeling a bit lethargic and down at the moment with all these niggles.

I'm going to leave it until this Sunday where I will be reccying the route for the footpath relay. Hopefully as I'll be running off road its not going to place as much stress on the foot.

2007-06-07T21:58:00.000Z

Still haven't been out for a run since the weekend as the foot is still sore but is getting slowly better. Instead I have been for a couple of bike rides to keep myself in shape. On Tuesday I did a 34 mile loop from home via Cannock Chase. It was a fair bit further than I expected and quite hilly. On the way to Cannock Chase I took a detour through Longdon thinking it was a short cut to the Marquis Drive area of Cannock Chase but it turned out that I ended up doing a loop and a very large climb for nothing. Having said that the downhill bit was good fun reaching a top speed of 40mph! After 19 miles in the saddle I finally got to Marquis Drive and had a 10min rest where quite a few orienteers were there from the club doing the Tuesday night training (shown by the red dot in the image below).

I then decided to try and find a better route home that was a) not on such busy roads, b) shorter as I was knackered and c) quicker! I ended up just guessing where to go and thankfully things turned out ok, but a lot of the time I was cycling on country lanes not having a clue where I was. After a while the large TV mast in Sutton Coldfield was visible (I live not far from it), so I just pointed my bike on any road that vaguely headed towards it. It worked out ok in the end as the route back was four miles shorter and about 15mins quicker and the whole thing took 2hrs 10mins in all (ave. speed 17mph). My legs felt like they had a hard workout so don't feel like I had missed much by not running.

Today I went out on a shorter bike ride through various bits of Sutton Park and I intended to involve some hill reps. Things didn't go to plan as I was constantly dodging dog walkers, kamikaze runners from the local club, other cyclists wondering all over the place, and park barriers to negotiate. In the end I decided to head out of the park and do a loop from Banners Gate anti clockwise back home. It was about 14 miles in all. I didn't get such a good workout, but I guess its better than nothing.

If my foot is better by the weekend I intend to do a couple of runs then but I'll see how things are nearer the time before deciding whether its worth the risk.

One step forward and another back...

2007-06-04T17:11:00.000Z

I wouldn't normally update the blog so early in the week however my fears at the weekend regarding my foot problem have materialised. It doesn't feel like a muscle injury so am assuming its some sort of joint problem or more likely a minor stress fracture. I was walking today from the train station to work and it was quite uncomfortable. I will try and rest it for the remainder of the week unless there is a sudden improvement and do some cycling instead. Its a shame really as I felt like last weeks training went really well. Oh well!

The 40 mile barrier broken...

2007-06-01T22:25:00.000Z

Since getting the orthotics I've been experiencing some discomfort in my problematic knee. As a result I have only been running every other day, but to be honest I think this approach is a blessing in disguise. When I was running every day my legs were becoming quite fatigued and I think the mindset quantity over quality became a factor. Now I'm trying to focus on longer distance quality runs so I'm still covering the same sort of distances but in a more structured way.

On Monday I found a decent gap in the weather to go for a 9 mile run on a new route; about half of which is in Sutton Park. As you can see from the elevation profile its fairly undulating with the climb from mile 5 to 7 fairly arduous. I went at a reasonable but comfortable pace and finished in 59.15 which is 6.35min/miles. The knee was fairly sore during and afterwards so I decided to have a rest day on Tuesday.

On Wednesday I managed to find another gap in the rain and did the same 9 mile route through the park. I felt pretty good early on so tried to increase the pace slightly and finished 1 minute quicker in 58.15 which is 6.28min/miles. Again the knee felt slightly sore during and afterwards (but slightly less so than on Monday) so I had another rest day on Thursday.

On Friday I again did the same 9 mile route and aimed to go slowly round but somehow misjudged the pace and still went round in just over an hour making it 6.41min/miles. I didn't feel as good on this run but just put it down to a long day at work (was in Bristol that day) and having not eaten properly. However the soreness in my knee was not as profound so perhaps I am now getting used to the orthotics.

On Saturday I just did a 5 mile slowish run on a route near to home. The only problem being my metatarsal (?) by the big toe became very sore for some reason. Today I rounded off the week by doing another 9 miles at roughly 7min/mile pace. The toe wasn't too bad during the run but is still quite sore so will have to keep an eye on it - I've got a rest day tomorrow so hopefully things will be better by Tuesday. On the flip side my knee soreness from earlier in the week has gone! The only other problem with the run today was that it was so hot - 24 degrees and even warmer in the sun. Even though I was running a lot slower than earlier in the week I felt that I was putting in just as much effort - so much for a recovery run! I think that if I go out running in these temperatures again I'll take my Camelbak as I was gasping after just a couple of miles. The amount of effort put in today was shown by my Heart Rate Monitor stating that I spent 18 mins (out of 63) in maximum intensity zone!! (supposedly you're only meant to spent a few minutes in this zone!).

Overall this equates to 41 miles this week and the first time I've exceeded 40 miles! Next week its just another week of training. I have no events planned until the 20th June.

First impressions of Orthotics

2007-05-28T18:35:00.001Z

Well first and foremost I only went out for a long run on the Saturday (7 miles) and didn't bother on the Sunday so my mileage for the week was a rather pathetic 19 as opposed to the 30 I stated in my last post. Part of me was feeling lazy, part was the crappy weather and the other part was that the soreness in my knee has started to return. This could be down to the orthotic or just chance (probably the former if I am to be honest). I'm going to persevere with it as although my knee is sore its not unbearable so just needs managing. I suspect the orthotic itself is not the problem - the insoles were taken out and replaced by the orthotics which are not as soft which I think has increased the loads going through the knee. Having said that I'm getting zero discomfort in my feet when running, no blisters, nothing which is great. Although its early days I feel as though I'm running more efficiently and am suffering less muscle fatigue (especially in my calves which were really tight) whilst running and during recovery.

Today I did a 59.15 run at a comfortable pace so was surprised that when I measured it on mapmyrun it came out with 9 miles - that's 6.36 min/miles! Either I was feeling quite good or could it be part down to the orthotics? - answers on a postcard... It really wouldn't surprise me if the orthotics have something to do with it as just as a 0.01sec improvement per stride would result in a 1min 40sec improvement over 9 miles. I'll reserve judgement for the time being as it could just be down to a having a rest day yesterday.

This week is just more training - hope to do 30 miles all being well. Have sort of already given up on the half marathon training schedule as I just felt permanently fatigued. I'll let my body make the decisions!

Orthotics arrived

2007-05-25T17:04:00.000Z

Since doing my first 40 mile week things haven't really gone to plan. On Monday I did an easy 5 miles, followed by a 7 mile run on the Tuesday. My legs and in particular my calves were very tight and clearly struggling to recover. My knees were also a bit sore as were my feet from all of the constant pounding on the round. It was either a case of rest up for a couple of days or get an injury. As a result I haven't been out between Weds-Fri. However, I hope to make up for this by doing a couple of longish runs over the weekend (hope to total about 30 miles for the week).

The one good thing about my run on Tuesday was that I saw a deer in Sutton Park which is an extremely rare find. About 2 years ago it was rumoured in the paper that a muntjac deer had somehow found its way to the park, but having now seen one they definitely do exist. To some people it doesn't sound like much of a find, but for a large mammal to make its own way to Sutton Park which is urbanised for several miles on all sides is nothing short of amazing.

Although I got the Polar watch last Saturday I've already had to send it off for repair today. The footpod which measures the distance/speed isn't talking to the wrist unit, though it did work for the first couple of runs. I haven't uploaded any data to the PC yet as I didn't have the Infrared adapter. This arrived today from Hong Kong (only cost £5 inc p+p!) so will try to upload some data once my watch is repaired.

Today I had my latest podiatry appointment to collect and fit the orthotic inserts. They look a lot more complex than the ones I had done a few years ago. The right orthotic is a bit thicker than the left which will correct the leg length imbalance. Its way too early to determine whether they will sort any of the problems I've got with my feet/legs, but I'm still hopeful. I'll go out for my first run in them tomorrow so will be interesting how they feel.

I haven't got any races over the next few weeks as I want to get some decent training in. I am tempted to do a shortish race in the next couple of weeks but am struggling to find anything suitable. Beyond this I have the Shugborough relays and then the footpath relays towards the end of June.

40 mile week

2007-05-19T11:04:00.000Z

At the start of this week I was meant to be religiously following the Runners World half marathon schedule. On Monday I did the easy 5 miles as planned but then on Tuesday I felt lethargic and could only manage 3.5 miles as opposed to the steady 7 miles as planned. Partly it was because I felt tired, partly the weather was dreadful and partly because I set off too fast. Just as I was about to start it began to rain really heavily to the point where streams were forming in the road, but I set off anyway and went too fast (maybe I just wanted to get it over and done with?) and did the first mile in about 5.40. I think the other problem was that I intended to do two laps - but it becomes so easy to drop out after the first lap if you feel tired.

On Weds I was meant to do 4x1200 metres with 3 min recoveries, but instead I tried to tackle the 7 miles from the previous day. Instead of doing two laps I decided to head out further from home and return via Sutton Park. I think I completed 7.2 miles in about 48 mins.

On Thurs I had a rest day and on Fri I did another 7 miles at roughly the same pace as on Wednesday. Today i'll be doing another 7 miles and tomorrow I will be doing about 10 miles so this will be my longest week so far - 40 miles.

I'm finding that both my calf's have been really tight during training to the point where I think I'm going to pull another muscle. I'm going to have to keep an eye on things - maybe the problem is that my calf's are underdeveloped.

I finally got my heart rate monitor today - it looks really good! What I'm most pleased about was that when I bought it for £189 I couldn't find it anywhere else for less than £300. I've just gone back onto the site where I've just bought it from and its now advertised for £350. I wonder whether they made a mistake when they sold it to me? I've done the typical blokey thing and not bothered reading the manual so will see whether it works when I go out for a run later today.

Calf Strain Update

2007-05-11T22:23:00.000Z

Since the race on Tuesday I haven't done any running and have iced the calf three times a day. The good news is that it looks likely that I should be able to start running again on Monday and might even go out for a light jog on Sunday.

Since the race I have typed in my 10k time to see what the equivalent is over other distances:

1500: 4.38

5m: 28.38

10m: 1.00.09

Half: 1.19.53

Mara 2.48.29

These times are not what I will run (and not necessarily even capable of), but is the equivalent if you trained for that distance. What is encouraging is that the calculator thinks I'm just about on the threshold of being able to run sub 1hr for 10 miles.

Surprisingly I have already run quicker than my predicted 1500 metre time as a junior - When I was 15 I ran 4.23. Of course that was ten years ago but all the same. If I used my 1500 pb as the base time then it says I should be capable of 33.58 in a 10k, 1.15 for a half and 2.39 for a mara. Looks like I'm under achieving!!! I think it shows how unfit I am now as I should be even quicker now when compared to when I was 15, or perhaps shows how fit I was then!

I've placed a order for a heart rate monitor - the first bit of kit for the Marathon des Sables. I had promised myself that I wouldn't start buying any kit until next year, but felt that it would be a really useful aid when training. After a bit of research I've gone for the Polar RS800SD which is a bit on the expensive side but has plenty of features to keep me happy. It also has a foot pod so it automatically measures how far I'm running with 98% accuracy. I found a site that is flogging them about £150 cheaper then elsewhere - in fact so much cheaper that I've been questioning whether its too good to be true. Either way I'll find out if/when it turns up in the next couple of days.

Silverstone 10k

2007-05-08T21:02:00.000Z

I left work early today at 3.30pm so I could run at the home of British motor racing at Silverstone. Got home just before 5pm with just enough time to get changed into my race kit for the longish drive down. Thankfully the traffic was light and got to the circuit at 6.15pm with an hour and a quarter to the start. The parking was in the middle of the circuit, just behind the team garages.

I decided to have a little warm up as there was plenty of time before the start. I did a complete lap of the circuit (5km) at a very light jog so I could take in the view and soak in the atmosphere (not that there were any spectators). The circuit has been modernised a lot since I last went there about 15 yrs ago, but at the same time it takes more than a lick of paint to rectify things so can understand why Silverstone has been close to being dropped from the F1 calandar several times in recent years.

Going round the lap there were lots of balls of rubber from the tyres (looks like dog s***); literally tens of thousands littering the edge of the circuit plus a fair bit of carbon fibre bits. It was also amazing how wide the track is, must be 10 metres in places which almost makes you feel a bit disorientated when running. The course is flat, just a couple of very very mild undulations here and there. It was a cool evening but very windy - it was predicted to be about 20mph. Going round the lap it was clear that my calf was very sore, although not bad enough to limp round. I also took the risk not to wear any blister plasters and hoped I would not pay for that decision later.

I got to the start on the home straight and found I was standing next to Graham Gristwood (UK Orienteering Champ). Shortly after we set off any idea of taking it easy to protect my calf went straight out of the window and ran hard through the first kilometre in 3.20 (16secs under 36 mins). I then pretty much decided to try and run under 36min pace and see how long I could hold on for (my usual tactic!). The second kilometre I completed in 3.34 (18 secs under 36 mins) and pretty much stayed at the this pace for the next 2km. Between 3-4km the wind was particularly strong and I had to really fight to keep going at the same pace. I think at around 4 km I was around 22 seconds ahead of my target.

By this stage there were three of us running around the same pace so I just tried to tag on as best as possible. I did cheat a little and cut a few corners slightly by running onto the kerbs but I thought that if cars are allowed to then so can I! Between 4-5km the group I was with ran slightly slower for some reason but I made no effort to pull away so I think we reached half way in 17.42 (18 secs ahead of target).

I think the other two runners I was with realised that we had slowed by a few secs over the last kilometre and they decided to increase the pace along the home straight before the start of the second lap. At this stage I was on a fine line from being tired on one hand, but on the other just about capable to keep up with them. Had they not been there I'm sure that I would have slowed down a fair bit. My calf was still sore but felt I could cope with it.

At 6km I think I was back up to 20 secs ahead of target and although I was running in overdrive to keep up with the other two I still felt reasonably comfortable. It was at this stage that my mind began to wonder whether sub 36mins could be possible as I normally feel knackered by this stage. At 7km I had an 18 second advantage and I was beginning to struggle to keep up. I knew the next km would be crucial as this was the part of the lap which involved a small climb but was also where the wind was at its worst. Somehow I managed to catch the couple of metres I had lost from the others and was surprised to find that I had managed to stay around 18 secs ahead of target.

Unfortunately I was really feeling things and lost touch with the others. I think this might have been partly down to me working out how much time I had left to finish under 36 mins, and before I knew it the other two runners had a 5 metre gap which I couldn't catch up. My legs had pretty much gone and it was just a case of holding on as best as I could. I think that at 9km I had an advantage of 12 seconds so had lost 6 secs in the previous kilometre. My legs were heavier and heavier and I was beginning to clock watch - it was the only way to tolerate the pain. I tried to give whatever I could as I knew it would be close whether I would be finishing in under 36mins. Towards the end of the lap I pulled into the pit straight and with about 100 metres to go I tried to increase the pace a little and it was only with 50 metres was I certain of breaking 36 mins. In the end I finished in 35.54 which is a new pb by some 29 seconds. So much for an easy run! The first 5km was done in 17.42 and the last 5km in 18.12.

During the run there was a wheelchair athlete also competing and was interesting how on the flat and downhill he quickly pulled away, but on the hills we would quickly catch him up. After the first lap he had about a 5 sec advantage but pulled away and got at least 200 metres ahead of us but we managed to catch and overtake him at 8km and that was the last we saw of him. An interesting battle none the less!

One of my targets for 2007 was to run sub 36 mins so with that achieved its two down and two to go! I'm now only 54 seconds from getting a UK national ranking! Without the wind I'm sure 35.40 would have been possible but I cant complain too much as the course didn't have any of the stop starts that a lot of road courses have. Overall I came 29th out of 924. What was also pleasing was that I didnt tire as quickly and this is what resulted in my pb. I suspect I was running roughly the same time as my previous 10k pb at the half way mark, but what made the difference was me not tiring until 8km this time and even then still going at a reasonable pace. I think its beginning to show that my training is starting to pay off. I just wonder what time I am capable of if my calf is sorted, with perfect conditions and a bit more extra training.

I'm going to rest my calf for the remainder of the week with plenty of icing and intend to start training again next Monday when I will begin to up the mileage. I have no more races planned during the rest of May.

Pulled a muscle...

2007-05-07T14:54:00.000Z

After my last entry where I said that I would go out for a 6 mile run on Saturday I did exactly that and managed to pull a muscle in my calf in the process. Its not a bad pull (feels a bit like a bruise) but I can feel it all the same. Its in the same place on my right leg that I pulled a couple of months back and in the area which my podiatrist identified as being the cause for some of my problems in my feet.

I'm going to risk it tomorrow and run anyway but hope that I don't do more damage in the process. Might decide to 'jog' it but it rarely ever works out that way! Oh well!

Legs still heavy...

2007-05-02T20:53:00.000Z

Since the half at the weekend I have had a fairly easy week (though if you include the half at the weekend then it easily exceeds my highest number of miles in a week!). On Monday I decided to give the legs and feet a rest and on Tuesday I went for a short easy 3.5 miler. On Wednesday I went out for another easy 4.5 miler but was slightly concerned how heavy my legs are. I am surprised just how much the race has taken out of me. I was taking it easy by running 30 secs a mile slower than usual but still finding it a bit of a struggle.

On Thursday I went for another easy 4.5 miles but stopped twice, first to buy some 1000 mile socks at the sports shop, then went to cast my vote at the local elections. Finally on Friday I did another 3.5 miles but went out hard. I did intend to do 6 miles but my legs are still not right. I will go out for my final run today to do a very easy 6 miles and then take two days off before the 10k race at Silverstone. Total miles for the week will be 35 which is easily a new record!

After my decent run at Stratford I have been secretly hoping that I would have a shout of a new 10k pb at Silverstone, but as I get closer with my legs still nowhere near tip top condition, I think its likely that my run is going to be compromised which is a shame. I was intending to go out hard in this race and see how long I can hold on, but with my legs how they are it could be best to start slowly. I'll just have to wait and see (hope) that my legs feel better over the next three days. Things wont be helped by the 7.30pm start after a day at work and the weather forecast is not good.

The week following the race I intend to start a 10 week half marathon plan which will involve upping the mileage to about 40 to begin with. I have no idea how my knee and feet will fare, but I guess I wont find out until I try. The culmination will be at the Milton Keynes half on 22nd July. Being the height of summer this race tends to be fairly hot so it may be that even after the more intensive training I end up running slower. What may be more important is how I do relative to other runners.

Shakespeare Half - Bloody Hell!

2007-04-29T12:07:00.000Z

An early Sunday wake up at 7am for the journey down to the Stratford Half Marathon beckoned. The weather was warm, but not as hot as predicted, probably around 14 degrees but quite muggy with a gentle breeze about. I was anxious to carbo load and to make sure I was as well hydrated as possible but I perhaps went overboard with this and kept needing the toilet. Luckily about 15 minutes before the start I hopped into the McDonalds just a few minutes away, but even still by the time we started I could have done with going again.

Being a fairly large half marathon there were around 3,300 runners (inc. marathon) packed onto the road next to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Even though I was at the start with over 10 minutes to go I couldn't get anywhere near the front so eventually ended up a few rows further back (about 300 runners ahead of me). I wasn't so bothered about this as it meant that I couldn't run too fast to begin with, plus with my first experience of chip timing anyway my time starts from the point I crossed the line.

The crowds at the start were superb. In fact they were great all of the way round the course with many residents sitting in their deckchairs at the front. There were even some children who had made their own banners waving them as the runners passed. The early part of the course involved a short 1 mile loop around the town centre, but it was clear at this early stage that I was being overly slowed down by those in front of me so had to make a few manoeuvres to get around people. Thankfully things settled down after the first half mile.

I had pretty much decided before the race that I would aim for 1:25 which is 3hr pace for the marathon and means that I have to average 6.30 min miles. Even being slowed by those in front I me I was surprised to go through the first mile in about 6.13. I then tried to settle down into a rhythm but it was more difficult than it seemed. It was difficult not to go faster as I was running well within myself but at the same time I was trying to suppress the urge. When I did the next mile in around 6.10 I decided to try and keep this sort of pace going.

After 2 miles we came to the first water station and I wasn't going to bother with anything at this stage, but all the others did so I thought that I may as well. I didn't really drink much (half a mouthful), but its more difficult than it seems to drink water whilst running at pace. What was also surprisingly difficult is how hard it is to grab the water bottles!

I was slowly moving through the field and found someone who was running at the same sort of pace as me so just tagged on. After about 4 miles there were 3-4 of us. What I noticed on the course was that in a 10k when you overtake someone you will either stay ahead for the rest of the race or if you've gone too fast then you'll be caught later on and passed. In the half marathon you often had a sort of yo-yo effect where people may get 10 metres ahead of you or more, but then you'd then catch that up a little later, then they would get slightly ahead again etc.

At this stage the course was not flat, but the undulations did not have any real effect. I went through 6 miles in around 37.30 (1min 30 ahead of schedule) which was quicker than I had planned. Before the race I was going to increase the pace a bit at this stage, but since I was well ahead of where I wanted to be I decided just to keep going as I was. Even at this point I was feeling pretty good (but managed to drop the bottle at the water station, though luckily one of the other runners I was with offered me his). After 7 miles I thought well just 10k to do. Just after this at around 8 miles we hit the one significant hill of the race which to be honest wasn't that bad. One of the other runners increased their pace a bit and I decided to tag along as the other runners I was with were slowing a bit. By this stage everyone was well spaced out, perhaps a runner or two every 20-30 metres apart.

At 8-10 miles I was beginning to feel quite tired but was still able to keep the same sort of pace going. I know I went through 10 miles in around 62.00 meaning that I was three minutes ahead of schedule and running at around 1:22 pace. What was pleasing was that if I could go through 10 miles in 62.00 then in a 10 mile race I must surely be capable of achieving one of the runners holy grail's of running sub 60 minutes.

After 10 miles we headed onto the 'Greenway' which is a hardbound dirt track that used to be a railway line. It was at this stage that my legs were starting to become very heavy and at 11 miles it was a real struggle. In the last couple of miles I lost two positions and probably around 45 seconds. Just before the finish there was no-one ahead or behind me so just tried to see whether I could hand on and run sub 1:23. There was a large crowd at the finish and I gave it all I had got (which wasn't much) and managed to cross the line in 1:22:37 (12th/1709).

After finishing I could barely stand up and wasn't able to walk in a straight line for the next couple of minutes which seemed to concern the marshall's a bit, but I knew I was ok. I then got a nice medal, a banana and a bottle of water. It was then that I noticed the blood on the palm of my right hand. I just thought that perhaps my hand had caught something. Then I saw a similar large patch on my left hand. Then I noticed it was on my race number and all over the top of my vest. It was at this point I realised that the blood must have come from my nipples. How embarrassing! It would have been patently obvious to anyone looking in my direction. I then made a hasty retreat back to the car (walking through the town centre on the way) having folded the bottom part of the vest (which was still blood free) over the top part to form a sort of crop top. It wasn't very fetching, but at least it covered most of the blood stain!

Photo (without race number) just doesn't do it justice!

Overall, I was really pleased with my performance and I learnt a lot in the process. I clearly have the leg speed, but need to work more on my stamina. It shows that I am more than capable to run a half marathon, and with a bit of proper training I reckon sub 1.20 is doable. At the same time it also showed me that I'm miles off (no pun intended) from being able to run a full marathon. I think I need to work on my water intake a bit as well.

I felt that for the first 7 or so miles I was running at about 85%, but although I had intended to increase my pace and upped my effort I found that I was running at 100% between 7-10.5 miles just to maintain the same speed. At a result at 10.5 miles to the finish I had to slow down as I had nothing left in the tank. It surprised me a bit how quickly I began to feel tired. In terms of my race position I gained a lot of positions in the first two miles before things settled down a bit, then picked off quite a few people until mile 6. From mile 6 -10 I was gradually catching and overtaking a few (8 ish) people but at this stage most people were running the same pace as myself. From mile 10-F I overtook one person but two others passed me.

Today was never going to be about running a super fast time, but more about learning the distance. I can now go away knowing what I need to do in the future to work towards my ultimate goal of completing the MdS in 2009.

I'm going to have a rest tomorrow and will probably only do some light jogging for the remainder of the week as my legs are really tired. I then have the Silverstone 10k on Tue 8th May. I have nothing officially planned beyond that though am likely to work towards the Milton Keynes half on 22nd July.

As always I'll post some pics if there are any of me once they are available.

Experts opinion... Feet knackered!

2007-04-25T18:33:00.000Z

Well today I had my bio-mechanical examination. What was interesting is the difference between this podiatrist (an American doctor who is a podiatry surgeon) and the so called sports podiatrist I had a couple of years ago. For a start it was a lot more thorough being 60 mins long and involved a substantial number of foot measurements (probably upwards of 25 on each foot). I've got loads of biro on my feet as a result. He then had me standing in various foot positions which were videoed, then finally I was onto the running machine. This involved me walking whilst he studied my feet before videoing this as well.

Basically in laymans terms my feet are knackered!! There was a hell of a lot to take in - the most important being that the neutral point of my feet are at an angle of 32 degrees when it should be zero, give or take. He then said that in 26 years this was pretty exceptional as the most he has ever come across is 33 degrees! Not quite the Guiness Book of Records, but almost! There were also a number of other issues (most of which I understand but cant even begin to describe them on the blog) with my feet that need to be corrected.

The end result is that my feet experience a number of frictional forces which will be causing the blisters and is likely to explain the knee problems I have been having. When he played the video back it was clear that the twisting of the feet caused the left knee having to correct itself and thus causes a lot of sideways forces. He didn't need to say anything as it was patently obvious as soon as he played it back to me. My right knee seemed relatively normal in comparison (though my right foot still had a neutral point of 22 degrees!).

He did say that I do need a custom made orthotic to correct my feet to remove the frictional forces and to correct the foot angles. Over the next 30 mins he then made a plaster cast of my feet which are going to be sent to a lab in the USA to produce the orthotic. There were also a couple of exercises to help correct some of the other problems - one to stretch the upper part of my calf. I have noticed that my upper calf felt tight compared to other muscles so a suggestion that I stretch it without me even mentioning it is interesting.

As I said in an earlier post to the blog I've gone there to correct my blister problems and constant foot strains/pains (and to get my feet prepared for the MdS), but if it also helps my knee then that would be icing on the cake. I'm cautiously optimistic, though don't want to build my hopes up too much having had bad experiences in the past (comparing the two examinations it is clear that the previous guy was crap). At least with Dr Shelton I feel as though he knows what he is talking about and that if he cant sort my foot problems then no one can. I also like the fact that he is an ultra-distance athlete so knows more about the stresses my feet are under when running long distances.

He did say that by correcting these problems it is likely that my running will become more efficient as the muscles are not having to make as many corrections. This could result in a performance increase as even an efficiency improvement of one hundredth of a second per stride will make a substantial difference in a 10km+ race. At worst it will mean that my muscle recovery time will be reduced and less injury prone.

As for the cost, well lets just say my wallet is lighter to the tune of £255, and that doesn't cover the orthotics themselves which I will pay when I get them fitted in about three weeks time. Up until then its back to the Compeed...

Tactics for Stratford Half Marathon

2007-04-21T15:26:00.000Z

During the last week I have been debating how to run my first half marathon which is at Stratford this Sunday. Having had a good run at the Leamington 10k recently I am going to try and do something similar. I intend to run the first 5km very conservatively then aim to run hard for the next 10km and then see what I have left for the final 6km. Depending upon how I feel I might run a km just after the half way point at a slower pace to try and conserve some energy for the latter part of the race. Being my first half marathon I will just have to play things by ear, but the most important thing is that I enjoy it.

In terms of finishing times anything over 1hr30min will be a disaster, between 1hr25 to 1h30 will be ok, and anything less than 1hr 25 I'll be very happy with. Using some of the running calculators available my predicted time based upon my fastest 10k performances is between 1hr 21 and 1hr 22:40 - however being my first half marathon it is unlikely I will run that quickly to begin with. Looking forward to it...

Tapering off...

2007-04-21T13:54:00.000Z

Following Sunday's run at the Leamington Regency 10k it has been a week of training and resting. On Monday I went for a short 3.5 mile run as a 'loosener', then on Tuesday I went for a 6 mile run. Quite early on my knee became very sore and had wondered whether three runs in three consecutive days was asking too much. Overnight my knee stiffened up so was still quite sore to walk on in the morning. It was the worst it has been for some months now, but at the same time never really felt like it was going to stop me running.

On Wednesday I travelled down to Exeter with work and decided to stay at the YHA instead of a hotel. As the hostel was on the outskirts of the city and it being a really nice evening I went for another run along the canal path. It was really enjoyable following the wide meandering canal down to the coast. The knee at this stage didn't feel as bad as yesterday and it almost seemed like running on it was actually helping a bit to loosen the ligaments. Once I reached the coast I crossed the canal bridge and ran back on the other side. This turned out to be a really bad decision. There were warning signs saying that this side of the canal was a nature area and it recommended to use the tarmac path on the other side where I had come from. I decided to carry on and soon after I came across loads of nettles which just got worse and worse. The problem was that by the time it got really bad there was only another mile to go before I could cross back on the other side, so decided not to turn back the way I came. Lets just say I got stung a fair bit! Overall it was still an enjoyable run and wished I had access to run on scenic areas such as this back home. I think the distance was roughly 7 miles.

I then had dinner at the hostel and a reasonable nights sleep. Thankfully the hostel wasn't that busy and I think there were only about 10 of us that evening. I had my meetings at Exeter and then moved onto Bristol YHA for Thursday evening. I was slightly dubious about booking this hostel being an urban YHA and lets just say that my feelings were not far off the mark. It was full of rough youngsters making the place feel a bit like a Wacky Warehouse. I met a Dane who was sharing the room with me and we went out to Pizza Hut in the evening. Getting back at 10.30pm the kids were still making a total racket and thankfully my earplugs did the job. I did wake up at 4am and took the earplugs out and it seemed the kids were still making plenty of noise. I kind of felt really sorry for the others I was sharing the dorm with! I eventually woke up at 7.30am and the kids were still going strong even then!

During the daytime I had some more meetings, but by the end of the day things were catching up with me so decided not to have a run when I got back home in the evening. Besides what with the half marathon next week I need to taper off my training and also to let my feet recover as much as possible.

Today I went out for a short 3.5 mile run, but really struggled as my legs felt heavy and my chest tight. I'm hoping its just because I'm still really tired from the last couple of nights. On the plus side my knee didn't hurt much. I havent got a race tomorrow and in the coming week I wont do more than a couple of 5 mile runs at most to ensure I'm as fresh as possible for the half marathon at Stratford next Sunday.

On Wednesday I've got my next appointment at the Podiatrist which will involve lots of foot assessments etc and then a cast of my feet taken. I'm hoping that the custom make orthotics will solve the blister problem I've been having. I'll update the blog on Wednesday if there is anything interesting to report.

Leamington Regency 10k

2007-04-15T13:35:00.000Z

During the middle of the week my feet were a bit of a wreck with the skin rubbed raw under the arches. With the weather being good at the moment I had half considered to go on a long bike ride instead, but fortunately the feet recovered enough to do the 10k at Leamington that I had entered a few weeks back. I decided that as the weather was a bit too warm I would just try to enjoy my run and not bother with pace cards and pb's. I ran in my father's old Small Heath Harriers vest which must be older than me as the club folded in 1980. As a senior he would have been running somewhere between 1965-1975 so the vest could be anything up to 42 years old! The vest will have never been round a 10k so slowly!

I had to set my alarm clock for 6.45am as it was a good hours drive away to arrive in plenty of time for a 9am start. Its a bit too early for my liking but then at least we avoided the heat of the day which was predicted to reach about 23 degrees (though was already 18 degrees by the time I returned back to the car at 10am). I drank too much water before the start so was a bit worried that I might get stitch later.

I made sure I was a couple of rows away from the front of the start to ensure that I didn't get pushed along at too fast a pace and just sat back as much as possible. The first km I did in about 3.36 and I was just trying to ensure that I was running well within myself. Just after there was a very steep but shortish 40sec climb which tested the legs so again made sure I didn't work too hard as I would pay for it later. The course then followed a well bound gravel track next to the golf course until about the 5km mark. This part of the course had a few turns and was mainly flat. At about 2km there was a lot of water gushing across the track so the feet got a total soaking. It seemed a bit strange how fast it was flowing and when I looked to my left it appeared that one of the tanks at the sewage works was overflowing which I thought was a bit crappy...

Throughout this section of the course I kept picking people off, but when I did I decided to run behind them for a short while to recover until moving on to the next person. After about 5km the golf tracks finished and we headed into the town and its parks. I was still feeling pretty good and knowing in the race literature that this part of the course was reasonably flat I opened up my legs a bit. At 5.5 km I reached the drinks station and as I still felt pretty good I decided to run as hard as I could for the remainder of the course.

Throughout the town section the crowds were very supportive which spurred me on even more. I kept picking people off one by one, though the gaps were often quite big, usually 30-50 metres apart. Although the course was mainly flat there were loads of very sharp turns, sometimes 180 degrees which slowed things down a little.

All in all I finished in a time of 37.08 going through 5km in 19.00 which meant I ran a negative split as the second 5km was completed in 18.08! I know that I went through 8km in dead on 30 mins so at the pace I was going I would have beaten my best run at Fradley (36.23) had the course been another 1.5miles longer. Doing the maths it appears that the last 2km was run at 35.30 pace!! I finished still feeling quite fresh and very positive about my run and having felt like I had learned a lot more than all of my other runs to date put together. It shows that I do have the stamina, more so since no one overtook me after 1.5km and overtaking about 20 people in the second half of the course (some of whom were well ahead of me). It reminded me of how I used to run when I was still a junior. Overall I came 13th out of 1,214.

I was a little concerned about opening my legs too early and in retrospect I could have gone harder after 4km rather than wait until 5.5km, but this is something to know for next time. It also shows that I don't need pace cards - perhaps I am too desperate to run sub 36mins. It will come in time but until then I just need to run my own race and keep training.

I now feel a lot more positive about the half marathon I have in two weeks time at Stratford. The only lingering doubt are my feet as I was beginning to feel that burning sensation after 5 miles, so I am not sure how they will cope with 13. I've decided that I'm not going to run very hard at Stratford but will aim to finish in less than 1.30. If I could run around 1.25 then that would be brilliant but might be too much of an ask. In truth I have no idea what time I am likely to run so its all a bit of an unknown. Until then I will go for my last long run on Wednesday and will then taper off to get my legs ready for the half on the 29th.

First Target of the Year Achieved

2007-04-09T10:56:00.000Z

The weather today seemed pretty good so decided to go out for a bike ride on my usual route, even though my legs were still quite sore from yesterday's 10k. My best on this course is 49.27 in late 2006 for what I thought was a 14.5 mile course. Well having now measured it on mapmyrun it appears that I was a bit optimistic and it is actually only 13.6miles (basically the same as my half marathon run but with an extra half mile on the Lichfield Rd towards the end- map attached on my previous blog post a couple of weeks back).

As you can see from the elevation profile the first part of the course is fast and mainly downhill though it feels flatter than it looks with a few short but sharp climbs. The two main climbs are towards the end of the lap with a short but very steep ascent in Shenstone, then a very long steep ascent from Little Hay to the TV mast. The low point of the course is 89 metres and the highpoint 174 metres.

I decided to go as hard as I could, but very early on I could feel that my legs were still very tired from yesterday and so eased off for 30 secs before picking up the pace again. Although I didn't intend it this way I ended up doing it as a time trial, so it became the target to beat my 2007 aim of going round in less than 48 minutes.

After the first 10 minutes things began to settle down and I found it reasonably comfortable, using the largest gear possible on my mountain bike (although 24 gears I could do with some more, as even on the flat I'm using the largest gear possible so am not going as fast as I could). I did get someone beep their horn at me as I couldn't be arsed to wait at the junction, but it was a left turn and safe enough.

In the end I got round in not just under 48mins but in a new best time of 44.47!!! This equates to an average of 18.25mph (it is was well above 20mph before I hit the last hill). Sooo... that's the first 2007 target achieved! Even though I've had a couple of disappointing 10k runs over the last few weeks it does show that I have got a lot fitter since last summer having beaten my previous best by 4.40 which in cycling terms is a country mile.

I reckon I could go faster still, but the traffic would have to be in my favour all the way round, the weather perfect, would need a road bike, and the odd risk or two which I'm not prepared to take. One target down, three to go!

Air Products 10k, Crewe

2007-04-08T13:17:00.000Z

This year I decided not to go to the JK Orienteering festival weekend (mainly down to cost) so decided to do a 10k at Crewe instead. I felt quite tired when getting out of bed - mainly due to the sister not getting back until 1am then having a sleep over...

The day was warm at about 16-18 degrees which was a little too warm for my liking when running at speed, but bearable none the less. The race had a reasonably small field of around 230 and the course was fast and fairly flat with the exception of two moderate inclines on each of the two laps.

Again I carried a 36min pace card with me and was 20 secs up after the first 2k and I felt reasonable and within myself. Just after the second hill after 4k I was 18 secs up but it took a fair bit out of me and my legs were starting to feel very heavy. At 5k I was 10 secs up and I was rapidly beginning to slow. The last 5km was quite a struggle and lost a few places on the second lap eventually coming home in 38.08 (24th) which was disappointing. The first 5km I did in 17.50 and the second 5 in 20.18.

Overall I was slower than my 'benchmark' first 10k in December 06 when I hadn't even started to train, but then again this course was not as quick. Either way I think my tiredness caught up with me a bit and when you combine it with the warmth, blisters again (even though I was wearing compeed underneath!), and the inclines things conspired against me. I have wondered whether my best tactic is like at the Fradley 10k (where I set my pb) to go off as fast as I can for the first 5k and then hold on as best I can for the second half; as even when pacing I seem to tire at the same point in the race.

One of the things I've realised over the last week is that I'm entering too many races so I cant do any meaningful training in between. Although I've got another 10k next week at Leamington which I pre-entered a while back I've decided to cut back a bit beyond mid May when I can start to do some decent summer training. Between now and then I have entered my first ever half marathon at Stratford-Upon-Avon on 29th April which should be interesting. I've pretty much decided that I will try to run quite conservatively and aim to get round in 1hr30. If I'm feeling good 1hr25 might be possible but I don't want to burn myself out in my first half, especially since I haven't really trained for it. I'll be very interested to see whether I cope with the longer distances better as the 10k's just feel like a sprint, or whether I'll tire as I'm not fit enough. After Stratford I have another 10k just 9 days later, but just couldn't resist the temptation to run round the Formula 1 circuit at Silverstone!! Really looking forward to that one!

An Electrifying Run...

2007-03-31T18:02:00.000Z

On Tuesday I took part in my first bleep test in around 10 years. I was quite looking forward to it and made my way to club training at Walton High School for the first time since joining the Walton Chasers in 2002. Unfortunately it wasn't how I remembered and dropped out at Level 12.4 even though I could have continued for a while further. I found the constant turning and re-acceleration stressful on my feet and knees and felt that had I continued I was ripe for some sort of injury. I almost dropped out at the end of Level 8 but then mentally it was too much of an easy option. Having said that my legs did feel surprisingly heavy from the 10k at the weekend which wasn't helping either. After I stopped I became quite annoyed with myself as I didn't try hard enough - will I be doing this at the MdS 2009? I then went for a 35 min run with Iain Stamp and Jonathan Howell - around 4.5 miles.

On Thursday I ran again to work (11 miles) with my backpack but decided to take a slightly different route beyond Spaghetti Junction into town by running alongside the canal. I thought the canal would make the run easier but if anything it was the exact opposite - lots of small 5 metre incline and declines. It made the running a lot more strenuous but none the less the scenery was a little more pleasant to the eye. I managed to do the 11 mile run in 1hr 26mins, shaving off about 9 mins from the previous week, though that route was a little bit more stop start.

I made the decision not to go to the Chasers event tomorrow as I need a week off from competition running. I think this will have been my first week off since well before xmas. None the less I couldn't resist going out for a run in the sunshine and decided to try out my first ever half marathon run. The course is basically the same as when I go out cycling save the end which cuts a small corner off. The mapmyrun.com website states that its 13.05 miles. The route is very undulating, especially in the second half and with 2 miles to go there is a very steep hill about 1km long and ascends 100 metres.

My legs were still a touch heavy from the run to work on Thursday and took it reasonably easy to begin with. After about 40 mins I was beginning to struggle and did consider taking a few shortcuts to lessen the distance. I do find that doing a loop is mentally tougher than say running in a linear fashion e.g. to work as its so easy when you feel even a little tired to cut things short. I did continue and as I started towards the killer hill it began to feel very muggy then suddenly started raining with thunder and lightning. Once I saw the flash then the thunder about half a second later made me feel a little nervous. I was on the highest point in the area and to make things worse I was next to the TV mast (which is HUGE!). I managed to get home but felt absolutely shattered and had to sit down at the front of the house for 5 mins. On the plus side I did the half marathon in 1hr 34mins which is 7min 12 miling. I didnt take any liquid with me which might have accounted for feeling so bad towards the end.

Whilst running I kept thinking that if I find 13 miles so hard how am I going to find the MdS? I suppose I feel a bit low after the run but need to keep telling myself that I do have time on my side. At least it showed that I am physically capable of a half marathon when this is only the beginning of my training, but also shows that I am some way off from being able to do a marathon. How on Earth anyone can do 18+ mile runs without being bored stupid is beyond me!
I'm back in competition next week and am doing yet another 10k, this time at Crewe. Its supposed to be a fast one, but then again last week was meant to be as well!

www.mapmyrun.com

2007-03-25T20:38:00.000Z

I've found a site that accurately measures your runs/bike rides http://www.mapmyrun.com

Not only does it work out how far you've gone, but also gives you mile markers on the way. Attached is an example of my recent run from home to work - its a zoomed out version but you can make it as detailed as you like...

Carterton 10k

2007-03-25T18:25:00.000Z

Another 10k this weekend this time down South at Carterton in Oxfordshire, just a mile or so from RAF Brize Norton. Although its a fair distance from home I decided to enter this as it was billed as a fast flat 10k. The weather was overcast but with a reasonably strong breeze which was not likely to help things.

The field for this event was about as small as it gets - just 350. I knew I would be reasonably near to the front as last years times were slow. I was carrying a pace card set to 36mins (3.36km) and I had decided to try and stick as close to it as possible to hopefully stop me burning up so early. The only exception was that I tried to stay a few seconds in credit in case I tired later on. The first km I did in 3.24 and the next in 3.32 which felt reasonably comfortable and gave me 16secs of credit. Over the next 3km's I lost around 6 secs of this advantage. It was at the end of this first lap after 5km that I realised that the course was not as flat as I was led to believe. Ok, it was certainly not what you could call hilly, but there was one long shallow ascent (about 1km long), and another about 3km into each lap that was 400m long but a bit steeper. Hitting the first of these climbs on the second lap combined with the wind working against me I really struggled as the legs got progressively heavier. In all I had lost about 20 secs and at that point it was clear I was not going to get home in under 36 mins. I then hit the second, sharper climb and that finished me off. In the end it was another struggle to get home, eventually coming in 37.08 well off my pb.

Overall I was a bit disappointed to lose quite a bit of time again in the second half (1st 5km in 17.50 and 2nd 5km in 19.18), but it was clear that the course was nowhere near as quick as Fradley where I set my pb of 36.23 two weeks ago - there is no way I've lost 50 secs of fitness over a two week period. There was also the disadvantage in that there was no-one to run with after the first kilometre. After the first lap there was no one in sight behind me and a couple of runners ahead that were gradually pulling further away.

On a positive note I felt happy with my pacing, catching up a couple of people who had dropped off the leading pack after 3km, but didn't quite manage to real them in and they eventually left me after 6.5km. There was also no one overtaking me unlike the last couple of events which I think indicates that most people like myself had to drop their pace a bit on the second lap. Overall I think I came 8th (EDIT: Found out I came 6th/229). After the event I met up with a ex University friend who had also entered the event for a catch up in the local pub.

I do find the 10k a bit of a lung burn and so feels like a bit of a sprint. I'm beginning to wonder whether its best to move up to a half marathon. I know I can do the distance after running 11 miles to work last Tuesday without any fuss. I'll have a look over the next couple of weeks to see whether I can find anything in late April or May. Before then there is a West Mids League orienteering event next week which I'm 80% likely to go to, or I might just have my first week off from competitions in ages.

Compass Sport Cup et al.

2007-03-20T18:43:00.000Z

At the weekend I went to the qualifying round of the Compass Sport Cup held by OD at Hay Wood & Wroxall. I've been to Hay Wood for a night-o a couple of years ago and remember it for the thickets, but also for the burnt out car being marked as a feature on the map! When the start lists were published I was surprised that I was last off for the club - Iain rewarding me with my recent good form (or it could just be chance...). A number of people thought it would be perfect terrain for me as Wroxall is just parkland, but having already seen the Hay Wood map I knew the area wasn't really to my liking and that the omens were not good.

Well to cut a long story short the race was a total disaster for me and one of my worst runs in the last couple of years. I hit very few, if any controls cleanly even in the parkland. At number 2 I made a 90 degree error and lost 2 mins (even though I supposedly took a bearing), and by control 7 having got lost several times (once I only managed to relocate by coming across a control which happened to be my number 18 on the other side of the map), I had pretty much lost the plot completely. I have to admit that I was swearing like a trooper and contemplated retiring. On the way to 9 I came across Iain and said to him that I was doing s***. By this point I was mentally out of the race - part of me was doing badly because I wasn't concentrating and the other part of me not concentrating because I was doing so badly - a vicious circle.

On the way to 11 I actually hit 12 first, so when I eventually hit 11 I then sprinted back the way I came and managed to beat everyone including Graham Gristwood by 5 secs on an 18 sec control. This attitude is nothing to be proud of, but like I said I had completely lost the plot by this stage. In the end I was just glad to finish, but my knee was very sore.

So what went wrong? Well I think the cock up at number 2 didn't help and so basically with a lot of mistakes early on I never managed to 'get into' the map. I was often taking bearings and still missing the controls by some distance, my pacing was not good and just wasn't taking in any features on the way to the controls. I haven't attached a copy of the map as to be honest I hadn't got a clue where I was a lot of the time so I would only be guessing with the route. Overall I came 19th out of 58 in a time of 67.28 for 9.6k (7.0 min/km) which sounds better than it was - I must have easily lost 15 mins through my mistakes.

This coming weekend I've got another 10k this time near Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. I think the course is fairly flat so if I can pace things a little better I hope to beat my pb time of 36.23.

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Last week I decided to see another podiatrist, mainly in preparation for the MdS in 2009. I do suffer from a lot of blisters when running in my trainers (before anyone mentions the shoes do actually suit my feet). Up to this point my experience with podiatrists hasn't been great, even when supposedly 'specialising' in sports. The chap I've found is an American doctor who is a foot specialist, but perhaps more importantly is an ultra-marathon runner so can appreciate the stresses my feet will be under when I go to the Sahara. He took some interest in my knee troubles but as far as I'm concerned if he sorts the feet then job done, but if he sorts the knees as well then that's a bonus. It seems that my foot strike is quite unusual (i.e. crap), which means that I run too much on the outside of my feet causing friction under my arches and thus blisters (its a bit more complicated but that's the gist). If I was to run in the Sahara like this he said there is a distinct possibility that with all the swelling and stresses that I'd be a prime candidate for a stress fracture. He thinks it could be causing some of the knee pain as well.

Well, I'm going back in a month for a bio-mechanical examination which although expensive seems far more detailed than what I've had before. He does say that it is almost certain that I will need an orthotic (he took quite a bit of interest in my previous orthotics and basically said that a 3/4 length orthotic should not be used for running - full length only and that your feet should be cast rather than placing your foot in a foam bed, as the true shape of your feet will not be captured which is important for running). He did compliment me on seeing him now 2 years in advance of the event rather than nearer the time, as it means he has plenty of time to get my feet fully prepared. As I say I go back in a months time for a full examination so will report back then.

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I've started to do a bit more running as the gym is only getting me so far. On Monday I did a 3.5 mile run to loosen the legs from the orienteering the day before. This morning I went out for my longest ever run and ran from home in Sutton (Staffs border) to work at Broad Street in Birmingham City Centre (11.5 miles according to the AA). As I've never run this far before I decided to take it easy, but also because I was carrying my rucksack which although wasn't heavy (about 5kg) did affect my stride length a bit. In the end I managed to do the 11.5 miles in 1hr 30mins (around 3hr 25min pace for Marathon) and was surprised to find it as easy as I did. It was all a bit boring, but is necessary if I am to get fit again so hope to do this every week or two. The only downside with running on the road was that my knee is now very sore so might have to reassess whether running this distance on the road is a wise thing.

Do something amazing...

2007-03-12T20:32:00.000Z

For the Marathon des Sables I need to know my blood group when the registration packs get sent out in a couple of months. The organisers do sell a DIY kit (which isn't 100% accurate) for £10, but decided to go down to my local blood donor session earlier today http://www.blood.co.uk/

It beats paying £10, its free and am doing something useful in the process. If nothing else comes out of the MdS at least I have become a regular blood donor. I'm expecting to hear my blood group within the next 2-4 weeks. It was a very painless experience, everyone was very nice and the blood bit only took around 5 mins, though if its your first time you have to have a health screening. One tip though - although you can just turn up its best to book in advance. I didn't and had to wait 40 mins. After that there was a free cup of tea and biscuits for all!

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The other thing I've done today is to sort out a podiatrist. I've seen and heard numerous scare stories about peoples feet in the MdS ranging from gangrene to people losing so much skin they run on the epidermis (nerve endings), to one case of someone actually losing a toe. It sounds like it would be fairly unusual if I came back from the MdS with more than half of my toenails remaining (some people come back with none...). Interestingly the official MdS website does say how too few people go to see a podiatrist beforehand. The photos below are by no means the worst floating around the net...

I suffer quite badly with blisters in normal road conditions so I dread to think what the MDS is going to do to me! My intention is to go every 4-6 months prior to the event so I know how to strap the feet (and what to strap with), know how to treat the foot if the worst happens, and to get the foot prepared beforehand in general. I've managed to find a podiatrist who is a Dr and is also an ultra-marathon runner so seems well suited - all for £30. My first appointment is Friday so will see how it goes.

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On another note my calf twinge at the event yesterday is becoming a slight cause for concern so have iced it plenty of times already. It did seem to improve a bit overnight so will see how it is by Wednesday and make a decision then whether to run the Compass Sport Cup at the weekend. I think that I'll be ok but won't risk it if its not 100%.

Fradley 10k

2007-03-11T13:30:00.000Z

Although I haven't stopped thinking about the Marathon des Sables (which is still two years away!) I had a 10k race at Fradley to distract me today. The weather was dry and sunny with a temperature of around 13oC. There was a moderate cooling breeze which couldn't be felt for the most part except on a small section of the course when you were running into it head on. The course was mainly flat on country roads, but there were a few long gradual inclines here and there.

During the week I felt that I was running around 36 to 36.30 pace though training is one thing, doing it is another! I did write the target times for each km that would equal 36mins overall on a piece of card to carry, rather than having to work it out as I went round. The start went off pretty much on time and I was near to the front for the first km but soon settled down to a more suitable pace. I went through the first km in around 3.00 mins - I think the markings were slightly dubious! I felt reasonable and decided to tag onto a small group of three other runners. For the next three km I stayed with them but gradually felt that I couldn't keep that pace for the remainder of the race. At about 4km I dropped back and suddenly began to struggle at around 5km going through in a time of around 17mins. I knew I had gone off way too fast at this point and was really struggling to just keep going. I was too knackered to look at the pace card so just chucked it away. I was also too tired to get a drink from the water station, though I didn't feel thirsty anyway.

At the end of the first lap I reckon that I was around 15-18th, but now loads of people began to overtake me and I was struggling with my breathing and my legs felt heavy. Over the course of the next lap I just got slower and slower and ended up finishing in a time of 36.23 so meant I did the last 5k in 19.23. This shows that I went off far too fast and paid for it dearly as the last 4k was a major struggle. I don't recall overtaking anyone beyond the first kilometre of the race.

Overall my time of 36.23 was a new pb (previous best was 38.00 minutes) and good enough for 29th place. I have mixed emotions; in some ways I'm pleased that I have smashed my personal best by over one and a half minutes showing that my training is making a real difference. However, as with my last two races it was clear that I didn't pace myself properly - had I done so I might have been able to run 36mins. I need to keep telling myself though that this is only my second 10k and that I don't train specifically for this distance unlike most around me, so am never quite sure what pace I am running. I am sure that this will come with time. One of the other positives was that my knee felt good without even so much as a small niggle (though perhaps I was too knackered to feel it!) My right calf does feel very tight - I don't think it is going to be a major problem, but will need to keep an eye on it to make sure it does not progress into anything major. After the race I bumped into Mike Barnby who was also running and finished in a good time of around 40.25.

Next week I have the first round of the Compass Sport Cup at Hay Wood. Having run a night event there before I don't think the terrain is best suited to my style so am not expecting much, but none the less I'll try my best. The following week I have another 10k at Carterton in Oxfordshire.

Marathon des Sables 2009

2007-03-07T20:18:00.000Z

Over the last few years I've become aware of what was billed as 'The toughest foot race on Earth'. This is the Marathon des Sables which involves running 150+ miles, in the Sahara over 6 days, reaching temperatures of over 50 degrees during the daytime. You are expected to carry all of your kit and food and are limited to 9 litres of water a day.

On Monday registration for the 235 places reserved to British runners opened at 10am. By 10.10am all of the places were taken, including the 100 reserve places. Unfortunately things didn't go too smoothly for me - at dead on 10am I added the item to my basket, registered my details and payment method, then pressed confirm. Throughout the whole process the server response times were extremely slow, presumably because the website was being overwhelmed. At the point of paying the screen froze at the 'Contacting Bank' stage. I gave it a couple of minutes but nothing else happened. I contacted the helpline, but there was no response so eventually called the bank who confirmed that £500 (and that is just the deposit!) had recently been authorised. I thought that as long as they have taken my money the entry must have been accepted. About half an hour later I received an automatic email stating that I had not completed my order! I then sent a couple of frantic emails to the organisers asking what was happening, only to get an email stating that they hoped to send me another email shortly '...that will explain everything', which sounded a bit ominous.

Well this afternoon, I got the confirmation email so I am now officially entered for the 2009 Marathon des Sables - I really am very lucky (or unlucky!) to have managed to get a confirmed place. Although I've been thinking about this event for a while I didn't want to announce my intentions to the blog until I got this confirmation.

Rather than re-iterating everything, if anyone is interested to know what I am letting myself in for the UK site is http://www.saharamarathon.co.uk/index.html Click on Contents and Links which will bring you to the personal accounts of some of the people who completed the 2006 event.

There are lots of other sites if you Google this event, but I attach a few other links for different perspectives:
http://travel.guardian.co.uk/article/2007/feb/18/travel.runningholidays
http://www.saharamarathon.co.uk/CharlieNorton-Telegraph-2005.html
http://outside.away.com/magazine/0798/9807wise.html

I really can not stress how hard this event is going to be - it will make the KIMM look like childs play in comparison. Prior to going I have to provide a blood test, have an ECG taken, and must carry an anti-venom pump! One part of me feels really happy that I got accepted into the event; when I received the email earlier I shouted 'Get in!' at work, much to the bemusement of my colleagues. The other part of me feels scared, really scared in fact, nervous and a great deal of trepidation.

So why enter I hear you ask? Well I don't know to be honest. I've always wanted to do something different and to see just how hard I can push myself. Perhaps the answers will become clearer as I get nearer to the event. I suppose that if I manage to complete the event then it will be easily the biggest achievement in my lifetime.

Clearly my training will change substantially between now and March 2009. Having never done a marathon before, or even half marathon I need to build up my distance work. I've got a few 10k's between now and the summer and will try to start doing some half marathons later this year, then do a few marathons in 2008. I'm renowned for not being able to run in the heat (by this I mean 20 degrees plus, god knows what 50 degrees is going to do to me!), so will need to address this. I will probably wind down orienteering around Sep 2007, mainly to reduce my chances of serious injury.

My biggest fears at the moment are 1) Dehydration, 2) The heat and 3) Feet/Blisters (there are some scary photos/stories on the web).

Clearly my goals and focus will change over the coming months, but before I devise a training schedule, kit lists etc I'm just going to carry on my 10k training as normal for the next month and let everything settle down before I start to make any decisions.

Better start going to the Sauna!