A day in the away end

Reading 1-1 Southampton
Attendance: 21, 889 (4,203 away fans)

Yesterday I made the trip to Reading along with over 4,000 other Saints fans to see if Southampton could maintain the gap at the top of the league. After a tough 1-0 win over West Ham on Tuesday night which seen a record crowd of 32,150 at St Marys, the players would have to pick themselves up again against a Reading team who are finally starting to find some form. There was one change from the team on Tuesday with Jack Cork replacing Morgan Schneiderlin who was on the bench with Adam Lallana missing for the third game in a row.
Saints got the game underway and had the first half chance when Connolly and Chaplow created a good move down the right with Connolly's cross just getting blocked before Chaplow could get on the end of it after a good run into the area. The rest of the half was all Reading and they almost took the lead around 17 minutes when McAnuff pulled the ball back across the goal mouth which only needed somebody to tap into the net but Danny Fox was quick enough to smash the ball clear. Simon Church then tested Davis from distance but the Saints captain was there to tip around the post which was followed shortly by a superb save from Davis as Mikele Leigertwood drilled the ball from 30 yards but Davis somehow got a hand to it to turn over the bar. With Reading shooting towards us in the first half it was safe to say we seen most of the game as most of the game so far was played in Southampton's half and I was pleased when the half time whistle went to take us in 0-0!
Fonte came off for Martin at the start of the second half which was proberly a good idea seeing he was on a booking and was having a hard afternoon! Reading started strongly again with Southampton just not able to get out of first gear and almost took the lead after Alex Pearce headed narrowly wide. Against the run of play Southampton almost took the lead after being awarded a free kick just outside the area, Danny Fox whipped the ball in and Martin headed down and somehow Adam Federici getting down to save low. Saints needed something extra to get them going and they got that when Steve De Ridder came on replacing Connolly who injected an extra bit of pace and flare and instantly put Chaplow through on the right who maybe should have took it on his left but decided to cut inside and shot low but the keeper was there to make the save. Just when Southampton looked like they were starting to get into the game Hammond gave away a free kick on the edge of the area which McAnuff smashed against the post but Leigertwood got to the rebound to fire home. Things got worse a few minutes later as Dean Hammond got sent off for a second booking and it started to look like Saints were going home with nothing. However having ten men seem to wake the players up and on 81 minutes Southampton levelled after Guly flicked on a throw in down the right to De Ridder who ran into the area and hammered the ball off the cross bar to level the game to send us 4000 fans mad in the away end. The last ten minutes was frantic as both teams tried to win it but nobody really created any clear cut chances. Overall Reading will no doubt feel they deserved to win the game but dare I say it..if you want to finish at the top you have to get points when not playing very well and Southampton did just that. I was impressed with the way they stuck at it with 10 men and even went on to try and win the game at the end, cracking stuff. Oh yeah, its also safe to say the Southampton fans dominated the home fans in terms of chanting and atmosphere.. "You only sing when your winning!".

Coming soon....

So its that time of year again when there seems to be a decent game being released every week which means most of wages seem to be getting pumped into the gaming industry! There are almost too may to write about but here are a few that have caught my attention that are due to be released within the next several months....

Batman: Arkham City
Release date: 18th October

The long awaited sequel to Arkham Asylum is almost finally here and is the game that I have been really looking forward to all year! Arkham Asylum is in my top 3 games of all time on the Xbox so expecting big things as The Dark Knight now enters what seems to be the home of all the worlds worst criminals in Gotham City to again take on The Joker. It will be very interesting to see how big the city map will be compared to the first game but from what I have seen and read from it so far I dont think we are going to be disappointed with there being plenty of secret locations to discover. Batman has new weapons and upgrades making him even more of a lean mean fighting machine and you can also control Catwomen who has different skills to Batman and far more agile making climbing, gliding even quicker than with Batman. The challenge modes have been kept with combat mode which has you fighting against various enemies using combos to build up your score and the Predator mode where you sneak around using the character's abilities to take down enemies quietly. Also the game has been made compatible with stereoscopic 3D which will no doubt make the graphics even more incredible!!


Battlefield 3
Release date: 28th October

Having never really switched from Call Of Duty for my dossage of first person shooters I recently purchased Battlefield 2 due to seeing a few good reviews about it and I wasnt disappointed so there is no doubt that this game will be arriving through my letterbox in the next few weeks! In Battlefield 3, players step into the role of the elite U.S Marines where you experience action filled single player missions and also multiplayer actions all around the globe including Paris, Tehran and New York. What has impressed in previous Battlefields is that the campaign felt a lot more realistic than Call Of Duty partly due to anything around you being able to be blown to pieces and the enemies fire wasnt coming from infront of you all the time as there were times where your getting shot at from all directions. Also being able to use vehicles is added fun so the general feel of the enviroment around you in the game is pretty impressive. These are feature that they have built on in Battlefield 3 with the introduction of Frostbite 2 which is the technology that makes the animation, destruction, lighting, scale and audio even better which is designed to make the player feel immersed physically and emotionally into the environment around them. The vehicle warfare engine has also been upgraded with a fitting sonic boom as fighter jets headline an impressive lineup of land, see and air vehicles. These may seem "little" features to some people but I believe these are what give a game an edge over its rivals. Theres no doubt that it will always be in the shadow of COD but if you prefer the more tactical and realistic aspects of war then I believe you will prefer this game over COD.


UFC Undisputed 3
Release date: 13th January 2011

Now I know this isnt due to be released for some time but being a massive UFC fan and having spent far too many hours on the previous two games its safe to say I'm pretty excited so I thought I would give it a mention! The main features that impressed me with the first two games was the career modes and the way the game hypes up each fight as it is built up exactly like you would see when watching a live UFC event on the TV. For a sporting game I think its important to get the build up to a match/event right as I know it draws me right into the action and as sad as it sounds gets me pumped up like I am actually playing...now you know its a good game if it does that to you! You can tell that the guys that made this have worked on improving these aspects each time and this latest game to the series of UFC games wont be an exception as the developers have pointed out the visual improvements from broadbcast to cage-side through to new camera positions and FINALLY the introduction of fighter entrances! Now one critisism that could be made with the previous games is that it isnt too kind to new users who want to pick the game up and go straight into it as even on the easiest AI setting if you didnt know any defensive controls expecially ground controls then you would get beaten up pretty badly. To try and help improve this new gameplay accessibility has been introduced to give you a choice between traditional and simplified controls to enable all skill levels to experience the intensity of the game. Personally I believe if you want to really feel like you are in a fight take the time to learn the traditional controls as the tutorials were very good in the previous games and it feels much more satisfying when you have won a fight using the more complex moves during a fight! The amount of fighters have been increased with the introduction of Featherweight and Bantamweight divisions which were missing in the previous two games and a new Pride mode which takes you into the brutal world of Japanese MMA. This game will certainly kick the new year off in style....

Dead Island

The much anticipated Dead Island arrived through my letter box 2 days before the official release date (Recommend Shopto for pre-orders) last week which has meant a lot of hours lost to the Xbox. From the reviews I read and videos seen beforehand I was expecting big things expecially from the multiplayer aspect and so far I havent been disappointed. You start the game choosing one of four characters with each having a special atribute like using blunt weapons or an expert with guns and then waking up in your hotel room in a holiday resort. Unlike other zombie games such as Dead Rising, the game is first person game which I prefer and the whole menu option has the feel of the Fallout games to it. To start with you have to run through a few short basic missions to get used to the controls and to start the story line but then you can roam the map exploring and finding side quests as you please. Story line is as expected pretty basic for a zombie game......survive and escape with the side quests used to gain money, experience points and XP to level up to increase your survival and combat skills. I can certainly see both Left For Dead and Dead Rising in this game and I do think they have done a good job of getting the best from both. Like Dead Rising you can combine and make weapons with all the random things you can pick up and they do get damaged but I havent had a problem keeping the repair levels high finding a work bench. The game is more serious than Dead Rising so there wont be any dressing up in dresses and lunching big teddy bears at the zombies but you can have a bit of fun driving trucks into crowds of zombies! The parts of the game that reminds me of Left For Dead are some of the stronger zombies are very similar to the Boomer, Charger and Spitter you see in Left For Dead and the 4 player co-op. The multiplayer aspect is fun with all of the players recieving XP for zombies that are killed by the other players but you have to make sure you are at a similar part in the story or similar level to the other players as if you are level 10 in a game with level 20 then the zombies are a lot harder and you wont get any of the XP for completing missions as you would have skipped some of the story. The only niggling part for me is that it is first come first served with regards to the loot you find as it will only let one player take it so it can get a bit annoying killing zombies and one of the other players stealing the money or weapon before you get there!! One suprise is that there are three maps and they are big and varied enough to keep you entertained throughout the game. Overall this is a fun game and certainly recommend it if you like zombie games.

Rating: 4/5

And so its that time of the year again....

So the Premier Leage season finally gets underway today after an interesting pre-season of transfers and the usual millions being spent improving squads. The usual names will be expected to challenge for the title but personally I can't see anybody getting past Manchester United. The addition of Ashley Young brings in even more pace and superb delivery and the arrival of an extra centre back in Phil Jones means that United shouldnt suffer as badly if injuries strike Vidic and Ferdinand like last season.

Manchester City with the players they have brought in should be the closest challengers to United and will be interesting to see how Aguero settles in the Premier League. The pressure will be on him to deliver straight away and will be fascinating to see whether Tevez plays any part in the first few games of the season. City will have to get out the blocks fast if they want to win the title and the only thing that I can see stopping them is the way very defensive way Mancini plays expecially against teams lower in the league that they need to beat if they are going to win the league.

Chelsea under there new manager will certainly be up there but I dont believe they will win the title this year. The squad is again mostly the same with the addition of a few younger players but I still think they will have the same problem as the last half of last season of who to lead the front line...Drogba or Torres. The manager is no doubt talented but I beleive he will need time and everybody knows that the Chelsea manager doesnt get time. If he is given 3 seasons then I believe he will deliver the league and maybe the Champions League but asking a lot to deliver that in your first season. I never understand while Chelsea have sacked their managers as people forget that Alex ferguson didnt win anything for the first 6/7 years of being at Manchester United and was thought to be close to getting the sack before winning his first trophy there the FA Cup!!

Liverpool are the biggest spenders and the names they have got in are good however much they over paid for them. I certainly think top four for Liverpool but I dont think they will be near winning the league. After two seasons not in the Champions League that is where they must get and build from there. The midfield at Liverpool is going to be very competitive and you would expect that Downing will be a regular but I dont think Henderson will be this season at least as I cant see Dalglish leaving Kuyt out the side too much and he wont play him up front unless Carrol or Suarez is missing. This is a very big year for Liverpool and the honeymoon period is over for Dalglish with the pressure to deliver now on his shoulders and nobody can say he hasnt been backed as thats the most any Liverpool manager has been given to spend on players in one season.

Arsenal with their current squad I think will struggle to finish in the top four this year and thats the first time I have thought this going into a season. With it looking like Nasri and Fabregas on the way out that leaves the midfield short and looking like built around Ramsey and Wilshire who are no doubt fantastic players but will need help in that area. The defence as usual is cause for concern with another centre back needed with the injuries that Vermaelen picks up but again Wenger seems stubborn in his ways and bought another youngster in Jenkinson. Arsenal are great club which is ran very well and no doubt Wenger is hugely responsible for that but every year players are being talked about being great in the future when Arsenal fans are now wanting a team to be great now and start bring back trophies. The annoying thing is is that it isnt like Arsene has to spend huge amounts and loads of players, they just need to add to the spine of the team in a world class centre back, centre midfielder and another forward player. If they had more steel in the team last season I believe they would have won the league but at the time of writing Arsenal seem to be losing their big players and are going to be relying on youth for most of the season.

Top six prediction:

1) Manchester United
2) Manchester City
3) Chelsea
4) Liverpool
5) Arsenal
6) Spurs

Not as bad as first thought...well kind of..

Its been a few months since my last post so thought would post the on-goings since stopping competitve running! Had my MRI scan results back this week and although it does confirm cartilage damage it not quite as bad as first thought. I still have cartilage damage but instead of possible grade 2-3 has come back between grade 1-2. Grade 1 is where the cartilage has soft spot or blisters and grade 2 is where there are tears visible in the cartilage. I do have tears in the cartilage but they are apparently only minor but the good news is that it seemed to have co-inside with Patellofemoral Pain AKA as "runners knee" which gives off a dull, aching pain under or around the front of the kneecap (patella) where it connects with the lower end of the thighbone (femur) where the treatment is simply RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and I have noticed a mark improvement the last few months with no running!! The doctors believe that I can keep running aslong as on grass and not "intense training" basically me running 50 plus miles a week so I will still not compete anymore but its good to know I can still keep fit running a few times a week!

Stopping running was a big blow at first and of course did miss it but after a few weeks was actually enjoying other activities a bit more and didnt miss the intensity of training so all in all I think it has done me some good as there is a lot more to life than running. One of the main things is that its nice not too feel tired all the time as I didnt realise how used to feeling tired I was! After a few weeks rest I was wide awake after 6 hours sleep and bouncing off the walls with so much energy! So overall its good news as running no matter what will be part of me until the day I die and nice to be able to still run but certainly going to enjoy some other activities in life. Some would say I havent really achieved what I was capable of during my running career but only my closest friends know that I was never a "proper" athlete and if there was a world championships of racing after drinking 10 pints and smoking drugs and roll ups the night before then I would certainly be up there! Looking back my best moment in running is a weird one...back in 2001 after an afternoon bunking off lectures and smoking a few joints going to run Yeovilton 5k and ended up running 15:45 spending 30 minutes after the race lead in a heap puking my guts up. Another one was winning the Burnham On Sea half marathon in 72:33 after getting home at 3am from a night on the town...im no role model! Now sorry if that offends you "proper" athletes but that is just the way I was and I lost count of the amount of times people saying "you could be a lot better if you lifestyle was better". Yeah thats true but running was always just a part of my life and NOT my entire life. My housemate came up with a good name for it...Rock and Roll athlete!

The end is near.......

Not good news running wise from me as doctor and sports physio have said they think I have grade two knee cartilage problems. Last 6 weeks have been getting a random aching pain which then progressed to a nasty pain where felt like somebody was drilling my knee! Is very on and off so went to sports physio and after a few visits said cartilage issue. Went to the doctors aswell just for another opinion (even though sports physio prob more accurate) and they also said cartilage problems (without me saying already been to a physio). Doctor thinks I shouldnt be running at all until after MRI scan and some other test but physio says see how I feel and just make sure its now more than a few times a week on grass. So this week I havent done any running and will try and do 3 runs a week on grass which will basically be 2 speed sessions and a longer steay run! Down to run a 3k at the next British League 2nd July but doubt I will be in any decent shape which is a shame as thought I could get into reasonable form. A little but gutted at the moment but will see how it pans out but the days of 50 mile plus week have def gone out the window...time to get fat by eating pies could be around the corner.....

Learning from mistakes....

After a good spell I seem to be going through a bit of a bad patch running wise after another below par performance at the Wells 10k Sunday. Did my usual hard session last Tuesday of 2 x 5mins, 2 x 4mins, 2 x 3mins 2 x 1mins off 60 seconds recovery on grass and that went very well, running relaxed and a fairly decent pace but then the days after that I was feeling worse and worse instead of the body feeling more recovered!! Certainly wasnt the training intensity as was just running easy 5 miles the days leading up to the race but feeling more and more tired. The usual shift change at work didnt help last week as I finished work 9pm Thursday and had to start 8am the following day!! Think I got 4 hours sleep which finished me off for the weekend and wasnt feeling it all day Saturday. Come race day on Sunday after the first mile my legs were already feeling heavy and could feel my body beginning to just fall out from under me but still managed to finish second only 15 seconds off the leader in a slow 33:58 although the course was far from fast as had to run up a pretty steep 300 meters each lap which basically finished me off. No disrespect to the winner but I am usually a minute clear of him in recent races and was pretty annoyed at the finish! Sunday my housemate commented on how swollen my glands were and I wasnt feeling too great and Monday I went for my usual easy 5 mile run but turned around after 2.5 miles as just wasnt worth it as the glands were instantly swallon again and felt generally rubbish. Took Tuesday off from running altogether and this evening just a steady 40minutes with Kevin Sparey and although my legs are still struggling generally starting to feel better. Now if we reqind 3 years and when I was training flat out while at university in Cardiff I know I wouldnt have listened to my body as I would have hammered a 10 mile run on the Monday and then struggled through a speed session Tuesday which would have finished me off and put me in bed for a week!!! So I guess I have finally learned my lessons however long it took! I will proberly sack of any hard runs this week and go from there and proberly miss this months Yeovilton 5k as have nothing to gain and everything to lose when not at full health!

Same time different race

This Wednesday was the second in the series of Yeovilton 5k where I managed to run exactly the same time as last month of 15:42 for 2nd place but the way I ran to finish in that time was totally different to the previous race. Was working a normal shift for a change but all day at work was feeling far more tired than usual proberly because the change of shift as having been on lates for weeks before, to go straight back to early starts was struggling to get to sleep at a reasonable hour! Tried perking myself up with the usual can of redbull a few hours before but driving there from work was really struggling to keep my eyes open!! On the warm up all I could think about was going to bed when home so safe to say my mind wasnt really up for the race. Anyway a few splashes of cold water on the face and aggressive strides and was on the start line and race started. Where last month there was a good group of us and the pace was fairly steady, this month was a much faster start and I wasnt feeling comfortable right from the off. Managed to keep in touch with clubmate Jon James until 3.5k when the shouders tightened and slowly came off the back and just about hung on to second place. Last month I felt very strong but this time felt very heavy and just generally knackered so considering how I felt I would have snapped your hand off if you said before the race I would run 15:42 again with how I was feeling! This really made me aware of how important sleep is several days before a race as was even sleepy once the race started. With the shift pattern the way it is there isnt really anything I can do to change this as have always struggled during the first week of a change in shifts expecially from late to early and when I try to get to bed earlier im just wide awake. I know im capable of faster just going by last few speed sessions compared with the sessions before last months race as they have been a lot quicker expecially the 5k paced sessions so I know its there its just getting everything right on the day. Next race is the Wells 10k and after that will signal the start of some real fast sessions on the track to get the legs ticking over better ready for a few burn ups over 1500meters/5000 meters on track.

1 0:15:25 JAMES, Jon Wells City Harriers Male Veteran 40 639 1
2 0:15:42 GRIST, Peter Wells City Harriers Senior Male 508 2
3 0:15:47 BURTON, Miles Team Bath Junior Male 527 3
4 0:15:56 COOPER, Tristan Wells City Harriers Senior Male 685 4
5 0:16:37 YOUNG, Kieran Bristol & West/Portishead Junior Male 562 5

Official Glastonbury 10k results

Finally some results!!

1	2	Ben Tickner		Wells City Harriers		SM	1	0:30:43
2	484	Jon James		Wells City Harriers		M40	1	0:32:46
3	458	Peter Grist		Wells City Harriers		SM	2	0:33:08
4	474	Allister Sheffield		Team Bath AC		SM	3	0:33:15
5	376	Eddie Richards		Wells City Harriers	Local	M40	2	0:33:32
6	42	Nathan Young		Bristol & West AC		SM	4	0:33:39
7	4	Dan Woolford		Bristol & West AC		SM	5	0:34:12
8	551	Mark Hopkinson				SM	6	0:34:30
9	482	Mike Griffiths		Team Bath AC		SM	7	0:34:49
10	255	Tom Bush		Altrincham AC		SM	8	0:35:06

Not setting the world on fire by any stretch but a few of the runners just behind me have been running very well and on current form on paper I should have been outside the top 3 so very satisfied with that!!

Glastonbury 10k

Yesterday was the Glastonbury 10k where I managed to hang on to third place picking up a nice bit of prize money for the first time since I last ran this race 5 years ago!! A good turn out by Wells City Harriers as you would expect for a local race included former British international Ben Tickner who again won with an unoffical time of 30:40 followed by another Wells Harrier Jon James who is proving to be one of the best vets around at the moment! Start of the race had the usual kids at the front sprinting off up the hill meaning I was in around 30th place after 400 meters but then formality arrived and with Ben already clear the chasing group that included myself, Jon, Nathan Young, Eddie Richards and a few others settled in to the race with a little bit of cat and mouse developing with nobody wanting to lead with most of the race going into a head wind. After 3k I moved up along side Jon and started to increase the pace gradually which dropped the rest of the group leaving a Wells trio of me Jon and Eddie Richards racing for the rest of the prize money. After 5k Eddie dropped off the pace and I was also already starting to struggle but I knew if I managed to hang on to Jon a little longer it would develop a sustainable gap to hang on to until the finish which is exactly what happened as I lost contact with Jon after 7k and just dug in to hold out until the end. The lack of miles are noticable expecially over 10k but I am pleased with the way Im giving everything in races at the moment as my training paces suggest I should be running a fair bit slower than I am. I cant remember the last time I felt that exhausted after a 10k race as after crossing the line I couldnt stand up and could be seen laid in a lump next to the water station for about 15 minutes but overall was worth it as a really enjoyable race and friendly atmosphere. That was the first time I have ran this race since it changed from 9k to 10k race and must say has improved in every aspect. Very suprised more runners from the Frome area didnt race this as much better and bigger race than the Corsham 10k which was on the same day.

Yeovil Easter 10k

Very hot weather for the annual Yeovil 10k today where I just about did what I set out to do and break 33 minutes. Ben Tickner was up to see his family over the holidays and was running on his own right from the gun leaving a group of around 8 athletes including myself to battle it out and after 3k was sat just behind the two Bristol athletes where we managed to pull away from the third group and was in contention for second place until the 7k mark where I began to struggle and dropped of the pace but managed to hold on for 4th place in a time of 32:53 which to be fair I would of taken before the race started. Very good to see my fellow club mate and good mate Ben win in style coming home in 30:02 which for a solo run in the heat was very impressive! I just hope when I go down to Brighton/Worthing in next few months him and Matty Dumigan go easy and give me a head start when we train!!! Im finding at the moment that even though on very low millage compared to what I used to run im not actually running that much slower which says a lot about how I trained before I got injured!! More progress made from Kev Sparey who continued his comeback from serious illness to finish in 38:04 to finish second in vet50 catagory and a great turn out by Frome running club with several impressive runs (results to follow when released) including Ted Sprules who dipped under the 40 minute mark!!

A special mention must go out to the runners who ran the London marathon including Frome's Georgie Starkie who ran an impressive 3hours 18 minutes to smash her personal best by 7 minutes even though she missed a large amaount of training in the lead up due to illness!! Surely another pb on the way in November when Georgie runs New York marathon!!

Frustrating Arsenal

So looks like another season with no silverware for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal after a 2-1 away defeat to Bolton making that the 3rd game where points have been dropped this week. For all their attractive and attacking football Arsenal again lacked the organisation, communication and character to get results when the pressure is well and truly on them. No doubt that all fantastic footballers but when you think back to the last time Arsenal were winning titles they had big personalities in the team like Adams and Vieira who were often seen barking orders at their team mates and rallying the team in tough periods and this team simply do not have anyone willing to do this. Whenever Bolton had a corner or a set play the Arsenal defence seemed silent, no shouting, no pointing, no organisation and basically no communication with the winning goal wrapping up a performance that sums up Arsenal's season where they dominated large parts of the game, missed their chances, overplaying at times and conceding very soft goals. Yes Arsenal have had injuries but then so have Manchester United who have played several games without Vidic AND Ferdinand but have still manage to bring back the points. There is no harm in "winning ugly" like United have done which is something Wenger doesnt seem like doing. Its time for Arsenal to spend some money for players that are ready now and are not going to need a few years developing as I think its fair to say that Arsenal have enough youth/younger players already and a few experienced quality buys added to this will take them to the next level. When you look at Manchester United's squad they have a brilliant mix of youth and experience and they alwahys have with players like Giggs, Scholes and Ferdinand who have all been there and won trophies before which is such an advantage when the pressure is really on in the last 10 games.... Arsenal on the other hand have nobody in their team who have won major trophies apart from Fabregas who won the 2005 FA Cup.

Yeovilton 5k

Last night was the first Yeovilton 5k road race and was pretty satisfied with the way it went. Before the race I thought it would be touch and go whether I would get back under 16 minutes going by how I ran at Easleigh 10k and if I was going to do it then would have to be an evenly run race. After about 800 meters I was sitting just behind the leading group in about 8th place knowing that some of them would start to drop off and after about 1500 meters the group was down to around 6. Kept on the shoulder of Bristol's Nathan Young until just before 3k when everyone started looking around wanting somebody else to take the pace and the pace was slowing so I decided to take the pace and gradually wind it up as was feeling ok and the guys around me usually outkick me so was my best chance. From 3-4k 3 of us managed to get away from the rest of the field which left a great race in the last 800 meters ended in me just losing out on the sprint finish to finish 3rd with a time of 15:42. Very pleased to be back under 16mintues and how good I felt throughout the race as last year really was struggling to run at that pace right from the off. Excellent run from Nathan Young to Win in 15:37 just beating my fellow club mate Jon James by 1 second.

Other great runs were by Frome's Dan Berryman who smashed his pb to get under 20minutes for the first time in 19:43 and will be very intresting to see how fast he can run 5k by end of summer...go for it Dan! Also Kevin Sparey returning to running after 14months off with a heart problem ran an incredible 18:10 at the age of 56!!

Next race is the 10k at Yeovilton week Monday and will be aiming for sub 33 but main focus is 5k and maybe shorter over summer.

Best of luck to all guys and girls running London this weekend!!

Friday was my last hard session before Wednesdays 5k run at Yeovilton and was 4 x 800, 2 x 400, 2 x 300s with long recovery to get the legs ticking over a lot quicker than used to in the last few months. They felt hard but also were quickr than I though were going to be which is a good sign and finished strong on the 300s which im hoping gets sets me up well for the 5k race. Nice easy 40 minutes for the days leading up to the race and legs are feeling fresh so fingers crossed. Either way it will be good to get back into the shorter races as I have certainly missed them after a winter of long "boring" runs.

Of course this weekend is the London marathon and best of luck to all those who are running it! People are asking me whether I am disappointed not to be running Sunday and I can honestly say im not! I would say ill be watching for support but not going to lie I proberly wont be as if I am up then I will be doing my own run. Also as much as I love running I find watching marathons on TV to bore the living crap out of me as not a lot happens for most of the race. To be honest the only running I will watch are the track events from 800-5000 meters as always something happening and over in a short space of time!!

Got news yesterday that Wells City wont be sending a team to the 12 stage as too many drop outs so looks like a weekend off racing and hopefully making the most of some sunny weather...

On the training front the 400s yesterday went a lot better, still nothing special but felt more relaxed and controlled keeping a consistent pace instead of breathing out my backside after 3 reps!! Nice chilled 45 minutes today in the sun before work and more of the same tomorrow before a session Friday then easy running before the first 5k of the year.

Yesterday was 17 years since Kurt Cobains death and 9 years since Layne Staley passing away and this made me think and look at my music collection and realised that most of my music is from the late 1980s early 1990s and where all my fav bands come from. Still remember the day Staley died paying tribute to him with about 4 cans of cider (all I could handle back then) and a loaded joint listening to Alice In Chains unplugged who in my opinion are the best "grunge" band that came out (although massive fans of all of them). Was a tad too young to get stoned when Cobain died but do remember it coming on the news and mother listening to In Utero very loudly which pretty much got me into this type of music. Really wish I could have seen Nirvana live and love watching Nirvana Live and Loud which was there last televised gig for MTV in 1994. Watched Alice In Chains with their new frontman at Download festival a few years ago and although never going to be as good as with Staley singing was amazing to see the guitar god that is Jerry Cantrell. What I love about these bands was the heavy, darker and dirty sound they all had compared to the commercially radio-friendly computer made crap was and still around in all the charts. These bands didnt didnt join a band to become famous, they were just a few friends jamming that happened to make music that was a bit different and appealled to the people that were getting fed up of the commercial pop shite. Although Nirvana became a commercial success that wasnt their choice as proberly Cobains death confirmed but in my opinion there hasnt been any other bands of type of music that has made the same impact since and proberly there wont be again.

Top 3 Nirvana songs:
1) Drain You
2) Negative Creep
3) Radio Friendly Unit Shifter

Top 3 Alice In Chain songs:
1) Would?
2) Man In The Box
3) No Excuses

Running update

Since eastleigh 10k have been training fairly steady only hitting 40 miles a week for the last two weeks but the quality sessions have been in there. Wednesday was a session around packsaddle of 4 x 800, 6 x 400, 4 x 200 with 90 seconds recovery and felt a lot more comfortable than the previous weeks efforts. Steady running for the rest of the week until Saturday when had a decent grass session of 1 x 5min, 2 x 4, 3 x 3, 2 x 2, 2 x 1 with 60 secs recovery. Went out Saturday night so only managed a 40 minute run Sunday followed by a rest day today and planning a grass session of 400s tomorrow followed by easy running until Saturday when I travel to Birmingham's Sutton Park for the National Road Relay which involves 6 short legs (5,5kish) and 6 long legs (8.5kish). Wells qualified in the southern road relays in 14th place (top 25 go through) and although we will be missing a few big guns we should still finish in a respectable position.

Overall I think around 40-50 miles a week is going to be the limit over the summer as enjoying doing others things in my spare time and that will be enough training to perform respectably over the summer.

New Foo Fighters Album - Wasting Light

Managed to have a cheeky listen to the new Foo Fighters album today and after hearing that former Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear has returned to the band and that Grohl decided reunite with Butch Vig (producer of Nirvana's Nevermind) to produce the record was expecting it to be a slight improvement from the last album and more of a return to Colour and The Shape and There's Nothing Left To Lose years. As solid as this album is I was slightly disappointed with it although it will still be one of the btter rock albums of 211. What I loved about the Foo Fighters in there first three albums was the mixture of melodies with heavy riffs using the very affective quiet verses loud chorus method with Grohl often going away from the melody to scream. This album is basically a follow on to the previous album which isnt all bad as there are some excellent melodies and neat over laying guitar playing but dont expect crunching riffs and headbanging as the Foo Fighters have certainly matured musically over the 16 years they have been together moving away from the Nirvana grunge type to a more broad rock sound that will appeal to a wider audience and be more suited to stadium/arena gigs than the dark smelly and sweat pits of small club venues. A perfect example of the musical change is the song A Matter Of Time where the best riff on the album thunders out and when you expect the song to kick on with the heavy riff it stops completely before returning to the same old two chord palm mutted verse. There is a nice touch on the song I should Have Known where former Nirvana bassist Kris Novoselic plays bass where Grohl has said in recent interviews brought back fond memories of Nirvana with Grohl, Smear, Butch Vig and Novoselic working together for the first time since Nirvana ended in 1994.

Stand out songs: White Limo, Miss The Misery, Bridge Burning.
Rating: 3/5
Released April 11th.

Geek Fest

Before working at Sky I wasnt that into video games although did play them a lot as a kid but now I have turned into a big kid (at times anyway)!! Best memories from gaming 20 years ago was the ZX Spectrum and having to wait up to an hour for the game to load via the tape player only for me dodgy power lead getting nudged and resetting the bloody thing having to start all over again!!

Top 10 games I played on there (as there were hundreds..literally)

1) Daley Thompson Super test.
2) Football Manager
3) Jetpac
4) The Great Escape
5) Solomon's key
6) Boulder Dash
7) Jet Set Willy
8) The trap Door
9) Ian Bothem's Test Match
10) Battle of Britain

After the spectrum remember getting a Sega Mega drive for christmas in 1991 where became a massive Sonic fan along with the mighty Golden Axe and Streets of Rage before "converting" to the Super Nintendo with Megaman, Mario kart and Zelda!

Bought an xbox a few years ago and although has taken me a while have finally turned back the years and whenever have free time and playing video games.....yes I know there are a few of you that will read this and think what a sad sack but fuck it...I really dont care :P. Currently addicted to Mass Effect 2 and Fable III is sat waiting for me to finish Mass Effect which is a nice change as have spent the previous 4 months Playing Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas and have FINALLY got bored with them after nearly 150 hours game time for both of them!!

There are a few people at work who have gaming websites for reviews etc, if your into that type of thing check them out:

http://www.ggsgamer.com
http://www.16bits.co.uk/

Eastleigh 10k

This was my first "big" 10k race for a few years and was enjoyable to get back on the start line for this type of race. Before the race I would have taken 33mins dead but after finishing was a little disappointed with it really just based on the way I ran the race.

I started steady as planned but after 2k I pushed through the field a little too hard when should have sat in with the group and ended up struggling to hang on for the last few kilometers finishing in 18th place with 33:00 (32:58 chip time). Should have been easily under 33minutes but was still a solid time and good to get a tough race under the belt.

Was also good to see a few friends that havent seen for a while including Matt dumigan who had a storming run of 31:03 to finish 3rd place which was a great run considering he has only just started back to full training after a long lay off.

Results:
http://thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=44143

Bit of a running update:

Yesterday managed to get out in the sun for a grass session of 6 x 800/90 rec and 4 x 300s. Main thing is got them done but felt pretty rough but I think this is just down to not running much at that pace ad hopefully over the next few weeks should begin to feel a little more comfortable at that pace.

Yesterday evening I went to watch Frome FC at home to Totton and was suprised with how many people were at the game. now 358 people may not sound a lot but I believe that was the biggest Frome have had for several years and one of the highest in the whole division this season. Totton must have had near 100 fans there aswell with by far their loudest fan being a mid 40s fat and bald bloke who was chanting the entire game and im not joking! Best moment when he turned to the Frome fans standing infront of the club house with his arms in the air and started taunting them...bloody funny and brave although I reckon I could fit two of me inside one of his trouser legs and had the biggest set of man tits I think I have ever seen..hope they made him walk back to Totton as he could of done with the exercise.

Frome Town FC 0 - 3 AFC Totton

AFC Totton continued their impressive form and took a big step to automatic promotion by recording a comfortable 3-0 win away at The Aldersmith Stadium. Both teams struggled to create chances until the midway point of the first half when a neat turn and shot on the edge of the area forced a good save from Totton's keeper. The deadlock was broken minutes later when Totton's number 11 (who was causing Frome problems all night) turned his marker and struck a fierce shot that flew into the bottom right to give the vistors the lead. The lead was soon doubled after Frome gave away a cheap free kick on the edge of their penalty area and were made to pay as the resulting shot went through the wall and into the corner of the net giving the keeper no chance.

In the second half Frome's direct style of play wasnt creating any chances and if anything was putting them on the back foot as Totton would come straight back at them with some tidy posession play creating further half chances for themselves. The third goal was anything but tidy as Frome's defence failed to clear a long ball into the box allowing Totton's midfielder to run inside the box drilling a low shot that beat the keeper at his near post. Things got even worse for Frome 10 minutes later when after Frome had a goal disallowed for a foul on Totton's defender, captain Jamie Cheeseman recieved a second yellow card for dissent and recieved his marching orders.
Frome have to brush this defeat off quickly as they are straight back in action on Saturday with the visit of Bishops Cleeve to the Aldersmith Stadium followed by a trip to Mangotsfield United on Monday 28th March and will need to pick up points to hold off the chasing Hungerford and Almondsbury Town for the remaining playoff places.

Attendance: 358 (highest of season)

Support your local team

Tonight is a big night of football....no its not Champions league or is it international matches, its Frome Town FC home to top of the table AFC Totton who are 8 points clear in the race for automatic promotion to the Zamaretto Premier Division (league below Conference South). Frome have recovered from a poor start to the season and are now sitting 4th five points clear of 5th with two games in hand with the teams from 2nd to 5th entering the playoffs at the end of the season. This is only the second season in this division for Frome since promotion where they finished just outside the playoffs in 6th place so yet another improvement this year and the strong possibility of extending the season by reaching the playoffs.

With AFC Totton in total control of the league and marching towards promotion this will be a good test for Frome to see how far they have come and a chance of revenge after a 3-2 away defeat earlier in the season. Frome come into this match unbeaten in 9 league games winning the last five including an 8-0 destruction of North Leigh on Saturday so if your bored get on down to the Aldersmith Stadium tonight.....kick off is 7:45pm.

Loving the warmer weather at the moment, makes a nice change of not spending half the run warming up! Saturday I managed to slightly pull my calf again on a steady 5 miles so decided against the 10k but after doing a few things on Sunday got bored and decided to go and smash a threshold run as the calf seemed ok and glad I did.

Since picking up the illness I havent had any decent training runs or sessions so knocks confidence a little bit but taking a bif of a gamble and running Sunday paid off for once. Went the usual 5 miles route I usually do on Saturday and right from the first mile I felt very strong and comfortable going through the first mile about 12 seconds quicker than usual finishing on a 5:09 mile finishing in 26:29 which is a massive improvement for me recently.

Not taking it all so seriously since withdrawing from the marathon has lifted a bit of a weight from the shoulders and just enjoying running for the sake of it. Been running most days but havent worried about hitting 10 mile plus runs and is just aswell as work is busy and have other things going on outside of work.

Thinking about seeing how fast I can go over 5k this summer off a low millage of around 40 - 50 miles a week as be interesting to see if can get anywhere near my best off half the training as I think its possible as long as the quality sessions are in there and managed to get one run over 10 miles in a week...

Officially withdrawn...

Today filled out the withdraw form for London but will have a place for next year if I want to run which is a plus so will see how it all goes after the summer!!

This weeks training has been fairly relaxed millage wise but a bit more intense. After a day off Monday decided to get the legs ticking over a bit quicker by the standard "summer session" of 10 x 400s with a minute recovery. Safe to say a massive shock to the system and was blowing massively after the first few but have to start somewhere and it felt really good to be running (or trying to) fast again...time wise it was shocking compared to what was used to but solid for someone that hasnt done a session like that for going on 9 months!

Brisk 50 and 35 minute runs followed the two days afterwards with a road fartlek session Friday evening where it was fairly relaxed as deciding whether to run a local 10k Sunday. Legs are feeling a lot better and so is the chest (fingers crossed).

Was looking at some race websites and came across some VERY old results when running for Frome as a junior....might notice another Grist nearer the top of a few of them..

http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/1999/y5k1.htm
http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/1999/y5k2.htm
http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/1999/yeo53.htm
http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/1999/yeo54.htm
http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/1999/yeo55.htm

http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2000/yeo51.htm
http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2000/yeo52.htm
http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2000/yeo56.htm
http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2000/r5page1.html

http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2001/ytrrc%205k%20series%20race2%202001.html
http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2001/ytrrc%205k%20series%20race%203.html

Funny seeing the progression which I think was pretty much most races..was on similar training from the very first race listed in 1999 right up until the sub 16s in 2001 with the only real difference was the long run being several miles more. More doesnt always mean better....

So I have decided to call it a day and not run London this year. Feeling a lot better now but still not 100% as I found out on my first long run since the 20 mile race on Saturday. Ran 18 miles and the plan was to run plus 20, felt terrible the whole way round and generally didnt enjoy it! Gave it the weekend to contemplate but now def not running but still am planning to use this training to get some semi-decent times for the shorter distances. Am planning a few 10k races in the next few weeks so be interesting to see how they go as feel im in reasonable shape for them.

Summer plans are to get in as many 5k races as possible (yeovilton etc) with possibly getting on the start line to a few track races. Would like to try and get a few low key 1500 meter races in as really do enjoy those races. Love the intensity and tactics of them and the fact your basically flat out for 4 minutes. Would be good to get near by best time of 3:58.1 but would be ok with a low 4minute time.

So the next few weeks will be easing off a bit millage wise and increasing the intensity of some of the workouts. Def going to keep a long run of 14/15 miles on a sunday with a tempo run of 5miles for time being until move into the summer and the races start coming thick and fast.

Feel a bit disappointed with myself for not going through with it but no point getting on that start line knowing you havent done the training for it and not really motivated to be there. Will still keep the blog going with updates from training...

So still feeling pretty rubbish at the moment but hoping this will clear up in the next few days. All of this is showing how hard on your body training for a marathon can be and thats coming from someone who has been running since the age of 10!! Must admit I thought I would be able to hold out with the millage as used to run 70 plus every week easily but I guess the 2 years out of proper training have meant taking me longer than I thought to adapt back to this training.

Now you can be 18 to run a marathon but most of the time I would STRONGLY recommend against running one this young. If that 18 year old just wanted to get round and not worry too much with the time and wasnt going to run much for the rest of their life then fair enough go for it. But if that 18 year old was going to plan to run throughout their life and wanted to run in a decent time then absolutely no point as I believe you need to be strong enough for the training let alone the race and this means years of miles and training in the legs aswell as experience. Running local cross countrys, track races, 5k races and the odd 10k is where I personally learnt a lot about distance running in general and built a lot of strength from it all. When I was keen at 17/18 I proberly would have tried a marathon but I was lucky in that I had people who knew what they were doing advising me and plus my old man would never have let me punish myself over 26 miles at that age as was showing potential over the shorter distances of 5k and cross country.

From more of a coach point of view seeing I have advised athletes in the past about training and racing, I wouldnt advise an athlete to do a marathon at that age and if they insisted I would unfortunately have nothing to do with it. Have to think havent stopped growing and developing at 18 for most and pounding the streets training for 26 miles can end up in injury/illness a lot of the time...and yes I have seen athletes do this at this age never run again or never as quick.

Bit of a disaster today at Bath and to be honest in hindsight I shouldnt have even been on the start line. Wasnt feeling right right from the first mile and decided after 4 miles that once I got to the start of the second lap I would call it a day and so I did. Wasnt breathing heavy at all, just felt very flat and to round it all off the managed to get a slight pull on my calf. To be honest needing a Lemsip and some cough medicine this morning to make myself feel better was a sign that I shouldnt have bothered going.

Been having second thoughts about the marathon the last few weeks partly because not enjoying the training as all I seem to be doing is train and work with no time for anything else and missing the faster work for 5/10ks. So currently contemplating using the training so far as a base for a bit of a track season as my times for all the shorter distances could do with improving. Plus there are signs that my body just isnt up to it so instead of trying hammer myself might be time to call it a day and think about other options.

Still undecided whether to run tomorrow or not, just got back in from a few strides and body feels ok but still feeling a tad run down from the illness....looks like I will literally make the decision tomorrow morning after a good nights sleep.

Feeling a little better but have a bit of a chesty cough so Bath looking unlikely at the moment. Managed a very steady run yesterday and went ok but still not well enough to hammer myself over 13miles. Looks like a day of watching the football instead...

Have come down with a really heavy cold with the usual aching body, chesty cough etc which is pretty dam annoying with Bath next weekend which is now looking very unlikely. I keep telling myself its better now than a few weeks down the line but was hoping to have a good burn out at Bath.

Looks like several days of rest and taking an unhealthy amount of lemsips max......joy.

Finally feel recovered after Sundays run after a total day of rest Monday followed by 60mins at a very slow pace Tuesday. Legs felt very good today and set out for 12 mile run averaging miles from 5:55 - 6:20s around the lanes of Rudge and Beckington.

The whole experience of racing that distance Sunday went a lot better than I thought and was a massive confidence booster heading into the final weeks of training knowing that I can achieve what I planned if everything goes well on the day.

Bath half marathon next weekend and looking forward to racing again but not too keen on the race itself as I think the race is well over capacity and getting to the start is a total nightmare aswell as the race itself usually being delayed for some reason or another. The last few years when running the second lap you end up with a very small part of the road usually with water bottles thrown in you direction from the masses running on the other side of the road..you never know they may have sorted it but I very much doubt it! Anyhow the competition will be strong as ever and will be another good test..still deciding whether to have an easy week before it or train through it and have recovery week afterwards....mmmmmmm

Bramley 20

So today was my first run out since marathon training to see how things are going and pleased to say it went well. I planned to run this race in a controlled manor as I didnt want to take a week or 2 to get over it!! Having already ran 50 miles for the week before the race even started the legs felt better than I thought they would and so right from off I was at "goal pace" for marathon feeling good. With the 10 mile race starting at the same time I did have to really stop myself from going off too fast and let loads past in the first 3 miles but still clocking times from 5:40-5:50. Going through 5 miles in 28:44 was on my own until started the second lap when caught the second group going through 10 miles in 57:28. The group of 4 of us stayed together until 15/16th mile when I managed to get a slight gap picking of a few more in the last 2 miles finishing in 8th place. Very pleased that none of my miles were over 6minute miles and actually my last mile one of my faster ones!

My Garmin time for 20 miles was 1:55:35 saying that the finish line was 20.19 miles and going by what a few others said looks like the course was a tad long and official finshing time 1:56:30.

Big mention for Sandhurst joggers who are a very friendly lot expecially Nikki who ran a stormer coming home in 2:27 and for letting me crash at her and Jon's place Saturday night!!

Im now going to go and pass out for a few hours....

Thursday was my tempo run day this week due to work and even though I felt pretty rubbish and the weather wasnt great managed my best time yet. First mile of 5:27 was followed by 5:21 but it didnt feel too great as felt very tired and was thinking of cutting it short but dogged out a 5:18 third mile which kept the spirits up. Fourth mile in 5:35 was finished with a mile of 5:17 which meant a time of 27:01 for 5 miles which was a slight improvement on the previous weeks efforts so got to be happy with that!!

Friday I had the company of my good friend from Cardiff days Matt Dumigan where we ran a steady 55 minutes. Good to see Matt back running after suffering from shin splints twice in 18months who also ran 15:45 at Armagh 5k the previous night on 2 weeks of very light training! Wont be long before we see him back at his best of sub 14:30s for 5k I hope!!

Sun came out to play Saturday morning for a grass session of 1 x 5min, 2 x 4, 3 x 3, 2 x 2minutes with a minute recovery between each rep. Went well with the aim of running at 10k pace/effort.

Today was the usual long run and with Matt coming back from injury I wqent out for 10miles on my own before coming back and running 11 miles with Matt to get in 2hours 15minutes. Felt a lot better than previous weeks longer runs as usually start to struggle at around 1hour 50 mark but managed to hold it together for the entire duration which was pleasing!!

A few races this weekend where a massive congrats must go to former training buddy Joe Thomas who won the European indoor trials 800 meters in 1:47 and managed to get the qualifying time for Euro Champs in Paris. Also Vicky Plummer who broke 70 minutes for 10 miles at the Wiltshire 10 mile road race which was impressive with the howling weather today! Another big performance was Nikki Stanley a good friend who ran 1:31 at Wokingham half marathon earlier today. Nikki has only been running for a year and so this was a big breakthrough and I believe this was followed by a 20:30 5k Satuday aswell!! Massive weekend Nikki...very well done...nice few easy days I hope for you now!!

Hello there, been a few days since last update due to working and just couldnt be bothered!!

Monday morning was 6 miles fartlek which was basically 2minutes hard and 1 minute steady with it pissing down until I stopped when the sun came straight out....typical!!!

Tuesday was a day off work and finally a day off running which was good to actually do a few other things for a change and get some things been meaning to do for ages finally done!!

Today was a steady 12 miles along the cycle path which went fine apart from the legs feeling actually worse for the first few miles after a day off!!

This weekend have the company of a good friend from uni who is also a very good runner so will be nice to have some company and get my ass kicked!!!

Working 8-4 again today ruined the really long run as was too dark to go too far from home and I cannot be bothered with running too many loops around town so an easy 60mins was done today. That took this weeks millage to 65 which was lower than I wanted but work got in the way this week really struggling with the shift changes but still a solid week overall.

Next week is my "recovery week" but when I say recovery week I dont mean not running much at all, it just means lowering the millage again slighlty and including a total rest day as on the 20th I have a 20 mile race in Bramley which will end a very high millage week.

Today was the Longleat 10k which is a very tough course with loads of hills. A good turn out of Frome athletes which is what you would expect being so local and some decent results:

Keith Penny (S) – 40:03, Ted Sprules (V55) – 41:04 (1st V55), Dan Berryman (J) – 44:27 (4th J) , Chris Bone (S) – 44:29, Marcus Gaffney (V40) – 50:43, Kirsten Anderson (S) – 51:31, John Boulton (V50) – 52:21, Zoe Boulton (S) – 57:09, Stacey Burgess (V35) – 55:33, Sophy Bryan (S) – 57:33, Mandy Aston (V50) – 57:47 (5th V50), Emma Evans (V35) – 58:58, Catharine Dowling (S) – 1:00:38, Anne Porter (V50) – 1:02:15, Jo Johnson (V35) – 1:02:22, Kate Wareham (V35) – 1:04:56, Liz Davis (V40) – 1:05:33, Gemma Bull (S) – 1:08:02

Long day...Was up at 5:45am for a cup of tea before a steady 5 miles before starting work at 8am then when got home at 4:30 had to have a power nap for an hour before out the door again for a meduim paced 8 miles. Body was fine and felt really good tonight which is usually the case if I can get out for a jog in the morning but must say I am rather tired now! Looking forward to a day off running next week....

After a tired 11 miles wednesday, yesterdays run was much better and just shows what a difference a day makes!! Did 10 miles smack on 60 minutes feeling controlled over pretty hilly router and against wind for a fair few miles.

Todays run was just over 11 at a pretty easy pace, didnt bother to take my Garmin today as was important to recover and not get worried how fast or slow im running. Was a pretty bleak day with the wind and rain but got it done which was the main thing.

Been reading about marathon training and its intresting what different athletes and coaches suggest...Frank Horwell's training has been the basis of many top coaches and athletes over the year and well worth a read.. http://www.serpentine.org.uk/pages/advice_frank70.html

There are many other articles from him on this website regarding anything from 800 meter training to diet. Also recommend the 5 pace theory which was adapted by many like Peter Coe when training his son Sebastian Coe.

Tired tired tired

Felt very tired today but still managed to slog out a 11 miler before work averaging 6:30-40s per mile.

Was asked to play football the other night from a few friends havent seen for a while and when I said no the usual response of "ahh your a runner, you can play for a few hours" come out. This gets rather annoying sometimes as people who dont understand running and "proper training" dont realise that after a run its a struggle to walk around sometimes let alone add another physical activity such as football as you are always knackered and just trying to rest up as much as possible before the next days training. Any "non-runners" who disagree with this are welcome to join me for a weeks training aswell as carry on working fulltime.... come on...will be funny...for me anyway ;)

Very easy 40minutes Monday to loosen up the legs after Sundays long run and today managed a grass session before work:

1 x 5minutes, 2 x 4minutes, 3 x 3 minutes, 4 x 2 minutes with 1minute recovery inbetween and a few strides afterwards.

Being on late shifts again struggling to get as many miles in as would like but felt pretty good during the session today and was good to get a grass run in and protect the legs a bit.

Lovely day for the long run today and not as cold as it has been!! Ran along the cycle path right to Radstock and then all the way back again clocking up 19 miles. Felt a lot stronger than last week and ran similar pace also which was between 6:25-40 per mile...pretty comfortable all the way through. Managed to creep over 70 miles for the week again and now itching to get into a race to really see what kind of shape I am in.

Hello again!! The weather seems to be getting colder by the day and I seem to be wearing an extra layer each day!! Still training continues and has been a hard few days. Yesterday was a 13 mile steady run along the cycle path to Radstock where I had the company of a friend who was cycling which made the run go a bit quicker than usual!

Today was the standard 5 mile tempo run and after having a bit of a lie in after finishing work at 11pm last night I wasnt really in the mood for training today but these are the days that count and am rather pleased with myself that I dragged my arse out there as it went very well...

Ran 27:11 so pretty much identical to last week although the first mile was much slower clocking 5:39 but was feeling comfortable then ticking the second off in 5:27 and the third also at 5:27. Slightly faster 5:24 for the fourth was finished off with a strong 5:10 last mile. Very happy with that as was so much colder than last week..so far so good..lets just hope the body manages to hold out..

Steady 10 miles around the streets of Frome this evening with the Genius mode on my ipod in storming form. Smashing through hits from the mighty Foo Fighters, Muse, RHCP, Manic Street Preachers, Smashing Pumpkins, Blur, Oasis, Pulp made my run far more enjoyable and took my mind off the grind of running. Also reminded myself of some of the great times at music festivals Iv had watching some of these bands play expecially V Festival 2001 where I first discovered Muse and how bloody terrible Wheatus were (remember them?) managing to play Teenage Dirtbag for a whole 20 minutes!! The awful band decided to bring on a load of kids to sing the chorus thinking that would stop the heckling...but they were wrong big time as a soon as the chorus started for the 6000th time bottles of piss rained down on the stage and their set (and pain) was finally over...

On came Muse and blew the whole place apart with New Born and Plug in Baby where I remember just running into the middle of the crowd going nuts with all the other 17/18 year olds. Muse werent even playing on the main stage and when they finished we had to walk past the main stage where Toploader(where are they now?) where serving up their slow, boring and basically awful headlining set to a crowd who seemed more intrested in setting things on fire than listening to them.

Next night Foo Fighters and RHCP played which was epic and prob the still the best night iv had a festival. Various other shenanigans included smoking (or trying to) 40 Mayfair cigerettes in one night, passsing out after one too many cans of cider, sharing a 1 man tent between 3 of us due to us forgetting the poles to the 5 man tent and then breaking the zip to the door on the one man tent after the first night, forgetting my sleeping bag washing it all down by drinking a gone off milkshake which included fag butts, cider, beer, ash, vodka, tequila.....nice

Safe to say running at the time was going a little down hill....

Yesterdays run was just another easy 7 miles, wasnt going to run at all but glad I did as the legs felt better afterwards! Run was fairly entertaining with the help of a few "chavs" trying to race me only for one of them to trip over a curb and faceplant and a serious looking runner who I havent noticed before overtaking me, he was running pretty hard as I could hear his breathing over my ipod!! I did tell myself not to bother to race but sorry to say wasnt having any of it and opened up for a mile and flew past him. To be fair he did attempt to go with me when I went by but was soundly beaten a few seconds later...yes I know im far too competitive...

Day off work today and made the most of it with a first double-day for some time. Very easy 30 minutes at around 9am mostly on grass followed by a rep session at Packsaddle this evening. 5 x 2 laps with 90 secs recovery which is around 1350meters plus 4 x 1minute with 1 minute jog to finish. Didnt feel as good as last week but have had a decent few weeks and always going to get a below par session now and then. Looking forward to my bed this evening...knackered!

Just a steady 7 miles this evening after work with the company of the Manic Street Preachers on my ipod. Legs felt suprisingly good after yesterdays long run helped by hardly moving all day at work! Must admit my dad was right when he said do a marathon now while I dont have a physical job and hes right as I dont think I would be running let alone training for a marathon if I had a physically demanding job like being a postman. Im not too sure how the old man has done it all these years spending 8 plus hours everyday on his feet THEN going running...makes his times he has ran even more impressive!!

Long run

The typical long run today where I managed 20miles be it just!! First 10 miles were fine and ticking off the miles in 6:30-35s feeling relaxed but as soon as I hit 16 miles the wheels started to come off but I got lucky as I finally decided to take some energy gel with me. So after a quick stop to take that I managed to get the last 4 miles done in 6:40 but im not going to lie, was very pleased to be back home!! Didnt really eat enough before going out and a good lesson learned today...rather learn that lesson today than race day!!

The rest of the day has been a complete right off and have hardly moved since but feeling a lot better now with help from a few Friji milkshakes which I find are incredible at helping to get over a hard run.

Not a bad day today (so far) as Liverpool finally won and managed another decent tempo run after a fairly heavy week of millage.

Tempo run was ran over the same route as last week with the first and last miles being the same with the middle three miles undulating! Two mile warm up and a stretch and straight into it going through the first mile in 5:22 followed by 5:31. The third mile had to slightly ease off in places due to some icey parts but still managed 5:29 keeping that pace for the fourth mile finishing the last in a fairly decent 5:13 clocking 27:10 for the five miles. It was by no means easy but was pleased with rhythem I managed to get myself into and how strong I felt expecially after yesterdays 12 miles.

While I was injured, looking back at my training I realised that there wasnt anywhere near enough tempo runs partly being down to not liking them! Since iv been inlcuding these I can say im already feeling the benefits of them as they piece together all the other training aswell as getting you used to running near target pace for various distances.

The sun was out for a 12 mile "progression run" today where basically just a run starting easy and gradually increasing the pace every mile finishing strong but not flat out. Was a tad dodgy with ice around some of the lanes but was a pleasant run overall. Legs felt fine apart from a little heavy but would expect that with the increase in millage over the last few weeks.

There has been a new website created to re-launch the Mells Scenic 7 mile race that starts just outside Frome and I believe a new course. Good to have a local race and massive thanks goes out to the people that continue to run the event as I know how much hassel can be involved in organising these things!!

Check it out:

http://www.mellsscenic7.co.uk/

Today was suppose to be a day off but being such a nice day and the thought of being stuck in the office from 2-10 I thought id make the most of it and ran a very easy 5 miles which was proberly better for my legs than a complete day off!! Legs did feel a lot better compared to yesterdays 10 miler which was a relief!

Was clearing out some old stuff the other day when I came across some old training schedules when I was at Frome College and seeing I have been asked a few times what training I did back then thought I should post an example of a week...

This was from 1998-1999 - Was 14-15 years old and at the time best for 5k was 17:07..

Monday: 4 miles easy with Frome Athletics club (junior night)
Tuesday: reps session 6-8 x 400 meters with 75 secs recovery.
Wednesday: Run with Frome seniors usually 6 miles.
Thursday: Rest.
Friday: 3/4miles easy
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 8-10 miles very easy

Heres training when slightly older 16-17 when had a best of 15:44 over 5k.

Monday: 6 miles easy.
Tuesday: 10 x 400s off 1 minute recovery.
Wednesday: 8 miles with athletics club.
Thursday: 4 miles easy.
Friday: 5-8 x 3minutes hard with 1 minute jog.
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 10-12 miles.

Was very fortunate in that when I was a junior I did all my training with my dad who also was (and still is) a runner and watched over my training making sure I wasnt doing too much too soon. Most of reps were all on grass aswell as a lot of the steady miles. Also I didnt run a half marathon until I was 21 as by then pretty much finished growing and developing and also had a good 8 years of running behind me so was strong enough to handle the training. Plus when you are under 20 in my opinion you really should be concentrating on 5km and under and also running local cross country leagues to build up the speed and strength. 13 miles of hard running on a tarmac (as well as the training for it) not good for a young growing/developing athlete. A lot of people have disagreed with me on this but your find these people usually have never ran that young themselves or ever coached any athletes that young. I had a lot of people used to train with while I was 15-18 and only one still runs and the rest got bad injuries from over doing it.

Legs in pieces...

After last nights hard road session this mornings easy 10 miles was anything but easy!!! Didnt take my Garmin on purpose so didnt worry about the pace but the first 4 miles felt like I was running with a wodden leg! A few years ago I would have been worried my pace was too slow (as I trained like an idiot back then) but now it really doesnt matter as long as I get the miles in and after 4 miles the legs did start to loosen up and so the pace increased slightly. Would have left it to the evening to run for extra bit of recovery but being on a late shift again didnt really fancy going for a run at 10:30pm (although have done so before!)

I wasnt going to run Bath this year as too pricey and Christchurch 20miler was on the same day until I recieved an email from race director of Bath Half giving me a free place! Did apply for a reserved place and expecting to pay for it but they have thought my previous runs good enough to warrent a free one this year. I have had one before but was in much better shape than I am now...although still have a few weeks left till and if all goes well then may get somewhere near my best...MAYBE!

Speed Speed Speed

Interval session tonight around a 675meter (ish) route (Packsaddle for those Fromies out there) where I did 12 x 1 lap with a minute recovery finished off with some strides. Pace was pretty even from the very first rep right until the last which was pleasing and starting to feel a lot stronger at the back-end of the sessions now which is proberly down to the steady increase in millage over last few weeks.

This is proberly the shortest reps I will do in the build up to London with most of the other sessions being mile repeats or even longer and certainly wont be touching a track for any sessions. Some athletes love to smash out sessions on the track no matter what they are training for but I would much rather do grass sessions or road sessions as I find easier on the legs and cant think of anything more boring than running at least several laps for one rep. If training for the shorter distances however like 1500 and 5k I would certainly do a track sessions most weeks but for the marathon I dont believe it to be important. The most important sessions that most of my weeks consist for London are the long run, tempo run and interval session in that order.

While doing my session tonight was pleasing to see other Frome runners out there braving the cold for the Improvers course thats held every Tuesday I believe for several weeks. The club seems to have improved a lot over the last few years with a good balance of social and more serious training.

Racing too much or too little...

When speaking to different runners its interesting to see some love racing and will as much as they can and others dont seem too keen and keep it to a minimum. I have certainly been guilty of over racing expecially while at university where the race would either mean I miss out on important training in the lead up to the main event im training for, or expecting to race well everytime and then run poorly as im so tired from weeks of racing and hard training previously.

My opinion is that 3 or 4 quality races in the 12 week build up to your main event is essential as nothing shows you better at what level you are at than a good race. I cant think of anything worse in preparation than getting to the start line of a marathon (or any race) not knowing what you are capable of say over 10km. Theres no point say going for sub 3 hours for a marathon when you havent run sub 40 minutes for 10k or around 1:24/25 for half marathon...its just unrealistic. Getting a quality 10km and half marathon road race before a marathon would give you the confidence of hitting your target pace on race day aswell as the training benefits these races give you.

Here are a few decent races that are ideal for the lead up to the London Marathon in April:

Eastleigh 10k: http://www.eastleigh10k.hampshire.org.uk/

Bramley 20m or 10m: http://www.readingroadrunners.org/bramley.html

Yeovil half marathon: http://www.totalbuzzevents.com/

So..it was safe to say todays run was more like a swim!! The run today was only a steady 8 miler and the legs felt a lot better than Sundays feeble attempt at a long run. Pace was relaxed first 6 miles were 6:30s with the last 2 miles under 6:10 but didnt feel like was putting in anymore effort, more of a case of the legs coming back to life!!

Actually looking forward to being able to go out twice a day to get the "shake out" run in before the main run/session later in the day otherwise it seems to take me most of my main run just to "get going". Working shifts makes it a lot harder expecially last few weeks working 3-11s as I cannot go straight to sleep as some people could so by the time I go to bed which is around 3am and get up there isnt enough time to get 2 runs in before starting work again!!

The "shake out run" is never timed and is at a slower pace than my easy runs as the pace isnt important, its just to get thew legs recovered from a hard session the day before and always ran on grass. I would not however recommend anyone just to start running twice a day straight away if havent done before as this took me years to be able to double day 4/5 times a week. If anyone does start to do this I would recommend only doing it once a week to start with and making the run only 15 minutes and and very gradually adding time and distance over several months. There isnt realy any point in doing this if you dont run every or most days in the first instance.

Weekend Results

There wasnt a great deal of racing on this weekend but one result did find was on my old stamping ground in Cardiff. Sunday was the McCain Cross Challenge a cross country event which is usually filled with internations and top club athletes. This year was no different with both male and female senior races being won by athletes who have worn the GB vest.

Winner of the seniors mens event was particular pleasing as fellow Wells City Harrier Frank Tickner continued his return from serious injury to win by a massive 26 seconds from Highgate's Ben Noad. Frank suffered injury I 2009 that kept him out until late last year and it was thought he was never going to be able to run again. I have been fortunate enough to train and race (although never finishing near him!) with Frank right from school where we were running in the same Somerset Scools cross country team where he won the English Schools Cross Country Championships in 2002. He is two time English National Cross Country champion in 2007 and 2009 and also finished 10th in the European Cross Country Champs in 2008 so its excellent to see an athlete with this ability back running and returning to some top form.

Aldershot's Charlotte Purdue won the senior womens race by just under a minute from Gemma Steel and continues her impressive form of late.

Cross Challenge Results:
http://thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=37721&pagenum=1#10.1KXC

Frank Tickner athlete profile:
http://thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=1619

Charlotte Purdue athlete profile:
http://thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=12554

So after a few years after saying I would, I have finally decided to run a marathon which will be London in April!! Looking forward to it but after drawing my training schedule the other night beginning to realise how hard and tiring the coming months are going to be!

I have been back running since end of Febuary last year after 18months off with a stress fracture and believe its actually been a benefit to some extent. Reason for this is that looking back at my previous training while living in Cardiff, I ran too much when should have been resting and also too hard when I needed a day off or a real easy day. Safe to say it wasnt very sensible training and believe this is why I got such a bad injury!

Not usually one for all this blogging but have decided to keep myself entertained at least to keep a track of the day to day grind of training and any other shenanigans that may happen in the lead up to London!

Have approached this coming marathon with a 12 week specific schedule with starts on Jan 22nd but have been gradually increasing the millage for the past few months so im ready for the higher millage that I hope to achieve come the 22nd.

Last week managed a 20 mile run with Paul Ryman which was to say the least a shock to the system expecially during the first 10 miles we seemed to be running up hill and against the wind but after feeling slightly "dodgy" between 12-14 miles actually began to feel better and more comfortable even at a slightly faster pace. That topped off a week of 72 miles which is the highest I have managed in 2 years and at the moment the body is feeling ok with it!! Followed this week with a slightly lower 58 miles (partly due to Friday nights antics with a few close friends, yes it did involve alcohol...lots of it!) did have a good tempo run Saturday morning of 5 miles round a hilly route in the wind AND hungover averaging 5:25 per mile feeling controlled aswell as a good rep session doing mile repeats!

So heres to the next few months.....