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.....