I went to the gym last night and ended up doing 6km of intervals and then 1.7km of running increasingly fast. This was followed by a few weights and the usual Powerplate, but I must say that I ache more than usual today particularly in the thighs. I wonder if it was the speed that did it? I’m planning a 10km tonight so I’ll see how that goes. I experimented with eating a much bigger lunch than usual yesterday and I definitely had more energy particularly during the parts of the interval training when I increase the incline. I still really haven’t got this nutrition thing down yet, I’m sure I should be eating more carbs and making sure that there is enough protein in my diet but it’s just an extra thing to worry about. I’ll see how this weekend’s long run goes on Sunday after carbing up the night before.
I think this is also the weekend where I’ll send out the emails on facebook to ask everyone for money. The marathon is only just over a month away so it’s probably time to start getting people to dig into their pockets. However I didn’t want to ask too early because I thought that people were more likely to give money for an event in the near future rather than one in a few months time. I am really hoping that I can persuade some of them at least to give the price of their usual drink at the pub. Then probably the week before I’ll ask the people at work, that will be odd as I don’t know that many of them that well but definitely worth a try.
Thursday 31 March 2011
Wednesday 30 March 2011
30/03/11
As last night was the first evening that I could make use of the extra hour of daylight I thought that I would have a run around the Racecourse Park. I went off quite quickly and did four laps which with the km to and from the park is 14km in 1:07:55 which I was really pleased with. I ache a little today and my left knee is a bit sore but I’m sure a gym session tonight will sort that out. Only 39 days to go!
In other news it appears that there are a couple of people at work who run a bit and will be entering the Milton Keynes half marathon in July. Last year I was in the company team and we came second overall, this year with a better team we could win the team event. The winning team get £50 each in vouchers to spend in a running shop so that’s worth training hard for!
In other news it appears that there are a couple of people at work who run a bit and will be entering the Milton Keynes half marathon in July. Last year I was in the company team and we came second overall, this year with a better team we could win the team event. The winning team get £50 each in vouchers to spend in a running shop so that’s worth training hard for!
Monday 28 March 2011
28/03/11
Saturday’s run turned out to be 25.2 km and it took me 2h19:45 which is the right pace for a sub four hour marathon and I didn’t feel absolutely exhausted at the end. However next time I don’t think I’ll be having a Chinese the night before! I could definitely have done with more carbs and less grease. That was the furthest I’ve ever run and I’ve only run that distance once before. The next day I was in a lot less pain than the last time which must mean that I’m fitter. I’m hoping to push it even further next weekend and go for 30-32 km but everyone seems to say that there is no need to run further than about 20 miles in training. I’m really looking forward to the marathon now!
The clocks went forward at the weekend which is great because it means I can start running around the Racecourse Park in the evenings again, that gives me more scope for varying the training runs a bit more.
The clocks went forward at the weekend which is great because it means I can start running around the Racecourse Park in the evenings again, that gives me more scope for varying the training runs a bit more.
Saturday 26 March 2011
26/03/11
I had a really excellent run on Wednesday night, I had planned a normal 10km hoping maybe expecting now to go under 50 minutes. The first lap felt ok but not hugely fast and it turned out that I ran it in 11 minutes 45, which spurred me on and I lengthened my stride and sped up on the flatter sections. I sprinted quite hard for the last 200m and was really pleased that I had kept the speed up over the four laps and had managed to get round in 46:36 which is a PB on that course. Allowing for the fact that the course is about 10.4km not 10km my 10km time would have been very near to my PB of 44:41. However I mustn’t get carried away as I’m not supposed to be improving my speed but my stamina, so we’ll see how Saturday’s long run goes. How long it will be I’m not too sure yet.
On Thursday night I was planning just to go for a gentle un-timed 5km round the other park that I normally only run around in the summer or in daylight. I had forgotten how annoying it is running there in the dark, there is a section under some trees where the roots have pushed up the path and I nearly tripped and fell a couple of times. I was also accosted by a chavette and her two male friends, for some reason she bent over in the middle of the path and was filming me between her legs. Odd, I thought, then she shouted, “Alright sexy!”, I decided that it would probably be sensible to ignore them in case some kind of ‘happy slap’ incident was in the offing so put on a turn of speed and left them standing there looking stupid. As I neared home I felt that I wanted to run for a bit longer so I did one lap of the usual park but in the other direction. It was very odd running that way round, especially seeing the landmarks in from the other direction and I was momentarily confused as to where I was at a couple of points.
I have discovered that there film of me running in the Knowle Park 10km from a couple of weeks ago. It’s at the following address: http://www.7oaks.info/sevenoaks-rotary-10k/race-summary-2011.shtml towards the bottom of the page, I appear at about 2 minutes 13 and then again at about 4 minutes 7.
On Thursday night I was planning just to go for a gentle un-timed 5km round the other park that I normally only run around in the summer or in daylight. I had forgotten how annoying it is running there in the dark, there is a section under some trees where the roots have pushed up the path and I nearly tripped and fell a couple of times. I was also accosted by a chavette and her two male friends, for some reason she bent over in the middle of the path and was filming me between her legs. Odd, I thought, then she shouted, “Alright sexy!”, I decided that it would probably be sensible to ignore them in case some kind of ‘happy slap’ incident was in the offing so put on a turn of speed and left them standing there looking stupid. As I neared home I felt that I wanted to run for a bit longer so I did one lap of the usual park but in the other direction. It was very odd running that way round, especially seeing the landmarks in from the other direction and I was momentarily confused as to where I was at a couple of points.
I have discovered that there film of me running in the Knowle Park 10km from a couple of weeks ago. It’s at the following address: http://www.7oaks.info/sevenoaks-rotary-10k/race-summary-2011.shtml towards the bottom of the page, I appear at about 2 minutes 13 and then again at about 4 minutes 7.
Wednesday 23 March 2011
23/03/11
I went to the gym last night and did 6km of intervals followed by a progressively quicker 1km then Powerplate and some weights. My right knee felt a bit weird afterwards, a little bit of pain and a little bit crunchy. It’s better today but I do get worried when I have new pain that isn’t just muscle ache. I’m worried that I might get injured before the marathon which scarily is in only 46 days time!
Tuesday 22 March 2011
22/03/11
I had an odd run last night, I went out with the intention of doing 13km at just under 50 minute 10km pace. 13km is five laps of the park so that’s roughly 12 minutes 30 per lap, after the first lap I was about 25 seconds off pace which annoyed me as I felt that I was going quite quickly. The second lap was 35 seconds off pace even though I was sure that I had pushed on and run faster, after the third lap I had gained 10 seconds but was still down. So I opened the taps a bit and strode out a bit more and by the end of the fourth lap I was about 10 seconds up, during the fifth lap I really went for it and pushed even harder and when I checked my watch at the end I was a 47 seconds up and had finished in 01:01:42 which is a PB! I was buzzing when I got home and felt like I could have gone out and run the same again.
I feel ok this morning if a little stiff and I’m going to the gym tonight for intervals and Powerplate which should help.
I feel ok this morning if a little stiff and I’m going to the gym tonight for intervals and Powerplate which should help.
Monday 21 March 2011
21/03/11
I went to the gym on Wednesday and did 6km of intervals and then an extra 1km of running progressively quickly, followed by a few weights. It seems to have taken longer than it did last year for the new year’s resolution people to stop coming but things seem to be more back to normal now. I didn’t have to wait too long to get on a treadmill and there were definitely fewer confused people wandering about.
On Thursday night I had a decent 10km run which took 49:21 which I wasn’t too unhappy with. I felt good most of the way round and at the end. I also noticed that I am burning off less calories to run the same distance, obviously this has in part to do with the fact that it is taking less time but also I think because I am getting fitter.
Friday was a interesting run, I had arrived at work at 06:30 so that I could leave early and I managed 19.6km in 1h:48:40 which equates to a marathon time of 3h:54. If I managed that I would be over the moon as apart from actually finishing, the sub four hour target is the biggest one. The other important part of that run was that I managed to keep my heart rate below 150 for the entire thing, that’s important because it means that I can continue running for longer before getting tired. I’m going to have a go at doing 25km this Saturday and see how that goes, again trying to keep the speed down and the heart rate below 150.
Tonight the plan is to go for a normal 13km aiming to come in under 1h:03.
On Thursday night I had a decent 10km run which took 49:21 which I wasn’t too unhappy with. I felt good most of the way round and at the end. I also noticed that I am burning off less calories to run the same distance, obviously this has in part to do with the fact that it is taking less time but also I think because I am getting fitter.
Friday was a interesting run, I had arrived at work at 06:30 so that I could leave early and I managed 19.6km in 1h:48:40 which equates to a marathon time of 3h:54. If I managed that I would be over the moon as apart from actually finishing, the sub four hour target is the biggest one. The other important part of that run was that I managed to keep my heart rate below 150 for the entire thing, that’s important because it means that I can continue running for longer before getting tired. I’m going to have a go at doing 25km this Saturday and see how that goes, again trying to keep the speed down and the heart rate below 150.
Tonight the plan is to go for a normal 13km aiming to come in under 1h:03.
Wednesday 16 March 2011
16/03/11
I went out with the intention of doing a fairly quick 13km last night and I ended up running a PB for the distance 01:02:01 which was really good. I felt quite tired afterwards and I’ve got a few aches but nothing out of the ordinary. Tonight it’s intervals at the gym which is always good fun and always makes me feel that I’ve worked hard.
I’m having issues with eating enough and am going to have to eat a lot more at lunch time and include another snack at about four. So today I’ve made two wraps for lunch instead of one and there’s some extra fruit. I’m also going to have to eat extra carbs every day after my run too, the trouble is by the time I’m back from a run and had a shower I never eat before 20:30 and sometimes later and it’s not nice going to bed with a load of carb sitting in one’s stomach. Oh well it’s all a learning process!
I’m having issues with eating enough and am going to have to eat a lot more at lunch time and include another snack at about four. So today I’ve made two wraps for lunch instead of one and there’s some extra fruit. I’m also going to have to eat extra carbs every day after my run too, the trouble is by the time I’m back from a run and had a shower I never eat before 20:30 and sometimes later and it’s not nice going to bed with a load of carb sitting in one’s stomach. Oh well it’s all a learning process!
Monday 14 March 2011
14/03/11
The Knowle Park 10km went really well, I came in the top 100 and got round in 47:05 which was very good, it would definitely have been quicker if it hadn’t been for the slippery, muddy sections in which I had to be careful not to come a cropper. However once on the harder ground I was able to really open the taps. I’m sure that if the whole race had been on the road I would have beaten my PB, but as it is I will have to wait until the Northampton 10km in September to see how quick I can go. I would really love to go under 40 minutes and also to get my half-marathon time under 1:40, I think those will be my goals to focus on once this marathon is out of the way. I have found that having a goal to achieve and a date by which I would like to achieve it is an important motivating factor.
I had run the quickest 5km of the year on Saturday morning, 23:15, and then to follow it up with the fastest 10km of the year the next day was great. I hardly ache at all today and I’m looking forward to this week’s running.
I had run the quickest 5km of the year on Saturday morning, 23:15, and then to follow it up with the fastest 10km of the year the next day was great. I hardly ache at all today and I’m looking forward to this week’s running.
Friday 11 March 2011
11/03/11
I went to the gym last night and did 5km of interval training and then rowed for 1 km before a few weights and then finishing with a minute on the Powerplate.
I’m having a complete day off today, I didn’t even do my weights and press ups this morning and tonight we’re going out for dinner. Tomorrow the plan is to do a quick 5km in the morning to warm the legs up a bit and then drive down to Kent to be well fed by mother before an early start on Sunday morning.
It’s too much too hope that I might beat my PB so my target for the race is 47 minutes and if I can get close to that I’ll be quite happy. I must say I’m looking forward to racing again, I don’t start too near the front so that I can spend the majority of the race overtaking people which feels great!
I’m having a complete day off today, I didn’t even do my weights and press ups this morning and tonight we’re going out for dinner. Tomorrow the plan is to do a quick 5km in the morning to warm the legs up a bit and then drive down to Kent to be well fed by mother before an early start on Sunday morning.
It’s too much too hope that I might beat my PB so my target for the race is 47 minutes and if I can get close to that I’ll be quite happy. I must say I’m looking forward to racing again, I don’t start too near the front so that I can spend the majority of the race overtaking people which feels great!
Thursday 10 March 2011
10/03/11
I ran the fastest 10km of the year so far last night, 49:20 which hopefully I’ll be able to improve upon on Sunday. I felt good throughout the run and I managed a consistent speed for each of the four laps which is always pleasing. I don’t really ache at all today but to give me the best possible chance of a good time on Sunday I’m going to the gym tonight for intervals and power plate possibly followed by a swim if there’s time.
I’ll be very happy when the clocks change and my evening running can encompass both parks as I’m getting a little bored of running round the same one so many times in a week!
I’ll be very happy when the clocks change and my evening running can encompass both parks as I’m getting a little bored of running round the same one so many times in a week!
Wednesday 9 March 2011
09/03/11
I went to the gym last night for 6km of interval training which was a little tougher than usual after the 18km the night before but still good. The power plate afterwards is still a revelation, my legs don’t hurt at all today and I’m looking forward to tonight’s run.
It appears that the Knowle Park run is going to be more on the park roads and less in the park itself than last year. This is good news as it means that I will be able to run faster and have a greater chance of knocking off those five minutes to get back to PB.
It appears that the Knowle Park run is going to be more on the park roads and less in the park itself than last year. This is good news as it means that I will be able to run faster and have a greater chance of knocking off those five minutes to get back to PB.
Tuesday 8 March 2011
08/03/11
08/03/11
18km last night! Longest run of the year and in a respectable 01:33:08 which equates to a half marathon time of about 01:50, not bad at all.
18km is seven laps around the Abington Park and two more than I had ever run around that course, so I didn’t set out with the intention of running that far. I just kept focussing on the next lap, after I had run three laps that meant that there was only 10km to go and I’ve run so many of those that psychologically I’m already halfway there. I think that for the marathon I’ll need to compartmentalise the race into a number of stages of a certain distance. For example the marathon is 42 km so that’s four 10kms and just under one lap of the park. Easy!
My legs hurt a little bit today but not nearly as badly as I feared last night, so I think as it’s going to be -7°C tonight I’ll do some interval training and powerplate at the gym.
18km last night! Longest run of the year and in a respectable 01:33:08 which equates to a half marathon time of about 01:50, not bad at all.
18km is seven laps around the Abington Park and two more than I had ever run around that course, so I didn’t set out with the intention of running that far. I just kept focussing on the next lap, after I had run three laps that meant that there was only 10km to go and I’ve run so many of those that psychologically I’m already halfway there. I think that for the marathon I’ll need to compartmentalise the race into a number of stages of a certain distance. For example the marathon is 42 km so that’s four 10kms and just under one lap of the park. Easy!
My legs hurt a little bit today but not nearly as badly as I feared last night, so I think as it’s going to be -7°C tonight I’ll do some interval training and powerplate at the gym.
Monday 7 March 2011
07/03/11
I’ve had a mixed running weekend, I ran 11km on Saturday and got round in 54:51 which is pretty good so I was quite pleased with that. However the long run I had planned for Sunday was sadly curtailed after 8km (40:51) as I had some unfortunate stomach problems. I’ll see if I can do my long run tonight instead as this Sunday I’ve got the Knowle Park 10km in Sevenoaks.
It’s a beautiful, crisp, sunny morning today and I would so much rather be out running than stuck in the office, but as Blackadder says, “Needs must when the Devil vomits in your kettle!”
It’s a beautiful, crisp, sunny morning today and I would so much rather be out running than stuck in the office, but as Blackadder says, “Needs must when the Devil vomits in your kettle!”
Thursday 3 March 2011
04/03/11
I had a really good run on Tuesday night, 5 laps of the park or 13km in 1:02:26 which is a PB over that distance for that course. That pace is fast in comparison to other runs around the same course recently because although I count one lap as 2.5km in reality it’s 2.6km which means five laps is exactly 13km. It does become a little boring running around the same track all the time, I’m going to have to work out some other routes for the longer runs.
I didn’t ache very much the next day, except for a little in the thighs but nothing too bad so I went to the gym for 5km of interval training. I was doing 500m blocks at various speeds and elevations after which I did a few weights. The following day I was planning to go out for an 11km but I was far too tired having been up before 5. I’m planning to go out for a little run tonight in the freezing cold, it’s dropped back down to 2-3 degrees which may mean that I have to break out the running leggings again. I’ll have to wait until it’s dark though because I do look a total arse wearing them!
I didn’t ache very much the next day, except for a little in the thighs but nothing too bad so I went to the gym for 5km of interval training. I was doing 500m blocks at various speeds and elevations after which I did a few weights. The following day I was planning to go out for an 11km but I was far too tired having been up before 5. I’m planning to go out for a little run tonight in the freezing cold, it’s dropped back down to 2-3 degrees which may mean that I have to break out the running leggings again. I’ll have to wait until it’s dark though because I do look a total arse wearing them!
Tuesday 1 March 2011
01/03/2011
I decided to give Fartlek a go last night so I ran 5km and sprinted or sped up at random intervals between lampposts or trees. It was pretty good and at the end I felt that I had pushed myself quite hard, my time was 24:06 pretty close to the year’s best of 23:51. I ache a little this morning but nothing more than usual and I’m looking forward to tonight’s run.
I have now been training for a month and February’s training stats look like this:
Training sessions: 20
Total Km run: 147
Abington Park Km: 108
Racecourse Km: 36
Gym Km: 8
Calories burnt: 15369
Longest run: 14 km
Only 68 days to go until M day!
I have now been training for a month and February’s training stats look like this:
Training sessions: 20
Total Km run: 147
Abington Park Km: 108
Racecourse Km: 36
Gym Km: 8
Calories burnt: 15369
Longest run: 14 km
Only 68 days to go until M day!
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