Saturday 2 March 2013

XC Summary

Right, I haven't posted a blog in a while as I was struggling to find time to update it on a weekly basis. Also not helped by breaking my Garmin, twice! So I've now got a new Garmin and thought would what be easier is to give an update on a larger amount of time.

So, reading over my last blog it looks like I got up to the beginning of December, where I smashed my 10 mile PB in 54:28. This was followed up by a solid 70 mile week but then the next week I picked up an injury in my foot. A few days off running and some orthotics and I was good to go again. The next race I had targeted was Ribble Valley 10k, which on paper from previous years looked to be a massively stacked field. So on 31st December, fueled on Dominos, Aaron Snotti (silent I), Bowzzer and myself headed up to Blackburn. With my previous PB of 33:17, on very tired legs at Leeds I thought a PB was inevitable, but due to conditions I had to be satisfied with 33:23, when looking back on it is better than I initially thought. Matt had a great run and came 2nd as did Aaron in 9th.

The following week was the county champs where I knew compared to my dismal 30 odd last year, I stood a chance of making the county team, Looking on the start list there were a few late entries which looked to be definite qualifiers and news had arose a few people were being given byes which did make it harder, although a closely fought 6th got the job done. I was also pleased to finish near Mike Salt and Sullivan Smith.

The following week I smashed out my longest run to date, 18.01 in 2:00:00 with Aaron again, nice to pick up the last few miles as well, last 4 were all around 6:10 pace. This was then followed up by properly my best training run I've done before, a 10 mile tempo in 56:45 (time includes fall, http://connect.garmin.com/activity/262957276 - if you look closely you can see it). Although I was really pleased with this at the time, it has caused me a heap of problems. When I slipped over, on ice, I slightly tore my hip flexer. This was initially okay and I managed to get a really good session in the same week with Aaron in Stamford. However the following week it reduced my mileage slightly, and the following week it caused me to have to rest it. Unfortunately I had to make the decision not to run at Dewsbury 10k, where I was looking to break 33 minutes still.

After a bit of rest the groin started to clear up v slowly, to the point I could run through it with slight discomfort (not painfully though). This meant I could still go to Armagh and compete in basically, the best 5k field I had ever run against, in the best set up and event I'll probably compete in for a long time. The trip included what seems to be the standard LWAC problems which started with a close shave making the plane. With heavy snow on the way up to Manchester, after picking Shane up in Lincoln, there was stand still traffic on M62 all the way from Leeds. We did make it in time, just, and arrived in Armagh to get the dominos fuel in again.
When we arrived at the hotel we picked our numbers up (and expenses for flights and food, which was a nice surprise) and then headed for an early night. 2 mile shake out in the morning followed by a nap and a lot of chilled time was followed. Then an adventure around Armagh to find lunch.
For the race itself I was still slightly doubtful of my groin as there was still some discomfort but after a good warm up it was okay. I finished in 15:57, which was a PB for me and with the poor preparation I was happy with this. Hopefully the start of a lot more to come this year. The race was followed by a messy, messy night...
When coming back from Armagh, I knew I would be tired as our flight was late afternoon and I had to drive back from Manchester to then be up at 6am to go to Southerns. To my great pleasure Easyjet's plane broke down on the run way (engine leak) so our flight was delayed by 5 hours.

When arriving home at 2am I then packed my bag for the morning and tried to get some sleep. What seemed to be 10 minutes was 4 hours and I was on the coach to London. This really was the test on my groin, 15k round Parliament Hill would expose any niggle and I went into the race with a 75% expectation to pull out due to it. In the end it was fine and I think I raced quite sensibly, with a strong first half a mile I then settled in and moved back through half way through the 2nd lap. Finishing 62nd.

Another easy week followed and then I went up to Sunderland for Nationals. Straight from work on Friday evening I went up with Aaron, Matt Blunden and Sam Mitchell (it turned out that I was able to get a place in Notts hotel, as a replacement for a certain 'Katie Fox'). I thought Southerns the week before was bad, but the mud here was horrific, at least this was only 12k though. In the race I did seem to struggle more than the week before, I'm not sure if this was due to the cold conditions, or the fact I had 15k of Parliament Hill still in my legs. But whatever it was my hamstrings would not move throughout. I ended up at 161st, compared to my result last year of 134th in the U20 race I think this shows my massive improvements. Big well done to Aaron for 12th, not bad for a shuffler.
Again, a messy night followed and the run in the morning was some what eventful too. After missing the start, I spent the next 3 miles catching the rest of the group up, through what could only be described as death traps! After catching the group my groin was a bit sore and whilst in deep conversation with one of the Notts lads we looked up and seemed to be out the back door to the point we couldn't even see them! We then navigated, using roads, our way back to Durham (including the odd sick stop), even though we seemed to do 20 minutes more than the rest of the group.

That then brings us to the last week which has been my biggest mileage week so far in a long time. My groin is almost completely cleared up, and I don't think I've really lost much fitness. With inter counties on the horizon I'll be having an easy week next week, especially after smashing my first session out with the Bedford lads this morning. If anything I learnt that I can't run up hills.

This would now fit nicely into my next bit of news, which is that (with no problems in clearing) I'll be transferred to Bedford and County AC for April 1st. I think this was always going to be in the pipeline and I think now is the right time for me to move, so this means tomorrow, at the Frostbite it will be my last race in a NVH vest.

Following onto intercounties, I've also got an entry for Reading Half so will be looking to smash my PB there as well. With T&F coming up soon I'm really excited to see how my times can come down!

Thanks for reading.




Monday 3 December 2012

Week starting 26th Nov

After not doing my blog last week due to a lost ANT stick I'll give you a quick wrap up.
I managed to break my record mileage again, hitting 91, finishing off yesterday with a 16 miler after work in the cold, dark and rain!

Mon, Nov 26, 2012 6:22 PM
9.08 mi, 1:05:51 (7:15/mi) - Still trying to keep the pace up from a few weeks back, hoping this will get me improving fast with the high mileage also. Standard to see Edgars out tonight, got Tommy along as well, good to see him getting up to some real fitness again. Will give us a mean steeplechase team next year for the BAL.
Just the single run today.

Tue, Nov 27, 2012 6:31 PM
2.79 mi, 22:11 (7:56/mi) - Warm up for the session, again no run this morning. Session was 14 x 400m at 10k pace.

Tue, Nov 27, 2012 7:13 PM
14 x 400m @ 5k pace ^ 60 secs (3.97mi inc recov)
Trying to work off 75s which is around about 15:37. Anyway, set off as a group of 6-7 which was great to see for a session and meant a few of us could take it in turns at the front as it was a bit windy on the back straight, reps as follows. 75, 73, 70, 72, 72, 73, 71, 72, 72, 69, 70, 69, 69, 69. Bit faster than planned but felt already, and finished strong.

Tue, Nov 27, 2012 7:59 PM
1.42 mi, 11:04 (7:49/mi) - Warm down, just ran home with Edgars, was too cold to do anymore!

Wed, Nov 28, 2012 5:41 PM
9.86 mi, 1:14:00 (7:30/mi) - Bit slower today, felt a bit rough after yesterday, and I think because I was wearing tights I always seem to struggle running in them. Tommy, Edgars and I again, after a slight de-tour (3rd time we've got lost within 5 miles of home in a week!) we were just under 10 miles.

Thu, Nov 29, 2012 6:53 PM
5.03 mi, 36:42 (7:18/mi) - Ran to the track and then met up with Tom and Pre. Edgars and I almost choice to add on another 2 miles and run back to the track and back home as we have to run past ours on the way, but it was literally freezing so we decided to bail on it and have a hot shower instead (not together)!

Friday
Chose not to run today after feeling really light headed on the bus on the way home. Hopefully in a month or two I won't have to use the word bus again ...

Sat, Dec 1, 2012 3:44 PM
5.05 mi, 34:38 (6:51/mi) - Bit of a shake out really before the race tomorrow, feeling pretty confident that I should get a pb. Reasonable pace today, just worried of the cold tomorrow.

Sun, Dec 2, 2012 10:03 AM
1.45 mi, 11:09 (7:41/mi) - After a hectic morning, with poor preparation we only managed 11 minutes warm up. Not helped by getting there a bit late and then Aaron forgetting my vest!
      
Sun, Dec 2, 2012 10:30 AM
10.00 mi, 54:27 (5:27/mi) - Finally on the start line, good start not like at Leeds. First 3 lads were straight off and for a minute I was tempted to set off with the Tipton rest, but thought better of it. First mile 5:18 settled in with the familiar site of Edgars looking down on me. From here really we just ticked off the miles, it was amazing how fast they seem to go. Didn't really see anyone else through the whole race it was quite bizarre. Through half way we hit 27:04, which I was pretty pleased/shocked at, looking at most Frostbites that would put us top 5 alone. Through 5, 6, 7 miles all I could think of was the fact I wish I had worn a t-shirt and gloves as my whole arms were purple. Slight mishap at 7 miles as I got a bit of a stitch, but seemed to disappear. Unfortunately Edgars managed to get a few metres on me, which I didn't really close back up for another mile on a fast downhill section. With a mile left I knew the race was on, and we were both almost red line and with no aid from a slow bridge section I knew it would be hard to break him. A quick look over my shoulder saw no threat from behind, and nothing in front to chase really either, so it was a dead race between us both, Eng vs Lat. I knew if we had a reasonably fast last mile we could also dip below 54:30 which would smash the target time before the race. Approaching the finish, with about 50m to go, the finished had disappeared from last year and neither of us had any idea where to go! In turning the last corner level I knew the inevitable would happen and as I put my little legs into top gear he seemed to effortlessly skip away and beat me by a second. Smashed my time from about a month ago by almost 90 seconds. One of the best races I think I've ever run.

Sun, Dec 2, 2012 11:45 AM
4.19 mi, 32:53 (7:53/mi) - Good warm down, calves felt a little bit tight but no biggy. Glad to get some extra clothes on and keep warm!

Total Mileage - 52.82 miles.
Massively happy with how this week has gone, tapered down nicely for the race on Sunday and now have a massive PB to show for it. Looking at Po10 rankings that puts me 6th U23 for the distance this year, although in some what a less competitive distance, still looks tidy. 
Next big race to look forward to will be Ribble Valley 10k, 30th Dec where I think I can smash the time I ran at Leeds.
Looks like the mileage is now really starting to benefit, especially with some quality guidance from James as well, really looking forward to the next few months.


Thanks for reading again! 

Sunday 18 November 2012

Week Starting 12th Nov

If you read my blog last week then you would know that I'm currently in Vilamoura, Portugal training with Aaron Scott, Dave Norman, Rich Brown, Shane Robinson and Paul Samways. Last week I hit my biggest week of 85 miles, but with Leeds on Sunday I will be tapering down this week.

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 10:14 AM
​2.91 mi, 22:04 (7:35/mi) ​ - Warm up to the XC course today for a session, with racers in hand. Arrived there and some sort of Russian Athletics Team were stretching, some doing the most fantastic exercises. Strides and drills after this as well.

Mon, Nov 12, 2012 11:01 AM
​8 min, 7 min, 6 min, 5 min, 4min. Off 90 seconds
​ Session as above on the Euro XC course which if you haven't run on before is a reasonably hilly, sandy course, completely different to a UK cross course but still very tough. First effort was probably a little fast, through a mile in 5:35 and then the last part average pace was 5:33. Off 90 seconds slow recovery Paul caught me back up and we headed off for the 7 minute effort together. There wasn't really a pace guideline to run these, other than just running them hard. Went through a mile in 5:48, and then through the rest of the effort at 5:40 pace. Already my legs felt a bit tired and I was definitely feeling a bit sorry for myself in the recoveries. After finishing ahead of Paul in the last effort, I was so slow in the recovery I was out of touch starting the next rep where I also took my watch off auto lap for a mile (so I knew when each effort was up more accurately). 6 minute effort was the slowest at 6:09 pace, something I need to work on badly is my mental strength, I knew I didn't feel great and was off the back of the group running on my own and I was just running slowly. 5 minute effort saw me pick the pace up, especially when Aaron and Dave started closing on me in the later stages, this was 5:43 pace overall. Last effort for the 4 minutes was 5:58 pace.

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:48
​3.17 mi, 25:01 (7:54/mi) ​- Warm down, ran back to the apartment, slightly different route hence the different distance.

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 10:06
​10.00 mi, 1:06:26 (6:38/mi) ​ - Great run today, got gradually faster throughout the run and ended with a 6:18 mile. Last run on the trails of this distance so we really made the most of it. All of us present, Aaron and Rich ended up going to 12 as they weren't running at Leeds.

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 9:58
​1.36 mi, 11:18 (8:19/mi) ​- Warm up for the session with Dave, we were doing less for the session so we left slightly later.

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:25
​1 mile + 6x30 second efforts ​ - Did the mile on my own, ended up being a little bit faster than I had wanted, 5:08 but still felt good. Calves a little bit tight but other than that nothing else. The other guys did 4 miles and then 8 x 60 seconds. In the 30 second efforts I did I just tried to focus on my form.

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:54
​3.00 mi, 24:13 (8:04/mi) ​- Warm down, stretched afterwards. Went straight out afterwards for an amazing breakfast on the marina.

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 17:03
​5.00 mi, 38:03 (7:36/mi) ​ - Last cliff run of the holiday, Dave got some great pictures. In the end we stopped so many times it was a dead easy run. All of the guys out again.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 8:41
​8.01 mi, 56:18 (7:02/mi) ​ - Last run of the holiday, tried to maximise the running this week so we didn't have to do much when we got back to England. Shane and myself stopped after 4 miles for an almighty stretch as we both felt a bit tight. Pace was quite fast overall, a bit slower after me and Shane came back on our own but we had a good chat and the pace came back down, nearly under 7:00 mi.

​Fri, 16 Nov 2012
Had a day off today ready for Sunday.

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 18:51
​3.89 mi, 29:00 (7:27/mi) ​ - Went out for a shake out run with Chris Wright, was good to get back running with him as I hadn't seen him in a few months. Amazing how much hillier it is in Leeds compared to Peterborough. Started off around 7:40s and gradually got faster. Feel really good, excited to run tomorrow.

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 8:52
​1.37 mi, 11:44 (8:34/mi) - Warm up, was so cold, had the gloves out. Feeling good, strides and drills.

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 9:29
​6.22 mi, 33:17 (5:21/mi) ​ - Leeds Abbey Dash 10k. First k a little bit fast, 3:03, but I just wanted to get out of all the business of the start as I was a few lines back. I much preferred having the kilometre markers as to mile markers, they just seemed to come up so fast. 2km 3:17, starting losing a few places but didn't slow massively. 3km 3:22 again just ticking off the ks, I didn't have my watch on average pace as I have recently been cautious of going too fast/slow. 4km was my slowest k, slightly uphill 3:26, I did feel a bit tired in my quads and hamstrings, just from the big mileage from last week. At the turn around point, 5km I saw Michael Moore who kept me pushing on in the 2nd 5k. Turning around there was a massive amount of sunlight which didn't really help. 6km 3:19, another just ticked off. 7km consistent  again, 3:19 again, overtook Matt Blunden which was great for my confidence although mid way through 7k I got a small stitch, nothing major just annoying. 8km, 3:12, Mickey still not far behind which was pushing me on. Same time for 9km. Last k I really tried to push, especially over the last crest and managed to overtake a few people. Coming into the finish I managed to beat Susan Partridge in a sprint finish as well. Last km, 3:19.
Happy with the time, pb for me. Bit of a shame I felt tired from Vilamoura but I think in the next few weeks I'll benefit massively.

​Sun, 18 Nov 2012 10:24
​1.01 mi, 9:14 (9:11/mi) ​- Junk mileage really, just jogged back to Chris' halls with my bag.

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 16:34
​4.57 mi, 32:53 (7:12/mi) ​ - First run back with Edgars which was cool, just wanted an easy shake out run on the legs as I didn't really get much chance of a warm down. We will be doing more of our runs faster now as well, starting with this one.

​Total Mileage - 57.41
​Good amount, I did a good amount, a lot less than what I did last week. I'll be looking at keep between 60-80 miles in the next few weeks and aiming for my next race to be the Nene Valley 10 miles 2nd December.

Big news to announce as well this week is that I'll now be coached by James Lawler, after a few chats recently I think we can both work really well together. I'll be looking at some good races to target in the next few months and we can sort some training around these races. Dead excited about this, hopefully I can get a car soon again and get into some good training sessions with bigger groups as well.

Sunday 11 November 2012

Vilamoura 5th-11th Nov

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 1:04 PM
6.00 mi, 42:04 (7:01/mi) - First of the faster runs, with Aaron just before we got the train to EMA. Shorts and T-Shirt weather, little bit windy. Nice to get out of Peterborough as well, we headed off out to Burghley House for a lap and a half. Almost stacked it with a well placed hand in the mud somehow managed to stay on my feet. Had a good chat about how bad our flexibility was, something definitely to work on whilst we're away.

Airport
This was the first session of the week ... when the LWAC boys turned up to the airport with a 20kg suitcase instead of 15kg AND an extra bag! After a good 45 minute work out we managed to distribute the weight between all the cases, with the expense of my moisturiser, although this was put to good use beforehand. We then landed to find Dave had been stung with a £60 charge for not having his boarding pass for the flight out!

Tue, Nov 6, 2012 10:25 AM
11.01 mi, 1:14:50 (6:48/mi) - First run in Vilamoura, weather couldn't have been better, sun was shining, but not too hot. In the shade there was a really refreshing breeze as well. Tops were off, getting the tan done. We set off on a nice trail route which Dave had done before, started along the marina and then headed past the most expensive hotel in the area for all the golfer snobs. Pace was a lot faster than what I normally do at home, making me think making we should step it up from the 8:30 miling back in Pboro. We had a quick lap of the European Cross Course which looked quite tough and then headed back onto the trail route. Even from the end of this trail, we had about 1 mile of road before we managed to pick up another one. Ended up being a little longer than what we aimed for, 10 miles so when we hit 11 mile we walked in and looked for a nice place to eat this evening.

Tue, Nov 6, 2012 4:54 PM 
6.01 mi, 44:58 (7:29/mi) - Headed off to the cliffs tonight, perfect weather again with the sunset on the horizon, good some really good pictures tonight as well. Steadier pace, but there was a fair few hills. Really enjoyed the route and will be a handy one for the second run of the day for the rest of the trip. Today was also my biggest day with 17.02 miles, start of things to come for the week.

Wed, Nov 7, 2012 9:12 AM
5.01 mi, 36:50 (7:19/mi) - Up nice and early this morning, getting it done. Went on a long route of the marina, similar to the evening run yesterday. Still a lot faster than what I'd be running at home, but was nice and comfortable, ready for the session this evening. Hit 5 miles again and then we walked it in, got a nice bit of stretching in as well. Not quite as hot this morning as it was yesterday but still great tanning weather.

Wed, Nov 7, 2012 4:41 PM  
2.27 mi, 17:57 (7:55/mi) - Warm up for the session, just ran to the track and then did a few laps on the ring road on the outside, garbage miles really, although still faster than what I'd run at home for a long run. Got a good set of strides and drills involved.

Wed, Nov 7, 2012 5:14 PM 
15 minute tempo, 5 x 800m, 5 minute temp. 
First 15 minutes was meant to be at HM pace, but as my watch auto lapped as I forgot to turn it off I was running blind (at 10k pace) so at the end of the 15 minutes, just as Aaron was about to lap me I hit 4600m. It made it quite tough as I couldn't keep with the lads at the front. After the 15 minute tempo we had a lap jog recovery and then started the 5x800m, these were at 5k pace which I aimed for 16:00 pace, which worked out at 76 lapping (2:32). 2:33, 2:37, 2:35, 2:35, 2:34, these were really tough in the wind and were off 200m jog. Not quite at 5k pace but I was still happy with them times as this was a long session for me and I haven't really done any sort of speed work in a while (if you can call that speed work). After these we had another lap jog and headed into the 5 minute tempo at 10k pace of 33:00 which was just under 80 second/lap. My calves started to feel a bit tender in this but still carried on and managed to hit exactly 1500m, which worked out at 80 second lapping which was perfect for me really. Dead happy with this session, shame I wasn't quite fast enough for the 4 lads at the front.

Wed, Nov 7, 2012 6:12 PM 
1.91 mi, 17:40 (9:15/mi) - Warm down, ended up doing a few laps around the track and then ran home (stopping to get some playing cards for a heavy poker session later). Massive stretching and foam roller session afterwards. Calves really did feel tender to be honest.

Thu, Nov 8, 2012 10:12 AM
6.00 mi, 42:55 (7:09/mi) -  Woke up a bit late this morning and felt awful. Paul, Shane and myself were unsure whether to get 10 miles done this morning with the hardcore mile munchers or split it into two runs. Paul and I ended up just doing 6 miles as we felt pretty shitty. Although we did improve a lot after descending past a huge Hilton hotel. Good pace anyway, got to flush the crap out of our legs from last night and then we planned to go out for another run in the evening. Beautiful morning for running again, nice and hot, got the vests off. 

Thu, Nov 8, 2012 5:22 PM 
5.07 mi, 37:31 (7:24/mi) - Went out this evening with Aaron, Samways and Dave just along the seafront. Within 1/4 mile Samways went off on a mad one so we let him go and ticked over around 7:20/mi's. Felt a lot better than this morning, glad I didn't do all the miles today in one run. We ended up going the opposite way to the other days and then just double backed on our self to the parallel road, which looked like a ghetto section of Vilamoura. Perfect conditions, nice cool breeze but still nice and hot, just started to get a bit dark as we came in as Rich and Shane had cooked us tea. 
Then we all got ready and headed off to the pub to watch some football game.

Fri, Nov 9, 2012 10:17 AM
2.34 mi, 17:44 (7:34/mi) - Wow, felt awful on this warm up. We jogged down towards the marina after Shane came up with a good circuit for a mile loop to do our session around, but my calves just didn't want to move. This had nothing to do with the dirtiest burger the night before or the Jagerbombing. Standard strides and drills before the session as well.

Fri, Nov 9, 2012 10:48 AM
1x2mile 2x1mile - This was meant to be 3 x 2 mile, but after dropping off the pace on the first 2 mile I thought it would benefit me more if I kept the quality up and the distance down, kept the miles down a bit as well as I didn't want to over do it so early into the trip. Off the first rep we went off quite fast, in comparison to the times we should have finished with but as we settled into it Aaron, Dave and Rich flew off which left me trying to chase Shane down and Samways in close pursuit. I went through 1 mile in 5:34, which was about the right pace for me but I really felt like I was working harder than HM pace and at this point Shane was long gone. Second mile I finished in 5:39, so 11:13 for the two but still felt really tired so I decided at this point just to do one mile for the next two reps. I shortened the recovery to start the 2nd rep and went off with Shane and managed to stay with him for the first 3/4 mile but then he dropped me. Finished this one in 5:28, and then had the 2 minute recovery but most importantly got the vest off to work the tan. Last rep was 5:27, loosened up a bit by this point but I was glad I made the last 2 just one mile. The other boys had some impressive last miles with the faster at 4:47 I think from Aaron.

Fri, Nov 9, 2012 11:37 AM
2.30 mi, 20:10 (8:45/mi) - Steady warm down as we all felt rough followed by a dip in the sea as an ice bath. Highlight of the week so far when Aaron gets knocked over by a wave which pulled his shorts down. It was amazing how much difference my legs felt after getting out the sea so hopefully in the run this evening they will feel quite good. Especially as we have the long run to do tomorrow. 

Fri, Nov 9, 2012 5:49 PM 
4.54 mi, 35:03 (7:44/mi) - Started off dead slow for the evening run tonight. Slightly later than planned as everyone was asleep. Even though it had started to get dark it was still nice and hot so maximised the amount of tanning potential. After we hit about a mile I had to stop to try and stretch my achillies as it was really tight. Caught the other lads up after not long, not having to go any faster than 6:30/mi but my achillies was still tight and got slightly painful around the marina. It didn't get any better/worse up to 4 miles and then as the other guys went on I stopped as I didn't want to cause any injury.
After talking to Dave and Shane it looked like the reason it was tight was just due to my calves being extremely tight after the session. Now I was in for a treat ... AScott gave me a calf massage with some moisturiser, in the most none gay way. I used the foam roller a lot tonight as well, during the poker game (just to clarify, I won), so hopefully I can get some running in tomorrow, but I'll see how I feel in the morning as I am already on big mileage and don't want to ruin my chances to run well at Leeds.

Sat, Nov 10, 2012 9:39 AM
16.01 mi, 1:47:56 (6:45/mi) - Absolutely perfect weather this morning but after last night my calves felt dead ropey. After Dangerous Dave managed to go the wrong way from the start we managed to spot a mad Manchester lad with no top on in the distance and headed off in pursuit. Just dipped 7:00/mi for the first mile and I really did feel awful. Gradually ticked the miles off and we got to the Euro XC course where we did a few laps and I was getting dropped off the back my legs felt that bad. I said to Dave 'I think I'm going to bin it and walk back' but for some crazy reason decided to carry on for a few more miles. A few more miles in they were gradually loosening off and then we crossed a road and me and Dave waited for a car so we had to catch the rest of the group up, uphill. This was what I needed, the downhill on the other side helped as well, and then I was back in the game.
It was amazing how fast the miles were passing really, we went the same route as we did on the first day with a slight alteration nearer the end. We got back towards the apartment and a few of us were going to just do 13 but we all decided to carry on until 16. As a whole this was a lot faster than I'd have gone at home but I'm really glad I carried on, legs felt great afterwards! 

Sun, Nov 11, 2012 5:21 PM
5.13 mi, 40:11 (7:50/mi) - After a heavy heavy night, me and Shane decided just to do the one run today and let the other boys go out in the morning. It was a bit windy tonight, but I took my phone out to try and get some good pictures.... Which ended disastrously as I managed to drop it and it crashed into a rock and smashed my screen. Although I did get a fair few good pictures of the sunset running on the cliffs. We ended up heading back on the beach which was really good, got a few more pictures as well. Felt good tonight after a long rest, pace doesn't really represent the run as it was on sand and I kept forgetting to stop it to take photos.

Total Weekly Mileage - 85.07 miles
Amazing first week here, really enjoyed the place in general and got some really good running in. I'll end up doing less miles next week to taper down for Leeds where I hope I can break 33 minutes. Massively my biggest ever week, I could have got a few more runs in there but I think it was wise that I didn't rush and go up the mileage too soon.

Thanks for reading guys!

 

Sunday 4 November 2012

Week Starting 29th Oct

Another week has already passed, getting so close to Portugal now, and my miles are getting more and more.

Mon, Oct 29, 2012 6:36 PM
9.19 mi, 1:09:49 (7:36/mi) - Woke up this morning and wanted to get out and go for 5 miles before work but had a real bad pain in my left side groin, to the point it hurt to walk up the stairs so I didn't end up going before work but just after. Got home from work and the pain was still there, but only when hyper-extending. Went out anyway just to try and get some mileage in, in the hope it would ease up as we got going, and it did. We actually ended up starting off quite fast for us (Edgars and I), the groin was fine as we weren't going at any pace to strain it at all. We headed off towards our new 10 mile winter route, out to Werrington and saw Mikey on his run too. 

Tue, Oct 30, 2012 6:27 PM
2.91 mi, 23:28 (8:03/mi) - Warm up, ran to the track and then did a few more laps with the lads. Normal strides, stretches and drills.

Tue, Oct 30, 2012 7:11 PM 
2 x 1mile, 8 x 400m - 4:59, 5:10. 70, 70, 70, 69, 70, 70, 70, 68 (5.01 mi)
First session I've gone in a while and my legs literally couldn't go any faster. The first mile seemed to go okay, I just sat at the back of the group really and had a nice tow round from Aaron, Lloyd and Edgars (for once) then had a lap jog before the second mile. I was just trying to do the same as before and get towed round but my legs really felt tired and lost Edgars and Aaron as they hit 5:00. Another lap job took us into the 400s which for the first one felt bizarre with the pace change. Even at race pace I've not been running at this pace (around 4:35-4:40/mi). I felt uncomfortable at 70s but the legs didn't seem to want to go any faster, just wanted to get round and completely them all though so happy I did that.

Tue, Oct 30, 2012 7:50 PM 
3.86 mi, 32:31 (8:25/mi) - Long warm down, ended up doing a few laps around the outside, and then went out with Sean's group and then me and Edgars ran home. Good to get the weekly mileage up though, had a good stretch when I got home. Happy with how the session went as a whole.

Wed, Oct 31, 2012 5:27 PM
9.59 mi, 1:14:04 (7:43/mi) - This was horrific. So wet and windy and full of little shits trick or treating. Basically ended up going down our new winter route but just backwards with a slight variation. It was strangely not too cold but the wind on the way back was awful. All the runs so far this week have been quicker than me and Edgars normally go which should set me in good stead for Portugal as the other lads are doing the slow runs so much faster than us. Felt a lot better tonight than I did last night, wanted to go for a run again this morning but I started work at 8 (bus at 7) and couldn't motivate myself or Edgars to run at 5:30am.   

Thu, Nov 1, 2012 9:39 AM
4.89 mi, 36:19 (7:26/mi) - Day off today so managed to get two runs in. First one we went down to Advance Performance to pick up some longer spike pins as we struggled with the shorter ones at Derby. Annoyingly only taking a £20 note with me managed to get me 16 £1 coins in change will was brilliant to run home with. Not sure what happened with my Garmin on this run either, with 2045 ft elevation in Peterborough... Felt a lot better than I did on Tuesday and was making great usage of the Fenland 10M wooly hat.

Thu, Nov 1, 2012 6:34 PM
7.44 mi, 55:03 (7:24/mi) - Edgars and I headed to the track tonight so we could try and go for a run with a few others guys, in the end we just went out on our own as nobody else fancied it. Same as this morning really, legs felt really good. Had a good stretch after the run and then did a few strides to keep sharp for the relays on Saturday. Got a couple of sub 7 min/mile to catch a couple of the old guys up and then ended up running in with them which was better than nothing.

Fri, Nov 2, 2012 7:29 AM 
6.00 mi, 47:25 (7:54/mi) - Kept it a bit shorter today so the legs aren't heavy for tomorrow. We went on a bizarre route out towards Stanground and around the houses. Started off quite slowly, but the calves felt a bit crap so we stopped for a stretch after about 2 miles. They did ease off a bit but still didn't feel as good as I did yesterday. Ended up running up and down my street just to make it up to 6mi as well *OCD*. 

Sat, Nov 3, 2012 1:54 PM  
2.09 mi, 18:42 (8:57/mi) - Bit disappointed with how the warm up went, Edgars, Mikey and myself just did a lap of the course but was hard to get any continuous running as we were running on the course. After the weather in the last few days I had expected it to be a complete mud bath but it wasn't too bad at all. Went off to do a few drills and strides, felt good before the start of my leg.

Sat, Nov 3, 2012 2:50 PM
3.11 mi, 17:39 (5:40/mi) - Edgars went off on Leg 1 and handed over to me in 77th, with the vision of the start pretty poor it was hard to see when he was coming but I was quite lucky not to get caught up. As soon as I saw him near the line I was off, immediately fast start on the downhill and in front of me was a good string of people to try and chase. I was slightly cautious at the start as I knew the course was quite tough and didn't want to blow up. Within the first 20 seconds a lad from Blackheath came past me but his pace was short lived as I had already caught and overtaken him going into the woods. There was maybe 10 seconds to the next person from here which took a while to catch, entering the start of the second lap. I felt really strong on the hills which was really pleasing as Derby I felt useless up them. Start of the second lap and I was +3 places, but 2 guys came past me at a fair pace, too fast for me to latch onto. At this point my legs started to feel the pace and I did feel to be backing off a bit (didn't actually wear my watch so just guessing). Coming out of the woods it's always a tougher section of the course and I did catch a few more places but lost some in the process. Coming back down the hill towards the last section of the course and we were quite tightly packed. Managed to get one more place back up the last hill which I made to be a +1 overall.

Sun, Nov 4
Unfortunately I didn't manage to get out for a run today, I was hoping to try and get out for two runs, a 7 and an 8 just due to working in the day. In the end I was so tired when I woke up I didn't get out, and after work I had so much to get ready for Portugal I didn't manage any runs 

Total Weekly Mileage - 55.59 miles
Good week this week, happy with how it all went. I knew I'd struggle on Saturday over 5k just because I've not done any speed work in a while, so 17:39 was about right I think. I was 13 seconds off Edgars and 3 seconds slower than Mikey, which really does set us up for a really good run a races in the next few months. I'm off to Portugal tomorrow, but should be taking my laptop out there so will be keeping up to date with the blog, and if I have any wifi I'll publish it next Sunday.
Hopefully I should be getting up to 80-90 miles a week next week with a few sessions in there as well. Next race is Leeds Abbey Dash, the weekend after I come back so I hope to get in my best shape so far for that and can hopefully get in the mid 32s-33s.
Had a really exciting phone call this evening as well... More information to follow on this, so watch this space closely! :D

Hope you enjoyed this weeks post, I will get a good 10 days training in whilst in Portugal, enjoy the shitty UK weather.
 

Sunday 28 October 2012

Week Starting 22nd Oct

Mon, Oct 22, 2012 8:05 AM
8.33 mi, 1:08:40 (8:14/mi) - Recovery run really from the weekend, felt so much worse than yesterday. I think the muddy hills had just caught up with my calves as they felt awful. Steady pace throughout, wasn't that cold this morning although still kept wrapped up with leggins and jacket. All week going to have to be the horrible early runs as I'm on late shifts.

Tue, Oct 23, 2012 8:31 AM 
4.67 mi, 39:25 (8:32/mi) - Ran to the track this morning with my bag on so pace was slow. Intended to do 6x1000m, but got kicked off the track for not paying the stupid summer membership thing so ended up just going for a run, luckily Edgars had come as well. Last mile was quite slow again as had my bag.

Wed, Oct 24, 2012 8:06 AM  
10.07 mi, 1:17:11 (7:40/mi) - Felt a bit better this morning, went off steady and then started to pick it up as felt better throughout. Nearly even got down to 7:00/mi. Super early again, takes me and Edgars both really struggle for the first two or three miles just due to literally waking up and running. Calves felt a bit shitty still, but eased up throughout, especially after 3/4 miles. Wore my heart rate monitor today as well, HR gradually increased throughout and got up to about 160.

Thu, Oct 25, 2012 8:02 AM 
8.47 mi, 1:02:07 (7:20/mi) - Better again today, felt quite good towards the end, really picked the pace up from 5 mile. Calves again were a bit tight for the first 3/4 miles. Had a 6:55 and 6:45 in the middle and then backed the pace off just to bring it in home on the last mile. Was surprising warmer than it looked and I had definitely overdressed. Just out with Edgars again.

Fri, Oct 26, 2012 8:06 AM 
8.75 mi, 1:07:04 (7:40/mi) - Pace today wasn't quite as fast as yesterday, we did start to pick it up slightly still but not to the same extent as yesterday. Last few miles were the fastest, the first few miles were the same as they had been all week just painfully slow. Went a different route towards Ferry Meadows as made the mistake of going by the rowing lake on Wednesday and it was massively flooded. Good bit of stretching today, had to go in shorts though as all my leggins etc.

Sat, Oct 27, 2012 9:06 AM  
5.01 mi, 38:03 (7:36/mi) - Just went out for a quick shake up before the race tomorrow, just went out early to get it done as we were going to see 73c members before they all head off to Florida. Was horrible and cold as well, remembered to get the gloves out as well! Wanted to do strides but was too cold so just had a hot shower instead, made it up to 5.00 as well.

Sun, Oct 28, 2012 9:12 AM   
2.09 mi, 16:00 (7:39/mi) - Amazingly managed to get this to 16:00 exactly. Just ran the last mile of the course which ended up be helpful in the race. Felt okay, was so so cold and wore so much to warm up in! Edgars actually warmed up in a skiing jacket.

Sun, Oct 28, 2012 10:00 AM  
10.00 mi, 55:53 (5:35/mi) - 5:32, 5:36, 5:34, 5:39, 5:33, 5:27, 5:41, 5:44, 5:36, 5:26.
Good day at the office really, big pb for me. It was absolutely freezing, but braved it out in the vest and shorts, it was raining just before the race as well so we were soaked before we even started racing. First mile Aaron and a lad from Norwich got away straight away, wasn't worth going with them. Settled down in a good group, Mikey, Edgars, Charles from C&C and myself, Dad wasn't far off either. 5:32, just started to tick them off from here. Same with the second mile, but we seemed to be pulling away from my Dad. Nothing eventful happened really for the next few miles, I got a bit of a gap up one of the fly overs unintentionally so really wanted the other lads to group up with me going down the other side. Dropped Charles around 4 miles, didn't really see much of him after this. After 5 miles and a shoddy bit of marshaling I tried something new and kicked off round a tight bend. This mile was 5:27, felt strong pushing off and managed to get about 10 second gap in the next two miles. Massive mistake as in this point I then had to run through the wind on my own (miles 7-8). At this point the gap between Edgars, Mikey and myself was no smaller (or bigger) and I did think I had done enough to keep hold of 3rd place. Until 8.5 miles, where Edgars seemed to think it was time to move through. He caught me through the 9 mile marker and even though I ran my fastest mile the last mile, he managed to pull out a 5:08 which I just couldn't live with. Happy with the time, was quite windy for 2 miles and I was happy that I had the confidence to try something different to take Edgars down.

Sun, Oct 28, 2012 11:11 AM  
2.52 mi, 20:42 (8:13/mi) - Had to make sure I got over 2.5 miles for the 60 mile week. Felt already, just getting a warm down done, got nice and wrapped up. Had a bit of a pain in my left side groin but hopefully it'll go soon.

Total Weekly Mileage - 60.00 miles
Amazingly I managed to exactly hit 60 miles this week, which is my biggest so far. Happy with how it generally went just because I could only get 1 run a day in. I'd have preferred to have got a session in but I don't think it's a massive loss. I'm hoping to try and get a few double days in for next week, and hopefully at least one session. Need to make some more plans for what's going to happen in Portugal session and transport wise etc. My next race will be the relays next weekend, ideally I want to run either first or second leg to try and get in the mix, but I'll be a long long way off the pace! So main aim for now is to try and get in a good shape for the Abbey Dash 10k where I want to try and break 33 minutes. 

Thanks for reading again guys!

Sunday 21 October 2012

Week Starting 15th Oct

Mon, Oct 15, 2012 6:14 PM
4.24 mi, 33:56 (8:00/mi) - After the GER yesterday I didn't really want to run much this week, but I needed to make sure that I got out for a run today so just kept it nice and slow and not long at all.
Even at 6:00pm it was already completely dark so had to make the most of running on the path, to use the lighting! I didn't actually feel that bad considering blowing up in the GER, the pain ache and pain was in my glutes. Made sure I had a really good stretch at the end of this as well.

Tues and Wed
I was going to plan to have the rest of the week off, but after feeling really lazy I couldn't do it. Tuesday I went down the track anyway to have a little chat with Churchy just to discuss the race on Sunday and his thoughts. Also had a good little chat about the next possible races. Fenland 10, NVH 10 and XC relays came up. Along with potentially entering Abbey Dash 10k.
This week I decided that I would run at the North Mids League at Derby, get the XC cobwebs out.

Thu, Oct 18, 2012 6:16 PM
7.50 mi, 58:59 (7:51/mi) - Ran from mine with Edgars down to the track and met up with a few guys just for a slow run out on the Winter route. Birthday boy Dickens made another appearance on the road to his marathon training. First run I've done in weeks without leggings on as well. Felt quite good after the two lazy days off.

Fri, Oct 19, 2012 5:21 PM
5.19 mi, 40:42 (7:50/mi) - Steady run out in the rain just before the North Mids League in Derby tomorrow. Felt quite shitty, calves felt a bit tight - had to do my shoes up half way round so I think this was half the problem. I wore my heart rate strap for once, absolutely hate wearing it but like to see what my heart rate is like in a run. Averaged 149 bpm, which to be honest, I have no idea what that means? Had a good stretch when I finished, didn't bother with any strides because I was cold and wet so just went for a hot shower instead.

Sat, Oct 20, 2012 1:13 PM
2.00 mi, 16:00 (8:00/mi) - Went round with Edgars and Aaron just on a lap of the course, nice steady pace as always. Course was quite wet and muddy, especially around the back where the hills were. Looking like it was only going to get worse I wasn't really fancying it in 9mm track spikes!
Followed up by drills, stretching and strides as always.

Sat, Oct 20, 2012 1:55 PM
6.12 mi, 35:49 (5:51/mi) - First real cross country of the year at Derby in the North Mids League. Was a bit of a messy one, as we had run round the course before the start we knew it was a bit wet under foot all the way around, especially up the hill.
Set off at a good pace, 5:23 which left me just behind Edgars sitting about 20th. Second mile we came up the worst of the mud, already I was struggling to find a decent line through it and in doing so was mentally draining. Even with 9mm spikes in I was literally slipping everywhere, and I don't have any proper xc spikes yet so I had to wear my track spikes which made it even worse with the plastic base plate. Downhill wasn't as bad in the mud, but spikes still slipping, especially at the back - the force also hurt my knee more than uphill or the flat, nothing too bad but was just irritating. Up the next hill wasn't too bad actually, the ground was just about firm enough to put some power down.
Amazingly looking through my splits mile 2 and 3 were both 5:47:41!
Coming into the mid part of the second lap, mile 4, and my pace dropped slightly but the a lot of guys were passing me. I was also catching Edgars which was massively motivating. Going up the hill the next lap was even worse than before, after all of the men's field had been up there (200-250 or so) it was almost unrunable. Coming up to the start of the third lap I managed to catch Edgars and went past him, by the looks of it he was struggling so I tried to pull him around with me but he wasn't able to. Last lap was slightly slower than the first, but kept the same pace up as the second. Pushed on near the end of the lap up the hill again, but got outsprinted on the line by a lad from OWLS. Ended up in 35th in a time of 35:50.


Sat, 20 Oct 2012 14:42
0.83 mi, 8:40 (10:29/mi) - Only had chance to get a small warm down in as had to shoot off straight away after the race. My calves felt horrific, especially my left one. Had a good stretch but still was pretty awful.

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 11:03 
14.72 mi, 1:54:32 (7:47/mi) - Long Sunday run with Edgars, Sean and Vernau for 20 minutes (had to go and pump iron). Warmest day in ages, actually wore a t-shirt and shorts! Not a bad recovery pace, overall felt quite good, just had a bit of pain in my right knee. Had a little bit of a stretch half way round, and considering I had gone out the night before until 3. Took a bit of a different route coming into Ferry Meadows as we didn't want to risk getting muddy shoes ...
Other than my knee the only other issue was being hungry, only had some toast before the run. Legs surprisingly felt great, shame they didn't feel that good yesterday.

Weekly Mileage - 40.60 Miles
Quite surprised that I managed to get 40 miles in this week, having not run Tues and Wed and not doing much the rest of the mid week. Overall I think I recovered quite well from GER, didn't intend on doing any running in the week but I am quite glad I did now as I feel quite good on Saturday - would have just helped if I could run in the mud! Hope to get back up to some good mileage again (60+) in the next few weeks and I'm really looking forward to going out to train with the lads in Portugal, get to a good shape and then run sub 33 in the Abbey Dash. Well ... that's the plan!

Thanks for reading as always, retweets would be grateful!

@josh_lunn