Progress?

So I have another new 5K parkrun PB, whoop whoop!

I don't take it as a huge sign of fitness progress though, I am taking it as a sign of tactical awareness. I went out at a speed I felt I could hold for the 5K, and tried to work a tiny bit harder as I went on. So there was not only a hefty negative split, but in fact a Royal flush** with each kilometre being faster than the previous one. The new course helped, not that it was any flatter or any less bendy, it was simply wider over the first 1-1.5K so it was easier to find my rhythm and hold on to it. Which means I have to say thanks to the summit being arranged in the city for the change of route.

There is so much wrong with my running in this picture (borrowed from the Cardiff Parkrun flickr feed - credits to _NiallS). Apart from the fact I was chasing red t-shirts and two decided to overtake me at this point (knew I should have chased purple shirts, there were less of them! Better odds!), I look leadened legged, flat footed, overweight... need I go on?

From there I set about recovering and will get a couple of runs in this week ahead of the Cardiff 10K this coming Sunday. For the race I will again try and deploy the same plan - find a comfortable pace, hold it, and then see if I can squeeze a small progression of pace (with a negative split overall). To be honest I will be chuffed with any time under the hour at this point, and look for it to be another stepping stone to more (and better) running.

** - listen to a number of recent episodes of MarathonTalk and you'll hear all about Royal flush runs - happily they have absolutely nothing to do with Royal toilets or anything else of that nature.

Change all around

This weekend I get my running shoes on again after our holiday and a week back in work, happily I am looking forward to getting out there again. This week has seen me finally change my eating habits, gone is the snacking, gone are the random lunchtime menus (I am packing my bag each morning with a lunch), gone is the huge breakfast, gone is the quick lunch. All of this is of course sensible, by the way my breakfast is not microscopic just not so large, and so I am feeling the benefits already. I have been using the myfitnesspal app for a few weeks again now, and I am using it to generally follow my habits this time using it to make sure I don't have massive high and low days.

Other change sees me tackling a new parkrun course, but at the same location (?). Thanks to the NATO summit coming to Newport (and Cardiff) this year the local parkrun has had to move its route to a neighbouring bit of parkland. Its all to do with rather imposing (and expensive) fences, and turning a whole city upside down so that two lunches can be held. Be amazing if there were ever a lunch that caused so much upheaval - I am sure someone with a better knowledge of History would come up with some clever examples of ones that have. Anyhoo, I digress, this weekend should be a solid run with no PB attempt as I have the 10k race next week (also disrupted and on a changed route) and really need to build into the three races I have steadily.

In other change, I start a new contract in a few days time that means little on the face of it but quite a bit in terms of progression of the project (in fact it means that I stay with the project for a while longer). Changing across contracts is something I have had to do a few times, but every time I seem to forget that feeling that comes with the process, renewal, excitement, nerves, paperwork (!). Very happily I get to keep the same desk so my new lunch routines should be easier to keep rolling.

And the last change is I haven't referred to the term 'mojo' out loud (or in my head) for a few days which I also hope is a sign that things are back on track... I'll let you know on Monday.

Up - Down - Up - Down... repeat

So just what on earth does that post title mean?

Well it refers to my recent exercise habits, one week upbeat (good habits), one week down (bad habits), I think you get the gist. To be fair I was in France last week for a fabulous family holiday... ah, but if you've ever read one those magazine articles titled "How to keep your exercise going on holiday" then I did just about the opposite - mmm, and the French food is sooooo good.

I am left wondering whether the next month (40 days actually) will be 'kill or cure' as regards my running woes, as in that time I have three races signed up and paid for. It will be the best possible outcome if I manage to find some sort of routine during that period and head into the Winter in a good running mojo 'place'... now where's my phone I need to try and book a run with my training buddy...

Hope your running is going strong and you are heading into the autumn season with good races ahead :-)

Friday Fun - "It Doesn't Matter" - Wyclef Jean, The Rock, Melky & Sedek

Today I just thought I'd share the song that is guaranteed to make me smile... the title says it all... enjoy :-D

Wyclef Jean, The Rock, Melky & Sedek - "It Doesn't Matter"

Not exactly rocket science - Wittering on Wednesday

Eureka, I think I have hit upon a complete new and novel approach to getting this fitness thing done - eat better X move better = feel better - a simple and powerful equation to sit with the collection of other important equations from across the ages...

Image"Hand Drawing Scientist Portrait" by MR LIGHTMAN courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

...aaaah wait no!!! I have of course 'rediscovered' the mantra that near enough all health and fitness professionals will quote in one form or another. Did this revelation come from listening to these good good people? Well no, it came from me being constantly broken, feeling crap, generally getting no where, and then having one of those light bulb moments after finding myself in my fitness slump - I was not moving as much as I used to in as many ways as I used to, plus I was not eating not so well on top of that - in the end wasn't difficult maths at all... after all I am not a Rocket Scientist :-)

Image "Rocket And Earth" by jscreationzs courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Last weeks surprises

Last week all in all was a good running week, including three sessions (the experimental short run, the medium length (8.3km) running buddy run, and the 5km parkrun on Saturday). I could have done more runs, but I am trying to avoid going crazy and diving into big distance increases. Taking into account my recent mojo issues none of them were awful although none set my World alight.

The highlight in the end was simple - the parkrun on Saturday turned out to be a PB. Why say it like that? Well because when I crossed the line it didn’t feel like a PB, in so far as it didn’t feel smooth, relaxed, or moreover quick! I went out from the ‘gun’ with the intention to get a PB and so stood further up the starting funnel. Over the first km I felt I hadn’t moved far enough up the funnel because I couldn’t get a rhythm going and was swerving off the path here and there to get around groups of runners. Kilometer number two was where I started wrestling with whether I should be forefoot landing or heel striking as I discovered I have already developed two distinct styles (how in a short time I did not know, I am old I am not meant to learn new tricks) and could feel real differences between them. I opted to heel strike, as I knew I was asking for calf trouble if I got carried away ‘forefooting’ or ‘midfooting’ (I am not 100% sure where the new strike is).

So I wobbled through the middle km musing ‘those’ changes and trying to run relaxed with whatever my feet were, or weren’t, doing. At this point I was musing chasing red shirts or blue shirts for the second half of my negative split effort. The fourth km got very difficult, I was sure I wasn’t on a PB by this point and wasn’t seeing the other runners coming back to me as fast as previously (“because you should further up the funnel dummy” – I realised later). I was puffing and blowing at this point wondering why it was so sunny after cooling rain had been threatening and falling for most of the rest of the morning. It was hot!

The final km of the parkrun in through the trees began to feel a little better, mostly because fatigued had wiped earlier musing from my overactive monkey brain. I was chasing blue tops by this point, which was great as there were quite a few of them. I held my final burst for the last 100m rather than 200m - unlike every week, and finished absolutely shattered – like every week. I headed off home confident that a PB had eluded me telling myself that the GPS told me the same as it had the previous time... happily I was wrong I had bagged a PB by fully 30sec! (big enough for me and my fragile mojo to celebrate).

Otherwise there is slow progress as my weight has probably stabilised but is showing no signs of dropping. I have though been getting a bit more sleep and if I can do that more consistently I think I really will see a difference. A bit like seeing the model car you just bought on absolutely every street corner, I have been seeing and hearing references to quality sleep and training all week – as if to bash me over the head with just how bad at resting I had gotten during my summer slump.

All the ruminating and stride analysis did lead to one same lightbulb moment, which is this – I march! When I walk I over stride and smack me feet into the ground as if I was on the parade square. I have been tempted to blame being an army brat (child of a forces family), or the fact that I am tall and maybe carried on showing off my huge stride as a kid into later life. But whatever the reason I have been tried to consciously walk ‘light’, not exactly forefoot walking (not sure that does or should exist) just walking without the almighty thumps I normally do. I think it was this that has engrained the running stride changes in my muscle memory and that complained as I started banging my legs against the ground in kilometre two of the parkrun.

Whatever last week was or was not I am happy that I am trying changes, and that some unexpected outcomes, if not the expected outcomes, are reminding me that it is all worthwhile.

Breaking out of a running rut

30 days to go until my first autumn test – that’s right I have a 10k race in a months time even with my mojo still lost in the woods somewhere! Better than that from there I have a 'race' every other weekend until the end of September... it will be either boom or bust with my running mojo by the end of that period.

I am pinning a few hopes on the theory that immersing myself in things will help shake the junk out of my system and bring about a good autumn / winter of running and training in general. At the moment I am doing just about everything that any reasonable running magazine article might suggest to break out a rut...

1. Running for fun not goals.
2. Eating better.
3. Trying new things in running training.
4. Running with a friend.
5. Joined a club (I am stretching the definition to include the parkrun experience).
6. Building / changing routine (specifically by trying to get into a better sleep pattern).
7. Incorporating targets, such as races to shape and direct training.

Did I leave anything out that would also help?

Mojo? Mojo? Anyone seen my mojo?

And so I went for my comeback run yesterday inspired by my recent reading and musings, and in fact it turned out to be a complete mixed bag of a run...

Pros

1. I did it.
2. Managed to complete the run with what felt like a new non-heel striking action.
3. I used the pair of less cushioned shoes I've had for ages.
4. It was raining.
5. I ran with a quicker cadence the whole way powered by a Metronome app.
6. I forgot my GPS watch (I didn't want to know my pace during the run).

Cons

1. It was very very humid.
2. I realised just how completely and utterly unfit I am at the moment .
3. My calves started to complain with 500m to home.
4. I had to put up with the Metronome app the whole way (my brain started to ache, tick-2-3!)
5. I forgot my GPS watch (I wanted to know my pacing after I'd finished).

All in I suppose I was pleased, but felt very far away even from tentative plans I was making back in May for better running ("Variety I hope will be spice of running"). I am back around the loop of 'lack of fitness' to 'some form of fitness' again, and I am not at all happy about it. Finding my running mojo will, I hope, sort this out though its obvious you can't shake a slump in a day (d'uh!).

I dared stepping on the weighing apparatus for the first time in a long time and it really slammed home how crap things had gotten in the slump. I am at the high part of an oscillation I have been in for the last three years of wandering up to nearly 15st and then down to 14st and back again. Thus, I am back using the MyFitnessPal app again albeit it with the heavy heart of someone who recognises as a yo yo diet pattern when he sees one. Perhaps this time, eh? Again I am hoping that moving / running will fix things here, as long as I can be smart enough to avoid injury.

Tonight I ran 8.5km of a standard loop with my running buddy, wherein we chatted the whole way and I found I was working much harder than my compatriot. This is all good though because when we get our act together the pair of us make a good motivational pair. I ran the whole way 'normally', in that I didn't accentuate any change of style (i.e. I landed most of the time heel first). To begin with I am aiming for one session a week of forefoot, hoping to bed it in slow and increase things gently. Almost certain I will run all my autumn events with no particular style in mind and see what feels comfort at different points in the races.

The biggest realisation that I have had is that I am going to navigating a difficult balancing act of fitness vs. form, it will indeed to tricky to do much quality running while I am so unfit and yet I don't want to run those 'get fit' runs in with a poor running form that might bring on old injuries... chicken -> egg, egg -> chicken??

Getting my mojo back

The last few weeks post-slump haven't really been too much different from the slump itself in that I haven't done anywhere near as much as I want to and I have eaten poorly. With that said I have signed up for 'new' challenges (two 10k races as well as the half marathon), I have been reading for inspiration, and I have been formulating (at least in my head) an 18 month plan to really tackle my running issues. Yup, as a runner I just said "I have running issues", a little strange perhaps but true - more something you might hear a non-runner say. I know a lot of runners want to change this and that, go faster and so forth, but I am trying to rebuild the love that I realise I lost a little whilst walking the second half of my last marathon carrying injury niggles and poor preparation around 26.2miles.

So from here I am running for fun again, aiming to enjoy race events, and taking any kind of pressure I can away from any run. I am going to get to the local Parkrun when I can and enjoy the event, I am going to work on my running systematically without a big stick with "go faster!" written in large letters on it. Somewhere I forgot to enjoy the fact that I used to be unable to do this running stuff without major issues, and forgot to just enjoy the fact that my body moving through space is so much more fulfilling than my body resenting movement and craving lazy time.

Part of my reconnection with running and hopefully my running mojo has been through reading and by reading I don't mean those 'how to' manuals I mean reading the life affirming types of running books. I just finished "Born to Run", having had so many people look at me a bit weird for not having picked it up... it was / is a great book and I think will aid my revival.

The copy I borrowed from a friend and read in a hurry - a book review post may well follow

Until I lace my shoes up next (as soon as I can, within the next 24 hours) I will really find out if my running soul searching has shifted the slump and delivered a hefty dollop of mojo.

I hope your running mojo is alive, kicking, and bringing fun to your runs.

Slumped

The last three weeks through a combination of things I have found myself in a fitness slump, and good grief do I feel rubbish for it. A few pounds on, naff food eaten, too much sleep missed, not enough exercise - has all added up. I am trying to turn things around and get out of it by looking to new goals and challenges, but I haven't found one yet that really has grabbed my imagination. I hadn't realised how much goals have taken over the lead in my on the move activities.

Happily my wife has more than made up for my malaise and has completed her first triathlon. She is busy consolidating on that achievement, and I am more than a little envious right now of her drive. I will be watching how she takes on the next challenge and trying to take a leaf out of her book

Caffeine-free?? Well no actually.

I had a recent bad experience with electrolyte drinks tablets. I use them to flavour water with out all the baddies of those tasty but sugary sports drinks or bottled fruit juices, and with a little more variety than plain water. It was a case of not putting the 2 and the other 2 together and coming up with the right answer.

After a long period of using them I noticed that they were affecting my mood, and that I was looking for them through the day if I wasn't able to have regular drinks for some reason feeling my attention flagging. Then the penny dropped, I looked again at the ingredients list and pondered over the mysterious bag of tricks that was listed as 'green tea extract'. Fabulous stuff for weight loss I gathered... and so is caffeine I mused. I checked the manufacturers website, looking long and hard for mentions of caffeine (or caffeine quantities moreover) and found no mention whatsoever.

Now you could at this point be thinking me naive, and I suppose yes I was crediting the makers with perhaps too much in thinking that they would use an extract derivative that was caffeine-free believing that otherwise they would think to state it was a caffeine drink. Long story a little shorter, I eventually looked up a few manufacturers and only found one that made it abundantly clear up front which of their tablets were caffeine containing and which weren't... which leaves me drinking Nuun electrolyte drink. No bad thing given they have more flavours than the first company I tried and are equally widely stocked.

All I can say as any kind of summary is "thank you Nuun!", as someone who finds caffeine throws their sleep patterns, and to a mild but measurable extent affects their mood it is good to find a company that simply puts relevant information there for all to see.

I never did get anything back from one company I emailed with the simple question "can you tell me if there is caffeine in your product?", customer service is a whole other realm of gripes.

WoW: Racing nervous? I can recommend a blog post for that

Rather than wittering on Wednesday I have swapped in a recommendation Wednesday (which isn't as catchy, but might be more informative).

I saw this post by Amanda on her blog / website RunToTheFinish this week....

9 Best Ways to Manage Race Day Nerves 

My most noticeable race day nervous sign is yawning! I start to yawn to get more oxygen probably as a result of not being very relaxed in the start pen. Those around me must think I've either just popped out of bed or actually find the whole race thing quite dull.

While I'm at this recommending thing an older post that caught my eye a while back that encompasses a lot of what Amanda's blog is about...

61 Lessons from 2000 Blog Posts 

Some blogs are just a mine of information, advice, good vibes, and so are worth recommending.

I am finding my way back into my blog after quiet a while away, and trying to find a bit of computer / life balance. So my next mission is to track down some images to brighten the place up again.

Keeping things simpler

What my 'new' plan boils down to is mostly just keeping things simple. The five point plan from my last post kind of sums it up, in essence I am getting back on the move in as many ways as I can without focusing wholly and solely on running. The main reason being that I had noticed an all around loss of strength and flexibility in doing other things, even to the point that the more linear process of running was suffering, evidenced by my string of injury niggles.

All this is great, and "d'uh!" common sense. It was all too easy with the time pressures of life to think "if I keep the running going that's fine. Running is all I really need to be able to run anyway.". Seductive as that type of thinking was I now realise I had utterly conned myself, three weeks of swimming has reminded me just what I'd done to those other important muscles (I really was troubled by how bad my swim strength was that first time I got back in the pool).

So from here I am going with the K.I.S.S. strategy - "Keep It Simple Stupid!"

Progress on those five things:
1) Parkrun - done.

2) Swimming - actually been doing twice a week :-)

3) Gym going - not yet, I am giving the pool another week at least before swopping in the gym session.

4) Eating well - Most of the time (better than none of the time).

5) Running consistency - I have been in touch with my training buddy and we've even gotten back out on the road.

Variety I hope will be the spice of running

So here I go with another plan, this time to build a base for the Autumn 10k and half-marathon races with the very solid ambition to carry everything through the Winter into an awesome spring marathon next year. Sounds straight-forward... ...well yes, and well no... in any case I have a plan and that is where to begin.

The 5 central headlines to the plan are:-

1)  5K Parkrun every other weekend to work on basic speed and improving 5k - 10k aggression.

2)  Swim once a week before work - to build on aerobic fitness but more over to recover muscle and mobilise all those muscles I forget about while run training.

3)  Get to the gym once a week - kinda simple no brainer to work on all round fitness / strength.

4)  Eat sensibly (the not so easy one)

5)  Run with some degree of consistency - focusing on technique and trying to crack the jog to run barrier (being as I have been stuck at fast jog speed for a very long time).

...simple? Well I hope so, I will let you know how it goes. I have my ever first Parkrun tomorrow morning so best foot forwards.

The lost blog post - "So what happened to January?"

Just found this lurking in my drafts, can't work out why it didn't publish. So anyway, seems like a good chance to reflect a third of the way into 2014...

Indeed January was something of a blur, an awful lot happened and I tried out a bunch of different things - some worked and some didn't. I suppose January is supposed to be that sort of month with New Years resolutions and so forth. So what did I try?

Firstly, I tried Plankaday (#plankaday)- a meme within the Twitterverse primarily - wherein you do a plank everyday and log your time held in plank on twitter (they even have a tracker that reminds you if you miss a couple of days - the plank police). I found it good fun and it was a humorous way of tackling a lack of core work in my routine. Moreover it was quite addictive and my times did actually improve over the four weeks of January.

Secondly, I tried to run... to a plan... FAIL - I was broken, a knee issue plagued me all month that was fine in almost all things but running!?! The plan was to get into great shape for the Bath Half-marathon (that plan lies in a quite corner of my laptop weeping), so in light of muscle weaknesses diagnosed by the physio I am going with a short build up to Bath that will then roll into my marathon training for May.

Thirdly, I tried the fat burn revolution (#TFBR) - I got off to an excellent start then the knee impacted training here a bit, and then my birthday came along - ahem, I fell off that wagon, so now I start again over the weekend. I will explain more about the program / scheme in another post where I can do the whole thing justice. I wouldn't call it a fail, but then I won't call it a success either. 

So February I hope will bring more consistencies and a whole lot more running!

And how did that all work out? Well I've been pretty good with #1 and planked heaps, my twitter feed is pretty choca-block with reports. #2 ah well, #2 has been an on going saga though I got round both the Bath Half and Milton Keynes marathon off of cross training but I was not happy or injury free for either of them. I have work to do to be injury free for the rest of the year. #3 still deserves visiting in a whole other blog post, but suffice to say once I am injury free I will be taking the challenge on afresh.

Milton Keynes marathon 2014 - my race review

Prologue
My third marathon - the Milton Keynes marathon 2014 was probably my most interesting yet, it was full of the most diverse light and shade of any race of any distance that I have taken part in. Before going any further into the details I have to say that the organisation and the race team were absolutely, completely and utterly brilliant. They were fun, helpful, and just plain thoughtful... as I hope will become a little clearer through my ramblings.

So after weeks of wondering if my troublesome heel would be okay to run I toed the start line a few metres behind the 4:15 pacer with a pretty loose plan in mind, and no idea how the day would pan out. Over the preceeding weeks I had run a total of three times (two 5k runs and a 10k fitness test), I spent most of my time sat of a turbo trainer peddling for what seemed like days (utter hyperbole on my part, the longest I rode was approaching 3 hours). I essentially switched all the run training times from my training plan into bike sessions and pushed as high a gear as I felt I could for each session.

The race...
The pack started to move forward and my only semblance real plan was to follow the pacer and see how I got on. Plan B was to trickle back to the next pace group if I couldn't live with the first pacers rhythm. I imagine many people assume similar strategies. As we moved through the wide start area I saw my wife and son waving and gave them a handsome wave back, then looked around for the pacer. In the first 1km or so I already had the sense that pursuing a 'prey' was going to consume a lot of mental energy, I sat back from his pace at the start with the goal of feeling my way into it and slowly pulling up to his pace group over the first half of the race.

At 5k it was becoming abundantly clear that I was over cooking it, my Garmin was telling me pace numbers that didn't seem to fit with a 4:15 pace and so I was wondering what was going on - if anything the gap to the pacer was even bigger at this point. I decided to give it until 10k to settle down, thinking perhaps my watch was telling fibs. 10k came and I was no closer to the pacer despite having upped my pace to its race peak (!), at this stage rationalising that something was amiss I tried to settle back into a slower pace (forgetting the pacer). I tried to find a new pace that I could hold for the rest of the race.

Thus, the second 10k was slower, and brought me back to an overall pace that I felt was closer to my original plan. By this time though I knew I was COOKED, there was a dwindling sense of energy reserves and my running gait was beginning to falter as my heel began to remind me how little I had run in the last 2 months. I went through halfway in something like 2:11 and the real race started...

When the wheels fell off
At the 10mile mark the half marathoners split off and went their way to back to the stadium whilst the 26.2'ers turned off into the suburbs. The change both in course (wide road to single track cycle ways) and the density of runners at a point where my physical issues where becoming obvious led to the beginning of something of a mini-crisis. By 13.5miles (roughly 22k) I was into damage limitation, my only goal completing in one piece - a run / walk strategy seemed the only sensible thing.

My first walk was slow and laboured as I berated myself for a mix of bad planning, bad luck, and injury, when I picked up for a run (jog) section it was clear my legs weren't going to tolerate it. So back in the walk I found that I could speed walk with minimal aches and moreover minimal pains. At this point I really started to really notice the marshals and was buoyed by their encouragement. I also started to take in the race around me and others that were either struggling or on run /walk strategies for slower paces.

Quickly in the third 10k it was clear that walking fast was the best strategy for getting me back in one piece, and as the next pace group came and went (despite me trying for a couple of hundred metres to go with them) I was resigned to it. Calculations of possible finish times led me to text my wife using our run phone letting her know my likely fate. My walk pace was in fact such that run / walkers were sometimes finding it hard to distance me with me over taking them during their slower walk phases. Lots of times I re-passed people once, others became regulars over the next 15k. Smiles began to cross my face as I resigned, enjoyed the see-saws with the run / walkers, and increasing got into playful banter with marshals, volunteers, spectators and passers by.

Good out of the bad
The last 10k I found I actually enjoyed, I was steaming along at pretty much a swift marching pace (arm swinging, the whole power walk bit). I texted back and forth with my wife about my finish time and to let my family know what was happening. At one point I thought it would be my wife and son at the finish and not the rest of the crew. The heat and sun took its toll, and it was increasingly clear that the marching pace I'd set was too quick to allow me to run very far, and I wasn't about to walk slowly! The last 600-800m I picked up to a very laboured jog much to the joy of the spectators near the stadium, I got so much support towards the finish. As I entered the stadium I heard my two kids yelling and saw my wife looking frankly a little relieved (and concerned). The last 200m are around the pitch inside the MK Dons football stadium and the small crowd still there around the 5:25 mark were lovely.

I crossed the line so relieved to have completed that I could only manage a half Mo-bot gesture for the finish line camera person. As soon as I crossed I went back towards the line to congratulate two women who I had spent most of the last 15k passing and being passed by. When I finally headed for my medal I was greeted by my son and daughter sprinting towards me yelling excitedly, my son with my finishers medal in his hand :-D They had been allowed to cross the control barrier, take my medal and come to present me with my trophy. I was already full of 'love' for the organisation for the last 20k without them topping it all with a simple yet powerful act of kindness.

Post-race diagnosis
My time was my slowest (of course), at 5:25:17 but in many ways it carried more positives than the headline figure might suggest. I had persevered, I had finished, I wasn't complete broken (my heel had not worsen dramatically), I had enjoyed the warmth of the marathon family, I found a sense of fun in the 'failure', I had the most wonderful wife, kids and family supporting my madness... there was nothing bad in any of that.

I saw the physio the day after and I think he was impressed that I hadn't destroyed my legs any more than any other marathon finisher after the issues I had had pre-race. A rub down set me up for recovery, as did a 40minute swim float in the pool. Today I am considering my plans for the autumn season and what my new targets will be... the running bug hasn't gone anywhere in the face of a such poor race :-)

Race review

The organisation was close to flawless, there was plenty of provision for the warm weather. The race team were all superbly helpful, and always encouraging. The course is not the pancake flat stuff of a huge city marathon but was extremely well marked and no one can really complain about the rolling under- and over- passes in the second half (especially if you pace your effort properly). Having a stadium start and finish is just awesome in the facilities / shelter it provides runners (pre- and post- race) and the spectators during the race. The MK dons really do have quite the impressive facility. Would I do it again? Of course, though I may leave it a year in order to try a different spring race next year, I don't run many marathons after-all ;-)

Post race links:-
BBC Three Counties Radio - Milton Keynes Marathon 2014 shorts (there are six)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTytpKPrmwY

Like a bull at a gate

And so it seems I charged into things like the proverbial bull, and it hasn't done me any good. I dived back into trained and developed some niggles. Niggles became aches, which then became pain, which then became an inability to run. There is something wrong with my heel that is stopping me running, and worse still slowing me walking. After a whole week of TLC, anti-inflammatories and stretching it is really no better and the next port of call is the doctors or the physiotherapists...

...the saddest part is that I haven't had this much pure unadulterated drive to run in a long time and I can't. In the last few days I've spent over 4 hours on a stationery bike in lieu of running, and it just isn't the same. I can only hope when the professionals take a look at it there are some quick things I can do to get back on the move.

Very quick three things thursday - without pictures or hyperbole

No pictures - sorry, I am out of picture fodder and need to go around capturing some stuff. It probably stems from an overly busy work schedule of late, but I will try harder.

Hyperbole - reading back my through my blog of late I have notice my predilection for hyperbolic post titles (which at times are let down my the ramblings they lead to), and more than occasional over use of exclamation marks!!!!!!! I hereby promise that neither of things are likely to change, oh okay I will be trying.

Marathon talk - more substantial than any of the above and a great source of material to boast your running IQ.

Running - I seem to have found a new groove, Thursday I rest - tomorrow I Friday Fartlek!

Only when I'm planking

The New Year brought many things and one of them was planking, I have even been chased a few times by the plank police. Right around now you might be wondering, "What the heck is this guy on about?" or alternatively you might be feeling the spark of recognition of the social media meme that is #Plankaday

Its a challenge to do a plank at least once a day and tweet about it. Core strength is often overlooked as we go about our daily lives, and a strong core can be aided by using the simple plank exercise (as well as many other exercises). The beauty is that a plank is simple, and that Twitter keeps you accountable (and likely to keep doing it).

Really?..... Who? What? Where? When? Why?... go really see what it is all about go see Sherry Pagoto's page at -  http://www.fudiet.com/plank-a-day-revolution/

I like my life simple and straight-forward so laying down with a timer is hardly difficult to organise on any given day. It seems to be paying off and my times are improving - follow my Twitter account to see the stream of (almost) daily efforts - https://twitter.com/AndyHollins  [there's a link over there on the right too].

Sunday - run day

Okay so my training has been more stop-start than a stop-start thing, but it was good to hit a second Sunday long run in two weeks [ssssh]... with no apparent niggles (!). I wandered out into the sunshine (my eyes burning as we've seen so little of the big yellow globe in the sky in the U.K. of late), and knew nothing else than I planned to return in 100 minutes - the marathon training plan said so.

I kind of made up my route, avoiding this taking in that (the park mostly), and turned around after 50 mins to see what it all looked like in the opposite direction. My pace was very akin to the Bath Half last week, and like last week I managed to keep a lid on the first half of the run meaning I negative split the trip.

Sometime during this meandering run / jog I clocked my 1000th logged mile on my Garmin, shame I didn't realise I'd have thrown it a 1000th mile party or something. It appeared to celebrate all by itself by misting up part way through the run so I could only just see the screen, with hindsight it was probably a little sad that I hadn't done anything for its milestone. It was probably sadder still not to have clocked a thousand miles sooner on the wrist of a faster more consistent runner, hehee.

So 16.2km in the sun, and now I cross my fingers it'll be more of the same next week to keep my long run streak going...

Friday Fix... dis-concertedness

I've had this lying around my drafts folder for ages wondering whether or not to click publish and today I just thought 'why not?'....

Why is it that the advice that comes with new diets, new exercise strategies, new life style plans and so on never explains the biggest single likely drawback and probable cause of failure. What is this thing? Dis-concertedness - for which I want a better single word, so I shall do my best to explain a bit better using a few more words. When you have gathered together the motivation, the tools and perhaps even the items of shopping you start the grand scheme only to find that in the space of a few days to perhaps even weeks you will feel weird / dis-concerted within yourself.

Now this for some is fine and it doesn't bother them too greatly, but the issue is that many don't find they understand, so don't persist and then give up. The thing to 'know' is that you will feel 'odd' when you make such changes, and by 'odd' I don't mean ill (go to the doctors if you feel just plain ill). The feeling of oddness can be everything from a swimmy head lacking usual concentration span, to strange feelings in your stomach (bloating, emptiness, sudden looseness of bowel habit), and so forth. When you stop and consider what you are undertaking then of course you won't feel 'normal' during periods of huge change.

Take diet for example, likely your system will need to clear and at the same time adapt to the new food choices you've made. What is more comforting when your stomach is a little upside down than some of your favourite comforting foods? So you 'break' your diet and have one or two things your body 'knows' to settle you, and so begins the erosion of your new plan. Often it is not that the diet change didn't work because you were not mentally tough enough it is that your body nudged you into making that change of mind. I see it as a common sense type issue, change anything wholesale, or even sometimes fractionally, and often things don't work out immediately. 

Knowing that the changes in your diet and exercise plans may make you feel dis-concerted or dis-quieted within yourself better prepares you for when it arrives. Then if you do wind back some of the change (to put calories back in, or to reduce that 'over' long gym session), you are prepared to accept it might simply be slow adaptation that you are accommodating and not a total retrograde step you are taking.

Sleep can be a huge component, especially of exercise but also diet change, your body may rightly tell you "go to bed early please" because the taking in the change may need a parallel change in recovery and rest habits. I dropped caffeine and for a few days I was oddly tired before a few early nights and the finishing of the change in my physiology left me feel massively better (and happy to return to my old sleep pattern).

In essence you can't ask your body to change physiologically (for either better, or indeed worse) without there being a process of adaptation that will likely leave you feeling 'different' or 'dis-concerted' for a short period. Take it in give, yourself a chance and watch those changes stick. Oh, and if you can take things at a more measured pace you might just avoid this in the first place, but then who of us doesn't get very tempted by that massive change touted as "instant weight loss", "short-cut to race fitness", "ripped by summer" or other grand scheme?

Bath half marathon - how it went for me

I haven't been blogging much but I have been trying at least to train - though with limited success thanks to niggling injuries through Christmas and especially the New Year. The training that I had under my belt was so limited that I didn't really manage a consistent week of planned training all year.

And so it was that I found myself in the first start pen of the Bath half ruing my optimism of injury free training from last November, and watching the majority of the second pen trot by towards the start line. As I saw just one or two really keen members of the third 2hr plus pen come into view I stepped into the flow and set off to execute my 'plan'. My plan, though sadly not an especially swift one, was to run conservatively, aim for a negative split, and importantly finish with enough in me to run again as soon as possible getting into a marathon training plan I had had drawn up for months.

The first 5km were spent keeping a firm eye on holding my pace down just below my marathon pace to ensure a solid foundation for the run (and increase my chances of staying injury free). I got to enjoy the fantastic views of the huge and colourful field snaking around what is generally a very pretty course. I was in pace with a joggler (a runner juggling for the whole race) but he wasn't it seemed enjoying the best first phase and I left him behind.

The second 5km was the fastest, following on from the slowest - under-shoot / overshoot / hang on seemed to become the pattern, and one that was reminiscent of my Berlin marathon pace blocks in many ways. I was enjoying the free speed of the down hills and trying to work a bit on the ups, it is classified a flat course but does roll a fair bit to keep your legs interested! I took two gels in this phase but ignored that drinks stops as I knew I was well hydrated and the cool weather with fine rain was helping to keep thirst at bay. Around the 10k mark was where I'd pulled out of my only other previous attempt at the Bath Half and going through there feeling good was a huge mental lift. The noise around the course was amazing, and in spite of the rain the crowds were simply brilliant.

The third 5km was where I began to feel this was looking like a good plan, and where I mentally had to dig in a bit to stay on track (especially round those gentle up hills). I took two more gels towards the middle of this section and found that I'd taken too many in a short space of time as I suffered a few stomach twinges towards the 15km point. Again the crowds were fab, even if I did ignore the one or two that noticed I was in a sub-2hr bid but clearly not on for that type of time. I could project my likely time at this point and though it would be no where close to my bid projection I was chuffed that I was doing so well off of such a shaky start to my 2014 training.

The fourth 5km marked the toughest phase and towards the end the brightest phase. I had to work into the fourth quarter, pushing to maintain my pace and engineer a potential negative split race. Towards the end of it I could feel the finish line pull and was lifted by my eagerness to finish strong. I took a bottle of water through this phase and tried to drink, but didn't get much though being out of practice with bottles and spoilt by the cups provided in Berlin. At this phase I was reeling in quite a lot of runners, and trying to keep pace with a couple that were clearly on a strategy. I see-sawed with another couple running for TIP (Time Is Precious) and hoped that they would finish well as they were clearly working really hard together as a team. I hadn't heard of the charity but was lifted by the sentiment of its name.

The final km was fun, no really (!), I actually felt I could ignite the burners a bit and clawed back runners hand over fist. I know that this is really annoying to fellow runners but I could feel my plan had worked to a tee and was enjoying it. I tried in the last 300m to really open out and run like a 'proper' runner, and frankly yes I am sure I looked a prat, but it was fantastic to feel I was moving and was likely to get a great start on my marathon training from it. I crossed in 2:06:14 which is taking me back to where I was time wise almost ten years ago - not that I care as this run had become part of another marathon race attempt.

My wife met me afterwards with fresh dry clothes and we made really short work of heading off home thanks to the superb race organisation. The t-shirt, medal and bag were really good, and I came away with a huge desire to go back another year and look for a time more reflective of my best in future... one where my training has gone right and put me in the start pen confident of hitting a goal.

...oh, and that negative split? Near enough a full minute - BOOM :-D

As a footnote, this summary about the impact of the race was part of an email newsletter from the organisers:

"The runners who work so hard have once again raised incredible amounts of money for charity are a real inspiration to us. In the last thirteen years the Bath Half has raised over £12million for charity, making it the largest single day fundraising event in the South West and one of the biggest fundraisers of its kind in the UK. We anticipate that over £2million will have been raised for charity at Sunday’s race."

Wittering on Wednesday - Micro-blogging is ruling so far this year

So it seems so far this new calendar year I have been tweeting like a thing possessed, it has taken over any time to sit and actually blog. More happily though it is providing fabulous fuel for new posts... just as soon as I can pull away from 140 characters at a time... I have signed up with no less than three fitness programs / schemes / memes so lots to describe and do real soon.

#busytweeting #sorry #i'llbebackshortly :-)

Q. "How was your year of running?", A. see below...

Taking a cue from a running blog legend, Miss Zippy, I am going to briefly review my running year and join the meme...

What was your...

• Best race experience? Running a superbly consistently paced race in the Berlin Marathon, the whole event was amazing and to cap it all with a near 25minute PB made it near perfect.

• Best run? Oddly I feel compelled to say the Berlin Marathon, because as I hinted above the run gods smiled on me that day (it still makes me smile weeks later). 

• Best new piece of gear?   hat - yup, that's right I bought a hat. It is an amazing piece of modern equipment designed to keep the sun off your head and shade your eyes. Here in the UK I haven't needed a 'running hat' until this summer - I bought a branded run specific one and it was a revelation at keeping me cool and wicking away sweat.

• Best piece of running advice you received? I can't put my finger on one piece as I have been trying to educate myself in the ways of marathon'ing and have listened to and read so much in 2013. Pushed I would say "enjoy a World Marathon major, you won't run many in your life and the experience will be something else".

• Most inspirational runner?  Tony Audenshaw (he does a regular spot on podcast I listen to, and his report on the Bullock Smithy Ultra was simply brilliant).

• If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? My year in running - Varied, challenging, and fun.

The end of the year is nigh... already?

So another year is rapidly come to a close, and I have not been blogging or running much since the Berlin Marathon. With the festive break very nearly almost here I hope to pick things up a bit (and finish my Berlin race summary). As it happens I haven't had a great deal of 'on the move' news to report since Berlin as I have sort of been "on a break"... which sounds lovely, but actually means I've gained a few pounds and not exercised nearly enough!

With all that said I have a new plan for my 2014 challenges which kicks off next Monday on the eve before Christmas eve. Having spent too long fostering bad habits I am all set to make some new better ones. Although as I read that on average it takes 66 days to embed a new habit, I have decided to get a two week head-start on all those making resolutions (new habits) on New Years day. Should be fun and should make for blogging fodder... did I mention I'd signed up for a spring running challenge - no - ah, well maybe next post will reveal more.

Yours slightly cryptical, A :-)

Berlin Marathon 2013 - my second marathon - done! pt1 (to the start pen)

It took me a few days to digest the whole experience and frankly to find a moment to sit down to type it up... and then even longer to get my images together and then sit and post this thing. So anyway here is my Berlin marathon 2013 -

The Berlin marathon was my first experience of a major city marathon, and while I have nothing to compare it to I found it an incredible event all round. So here is how it all went...

The weekend started with traveling over to Germany, via Amsterdam on KLM which I had initialled thought would be a draining journey (with the transfer, lots of sitting on awkward seats, and general worry about flying without the kids). Happily the journey went very well with flights on time, good leg room on the aircraft, reasonable food in the transit lounge and so on.

Possibly the most glamorous view of Schiphol airport you'll ever see ;-) 

When we got into Berlin we managed to find the hotel pretty easily, although we realised afterwards we could have taken one bus rather than a bus and a U-bahn. The hotel was brilliant in as far as they were super welcoming of marathoners, had good standard rooms, and a great restaurant. We took a quick walk then settled for a meal in the hotel, which was yummy - I indulged in Currywurst and a small beer calculating it was two days from the race and I knew the dish well enough to know it wouldn't upset my system - oh wow, it tasted amazing!!

Hmm, naughty food and a very naughty (small) beer - what was a boy to do?

The day before the race our sole mission was to go get my race number at the expo, but I also wanted to have a look around the start / finish zone so we would know the best spots to meet up post race and so on. We didn't have an early start to the day, it was still pretty chilly when we headed out which made me think the weather on race day might be fairly good for marathoning. The Brandenburg Tor was bathed in sunshine when we got there (via a coffee shop for a cuppa to revive my wife - I do enjoy that I don't rely on caffeiene to get me going of a morning - sorry, I digress) under clear blue skies, we took a couple of tourist 'selfies' just cause you kind of have to really.

We woz... oh, yeah we woz at the Brandenburg Tor (squinting aside not a bad 'selfie')

From the Tor we headed off to the Expo, wherein I made a navigational error that cost us an hour and a half and a little too much walking. It was just one of those silly things and all I hoped at the time was that it wasn't taking too much out of my legs. The Expo itself was absolutely huge (!) spread across six or seven hangers of Templehof Airport. My feelings of the event were coloured by the amount of walking we'd accidently done - having to walk the length of the place to get the race pack and then back again made commercial sense in that it made all enterants walk past the stands and displays, but rubbed with me as I'd rather have grabbed my number and chilled out. The pick up went pretty smoothly and the lady who gave me my number was super smiley despite the fact that she'd undoubtedly served countless people all day, in fact she was a pretty good example of what I found throughout the event from the organisers and support team - super friendly, super helpful, and super understanding!

The biggest expo I have ever been to, though happily not the biggest queue I have ever been in (different story)

Still tickled that both me and the race were in our 40th years and I get to be 39 because I started a zero not one (ah-ha!!)

The plan then was to head back to the hotel via the route we would take to the race in the morning with a stop for a good dinner (pasta) along the way. Unfortunately with some works to the U-bahn we ended up on our feet a bit too long again but eventually we settled on a pizza restaraurant near a main station. The least said about the service in the place the better (it was diabolical, the first time ever in my life I refused to leave a tip), but the food was good at least (despite starters and main arriving at the same time, yes, it was like that!).

The night before the race and I set about putting everything out for the morning - writing on the back of and then pinning on my race number, installing energy gels in my running belt, putting post run kit in a bag, and working out just what I might need to wear down to the start pen. Within myself I had a plan for the actual race, it was the getting it done that was troubling me a little - running amongst 40,000 other runners was to be a new experience after all. As my head hit the pillow I could feel the nerves were going to rob me of sleep, but in the end I managed always 5 hours of decent shut eye.

Breakfast was awesome, sitting eating a tried and trusted meal (I hadn't noticed my tastes had vered quite so close to a continental breakfast until the trip). We enjoyed a good people watching session noting all the runners in their various old and new kit, and spotted a couple of the pace runners had been staying in our hotel too. My nerves again weren't too bad though the coffee I had with breakfast turned me into a bit of a chatterbox - yes, thats right, coffee (!) which I had planned into my race strategy, I only consume caffeine for racing given the body of literature about its effect on performance and given the positive impact it has had on the few races I have used it for - why not for the big one?

A posse had formed outside our hotel as the sun came up - as we left a group (including pace runners) gathered to set out  across town to the start zone

Setting out down to the U-bahn for our trip to the start compound it was heartening to see that near enough every runners we saw was going the same way. The trip across town was silky smooth, and despite a short queue I availed myself of toilets in the station (ceramic better than portaloo any time). The weather was cool, clear and crisp and I was happy that I brought a plastic poncho to keep warm under.

In the next long overdue post I'll get to the story of my race (from start area to finish to journey home)...

Lazy, or not so lazy post - onwards towards Berlin

8 days to go then the 415+km run, the 10 lbs of weight lost, the 2 pairs of trainers, the £100+ spent on energy gels & drinks, the kids bedtimes missed, the countless extra showers, the training plan, the costly travel, and the organising will have been worth it... Running for a reason... DiabetesUK @ Berlin Marathon
www.justgiving.com/Andrew-BerlinMarathon

It seems I might be tapering

From yesterday's run completion [16.7miles of mixed pace that went very well] it seems that I am now in a what is commonly known to runners as a taper (a period of relative rest just prior to a big event / race), this doesn't mean I stop training from here on it means that I do shorter less intense sessions from here until race day. Why am I so taken aback to be here now? Well my first marathon training was so bit by injury that I didn't manage a premeditated training plan, only a controlled set of injury dictated cross training sessions over the weeks leading to the race. The second marathon I had planned and did not start was hit by illness and an injury the week before race day (which was supposed to be a taper week).

So here I am wondering how this build up will go, pondering the quality (or otherwise) of my training, and curious as to what race morning will bring. I am hoping that I won't go stir crazy during the taper (apparently it is common to get twitchy to squeeze in more training), as I have plenty of organising to do ahead of travelling to Berlin. Less than two weeks to go and I am very nervous in general about the race - though if nothing else it sounds like being a brilliant occasion to be part of (there is apparently a different musical act performing every kilometre or so!).

My next scheduled run isn't until Wednesday so I'll let you know if I get the twitches. How do you do the taper thing?

Worries around my race pace choice

I completed a great out and back run last night at a decent pace over 80mins, now the only thing that troubles me is where I wear my running belt (pouch at the front or back?) - okay no, the thing worrying me still is my choice of marathon pace! At this point I have a feel for what I think I can safely run for 3hrs, but what pace I can achieve over 4hrs+ still worries me. I am looking for a constant pace, and hoping to avoid a massive fade or pace crash. It is the fine line between so slow that I have too much left at the end and so fast that I have nothing left after 20 miles.

I am going to go with a conservative pace window, hope that I am not wildly unrealistic, and hope that there is something left in the tank come the final 5k to 10k. The worst that can happen is that I cross the line regretting not going harder, but that is hardly likely given that this is my second ever marathon - the most likely outcome remains that I an overly optimistic in choosing my pace window and end up suffering in the final third of the race.

Still at least I am at the point of being 2 weeks and 3 days away from the race and not worrying about illness or injury niggles. You think I am nervous now, wait until I get into the taper and add some nervous pent up energy into the mix... oh dear! For the moment it is time for me to put my head down into the weeks training sessions and move these thoughts to one side.

Odd - 18 miles that didn't hurt too much

Yesterday I set out with no small amount of nerves for my longest run of the marathon training plan that I have (for the most part) been following. It called for 3hrs, with 2hr 15min at long run pace and 45mins at regular pace - which I adapted because of routes, etc. to roughly 20km long run (just below marathon pace) and the rest at whatever pace I would feel right very slightly faster than marathon pace. Trying to block the run out into two clear sections.

In the end I managed most of my plan, with the first 10km feeling weird, too easy and very nervous at around 6:29min/km. The second 10km loop (I ran around Cardiff Bay twice in full loops) I began to realise was on a good schedule, I had reserves, and once I had bought a bottle of water (my hidden one was discovered and taken, whoops) things were looking on track at around 6:28min/km.

I'd noticed that I had the itch to run faster but was relieved to look back at the GPS track afterwards and find I didn't succumb in that second loop. The final section the run home started out - well how can I put this? - too hard! I turned for home thought about the pace change and seemed to try and do that in the first kilometer or two, which left the rest of the run (just over 6km) feeling that bit tougher than it should have. I managed something like 6:10min/km for the third block.

Today I feel great, no niggles, no aches (out of the ordinary), and just the appropriate amount of tiredness. I am left a little worried about how an inadvertent pace burst made the last 2km harder than it might have been, and need to make sure that if I try any pace change at all in the race it is far better measured out. It brought home to me that one kilometre kicked out too hard can have serious repercussions down the line. Overall though I am finding it odd that it didn't hurt as much as I'd feared... maybe there is something to this training plan thing?

Run, Run, Run, Physio, Run

I have been really busy running of late (yippee) and so haven't had time to get here to write about it. I've powered around a fartlek, grunted around a 14.2 mile long run, stressed around a regular run, had some physio (more on that is a tick), and then blasted around a shorter route with my training buddy... phew!

In the middle of this run of runs (pun sort of intended, sorry) there is a trip to the physio, which was weird mostly for the fact that I wasn't actually broken in anyway. I went for an assessment and moreover a sports massage for my increasingly tired legs. The assessment went really well with a couple of usual suspects showing up as tight (damn my lumpy running style), as soon as those were loosened along with the rest of my legs it felt great. I am planning on a trip there again just before the marathon to get all loosened up, and then a couple of days after the big run to fix me again.

It is fabulous not to be carrying around an obvious injury and to be feeling okay all round - though it is a little disconcerting given I've had such a poor couple of years of injuries and so on. A lot of the time I find myself ruminating quite where my running might be with an injury free years training behind me... still at least I should arrive at the next start line, and be stood there with a solid (conservative) race plan to mostly just get out there and enjoy it.

Why I haven't signed up for an autumn 10k yet

It would seem slightly odd on the face of it that I haven't signed up for one of the local 10k races this year, and there are a couple of crackers on the doorstep (Cardiff 10k and Swansea 10k). My reason is simple - I don't trust myself! I don't trust myself to run a contained sensible 10k race in the build up to the marathon at the end of September. In the past I ran a 10k a week before a half marathon and got the pacing so wrong for the 10k (I ran a PB) that it contributed to a DNF in the following half. I got carried away with the feeling of strength training for the longer distance had given me.

Once bitten twice shy, or something, I suppose but after missing my last marathon attempt through picking up a last minute injury I am kind of wrapping myself in cotton-wool before the next one. I suppose it is a side-effect of investing so much time and a considerable amount of cash in attending a major city marathon that I am feeling a little cautious. Any event after the race (Sept 29th)? Bring them on, of course I have been too distracted to look yet ;-)

Yummy breakfast - a mini-revolution

Over recent weeks I have morphed my breakfast routine into something with a bit more variety and dare I suggest a bit more balance than my carb heavy breakfast of choice for the last many years (toast and big box cereal).

Yummy!!

So, three small eggs (from our kind hens), small piece of sourdough bread (I didn't say it was a carb free breakfast - also homemade), organic Greek yoghurt, six dried apricots (hiding under the yoghurt), glucosamine tablets, cod liver oil capsule (the last two to help my knees - ahem, joints), and finally a glass of High5 Zero electrolyte drink.

It is not that I am on any kind of nutrition crusade, but I am certainly feeling many benefits of a varied breakfast. It fills me up for longer, doesn't sit on my stomach as heavily, and seems to fuel training that much better.

My French adventures with training

On holiday last week I went running, in fact I went running three times in a week whilst on a family holiday in France. Why am I telling you this? Well, I don't do running on holidays normally, and this year has seen a change. Running on holiday on home soil seemed to be running in a relatively controlled environment, whilst running in France felt altogether edgier - and mostly because if I got into any difficulty I can't speak enough French to explain to anyone what I might need. Plus, I was running in a fairly rural area where near enough every gateway seems to be holding back a canine based alarm and defence system.

I completed three runs and learned a lot in a short holiday about the sense of adventure these challenges can bring while at the same time giving a sense of freedom to the process of running. Once I had stopped worrying about dogs, getting lost, and not being able to ask for help in the local language, I really enjoyed myself. There is something oddly liberating about running down a hill and not knowing either how long you'll enjoy the benefits of gravity or just how steep the inevitable next incline might be around the next corner. The scenery of course contributed to the sense of enjoyment, the countryside of Normandy is such a lush, verdant, rolling, and variable landscape. The most fun I had was on the middle run where I ran a course based around a crossroads at the centre of the hamlet we were staying in - basically I ran a ten minute out and back on each arm of the crossroads. Quite apart from the challenge of maintaining my desired training pace over each of the four stages I really got a quite fabulous sense of how this hamlet sat with the countryside and a sense of what made it what it was.

My lovely GPS pattern in the French countryside - not a bad set of out-&-backs

Yes, I know I am getting a little lyrical about running abroad, when the driver for doing so was so blunt - I have four and a half weeks now until the challenge of the Berlin Marathon - so you see I could hardly have had a week off the training schedule (which is in the full roar of the bigger run sessions before the downhill of the taper). I take it as the best of all signs that quite apart from all the lyrical stuff the process of running while we were away 'on holiday' brought home to me how much I am enjoying the process of running right now. Perhaps I should write in smaller print as I write this, but my body is beginning to feel the benefits of a block of training injury and illness free and thus my passion for running just now seems to grow with each completed run. Putting this in some context, since I've been home (3days) I have been out and turned out a half-marathon distance run (not a race) that was controlled, measured, successful, informative, and not unduly stressful on my system. I completed the distance at target marathon pace and could see where I hope to be in four weeks time pace wise. Most happily I was no more than appropriately tired after the session.

How else do I know I am feeling better about all things run? Well just don't make the mistake of asking how my marathon training is going... two friends enquired yesterday and by the time I finished and took a breath I could see the look of 'oh, good grief, wish I hadn't asked' on their faces. Still, whatever they might have really thought, I am happy that right now things are moving along nicely.

Next years plans (?) and the VMLM

VMLM? Ah, yes the new acronym for the catchily titled 'Virgin Money London Marathon'. I am strongly considering throwing my hat into the charity ring in order to get a place in next years London marathon. Why? Well because I have been ridiculously unlucky on ALL of the occasions I have applied before and because I ran into a charity close to home that may actually have spots available. Also, having paid out quite a bit of money to go to Berlin I figure I could have paid for my entire charity spot with an equivalent amount (!!) - although NO I absolutely wouldn't do that as it would run contrary to the spirit of charity berths. Plus, anyway I am the kid of fool who sort of likes chasing people for sponsor money.

In the time it took me to commit this post to the blog I had word back from the local charity that they don't have any places for 2014, but I can express interest for 2015. And so I will pursue that and see where it leads. Although with all of the above said I did manage to get into the draw this year by staying up past midnight to be one of the first in the queue once they opened the online entry system. In the end I was kind of glad I did stay up late as the public ballot closed in record time [follow the link to read about the speedy fill-up http://lrn.london-marathon.com/2014-virgin-money-london-marathon-ballot-closes-re/ ].

So really it looks like I don't actually have any major plans for the start of 2014 event wise, and it does look in all likelihood like I will be casting around for other runs next spring. It is funny that I have such a strong urge to run London, it must be a very British thing to want to run the "big British marathon".

Talking of big British marathon things (in a fame sense of course as she is actually extremely trim and not at all big in a size sense) I saw this on the web from the Express Newspaper yesterday (14-8-2013)...

Athletics: Paula Radcliffe vows for one last shot at London Marathon glory
PAULA RADCLIFFE has vowed she wants to end her career with one last shot at the London Marathon.
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/othersport/421789/Athletics-Paula-Radcliffe-vows-for-one-last-shot-at-London-Marathon-glory

I was amused by peoples reaction to the news that she might run London again, most were waving the London Olympic spirit and wishing her well, whilst others were carping about her strolling in and getting a spot in the race that is so hard to get into. Hmm, now people, she is still an elite athlete and holds a pretty decent good for age qualifying time (or as its also known - the current women's marathon world record time). Some were groaning that she would only be doing it for the money, hmm yes she probably is in some small way as a professional athlete whose profession is sport. I myself regularly head to a large busy building and pass through security checks, health checks and the like to do something I love doing and get paid for it - as a 'professional' scientist. People really do love nothing more the a good whinge somethings... speaking of which if you're the people spamming my blogger tracker / stats please give it a rest... ##climbs down from soapbox and heads for the "Publish" button before he goes on## ;-)

Just a third

I finished my run last night and then pondered that I had just run one third of the marathon distance at my intended target marathon pace. The burning thought of course being "could I do that twice more?", and the answer was fairly loose and uncertain "I might if the rest of my training goes well!". Which sounds all a bit noncommittal of my chances on one level, but also is a fair reflection of the experience I have gained over time. I don't do standing on the start line with one plan any more I set out with a loose set of guidelines that I'd like to run within (best case through to worst case scenarios).

The run was a really good 14.4km over a route that I used to run regularly one winter and winds through and around the city centre in a figure of 8. The centre of the run is a foot-bridge which isn't ideal but works as a good mental break and chance to reset my rhythm if its going off a bit. As a run it is pretty up and down over small hills and undulations which is good and the variation in effort helps me gauge my progress. I remember it as a tough run, and whilst it wasn't super easy I managed a really sweet speed up in the last 1.5km - which reminds me I must upload my run profile, see just how good that real was and make sure I didn't imagine it.

I have even been looking after the basics of nutrition and tracking some weights and measures of late.
Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane, / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Training in the round is looking promising, I have found that I am feeling the benefits of following (ahem, almost) a good progressive training plan. I am now around half way through the 12 week schedule, in the middle of week 6, and my thoughts are beginning to swing towards race day and just how broad (or narrow) my best and worst case plans might be on the start line.

Training, training, training (wherein I couldn't think of a clever title)

So things have been going okay with my marathon training, my biggest single issue (aside from time) has been my knee and it seems as if that is easing finally. Of course I blame the shoes and not in any way a likely muscle imbalance that might be resolving. Seriously, I have stopped wearing running shoes all day and have a pair of decent walking shoes for everyday use, it seems like the change of shoe geometry might be helping. The only lingering issue in my mind with my knee is long runs, I haven't been over 2hrs on the road for a few weeks now and I do worry that it will be with long run fatigue that my knee injury might make an unwelcome return. I will be testing it soon.

The runs I have been doing have been above marathon target pace and have been that bit shorter than the training plan asks for but I am feeling good progress so I am not too troubled just at the moment. I have gotten on the calorie tracking band-wagon again and have been attending to some of the stuff around running that should all help (cycling, walking, diet, hydration, kit, etc.). A busy week lies ahead with much to do... if I can though I need to squeeze in that 2hr+ run to really determine that state of my progress.

Sticking to the plan

So now I am going into week four of the training plan and I can happily report I am sticking to it. This is all due in no small part to the simplicity of plan, but all down to my desire to do things thoroughly and progressively with the training block. On the downside of things I am eating too much and my nutrition is not matching my workout efforts just at the moment. With that said, there is no time like to present to get back on track so I am going to sit down and prescribe myself a plan as simple as running training one and see if I can turn that around.

The brief update is because I am very busy with all things non-computer based and haven't had time to write in recent days. After this particular silent pause it is nice to report progress rather than an injury at least :-)

The who, the where, the oh what now!

Wrestling with planning, and even perhaps sense of self, need time and space and that is perhaps the hardest part creating the opportunity. Getting some distance from the issues to get real perspective on everything, a really good run (or workout) can help that degree of separation from the 'oh what now!'s of daily life.

Perhaps not enough to create or re-create your life's grand plan but enough to chip away at the issues and rationalise some ways forward.

 - it's true that the world follows us around these days, the phone (coms hub) in your pocket the biggest culprit, though even the GPS on your wrist can tie you to planned targets and draw you out of 'free' running putting your brain into ranking your effort instead of open minded thought.

- how much do I use this time on the run for such simple pleasures? Not often enough, I give myself training plans that are too prescriptive all to often, I slave to GPS pace, and perhaps most of all run in a dissociative state of mind with my mind the wrong kind of blank.

I am not saying every run should be a zen feast of the mind but perhaps I / we should use our 'escapes' little more wisely.

11km in un-British heat

The training plan is in full swing, and so far I have managed to stick to the prescription set in the schedule. Last night saw an industrious 11km+ at the end of a long hot summers day, I set out after 8pm and worked my way around 75 minutes worth of walking (warm-up and down), long running and 3 spr'intervals (3x100m roll-ups - at least thats what I think they are called).

I finished feeling I had worked very hard in the unusually hot British summer we are enjoying at the moment. It is consistently10 degrees Celsius over the seasonal average which after a couple of days makes the average Brit more than a little grumpy (we love complaining about it whatever the weather!). Today I can feel the impact in my legs of the step up in training though happily my brain is enjoying working out the various 'new to me' sessions in the training plan.

The received wisdom is that by training in the heat runners get quicker when it is cooler in the autumn, but no one says by how much benefit on average this effect might provide. I only know that I am already hoping for a cool calm weather day for Berlin this autumn.

The other route

Over the past few weeks (okay, months) I have 'suffered' a string of injuries and issues that I had to miss runs and miss a marathon for, but yesterday I decided enough was enough (!) - I am taking the other route. I am going to focus of the running and training and not on where my next injury might come from. No longer am I going to run pondering my knee, my calve, my hip, my shoulder, my whatever... from here I am going to enjoy the runs I am doing and deal with issues IF they arise.

No, I am not going to run through pain or lingering aches and risk injury, I have simply decided to stop letting the recent catalog of setbacks shape my mental landscape while running. My hope is that by running free and relaxed I'll actually avoid many of the niggles or issues that in fact running tense and worried might induce.

I'll be certain to let you know how this goes in the next couple of weeks.

Ps. We are enjoying a near heatwave, clear blue skies, unseasonably hot temperatures, light breeze - not at all a British summer ;-)

One down thirty-nine to go - who is counting?

Not that I am counting but last night I managed to complete the first of around 40 planned run sessions in the training plan that I am following for my next marathon. I think I might have to get a nice big calendar and start putting great big crosses on run days completed.

This post was brought to you by tired Andy - short post, due to long day.

Berlin's 12-week plan - here we go!

Right, here goes, with the 12 week to go threshold crossed I am building my training around the plan sent to me by the organisers with a reminder that there are not many weeks before the event (!). It is a pretty progressive plan and so I will base my next 12 weeks activity solidly around it, the link to the page is below...

http://www.bmw-berlin-marathon.com/en/training-and-sports-medicine/the-marathon-training/training-plan.html

So that is it - a plan - now it is time for the action!

Ps. I've just made the above link 'clickable'.

Family holiday over but I have been running

This evening is the end of a busy and fun family get away which was a very different one in many ways. The most notable for me with respect to being 'on the move' was that I ran twice whilst we were away, and I really enjoyed random running around somewhere I had never seen before. Each run was around the same loop in the woods near our campsite, and on each occasion I was only interrupted from total solitude by two dog walkers so it was great.

On getting home I have even been for a run tonight after unpacking, thus racking up 18.76km for a week when I was 'on holiday'. I did it primarily because I have to get on track for my next marathon attempt, but I will definitely pack my running shoes for our next holiday too.

Okay - begin the panic - 12 week marathon training plans?

So yesterday I had an email - I know, I know, stand back - an email (new things those, I think they might catch on!). In the email was a reminder, a polite, warm, kind, note to say "there are 12 weeks until the Berlin Marathon"... at which point I frankly started worrying hugely.

I have not seen the last of the injury that kept me out of running the Milton Keynes marathon and training has been about as consistent as the injury - sometimes fine, but mostly just weak and wobbly.

Happily in the reminder was a link to a 12-week program so perhaps I'll be okay after having had to set aside the 20-week and 16-week plans already.

Anyone used a 12-week plan with a decent marathon run on the end of it?

Lightening did strike twice in a week

I actually ran twice this week, and although my knee is not totally at peace with my activities I am hopeful that perhaps I can get some running done in the coming weeks. Now that I have allowed myself that thought I have to focus on not getting carried away with myself given that I will all to happily ramp up a training block so that I am ahead of any actual plan. It comes down to a wrestling match with my running ego, that little voice saying "oh, come on you've run further than this!", or "wow, you can run that loop faster than that man!", I really have to hold on to the reigns and stop myself from jumping back into old distances and times because experience has taught me all too well that that way another injury lies.

Running today with my partner in training crime was I feel just what the doctor ordered :- conversational pace at all times, good friendly distracting chat before, during and after the run, and a reminder to stretch afterwards (because he is good that way). I needed the distracting chat the most to stop my brain wandering into over-analysis mode "what is my injury doing?", "does that feel right?", "am I running the with the proper form?", "shouldn't I place my foot differently?".... and so on. After a chat about GPS he even managed to strengthen and back up my idea not to look at my watch for the next few weeks of runs - the idea being to wear it to log distance and routes but not for in run real time data about pace and so forth. This GPS thing again designed in my mind to free myself from trying to run like I was a few months back and make sure I step back to basics.

Part of the 'new' strategy is to step back (no pun intended) and use big Brooks Beast running shoes again. I had begun to convince myself that I didn't need the heavy, cushioned, anti-roll shoes and was allowing sales people to sell me lighter less cushioned shoes, but given that they served me so well and kept me from injury when I weighed as much as I used to made me put my faith back with them. So far they have felt like old slippers (even though I did have to fork out for a new pair) and have been hugely reassuring to run on these last two outings (which truth be told weren't super slow as my friend has really improved his run fitness in recent months while I've been in and out of injury, etc.). All being well my knee will grant me permission to carry on this back to basics / back to running strategy and let me get back to what I get a huge buzz out of doing - running.

And tonight I ran

And so tonight I ran for the first time in what seems like an eternity, and happily so far so good with the knee. 8.5 km in 44 mins was a pretty good canter and was good fun on a warm evening. Fingers are now though firmly crossed that I don't get a reaction in the injury by the morning.

Sorry I've not blogged much recently, frankly I am a little annoyed by the amount of spam appearing in my blog stats. I look because it is nice to see the odd reader stop by but it has been hard to see any real visitors in my stats page of late thanks to these prats. I am not clicking their links, I am not quoting their URLs, I am simply not giving them any more oxygen than to generically say 'they' are driving me round the twist.