Frustration, preparation, returning friends and parkrun tourism

Hello all!  Thank you for reading!!  

It's been a frustrating few weeks with my body just refusing to play ball.  At the start of the year it was illness that was stopping me from running. I recovered from that only to have my calf problems return.  This time rather than it being my right calf it was my left!  I therefore decided to be sensible and cut my running right back to the minimum to give it chance to recover.  

I have been spending my time on the exercise bike in the gym rather than pounding the streets.  This has helped but I have still continued to have issues each time I have run.  Some weeks my sum total of running has been a slow plod round parkrun on a Saturday.  This is obviously not ideal seeing as in a little over a week I will be at the start line of my 50 mile challenge!  

Last week was slightly better with me managing three runs for a sum total of just over 10 miles!!  

I have decided that I am not going to gain a massive amount of fitness by pushing myself now and so focussing on recovery rather than training is my best course of action.  I guess it is the lesser of two evils:

                Be slightly fitter but arrive at the start line injured or be less fit but injury free. 

I am hoping that my base training, my experience of distance running built up over the past 4 years and a large slice of guts and determination will see me through!  

But enough of the doom and gloom. 

I am really excited about the Thames Trot.  Those who know me know how long I have been preparing for this race.  I can't wait to get on the trails and start running (however slowly).  This week I have started my preparations of the big day.  I have managed to borrow a friends running backpack and will be trying that out for comfort at the weekend.  I have booked my train ticket to the start, and have started making a list of the things I need to prepare the night before and the items I need to take out on the course with me.  I have also been looking at the maps of the race and trying to familiarise myself with the route I will be taking.  It's all very very exciting.

I should also remember the reason I m running it.  I am passionate about raising money and awareness for Mosaic Family support.  They help children when they lose loved ones or people close to them.  They are a small team who do am amazing amount of work in the community to help kids through some of the hardest times of their lives.  The money I raise goes directly to them and I have seen the good it does.  Here is a link to their website:

http://www.mosaicfamilysupport.org.uk 

I have set-up a JustGiving page for my fundraising.  I had aimed to raise £500 but, thanks to the generosity of friends, I have already exceeded £650.  This will be charity matched by LV= so my final total is already over £1000!  If you would like to donate, please follow this link:

https://www.justgiving.com/James-White40

Thank you!!

Last Wednesday was a very special run as it marked the return to our lunchtime running group of colleague, good friend and running guru Jon Braund, after nearly a year out through illness.  Jon is an inspiration having fought his illness with determination, dignity and a smile on his face.  He has always stayed positive and has made an excellent recovery and it is fantastic to have him back running with us.  And after nearly a year out he was still quicker than most of us and trotted up the hills like they weren't there.  I guess I'm going to have to get used to watching his backside disappearing into the distance once more!!

parkrun Tourism

Despite my injury issues I have still managed to visit a few different parkruns over the past few weeks.  One of my targets for the year is to take my total number of different parkruns over the 50 mark, so I will be aiming to visit new venues at every possible opportunity.  I am also aiming to volunteer as much as I can, therefore when I am visiting new parkruns I am offering to give them a visitors view of their run by writing the race reports!

Saturday 9th Jan - Poole parkrun - parkrun 72

Down visiting family I was once again running at Poole parkrun (my 6th visit).  Despite the heavy recent rain, the team had adjusted the course to avoid the new lakes and rivers that had formed and, just short of 9am, we were directed to the revised start line.

There was a small camera crew at the start filming for the charity donation site MyDonation so most people puffed their chests out and struck their best running poses before cracking on with the task of running 5km.

My calf once again "went" on the way round, but I loved the run just the same because it made me slow down and enjoy the run.  I chatted with people on the way round and had a very enjoyable splash in a some muddy puddles by the play park. After the run I just hung around chatted some more, cheered finishers in and generally just "had a laugh".  What better way is there to spend a Saturday morning!!

I managed a tough 27:51, but once again finished the run with my legs in worse shape than I started!

Saturday 16th Jan - Didcot parkrun - parkrun 73 at venue 34

Continuing my parkrun "tourism" I decided to head to the next closest parkrun to Winchester that I had yet to cross off my list, Didcot.  Just a short 50 minute drive up the A34 and I was soon parked up in the shadow of the power station and ready to run.  The event takes place in Ladygrove park in the centre of a small housing estate, next to Didcot FC's footy pitch.  It comprises of 3 laps around a small park (mainly on grass) and then a longer loop out alongside the railway line and in to a finish at a different part of the housing estate.  

As far as parkruns go it is a strange one.  The park is one of the smallest I have run at, and the event team have clearly worked hard to squeeze a full 5km route in.  It is not particularly picturesque, however the team are really, really welcoming and there is a real community feel about it with lots of families and groups of friends running together.  I was made to feel really welcome and it really showcased what parkrun is about.  Community, friendship and a love of running.

There is ample free parking and basic toilet facilities.  There are also showers that can be used in the nearby sports centre after the run. I probably wont go back to Didcot as there are nicer runs in the area, and plenty that I have yet to visit,  but I was glad the I went and it was nice to meet them all.   

I ended up running a steady 27:43.

Saturday 23rd Jan - Gunnersbury parkrun - parkrun 74 at venue 35

Sarah, Olivia and I were heading up to London for the day and so I convinced Sarah that Gunnersbury Park would be a convenient place to park and coincidentally there was a parkrun there!  We headed up the M3, M25 and M4 early on Saturday morning, getting to the park at around 830.  The museum in the grounds is being heavily renovated so finding the loos was a challenge but they were clean, if a little basic.  

The park itself is fairly big, and big enough to house a single lap parkrun, somewhat of a rarity in the parkrun world.  The run is all on tarmac paths and is downhill for the 1st km, making for a quick start.  With 400+ runners there was congestion at the start but it soon thinned out.  The route heads down to the bottom of the park, past the lake and then back up to the museum.  It runs along the front of the museum and round the edge of the park, before looping round the far side of the lake and back uphill for the final KM to the finish. 

The run was just the right mix of fast and challenging and the park was tailor made for parkrun.  There was plenty of free parking on site and we left our car there for the day whilst we were in London.  However it was only on returning to the deserted carpark that we noticed how many patches of glass there were from previous break-ins that we realised it probably wasn't the safest place to leave your car for the whole day!  Fortunately ours was fine!!  

My time at Gunnersbury was only 2 seconds slower than the previous week with me running 27:45.

Next week

This weekend we are visiting friends in Stoke and I will therefore be visiting Hanley parkrun in Stoke-on-Trent.   I will continue to be on the exercise bike leading up to the big day, but will try to get one more run in.  It is then all about preparation!!

See you soon!

James 

2015 Round-up and 2016 Goals

Happy New Year everyone!  Firstly, I must apologise for the lack of posts recently.  Birthday, Christmas and general laziness all meant that I didn't get round to writing my blog.  This year though I am aiming to try and get it out weekly and at worst fortnightly.

So in this worst post of the year I thought I would write about what I achieved (and didn't achieve) last year and my goals for 2016.

2015 Round-up

Having previously tried and failed to break 4 hours for the marathon, the first 4 months of 2015 were all focussed on breaking at at the Greater Manchester Marathon in April.  I used the Marathon Talk "Jantastic" programme at the start of the year and followed it religiously.  January focussed on running a set number of times a week (for me it was 6 times).  February was a set number of times a week with a target long run (Long runs for me were between 15 and 19 miles) and March was all about achieving a target time at a specified race.  For me the target time was breaking 1:45 at the Brentwood half at the end of March.  

The training went well and I hit all of my targets throughout that first 3 months, culminating in a PB for the Half Marathon of 1:41:01 (a 6m 52s improvement) which was a really good indication of my fitness at the time.  The week after I went to Germany and managed a 1:44:24 and was the first British finisher in the Bad Oldesloe half.  

From there it was on to Manchester on the 19th of April for the Greater Manchester marathon. Despite a few calf issues in the taper I got to the start line the fittest I had ever been.  The race was everything I had planned it to be.  I paced myself well, pushed hard at the start and worked hard to keep ahead of the 4 hour bus at the end.  Despite a little mid-race sickness I crossed the line in 3:57:34 for a 20+ minute PB.  It was the highlight of my running "career" to date.

Two weeks after Manchester I broke my 5km PB at winchester parkrun, knocking 26 seconds off of my previous best to clock 21:26.  It came as a bit of a surprise as I had done very little speed training in the preceding weeks.  I guess the marathon training and a couple of weeks of relaxed training had left me nicely prepared for an all out 5km effort.  

From there I had 3 weeks until the Ox marathon, a tough trail marathon in North Dorset.  I was fortunate to have a friend and club mate running with me and we decided to go out there and enjoy ourselves.  On a lovely day we clocked around 5:15 for the 27 miles and had a thoroughly great day.

In early July I was visiting Mile End parkrun and, on a lovely summer day, I once again broke my 5km PB.  This time narrowly missing out on breaking 21 minutes with a 21:01.  

With that I started my build-up my charity goal for the year, the 9Bar9x9 50 mile race in September.  I had a great period of training through July and most of August, but in late August I pulled up during a slow lunchtime 5km with a calf injury.  At first it didn't seem to bad so I tried to run through it.  Before long I was unable to run on it at all.  Without being able to train I regrettably had to pull out of the 50 mile race.  I did compete, but only did the 27km race and used a run-walk strategy.  

Following the disappointment of not doing my target race I had to rebuild.  I signed up for the Thames Trot 50 in February so that I had a new target and used the final few months of the year to train up for that.  

In November I ran more miles in the month than I ever had before, however December was interrupted with a mix of injury and illness.  However as I sit here (less than 4 weeks away from the Thames Trot) writing this I feel like I am well placed to achieve my target.   

In summary the 8 months of the year were fantastic.  I ran faster than I had previously, I trained well and most of all I really enjoyed my running.   Here are some stats:

Total runs: 247
Total miles run in 2015: 1444.36 miles
Total time spent running in 2015: 220.15 hours
Calories burned in 2015: 571,265
Most miles in a month: November 217.31 miles

2015 parkruns: 38 at 24 different venues.

2016 Goals

I've given 2016 plenty of thought.  My first aim is to complete the Thames Trot on the 6th Feb.  I don't care how long it takes, I just want to complete it.  

Following on from that I will be focussing on training for the London Marathon in April (I am running it for a charity called MPN Voice).  I will be looking to run few races in the build up to that such as the Bournemouth 10 and the Brentwood Half.  If I come out of the 50 miler uninjured and am able to get back running fairly quickly I will put everything I have into a PB at London.  If, however, I am feeling run down I will rest and recover before starting my training for London.  I will then be running London for the experience rather than a time.

In April I have the small matter of my wife, Sarah, having my second child!  With this in mind I have decided to not run any distances further than half marathons for the remainder of the year.  The reason for this is threefold:

1) No long runs means more time with my wonderful family
2) It will give my body chance to recover a bit after a couple of years of marathon and Ultra training
3) I would like to focus on speed and in particular getting my 5km and 10km times down.  Marathon training is not always conducive to doing this.

So my aim for the final 8 months of the year will be to break my 5km PB, hopefully getting as near to the 20 minute mark as possible.  Break my 10km PB, hopefully going under 45 for the first time and generally get as fast as I possibly can!

In terms of parkrun, I would like to complete at least 28 parkruns to reach the 100 club and I would like to try and run at 17 new venues to reach the 50 different parkruns mark.  I would also like to earn my volunteer t-shirt by volunteering 25 times (14 to go).

Mainly though, in 2016 I want to stay as injury free as possible and continue to enjoy my running as much as have done to date.

Back next week with more running ramblings!!

Week 8 Training and Wolverhampton parkrun

Week 8 Training

On Monday I headed out with Simon J, Aaron and Graham for what was supposed to be an easy recovery run.  I had run 17 miles and Aaron had smashed his 10 mile PB at Wimborne the day before so we were both wary of pushing too hard, however I have come to realise that telling Simon you want to take it easy just spurs him on to run further and faster.  He took us on a hilly meandering route around Lower Parkstone, Canford Cliffs and Branksome Park.  It ended up as just over 5 miles at a little over 8 minutes per mile. 

Tuesday was the usual evening club run.  Plan was to run 10 miles and around 9-930 a mile pace.  The run was spiced up a bit by storm Barney blowing a gale in and around the South of England.  Due to the weather we decided to run in land.  We headed around Meyrick Park, through Tolbot Woods and up to Bournemouth University.  We then ran back through Alder Hills and down to Coy Pond.  We then ran a long lap of Bournemouth Gardens before heading back to the office.  The pace for the first 8 miles was quicker than usual (especially with the hills) and averaged out at about 8:30 a mile and this was just too strong for me.  By mile 9 I was struggling and mile 10 was more of a shuffle than a run.  It was an enjoyable run but I think the last two miles were my bodies way of saying "look pal, you aren't there yet, don't be stupid".  

Wednesday and, due to work, I was once again up early to do a morning 10km. I couldn't drum any company up though so ran on my own.  I decided to do the usual route that Simon and I tend to do, but finishing up The Avenue instead of Alum Chine.  I was pleased that less than 12 hours after the struggle the night before I was able to keep up a steady 9 minute pace for the majority of the run.  The tail end of storm Barney helped by pushing me along the front but overall a very pleasing run. 

Thursday I had decided to do a double run as I was unlikely to get a decent run in on Friday.  So once again I put a call out for people to join me for an early morning 10km (note; not once have I actually run 10km in the morning, they always end up longer).  Simon J stepped up and decided to come and join me again.  We went a different route to usual and headed directly out from Westbourne down to Sandbanks.  We headed out along the peninsular as far as the roundabout before turning and heading back along the beach front.  As we had a bit of time before we were due in the office we cracked on to the Mausoleum (Branksome Dean Chine) and ran back to the office from there to just tick over the 7 mile mark for the morning.  It was another quick run, averaging just over 8:40 a mile, but I felt good and the company was great.

The second run of the day was a standard Tedious with Aaron and Emily. The weather had turned by lunchtime so we headed out in the pouring rain and blustery wind. I think the inclement conditions contributed to us setting off faster than usual, going through 5km in just under 25 mins and finishing the 4.4 mile route in around 37 mins.


Friday ended up as a rest day.  This was mainly due to me travelling up to Birmingham for a weekend break with Sarah.  I did manage a short stint in the swimming pool, although it was so cold I just went and sat in the Jacuzzi and the steam room.  It felt like exercising but in reality was just sitting around doing nothing.  Bliss. 

Saturday saw me parkrunning in Wolverhampton (the closest one to the hotel).  I headed out at around 8 am and soon realised that the cold snap that we had been promised had finally arrived.  It was FREEZING!!  After negotiating the many many many traffic lights and roundabouts between Dudley and Wolverhampton I reached West Park.  I parked easily and headed into the park. In such a built up and fairly commercial area it was lovely to find a park that was so pretty.  It had everything a "classic" park should have.  Lovely treelined path ways, expanses of green, a bandstand and a lovely little lake at one end. The park also had plenty of free parking in the surrounding roads and a clean set of toilets (10p to use them though).

It was almost a perfect parkrun location, with a concrete path around the perimeter that was a mile in length and nice and wide to fit all the eager runners.  It was slightly uphill from the start before dropping downhill (not a massive amount, but enough to enable you to speed up) to the lowest point of the course (just beyond the lake) and then all the way back up to the top of the course.  

I made my way over to the event team who were just starting set-up and they were so friendly.  They took time out of the set-up to ask me where I was from and what Winchester parkrun was like.  They explained how the run had come about and took me through the course and what the run was like.  It was really good of them and made me feel really welcome.  I went for a short warm-up before congregating at the start with the other brave runners.  It was so cold that I had decided to run in my Westbourne RC hoody, which I planned to take off after the first lap but ended up wearing all the way through. 

At the gun I started running but wasn't feeling particularly warmed up so took the first lap fairly steadily.  I then pushed on the second lap and was amazed to be lapped 3/4 of the way round by the eventual winner (he ran 16:05).  As soon as I started the final lap I decided that I would not let anyone pass me, so I pushed and pushed my pace and ran my fastest lap to finish in 24:24 (although my Garmin had 24:00).  

All in all a throughly enjoyable parkrun and one I would like to revisit when fully fit as I think it is a potential PB course.    





Sunday and originally I was due to be up at friends in Stoke but unfortunately they were not well so I was back home.  I stuck to my plan of 10 miles, despite being tempted to go further.  The intention this week was to give my legs a bit of a rest following a few heavy weeks of running so I had always planned a shorter long run.  

I therefore once again headed down to the sports centre to do a couple of my normal loops.  It was a bitterly cold morning and the car thermometer said it was minus 3 when I set off to run.  Luckily I had dressed appropriately and was sexily dressed in my running tights, 2 t-shirts and a sweatshirt.  I also added a buff to keep my massive ears warm and gloves to keep my delicate fingers roasty toasty.  Despite this I was still FREEZING!!.  

When I reached the High Street the Christmas tree and lights were up and it looked beautiful.  It was like running through a winter wonderland!  I then headed out along St Cross road and as the sun started to rise the sky went the most amazing mixture of purples, oranges, yellow and reds.  It was beautiful and I felt so lucky to be out to see it when so many were still in bed.  

I took the first lap fairly steadily and tried to push it a little more on the second.  My fastest mile was mile 10, which, given my performance on Tuesday, was really really pleasing.  I felt strong and comfortable at the end and could've easily gone further.  

Another week towards my target ticked off! 11 weeks to go until The Thames Trot!!

Summary

I had aimed for the week to be lower intensity and a lower mileage than the previous weeks.  I ended up running further than planned and faster than planned, but I was really pleased with my performance and have ended the week feeling strong and raring to go for next week.

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	Total
Target	4.5	10	4.5	6	4.5	3.1	10	42.6
Actual	5.16	10.00	6.34	11.36	-	3.10	10.07	46.03
Time	42:44	1:31:04	57:41	1:38:34	-	24:01	1:34:02	6:48:06
Pace (Min/Mile)	8:17	9:06	9:06	8:40	-	7:45	9:20	8:52

I have now hit 160 miles for November and am averaging an hours running a day!  

Next Week

The plan for next week is basically what this week was supposed to be...a lower mileage, lower intensity week.  I have a massage on Friday so may take that as a rest day and double run on either Wednesday or Thursday.  On Saturday I will be at Winchester parkrun for my birthday parkrun, I'm hoping that Olivia will join me but suspect she may want to stay in the warm with Sarah!!  Sunday I will be running a shorter long run (10 miles or so) and hoping that turning 38 hasn't had a negative effect on my running ;-).

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
23-Nov	4.5	10	4.5	6	4.5	3.1	10

Have a good week everyone, see you next week! 

Week 7 Training

Week 7 Training

After the long run the previous day my legs were still recovering when I got to Monday.  Due to work commitments I was unable to run at lunchtime as usual so decided to head out after work for a short beach front run.  I had intended to do a simple 5km loop of down The Avenue, along the prom and back through Alum Chine gardens, however the gardens weren't lit so I ran to Durley Chine instead and back through Westbourne.  The route ended up being around half a mile longer than I had hoped but I kept up a good pace (assisted by a strong tail wind) and was pleased that I had dragged myself out.

Tuesday was the long evening club run.  I had aimed to do 10 miles and the usual suspects (Jill and Aaron) were going to join me.  We had decided to do the Poole Park route.  This involves running from Westbourne, through Penn Hill and down to Lilliput village.  From here we would go into Poole Park via the Whitecliff entrance, round the boating lake, under the underpass into Baiter and then back round the harbour until we reached the marina.  From here we would head back through Branksome park and back to the office.  This route is normally around 8.5-9 miles so we would then have to add a loop on to make up the required distance.  That was the plan anyway!!

Unfortunately as the group got a couple of miles in to the run one of the runners started feeling ill. Not wanting to take any chances we called his wife to collect him.  The main group ran on whilst Captain John and I stuck around.  Once he was safely collected we ran on trying to find the group.  We followed the route detailed above but instead of running round the lake we short cut across the back to the underpass.  From here we decided to cut across Baiter park (genius idea in the pitch black) and join the harbour side path (which was also not lit).  Unfortunately the group had seen sense and decided to go a safer route back through Parkstone, so John and I finished off the route on our own.  As we had cut short to try and catch up we came in at around 7.5 miles, so a couple miles down on what I had hoped to run.  Having said that it was a thoroughly enjoyable run with John and meant my legs were still fairly fresh for the following day.

As I have said previously I am not a slave to my training plan.  If circumstances dictate that I can't run then I will be flexible with my plans.  Wednesday was one such example.  On Thursday I was unable to run due to attending and presenting at a conference, coupled with slightly shorter than planned mileage on Monday and Tuesday I decided to run twice on Wednesday.  

The first run was my early morning "10km" (not once been 10km so far!).  As ever Simon Jury was there, but this week we were also joined by Scott Harris.  We decided to repeat the previous week's route and aim to run 7 miles in under an hour.  It was a nice morning for it; although bad weather was forecast we missed it and again were safely in the office before it hit.  Having run 7.5 miles just the evening before I was pleased and surprised to be feeling ok in the morning.  We kept up a respectable pace and it was only up through the Alum Chine gardens where i started to struggle with a bot of tiredness.  Once again though we ducked in just under the one hour mark (although I didn't stop my watch so my actual time was a little over!

My second run of the day was the lunchtime club run.  Once a month we have a larger group go out and we try and encourage potential new members to come and join us. We tend to split into a faster group (who run slightly further) and a not so fast group and we try and meet up along the way.  My bravado meant that even though my legs were tired I ran with the faster group.  The route went around the back roads of Branksome park before coming out on Canford Cliffs Road, down to Penn Hill and back to the office.  The pace was under the 8:30 a mile mark and I was just about able to stick with it for the first few miles but as we got onto Canford Cliffs Road we met the not so fast group and I decided that rather than killing myself for another mile and a half I would have a nice leisurely jog in and chat with a few of the others.  I ended up doing 4.5 miles in 43 mins and really enjoyed it!

This meant that Thursday was a rare treat; A REST DAY!!  Prior to that I had run 27 consecutive days and over 170 miles so my body was due a rest and boy did I need it!  I did toy with the idea of a late night 5km tor when I got home but settled for an early night.  It paid dividends as I felt completely refreshed over the weekend.   

So Friday came and I was due to do an interval session, but by this point I had decided to dial back the training a little to allow myself a bit more recovery time.  I therefore headed out with Guy and Glenn for a Cliff top tedious route.  It was a very pleasant lunchtime trot of just under 4.5 miles.  We chatted most of the way round and I felt fit and strong.  The previous days rest had done me the world of good.

Saturday and I found myself back at Winchester parkrun for my 69th outing.  I once again volunteered to set-up, however Olivia decided that she would stay in bed in the warm, so I was on my own.  After laying out the cones and putting the signs in place I headed to the start and chatted to some of the other runners.  The horrific news from Paris was trickling through and it made me think about parkrun as a community and how it doesn't care what race, religion, colour, size, age, sex or sexual orientation you are, everyone is there to just enjoy a simple 5km run in a park.  Everyone gets treated equally and everyone gets the same amount of support regardless.  If only more communities were like that, maybe the world would be a better place.  Anyway I digress.  

River Park has taken a battering recently.  With the fireworks last weekend and heavy rain in the week the course is muddy and fairly churned up in places.  Some areas were hard to run on and caution was needed on the many turns.  This wasn't held by it starting to rain just before the off and not stopping the whole way round. 

I set off at a fairly steady pace (a little under 8min/mile) and maintained this for the first 2 laps.  The third lap I tried to push it a little bit and tried not to get overtaken.  I succeeded on both counts and came home in 77th place (4th in my age category) in 24:17.  Another really enjoyable run and my legs were feeling good ahead of my long run!  

Sunday, and once again I set my alarm for 6am, got ready and headed out before 6:30.  Aim was to do 17 miles.  Last week I had decided to deliberately drop my pace down and make it as easy as possible, but this week I wanted to push the pace a little to see how it felt and how my body reacted.  The plan was to run from home down to St Cross Road and from there join my usual loop (4.75 miles around St Cross, the water meadows and the High Street) before running to the sports centre to meet Sarah and Olivia for a swim.  I had set aside 3 hours for the run so that I wasn't late.

Starting early I dressed for cold weather, however I got outside only to find it was a surprisingly mild morning.  I therefore ditched the jacket at home and set off.  The first few miles were fairly undulating.  I started by heading down hill for a half mile before heading uphill (including the never-ending Chilbolton Avenue) for a mile and a half.  I then turned and ran down Stanmore for a mile.  This meant my pace for the first 5km was all over the place.  

Once I got onto my standard loop I was able to settle and it was amazing how the miles flew by.  I was trying to keep my pace under 10 min/mile and succeeded for most of the way with 15 of the 17 miles between 9 and 10 min/mile (I even dropped in a 9:19 at mile 15). 

The run itself was pretty uneventful with the usual smattering of runners and dog walkers giving me cheerful early morning greetings and the pretty standard obstacle course that is the Sunday market set-up.  

Before long I found myself turning off of the high street and heading for the sports centre.  A short detour was needed so I didn't fall just short of target but I was pleased to stop the watch at 2h45m for the 17 miles.    Last week I ran a mile less but it took me 5 minutes longer, so this shows a marked improvement in my stamina.  I also believe that the rest day really helped give me the recovery I needed to perform at a higher standard.  

Immediately following the run I swam (well more like sat in the shallow end whilst Olivia played with her dive sticks) for an hour with Olivia and Sarah.   This was probably the best thing I could've done because it really loosened my legs and kept me moving.  This has meant that as I sit here writing this blog my legs are once again raring to go!!

Summary

All in all a good week.  I was slightly short on my target mileage, despite a rest day, and really lowered the intensity of the runs.  This meant I finished the week strong and 12 weeks out from the Thames Trot I am in really good shape.  Here is my breakdown:

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	Total
Target	4.5	10	4.5	6	4.5	3.1	17	49.6
Actual	3.66	7.47	11.40	-	4.41	3.14	17.00	47.08
Time	32:40	1:10:35	1:43:44	-	39:51	24:17	2:45:12	7:16:19
Pace (Min/Mile)	8:55	9:27	9:06	-	9:03	7:43	9:43	9:16

Next Week

Next week I have planned to drop the mileage down slightly.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  Firstly I need time to recover and secondly I am away Friday-Monday staying with friends and it is not very sociable to go out for a 20 mile run pre-breakfast!

I will be up in Birmingham on Friday night so I have a good opportunity to do a new parkrun.  Not sure where yet, but I'm very excited about the prospect. 

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
16-Nov	4.5	10	4.5	6	4.5	3.1	10

See you next week!

Week 6 Training

Week 6 Training

As per my last blog this week's training was a step up in distance from the previous week.  I had aimed to keep my weekly runs the same but increase the distance of the longer run, but I felt good so ended up running more miles than expected.

Monday again was another "Tedious". After my long run on the Sunday I needed an easy session to just turn my legs over, so a standard lunchtime Tedious was perfect.  The group that I went out with were slightly quicker than I had hoped for, but my legs responded well and it turned into a great run. 4.5 miles in a little over 38 minutes.  

Tuesday was the standard evening club run and I had managed to convince few others to join me in running a half marathon.  We decided to run the normal meandering route around Lower Parkstone and up and over evening hill.  We then ran around the Sandbanks headland past the chain ferry and back to the Harbour Heights hotel.  We then ran up the hill and around the cliff top, before dropping down to Branksome chine, along the front and through the gardens as far as Coy Pond.  We then doubled back along Surrey Road, up Prince of Wales road and back to the office.  

This route starts off fairly hilly with three big hills in the first few miles.  After Evening hill it flattened off for a few miles before we turned to go up past the Harbour Heights hotel  Despite feeling fresh at the start I struggled after the Haven Road hill.  I slogged through Canford Cliffs village, but then got into a steady rhythm along the front. It wasn't easy but I was still running.  The last few miles were a real struggle, specially up through Bournemouth Gardens.  Aidan and I were regularly dropped off the back of the group, but we kept plodding on.  We finished in 2:04, which for a training half marathon is not too shabby, but I was disappointed that my pace dropped off so much in the last few miles.  Something to work on.

Huge thanks to Aaron, Aidan, Jill and David for the company!!

Wednesday and Aaron and I decided to try and push ourselves on a Short Library route.  The night before was still lingering in our legs, but we were able to keep a good pace all the way round. We clocked a little short of 5 miles in under 42 minutes.

Thursday morning and once again Simon Jury joined me for an early morning 10km. Despite the forecasts the weather held off and we had the benefit of the wind behind along the front.  We decided to go slightly further than last week and ran as far as Alum Chine, up through the gardens and back to the office. It wasn't as quick as the previous week but it was a good run and a great way to start the day.

On Friday Aaron and I went out for another Interval session.  If I'm honest I didn't really want to do it.  It was a wet and windy (see the cliff top picture left) and I just wanted to plod round for 45 minutes and retire back to my desk for lunch.  However, Aaron pushed me out the door and we headed up to the cliff top for the intervals.  Aaron had had a bit of a stressful morning and running angry means running fast, so If I'm honest by the time we actually got to the start point for the intervals I was knackered!  Last week I only managed 8 reps but this week I made the full 10, but each rep was slower and the recovery sections were longer. I was glad that I did it, but it could've been better.  Rule of the day is - STRESSED AARON=FAST AARON=PAINFUL RUN

Saturday was once again parkrun day!  This time I was attending my first inaugural at Moors Valley.  It was a horrible, horrible day with heavy rain and strong winds. It was good to see so many familiar faces there and it was a great turn out from the Westies.  Nice also to see former colleague, friend and golfing buddy Richard, who is running fantastically well at the moment.  Spirits were high before the run with the normal pre-run banter in full flow.  The turn out was superb, but unfortunately this made the run briefing inaudible and we were still trying to take a few selfies when the run actually started!  

With a large turnout and a narrow start there was some congestion at the start which made the first few hundred yards a little stop-start.  I was also a little slower at first as I had to stop to splash Chris Street with some mud (I know I'm a child but I just couldn't resist).  Anyway I soon found myself running and chatting with Captain John and Chris.  The first half mile or so had the majority of the mud and puddles so was a little slow going, but my legs were feeling good and so I managed to push on and up the pace.  I ran alongside Liz Yelling (Commonwealth Marathon medalist and two time Olympian) for a while.  She was pushing a double buggy around the course and was having to work so much harder than the rest of us, especially up the hills!  Huge respect to her.

The course wound its way around the country park and skirted alongside the Moors Valley golf course.  It was run mainly on hard packed gravel paths and undulated gently.  It eventually reached a small out and back section and from there it was downhill to the finish.  The route joined the concrete path around the lake and turned into the finishing straight.  

Coming into the last half mile I managed to catch Jenny Walker-Leach running with her super quick young son.  Then, in the distance, I spotted Super Geoff.  I was catching him and so gave it everything I could and managed to catch him just before the turn into the finish.  A short sprint and I was home.  23:57 was my official time and I was in 100th place.  A few more post run selfies were taken and then I headed off home.  Soaked but happy!              

Moors Valley is certainly somewhere I will revisit in the future (probably when the weather is better).  It has everything you could want from a 5km; a challenging one lap course, good support, good facilities and plentiful onsite parking (only £1).   Thank you once again to the Westies for making it such an enjoyable run!

Sunday was once again my long run.  With the distance going up I had decided that I wanted to get round the 15 miles as easily as possible.  With one eye of the Ultra I felt that the best way to achieve this was to drop my pace right down and get to the end as fresh as possible.  

As we currently have no hot water or heating I decided to start and finish my run at the local sports centre.  I headed down there a little after 630 in the morning and set off on my run.  The plan was to run one lap around the reed beds before heading to the high street and joining my normal St Cross/Water Meadows loop for 3 laps (4.75 miles each) and then back to the sports centre.  However as soon as I started running around the reed beds I realised that the huge meal and couple of pints from the night before were not sitting well.  With the sports centre and public conveniences closed I was contemplating an emergency stop in the bushes when I spied the portaloos from the previous night's fireworks.  After a quick pitstop the "decks were cleared" and I was able to properly start my run and I headed to the high street.

I enjoy the early morning runs around the city.  It is great seeing the city come to life and go from being like a quiet village to a bustling metropolis.  On my first lap I saw the city just starting to stir.  The occasional dog walker and fellow brave/mental runners were there to give me a weary morning welcome. The first lap flew by, despite my slower pace.  I was lost in my own thoughts and before I knew it I was back at the statue of King Alfred and about to start my second lap.

As I headed up the high street I ran the gauntlet of the farmers market set-up.  Vans covered the pedestrianised areas and I had to avoid doors flying open, hurdle boxes of prime venison sausages and dodge farmers carrying trays of freshly baked produce.  After a number of supportive shouts from the stall holders (including one Run Forrest, Run) I reached the top of the high street and headed down St Cross road for the second lap.  By the time I reached the water meadows the paths were starting to fill with even more dog walkers and runners.  There were also numerous groups of cyclists just starting off on their lycra clad odysseys.  

On the third lap the market was in full swing and people had started to congregate for the Remembrance Day parade.  This made the route a little slower as I dodged around all the group of people.  I was also starting to tire a bit and so my pace naturally dropped.  I was enjoying the run though and kept plodding on.  I soon reached the end of the third lap and, after a small diversion due to the parade, I headed back to my car.  I had mis-judged the distance and ended up reaching 16 miles.  

Despite the extra mile I reached the end feeling good.  Although the pace was considerably slower than normal I was pleased to get to the end still feeling like I could run further if needed.  All in all a very enjoyable run!!

Summary

With the extra miles on the Tuesday night, Thursday morning and Sunday I managed to achieve my largest ever one week run total of just over 53 miles.  The most pleasing aspect was my recovery from the runs.  Despite running everyday I tended to wake up feeling good and ready to run again.  

I would like to thank everyone who ran with me and who pushed me to achieve more than my mind felt it could.  I'd also like to thank my beautiful wife Sarah for her ongoing support. 

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	Total
Target	4.5	10	4.5	6	4.5	3.1	15	47.6
Actual	4.51	13.1	4.89	6.86	4.75	3.16	16	53.27
Time	38:12	2:04:32	41:47	59:22	40:42	23:57	2:50:34	8:19:04
Pace (Min/Mile)	8:28	9:30	8:33	8:39	8:34	7:34	10:40	9:22

Next week

Aim for next week is to consolidate what I have done this week.  I am going to try and take it a little easier and save myself for my longer run on Sunday.  The run I am most looking forward to is parkrun at Winchester with my little girl :-)

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
02-Nov	4.5	10	4.5	6	4.5	3.1	17

Thank you all for reading...until next week...happy running!!