For a few weeks I had been somewhat looking forward to last week. The schedule looked on paper to be relatively forgiving baring the weekend LSR. There were no sessions scheduled for the Thursday and in fact every run had the word ‘Easy’ by it. Jackpot!

However, on Wednesday I was about to realise perhaps things were indeed easier but they were still runs none the less. The relatively short 5k I chuckled about as I took to the treadmill, simples I thought! However, 20mins later, sweating like anything it was actually bloody tough and I couldn’t have pressed the stop button any quicker.

Thursday was similar – an easy 6 miles scheduled so I jogged back from Stratford. As I was on the tube on the way to the start I was telling myself ‘yesterday was a blip -today really will seem easy’. From the first 100m I realised once again that wouldn’t be the case and it was going to be a more challenging than expected run home. To give me a little bit of credit I did have my camelback on which adds about half a stone to my weight which doesn’t help matters!

I entered the house feeling dejected. In what felt like a few short seconds my three easy days were over – and none of them felt easy. What was that about?! After a few texts with a woman in the know I was informed this was to be expected following heavy training. That said she also informed me I could be coming down with a cold. I tried to have an early night and similarly on Friday my allocated rest day.

Once again due to plans and arrangements my LSR was shifted to Saturday and I was scheduled to run 2hr15. I sorted my kit out on Friday night, gels etc. I’m trying to get back into the SIS Tropical gels having been suggested it possibly isnt the best idea to only take the caffeine ones as I did in Dublin. Laura had to do something for her school in Bromley so I decided to go with her and run towards my nan in Kennington from the other side of the river.

I was also fortunate to have Olly company for a portion of my run. I ran a few times with Olly last year, meeting him in Greenwich and once again we met in Blackheath and following a quick handover of wallet etc we were on our way to London Bridge. I am normally pretty meticulous with gMap Pedometer and plan my route out however today I knew that I was likely to come out short so would have to do laps at the end.

The south side of the river is much less enjoyable to run along than the north. On the other side there is a footpath that runs all the way from docklands with only a few deviations for new properties this is not the case on the south! Mental note to self there!

The run itself went ok. The 16 miles turned out to be 17 but mainly because I forgot to restart my watch at Blackheath. My heart rate was up on last weeks LSR and I failed to take on a third gel which may have helped during my final few miles and where I really did slow down!

As I finished and whilst consuming a recovery shake I started to ponder more about the week that had passed. Why had things seemingly been so bad? I think the problem stemmed from my brain giving the wrong message to my body. It was a recovery week NOT a rest week. For some this may amount to the same thing, for me I now know the difference!

Recovery week done, back to sessions this week and the likelihood of having to do some shuffling about due to another busy week of commitments.

Till next time.

N

Last week on the HavensRunner site I wrote a post about my Thursday session. This was a hill session and it was the first of it’s type I had ever done. Rightly so I was anxious about what I was about to put my body through – I had no doubt this was going to be hard, it was just the question of how hard!

Throwing on my new trainers for their second run I headed towards a local hill which I had run on many times before. However, for obvious reasons I often opted to run down this mountain rather than up, finding alternative less demonic routes back to my flat. On Thursday I was aiming for it and I wasn’t going to do this hill once I had it scheduled to run it 6 times! I jogged down the hill for about 3miles (figuring that I wouldnt do much faster than an 8min mi average for this session) psyched myself up turned round and went for it. Feeling an enormous sense of pride once the two mins was up I turned round and jogged back. I think it was during the first jog back I started to realise that I had 5 more of these to do and short of giving up and calling a day there was no easy option!

6 reps later i was beaten and I jogged back home glad it was over! Connecting my Garmin I was presented with the following heart rate graph – i think it’s clear from this even if my splits weren’t entirely consistent the effort I put in each time was!

Friday was my rest day and I loved it, but deep down I know the only reason I’m resting is to prepare for the next run and baring a little jog on sat, Sunday was my LSR. The schedule had me down for 1hr50 and at this stage it’s all about time on my feet. Setting off towards Stratford I was going to check out how far along the Olympic Park is…

If you live in London I would recommend you head upto Stratford. The park is an amazing sight and with the Olympics just over a year away I’m very excited to get in there and experience it! I digress…

I covered 13.75 miles in 1hr53. Tried out another gel type (Powerbar Strawberry and Banana) which weren’t too bad. This gel did not have the consistency of most of the other gels I have had. It was much thicker and less gooey. It tasted ok though! The run went well with no real issues or concerns. I tried to keep my heart rate down below 160 which I did so that was good! All in all a promising LSR covering a respectable distance.

One day off (running) and come Tuesday morning I was back out again pounding the streets. 8miles between Bank Station and work (Shepherds Bush) at a slow very easy pace. Whilst it didn’t feel easy my heart rate was low averaging low 150bpm. Just keep on reminding myself it’s all about miles on the feet!!

Till tomorrow no doubt when I’m back out again!

N

Due to a booked up weekend I had to shuffle my long run to Friday. A work meal Thursday night ruled out a run in the morning so I was destined to finish a day at work then go for a plod.

On Wednesdays Serps run I was introduced to the canal behind Regents Park. I didn’t know it existed and of course that meant I didn’t know where it went. After I got home I threw up google maps and found out I could theoretically get to either Stratford or Hackney following the waterway. My next route home was formed…

Setting off from work I headed up to the Regents Canal behind the park. I followed the canal through Camden and up past Kings Cross. Unfortunately at Islington the path ended forcing me up into what looked like a council estate I had no idea where I was going. Much like with the Thames Path there was very little guidance as to how to get back on the canal again.

After a little bit of ‘free running’ (not having a clue where I was) I ended up in Islington, which also didn’t help as I have never been there either. Fortunately, by total chance just as I was delving into my bag to find my phone and gps I spotted Angel Station. I know the route to and from Angel as it features on my run to Oxford St. That said it had cut a huge chunk off of my planned route which left me scrabbling to add more distance at the end.

I rang Laura and she headed to gmap to calculate some extensions. Quite easily I tacked a few more miles on by swinging a right off Lea Bridge road and following one of the most dull roads ever*. As well as plotting an extension I had a chat as I ran along. With my sports earphones plugged into my phone I realised I could communicate quite easily. It actually helped me push through a couple of the miles in the middle. Looking at the stats these miles turned out to be my fastest – possibly not ideal but nevermind.

I had thrown a number of gels into my bag in the morning but didn’t put my belt on. This meant I (probably foolishly) didn’t bother with taking any on. However, it didn’t seem to bother me, I had my camelbak so was taking on liquid – perhaps my nutrition during the day was enough!

Eventually I made it home, the use of the canal meant that fortunately my route was pretty much congestion free which was perfect. No niggles or pains and felt pretty damn good when I got home so all is good!

N

*does not compete with Meridian Way Lea Valley

420 miles covered, gallons of energy drinks consumed and several energy gels swallowed all in order to train for the one of the biggest marathons in the world.

This post maybe better suited following the run but I think the huge amount of training that I have done is easily lost in the glory (or not!) of the big day itself. Therefore, after 16 weeks of training unlike anything I have ever done before, and yes I did run the marathon last year, I am going to share my ups and downs since January 1 2010.

I was fortunate to get a place in this years marathon around September time, for the months leading up to the new year I knew I ought to go out for a run but I didn’t. Luckily, I still hadn’t lost fitness and on an initial ‘tester’ run I managed a half marathon distance, it was tough but a good footing for the months to come. At the beginning of the year I had an email from Runners World stating 16 weeks to go, so I decided this year I would take a schedule and stick to it…for 16 weeks!
» Continue reading “Virgin London Mararthon: Before…”

Throwing the schedule out of the window today and to try make up for the slow Sunday run I decided to run much further than required, the plan recommends 6miles slow (sub 47mins).

Following the same routine as last Wednesday I set off a tiny bit earlier on route to a tube stop on the central line, at the time Ox Circus was the plan. The first mile as always seemed quite tough and having a quick glance at my heartrate clearly my body wasn’t quite ready for getting out! From that point on the run seemed fine. I kept to the suggested pace without too much of an issue. This was my first (marathon) run with my camelbak – I did a few summer short distances but always put too much liquid in the pouch! Found it quite nice being able to take on liquid with the gels as I ran…

Decided to carry on a couple of tube stops and goto Marble Arch instead adding on a mile or so. All in all a good run, no issues or niggles, hopefully all is on target!

Till next time.

N

In part one I talked predominantly about clothing in this part I will venture on to fueling. This post should be read with an amount of caution as it’s very much still something I haven’t fully mastered. I understand the concepts but not so much the theory, if you want that level of info google is your friend, or a chat with a running shop.

Last year I tried a number of products but settled on the SIS range, unless there is a dramatic change in circumstances I will be using this range again. After recomendations I settled on three types of products, one for pre-run, one during and one after.

Pre-run fueling

Whilst I have been informed a well constructed meal before your run can provide the same benefit the sis-rego range 30 mins before your run can give you an energy boost and also work to increase your hydration levels which during a long run will be massively depleated. You can use this fluid during your run as a boost but be careful in your training not to become to reliant on it because unless you are prepared to carry it on race days it won’t be an option for you…

In-race boosts

There is a whole magnitudes of ‘gels’ on the market. As far as I know the gels are effectively sugar and provide a nesc boost (I’m sure it’s more complex than that!). Designed to be consumed without the need of liquid and supplied in small enough sachets that you can carry with you during a run. They say you want to be taking one of these every 5 or so miles and no more than 5 in a day I beleive.

For anyone new to gels they are not a pleasant tasting product and you may have to try a few before you find one you can take without heaving mid-run!

Post-run muscle recovery

If you have ramped up your training then your muscles will no doubt start feeling the stresses. There are products out there specifically designed with large amounts of muscle helping carbs and proteins. Taken shortly after a run these milkshake like products should help. Again a product like this can be substituted with a well balancend diet.

Alternatives

I have mentioned that all the products can be ignored if your diet factors in the necessary food and mineral groups. These products are ultimately designed for people who may not have enough protein for example in their diet.

I have also had discussions with other runners who suggest gels don’t work for them in the slightest, the human body is very different and what works for some may not work for others. The gels assume that your sugar levels are low but for some it appears there sugar levels are not depleated but there fat reserves maybe and hence a saugage of piece of salami maybe more helpful (but much harder to carry on a run!)

Vitamins and supplements

Once again not needed if you eat well but if you are training hard you will feel it. You will become less immune to colds and feel general fatigue more often. Ensuring your vit levels are maintain is a wise move also products like cod liver oil is useful for your bones which will be under a lot of pressure! There is another supplement out there whose name I forget specifically designed for joints again perhaps a useful addition to your daily routine.

You maybe intimidated by the amount of products avail but when your training ramps up from a light jog to serious distances a week it is worth investing time into finding the right things for you and do this early. Whilst you don’t want to be to reliant on these you also need to know that the product won’t make you ill!

I think that’s probably enough from me today, part three will see a post talking about running with technology…

p.s. Find a sweet you enjoy and use that as an insentive, I have used a fun size mars bar which I held onto for numerous miles but munched on when the demons in my head really started haunting me just remember you should be enjoying this, hopefully you are doing it by choice!

Well here it is – in a completely unsorted fashion over 4 hours of cheese, pop, rock, rap, dance garage, trance and all forms of tacky music.

No doubt more tracks will be added before now and Sunday but here is the initial breakdown.

1. Eye of the Tiger – Rocky Soundtrack
2. Dont Stop Me Now – Queen
3. Now You’re Gone (Radio Edit) – Basshunter
4. Flux – Bloc Party
5. Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough – Michael Jackson
6. Homecoming – Kanye West
7. American Boy – Estelle Feat. Kanye West
8. You’ll Find A Way – Santogold
9. Time To Pretend - MGMT

» Continue reading “The Big Day Playlist”