It may appear that I haven’t done much running recently and compared to when I was working towards Dublin/London my kit has remained quite clean! However that isn’t to say I have hung my trainers up completely. During the last 7 days I have had two very tough sessions however neither focused on endurance.

Last Wednesday following a late tip night at work I headed to Horsegaurds to meet Rich and head out for a 6mile run. I was feeling good so took the opportunity to push the pace faster than usual. Six miles at a sub 8min/mi pace and at least 3 of those closer to 7:15. It was a tough run, my heart rate was racing but it felt good especially over a relatively short distance.

On Sunday I pushed myself again with a hill session. As I live so close to London I rarely do these but thought it would be a good idea as the Stockport 10 which I am running in under a month is apparently pretty hilly! Heading to Longfield, Kent following a far from healthy brunch at Altitude 360 I kitted up at 4pm for a 40ish minute session. There are certainly some hills there and looking at the Garmin almost all of the first half was uphill. I tried to keep the pace brisk and as a result my lungs were burning! After about 6miles I trotted home – a tough but fulfilling run!

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Nike informing me the Grid was once again in action. From memory they have run one other similar PR campaign in April (although it could have been last year), all I know was back then it clashed with the London Marathon and ironically this time it clashed with the Dublin Marathon! The grid opened up for 16 days from the Friday before last.

The concept is pretty simple and actually quite clever. Nike buy advertising on 4 phone boxes in most London postcodes and you run between and dial in a code to say you have finished/started. Racking up various points for endurance and other reasons (due to my late entry they seem a bit alien to me). I was invited into team but wasn’t really aware of how into it they really were until later today. Sure, I knew they were keen but wasn’t aware just how keen!

So at 7am all kitted up I headed to the start point of my run (unfortunately still 3miles from the first phone box). Armed with maps and my own little strategy I found my first phone box – simples, or so I thought. The phones didn’t seem that responsive to button presses, not sure if there is a knack to it but slower was certainly better! First run logged two empty boxes found, this was easy! Then came the next leg and the third box, DISASTER, someone was using the box to make a phone call with calling card. He was no grid runner, how dare he, does this middle aged, overweight man not realise what he is doing? Clearly he is using the phone box for it’s unintended purpose! What was I to do, that’s 2 phone boxes I thought (due to grid niavity) I would have to miss out on and head to the final point. I would have to email Nike I thought, inform them the boxes were not being used to purpose!

As I swept between boxes and grids I gradually started to tire, evidently my Rice Krispy Square wasn’t enough fuel for an 11 mile run! I called it a day at kings cross feeling quite proud of my effort. Logging onto the group I could see I had done ok but others were getting more points. Surely people can’t be doing 9mile runs every morning I mean who are these people!

Hooked in by the bribe of runs being worth 5 times as much during 12-1 I went again. Heading for another jog of 6+ miles (definitely not a good idea in hindsight) but once again whilst I scored ok others seemed to be doing so much better – how? Are they all Ussain Bolt wannabees? After further investigation it clicked what was happening. These people were just shuttle running between 2 (probably the closest 2) boxes amounting much more points than I could hope to whilst covering much less distance. That is dull and not what I want to do! Perhaps had I got into the game at the start I maybe more hooked by the allure of big points but at this stage strategies have been formed and for me some of the joy I get from just going out for a quick run is gone.

There is a chance I could have really got into this had I have been there since the start, its a much better idea than the 1 day event they did last time but I do have to wonder how much it has helped Nike as there aren’t that many runners involved i dont think. Good luck to all those still running on the last few days, i’m sure some of them have racked up some large distances…

N

How do I start…over the last few months I have had my own little secret and on Monday 26th October I managed to exorcise the demons that have followed me around since that day in April.

Following the Test Adidas place at the Thunder Run, where I had the fortune of meeting Gemma and Ath, I was given the opportunity of a place in the Dublin Marathon for myself and Rich (my Weds eve Serpentine training buddy). After a lot of soul searching, I decided that it maybe an ideal event to regain some confidence in this distance and took the place. This was back at the beginning of August and I have been marathon training ever since.

Obviously I had kept my miles up pretty high following London maintaining at least one 7miler a week and a couple of other runs but now I would have to build on top of that a 3 month schedule with 2 holidays in between. At this point the runs in Spain and the 10miler in Miami may make a lot more sense – not that I needed an excuse to run abroad!

I had blogged about 16milers but failed to go into details, I definitely didn’t blog about my 20miler following a day at work and come to think of it the evening after a work meal, I ran to mum and dads and it was this day I told them following enquiries as to why I was running so far! I think I managed a couple of 18′s, a few 16′s and one 20. It was certainly less than Jan-Apr but still consistent. Factoring at least one ‘fast’ session a week to help with the limited training schedule.

The negative split at the Royal Parks was deliberate to test my legs for the second half of a marathon. That weekend would typically be the longest run but having booked into the half months ago I had to take any opportunity I could from it but racing it so late would not have been a wise idea. What I failed to mention on that blog post was the fact at the end of the race we tacked on another 3miles to make it a 16mile session which one of my colleagues actually spotted me doing!

I have trained with Rich a number of times for this race, I have been up at silly o’clock in the morning to get long runs out of the way and whilst he isn’t massively faster than me, I suspect at any race he would beat me to the finish line! As well as this I have been out with colleagues who didn’t realise I was tapering with them and other friends including a jog in Manchester!

On Saturday morning at 5o’clock the alarm went off and Laura and I headed to Stansted. A few hours later we landed in a cold but sunny Dublin and headed to our hotel. We had to pick up our numbers from the expo on Saturday so after a quick bagel we headed over to the conference centre. Saturday was always going to be a non-sightseeing day, reserving those for the bus tour on Sunday (to keep me off my feet) and then Tuesday.

Adidas and Lifestyle sports had set up a ‘Breakfast Run’ predominantly for international runners. Fortunately (and due to Laura’s great planning) this started right outside our hotel and on Sunday morning we headed down and I went for a v gentle 2mile run to stretch out my legs. The run was pleasant and after this we were treated to breakfast (hence the name) and they also put on a show of Irish Dance and Folk Songs. A perfect start to another gloriously sunny morning. After returning to the hotel to get changed we then headed to the bus tour and saw what Dublin had to offer. At about 4pm we headed back to the hotel and used the jacuzzi/pool and generally relaxed in preparation for the marathon.

The Dublin Marathon is on a Monday, this is because it’s a bank holiday over there. At 6am my alarm went off, my kit was already prepared so just put it on and headed for some toasty breakfast. At 730 Rich and I left for the start. It was almost time!

At 8am we met up with Ath, who had also decided to run it. It was certainly chilly and for the next hour we tried to keep warm whilst waiting for the race to start. The next thing I knew I was in the starting pen waiting for the gun!

The first few miles where slow, the route was quite windy with some sharp corners. As the pack was still tight it meant coming to a stop and walking in places. Looking at my garmin, the first mile is my slowest by some margin. It took about 3miles for the field to open a bit and then our times started to better. Laura and Liz had planned where they were to be standing and we spotted them at both locations but after 11miles we were on our own until 24/25 miles…

The first half went pretty well for Rich and I but Ath was visibly struggling and just shy of 12 miles he left us to do some stretching. He had helped hold the pace back and this was shown by the next few miles being a fair bit faster.

We hit 13.1miles in 01:56:33.

From halfway through until 20ish miles things were fairly uneventful. A common feature for the run were the inclines and once again we found more and more of them. Unfortunately the downs seemed short and sharp not really prolonging their benefit! At about 22m I first started to feel it in my right leg. Almost instantly I had a throbbing pain in my right quad. I took 20 seconds to head to a wall and stretch it out but didn’t want to hang around for too long incase I started to seize up elsewhere!

Forcing the pain to the back of my head I carried on with Rich not letting me quit. The pain went until someone stopped dead in my tracks and I had to vault a cone to avoid her. Not a good idea 24miles into a run! I was dragged along by Rich who seemed to ignore my sulking – in hindsight he was right too!

The final mile or so was a blur, I think it went by quite quickly but can’t remember it, just the seeing of the finish line and the end in sight!

3 hours 42 minutes. 52 minutes faster than my last completed marathon but more important than that confidence restored. It’s been a tough 6 months, there was a lot of doubt and concern in my mind but this has now been laid to rest!

A great run and a great experience all around.

Thanks to all those who have supported me and believed in me over the last few months I think it would have been a lot easier to jack it all in but right now as I finish this post I’m glad I didn’t.

Rest time

Race Stats

Overall Position: 3181/10700
10km Time: 00:57:19
13.1m Time: 01:56:33
30km Time:02:42:00
26.1m Time: 03:42:50

It’s Saturday and I am taking it easy this weekend. Perhaps will do a little plod on Sunday but nothing too strenuous to allow my legs to recover from last Sunday. They say it takes 1 day to remove a race mile from your legs so hopefully by Monday all will be good because technically we only ‘raced’ 7 miles of it!

Last night I was both fortunate (and in the last 5 minutes unfortunate!) enough to get a leg massage from Chris Domoney of the Sports Clinic Bluewater. Two years ago when I ran The London Marathon for Fairhavens we were introduced at the initial ‘pasta party’. Fortunately for me whilst he helped out in Southend he has a much more local setup in Kent. Chris is a top bloke and tends not to mince his words, if there is any issues he will send you onto Paul the Physio. I have yet to hear any negativity about either. Quite often Physios/Masseurs are quick to take your money but may not be specific enough to your needs or worse still be scaremongering. After-all if they aren’t involved in running they will often miss-advise or suggest to give up running entirely. Chris is a runner, if you head to his clinic you will see medals and numbers from marathons all around the world including all 5 majors (inspirational in itself…Chris I will have my own display like that one day!). Fortunately, I haven’t needed to see Paul the Physio but have close relations that have and have come back with glowing reviews – these chaps aren’t out there to rob you and if you treat them with the respect they deserve I’m sure the treatment will be top notch.

I hadn’t intended on this blog post being an advertisement for Chris but every so often it’s worth shouting out to the people who have helped out along the way. If you have used either Chris or Paul in the past why not write a quick comment or review below – I’m sure they will appreciate it! If you want to get in touch with either of them see info below (copied from elsewhere):

Chris works privately in Essex as well as having clinics in Surrey and Kent. He is on hand to reply to any running,dietary or general fitness enquiries being an Athletics coach and experienced personal trainer. If you would like to get in touch with Chris you can contact him on 07739 765587.

Paul Smith is a Physiotherapist and can be contacted on 07989 282237.

Thats all for now, till next week!

It’s Sunday evening and this morning I ran The Royal Parks Half Marathon in London. Having booked into this run at the end of March it seemed a long time coming and since that point I have done a number of other runs. My training has been pretty busy recently but today’s run was not about PB’s it was about enjoying the VERY scenic course and being in and around lots of runners in London.

Rich and I had decided during the week we would attempt to run a negative split today, this would be a nice challenge and also test to see our fitness levels. If we could run the first half at a reasonable pace but maintaining a low heart rate and then build up the speed to the end it would prove that our training over the last few months had been good. Having dropped our bags off and done the necessities we made our way to the start pens and made no attempt to go near the front. We were to set off at a 8:45 pace and we figured midway through this pen would suffice. The start was efficient and within a couple of minutes we were off, it was very difficult to force the speed slower and not be pulled along by the runners who set off at a faster pace. Fortunately, the Garmins came to our rescue – if I was going on how I felt no doubt I would have been running a 7min/mi from the start, as it turns out we went through the first mile in 8:30 so not too bad!

The first 6 miles of the course is lovely, taking in a large amounts of the sites of London, as we weren’t going hell for leather I looked up and enjoyed London in all its glory – especially with all the roads closed and lots of runners with huge smiles on there faces (it was the first six miles remember!) We maintained a pace of about 8:30-845 and entered Hyde Park at around 6 miles in 51mins. At 6 miles we opened up looking to increase our pace and hopefully maintain this until the finish. Not quite sure why we started at 6 miles, hardly half way! Anyway, from this point the splits went to about 7:30 average with the fastest being the last mile at a super speedy 7:07 – not too bad considering!

As we approached the final few hundred meters I think both of us thought we maybe able to break 1:45 and we were mighty close, coming in 9 seconds behind. Considering we set off for a 1:50 and the first 6 miles were at at 1:51 pace to reclaim 6 minutes in the second half is pretty good and to be honest those 9 seconds are irrelevant as it wasn’t a “race” for either of us.

Other than the cost, I was really impressed with the event itself and actually don’t have any gripes at all . The market was great and my goody bag is stuffed with treats which is a jackpot. The medal is lovely, and different to all the other ones I have. I would love to do it again but am not sure whether I would want to pay out quite as much for a route that I tend to run on a weekly basis with the Serpies anyway!

All in all though a cracking run, good to take it at a pace where we could have a chat and genuinely enjoy the day. As always, it was great to have Laura (and at the end Rich’s girlfriend Liz) out on the course cheering on, sorry to all those who may have seen me and I ignored, I know there were others out! Well done Soo on completing your first half marathon, hope you enjoyed it a little bit, a sterling achievement!

Gun Time: 01:45:09
First Half Split: 00:55:29
Second Half Split: 00:49:40
Difference between splits: 05:49
Average Speed: 8:00 min/mi
Average Heart Rate: 156bpm.

Thursday night was one of those times. I was ill prepared for a long run, at lunch I went to buy a pre-run energy drink but I got pulled in for a meeting and ended up not drinking anything after lunch. I rushed out of the meeting due to organising to meet with Rich at 5:10 grabbed a flapjack an chucked my kit on as quick as possible. Not the best preparation for a run!

I think the lack of fluid combined with an almost threshold run the day before and an interval session on the Tuesday all meant that this run was going to seem hard. I cocked up with my Garmin (again!) fortunately Rich now has a new watch so I compared information. I ended up doing 13-14 miles by the end, giving up with a stitch at bank station. Looks like we averaged 8:36 which as it turns out wasn’t too bad but during the run it felt like I was running through treacle! Not good.

On Saturday we headed to Manchester for a party. Sam, Laura’s friend is a runner and offered to accompany me on a gentle bimble. Knowing I wasn’t going to be running again till Monday I thought it fine to go for a plod. We hadn’t specified a pace before leaving but agreed to run at a comfortable talking pace. Once again the run didn’t feel easy but we went at a reasonable pace. I logged an average pace of 8:15 for just shy of 10k. Sure it was no pb pace but still tough given everything that is in my legs. All of the splits were sub 8:30 which was good and it was nice to run somewhere different with company. I think I will be back up there in a couple of months for a race in December. That will be interesting as apparently the course is hilly and gets icy, something I’m not used to!!

Sort of recovery day Sunday then trainers back out in order to get to work whilst the tfl go on strike! Fortunately there was a sort of service which meant over the day I only needed to run 6 miles split up over 3 segments. The morning segment was tough my cold is moving south into the lungs and I think that it was showing then. When I got in I took on fruitfruitfruit and fortunately by 5pm I felt much better and my runs were much more comfortable.

Intervals today I think, gentle 7-10miler tomorrow, even gentler shorter run on Thursday then Royal Parks Half on Sunday, this is not a PB race, this is an opportunity to enjoy London and the crowds the plan is to run an 8:30-845 pace which would mean a race time of about 1:50:155. I will be waiting till spring next to push my half PB possibly at Silverstone again! Currently my body is possibly in a better shape than back then with a much lower heart rate on the whole however my speed isn’t where it was back then so there is no point trying!!

Till next time.

N

Wednesday is Serpentine night and this week Rich and I had decided to go out for a different route. We had talked about heading out a little earlier and doing 3 parks plus an extension along the Thames. However, just as we were leaving we bumped into a group of people outside who were heading up to Hampstead Heath at a pace we would be able to run at.

I have never done this route before but Rich had and he was full of praise for it and to be honest after only about 1mile I was starting to realise why. We headed towards Regents Park and along the canal behind it, I’ve run around this park numerous times but never knew there was a canal there! The canal path was lovely and nice to know as after a bit of research at home it seems it goes all the way upto Stratford!

After leaving the canal we headed up Primrose Hill, wow that’s a hill but once you reach the top you have the pleasure of an incredible view of London. Again this is something new for me, it seems I really don’t know the north very well! After a quick recovery break we set off up to Hampstead Heath. More hills and certainly more challenges! After a few more miles we headed up Parliament Hill and was rewarded with another beautiful sight of London especially as it was getting dark.

After another rest we headed back to base via Primrose again as a final challenge! The route was 10miles pretty undulating and made a great change to the standard 3 parks run. The hills added an extra challenge and made the run more rewarding! We averaged about 8:20 and looking at the watch stats our fastest mile was the last one – admittedly that was the flattest but needless to say pulling of a sub 8min/mi at 9miles is good to see!

Till next time

N

I don’t often do this but this one seemed like it was for a good cause and would be a nice shout out for them – also im in a generous mood today! Sadly I can’t be around to go and do it as I’m off fishing, and if i wasn’t prebooked to go fishing I would have been riding to Southend. However, for those who want to get out and about on Sunday. is the opportunity to do a circular 10km walk around London, which has been carefully plotted to pass landmarks and hidden gems of the city. Participants can enjoy the sights of London whilst raising money for current and former members of the Armed Forces all organised by the British Legion.

The walk takes place on Sunday 18th July (this Sunday!) and those wishing to take part are invited to contact Rebecca Pride (rpride@britishlegion.org.uk) and register at 9:30am at The Royal British Legion headquarters (199 Borough High St, London, SE1 1AA). See here for more info.

Would be great if they have a good turnout to support such a noble cause.

The Royal British Legion safeguards the welfare, interests and memory of those who are serving or who have served in the Armed Forces. We are one of the UK’s largest membership organisations and recognised as custodians of Remembrance. We also run the annual Poppy Appeal. They help serving and ex-Service personnel and their families. Not just those who fought in the two World Wars, but also those involved in the many conflicts since 1945 and those still fighting today.

As a final note before packing up – wishing a good luck for all those people doing the London -> Southend bike ride this weekend. I hope it goes well for you!!

N

A very short blog post today as I’m about to dash out of the door and go fishing

On Wednesday evening I did the perimeter run of the 2012 Olympic site. This time I had the pleasure of company from two colleagues, who both trained (and completed!) this years London Marathon and since then have continued to run.

It was a nice run, whilst the grey clouds loomed overhead the rain stayed off which was a bonus. I got to give the chaps a running commentary of Stratford and the Park, whether they wanted to hear it or not. I love running round there as every time I go past it something new has popped up or some path has been changed. Its constantly evolving and in 6 months time it will look completely different. Its a very exciting place to be able to run around and live. I can’t wait to see what Stratford will look like this time next year and ultimately in 2012

N

Following on from three consecutive days of running I made the most of my free Saturday and the glorious weather to go out for a jog.

Laura was out for the day at an event held by Liz Yelling. After a morning of household DIY involving undercoating 4 doors whilst it was glorious outside, I donned my shorts and grabbed my Oakleys and headed into town.

Dumping my kitbag in Baker St gym I set off towards Regents Park after a lap of the outer circle I headed inwards to try find ‘The Hub’ where Laura was. I failed miserably with that running around the inner inner circle numerous times – eventually after revisiting the same ‘You are here’ maps about 5 times I gave up – tracked back to the outer circle and came in after London Zoo. I wasn’t overly bothered about times or distance today so when in the corner of my eye I saw three Giraffes I got my phone out and snapped away, a rarity for me!!

Plodding onwards I eventually found The Hub then left Regents for Hyde Park. I was trying out my new camelbak waist belt with water carrier so had plenty of fluid with me today which was fortunate as it was so toasty!!

One lap of Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens eventually took it out of me. I struggled today much more than a number of sub 13miles which I have done. I can put this down to the heat and to an extent poor fueling before I started. Whilst I did take on an energy drink I didn’t each much which left me feeling quite weak by the end.

If I’m totally honest though I wasn’t too bothered. I managed a reasonably long run in the heat on the back of a 7/6/4 day meaning in 4 consecutive days I ran just under 30miles injury free.

Spinning day on Monday which I’m looking forward too as always then swim Tuesday, Serps Wednesday…Lets hope the sun stays out so I can possibly get another run in somewhere, maybe Tuesday lunchtime…

Till next time