Conwy Half

After a disastrous 91:30 performance at the Freckleton Half in the summer I wasn't hoping for much at Conwy. I knew there was a big hill in the middle and I had only managed a few weeks of decent training since the marathon. So I decided to aim for a sub 90 and see what happened.

The first four miles are relatively flat and take you from Conwy to the Great Orme. These passed without incident at about 6:45 pace. The pace didn't feel trivial like it had at the Wilmslow Half but there was a slight headwind and a few little hills.

You then start to work your way around the Great Orme and things get lumpy.

Miles 5 and 6 weren't too bad as they also contained downhill sections and I managed to keep the pace around 7:00. However mile 7 was nearly all uphill and came out at 7:40. At one point you go round a bend and can see how much climbing you have to do over the next half mile and it is pretty intimidating but you just keep plodding along and it soon ends. I found a couple of runners who were going strongly at this point, gradually working their way through the field and I managed to stay with them.

Then the fun began. Mile 8 was very downhill and came out as a 6:15. Mile 9 however was consistently downhill and then flat and came out as a 6:02. My fastest mile ever in a race of any length. Wahey! At one point the lap pace on the Garmin was saying 5:50. I half wish I had pressed a bit more towards the end of the mile to get my first sub 6 mile on the road but I was being sensible.

I now knew that the fast miles had more than compensated for the slow miles and a good time could be on. I went through 10 miles in 67:10 so a final 5K in around 21:10 would get me a PB.

I thought things were falling apart in the 11th mile but it turned out to just be a hill! I managed to keep up the 6:45 pace for the next few miles and then speed up a bit in the last mile for a time of 88:17 and a 6 second PB.

Needless to say I was pretty chuffed to get a PB on a difficult course. The steady training through the summer seems to pay off and I am in good shape to start another marathon training plan.

The only downside is that the DOMS (muscle soreness) from zooming down that hill has been pretty awful and my running so far this week has been pretty unpleasant. Sprinting down hills is fun but not for your legs!

Sherdley Park Cross Country

Chester marathon is now distant history. I am recovered and back racing.

Four weeks after the marathon I tried my local parkrun. I have had lots of times around 20 minutes and one 19:20 earlier this year. It appeared that my legs were still in marathon mode as I did 20:05 but felt strong throughout.

Last weekend was the second cross country of the season. This time I started nearer the front so as not to get caught up in people traffic. The problem with this is that I got swept along at a crazy pace at the start (5:30!)

There I am on the right in the green vest going at that crazy pace!

The first two laps felt pretty good with an average pace of about 7 min/mile. However the fast start and the constant undulations took their toll and the final lap was a bit of a slog with the fifth mile being a 7:24! I dug in and sped up down the finish straight for a 7 minute last mile and fourth position out of my club. A decent performance overall but next time I will try to hold back a little at the start.

In preparation for the Conwy Half Marathon in just over a week I have been doing a lactate threshold tempo run each week for the last three weeks. The first one was pretty awful - I couldn't get below 6:50 pace. Last week was better with three miles at about 6:40. This week I used a well lit loop in an industrial estate to avoid traffic interruptions and managed three miles at 6:35 - my actual LT pace.

So the recovery is over and the legs are working. Let's see if I can get under 90 minutes again in Conwy. 

Recovery

The problem with marathons is that you have to take time out from regular training to allow yourself to recover. Your body is fragile after a marathon and there is no sense in punishing it more when it just needs time to repair.

With this in mind I kept the mileage very low for the first two weeks after Chester Marathon, with three rest days after the marathon and only 15 miles for the first week and 30 for the second.

My first run after the marathon was a bit grim as expected with tight hamstrings. However, two days later my club had the first cross country race of the season and rather naughtily I decided to join in.

I started at the back to keep my pace down but my legs actually felt good and I spent the rest of the race overtaking people. I actually completed the course quicker than last year which surprised me as last year I was racing whereas this year it was just a medium / hard effort.

Last week I joined a club session for the first time in ages. Running up and down hills in a group was fun and I felt strong.

This Saturday I am going to attempt a parkrun. It will be almost four weeks since the marathon so I will be ready for a test. My last parkrun was a rather poor 20:08 so it would be good to at least get under 20:00. Even better there should be some club mates there who I can hopefully show a clean pair of heels!

Chester Marathon

Here I am with a smile on my face after a marathon. Something must have gone right!

In the spring I had targeted 3:15 and had got nowhere near it. Now I was targeting 3:20 and had another marathon training plan in the bank. Surely I wouldn't miss my target a third time?

In the two weeks leading up to the marathon I had had a sore hip that made driving and even sitting at a desk uncomfortable. I was unsure about whether I should attempt the final 10 mile MP run but in the end went for it and smashed it. 10 miles at 7:00 min/mile pace made me happy!

The hip pain eased over the next week but the night before the marathon I felt pretty dodgy with a head cold. However I felt reasonable at 5am on Sunday morning so decided to go for it.

Arriving at Chester at 7 am it was cold but no rain and a tail wind for the last ten miles. Perfect. My plan was to stick to 7:4x pace and then hopefully speed up in the second half. However when I started I locked into 7:3x pace which felt about right.

It is a great feeling when you feel really comfortable, look at your watch and see that you are actually going too fast. This never really happened at London but happened all the time at Chester.

Conservation of energy is the name of the game in the first half and I kept the effort easy, despite being overtaken quite a lot. I knew people would come back to me and they did.

So 10K in 47:02 and position 452. Feeling great.

At around 9 miles I was temporarily running by myself and got a lot of support as I ran through a village. I was also cheered by someone from a Runnersworld forum I post on which was very welcome. At this point I felt fantastic.

I just kept plodding along, happy to be there, saving the excitement for later.

The second 10K was completed in 47:08 and position 447

Halfway was reached in 1:39:28 so slightly ahead of target but feeling good.

Mile 13 is uphill and this saw my first 7:4x mile but mile 15 is downhill and I cruised down it, giving myself a breather.

At the end of mile 16 I saw my parents, cunningly positioned on an uphill section! However I had plenty of energy to wave and overtake people.

The third 10K was completed in 47:21. Position 406. A slight slowing but miles 17 and 18 are undulating.

Last year I ran out of gas at this point and ended up doing 9 minute miles. This year... I sped up! Mile 20, which is slightly downhill, was a 7:15, my fastest of the race. Miles 21 and 22 were both 7:2x. Miles 23 and 24 were both 7:3x.

During mile 24 I was joking with some other runners that they weren't allowed to slow down as I was using them as pacemakers. It was amazing to still have a clear head at this point.

Since mile 22 I had had warning spasms that my legs weren't happy and cramp was around the corner. In the 25th mile the spasms increased and I had to drop the effort. However...

The fourth 10K was completed in 46:48. Position 329. So chuffed with that.

Another random goal of mine was for each mile to be below 8 mins. With this in mind I kept a reasonable effort up over the last two miles, despite the risk of cramp. I managed miles of 7:48 and 7:54 to tick another box! The final 0.2 at 7:10 pace saw me home in 3:18:49.

I am very pleased with a slight negative split and my most enjoyable marathon yet by a long way. I can now have the confidence to attack my next marathon a bit more.

As for Hansons - well it worked! My theory is that marathon training is all about working the slow twitch fibres which means slow / steady running. Maybe the volume of easy miles is more important than the length of easy runs? What is endurance anyway? Isn't it having the fitness to not get fatigued at a certain pace? Maybe you don't have to run 20 miles to get that?


The weekly MP run, although hard in the second half of the plan, was probably very beneficial although I can't prove it!

So my trend of knocking five minutes off my marathon time every six months continues. 3:15 is a nice doable target for next spring.

I failed to get through the ballot for the London marathon but will happily do Manchester instead.

But for now, four weeks of being a jogger as I let myself recover.

BMC 10k track festival

Having tried road, track and fell races, ten days ago I tried a new challenge - 10,000 metres on the track!

The track festival had the intention of giving road racers a taste of track racing as well as a 10,000 metre PB. Runners had to have a sub-45 minute 10k PB to be eligible and with my 41:13 minute PB is was in the bottom group.

Having stalked some of the runners in my start list on thePowerOfTen website I knew that I was one of the faster runners there and had a chance of winning as my PB is soft.

When the gun went I settled into second place, being pulled along at just under 6:30 pace.

My main goal in this race was to go sub-40 for the first time rather than win the race so after four laps at 6:30 pace I decided I would have to take it on and increase the pace to the required 6:25.

The guy I had overtaken stayed with me for another four laps or so and then dropped back, leaving me in sole first place. This is how it stayed for the rest of the race with me gradually increasing my lead and using my Garmin to keep my pace at 6:25 min/mile.

I went through 5000 metres in just under 20 minutes and from then on it was a case of counting down the laps and trying to maintain the pace.

There was a commentator at the stadium and a stand on the home straight where friends and family were watching. Being in the lead I got quite a lot of mentions by the commentator and lots of support from the stand - all great fun. Someone also took it upon themselves to inform me each lap how far ahead of 40 minutes schedule I was!

With about five laps to go the commentator noted that I was looking tired but I used this to spur me on and maintain the pace. When I finally started the last lap I saw that I had 100 seconds left to go under 40 and knew I would achieve it.

I managed to speed up over the last 400 metres and come home in 39:50 for a win by about a minute.

This was my first race win and will also probably be my last for a long time! If I do the race next year I will probably be in the next group which was won in a time of about 35 minutes!

Overall this was great fun and a pleasant change from road running. Hopefully I will be able to persuade some of my club mates to do it next year and we can have a smack down on the track.

After the race I noticed a lady in the stand who looked like Britain's number one marathoner Susan Partridge. On closer inspection I decided that it really was her and she very graciously allowed me a photo and a chat. A very down-to-earth lady, mixing in with the club runners the day before taking on the East Africans at the Great North Run!

Belper Rugby Rover 30K

I did this race last year and really enjoyed it so last Sunday I was back for more.

The conditions were OK, cool and windy with the odd shower so actually quite good for running if not for the spectators.

Last year I got stuck in a huge queue for a stile in mile 2 so this year I set off at a brisk pace and was rewarded with virtually no queue at all. This probably saved me two or three minutes on last year's time. The second mile ends with a very steep hill and I trotted up it, overtaking quite a few runners. This may have been early race bravado but I felt good.

The next four miles are undulating and fun, up and down through fields and woods on paths, tracks and roads. The sheer variety of terrain really makes this race for me. I tried to keep the effort level down as I knew what was coming in mile 7. However three 7:15 miles in this section were a pleasant surprise.

At the start of mile 7 the hill of death begins. Over the next 3 miles you climb almost 700 feet. The first part is very steep but then it levels off a bit and becomes more undulating.

Unfortunately after the steep part I managed to take a tumble. I was merrily coasting along a rocky track when next thing I know my Lucozade bottle had gone flying and I was lying on the path. I guess I tripped on a rock. I retrieved my bottle and carried on, nursing a badly grazed knee. This tumble did knock my confidence for a while but didn't seem to affect my running, despite an impressive trickle of blood down my right leg.

I gained a few more paces on the slog up to the 9 mile point where the hill ends. From here you are rewarded with 4 miles of descent where you gradually lose the elevation you just gained. The paths are quite treacherous in places though so 8 minute miling was the best I could manage. At one point I was in a group of three, one guy in front and one behind me, which was fun but gradually the guy in front of me pulled away and I dropped the guy behind me. This seems to happen a lot in these sort of races as some people do better uphill and some on the down-hills meaning that you are always changing places.

Mile 14 contains the final nasty hill but I managed to trot up it without too much trouble. Then there are some steep downhill sections until the 15 mile point when it is a slightly downhill 3.5 mile fast stretch to the finish.

On the last steep downhill section some guy raced past me but I managed to keep him in sight and then reel him in on the flat.

I was feeling quite tired in the 16th mile but then I started to enjoy myself! I was being dragged along at 7:30 pace, overtaking a couple of stragglers and looking forward to a sprint finish. Last year I was counting down the 0.1 miles till the end at this point so this was definitely progress!

As we crossed a bridge with half a mile to go I finally overtook the guy in front and raced to the finish line. Having people watch me on the finish straight always makes me speed up and I had plenty of energy to zoom down the final straight. One lady gasped "look at that guy's knee!" Nice to feel like a soldier once in your life!

My time of 2:30:23 was about nine minutes faster than last year so I am obviously happy with that. The strong finish is a very positive sign. I would like to think that I could have carried on to 26.2 miles at a reasonable pace!

Sale Sizzler 5K

One month ago I attempted to go sub-19 at a 5k for the first time but fell short, ending up with a 19:03.

Last Thursday night I had another chance with the final Sale Sizzler of the summer.

Having had a cold all week and a fuzzy head all day I wasn't sure if I was in PB shape but my legs felt good during the warm up so I decided to go for it.

The plan was to stick to 6:10 pace as long as I could. If I could do 3 miles at this pace I would go sub 19 as the Garmin measures the course slightly short and I would speed up at the end.

During the first mile the lap pace often slipped towards 6:20 but some surges in the second half of the mile got the time down to 6:09. Step one complete.

One month ago I didn't manage to maintain the pace for the second mile but this time I felt stronger and mile 2 clocked by in 6:10.

However early on in mile 3 I glanced at my Garmin and the lap pace was saying 6:30 so I knew I needed to up the effort. Fortunately a lady then overtook me and I sped up to keep up with her and then overtake her back. This cycle repeated a few times and the frequent surging got my mile 3 time down to 6:11. This could be a lesson for the future. In flat races you are always using the same muscles so by speeding up for a few seconds you are breaking the monotony a bit for your legs.

After 3 miles it was back onto the track for the final 200 metres. I spotted a club mate ahead and managed to overtake him and sprint past a few more runners for a time of 18:52.

Eighteen months ago my 5K PB was about 21:15 so I am obviously happy with the progress. That will probably be my last fast 5K of the year so next summer I can target a sub 18:50.

Compared to the previous Sale Sizzler this one was much more fun. Although I was tired in the last mile I managed to dig deep and keep moving up the field. In an ideal world the tiredness of the final section of a race is balanced by the excitement of being near the end and that is what happened.

My half marathon and especially my marathon PBs are now slow compared to my 5K PB. Hopefully 8 more weeks of marathon training should help that!

Bramhall Runners Foodbank 5.5K

Marathon training is progressing well and I have now reached the "strength" section of the plan where you do longer intervals at MP - 10s pace rather than the VO2Max sessions.

The Sunday before last I did my first 15 miler of the plan. I took in the hilly Stockport 10 route for a different challenge and did the run in 2:05 (about 8:20 pace.) This felt very comfortable so I think I still have a reasonable endurance base.

Last Thursday I raced the Foodbank 5.5K - a trail race in the scenic Happy Valley. This year you have to cross the river on stepping stones and then on the way back you ford it so a bit of an extra challenge this time.

When I raced this last year it was a bit bizarre as after the first Kilometre or so I did no overtaking and was not overtaken either. This year I did plenty of overtaking - starting in about 30th place saw to that!

The initial pace felt very pedestrian but according to the Garmin it was 6:20 min/mile so not too shabby. After the river crossing I spotted a club mate about 30 metres in front of me who normally beats me in the short races. I figured that if I kept near him I would be doing well so over the next mile or so I gradually overtook about 10 runners until I was the next runner behind him but still about 30 metres back.

We then crossed the river again and for the last 500 metres or so it is just a case of keeping your foot on the pedal to ensure that no one gets past you.

I managed to keep my place and came home in 13th position My time was about the same as last year which is OK considering that this year we had water obstacles!

Doing all that overtaking was fun but probably cost me some energy so at the next Foodbank I will start further forward and see if I can use the faster people to pull me along.

Tonight is the final Sale Sizzler 5K of the summer. I have been fighting a cold all week so I don't know if that will slow me down but I am aiming for my first sub 19 min 5K! Three 6:10 miles should do the trick as my Garmin measures the course short. It sounds so simple on paper!

Cumulative Fatigue

One of the foundations of the Hansons Marathon Method is to build up fatigue so that you start runs on tired legs. The idea is that you are training for the second half of the marathon rather than the first.

After runs of 10, 10, 8 and 11 miles over the last four days I am becoming well acquainted with this concept! Sometimes I go to sleep not being able to imagine starting a workout seven hours later. However a sleep does seem to work wonders and, combined with my new motto "just get out the door and start trotting," I seem to be surviving.

This morning I did my first 8 mile tempo (marathon pace) run. With two miles warm up and 1 mile cool down that was an 11 mile run to get in before 7:30 am. Fortunately, setting my alarm for 5:30 am now seems pretty normal and I was out the door by 6 am. After two miles of gradually speeding up I did eight miles at around 7:10 pace. This felt surprisingly OK at first and then gradually got harder until the last few miles felt like an effort.

According to the McMillan pace calculator I should be able to maintain 7:10 pace for a whole marathon. However past experience tells me that I can't. I am planning to do the training tempo runs at my McMillan marathon pace but when it comes to the real marathon I will start off somewhat slower.

It is well know that your best times are set when you pace a race evenly or even get a negative split. This will be my goal in Chester, starting at a steady 7:45 and hopefully speeding up in the last 10 miles.

But for now I will carry on "getting out the door and trotting."

Sale Sizzler 5K

It took me a few days to recover from the gruelling Offerton 10K but eight days later my legs were ready for the next challenge - the Sale Sizzler 5K.

I have never raced a flat 5K before, or indeed any real 5K as parkruns have their own category according to thepowerof10 website. My parkrun PB was 19:22 so hopefully with a fair bit of training banked since then and the flat course a 19 minutes flat time was possible.

The evening was hot at 23 degrees C but this shouldn't matter too much in a 5K.

The race started with a loop of the track in Wythenshawe Park and as normal my club mates sped off into the distance. My target pace was 6:10 so after coming off the track at 6:00 pace I steadied things a bit and completed the first mile in 6:10 exactly.

The second mile started to feel painful but I managed to just about hang on for a 6:13. One of my club mates came back to me - he paid the price of a crazy first mile.

To go sub 19 I would have to speed up on the last mile but this was just not possible and the best I could manage was a 6:15. The last kilometre seemed to go on for ever as I was really clinging on now. There were some guys only a few metres ahead of me but it was all I could do just to keep up with them.

I was expecting to finish a lot slower than 19 minutes but I did speed up over the last 200 metres on the track and the Garmin had measured the course slightly short so I was pleasantly surprised to see 19:03 on my watch.

Last year I was targeting sub 20 over the 5K distance so I can't really complain about a 19:03 this year.

However there are two more Sale Sizzlers this summer and I think I will target a sub 19 on the last one. Hopefully with a month more speed work and a slightly cooler day it will be possible.

Offerton 10K

After enjoying the hills of the Lyme Park parkrun it was time for a different sort of torture altogether - the Offerton 10k

This race sounds attractive as it is all within Woodbank and Vernon parks with a track start and finish. However there is one problem, or three to be more accurate: you have to climb the Vernon park hill three times. This hill starts near the bottom of the river Goyt valley and climbs up into Woodbank Park, a rise of about 150 feet. Most of the climb is too steep to be attacked so you just have to trot up it and recover a bit at the top.

Last year I did the race in just under 44 minutes. This time looked very beatable and a sub 42 minute performance would represent good progress.

The route consists of three laps of the parks and the hill occurs on the even miles so the plan was to alternate between 6:30 and 7:00 miles.

A first mile in 6:20 felt very comfortable and then it was time to race down the valley and struggle back up the hill. Thanks to a good pace down the hill I managed to do the second mile in 7:00.

During the third mile I gradually recovered my pace and managed a 6:30 thanks to it ending halfway down the hill. I went through 5k in 20:40 but knew the second half would be slower as I would have to do the hill twice.

The fourth mile had very little downhill in it and resulted in a 7:20. Ouch!

The fifth mile was flat and then downhill so I should really have done better than a 6:40 but I was getting tired.

Up the hill one last time and then I managed to speed up to a decent pace as I knew the end was close. A 6th mile of 7:20 wasn't too bad.

Back on to the track and I managed to finish at 6:00 pace. There was no one to overtake sadly but I was very pleased to see a time of 41:57. The Garmin had measured the course slightly short so I was going slightly faster than I thought.

A two minute year-on-year improvement is very encouraging and suggests that two complete marathon training cycles have made a difference.

As for the race, I can't say I enjoyed the second half at all. The hill totally dominates the race and is all people talk about afterwards. However it is a good challenge and I will be back next year. I am not expecting another two minute improvement though.

Next up is the Sale Sizzler - 5k, no hills and no traffic as it is all on Wythenshawe Park. There will be no excuses there!

Lyme Park parkrun

My legs recovered pretty quickly from the Freckleton Half and as I had a rare opportunity to do a parkrun last Saturday I thought I would give the new Lyme Park parkrun a try.

For those who are unfamiliar with Lyme Park it is a hilly National Trust park on the edge of the Peak District. The parkrun route embraces the hills, starting with half a mile of steep climb followed by two miles of gradual downhill. The last half mile is a slog uphill to the finish line.

I warmed up by jogging into Lyme Park from the Boar's Head pub in Higher Poynton. This involved one and a half miles of uphill jogging so was a thorough warm up!

There was a small group of about seventy people at the start and soon after 9 am we were off. I made a steady start up the hill, letting a few people zoom off and settling in to about 12th place.

After about half a mile the route steers away from the hill and gradually descends back towards the hall. This part is on rocky ground and is what fell runners call "technical". I would call it treacherous but I managed to stay on my feet and maintain around 6:30 pace.

The first mile ticked by in 7:30 mins. Not bad considering the hill.

About this point I caught up with my club mate Roger who had given me a right hammering at the Freckleton Half six days before. I figured I would be doing well if I could keep up with him but he gradually pulled away over the rest of the race.

The second mile takes you down to the "Cage" - a well known building in Lyme Park. I was in about tenth place here and approaching a group of about four people but in the long downhill from the Cage they gradually pulled away. I need to practise my downhill running because although 6:30 pace felt very comfortable here I didn't feel safe going any faster as the path was very uneven.

The second mile ticked by in 6:30 mins and it was a case of doing the remainder of the downhill as fast as possible before the long slog to the end.

After an initial steep climb the uphill section levels off slightly and I was able to maintain a 7:00 min/mile pace to the finish. I managed to pass one runner who was tiring to come home in 21:28 and 8th place out of 72 finishers.

My target was 22 mins so I was pleased to be well under that.

I cannot say how much more I enjoyed this race compared to the Freckleton half. The long downhill gives you a bit of a rest and the final uphill slog is a great fitness battle. The scenery doesn't hurt either! It was also nice to do a parkrun that is just one lap - most are two or even three laps.

It was great to be reminded why I enjoy running so much.

Next week I have the Offerton 10K. No PB will be forthcoming there - it is seriously hilly but I am looking forward to the challenge.

Freckleton Half

Last year the heat and undulations of the Freckleton Half Marathon killed me, resulting in a severe fade over the last 3 miles. Would this year be any different?

Well the weather was even hotter if anything with few clouds in the sky and the temperature pushing 20 degrees. 20 degrees does not sound like much but when you are running at a steady effort for 90 minutes it does hurt you.

My mood was not helped by the fact that I had managed to forget my Garmin. Major d'oh! I did at least have a stopwatch so I would have some idea as to my pace.

At 2pm the hooter sounded and off we went. Ben Fish and company motored off into the distance while I tried to find my tempo pace with no Garmin to help me. Actually I did pretty well as the first mile was about 6:35 - not far off my 6:40 target pace.

The next couple of miles ended up at about 6:45 pace as we wound around Freckleton and out into the countryside. I went through 5k in 21 mins which would have been a 5k PB 18 months ago.

For the next 3 miles I followed someone who seemed to know what he was doing and looked very comfortable. This dragged me along at about 6:50 pace which was OK. The hills on miles 5 and 6 were duly conquered without much fuss.

At every water station I was taking a few sips of water and pouring the rest over my head in an attempt to stay cool. This seemed to help slightly.

The 7th mile is downhill and felt very comfortable. I went through halfway in 44:40. No PB today then but sub 90 should be very doable.

However my pace gradually dropped off over the next few miles until by the 10th mile I was at 7:00 pace. I guess the heat and the lonely running got to me.

Miles 10 to 12 are on the side of a main road which is straight and slightly climbing. These miles were a complete slog. I just couldn't wait for the race to end! I overtook one runner and he then overtook me back and that was about as exciting as that section got!

The 13th mile is a bit more interesting as it winds through Freckleton and at least you know that you are nearly there! A guy overtook me on this mile and I was able to speed up slightly to keep up with him. He then slowed down to let me do some work and I managed to stay ahead of him and overtake one more guy.

Just like last year I managed to speed up on the final straight, coming home in 1:31:26 and 48th place out of 660 finishers.

I then devoured 4 cups of squash and 4 cups of tea in the next 40 minutes or so in an attempt to rehydrate.

The positives are a reasonably strong last mile and an almost two minute improvement on last year. The negative is my slowest half marathon of the year by over 2 minutes.

I think the course is tougher than it looks. The hills around the middle drain some energy and the 3 miles on the main road just drain all your will power. It is probably the toughest half marathon course I have done so far and the RunBritain handicap factor for the race concurs.

However this beast will be conquered! I plan to return next year for a sub 90 and hopefully a cooler day.

Hansons Marathon Method

With the London Marathon well and truly behind me it is now on to summer training.

While I could just start the same P&D schedule again to prepare for the Chester marathon I think I am ready to try something a bit different. Step up Hansons' Renegade marathon method!

The plan uses the word "renegade" as the longest run is only 16 miles long, defying conventional wisdom that your longest marathon training run should be at least 20 miles.

However the Hanson brothers are of the opinion that your long run should not comprise more than 25% of your weekly mileage. Therefore doing a 20 mile run as part of a 50 mile week like some Hal Higdon plans proscribe is disproportionate and can result in a 20 mile "misadventure" rather than a run.

The idea is that you start the long run on tired legs and are therefore simulating the last 16 miles of the marathon rather than the first 16.

The other idea is that you do you speed work in the first half of the plan and then "lock" in the benefits by doing slower and longer "strength" workouts. I haven't quite worked out the scientific basis behind this but am willing to give it a try.

I have already done my first speed workout - 12 * 400m with 400m recoveries. Thanks to the nice long recoveries and the use of 5K pace this was not too much problem. 3 * 1 mile with 600m recoveries in a few weeks will be a different matter!

The first 6 weeks are all under 50 miles in volume so I am currently adding easy miles to get each week up to 50.

Apparently the most important part of training is consistency. If I can keep my weekly mileage around the 50 mark for the rest of this year then I should be well placed for another serious marathon push in 2015.

Great Manchester 10k

My 10k PB of 43:48 was set about 10 months ago on a hilly course so a sizeable PB at the Great Manchester Run on Sunday was a given as long as I could avoid disaster.

The real question was whether I would be able to dip under 40 minutes. Various online pace calculators told me that based on my half marathon PB I could but then again these pace calculators can be very wrong.

The day dawned bright and breezy. It was possibly a bit on the hot side but over 10k it shouldn't really be a big deal.

The race has a separate women's elite start and I chose to watch this rather than make my way to the front of my wave. It was fun seeing Dibaba and co. warm up and start the race but it did mean that I didn't get near the start line.

Once the race started my legs didn't seem to want to go much faster than 6:35 minutes/mile pace. So this is what they did and that is pretty much the story of my race!

Although I was in the first wave, supposedly containing the faster runners, I had to overtake hundreds of runners in the first half of the race and this didn't help my pace. I also suspect I wasn't fully hydrated. I followed my normal race routine of half a litre of water two hours before the start. However in the heat I could have done with more, and the start was delayed.

I went through 5k in about 20:40. I had now given up on sub 40, it was just a case of trying for a negative split.

The course did open up in the second half and I did manage to get into a decent rhythm, running the fourth mile in 6:30. However I then started tiring slightly and two miles at 6:37 pace saw me home in 41:13.

I am not really surprised that I could not dip under 40 minutes based on my lack of speed work recently and the fact that I have only just recovered from a marathon. At least my PB is a bit more respectable now and I have a nice easy target of sub 41 to aim for in my next 10k.

Freckleton Half on 22nd June next - much more my sort of distance!

Recovery

Almost four weeks have passed since the London marathon. I have entered the ballot for next year so I guess I must have enjoyed it overall!

In the meantime I have been gradually building up the mileage, from 12 in the first week to about 45 this week. I have also entered a race - the Great Manchester 10K next Sunday.

My official 10K PB of 43:48 was set in the hilly Offerton 10K last summer and I have beaten that in training several times so a PB should be a given. The real question is whether I can get under 40 mins for the first time. I think I can but we will see.

In preparation for an autumn marathon I have bought "The Hansons Marathon Plan" to try a different training method. With this method the miles are spread more evenly through the week with a shorter long run but longer easy runs and two workouts a week. I don't actually think there is anything wrong with P&D but it is fun to try something different.

The program will start in early June so for now I am making up my own schedule with a tempo run, a speed workout and a long run each week interspersed with easy running.

Starting some hard training only two weeks after the marathon was a bit naughty but my body seems to have coped and I am feeling good. Lets see what I can do over 10K

London Marathon

Eighteen weeks of training, no injuries, a handful of PBs and a lot of very early starts. Surely I was going to smash my weak marathon PB of 3:30?

All the logistics of staying in London and getting to the start line went smoothly. I had carbo loaded and tapered my training. Whatever happened in the race the preparation and training would not be to blame.

I was put in pen 4 which I was a bit disappointed about but when they opened up the pens a minute before the start people just jogged past runners in pens in front of them and I got quite close to the start line.

At 10 am sharp the gun went and one minute later I crossed the start line.

The first mile was very busy. Rather than expend a load of energy weaving around people I went with the flow, resulting in an 8:13 mile. The second mile was slightly faster (7:49) and by mile 3 I was on pace (7:21).

I was hoping that 7:25 pace would feel ridiculously easy but it just felt OK. I am used to doing my long runs at 8:15 pace so it obviously felt a bit faster than I was used to.

The first half went pretty smoothly. I had two gels and sipped Lucozade much of the time to help avoid the dreaded wall later.

I went through halfway in 1:39:20; about two minutes behind 3:15 schedule but I figured if I was feeling good on the last 10K I would be able to make that up.

The highlight of the race was the 14th mile where I got to see the elite men coming the other way. Kipsang and Biwott were leading at this point and seeing Kipsang floating along was amazing. A few minutes later I saw Mo Farah loping along with his enormous strides. A few minutes after that Chris Thompson still looked strong but no sign of Scott Overall! After seeing Reid Coolsaet (whose blog I have been reading for quite a while) the roads diverged and my TV time was over!

While watching the elite I had maintained a 7:30 pace quite comfortably and the 15th mile was also a 7:30. However on the 16th mile my quads started to feel heavy and I reached a turning point. I could either try to maintain 7:30 pace and hope that by some miracle my legs improved or I could slow down a bit and give myself the chance to finish reasonably strongly.

I allowed myself to slow down and the next 4 miles were about 8:00 pace. Entering the last 10K I slowed down a bit more and averaged about 8:15 for the last 6 miles.

When I slowed down at mile 16 I had hoped that a 3:20 would still be possible. However it soon became clear that this was out of reach and I just wanted to get 3:25 for a 5 minute PB.

This was going to require some effort and I did my best to keep the pace around the 8:00 mark. At 23.1 miles, with 5K left, I had 26 minutes to get under 3:25. I eat 5Ks for breakfast and 26 minutes is warm up pace so this had to be possible!

This is where the benefit of those 20 mile training runs kicked in. I was able to keep going and pick up the pace slightly. In the last 7.2K I gained 300 places just by keeping going rather than fading.

Through the Lucozade tunnel, past the Embankment and Big Ben and then up Birdcage walk towards the Palace. The "800m to go" sign came and I had over 4 minutes to get under 3:25. I sped up but felt my calves about to cramp so had to cap my speed. Down The Mall I went and finished in 3:24:41 - a 5 minute PB.

Based on my half marathon PB of 1:28:23 I should be able to do a 3:15 marathon but for some reason I couldn't! I suspect 18 months of running hasn't built the required leg strength to keep running fast for 26 miles.

The positives are that I didn't hit the wall and didn't fade in the same way I did at Chester 6 months ago. I was actually able to enjoy some of the atmosphere in the last 10K rather than being stuck in my own bubble.

So what is next? I will do a month of faster training in May ready for the Freckleton Half towards the end of June. On June 1st I will start the P&D 18 week cycle again targeting a 3:20 at Chester.

It seems I am addicted to marathons, or at least training for them!

London Marathon Taper

For the last two and a half weeks I have been in taper mode.

The first week after the taper didn't feel very restful as my legs were getting over the Wilmslow Half. At the end of that week I started coming down with a cold which I am only just getting over now. Consequently my 5 * 1200m session that Saturday was less than stellar with a bit of a fade for the last two reps.

On Thursday last week I was still under the weather but attempted the 3 * 1 mile session and this went rather better with the miles being around 6:10 pace as required.

On Sunday I had a rest day and my strides the next day were the fastest I have seen in a long time. My legs had their bounce back.

Yesterday and today I have been attempting to carbo load. I am really not that interested in the nutrition side of things but I have been working my way through a couple of packs of cereal bars between meals so hopefully that will help.

Tomorrow I will do a slow 4 miler and then get the train down to London for the expo. After a restful evening in my hotel it will then be the big day.

I have calculated that at my race pace I should see the elite men coming in the other direction when I am just after halfway. I am very excited about this - hopefully at that point I will still be alert enough to appreciate it.

Time for some more carbs! So long.

Wilmslow Half Marathon

If London Marathon is my A race this spring the Wilmslow Half was my B race. A big local event (about 4000 runners) on a fast, rural course with loads of club mates running this was not to be missed.

The forecast looked dubious with wet and windy conditions predicted but on the day it was fine with quite a lot of sunshine and only a few showers.

After a short warm up I located my club mates and we agreed to run 6:45 miles until mile 10 when it would become a race. I was the only one to have broken 90 minutes before so the hope was that I would pace them all to a sub 90.

After a nice steady first mile of 7:05 we settled into a rhythm of banging out 6:42 miles time after time! This pace felt very comfortable, no doubt aided by the fact that the first half of the course is slightly downhill.

We went through halfway in about 44:30. This is 1:29 pace but the second half does contain hills!

At about 7 miles some club mates were spectating from a pub and the delightful photo below was the result:

As you can see I was having a lot of fun although Frank on my right doesn't seem too happy.

After mile 7 the hills kicked in and we had three slightly slower miles of about 6:50. At some point in these three miles Frank dropped off so it was down to four Bramhall Runners.

At the 10 mile marker (reached in just over 68 minutes) I sensed that my club mates were struggling and I upped the pace slightly. My last 3 miles were 6:30, 6:40 and 6:30. By the time I reached the 12 mile marker I knew that I would get under 1:29 for the first time and wondered if I might get under 1:28. If I hadn't ran wide so much I think I might have but as it was my Garmin measured my run as 13.19 miles and despite doing the last 200 metres at sub-6 pace my time was 1:28:23.

I then waited to see if my club mates would get under 90 minutes and thankfully 3 of them did. Frank probably paid the price for racing a parkrun the day before.

I am very pleased with my PB and especially with how comfortable 6:45 pace felt for 9 miles. In my next Half Marathon I can confidently aim for a sub 1:28.

With regards to marathon pace I should probably aim for 3:10 but I don't want to risk blowing up in the last 6 miles so I think I will aim for 3:15 and see what is in the tank at mile 20.

Another Parkrun PB!

After setting a new parkrun PB of 19:53 on the hilly Woodbank Park course I was curious to see what I could do on the faster Bramhall Park route.

The parkrun coincided with a tune-up race on the training plan so I had two days of easy running beforehand to get my legs ready.

I did a 3 mile warm up to get my legs in the mood for racing. When I arrived at the venue I bumped into two club-mates who are at about my standard. Lok I normally beat but Frank is normally a few minutes in front of me. It would be good to have a bit of healthy competition anyway.

I set off at my normal steady 5K pace, being overtaken left, right and centre by people sprinting the first few hundred metres. Frank disappeared into the distance and Lok was soon 10 metres ahead. As normal after a few minutes I started to reel people in.

The first Km was about 3:55 and the halfway mark was reached in 9:50. At this point I was feeling OK but wasn't sure if I would catch Lok who was still a good 10 metres in front. Through the next 1.5 Kms I steadily overtook people and gradually gained on Lok until at 4 Km I was just behind him. The time here was about 15:55 so I was expecting a modest PB as I knew the last Km was quick.

I then noticed Frank just in front of Lok - this was turning into a great battle of Bramhall Runners! With about 600m to go I overtook Lok and then went past Frank as we climbed up the last little hill. From here it was flat and then downhill so I knew I would need a fast finish to hold them off.

Thankfully my legs were willing and I accelerated down the hill to 4:50 min/mile pace and maintained it to the finish line. I was stunned when I looked at my watch to see a time of 19:21!

I don't really understand how my last block of marathon training didn't improve my 5K PB and now towards the end of this block I have suddenly gained over 30 seconds!

Needless to say I was pretty chuffed to beat my club mates - especially Frank who I have never beaten before.

Bramhall parkrun is not especially quick so I will try a fast 5K in the summer and see if I can get under 19 minutes.

The day after the parkrun I managed a slow 17 miles on weary legs. Then on the Tuesday I had some time off work to do my 20 miler to make room for a Half Marathon this weekend - the Wilmslow Half!

A few of my club mates want to get under 90 minutes for the first time so I may end up pacing them until the 10 mile point and then we will race. I can't wait!

14 miles at Marathon Pace

One of the most feared sessions in the P&D marathon training programs is the "18 miles with 14@MP" run that occurs towards the end of the schedule.

Although running just over half the marathon distance at race pace doesn't sound that hard in practise it can be a killer as it is done on tired legs and full fitness has not been achieved yet.

In my last marathon build up this session killed me. I did all the 14 miles on pace and ended up wasted on the sofa for a few hours, shivering under a blanket!

This time I was a bit more confident. I was using the same pace as last time but hopefully was fitter now. Also the recent "16 miles with 12@MP" session had been OK.

In the end the session went pretty well. I did most of it at my favourite hunting ground - a park with a flat mile loop that I can race around without fear of traffic or hills disrupting my flow. The four miles to the park served as the warm-up and then it was time to go at 7:30 minutes / mile pace for the next 14 miles.

The pace felt quite fast as I am used to doing my slow runs at 8:15 pace but it was fairly comfortable. I just had to focus on the pace because as soon as my mind wandered I would start to slip back into my normal long run pace. Aerobically the effort felt absolutely fine but I did feel a few twinges in my legs from time to time. I think the bottleneck in my fitness will be my legs cramping up or my muscles running out of fuel come marathon day. The aerobic engine seems to be totally there.

After 10 laps it was time to maintain the pace over the 4 miles home. This did involved meeting traffic but it was still early on a Sunday morning and it was fine. I felt good at the end and managed to speed up on the last mile.

At the end I pretty much felt how I normally feel after a long run - tired but not wrecked.

So another key session banked.

This week is a tune-up race week. I am currently enjoying two days of recovery runs and then on Saturday morning it is time for another parkrun PB. If I can do 19:53 at Woodbank Park what can I do at Bramhall Park? That 19:57 course record is toast!

Parkrun PB

My Parkrun (5K) PB has been stuck at 19:57 for over 6 months now, since before I started training for Chester marathon. I had hoped that all the marathon training would improve my 5K time slightly but so far it hadn't. I felt stronger but not quicker.

Last Saturday I had another attempt on the hilly Woodbank course. My PB was set on the easier Bramhall course so surely I couldn't PB at Woodbank?

Conditions were perfect and I even had some supporters so there could be no excuses.

The first mile is flat and this was duly completed in 6:10. The second and third miles contain the hill and it is a nasty one at that - very steep to start with and rising almost 100 feet in all.

At the end of the first lap I had my support team cheering and I upped the pace to about 5:30 mins / mile - see below:

The second mile was completed in 6:30 - much faster than last time I did this course.

For the third mile I kept a similar pace and managed that in 6:30 as well.

Unfortunately for the last 0.1 mile I was pretty spent and couldn't stop the guy in the photo above coming past and pushing me down to 9th place.

However I was astounded by my time of 19:53. This was over 30 seconds faster than my time 2 weeks ago and an overall 5K PB on a hilly course.

Now I can't wait to see what I can do on the Bramhall course!

Oulton Park Half and marathon in training

An exciting week for me last week!

Firstly on Tuesday I fulfilled one of my ambitions - to run a marathon in training. The schedule called for 22 miles and I didn't think an extra 4.2 miles could make much difference.

I had the morning booked off work and the weather was pleasant for once so there could be no excuses.

I made a point of doing the first 12 miles very slow - 8:30 minute miles or slower. This felt extremely comfortable and running through the countryside on a mild winter's day was very pleasant. The next 10 miles were slightly faster - around 8:10 pace - but felt fine. That left the extra 4.2 miles. I just let my legs run at the speed they wanted to go at this point and was pleasantly surprised to find that my legs were still happy to average about 8:20 minutes per mile.

So mission accomplished! 26.2 miles run in 3 hours 38 minutes all fuelled by one bottle of Lucozade.

My legs felt a bit twingey and achy for a few days afterwards but I managed to recover in time for a Half Marathon on Sunday. Overall this run was a huge confidence boost to prove that the marathon is just an arbitrary distance and not to be feared when approached carefully.

The second fun part of the week was the Oulton Park Half Marathon on the Sunday. This was the first edition of this event and it is quite unique as it takes place on a race track. No traffic here and 6 laps would allow for plenty of lapping fun.

As normal I started off at a steady 6:55 minute / mile pace. This felt very comfortable and I soon sped up to between 6:45 and 6:50. By the third lap I started lapping people as well as occasionally overtaking. By the start of fifth lap I was still feeling strong and sped up to 6:40 pace.

By my calculations I was on course to break 1:29 for the first time but I had run wide on lots of the corners due to lapping people and my Garmin measured the run as 13.25 miles. Despite sprinting down the final straight I only managed a 1 second PB - 1:29:18!

All in all this was a fun race and I loved feeling strong at the end.

Four weeks until Wilmslow Half; seven weeks until London Marathon!

Cross country and Parkrun

Long time no post!

Here is what has happened since my last post:

In the week after my 21 mile run I got over my stomach bug and attempted a 10K tempo in the middle of a 14 mile run. I did the tempo section on my favourite 1 mile park loop. This is flat and allows me to just focus on running rather than worry about traffic and hills. I did the 10K in about 41:45 which is a training (and race) PB for me.

The day after I had a 20 mile run to do. This is when I was re-acquainted with the running term "bonked" which means to run out of carbs. I am not really fit enough to do 34 miles in one weekend, especially when they include a tempo section. This first 15 miles of the long run were OK and I stuck to my normal long slow pace of about 8:20 minute miling. After that point the fatigue and lack of energy kicked in and I ended up 9 minute miling the last 3 miles. Although unpleasant this carb depletion experience is apparently very good marathon training as it is teaching your body to burn more fat.

The next week I had a cross country race at the weekend so I did my marathon pace run on the Thursday morning instead. This went well and the 12 miles at 7:30 pace felt surprisingly comfortable.

The cross country race was at a very muddy Wythenshawe Park. Despite having only two days to recover from the marathon pace run and doing a slow 13 miler the day before my legs felt strong and I finished in 5th place in my club, in front of some club mates who often beat me.

This week just gone was a cut-back week - thank goodness!

I did my first interval session on Wednesday with 6 * 800m as part of a 9 mile run. The 800s came out at about 3:05 and felt good.

As loads of my club mates were doing the Woodbank Parkrun yesterday morning I decided to join them and have some fun. The route incorporates a 50 foot hill that you have to do twice. The first mile came out at 6:20 but the next two included the hill and were more like 6:50. I was pleased to finish the last 400 metres at sub 6 min/mile pace and hold off the challenge from two guys behind me. Thirteenth place and a course PB of over 15 seconds made it a job well done.

This week will finish off with a 15 mile run this afternoon and then it is one of the hardest weeks of the schedule. As well as a 15 mile mid-week run there is a 22 mile long run and a 7 mile tempo session. Aaargh!

21 miles in training

I recently paid £3 for a shot of me doing the Four Villages Half so I thought I would make the most of it.

Two days after the race I was scheduled to do a tempo run (10 miles with 5 @ LT pace.) My legs felt OK so I attempted it. 5 miles averaging 6:55 told me that I was still recovering but I was happy with that effort.

My 21 mile run on Sunday went really well (apart from the persistent rain) so this morning I was ready to tackle the next tempo run - 11 miles with 6 @ LT pace. My legs felt good to start with and a first tempo mile of 6:48 was OK but after that I started to feel poorly and my pace slowed. After a third mile of over seven minutes I bailed out and jogged the rest of the distance.

It looks like I have my children's stomach bug. Hopefully with two recovery days I will be able to tackle that LT session as part of my 14 miler on Friday.

Four Villages Half Marathon

There are four running goals I would like to achieve before I turn 40:

1) sub 20 5K
2) sub 40 10K
3) sub 90 Half
4) sub 3 hour Marathon

Goal 1) was achieved in a parkrun last summer. My last Half resulted in a 1:33 with a big fade in the last 3 miles. Since then I had done a marathon training program for Chester and have done the first 6 weeks of another one so should be able to improve my time.

My 68 minute 10 miler in December gave my the confidence that a 7 min/mile pace could feel comfortable in a race. However to go under 90 mins in a Half you have to average 6:52 pace. Was I up to this? Sunday's Half Marathon would give me the chance to find out.

I got there almost an hour early but after queueing for the shuttle bus from the car park, queueing for the portaloo and queueing for the baggage drop there were only a few minutes left so no proper warm up for me.

Never mind, I warmed up by zigzagging around slow starters for the first half mile.

The route is pretty flat until mile 8 when it climbs for about 3 miles and then there is a steep descent to the finish. Therefore the plan was to maintain about 6:55 pace for the first ten miles and then blitz the last 3 miles.

The first 7 miles were a cruise. The sun was shining, the country roads were pleasant and I barely seemed to be breathing.

The 8th mile contained a climb and a 7:08 here made me wonder if I had started fading. However a 6:50 and a 7:00 over the next two miles put me back on track.

I thought that the course started dropping here but the 11th mile started with a nasty hill and the best I could do was another 6:50. I did wonder if the target was out of reach here as I needed two very quick miles. However the 12th mile dropped 180 feet resulting in a 6:15. Wahey! Now I had well over 7 mins for the last 1.1 miles so knew I was on track.

The 13th mile was a bit more undulating and only now did I want the race to end. However a 6:25 and a fast last 0.1 mile got me home in 1:29:19!

Milestone 3 complete! Going under 90 mins for the Half also means that I get a UK ranking. I am currently the 431st best Male Half Marathoner in the UK for 2014. Of course this will be more like 4000th by the end of the year but nice to get that first ranking.

I feel quite confident about achieving milestone 2 this summer if I do some speed work after the marathon.

However milestone 4 is something else entirely. Assuming I get 3:20 this year then taking 20 minutes off that time in one year is a big ask but you never know!

Looking back on the race it was a great course but the organisation was so so. I got the impression that this race had become rather overgrown and the organisers couldn't really cope with over 2000 people. Some people were queueing outside for over an hour after the race to get their bag back. If it had been wet and cold this would have been dangerous as they were still in their racing gear.

However I will be back next year to move that PB a little further down.