Running Whilst Ginger

53 Days to Go

A pretty uneventful rest of week running wise, I needed the period of recovery after recent efforts and it seems that most of the runs were roughly the same pace - which either means that I'm not overtraining or I've become defiantly one paced. Time will tell...

The biggest difficulty this week was the delayed onset of summer and the warm weather. For a ginger person like myself, it's never pleasant and even worse when exercising. The sweat begins to pour off me almost as soon as I leave the house so carrying bottles will probably be the order of the day from now on. I might even scare the neighbours by switching to a vest for my runs out.

A quick swap of the schedules for this week thanks to juggling work and tune-up races. According to 'The Plan', the first of two tune-up Half Marathons should be in two weeks however due to having to work that weekend I've instead opted for that old perennial the Birmingham Black Country Half Marathon this Saturday. I've therefore switched two weeks of the schedule - giving me a mini taper prior to the race. 

On one hand, the fact it's down the canal and therefore pretty flat in a similar way to Reykjavik means that it should be good practice. On the other hand, if the warm continues as anticipated then it could be less a race and more a war of attrition!

"A tide in the affairs of man..."

Week 10 - 58 Days to Go

A couple of days off from my weekend exertions so now back into training with abundance. Yesterday was the seemingly simple matter of an eight-ish mile recovery run. Unfortunately, the practicalities of running in warm weather when a bit ginger haunted me in abundance and it was a hard old slog - although bizarrely checking afterwards appeared to be almost exactly the same time as  the last occasion I ran the particular route. Strange indeed.

Today was tempered by the double whammy of a washing machine diagnosed as broken beyond repair and confirmation of changes at work. How this will affect me I am yet to find out, except that it will almost certainly hamper my ability to do my job. Roll on the end of the Masters course when I can hopefully secure alternative employment...

I tried to take my mind off things with the run - supposedly nine miles with 6 x 800m reps in the middle. Thanks to my woeful judging of distances, the choice of doing it on what passes for the track of Rowheath meant that by the time I got back I'd actually done about 10 and a half miles. Oops. 

On the plus side, the reps were consistently paced and no-one was about when I did them to laugh at me!

Rest Day tomorrow. I'm in two minds whether to head to the club or simply gym it. Variety is the spice of life after all...

Triumph and Disaster

61 Days to Go

The end of a pleasant week off, and I'm currently sat in my front room trying to drag out the last few hours before my return to the house of fun. All in all, it's been a good week with doing as little as possible being just what was required. Some good news on Friday with the release of the first year Uni grades where I just scrapped a first! Maybe the latest University tables, where Birmingham has dropped a few places are onto something.

Of course, you don't want to know about that - you want the latest instalment of the running adventures... 

Two solid training runs, and thanks to some spectacularly bad planning, two races (on consecutive days) were on the agenda. Friday evening brought my favourite race of the year - the Blakedown Bolt, 10k of multiterrain around the Clent Hills. It's a small race, but there was a good turnout from the club and thanks to the recent good weather conditions were almost bone dry underfoot so it was on for a good time. 

In the end I was about 90 seconds quicker than last year, probably buoyed by a combination of the enhanced training and being chased down by a particularly quick ginger chap (if nothing else, I am determined that I should be the fastest ginger runner in any race!) who is one of those annoying people who seems naturally fast without any training. As usual, I enjoyed it - even the ridiculous hill and stile combination at mile five.

With less than 24 hours rest, I then had to tackle the final Fourmidables Event, which necessitated another drive into the wilds of Shropshire - again the heavy rain. With the results of previous races meaning that, barring a catastrophe, I was guaranteed to finish second senior male - I could ease off a bit. We started in driving rain and annoyingly my Garmin decided not pick up a signal for the first half mile so I couldn't really pace myself properly.

Over the first two miles, I passed a steady stream of runners before the course went defiantly off road for the next section. The heavy rain meant that it was extremely slippy underfoot but I managed to stay ahead of the chasing pack - even lucking out when I crossed a field just in advance of a herd of cows, forcing those behind me to stop and wait. 

After a short climb, the rest of the course was pretty much steady or downhill but nevertheless I felt it in the legs after the day before and was glad to cross the finish line at the Gnosall Carnival to a smattering of applause. I have to say that I was impressed with the old-school nature of it - there was even a coconut shy and a tug of war competition. 

Impressively, I managed to get slightly lost on the quarter mile walk back to the car park which meant that went I finally got home, a well-earned rest was on the cards.

Today should have been a long run, but erring on the side of caution after two straight days of hard running, decided that it would almost certainly be an invitation to an injury so took to DIY instead. Despite my recent triumphs, I was brought back to earth with a bump after arriving back on Saturday to discover that my washing machine had decided to break. My rudimentary skills couldn't do anything so it looks like a repair bill is coming my way...

Sadly, although I may have improved the running in recent months, it's not by enough that a professional career beckons. Looks like I still need the day job to bring the money in. Speaking of which, sleep beckons before my triumphant return to the workplace. It could be a long day.

Rest and Recuperation

Quite an easy week so far - not in terms of the running, where I've been maintaining some high mileage - thanks to having a week off work. Thanks to my Masters course, this is probably the first bit of leave I've had in about eight months whenI haven't had essays or required reading to occupy my  time. I must admit to feeling slightly bereft waking up on Monday morning without any required tasks. Bereft, but not exactly unpleasant!

Running wise, it's been pretty straightforward. The free time has allowed me to follow 'The Plan' to the letter - which involved the usual Monday gym session before Tuesday's recovery run was split into two separate sessions in the morning and afternoon. It felt alright doing it, but I'm not exactly sure of the benefit. I guess time will tell...

Today I managed just shy of 14 miles, on the good old Rea Valley route. It was a hard slog due to the muggy conditions which are of course one of the hazards of marathon training through the summer. Still, made it round at a consistent pace.

Tomorrow is a nice easy day, helping out with the marshalling of the club beginner's course final race,  and then the social evening (if I remember to take some cash!). All of course just the warm-up for Friday's main event, the Blakedown Bolt - my favourite race of the year!

Unexpected Benefits

Week Eight- 68 Days to Go

So another week down, and I feel surprisingly positive - and not just because I'm now off work for a whole week! My initial worries over foolishly having two races in a week have subsided, mainly because sensible scheduling meant I could put in two great performances. It was especially good considering that the first run of the week that was meant to be a recovery run turned out to be about thirty seconds a mile quicker than it should have been...

Wednesday was the second Worcestershire Midweek event - the 12k at Arrow Valley in darkest Redditch. With the weather having been very dry, the warnings that I'd been given about the muddy parts of the course didn't come into play. Instead the biggest issue was how pitted the off-road sections were - as the two people ahead of me who turned their ankles could attest. Luckily I missed the worst parts and managed to build a bit of a head of steam - so much so that I not only caught up with Andy Hall at the end of the first lap but managed to overtake him and keep ahead until the end of the race. Unexpected but really pleasing considering that generally he's a lot quicker than me.

On Thursday I was going to just go for a gentle run, but was persuaded to do my bit and take part in a  new rep session at the club that paired up quicker and slower runners for a joint run. It was really enjoyable - although foolishly I forgot to start the old Garmin so not exactly sure how far I ran. All I know is that it wasn't particularly quick after the previous days effort!

After a rest on Friday, I braved the torrential rain of Saturday morning for the Newport Carnival 10k, the penultimate Fourmidables event. It was the best race - probably due to the weather. The race coincided with the annual Carnival and the plan was for all the runners to head down Newport High Street to be cheered on by the assembled crowd. However, the rain seemed to understandably drive many away, so there was only a ripple of applause as we all passed. I didn't seem to check the time for the rest of the race, so it came as a bit of a shock when I stumbled over the line, feeling absolutely dreadful and having been comprehensively beaten on a sprint finish, to find that I'd run a PB. It was probably helped by the fact that the offroad element was minimal and the last mile was basically downhill - but nevertheless I'll take it.

Following that little fillip, Sunday's long run down the canal into town and back was no bother - if you discount the stiffness in the legs and the exhaustion after mile 15. Despite that, I managed a consistent pace and slightly longer than last week. I'm looking forward to a rest day tomorrow, and a proscribed recovery run on Tuesday (bizarrely schedule in two parts).

At least not having to go to work as well should make it slightly easier!

Canals

75 Days to Go

Well that's another week down and so far things seem on course. Thursday was a recovery run down at the club - depressingly everyone else was committed to the rep session so another steady plod on my own was the order of the day (this is starting to become a familiar experience!). I had a catch up with Mike afterwards - he was planning on running the Worcester race that I decided to dip out of (and actually ran a really good time, so a great result!).

Friday was a switched rest day following my exam exertions on Monday so I just went to the gym and started looking forward to my first weekend with absolutely nothing planned in about eight months.

Sadly, this didn't mean a completely relaxing day - there was an inordinate amount of shopping and tackling of the overgrown jungle that is my garden to be done. Nevertheless, I still managed to get in the mandated seven mile run. For reasons that weren't exactly clear, this was supposed to be done in the afternoon which meant braving Cannon Hill at the busiest time of day. Luckily I managed to find a secluded part to do some 100m strides away from prying eyes.

Sunday morning brought the longest run so far and I thought that I would take advantage of the decent weather by hitting the canal out towards Stratford. Shamefully, despite living in the area for almost five years, I've never run out further than the Alcester Road. Every year I take part in a relay race from Stratford to Brum and know that the final checkpoint is at a pub called the Bluebell Cider House which is about eight miles out of town, so decided to make for that. 

It was a really nice run, incredibly quiet almost as soon as I cleared the part of the canal near Maypole, although my rudimentary distance calculations seemed worryingly off as the miles ticked by and the pub showed no sign of appearing. Thankfully, after an hour and a half it suddenly appeared from around a bend, so after a quick refuel (I have learned to my cost that energy gels don't agree with me - energy sweets on the other hand...) I set off back.

Psychologically, it's always easier on the return even though its obviously the same distance, and I managed to maintain the same pace even as the miles began to stack up. That said, the final one back up the Alcester Road was a tough slog but I managed to get in done. So 19.5 miles in the bank for the day and 56 for the week - and crucially not feeling absolutely obliterated in the aftermath!

So a rest day tomorrow and then next week brings two (spectacularly poor planning on my part again) races - the second Worcester Midweek at Redditch and then the penultimate Fourmidables event on Saturday. It breaks up the long runs I suppose - but its still a good job they're only 10k a piece!

Normal Service Resumed

Week Seven - 79 Days to Go

First post in a while after an enforced absence - last week was a mandated recovery week, which meant less running. Handily this was a good thing as on Monday I sat my first and only exam for my Masters this year. Having not had the pleasure of a written exam for about 13 years, it was a fairly terrifying experience - compounded by the fact it all took place in an old gym which gave me flashbacks to my GCSEs!

Anyway, out of the way now so nothing else to occupy my spare time apart from training and rehearsals for my stage debut (here on the 6th July). Yesterday I went out and managed a five mile threshold run along the canal. As per usual, I was for too quick - which made for an undignified spectacle on the last mile. Even more concerning was that the five miles finished just by a children's play area - the one place you shouldn't really stand around panting and sweating profusely....

Tonight was my now customary run home from work, and as is now also customary the weather was very pleasant. It was so nice (and to be honest I felt in such good shape) that I added an extra mile and a bit on the end to make a half marathon distance. The pace was pretty consistent, save for the inevitable road crossings and having to negotiate a small army of ducks in Highbury Park. It seems the recovery week has done the trick, so far 'The Plan' is doing the business.

The next few days are planned to be easy runs, building for the weekend. For reasons I can't really remember, I've entered a 10k race in Worcester on Sunday morning. However, I think that I may be giving it a miss - although I think I'm in the kind of shape for a sub-40 minute time, it probably won't be any use for the training regime which calls for a 18-plus run on the Sunday. Besides, the Droitwich 10k is booked in for a few weeks time. Hopefully post-marathon I can reap the benefits of the training and post some quick times over the shorter distances.

Poor choice of words for a blog about marathon training but best not to walk before you can run!