The Event Horizon..

6 Days to Go

There was a time not too long ago when the thought of a 12 mile run of a Sunday morning would fill me with dread. Now, as I enter the last week of this training programme, it's a blessed relief. I thought that the old faithful route along the Rea Valley would be a nice change - before the marathon I used to   do it practically every week, nowadays I can't remember the last time I ran the whole way up to Northfield and back.

EDIT: According to the oracle that is Strava, it was at the end of March and I was twenty seconds faster than today. Ordinarily I'd be worried - but I hadn't had four months of 40-plus mile weeks back then. Actually, any excuse to be worried...

So that's just about it for the training. Next week is race week so Monday's club run will be little more than an exercise in calming the nerves, then a mandated session on Wednesday with a couple of miles at race pace before I put myself in the hands of Icelandair.

I've checked the weather and, barring a potential for showers on the day, conditions look damn near perfect. Training has gone about as well as it could. Even a natural pessimist like myself is struggling to find many negatives in the build-up.

Starting to get very nervous.

Final Tune-Up

13 Days to Go

We're almost there, and despite my initial scepticism, the race yesterday did me the world of good. The Stourbridge Stumble probably wouldn't be everyone's first choice of a tune-up run - seeing as it's mostly off road, very hilly and involves a fair chunk of running of sand - but it fit in with the plan so needs must in the circumstances.

Not for the first time during the training, I ended up running in some less than ideal weather. This time it was the heat (not sure why I'm surprised, it was August) however my previous runs home and in particular the Black Country Half meant that I was better prepared than some. Fellow Harriers Paul  Gorman and Mat Pollard seemed particularly affected by it which was a shame as they're both running well.

The race itself was the usual for Stourbridge - a steady start before a frantic dash to get a good position before the single file sections, holding off runners on the uphill sections before they passed me on the flat and then me passing them again on the sandy bit. This time I really felt the benefit of all the training as I spent the last mile in a bit of a battle with another runner before getting the jump on him in the last few hundred meters for a strong finish.

Overall, knackered but a good day at the office. So much so, I broke my detox rule and treated myself to a couple of Norwegian beers once I got home...

...which was a bit daft considering I still had to do a reasonably long run in the morning. I made it up and down the canal but it was a tough old slog. A combination of race fatigue, heat and a hangover didn't make for a particularly pleasant experience. Oh well, it was entirely self-inflicted so can't complain. At least I have the knowledge that it was the last long run I'll be doing. Until the big day obviously.

Soon be time to start packing...

Peak Performance

20 Days to Go

Made it! I'll be honest and admit that there were a few points over the last few weeks when I genuinely thought that I wouldn't, but today marked both the heaviest week in terms of mileage and the end of the hard weeks of training. From now on, it's tapering all the way.

A final 20 mile run was the order of the day, again along the canal into town before looping back through Summerfield Park - an unusual choice admittedly, but it did mean I could add another tick to my owl spotting list. Overall, it was a bit slower than previous weeks but that is probably due to deliberately trying to run the first few miles a bit slower so that I wasn't absolutely exhausted by the end. Unsurprisingly this didn't work.

Daft tactics aside, I still made it in a decent time and could reward myself with a big lunch and the knowledge that the next few weeks will involve progressively less running leading up to the big day. Of course the running will now be replaced by increasing levels of introspection. Have I put in enough training? Did I do it at the right pace? 

In the end, all this is entirely meaningless. There are only so many hours in the day and I'm pretty sure that I've spent far too many of them running in the last few weeks to the detriment of other activity. Ultimately, I've done as much training as I can. We shall see in a few weeks if it's enough...

That said, to stop myself going slightly bonkers through second guessing myself, 'The Plan' recommends a 10k race next week to clear the head. Handily, that fits in with the Stourbridge Stagger so a Saturday evening out beckons. 

Before that, I have to content with a new broom at work as our new boss starts in post tomorrow. I sense some meaningless charts in the offing...

Towards the End of Things...

26 Days to Go

Almost there! Tomorrow is the start of the final week of hard training. To be honest, it's really only the thought of the imminent tapering that is keeping me going. It was a hard slog this weekend, not only with running but also having to drive up and down the M6 to fulfil my social responsibilities.

Switched my long run to Saturday morning and managed 18 miles (this was the prescribed distance - not sure I could manage the 14 at marathon pace though) on a simple route along the canal into town and back. I managed to dodge most of the bad weather - although I should really have taken my phone so I could have snapped some of the many Owls that it has now become my mission to visit.

An important lesson was learned on the way back as by mile 16 I was really struggling and convinced  that my pace was dropping off somewhat drastically. However when I finally stumbled home and looked, the running had stayed pretty consistent. It just goes to reinforce how important the psychological aspect of any race is - particularly stupidly long ones like marathons!

After that it was a dart up the motorway for Martyn and Jen's housewarming in Warrington. A really nice day and a good catch-up with the crew and assorted children. It must have been a good night as I woke up in the kindly provided guest room with one of their cats effectively asleep on my head. At least it kept me warm!

Strange times indeed. 

Getting There Slowly

38 Days to Go

I made it through the weekend, not sure how but I did. The decision to try a 20 mile run after work on Sunday was admirable but completely stupid. Dragging myself along the Rea Valley path to the general bemusement of the public wasn't particularly pleasant - but at least I was sensible enough to go the opposite way round to normal so that I had to run down Church Road rather than up it.

On the plus side, I've found that mowing the lawn is a good warm-down exercise!

The weekend took it out of me so despite finishing the acting, I didn't head to the club on Monday or got the gym and instead just fell asleep for two hours. I did make the committee meeting, and it was nice to get a bit of praise for my recent results, although in a way it's putting added pressure on me for a good time.

Not much else exciting running wise this week. Some form of tootle out tomorrow, a spot of marshalling on Thursday and then a trip back up north for the weekend. I plan to have a relax and a few shandies with friends, run the second tune-up half marathon in glamorous Lytham and even have a bit of a run around the old haunts if time permits. 

Work wise, confusion still reigns. It appears that I still have a job, although I am not exactly sure what it involves anymore....

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!

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!

The Agony and the Ecstasy

Week Six - 88 Days to Go

One of the key things pointed out in The Plan is try and prevent real life intruding on your training where possible. Unfortunately, when this includes your football team making the Play Off Final for the first time in 21 years thus setting up a first ever trip to the new Wembley Stadium; certain sacrifices have to be made. I'm sure Mr. Pfitzinger would understand...

As such my training after Hagley went a bit to pot so I could accommodate the trip. I went down to club on Thursday evening, but the low turnout meant I went for a steady run on my own. Which also meant that I paced it horribly and went too fast. Ideally I need to find someone else who is marathon training, or at the very least willing to do the long runs with me so that my pacing stays remotely sensible. 

Friday was a long day at work with no running, so to burn off nervous energy before the big match I did about nine miles at a fair pace on Saturday morning, knowing full well that there would be nothing on Sunday regardless of the result. 

I won't bore anyone with a match report but suffice it to say that conceding an equaliser with the very last kick of the match before losing on penalties is exactly the sickener you'd expect. With a day's hindsight though I can apprectiate what a magnificent season it was - to go from being 20 seconds away from relegation to 20 seconds from promotion in twelve months is a fantastic achievement by anyone's yardstick. As they say though, you must experience the lows to appreciate the highs - so let's hope for better next season.

Big Day Out at Wembley

As today was a Bank Holiday, I attempted the long run. In the end I managed fifteen miles (including a brief detour for a toilet break) but it was hard work. I can only blame post-play off ennui so much though, it was probably just one of those days. 

For the rest of the week a combination of work, revision and the occasional run is planned. Hopefully this will be the last of the weeks where slight rescheduling is necessary. By this time next Monday I will have ceased to be a student (until September) so my life will hopefully have some semblance of free time restored...

Ebb and Flow

96 Days to Go

I mentioned in the last post that this week would likely make or break me - the overall verdict appears to be somewhere inbetween.

My midweek long run went well, just shy of 14 miles and almost pleasant in the sun and with a slight breeze. Casting my mind back to my first marathon, and the training that appeared to take place entirely in driving wind and rain, I realise that so far I've been fortunate with the conditions that I've been running in. I also realise that by writing this I have cursed this for the next few months.

On Thursday I went down to the club and decided to take part in the rep session, but trying to maintain a slower pace. The session was one of the favourites - Kenyan Hills down at Cotteridge Park (the hilly part appeals to the sadist in me). I stuck with Simon Newman, who is running ridiculously well after all his training for the Manchester Marathon a few weeks back, it really helped and was a good steady session - although I have to take issue with Strava which claimed that he was faster than me despite us running side by side for the entire time!

Come Friday I was looking forward to a good run after work - if for no other reason that to work out the frustration over the latest high farce at work. Sadly, disaster struck - I noticed through the day that my foot was getting increasingly tight and by the time I drove home it was pretty noticeable. Cursing my luck, I knew a run was out of the question and sat inside to stew.

All kinds of thoughts run through my mind - injury? overtraining? I wasn't planning to run on Saturday anyway but a rational mind would just have a few days off and see how it went. However, as a runner I am anything but rational so I strapped the offending appendage for the rest of the day and resolved to test the waters on Sunday.

As it went, on Sunday morning I felt ok so gingerly set out for a long run. Things got better as they went on - for the first time I probably did the run as intended with a slow start and then speeding up as it went on. Several hours later, sat watching Match of the Day, I don't feel any ill effects so we will see what tomorrow brings.

Certainly the last few days leaves me in a bit of a quandary. Friday could be a bit of a blip or the start of something more serious. Consulting 'The Plan' it seems that currently I fall between two stools - quicker than one plan, but maybe not fit enough for the next step up. I may try sticking to the intensity of the current plan, but reduce the mileage slightly. This will require some mental effort on my part which I'm not happy about.

On an unrelated note, I went to see this on Saturday. It was bloody great.

On a second unrelated note, this much?! For a League Two Playoff?!

The Hump of the Week

Halfway through week three of 'The Plan' and two longish runs in the bag - although it was particularly poor planning on my part that tonight's 13 mile effort coincided with my having to work until 6 o'clock...

The day started with us being graced with a visit from the newest member of the Senior Leadership Team. Management Bingo full house was declared when she vowed to spend a significant amount of time with us (translation: "I will only be here to deliver bad news or when one or all of you drop in the shit" - which on current form will likely be quite soon). After that it was knuckling down to the usual spreadsheets and things.

The run home was surprisingly pleasant, with the gale force winds having subsided and just cloudy grey skies overhead. I do have a sneaking suspicion that the weather in Reykjavik this August will be quite similar.

I managed to keep a nice steady pace, although the last few miles through Cannon Hill were a bit of a slog - probably due to the late hour. At the moment I'm glad that the training is through the summer as excessive long runs in the dark would probably break me.

Tomorrow is a nice easy day helping out with the Beginners Group at club as well as fulfilling my democratic right to cast a meaningless vote in a safe seat at the General Election. At least it will give me the mandate to complain for the next five years.

Or eighteen months on current polling predictions....

Confidence Building

A surprisingly productive weekend on a number of fronts. It was of course the last one before marathon training begins properly (Monday 20th is D-Day) and hit a couple of milestones. 

I decided to head down to Parkrun for this first time in almost a year. Officially my last visit was three  years ago, however I did make an incognito appearance last July as part of a somewhat unconventional date (that didn't go anywhere either, this seems to be a recurring pattern). In the end it went well and my time of 19:33 was only six seconds off my 5k PB - although on my Garmin it was actually 19:28. I could probably have been a bit quicker as well if I hadn't a) rolled out of bed about 45 minutes before the start and b) not started too far back in the ridiculously big crowd of participants.

My main reason for going was psychological. More than most, as any race approaches,  I suffer from doubts about my ability to maintain a pace over the distance. So with the Stratford half next week, a quick 5k at about 25 seconds a mile faster than my target for then allows me to think that a decent time and consistent running is possible. Silencing those nagging doubts will be crucial as the miles stack up over the next few months.

Today I did my usual 10 miles circuit down the Rea Valley. It wasn't the quickest, but crucially I felt pretty fresh both during and afterwards. We'll see how I feel next week after the first week of proper training has taken it's toll.

On a non-running matter, I also made a big dent in my final University essay of the year. This was particularly pleasing, I've struggled and procrastinated over it for the past few weeks - but in my defence I think most people would struggle to sum up any aspect of the Arab-Israeli conflict in only 3000 words...

Prologue - 29th March 2015

I am somewhere along the River Rea cycle path, past Kings Norton park. British Summer Time has emerged, as promised, with wind and driving rain and I am definitely struggling. The whole point was to run angry, to work out my frustrations, but although the mind is willing the legs and refusing to play. It's too late to turn back and besides, there are other runners from the club coming up behind. 

Yesterday was the Midlands Road Relays, and I ran an absolutely terrible race. The slowest of the whole team, only by one second, but it might as well have been one minute. I could rationalise it by blaming the travel up and down the M6 the day before, arriving back home at one in the morning. Blaming the fact that my tea last night comprised a couple of sandwiches bought from a late night Sainsbury's. That everyone else in the team was reaching the end of their marathon training, doing thirty or forty miles more than me each week. But the simple fact is, that I wasn't good enough.

I used to laugh at the other runners in the club who document every training mile, obsess over the minutiae of every race. I realise that I have become just the same. In an odd way, this bodes well for the next few months.

Last May I ran the Liverpool Marathon. The training was the hardest I've ever done, only surpassed by the last mile of the race. In the end I exceeded my expectations and ran 3:05:29 - only thirty seconds outside a Good for Age qualifying time for the London Marathon. At the time this didn't bother me, but over the next few months it began to eat away at me and, with finding a gap in my ever-ending cycle of work and study, decided that this year I would attempt to reach that qualifying time. 

So on the 22nd August I will be running another marathon and, in keeping with my impulsive and generally irrational nature, will be doing it in Reykjavik. 

I was going to start this blog in a few weeks time when the training begins, but after this weekend decided that now might be more appropriate. Every story needs a journey, so why not begin at a low ebb? Hopefully it will make the achievement all the sweeter...

This morning I pushed on, the ache in the legs subsided and the last few miles were almost bearable. After drying off, I checked my run on Strava (what was I saying about obssession?) and found that I beat my previous best time heading back along Cartland Road.

Today's learning: always prepare properly and prepare to push on.