The Business End

8 Days to Go

The big day looms ever closer, this time next week I'll probably be entertaining thoughts of an early night before the race when in reality I'll be lying awake all night. Before then, I reached another milestone with my final session of speed work of the whole programme.

To the general bemusement of my running comrades, I decided to enter the annual BRAT 5k that takes place around Rowheath. People wondered why on earth I was doing it a week before the race but there was method in my madness. 'The Plan' called for 8 miles running with 3 x 1500 hard reps, so I thought that an actual 5k race would be an adequate substitute.

There is also the fact that this particular race and I have unfinished business. It was the first proper race that I ever ran - only a few weeks after joining the club and only to try and impress a girl. After wheezing my way around for the first time and cursing myself for my stupidity I developed a special hatred for the event - compounded by the subsequent three years when I failed to dip under 20 minutes on each occasion.

This year, the race again lived up to billing with a hard slog over two laps leaving me absolutely knackered at the end. That said, I did manage to knock twenty seconds off last year's time so a good psychological boost for next week. No doubt despite my protestations I'll be back again next year - who knows, I might even learn to pace it properly rather than going all guns blazing at the downhill start and frantically trying to hang on at the end...

One more 12 mile run booked in for Sunday and then it's basically all over bar the shouting. Time to start packing.

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...

Last Big Effort

33 Days to Go

Final big warm-up race today and like the Black Country Half a fortnight ago, the weather put paid to a really quick time. I headed up the Fylde Coast to sunny Lytham to take part in the Windmill Half Marathon and although the temperature had dropped from the last few days, there was a really strong headwind to contend with.

The course was almost pancake flat, so good practice for the terrain at Reykjavik, but the wind was about 20 mph and thanks to the race being two laps meant that just over half of it was run straight into it. It became pretty apparent after about six miles that this wasn't going to be a PB day - in fact checking Strava afterwards, the wind-less sections were well ahead of my best time, but were cancelled out by the windy ones. 

So I ended about 45 seconds off my PB, but I wasn't too disappointed given the conditions. Most importantly I managed to pace things properly, wasn't overtaken by anyone, and finished strongly. Two more weeks of hard training and then the blessed relief of the taper. Overall, I'm feeling quietly confident of a decent showing on the big day.

Actually, the best thing about today was the amazing medals they were giving out to all finishers. I'm pretty sure that you'd have to go a long way to find a better one..

Getting the Monkey off your back...

42 Days to Go

It's getting closer. Just as Monday's play became a horribly tangible reality a few weeks ago, so the Marathon begins to loom ever larger. I was shocked at work today when I looked and saw that the race is now only seven weeks away.

Luckily today has been a successful, if busy one. The play was absolutely amazing, fluffed lines and missed queues aside (to be honest, no-one in the audience really noticed). Hopefully we will be doing something else as a group - I've even embraced the modern world and joined a WhatsApp group with some of them! Handily, the proposed day for more acting shenanigans is Wednesday - which means that I can finally return to Bournville for both club training sessions!

Another big milestone reached this week, with my first proper sub-40 minute 10k race at Droitwich for the third Worcestershire Midweek Series event. To say I was surprised is a bit of an understatement, particularly after I only remembered about the race on the morning. I also didn't have the best warm-up with the longest jog from the car park to the start that I've ever seen and a course that was a lot more undulating than advertised. Despite this, I managed to drag myself round in a great time - probably spurred on by the approaching Bournville pack and a man who appeared to be twice my age!

After a first ever Yoga session at the club last night (which taught me two things - I don't stretch enough, and that yoga bloody hurts) and a dash out after work tonight, I'm set fair for the weekend. Unfortunately this means two days of work and what is down in the schedule as the longest run of the whole training programme! Assuming I make it to Monday morning in one piece, I think I'll be in a good position to place a time estimate for the big day - especially with the last big warm-up race in the diary for next weekend. 

As an extra bonus, I'll be likely in so much pain come Monday from all this running that it might distract me from the meeting scheduled for the afternoon to finally reveal the future details of my employment. Bad news can always be digested much easier with lactic acid build-up...

The heat is on...

48 Days to Go

Blimey, it's been hot!

I managed 13 miles home from work on Tuesday evening after deciding it was likely to be the coolest  evening this week - that said, I still managed to down a litre bottle of water on the way back. Just as well, otherwise it would have been a particularly unpleasant experience. Wednesday was supposed to be a VO2 max workout, but a combination of the hottest day of the year and final rehearsals for the stage debut (Tickets still available) rather sensibly put paid to that.

After a nice strength workout at club on Thursday, and a quick blast on Friday, the stage was set for the Birmingham Black Country Half Marathon on Saturday. It's a straight point to point along the canal from Wolverhampton back to Brum with the flat terrain pretty similar to Reykjavik so a decent choice for a tune up race.

My plan was to try and maintain slightly quicker than the planned marathon pace - which with the temperature in the mid twenties was going to easier said than done. When I signed up for the race, I was mindful that previous years have seen the race extended to about 14 miles due to a repair enforced detour, so set a conservative estimated time in anticipation. As it happened, the canal was now fully fixed so the race was back to the right distance but my estimated time was useful as it gave me a constant stream of people to run at.

The race was tough in the conditions, but I consoled myself with the knowledge that the marathon in eight weeks will be run in temperatures at best half of what they were today. My overall time of 1:30:58 was pleasing as well - it meant that I was slightly quicker than marathon pace as intended. The mileage was pretty consistent as well, with most within five seconds of each other. The only outlier was the one involving running through the infamous canal tunnel at Coseley. 300m in the murky darkness is faintly terrifying.

So just a long run to brave tomorrow and then another week of training ticked off. My reward in the evening will be a trip to gig for the first time in months and then the play on Monday. Having a social life again following the Uni course is taking some getting used to!

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.

"Crisis? What Crisis?"

Week Five - 93 Days to Go

Although willing to be proved wrong, it seems my fears at the back end of last week may have been misplaced. The two runs so far this week have been great, with a surprisingly good showing tonight at the Hagley 10k. I don't think that I'm psychologically cut out for running - being one of life's natural pessimists added to the inevitable niggles that come from training leaves me thinking that I am permanently on the verge of falling apart...

Anyway, back to tonight and the first race of the Worcestershire Midweek Series. I had wanted to try this last year but it sadly didn't fit in with my marathon training. This year however I thought that a few Wednesday night races would break up the training monotony so travelled over to Hagley for the first event.

I  must admit, it is a nice part of the world. Seemingly quiet and rural it reminds me a bit of home - albeit infinitely more hilly. The race was two laps over mainly bridle paths utilising parts of the Stourbridge Stagger/Stumble course. Armed with some inside knowledge that the best option at the start was to go hell for leather due to the race quickly turning left onto a narrow path, I was initially worried that I'd be able to maintain the pace. I think familiarity with part of the course helped and as I finished the first lap in just over 20 minutes started to focus on ensuring that I was the first Bournville finisher.

Lap two was certainly tougher, with the field spread out there were fewer opportunities to catch your breath behind a slower runner on the single file parts and the long uphill sandy section had been significantly churned up. Nevertheless, I managed to weather the storm and after engaging in a futile battle with a much quicker runner, crossed the line in 40:14.

My initial delight and slight confusion in seemingly almost running a 10k PB on a multi-terrain course was soon halted when I realised that the race was about .15 of a mile short of the full distance. That said, despite not admitting to any obsessive qualities, I later worked out what the time would have been over the full distance and it would easily have knocked a minute off my best multi-terrain time.

So overall, a pleasing couple of days training wise. I wish the same could be said for work - a 10-6 shift tomorrow will hopefully allow me to get back for training at the club barring any traffic madness. Based on my last late finish on club night however, I may be lucky to make it back before nightfall...

The Sheriffhales Shuffle

110 Days to Go

As promised, a reasonably quiet weekend - except for the frantic dash to complete all my outstanding chores. There was at least the cathartic release of returning an enormous selections of books to the library having finished my last outstanding essay (although it was slightly dampened by having to then take out another selection to assist with revision for next month's exam!)

Whilst Saturday was quiet, Sunday meant another reasonably early dash out to darkest Shropshire to run the Sheriffhales Shuffle, which was the second race of the Fourmidables Series which I signed up for almost on a whim due to the faint promise of personal glory.

The weather was terrible when I woke up and as I drove up the M6 I thought of those club mates who had paid the extortionate sum of £25 to run the Birmingham 10k in the pouring rain and no chance of a decent time. Thankfully for me, the rain stopped as I entered more rural climes and by the time I'd parked up, the first hint of blue sky could be seen.

The race itself was 7 mile of multi-terrain and like all multi-terrain races, the Shuffle started with a nice easy part to lull you into a false sense of security - in this case a half mile section along a road before heading straight into fields and a steady uneven climb that really spread the the competition out. Soon we were thankfully back on firmer ground and heading through the middle of the Lilleshall complex (worryingly with an archery competition in full effect) followed by a long descent along the road which helped to get the breath back.

After about four miles I realised that one runner was making a concerted effort to catch me and by about four and a half was very inconsiderately trying to slipstream me as we started the second big climb. I moved to one side to force him past, so as we forded the hill and turned back onto the road we were effectively level. It was then I realised to my delight that he had effectively used all his energy reaching me, allowing me to push back past him as we reached the six mile marker.

The final mile was either downhill or flat and I knew the chap wasn't going to get back at me. Looking back later, the final mile was 6:15 which bodes well for future weeks. In the end I finished tenth in 48:58, averaging just under seven minute miles. Sadly, my plans for Senior Male glory in the series looked to have been scuppered by an inconsiderately quick sod who appears to have decided to enter the whole series. Oh well, at least I'll never be short of towels at this rate..

Although 'The Plan' wasn't exactly followed today - I was supposed to do 14 miles with seven at marathon pace, seeing as the Shuffle was just about 7 miles I can probably ignore the warm-up and just count the race as sufficient effort. That said, nagging doubts mean that I may take advantage of tomorrow's Bank Holiday to do a long run....

Reflections

117 Days to Go

So the first week is safely out of the way. Consultation of 'The Plan' shows that completing the first one should be done without feeling too tired. I agree with this assessment, the legs are still slightly sore but that is probably due to this morning's attempt at the Shakespeare Half Marathon.

I had the race booked in before I decided on this ridiculous marathon based course of action, but seeing as the training called for 15 miles today I thought that doing 13.1 quickly would be about the same. It also helped psychologically - last year Stratford was my final tune-up race before the Liverpool Marathon so I reasoned it would be good to do it at the start of this training cycle to gauge whereabouts I stand in the scheme of things.

Pretty well as it turns out - a PB by 46 seconds was unexpected but very pleasing. Managing to roughly maintain the pace over the majority of the course (except for the ridiculous hill) shows that the stamina is heading in the right direction and passing fellow Harrier Jon Hammond - who is usually much quicker than me -  after 10 miles confirmed it. As it happens I was only passed once, and that was by the obligatory elderly marathoner with the leathery teak skin.

The only note of concern (there has to be one, it's in my nature) was how energy sapping the final three miles along the Greenway were. It was completely flat and a bit dusty, which will be similar to the final 10k at Reykjavik. I was struggling this morning so dread to think what it will be like in similar conditions after 20 miles and then twice the distance. I'll have to be in decent shape if I'm not going to fall at the last hurdle.

A job well done then. Tomorrow I'll be taking advantage of the complete lack of supervision at work to finish off the final Uni essay of the year. In the evening, acting class starts again for the final term with the terrifying prospect of an actual performance at the end of it.

I know nothing of what is planned - except that it is likely going to be a bit of Brecht. As a vaguely uncultured Northern type I also know next to nothing about his oeuvre, but as long as it can be performed in a Preston accent I should be ok...