First Day Back

Week Four - 101 Days to Go

Just a quick entry tonight, I have been woefully neglecting reading for the solitary Uni exam in a few weeks, instead I've spend the night aimlessly browsing the internet and posting unnecessarily vague announcements on Facebook.

The rest over the weekend appeared to have done the trick, the nine miles this evening felt alright (apart from the first couple obviously) and I finished it off with some 100m strides along the old Cannon Hill gravel pitch - much to the amusement of a group of rude boys and a bemused father playing cricket with his kids. Humiliation is part and parcel of running, probably due to the ill advised lycra.

Checking good old Strava afterwards I noticed it was at a quicker pace than last week, even with the extra mile, so quite pleasing. The real test will come tomorrow with the big run back from work. 'The Plan' calls for 14 miles. I think it's doable, but with the mileage increasing steadily, and with the prospect of the longest run so far pencilled in for Sunday, I feel this week will either make or break me. 

Fingers crossed. See you on the other side. 

The Morning After..

What a difference the few days since my last post have made! We've had a General Election, so as far as I know my job may already have been outsourced the lowest bidder - currently I'm sat on my Parent's sofa in a state of blissful ignorance.

My trip to the old country has been for an old friends wedding, a really pleasant day out catching up with everyone was had. The weather came good and much was consumed - as a consequence of course there was no running this weekend. This is perhaps a good thing as I think that I may have twinged a muscle during my attempt at the Sherrifhales Shuffle last week so a couple of days rest may not be the worst idea in the long run.

My last actual run was Friday morning before I set off - supposedly another 4 mile threshold session however I dropped off quite dramatically after the first mile. What was supposed to be run at half marathon pace ended up being about twenty seconds slower. I blame post-election malaise - the bloody Tories ruining my running along with everything else...

No other non-running distractions planned at weekends before the big day now (except for a couple of contractually obligated working weekends) so it's full steam ahead. Seeing some of my club mates posting some impressive short distance times much better than my current ones has awakened that pesky competitive instinct. As a result, I've taken the opportunity of a change in my work shifts to enter a cheeky 10k race in Worcester at the start of June.

I should really be doing a long run on that day, but I'll sort something out and damn the consequences...

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....

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....

The Long Weekend

112 Days to Go

I've finally made it to the first Bank Holiday of May, the last week may have seemed like it lasted for  about four months, but I still made it!

So the second week of training is almost over, with only a few minor changes due to seemingly never-ending car issues (thankfully now resolved). I managed just shy of 9 miles on Wednesday before my induction into the terrifying role of Communications Officer for my running club. It's a good job I've started this blog or I would have been entirely at sea. As it stands, I think I'll be able to survive until Christmas when I have to set up some online payments - then it'll probably be best to go and hide for a few weeks.

Yesterday was a gentle run at club, about six miles at 8 minute mile pace with Rich and Stu. Rich gave me a thorough debrief of his London Marathon experience - it does get quite sobering when someone else mentions that a sub-3 hour marathon basically involves doing 6.52 per mile for 26 miles. I must admit to living somewhat in a state of blissful ignorance, probably still being on a high from last weekend's exploits so it helps to focus the mind somewhat and help to set realistic goals. 

Today I managed about 9 miles down the canals, starting at a steady pace and building up towards the end - even managing to make it up Alcester Road without embarrassing myself! All in all, a productive week - now for a day off before tackling the Sheriffhales Shuffle on Sunday. It's the second race of the Four-midables Series and after the debacle of the first one, promises to be possibly the best marshalled race in the world...

Here we go again...

A rest day as prescribed on Monday, although I did head to the gym to try and stretch out the sore muscles after Sunday's exertions. In the evening, acting class started again for the final term. I spent ten minutes of it pretending to cook a meal in a variety of situations. As you do.

It's only the second week of training and already real life has started it's infernal meddling. The car was in for it's MOT which it unsurprisingly failed. My reaction however showed how the running has begun to obsess me - not "how much is it going to cost?" but "how am I going to manage my mid-week long effort without running home from work?". The first world problems of average club runners eh?

Today was eight miles with ten sets of 100m strides thrown in for good measure. The hardest part was finding somewhere of suitable length were I could accelerate unimpeded. Thankfully I had a brainwave of using the asphalt pitch at Cannon Hill. It worked like a charm - and with no-one around to offer a helpful critique...

Tomorrow I'll try to get some form of longish run in before I have my indoctrination into the role of Club Communications Officer. Soon all the passwords will be mine and I will control everything!

(I am aware this makes me sound like some sort of low rent Bond villain)

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...