Author: Buck

Getting Real.

I had another bad blip with my training last week, missed 2 days. Then I was back at it with a vengeance. One of the days wanted an 8 -15K race. It was blowing a gale (30+ mph winds) so I did a 10K run with a flat out 5K. Even with the killer wind I was only 2 seconds shy of a sub 20. (20.01), the next day was 18 miles at 7.30- 8.10. I’ve only got two shifts this week so I am on top of my training. Good job, it’s 3 weeks on Sunday until my marathon. You’d think that means my plan is ramping down, but it’s 11 mile with 6x .6 of a mile sprints tomorrow, 15 mile the day after, 8, 6, 20. The good news is my watch has started revising my predicted marathon time downwards again. It’s been creeping up for weeks. Currently saying 3.07:12, which is 7.10 m/m pace for 26 miles. It all depends on my endurance. And the wind. Blackpool is on the seafront so it’s always windy. My PB is 3.15, so 3.07 would be halfway there. Another good thing this week. I’ve got 2 pairs of racing shoes. I’ve got 2 pairs of shoes that are supposed to be racing shoes (one is wearing out the other is not so good for racing) and I’ve got 2 pairs of everyday trainers. The trouble is the everyday trainers, the one’s I should be using on all but sprints sessions and actual races, are not that clever. I had Saucony Speed 2 and they were great. Do everything. Fast runs, everyday runs, they were a bit uncomfortable after half marathon distance, but apart from that they were ideal. And they were hard wearing. I got 700 miles out of them. But when I got the Speed 3 they’ve lost their way. They don’t feel fast, they don’t throw you forward into a run like the Speed 2, they just feel ploddy. I got the the Asics Novablast, as they were supposed to be a good everyday trainer, and they are comfortable and durable, but again they are ploddy. They lack the Saucony ‘speedroll’ tech. So I’ve got racers that are too flimsy for everyday training and everyday trainers that are too slow to be do anything but recovery runs. So many shoes, but the biggest part of my training needs wasn’t being met. I risked my arm and ordered a pair of Saucony Triumph 21. They aren’t plated like the Speed but they have the speedroll design and lots of padding for long distance comfort. What a revelation! They feel like the Speed 2! Good if you want to do a long, fair paced, run. Better if you want to speed it up. I hope Saucony don’t mess this model up. I’ll still get my miles out of the other trainers, they are not going to waste. The Speed 3 are on 253 miles, the Novablast on 370, my […]

Continue reading

Brutal Plan

I missed one day’s training this week, it was just a recovery 6 mile run and I was busy renting a van and collecting a sofa for Lisa so I let it slide. But it was a tough week. Up at 06.20 to run 14 miles before work on one day, 21 miles long run (in the 7.30 -8.10 range, did it at 7.58). Hard. That’s the longest run of the plan and there are no more long runs with X miles at race pace, so it’s downhill to the marathon from here. The positives are; I’ve not really been bothered with the groin strain since seeing the doctor. Hopefully when I get my scan they’ll say I just pulled something and I’m fine. It wasn’t cancer and running isn’t triggering it, so that’s great. If I get the all clear I’ll slowly and gently incorporate rowing back into my training. I’ve not been triggering the plague weakness. I feel a bit rough now, but it was a long and fairly hard run, I expect to feel achey and a bit hungry, but I’m not ‘lie on the floor and cry’ weak. You immediately forget about the plague as soon as it passes, but I feel rough enough that I’m reminded now. And it’s great not to have it. I’m committing to doing the work. Getting up early to do long runs or doing them after work. I don’t have much confidence for Blackpool marathon being a PB, but I reckon if I stick to this plan I could get sub 3. Interesting aside; it wasn’t until I was talking to someone on the socials that I realised I was doing the 55 mile a week plan last time, and Camille’s plan was based on about 55 miles a week. The plan I’ve jumped to now is 70 miles per week. Oops. That explains a lot. Success is finding the price you have to pay and being willing to pay it. If I commit to about 70 miles a week, then cycling through the whole of this plan again before Frankfurt, I reckon I could make some big inroads on the sub 3. I don’t know what I’ll do when I finally get it. Maybe move into Ultras or fast Halves or competitive eating. Or just go back to random fun runs with no target. I don’t think I’ll try and maintain sub 3 level. It’s so much hard work and pain. Unless I reach that level and start finding it reasonable. I’m starting to get old. And my BPD is a lot less with age. It was only just over 2 years ago I confidently announced I was going smash sub 3 that year. After 2 months of no running with a knackered foot. And I believed it. Just work, suffer, smash it. 2 years later and the BPD has dropped right off and I’m full of doubts. The other thing is I don’t have to worry about the […]

Continue reading

Back On The Horse!

I’ve stuck to my training this week. Last week I only did 18 miles the whole week, this week I’ve done 52. I missed one day, but that was before I refocused my mojo. Since then I’ve done 5 days straight. Including the run after work. When I did that one I knew I was back on track. Today I had the Advanced Marathoning plan long run. This week it was 16 miles, 12 of them at race pace. I thought I might as well see where I stood so I did it as 1.5 mile warm up, 13.1 (half marathon) flat out, then just over a mile home. I started off with a 6.42, 6.49, 6.52, 6.57, 6.47, 6.57 but then I lost it. 7.00, 7.02, 7.00, 7.03, 7.03, 7.08, 7.02. It was astoundingly hard. I was desperate to quit for virtually all of it, so I’m really pleased I kept going. I was so close to quitting loads of times. I finished with a 1.31:08, which is nearly 2 minutes slower than my PB. Overall it’s still my 4th fastest ever Half, and I didn’t leave a single second in reserve, so I am satisfied with it. If you start half-arseing your training, as I have been over the last few weeks, it’s inevitable you are going to lose speed and endurance. In other good news, my appointment to see a “clinician” on Sunday was with a real doctor. So they’ve not completely destroyed the GP service yet. The doctor examined me and gave me lots of prods. He said it was most likely either a muscle strain or a sports hernia. He said I should stop exercising. It’s 6 weeks until Blackpool marathon, he clearly meant after that. He’s referred me to the hospital for an ultrasound. That will be in a few weeks. Excellent. No prostate cancer, and it’s not testicular cancer. A good week. The only other thing is I keep going back and forth on whether to get the Sainsbury’s job. Tons of money, but no life and no time to train. And always exhausted. I did apply for it, but it was with the agency I’m working for at the Royal Mail. They just ignored my application. I could apply with a different agency. We have enough money at the moment, I have good start times, and plenty of time to train. It’s mainly fear that’s making me think about changing to worst possible start time nights. We are fine now, but what about the future? Right, enough. Buck.

Continue reading

Must. Do.Better.

I’m slipping into bad habits again. Missing runs, making excuses… back to half-arseing my training. This is exactly what that article warned against. I read a tweet the other day from someone described as a world champion “I don’t do crazy workouts or crazy mileage. I just don’t miss days. consistency is my biggest weapon. I’ll break any athlete down with just how consistent I’m going to be training wise and just getting the work done.” I was also talking to someone on twitter, a younger runner who just took 11 minutes of his half marathon time since last year to get a 1.24. I asked him what plan he was using, it’s the Advanced Marathoning one. I tried that for about a year solid, and after great initial gains only improved by a minute over 10 months. He said he regularly runs 60- 70 miles a week, even when not on the plan, and has clocked a 1.21 half (the first time he went sub 3). OK, he’s younger,and presumably doesn’t do long shifts, but the secret is to just keep turning up. While I’m in this quiet period at work I must commit to training. I’ve started to turn my attitude around. I was getting to the point where I was thinking of quitting again, or just doing occasional fun runs without a plan, to try and get back to enjoying my running. I’ve forced myself out the last two days. The more I do the more I want to do. The test is tomorrow. I have a 09.00 – 18.50 shift. I should get finished earlier than that, but the point is I am a morning run person. I get up and put my running kit on, or else I might not run at all. After work I’m hungry and tired and just want to sit down. I can hardly ever be bothered to run. But I’m doing it tomorrow. And every day. Consistency. Talk is cheap, but I must do it. Every run is a success. The fact that I’m thinking this and writing it is a great sign. I’ve been very negative, looking for reasons why I couldn’t run. My watch still believes in me. It predicts a 3.05 marathon. I’ve beaten it on it’s predictions for 5K and half marathon. If I could match it for the marathon I’d be a huge step closer to sub 3. I mentioned the Advanced Marathoning not working for me after initial gains. After that runner said he was using it went back and looked at it again. You have to work out, based on your fastest times at 5k and Half, the speed you are going to run at for several instructions from the plan. For instance when given the instruction ‘Long Run’, it should be your target pace plus 10- 20%. So 6.50 m/m (sub 3 pace) means Long Runs should be run at 7.30 -8.10. (I’ve read people saying do most of it at the […]

Continue reading

Fail Better.

Today was my challenging long run. I’ve been stressing about it. I missed my run yesterday because of it. I was thinking should I do my long run yesterday, and then thinking I was going to have to suffer so much only to fail. In the end I ended up doing a hard rowing session for an hour instead. After I’d burnt off some of the stress and frantic anxiety on the rower I got my head together. 11 miles at 7.45, I can do that. Then dig in for 6 fast miles. Then it’s just an 8 m/m trot home. I worked out a good route and a good strategy (to drink as much of my energy drinks as possible before the hard miles to minimise carried weight and maximise energy/ water uptake) and went for it. I managed the 11 miles fairly comfortably, despite the wind, and was going strong. The fast miles should have been 7.00, 6.55, 6.50, 6.50, 6.45, 6.45, then 8.00 to finish. I managed the 7.00 and the 6.55 but the wind was too much for me. I did the fast miles on a mile loop, but half of it was into a strong wind, so I had to work harder but I was going slower, then run a lot faster on the other half to make up the lost time, then try and push and hold on into the wind again. It was all hard, with no time to catch my breath or just maintain. I did a 6.56, 6.58 then I quit as I was getting nowhere. Started to jog home, then regrouped and carried on. It cost me a 7.14, but the main thing is I didn’t quit. I did a 6.56 then jogged home for an 8.02. I’m happy with that. I reckon if it hadn’t been for the wind I could have done that. On previous attempts I couldn’t get below 7.00 so I quit straight away. Try. Fail. Try again. Fail better. Apart from the one weak mile where I failed mentally I was only a few seconds off the pace. I got back, put my rower on to it’s toughest setting and did half an hour to teach my lazy arse a lesson. How quickly we forget. It was only last week I was writing about triggering the plague weakness by doing a hard session on the rower. Now I have to wait, fingers crossed, to see if I got away with it. Buck.

Continue reading