Running on holiday and a running dilemma!

London Marathon training 11 weeks to go!

Key - Purple - Kelly John - orange Blue both of us 

Monday 22nd January 2017 

Woke up today feeling ready to start the plan again...went out with the aim of running 6 miles...got 1 mile out and was coughing loads and couldn't breath. Decided to stop and head home. Try again tomorrow. 

A lonely 7 miles recovery for me where the legs were being kind to me after a weekend of racing.

Tuesday 23rd January 2017

I opted for a lie in today in the hope that it would give my lungs some time to recover! At lunchtime we had our first Teachers Running Club! A lovely 2 miles without any children for a change! 

In the evening, John had a sports massage booked so I ran there with him and then planned to do another 5 or so...once again I was coughing still so decided to cut it short at 3.5 miles. Unfortunately, I had timed my run perfectly with the 1000s of Bristol City fans who were walking to the City-Man city game. While I wide selection of choice phrases were shouted at me I did start to regret not having longer shorts!!!! 

Sports massage in the evening meant for 10 miles in the morning. Going out at 5ish did mean the usual 20 mins or so before the run felt like it got going but otherwise I was running well and enjoying it and seemed to have avoided any post race DOMS - result. 

Wednesday 24th January 2017

Today I ran in the evening and John joined me for the first 2 miles. I was keen to try and get some speed joining today as I was feeling better. Managed an average pace of 7:51 with a few miles at 7:30. Defiantly feeling better now. 

More sleep lost with another early rise, the intention was to give my body the best rest/prep before Thursday night's Prom Race. Although this did mean missing running club in the evening, it did mean I felt good all day having banked 13 miles early doors and ate loads throughout the day with a smile on my face - 30 miles on the clock for the week so far. In hindsight the run was a little hillier than ideal for the day before a race (1000ft of elevation) but I was running steady and before today I'd done all of my running on the Portway and was glad of a change of scenery. 

Thursday 25th January 2017

After thinking I was better, last night I woke up multiple times coughing. Clearly running fast yesterday didn't help. I had a meeting in the evening so I couldn't race at Prom - luckily my amazing team did a brilliant job. Decided to take today off. 

Weston Prom Race -  After days of feeling fresh, running sensible and being relatively rested meant for great confidence., race #3 of 30 for the year so far, I set off from the start line wanting a good result. Splits were: 5:33, 5:40, 5:46, 5:33 & 5:35, an official position and time of 11th with 28:03 (Frustrating close to a Sub28!!). A good time and a top10 best at the event for me but I left the race feeling a little deflated. After 6 weeks of strong marathon training and a couple of days of sensible running and relative tapering I really wanted a PB. Conditions were conducive, good temp and very still but I just couldn't quite get the legs spinning. Even after 3 miles warming up I didn't quite have the looseness/supple race legs to run the pace I wanted. This could be down to a number of factors: racing twice the previous weekend, coming down with some of the GFRG's poorliness, a lack of shorter race distance specific speed work etc or could just have been a bad day. Marathon training wise it was good to bank 5 miles of lactate threshold running and if I were able to have a conversation with past John of a couple of years a go and offer a 28minute prom time I'd of taken it without a second though - take the positives and move on.

Friday 26th January 2017

Today was suuuper exciting. We were going away for John's 30th Birthday this weekend. I had actually managed to keep it a surprise so I was desperate to tell him where we were going...Switzerland! 

Once I'd shown him all the flight and hotel details, we only had time for a quick 3 miles. I then went home and got packing! 

After school, John picked me up, we drove to the airport and were off to Geneva! 

A very exciting morning, waking up to find out we were off to Switzerland in the evening! Geneva has always been on the bucket list so I was well chuffed to find out I was being treated to a weekend break for my birthday - the GFRG did good. 5 miles recovery for me - feeling very tired after the week of running and being up early most days and Prom just hours before!

Saturday 27th January 2017

After a wonderful sleep in our executive hotel room, we were eager to get up and go out for a run to explore Geneva. We ran around the lake and through some parks. It was DEAD flat and the pavements were huge; running paradise. 

Back to the hotel for a luxurious bath before heading out to explore the old town. 

An hour worth of running early doors to get our bearings of the local area. Running around Lake Geneva with the GFRG made for beautiful views and making lots of happy memories. 

Sunday 28th January 2017

Once again we were up in good time and looking forward to seeing more sights. John had found out about a huge chair sculpture so we started our run by going to visit it. We were delighted to find that the sculpture was also right next to the UN HQ. It was an impressive building with lots of flags outside. 

Next, we ran back towards the lake and through some gardens. After a While, the route became a bit boring as the path followed a residential area (with massive houses with huge gates with massive scary barking dogs outside!) Rather than continuing alongside the lake. We turned around and wen'y back the other way with a much nicer view. 13 miles in total. My longest run for two weeks. Still some coughing but much better than last week. 

Sunday's run was lush. Running further and enjoying more of the lakeside views powered on last nights celebratory curry and beers was gurt lush! I was feeling very lucky and spoiled rotten to be able to run in such a stunning location with my best friend who is not only an awesome runner but also the kindest and most caring person I know - thanks for an awesome weekend, love you! Gushing over and done with - 13 miles banked at the lower end of general aerobic pace (8:10MMs -ish.) The run felt tough, laboured and a bit slow - I have properly come down with the GFRG-coldy-disease and probably should have stayed in bed but the occasion, location and marathon training meant for a struggle but miles banked none the less - 70 miles for the week!

We spent the rest of the day in Lausanne and went to the Olympic museum! Hopefully we'll go back in the future to see statues of us! 

Faster, higher, stronger

Always the winner!

Emil Zatopek and the GBRM!

So... I am in need of someone advice. 

I had been asked to represent Avon again at the inter-counties cross country in Loughborough. I am delighted to have been selected but unsure of whether to do it or not. Here's my reasoning: 

Pros: 

• I was desperate to be selected for the county and am delighted to have been asked. 
• I don't want to say no and then never be asked again. 
• It is a huge event and would be great experience. 
• I don't want to let the team down by not attending. 
• I really want to get better at cross country and this would be another great opportunity to improve. 

Cons:

• I have ran for Avon already and was a bit disappointed by the organisation of team Avon. 
• It will be just 6 weeks away from the London Marathon which I should be focusing on (not cross country!) 
• It's the same day as the fission 20mile race which would give me great marathon race prep (and I've got a good chance of winning the race!). 
• Loughborough is really far away and a lot of effort for a 30min race! 

Please comment with your ideas/suggestions. 

The GFRG is getting back to being fit and healthy and I'm tacking along nicely pretending not to be coming down with the coldy-disease! Plan was/is to up the miles a little bit before going properly into the more intensive, higher mileage training phase with 10 weeks to go. See how my body deals with being poorly, If I need to I'll take some rest and make sure I'm fit before properly upping the miles. We're planning our first 20miler on Sunday - looking forward to testing the body to see the results of 6 weeks of 50+ miles per week training and lots of positive running. 

Unlucky 13?!

London Marathon Training - 13 weeks to go! 

Key - Orange - John Purple - Kelly Blue - Both of us 

So after saying how pleased I was that I was feeling strong and healthy last week...this week I go and get ill. Great. Typical. With 13 weeks to go...Unlucky? I guess actually, it's quite good to get the cold 'out of the way' (hopefully) so far away from the marathon. So after wanting this week to be the week that I up the miles, it was very much the opposite. 

A week of easier training miles for me whilst brewing Lemsips on a regular basis for the GFRG and trying to stay as fresh as possible for a weekend of racing.

Monday 15th January 2018 

The week started very well. After a very successful (possibly one of my best ever) training runs last Sunday, I was feeling rather pleased with myself. Having worked so hard on Sunday did make Monday morning's 3 miles a little painful but I managed 3 miles at 9:15mm pace - proper recovery. 

As I was, at this point in the week, aiming for 70 miles, I did a double day today. 5 miles in the evening around Ashton Court at 8:43mm pace. Legs felt much better -clearly the first recovery run had done its job. 

Not wanting to up the miles but with a weekend of racing ahead I to, double day-ed - top loading the week! Similarly to the GFRG my body was feeling rather creaky after the tough long run the day before.

Tuesday 16th January 2018 

I had a PSA meeting after work today that I knew would go on until at least 9pm so I needed to get my run done early. Luckily, I managed to convince John that running 10 miles at 5:30am was a good idea! It actually went pretty well. My body had recovered pretty quickly from Sunday's long run and I was able to do 10 miles at an average of 8:06mm pace so a solid GA effort. 

A solid 10 miles of GA meant two things: workout done early and hungry all day! Love the feeling of having one of the first workouts of the day on Strava and being able to eat my body weight in (healthy!) snacks all day. Another double day for me as I ran 5K with the running club at work.

 Wednesday 17th January 2018 

Today was not good. I woke up with a sore throat. A sore throat is my tell tell sign that I'm getting a cold. I dosed up to the max - desperate to halt the progression of this illness. I get into school and am surrounded by 30 sniffling, sneezing, coughing children. Oh dear. By the end of the day, I did not feel good. As I mentioned in my blog last week, 1 year ago last week I got ill. I got a cold and decided to 'run it off' bad idea. I got worse and worse and ended up taking 2 full weeks off training. So..I knew I had to try and different tactic. I decided to be sensible! I didn't run today. At all. I went home and went to bed and slept and rested. With a LOT of Lemsip and vast quantities of vitamins. 

Disappointing that the GFRG has come down poorly but very proud of her sensible decision to rest up. Running Daemon-less I was very much the opposite end of the spectrum bagging one of my best long runs for months, 15miles with 8+ with the running club, 1:46 = 7MM

Thursday 18th January 2018 

After a lot of sleep and (legal) drugs, I woke up and felt....about the same..but no worse! So I guess that's good. I drank lots and ate well and by the evening I was starting to feel a little better. Maybe this 'resting' malarkey does work! Continuing on the 'sensible' plan, I decided not to run again. 

Feeling knackered after two long runs in 4 days I opted for a lie in, instead of the planned recovery run. No double day, just 5 steady miles with the work running club in the evening where one of the guys managed his second 5K PB in as many weeks whilst I'm scanning eBay for new legs...

Friday 19th January 2018 

I was considering running in the morning today but thought better of it. Once again, I wasn't feeling any worse but felt like I was on the cusp of wellness! 

I did however have my first running club of the new term. 33 children ran today with 7 who had joined running club for the first time. As we had some newbies, we took it nice a steadily and stopped regularly. Afterwards, one boy (a newbie) came up to me and said 'That was the best club I've ever done!' - Made my day! 

So a grand total of 1 mile for today! The run its self didn't feel too bad. My breathing was slightly heavier and heart rate a little elevated but not too much. I was however coughing a lot when I stopped. 

Up very early with the intention of bagging a 10+ mile run but my sub-conscious had other ideas. Body (legs mainly) still feeling knackered from the long runs (DOMSed?) I found myself aimlessly pottering around the house, ignoring the clock and the need to get going, I finally started the run wearing half my wardrobe. It was very cold, but: shorts, trousers, 3 shirts, a coat, hat and scarf will always be excessive... The first mile I couldn't get out of first gear, a 9:xx mile and I opted for a steady 3 miles recovery instead of the longer run and some more time in bed before going to work. Meh.

Saturday 20th January 2018 

Despite not being 100%, I decided to race today. Had it been just any old race I probably wouldn't have but it was a team relay and I just couldn't let my team down. I was in a team with Clare, Alice and Louise and, having checked out the other teams entries online, I felt that we could do pretty well. 

Unfortunately, the weather was pretty grim. Very cold and that horrible drizzly rain. We collected our bib numbers and our team baton and, as there was no where to wait in the dry, opted to go and warm up in the car for a bit. 

As the start approached, we went for a warm up. I've not ran at Castle Coombe Race Track before so was looking forward to checking out the route. It was quite simply 2, 2mile laps of the track. Cold, pretty flat and very little wind meant that it was good 'Kelly' conditions! Despite being a bit snotty still, I was feeling pretty good and very excited! 

I was running as leg 4 so had quite a wait. Clare went first and got us into a brilliant position with her awesome sub 20min 5k! As some teams were all women and some were mixed, it was quite hard to tell what position we were in after each lap but for the whole time we knew we were up in the top 4. Louise and Alice both ran brilliantly and I was pretty sure we had a crack at the top 3. Each person does 2 laps so when Alice went on for her 2nd, I started taking off layers and having a bit of a jog...by this point, my feet were numb and I was really cold but the adrenaline started to kick in when I saw her approaching the handover point. 

Alice was just ahead of a female Avon Valley runner when she passed me the baton. After breathing a sigh of relief that I didn't drop it, I focused on trying to widen the gap. I had counted one woman pass me already but was pretty sure that I hadn't seen any others so I thought the team were in with a chance of 2nd place. I could hear a woman pretty close by and I heard a supporter shouting 'Go Beth' I realised that I knew the runner from a recent cross country match. I had finished just ahead of her then so I decided to try and shake her off. 

My watched beeped for my first mile - 5:51 ...woa! I was really going for it! I didn't dare turn around to look but I couldn't hear anyone near me. I was overtaking people but had no idea what lap they were on so I just focused on trying to maintain the gap on the girl behind. Mile 2 was harder - 6:17mm pace. 

As I came through for the start of my 2nd lap, it was wonderful to hear the cheers and support of my team. Mile 3 was hard work. I was starting to tire a little and then I heard some breathing...I knew it was Beth having caught up to me. Right. Plan 1 of shake her off didn't work. Plan 2, let her pass me and then sit on her heels. She pulled up next to me and I kept pace with her for a while. Trying to keep my mind focused and stick with her was hard. I was very tired now and we were still well over half a mile from the finish. 

She picked up the pace a little and I just couldn't hang on. 'Never mind' I thought to myself. You're not 100%, you'll be happy with 3rd. The gap got bigger. But then I remembered that it was a team event. It wasn't up to me to decided that my team would be happy with 3rd. Alice had worked really hard to get ahead of the Avon Valley runner on leg 3 and I was just throwing it away. Sod it. 'Grit your teeth Kelly - you've got 1/4 mile'. Almost in slow motion, I thought about all the different aspects of my running form that could help me close this gap. I lent forwards, stood up straighter, pumped my arms, tried to push off with my toes. I looked up and the gap was closing. I pushed and pushed and pushed I was sprinting as fast as I'd ever sprinted. Then I heard John's voice "You've got her!" This spurred me on even more. I could make out the individual voices of my team screaming at me. I heard the announcer yell "It's a real battle for 2nd place!" I was desperate. I wanted this so much. With all my might, I crossed the finish line just 1 second ahead of her! YES! I'd done it! 2nd place finish for the team! 

Lots of sleep and stretching meant waking up on Saturday full of beans and raring to go. I've been really excited about this relay event for a few weeks now and wanted to give it a good go. Baltic cold but a very still dead meant for speedy conditions. As the GFRG has said, the race took part on a racing car track which meant no camber, no pot holes, no sharp corners, bliss! I ran leg 1: 3.6miles in 5:31MM - well chuffed and not far off a 5K PB! Running against some much stronger runners I was really pleased to put the team in 4th going into the next leg. The rest of the team all ran stellar performance. Having a baton in hand really did bring us together and helped us find that extra bit of effort, so used to running for ourselves it did make a nice change running for and with others. A second placing overall in the mixed team category!

(PS - The GFRG's face on that finishing straight showed more determination than Frodo's attempt at getting to Mount Doom!)

1

Sunday 21st January 2018 

I woke up feeling pretty good. 90% better - so close! I decided to take one more rest day and then re-start the plan on Monday (all being well). 

Today wasn't about me anyway. Today was John's day. After a challenging first attempt at the Doynton Hilly Half Marathon a couple of years ago, this was to be the day that he showed the race who was boss! 

The race that shall not be named... a more detailed review of this one to follow in my blog as part of my 30 Races at 30 adventure. We turned up at the start of the Doynton Hard Half Marathon absolutely freezing! 2degrees, pouring down rain and a constant wind - great start. The gun goes and we're off! I've run this race before back in 2016 where I finished in 100th position in 2:14. This being the case I knew the route and how tough it was going to be. In 2016 I was 5+ kilos heavier and slightly hungover - I wouldn't recommend turning up to this race in this shape - the race will find you and it will kill you (not literally!) 

I started the race sensibly and ran steady for the first 4 miles where you run up and down over 1000ft of elevation change. This is where the first timers were exposed. I found myself overtaking at least 10 people who obviously hadn't researched the race (A mwah-ha-ha to myself!) 

The middle section of the race is less bumpy but more boggy. You find yourself shifting like John Wayne through various farmers fields carrying at least 5kgs of soil on each shoe - MEH. After reserving plenty of effort in the first third I was disappointed in myself (especially my legs) in this middle section as I didn't quite have the pace and drive I expected and wanted. 

The third section's multiple waist high streams (rivers?) would certainly wake me up and get my mojo back in check. Steadily negotiation a couple more tough climbs knowing that the last 3 miles were mainly road an reasonably straight forward. I found my stored energy from earlier and ran as fast as I could: wanting the best time and position possible whilst trying to stay warm enough to avoid hypothermia. I managed to overtake a couple more runners and bring my average pace down nicely. 

14th place with 1:46:21 - an improvement of 86 places and 27+minutes - absolutely over the moon!

Big kudos to all who took part, especially those wearing a GWR vest - top efforts all round and an afternoon in the bath with a beer well and truly deserved. Special thanks to the GFRG who braved the cold whilst suffering with her cold smiling throughout the day as always and possibly prevented my early death by feeding me soup, tea and cake once I'd finished.

A good week of keeping up the miles for me whilst the GFRG tries to keep away diseases and still dominates the relay. An old ghost laid to rest at Doynton and hopefully this afternoons worth of recovering will allow for another week of strong marathon training. 

Knowing what was to come at the Doynton Hard Half... Not sure the tall guy knew!

Upping the miles and sticking to the plan!

London Marathon Training - 14 weeks to go! 

Key - John - Orange Kelly - Purple Both of us - Blue

This has been a really great week of training for both of us. We tend to find that it takes around 3 or 4 weeks for our bodies to get used to the increased mileage and volume of training. For once, we had a week without any races so we were looking forward to sticking to the plan and hitting every session. 

During this week of our Boston marathon training last year, I came down with a pretty bad cold which quickly went onto my chest. I took two full weeks off running. Since then, I've been taking daily vitamins and haven't been ill since. I'd missed this week of the plan completely so was really looking forward to following it this time around. 

Monday 8th January 2018

We didn't run until the evening today which meant that my legs were feeling pretty good. We ran to and from our running club's committee meeting making a total of 5 miles. With my new aim being to put more effort in when running up hills, I started the week of well with a Strava PR on a segment called 'Hampton hill'! 

Easing into the week with a steady 5. Year-on-year improvement as a Recovery Run would always have been 5K for us and 9+MM mile pace, whereas this year 5miles seems to the be standard and usually banking all miles <9mm pace.

Tuesday 9th January 2018

Another lie in today which meant that, once again, my legs were feeling in good shape for the planned efforts. 10x100m strides. I was even able to keep up with John for once ...although I think he might have been taking it easy...

I love strides! Feels like cheating in a way as just a tiny bit of effort takes the average pace from being standard GA to a stand out skillz workour! Probably the only technique work we do as well, trying to exagerate the knee lift and elbows during the 100mtrs of effort.

Wednesday 10th January 2018

Wednesday is club night. The plan called for 14 so we ran to and from club as well. Sticking to my new plan, I really worked hard up the main hill (with the Strava segment in the back of my mind!) beating all the boys (woohoo!) and running into the road (because the segment used to end in the middle of the road!) only to be told, by John, that he'd actually created a new - safer segment where you don't have to risk your life for a Strava crown! 

I managed a few quicker miles down the Portway and had an average pace of 8mm for the whole run. Not too shabby. 

15 miles and a couple of weeks of running long mid week as well as on the weekend. I'm definately feeling the benefits of running for longer rather than running more often, having already banked 6 - 13+ mile runs this campaign - averaging nearly 2-per-week!

GFRG is the first of us to hit the <1000 heart beats per mile economy! A 132BPM average for 14 miles, taking 106minutes = 999!!

Thursday 11th January 2018

Recovery today. A nice easy 3miles, at 9:02mm average pace, around the harbourside. 

Ditto + running with the guys from work in the evening. Three of us have formed an unofficial work running club and one of the guys managed PBs at 400m - 5k!

Friday 12th January 2018

Another recovery again today. Knowing that we had a long run with marathon paced efforts on Sunday, meant that I wanted to keep my legs as fresh as possible. 5 miles at an average of 8:50mm. 

Ditto - calorie crushing/Strava-OCD satisfying at it's very best!

Saturday 13th January 2018

11 miles on the plan for today (actually it was on the plan for Friday, but we often swap Friday's and Saturday's sessions to allow us to run two and from parkrun). A gentle run to parkrun where I spotted Francesca who has been getting back into running since the birth of her daughter. We ran together today - it was lovely to have a chat and catch up. It also meant that I (for once) didn't get carried away and run parkrun too hard. I was thinking of tomorrow's session and saving myself for that. John on the other hand...

Feeling the stresses of a busy week at work and lots going on I embraced the caged-rage and decided to give it a go. Result being a first finisher token and my second fastest time on the Ashton Court parkrun course - well chuffed! 11 miles in total banked - de-stressed and hungry!

 Sunday 14th January 2018

Long run day! Unusually, I'd actually been looking forward to this run all week. I was feeling strong and wanted to see what I could pull off. The plan called for 18 with 10 at marathon pace. However, on our last marathon paced session we only managed 6 so the plan for today was to try and do 8 miles at pace. 

We used the Bristol to Bath cycle path which is relatively flat ...the first few miles are definitely up hill so I wanted to do the MP miles on the way back and make the most of the downhill section...sadly, I was outvoted so instead, my first MP mile was uphill. While I know that it is good to train on hilly sections, I do still find it very difficult physically and also mentally. My new marathon pace is 6:40mm which, as it's early on in the plan still, I find really hard. On the flat it is really hard. So uphill, I have to really push myself. Despite working has hard as I could (while still trying to leave enough in the bank for the other 7 miles of efforts), I couldn't quite keep up with John and Marcus. 

First 4 miles - warm up (8:03, 7:41, 7:32, 7:31) 

Mile 5 - 6:51 

Mile 6- 6:50 

The path then flattens out and includes some downhill sections that I sped up on to improve my average pace for that mile. The next couple of miles I was much happier with:

Mile 7 - 6:40

Mile 4 - 6:38

Mile 9 - 6:43

Mile 9 was the turnaround point and marked half way of the run and well over half way for the efforts. Marcus deiced to keep going but John turned around and we enjoyed 1 mile of running together at pace before another hill turned up and I couldn't keep up! 

Mile 10 - 6:47

Mile 11- 6:54 

With just one more mile of efforts to go, I really wanted to finish on a high. I really pushed myself to try and get that last mile closer the 6:40 aim. I concentrated on form: running tall, leaning forward slightly, pushing off with my toes. Eventually, I heard the beep which meant I could slow down. Phew! 

Mile 12- 6:42

Feeling pretty pleased with myself, all I wanted to do was stop and rest for a bit. But John was just ahead and waving for me to catch up so I kept at it. The next mile felt really hard as my legs were ready to give up. But then, they seemed to get over it and I felt able to pick the pace up a bit to 7:30s. The last 5 miles actually didn't feel too bad. I was able to finish strong and with a really good average pace for the whole run of 7:15mm I felt really pleased with that session. 

The GFRG, the Maestro and I banked some good marathon speed work today. I'm not strictly following the plan until 12/10 weeks to go and as KD said, last times efforts ended up being just 6miles instead of the intended 8 at marathon pace so the target for today was always 8 miles. Progressively week on week building the long run from 13-15-18 has been a steady and comfortable procedure! 18 miles today feeling strong was my furthest and longest run of this campaign so far. HR suggests the engine is working nicely with a 140BPM average meaning just (1011!) over 1000 beats per mile. Although the 8 miles at pace felt strong throughout - I'm glad we only did 8! Different to previous campaigns it was great (and hopefully beneficial?) to run all the 8 in a block instead of 3/4 with a moving recovery. 

Total miles for the week -66.4 

Total miles for the week - 70+

Next week, I'm going to have a go at stepping up from the P&D 55-70 miles a week plan to the 70-85 miles a week plan. I'm feeling strong and enjoying running the miles. I want to challenge myself further and see how my body copes with higher mileage weeks. 

Too big a jump for me right now - gonna stick to ticking over and improving my endurance with a mini taper at the end of the week for a relay race with club mates and the race the shall not be named!

TOTAL MILES		TOTAL MINUTES
JC MILES	KD MILES	JC MINS	KD MINS
263.7	233.1	2143	1936
TOTAL CLIMB		AVG SPEED
JC CLIMB	KD CLIMB	JC MPH	KD MPH
14,685.00	11,795.98	7.38	7.22
JC		KD
NO. RUNS	OVER DIST.	NO. RUNS	OVER DIST.
16	10	12	10
6	13	5	13
0	20	0	20

Representing the county!

London Marathon Training - 15 Weeks to go!

I've followed the plan less than I'd have liked this week. The reason? This weekend was my first Cross Country race where I was representing my county. So I top loaded the week and re-arranged some sessions. No races next week though so I'm going to focus on sticking to the plan. 

KEY - GFRG WRITES - GBRM WRITES

Monday 1st January 2018 (Happy New Year!) 

After a brilliant night out, celebrating the new year, with our friends, we were feeling slightly iffy when the alarm sounded at 8am! Despite the aching heads we got up and ready - there was no way we were going to miss the opportunity to do 2 parkruns in 1 day! 

We ran to Ashton Court -allowing plenty of time after being late last week. Having time to spare turned out to be rather handy as, after arriving at the start, I realised that I'd committed the worst possible parkrun crime...I'd forgotten my barcode! Just as I was starting to feel upset at my newyears double parkruns not counting, John came to my rescue. He selflessly decided to run all the way home (2 miles!) and back again! He missed the start of course but was by no means last! My hero!

Not wanted to disappoint John after going to all that effort, I thought I better try pretty hard on the run...I did and managed to nab the 1st lady spot. 

We then ran home, jumped in the car and drove to Pomphrey for parkrun number 2. Similarly to last year, as soon as we arrived, it started to rain - and became very very cold. We arrived just in time and managed to both catch the start. Obviously my mind was focused on the double victory. 

I got a good start but didn't manage to hold 1st position for very long. A lady passed me on the first hill and it quickly became evident that hills were her thing. On each lap, I would get closer on the downhill and she'd pull even further away on the uphill sections. Not a win but a 2nd place at my 2nd parkrun of the day. Not a bad start to the new year. 

Good fun doing two parkruns in one day but feels like cheating in a way, especially with it being a Monday instead of the traditional Saturday. Weather was pants but by the time we were home we were feeling sober enough to enjoy the last day of the holidays.

Tuesday 2nd January 2018 

John was back at work today so we both got up at 5am and ran up to Clifton for our weekly personal training session. Today our session looked like this: 

Squat and press..5-7 kg,  squat thrusts, mountain climbers.   20 seconds, 40seconds-60seconds. 

Squat and press with plates...10-15kg , Squat jumps.         20 seconds, 40seconds-60seconds. 

Crunches,  leg raises, reach to feet.   20 of each 3 times. 

Single leg down and ups.     X5.....x8......x12. Each side.   

Medicine ball alternating hand press ups x10

balance throws with medicine ball 3kg..5kg ....8kg. X10 each way. Elbow to knee crunchs in between alt throws . X3

Bench.: 12 of each 4 times. 

Side to side jump step overs

Straddle jumps

Side step ups and press with medicine ball 

As I was still off work, I also did a yoga class during the day - lovely. 

Meh. This session was especially hard after having a two week break from PT. Glad to be back working hard. PT was one of the biggest differences to me progressing last year. It helps running up hill and on technical terrain easier and I think being stronger (generally - not just legs) helps to prevent injuries. 5K running there and back - we're doing the PT commute in Sub9MM pace nowadays whereas when when we started training together a year a go it was more of a sluggish plog at 11+MM pace - more progress!

 Wednesday 3rd January 2018 

As I knew I'd be racing on Sunday, I wanted to get my long run done today. 15 miles on the plan. So John and I ran to and from club plus the 10 mile club run making 15. It was a good fast run with a couple of quicker ones down the portway. 

Definitely my best run for a couple of months. So nice to be running fast and for it to feel fun and effortless - instead of feeling sluggish, mechanical and a forced effort. Eating up the miles and banking the longest mid-week long run of the campaign. Glad I hose to run long with the GFRG instead of just turning out a GA. With the extra miles on Monday I'd racked up 30+ miles already - proper training.

Thursday 4th January 2018 

First day back at work for me today. No better way to start the day than a 5 mile recovery run at an average of 9mm. 

3rd day at work for me - same workout. Both running recovery runs strong and economically: 1102 and 1134 heart beats per mile respectively. I banked another steady 5K after work with a couple of the lads from work.

Friday 5th January 2018 

Today I lacked the same enthusiasm as yesterday and chose to ignore my alarm. As I still had to get my run in, I decided to run to and from school. It was a lovely morning and I really enjoyed running in. It's been a while since I've done it and definitely want to try and run to school more frequently. John joined me for the first mile - lovely to have some company. 

A lie in - unheard of this year - lush! A steady 5K for me to.

Saturday 6th January 2018 

Today I had a lie in! I didn't wake up until John got back from his run! I did find a little note saying that if I woke up, I could join him half way through....oops! I just wanted to do a gentle 5 miles today in preparation for tomorrows race. John went out so I ran alone and decided to run with headphones which I hardly ever do. After noticing that The Script are playing at Westonbirt in the summer, I thought I'd listen to some of their stuff...I'd forgotten how brilliant they are! Singing my way around the harbourside, I felt amazing. Legs felt great and I had to keep reminding myself to slow down - this was suppose to be recovery after all! 

Early doors for me as I had plans to have breakfast with my mum and sister. 10 miles - which felt as easy and as fun as Wednesday - really enjoying running so far this year. Enjoyment backed up by the stats also - 7:36mm pace pumping 1018 beats per mile - so close to Sub1000, who will get there first?!?

Sunday 7th January 2018 

After another long sleep (wooohoo) I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to race...unfortunately, this was 7am and my race didn't start until 2pm! Never mind, I spent the morning reading (finished the last in Phillip Pullman's Northern Lights trilogy) and catching up with social media. Really enjoying reading the 'fast runners of 2018' that is being published on fastrunning.com. 

At 11am I had my short- distance pre-race breakfast of choice - a poached egg on toast (the new amazing Warburtons sour dough gluten free bread). We then headed to Yeovile for the South West Cross Country Championships! 

We arrived and saw part of the course from the road ...it looked very hilly. But it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining. It was however VERY windy and rather chilly. I went over to the find the Avon crew. I was given a vest (which looked huge!) and my race number and I was ready! 

As this was my first race at this standard I wasn't really sure what to expect. I figured my aim would be to come in the top 1/4 of the field...I was thinking around the top 30 would be good. 

The gun went and for once there wasn't the usual high pitch squeals - these women mean business! I felt great so went for it and quickly found myself in 3rd place...woops! The first 1/2 of the course was flat followed by a downhill so I thought I'd better make the most of it. I ran a storming first mile of 5:44 (that's quicker than I can usually do on the road!) was still in the top 10 and feeling great...then came the hills. The next 1/2 mile consisted of 3 pretty steep hills in quick succession. Annoyingly I just could keep up or hold my position and felt myself falling quickly down the field. Never mind, I told myself, keep pushing, this is your first time at this event. For lap 2, I knew what to expect so managed to overtake a few people on the flat and downhill sections but once again, they came past my on the uphills. Mile 2 - 7:14, mile 3 - 6:54  (total average pace for the 3.4 miles - 6:45).

I've written this many times in my blogs but don't seem to learn from my mistake...I MUST do more hill work. Whenever I come to a hill in the middle of a run, I always slow down. I need to start pushing myself more on those sections. As John frequently says to me "You won't get faster at running uphill if you don't run faster uphill in training!" message received. 

I'm not sure on my overall position yet but I think I might have squeezed top 25. Avon ladies actually won the competition...annoyingly I didn't count for the team as the 7th finisher. A little bit disappointed about that but I enjoyed my first attempted at representing the county...even if it did feel a bit strange running in red!  

Another early rise for me. I Met the Maestro and fellow London Marathon trainee Rob ready to blast out a long run. 0degrees and my blood cells carrying the half a bottle of wine from the night before did mean the run wasn't quite as fun as Wednesday's and yesterdays to start off with. We run the usual long run route, taking in the sights of; the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Ashton Court, the Avonmouth Bridge before finishing up on the Portway. The miles ticked over nicely, distracted from any discomfort by running chit-chat/banter. A few miles later and I'm in a different mood altogether and feeling totally refreshed and re-energised. Double figure miles show on the watch and it's another great run that I don't want to end - 3 in one week! 16 miles in just under 2 hours - HR economy 1037 - so close!!!!

I got home to Kelly feeling emotional coming to the end of the HDM trilogy. My favourite books and a recommendation I'm glad she enjoyed. Both of us were feeling super pumped (me post run/Kelly pre-race) to trek down to the south Somerset town of Yeovil and enjoy the XC. As above - Kelly had a fantastic race and fitted right in with the specialist county representatives. It was great fun supporting and extremely rewarding to see the GFRG reaping the rewards of training hard - super proud as always!

A 70+ mile week for me - well chuffed. Long runs feel strong and fun. Looking forward tp hopefully backing up this weeks efforts and positivity with another long week next week before tapering down for my first race of the year (The race that shall not be named / Doynton HARD Hilly Half) and generally taking it easy(ier) before getting into proper training/more intense training with 12/10 weeks to go.

TOTAL MILES		TOTAL MINUTES
JC MILES	KD MILES	JC MINS	KD MINS
193.2	167	1581	1410
TOTAL CLIMB		AVG SPEED
JC CLIMB	KD CLIMB	JC MPH	KD MPH
11,447.00	10,851.00	7.33	7.11