Thursday, Week 3

4 Miles, Steady

Two runs in a row now that felt really difficult - heavy legs, breathing troubles and that feeling of wanting to find a reason to give up.

Think it is just a come-down after the tough intervals on Tuesday. Hoping a nice easy run tomorrow lunchtime (wind permitting) will set me up for my first race of the year on Sunday. Hard to feel positive about a battle into the wind from Dewsbury to Batley, but I'm sure I'll love it.

Wednesday, Week 3

7 Miles, Slow

Tuesday, Week 3

1M jog, 4 x 1M fast, with 400m recoveries, 1M jog

Another brilliant set of intervals following on from last Tuesday.

Did them at 6:22, 6:33, 6:30 and 6:41, so faster than last year, and felt pretty comfortable again.

Highpoint was coming up the hill on the 4th repeat feeling strong enough to accelerate, and looking forward to my 10k race on Sunday as I was still giving maximum effort.

Forecast for the weekend not good however, with snow and wind, but I won't worry about things I can't influence.

On my mp3 Player

Scouting For Girls
Scouting For Girls

The odd quirky little song on its own is good.

Listening to the whole album, however, is like getting caught in a gang fight between members of Racey and The Knack.

Monday, Week 3

4 Miles, Easy

Sunday, Week 2

11 Miles, Slow

Great jog round my old circuit of Calverley and the big hill up to Rawdon. After a really positive week of running, this was a great end.

In dry and not too windy conditions, I was pretty comfortable, although not feeling really strong. However, didn't feel any anxiety at the thought of being out racing this time next week, which can only be good.

On my mp3 player

Angels and Airwaves
i-Empire

Pushed onwards and upwards by the power of secular positive thinking.

Out at 8 on a cold January morning while my family still huddle in their warm beds - "Everything, Everything's Magic".

Struggling up a 2 mile long hill after an hour on my feet, right knee aching, horizontal gale hitting my face - "And I swear, it shows. Heaven must be just like this"

Friday, Week 2

4.5 Miles, Slow

Very, very windy

Thursday, Week 2

1 Mile jog, then 2 Miles (Brisk), then 1 Mile jog.

It's all brisk when you're out on a cold windy day in Beeston. Blimey.

Quick tempo run from work. Two nice consistent miles just either side of 7 minute miling and back to work to berate Belgians. Great.

On my mp3 Player

Plain White T's
Every Second Counts

Apparently it's not all about tragic voiced entreaties to college girls to try to be faithful for 5 minutes. The rest of the album is harmless Emo-lite, which is Ok I suppose.

Wednesday, Week 2

6 Miles, Slow


Tuesday, Week 2

1M jog, then 3 x 1.5M fast, with 800m jog recoveries, then 1M jog

My least favourite session of the whole 15 weeks, and yet again (like last year) I had a brilliant time on it.

It is painful, because it is quite a distance to put in a full effort, but I kept it nice and steady, and managed three closely matched efforts at 9:41, 9:51 and 9:58.

Looking back on previous years, my slowest was faster than the fastest of any of them, despite feeling in control the whole time (Both the last 2 years' blogs mention the pain!) .

This has started me off on the dangerous path of thinking I might be able to go faster than I originally thought on my Dewsbury run in 10 days time, setting myself up for disappointment yet again.

Monday, Week 2

4 Miles, Easy

Wet, wet, wet.

A short trot from work at lunchtime, but I haven't often been wetter. By 10 minutes out my decision not to wear two layers looked like a big mistake as my 'dri-fit' T-Shirt reached saturation point and became transparent. This was unpleasant for me, but at least I didn't have to look at the extra half a stone I am carrying, as the residents of Beeston had to.

Half way round I thought I was starting to get used to it. At this point the rain started coming down so hard it set off the car alarm on a Mercedes I was running past (unless that was yet another sign that I need to lose some weight).

Apart from the wetness, I actually had a good run. No aches following yesterday, and although I was no quicker than last week, it all felt really easy.

The mile and a half repeats tomorrow night will soon sort me out though.

Friday, Week 1

4.5 Miles, Slow

Sunday, Week 1

9 Miles, Slow

The first 'long' run, and as always, I have to keep trying to forget that I have to do this in 8 weeks or so as a tempo run, a minute a mile faster. That doesn't help.

Out of bed early into a dull, damp but rain-free morning.

Run down past the local Tesco Express and it looks bizarrely abandoned as there is a closed off bridge stopping through traffic. Great for running though.

I know by the time I've reached the top of the hill at Cookridge Fire Station that I'm going very slowly, but that's the idea as I have to get used to:

1. Going slowly again
2. Getting up at 8amon a Sunday and getting out on the road
3. Running 6 times a week.

Therefore I jog the rest of the route nice and slowly, but manage to keep going even up Well Lane at the 7 mile mark.

7 minute mile the last mile down into Horsforth, and back to enjoy the first post long run glow.

On my mp3 player

James Bl***
All The Lost Souls

"Tonight Matthew I'm going to be......."

Posh long haired bloke disappears into dry ice, gets undressed (in a snow storm) and returns clad in a tanktop and a flat cap

"Gilbert O'Sullivan!"

The Ataris
Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits

Much better that James/Gilbert for climbing up hills

Tuesday, Week 1

4 Miles, Slow

Wednesday, Week 1

5 Miles, Easy

Ahh, yet again that fine line between slow and easy.

Thursday, Week 1

3 Miles, Steady

I took steady to mean give it a bit of speed and consequently was breathless within the first 2 minutes or so.

This felt good though after the slow and easy runs of this week that have actually felt pretty hard. I think my body has been a little surprised by having to get out running every day and may well be rebelling by Saturday.

On my mp3 player

New Yorker US Election podcast

After the abortive attempt to learn Spanish and Military History last year, I thought I'd listen to something which interested me a bit more.

Arcade Fire
Neon Bible

Please, just shoot me now.

I think listening to this on a Sunday morning long run might just push me over the edge. Note to self - load up more Bowling For Soup and Blink 182.

Monday, Week 1

4 Miles, Easy.

The first steps down the road to Blackpool.

As ever, some mystic weight was attached to a short run around Beeston on a dull, windy lunchtime by the fact that suddenly I'm not just jogging down Dewsbury Road, I'm 'building my base'.

Felt out of sorts, overweight and got a stomach ache half way round, so it's hard to imagine cruising along Blackpool promenade like a willowy Kenyan in less than 4 months.

Easy week anyway with all slow runs, and a 9 miler on Sunday. I seem to remember that the second week always comes as a shock, esepcially the mile and a half repeats. We'll see.

On my mp3 player:

Jack Penate.
Sounds like The Housemartins would have done if they'd come from Clacton and wished they were from Hackney.

Makes me want to tie him to the ceiling and hit him with a stick until sweets come out.

Sunday, Week 0 2008

It's that time of year again that I try to balance my huge numbers of hours spent of the roads by spending hours in front of a computer screen trying to write something about them.

The irony is not lost on me that I managed to complete my training schedule last year with very few missed sessions, yet gave up on my blog feebly at the beginning of March.

I therefore missed out on:

1. My unexpected pb at the Ackworth half marathon - which was probably my best day of the whole schedule

2. My ridiculous final long run which ended on the 2 mile climb up the big hill in Rawdon, with a massive horizontally blown hail storm that stopped the traffic and made me laugh manically.

Three weeks on from that sub zero lashing, I was struggling through Docklands in one of the warmest days of the year.

The adventure finished with a picnic in Trafalgar Square, sitting pleased to have beaten my pb by 30 seconds despite being ready to beat it by 15 minutes.

This year I am therefore heading off to Blackpool again to make the most of one of the flattest marathons in the world hopefully to prove myself 'Good For Age'. And it all starts tomorrow.