All the training done - soon time for the real test

I'm a about a hundred miles short on my intended training distance, mainly due to the injury break in July, and I'm sure I know about that on Sunday. Target is under 3 hours, not as quick as I would have like but it's what is achievable. Still I'm a lot fitter than I was in February at the start of this journey and around 11 pounds lighter.

At least the accommodation seems sorted - better location and site facilities, a slightly lower standard but nearly £100 cheaper. It may have turned out for the better.

I may be on the BBC 1 on Sunday – running at my sedate 13min mile pace. Look for a Red Heart Runners vest, black shorts, green band on the number and number 41518, otherwise indistinguishable from the 53,999 others ;-)

Good Yorksire Hill Training

We were on holiday in Barningham in the Yorkshire Dales last week, did a couple of good runs. One was a loop round the outside of the village with about 3/4 mile down and 1 1/2 miles up on each loop, nice scenery but a little muddy in places. The second was a straight run the length of the village, which is built on a hill so .4m up, and then back down again - pant hard and repeat ;-)

We also did 3 long (for us anyway) walks 3.5 - 6miles long with lots of hills as you would expect. Going out for a run on Sunday the hills at home didn't seem half as bad

Final long run before the big day

Just completed the last long run I'll do before the Great North Run. Not as long as I would have liked at this stage (8miles) but it's a lot further than I could run last February.

I tried to run it as close to how I'll run the race as possible, testing out a few things I plan to use on the day. It was a windy day and running up Gulpher Road hill against a strong breeze was ... interesting. Hopefully there will be a nice westerly (with just a hint of south in it) on the 20th September, blow us all nicely along the course.

So now it's gently reduce the mileage, while keeping up some of the quality runs in there and let the body prepare itself for the big day.

Building the milage

Starting to get the miles and time on me feet into a repectable area again. The strange thing is I'm running slower. Looking at the times before the injury layouff they were around 1min per mile quicker.

The BHF training day was very worth while, started off with a quite short but hard session in Regents Park. Followed by lots of advice on running style, training techniques etc. Found out just how hard the training session had been when I went out for a run the next day - legs didn't want to move. So hopefully adding some sessions like that will really help push the fitness along in the last few weeks before the GNR

On the 'Route to Newcastle' map I've just gone through Scunthorpe - famous for being a banned word in the AOL obscenity filter in the early days of the internet - it was the four letters after the 'S' that did it apparently. I'm propably 50 mile behind where I should be and that's showing in the training and will be very evident on the 20th September. I'll run across the start and the finish line but not really sure what will happen in between.

Gettng in the long runs at last

Now over half way on the map to Newcastle, and it's about where I am in the training too, long run only 6miles instead of 10 but have managed to push on reasonably well over the last couple of weeks. The walk run strategy for the long runs seems to be working OK (20mim run/ 1min walk) though I adjust it so I walk up the bigger hills on the training route.

Sunday I'm off to a training day in London organised by the British Heart Foundation. Lots of talk + some practical work too.

40 days to the GNR - Don't Panic!

The training the last week has gone OK, the calf hurt after Thursdays run so didn't do the 5m run on Saturday to allow it to recover. With just 40 days to go I know my current state of fitness its not really good enough but I also know over-training is likely to make things worse rather than better. Will just have to put up with what's achievable and try for a time next year.

Last night I did 4 miles including some interval training and it survived OK, so on bike tonight (about 14 miles). Cycling seems to be helping - getting fitter while not aggravating the left calf and I not getting quite as saddle sore as I was ;-) Hopefully I can do 2 five mile runs on Thursday and Saturday and stay something close to the shedule this week.

New shedule

I went though some of the stuff I'd been sent by the British Heart Foundation and sorted out a new training schedule for myself. It's based on a beginners schedule and hopefully 3 runs and a bike ride every week for the next 5 weeks will be enough for a 'get you round' type run.

The long runs don't seem long enough but they are tougher (faster) than the gentle jog I'll be doing on the 23rd September, and with in my current capabilities.

Time to find lots of sponsors - go to
http://www.justgiving.com/malcolmsilburn and donate lots of money to this great cause

Running once more

A couple of OK runs hopefully means I can get back in to training properly - though as I've missed the best part of a month in training and gone slightly backwards instead of forwards the target is now just to get round somehow instead of run for a target time.

By now I was hoping to be able to run 9 or 10 miles - I'm managing about 4. I should be able to get that up to around 8 miles in training before the GNR but that is still along way left for the crowd to inspire me for. I'm now looking at around 3 hours to complete the 13.1 mile course instead of the 2:15 I'd hope for.

I'm trying a change of strategy on the training too - more bike and rowing machine work to get the aerobic abilities up while putting less stress on the joints. Basically trying to balance the need to train with out overdoing it and injuring myself again.

August is going to be a hard month

The non running runner

A couple of weeks ago I had a problem with my left calf – a real tight knot inside, a bit like cramp but came on gradually and took a couple of days to fully disappear. Rest for about 4 days and tried it once again, rested a few more days then got the bike out. I was able to cycle fine – though legs and bottom not really used to it and as the bike has lain virtually unused for a couple of years it wasn’t quite right either.

The nut that holds the left crank on has decided it wants to undo itself as you ride along. I just about got home on the first ride out (5 miles). I did it up with a socket before the second ride and it lasted about a half a mile so rode back, tightened it up again this time with a box spanner which enabled me to get it tighter. Much better but it only lasted about 7miles, still 2 miles from home. I’d brought the spanner with me but only a short bar rather than the long one I’d used before to tighten it up. This time is was only about a mile before it started to come loose again but with careful nursing I managed to get home before the pedal and crank fell of completely – time for a more reliable solution.

Between the rides I when on the rower at the gym so hopefully my fitness won’t have gone too far backwards. It does mean it hasn’t moved forwards at all for about a month and it’s now unlikely I’ll complete the GNR in anything like a respectable time. Now it’s just a case of trying to get some running in and do enough work to get two thirds of the way round and then see what’s left from there.

Nealy two weeks off

The main reason for raising money for the BHF was because Angela was having an heart operation, she had that a couple of weeks ago and everything seems to have gone fine. However with going to Papworth (about 83 miles away) every day for 12 days the running went by the board.

Been out a couple of times but obviously not made the progress that I would have liked but thats the way it goes, Wifey obvously comes first.

I'm doing the Gt Bentley 5m race on Friday and should be able to get round in around the hour, I'm expecting to be last. Hopefully there will be some slower runners I can keep up with for at least the first 3 miles and see how long I can hang on after that - get a reasonable time and not keep people waiting too long.

Hundred miles and FRR

I went for my first run with the Felixstowe Road Runners last night. A good friendly bunch and some of similar speed as me, though most faster and fitter. It was good to be out with a crowd and I pushed harder than I would have done on my own. A hill session may not have been the ideal session to start with - a long 1.5mile 'warm up' to Gulpher Duck pond, circuits up and down the hill (I managed 3) then a slightly shorter run home.
Total 4.1 miles and this took me over the 100 mile mark since starting again.

Last week was not a good one and I was starting to doubt whether I could get back in to shape for the GNR, last night was a real pick-me-up and I'm back enthused again and looking forward to my next session with FFR in a couple of weeks time. Hopefully even more ready for what ever awaits.

Increasing distance but no speed

The long run is up to 4 miles now, but at a pathetically slow pace - averaging around 13 min miles.
To achieve my target time that's got to get down to about 10 min miles on a long run and even quicker on the short ones.

I came to the decision not enter the Kirton 5 next Friday. I've not got the miles nor the speed to keep up with those who came last in 2008 - so I've postponed my first race for a month to hopefully get faster over 5miles.

Great Bentley 5 on 10th July is now the first target race, by which time the long run should be 7 miles so a 'fast' 5 (well under and hour) should a be more practical proposition.

Run from the MiL

Monday I had to help shifting some furniture at the mother-in-laws, so wifey drove there and I ran home. Good plan - fastest session since I returned to running ;-)
Fast but not to the finish. I didn't manage one complete session without some walking this week. did at least 2/3 of the run but perhaps I'm slightly upping the speed and the distance is suffering.

Tried to keep it slow and steady on the first attempt at 4miles and was doing OK until I had to stop for traffic and then found it hard to keep going again. Also getting to the distance where some fluid on the run may help too. Need to find a comfortable way of carrying some.

On the map I'm at West Winch - an appropriate place for a sailor

Wereham out

On the map I've reach Wereham, an appropriate place to finish the week after reaching the first target of running 3miles - and a 'hilly' run at that. After that success I went for a flatter 3.6 miles on Saturday.

I'm going to next week on a bit of a high, with the ambition of staggering around a 4mile course and picking up the pace on the shorter runs. Long runs are too slow at the minute and it's time to start working on that if I'm to do the Kirton 5 in under and hour

Music while you run - it helped

Actually completed a 2.8mile run with out stopping, Ave pace 11:57 so not quick. Reversed on a route so there was no 'I'm usually knackered by here' type thoughts. The other big change was listening to a 30min track from MP3running while out on the run I found it helped.
A good gym session followed by a long run the next day was not a good combination so failed to run all the next one. Today was an 'interval session", down to the prom and 5 fasted paced sessions. Still not fit enough to recover and run but kept the walks much shorter than previous walk run session ends.

Not a bad week but could be better - but the music works

Almost at the 50 mile mark

Didn't do the planned run on Wednesday, as I went to see the quack about my chest. She gave me an inhaler to use before exercising which seems to help, so did the curry I think ;-)

Did go to the gym yesterday and had a good run today - furthest I run continuously so far (23.5 mins) and after waiting for the traffic managed another 10mins running (+ another couple of stops)

On the map I'm now at Two Mile Bottom (yeah I know I still have some weight to lose) and have completed 49.6 miles so far. Hopefully things will start to get back on track so I can comfortably do my first comeback race on the 7th June.

Last Week in Suffolk

The first run next week should see me cross in to foreign lands - (well Norfolk ;-) just north of Euston

Upped the mileage again to 3 miles and attempting Week 7 or the schedule: Run 15mins rest 1 Run 15 mins. First try at this wasn't great - ran the first 15 minutes OK but then only intermittently form there home. Second try better - 2 minutes quicker but still 3 more stops than there should be

Gym got cancelled this week (and probably next week) as I need to get the boat ready for launch, still sanding and polishing is pretty good exercise too.

I committed to raising money for the British Heart Foundation this week, and a widget on the right hand side shows will show things are going. I don't plan looking for sponsors until after the Kirton Friday five on June 5th, gradually widening the circle of friends and colleagues.

Finally I discovered the Fetch Everyone running site - great for keeping the log and planning routes, doing it all on there now is much easier than manipulating spreadsheets etc. (I'm 'mas' on there)

Home of the Outlaws

This weeks distance takes me to Stowemarket, where Angela's family were born and raised. We took them on a drive out to see where their grandparents lived and came across the Joe Cox Half marathon, it did set me wondering as to where I would be in the field - then I saw a round red fellow, stripped to the waist and carrying his vest and though mmm that's probably close. As it turned out there were a good many runners behind him so it would have been a good run I suspect. Next morning at work there was a young lad rattling a tin raising money for MS, he's running the the London Marathon and he was in the Joe Cox as well.

As to my running it seems to have been a good week - in the end I went for Week 5 and nearly did it - had to stop in the last session as the lungs haven't caught up with the legs. Week 6 in the plan seems a big jump and not consistent with the following weeks so I'm amending it to something more sensible: Run 10min Rest 1 min repeat 3 times. I'll also have to up the distance a bit to fit it in add another 0.3 of a mile might do it, may be a little more.

Rest Week? or just a bad un

Do to various commitments including a couple of trips to Cambridge thins didn't exactly go to plan.

It started off OK with a good solid RW week 4 run on Monday, Tuesday Badminton was OK but still felling the effects of Monday. Wednesday was a gym session - though not so much strength work as it was lunchtime instead of evening. Thursday, no swimming as we had to go to Cambridge. Friday the weather was so 'orrible I decided to leave it until Saturday. Saturday in Cambridge again and though I'd leave it until Sunday. Sunday was nice so we too the outlaws to see some of their old haunts around Blaxhall. A liquid lunch at the Hitching White Horse was not exactly good preperation for a training session but I went anyway - not great.

So next week shold be back to normal and I'll try a sort of Week 4.5. Probably something like
Run 8min rest 2, Run 6min rest 2, Run 6 min (or home), which is about the same about to running time as week 4 but just a bit longer and fewer sessions.

Only way is up?

Generally a good week on the training front, the trouble with a nice run down to the sea and back is that it's down to the sea which means is up on the way home. Ok it's not steep, it's not even that high (we're about 17 metres above sea level) but it is that long slow unrelenting type winding though the estate.
As I get fitter I'll just be able to take it in my stride, later on I'll have to be seeking out long slow hills as there is plenty of hills in the GNR, but for now it's just at the wrong time in every run.

On the map I'm at the Suffolk Water Park in Bramford, I remember doing a Boys Brigade raft race there many years ago but it seems it's all fishing now so I'll run on by.

Next week is Week 4 in the plan Run five mins, walk two mins. Repeat four times.