Ten weeks until London

Ten weeks until London.

First off I hate it when people refer to a marathon just by the name of the city it is in but predictably I have become one of those people.

The London marathon, a race I will be running in ten weeks

Ten weeks until the Virgin Money London Marathon then.

London, it is a city, it is here, it is not ten weeks away

The headline news is that I am actually following a marathon training plan, it's quite a change in my whole running ethos.

I always had the notion that if I ever got into London (FFS I've done it again) then that would be my impetus to follow a plan/train harder/lose weight/eat properly/do more strength and conditioning, all the things I feel would improve my marathon performance but haven't quite had the motivation to implement before.

So far it's working.

I'm following a training plan, the asics target 26.2 sub 4 plan (there would be a link to the relevant webpage but it has been wiped from the internet and now replaced with asics frontrunner) to be precise.

I'm eating a bit better, not loads better but trying to cut back snacking and controlling my portion size.

And I'm putting an emphasis on incorporating some strength and conditioning work into my routine, mainly plank based exercises and techniques from James Dunne @kineticrev.

Time will tell if they all make a difference but early signs are encouraging.

Training recap:
I really enjoyed a great interval session on Tuesday hitting 5x10K paced 1K intervals.
Last night I tolerated a bitterly cold steady paced 14 miles, so demanding maintaining a slow pace when it's so cold!

The week ahead:
Some marathon paced running and maybe a hill session mid week.
Greenwich 10K on Sunday, following the plan this will be HM paced.

So far so good.
Trust the process.
Enjoy the ride.

Thank you for all the sponsorship so far, to donate to my fundraising efforts for PARC (Essex) please click here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gareth-davies109 Thanks!

Target #asics262 finale

After 5 months the journey is finally over for the asics target 26.2 final 5 runners. Their triumphant finish to the Paris Marathon marking the end of Runnersworld's Asics target 262 project that I was fortunate to be involved with in a very small way.

You will have seen me make reference to it in previous blog posts and you may well have read my review of the bootcamp day as it is one of my most popular posts.

To anyone that doesn't know the asics262 is a once in a lifetime, money can't buy competition to win supported training towards and entry into the 2015 Paris Marathon. 

Over 3000 applicants entered and I was fortunate enough to be selected as 1 of 50 bootcampers for the first selection stage.

The final 5 were eventually selected in December 2014 and have been busy training hard with the support of the asics and Runnersworlds teams towards their target aims for the marathon.

The Paris marathon has just passed and after several ups and downs through the training period all 5 runners successfully completed the marathon in grueling conditions under the hot and sweaty French springtime sun.

I won't steal their thunder, I will let them tell their own story which you can read on the website here. 

It has been a great journey to be part of in my small way, to have met these intrepid runners at bootcamp and then to have followed their journeys and interacted with them on social media. It has been brilliant supporting and gaining support from the other bootcampers and the wider running community that have followed the competition.

Thank you to the final 5

Being part of the whole experience has been inspiring and motivating following the journies and stories on the way to Paris. Many of the forum posts and social media messages following Paris from the asics 5 have been messages of thanks to all who have supported them so I thought it was only right that I in turn thanked the asics 5 for the motivation they have provided to me and other through their training not to mention the time and dedication provided to updating their forums and responding to messages on other platforms.

Tony - first time marathoner and aiming for a sub4 marathon

I will be honest and say I haven't fully followed all the other threads apart from Tony who was part of my group at bootcamp and I therefore had more of an association with. I did try to keep pace (running pun intended!) with his thread as he made his debut attempt at the marathon distance.

Right from the bootcamp stage I was really drawn to Tony's sponge like quality of being so receptive and being so eager to absorb all the knowledge and expertise on offer. I found his story really motivating and refreshing as Tony developed through his training while eloquently sharing his experiences and knowledge gained with his enthusiastic band of supporters on his thread. His challenge of aiming for a sub4 hour marathon in his first attempt took a great deal of courage as he could have quite easily relaxed and just focused on finishing, but the fact he pushed himself towards an ambitious target made his story a must to follow.

I valued reflecting on Tony's realistaion after running his first marathon that a marathon isn't this insurmountably distance that is impossible to conquer but an achievable target for every runner that prepares and trains properly. 

Tim aka Superman, sub 3.30 target

A story of ups and downs, Tim pushing himself to new levels and recovering from shattering lows. As an experienced runner I was inspired by your high standards and your gritty determination to overcome adversity. Some of your posts have been wise beyond your years and  I have appreciated your motivational wisdom and clear insight into pushing yourself to your high standards.

I look forward to following your surely successful attempt at a 3.15 marathon in the near future.

Amy the pocket rocket speedster, sub 4 target

Amy's youthful exuberance, positive attitude and pace to burn literally blew me away at the bootcamp as part of the 5K time trial and she maintained this through her training and into the marathon. 

Well done on turning your short distance speed into a brilliant marathon finishing time.

Tom sub 3 hour target

Wow, I will be honest and say I struggle to comprehend running a marathon in this time and so didn't follow the thread that much as felt it was so far out of my league. From what I have read I was impressed again with the high standards you set yourself and your desire to achieve nothing but excellence. Your finishing time was still phenomenal and an immensely proud achievement.

Andrea sub 4.30 target

With keeping up with some of the other threads I unfortunately didn't get much opportunity to interact with Andrea's thread but I have enjoyed seeing tweets of your progress. A deserved finalist as it was clear to see the happiness and joy being part of the competition has brought you, again a well deserved finishing time and I wish you all the best for your marathons to come.

Thank you to all five of you for sharing your time and your experiences with us, I feel privileged to have followed your stories and wish you all every success in the future.

So what for me?

After missing out on the final five I initially decided that I would have my sub4 marathon attempt at the Halstead marathon in early May. As you have probably gathered this didn't materialise due to a combination of injury niggles, moving flat and starting a new job keeping me pretty occupied for most of the first quarter of 2015.

Its just been unfortunate that circumstances haven't allowed me to capitalise on my involvement with this competition but that's just the way it goes, life doesn't always work out that way. 

I will be honest and say I am so disappointed to have not followed the asics 262 journey by actually running a spring marathon but last Sunday morning as the Paris marathon was progressing I had nothing but excitement as I waited for the results to come through.

I was a mixture of nervous energy waiting to see how the Asics 5 had done as well as waiting to hear about other bootcampers and the progress of several other Twitter friends.

Following the other asics spring marathon in Manchester was also a great experience as at least three members of my sub4 hour group achieved a sub4 marathon, (awesome runs Angela, Matt and Craig) to go along with Amy and Tony's sub4 runs in Paris which was coupled with a sub4 run from another runner from the groups Chris. 

The year ahead

But for now I am planning some marathons for the autumn and it looks like I might repeat my three marathons in three months from last year but with different marathons this year hopefully picking more PB friendly courses.

In terms of asics 262 I am saddened as I know the ship has sailed for me, witnessing the journey of this years runners only made me want the experience more. realistically though I know I will not get another chance to be selected. If I run sub4 in the autumn I obviously wouldn't be selected in my sub4 category and would be so far off running a 3.30 for that to be a possibility. Having come close to running sub4 and being hopeful of at least getting close again this autumn I can't see why I would then get selected again for the sub4 category again anyway. 

I have still learnt a lot and benefited so much from the experience I have had, I am very grateful to asics for the chance of being part of the process and to all the other runners for sharing, supporting and just being awesome! 

My final thought is reflecting on something that Tim has touched upon on his thread about the idea that 'History is not destiny' and that to change the outcome of a marathon from what you have achieved in the past you need to train differently and act differently. 

A summary of my running year

In summary 2014 was an epic year, at the start of the year I would never have dreamed I would have been involved with most of what 2014 brought. I never thought I would start a blog and had no idea of the supportive world of social media that lay in store! 

In all I covered 1,648Km or 1,024 miles which passed my target of 1,000miles! 

They say pictures tell a thousand words and they are of course much quicker to view than hundreds of words so if you are a bit strapped for time a flipagram of my year is here: http://flipagram.com/f/OQy63MFpUe

The start of the year:

2013 ended with me feeling very disappointed after a poor performance at the Beachy Head Marathon in October. I was eager to quickly get this disappointment out of my system with another marathon in early 2014 but couldn't find anything that fitted into my schedule for the early part of the year.

So in January I instead took part in the Benfleet 15 not so much a running event as a mud fest! It was a great event though that I really enjoyed and quite liked running a 15 mile distance although it took me around 2 and a half hours! 

A half marathon PB

Come February I had entered the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon searching to better my half marathon PB of 1.46 and aiming to run sub 1.45. The event goes down as my best running performance as I smashed my PB and expectations finishing in 1.39! The feeling of catching the 1.40 pacers in the last mile and then powering past them in the final few hundred metres will live long in my memory as a real highlight! 

Three marathons in three months 

Around this time I hatched my plan to run three marathons in three months later on in the year, my three marathon challenge was designed with the aim of me running sub 4 hours for the first time and giving me a focus ahead of the impending doom of my 30th birthday in early 2015.

As things transpired I missed out on my sub4 hour target principally because two of the three marathons were tough off-road affairs where a PB time was never realistically going to be achievable.

The first of the three marathons was the Vanguard Way in August starting in Croydon and taking place over the North a Downs. It turned into a very eventful race as I got lost three times and eventually crawled over the finish line in 4.55. The race was probably the most enjoyable of the year as I enjoyed the camaraderie with other runners, the small scale of the event and the subsequent isolation and solitude experienced while running.

Marathon number two was an altogether different affair with a large scale inner city marathon with the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham. A great performance and a marathon PB of 4.09 which I was really pleased with.

The third marathon was a tricky kettle of fish, a local off road trail marathon the Weald Park marathon which consisted of 12 3.5km laps. Again really enjoyable but so demanding and again I was massively pleased with my finishing time of 4.34. 

Overall I loved running marathons so close together and really felt I gained momentum as I progressed through the three and I was able to learn more about myself as a runner as well as the requirements of running a marathon.

Spitfire scramble

Somewhere towards the end of my training towards my first of three marathons I ended up unexpectedly taking part in spitfire scramble which is a 24 hour team relay event which held its inaugural event in a nearby country park. I say unexpectedly as I ended up getting involved only days before the event was due to take place as a team had suffered with dropouts of runners with injuries and illnesses and I answered an urgent appeal on Twitter for runners to get involved. 

The event was amazing and it was a great experience to run late at night and in the early hours of the morning, in all I contributed six 9.5km laps in the 24 hour period towards our teams total. 

I enjoyed it so much I am already signed up for 2015! 

Running all the way home

My other memorable achievement of 2014 was the completion of my long held aim to run all the way home from work a route of some 18 miles. I capitalised on my marathon fitness to complete this aim in October and you can read about it here. 

30 Day runstreak  

After these three marathons and the relative disappointment of missing my sub4 target I was a little unsure of what my next aim would be. In November I embarked on a 30 day run streak to push my limits as a runner as well as aiming to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer awareness month while also fundraising for Pancreatic Cancer UK, you can still visit my JustGiving page here. 

Asics 26.2

I was only a few days into my runstreak when I got caught up in the whirlwind that is Runnersworld Asics Target 26.2. I was fortunate enough to be selected in 50 lucky runners from over 3,000 entrants to go through to the boot camp stage. It was an amazing experience and I was so lucky to have been involved despite not progressing any further in the competition. I have made some great friends though and am really looking forward to following everyone's progress in 2015 as everyone searches for Marathon PBs at various events in the spring. 

The year ended with me completing my 30 day runstreak and my last event being the traditional Santa run, which as always is great fun! 

Thank you again for all your support I really appreciate it, best wishes on all your running endeavors in 2015!

Day 29 - Finishing my runstreak with a running commute

Today's run - Run commute - Busy London streets - 5K - 27 minutes

I realise updates on the last week or so have been non existent on my blog but I have been posting regular updates of my run on twitter, if you would like to come and join in on the twittersphere I am @beoutrunning. 

Since the Parkrun on day 20 and Santarun on day 21 of last weekend I have still managed to run everyday but it has been such a busy week I just haven't ha the time or energy to write up blogs for my runs.

In summary I have done a few interval sessions, a 7.5K course PB on Friday Evening(day 26), an early morning Saturday run (day 27) before a boozy day on a pubcrawl which was then followed up by a recovery run on Sunday (day 28). A long with all that there has been the usual busyness of everyday life along with the extra demands of the festive season. Throw into that mix excitedly following the conclusion of the asics 26.2 competition; (massive congratulations to the final 5!) and being offered a new job it has been a busy week!

So with today being day 29 and the last official day of my runstreak challenge I wanted to mark the occasion with a suitable run. 

Since quitting my gym last month my running routine has had to change up, instead of travelling into London heading to the gym then popping out for a run before returning to the gym for some training and/or a cool down before showering and departing for work I am now needing to run straight to work if I want to run in London in the morning.

Significantly impressed by the running commute of one of the asics 26.2 final 5 Tony McNeill I decided to go for it! I took the train to Tower Hill then took the scenic route through to my work near Chancery Lane which rounded the route up to the required 5K as well as taking in some famous London sights.

All in all it was a very enjoyable run, I enjoyed the quietness of being both that bit earlier than I usually am and the fact it was cold and dark in comparison to the more attractive summer months. London still looked as amazing as ever there and provided a captivating backdrop for my run.

Having kind of decided on this run commute on the spare of the moment I hadn't done any preparation so therefore I had to carry everything in my rucksack (runsack?!) work clothes, towel, lunch, toiletries etc.

I didn't find this a problem at all though, I think for running 5K in a steady pace, (I covered the route in under 27 minutes which taking into consideration the hour and the London traffic I was very impressed!) it's fine, any faster or longer though and it would have been troublesome.

I decided my runstreak doesn't end here though, with some Christmas socialising and associated drinking and eating planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday it made sense to me to extend to Tuesday so I could have Wednesday to Friday off as a well deserved rest while also rounding up my runstreak to 30 days. 

So one more day to go! I have really enjoyed this runstreak and the idea of 'when shall I run today as opposed to am I going to run today?'. I feel I have got so much stronger and faster, not to mention leaner as well. The runstreak has provided an ideal way to lay down some base miles before training for Half Marathons and Marathons in the New Year.

Day 18 A good run after a long day

Today's run - Just a run - Pavement - 5.5K - 30mins 

Today after a long day at work I headed out for a simple run. I recently read a great bit of advice on running during a runstreak, 'it is a case of when can you run rather than should I go for a run'. And it today's case it was a case of going for a run when I could and just getting on with it.

As mentioned previously the highlights of running at this time of year are the Christmas decorations so here is the pick of the decorations I passed on today's run.

:)

Away from running I realised I have neglected my non running training so last night I cracked on with a 300 workout which consists of 100 reps of press ups, squats and mountain climbers in any order and in any sequence of reps but against the clock.

It was a great quick workout but I am ashamed to say I was a bit outside of the suggested beginners time. I also completed 100 reps of crunches and dips against the clock to round off my workout. 

I am planning to do this workout again and do so regularly to improve my time and performance.

Looking back at this week I can't believe this time last week I was excited about attending the asics 26.2 bootcamp.

You can read about my experiences here and if you would like to vote towards the winners here is my article I wrote in support of a friend I made at boot camp who is very deserving of your vote.

Runners World Asics Target 26.2 - Vote now!!

As you will have read from my previous blogs and a lot of frenzied activity on twitter I was lucky enough to be selected from over 3,000 runners to be shortlisted in the final 50 for the bootcamp stage of the competition. The competition is most easily summarized as an Xfactor for runners with only 5 winners places up for grabs. 

You can read about my bootcamp experience here.

Unfortunately lady luck was not on my side and I was not selected to go forward to the public vote stage. Unlike the real Xfactor rather than falling down into a heap of tears or crying on Cheryl's shoulder I have dusted myself off and will be supporting the other competitors. 

In the First Timers category a friend I made on the day Anthony McNeill has made it through to the public vote, here is what he has to say about his running history, why he got into running and what the competition means to him. 

OK, a bit about me and my history as a runner. I'm one of those MAMLs (middle-aged men in lycra) who discovered running ridiculously late in life and who now has the bug. I took up running nearly 4 years ago after seeing myself in a photo looking overweight and on my way to an early heart attack. This would be a very Bad Thing as I've three kids (aged 6, 9 and 15) who I want to run, skate, play footie with etc. for a long time to come.

I bought a pair of cheap trainers (from M&S would you believe) and went running in the local park. It was all I could do to run a length of it - only about 200 metres - before having to walk the width. I'd suffer about 20 minutes of this pantomime of half-walking, half-jogging before limping home, my cotton Tshirt drenched in sweat (I hadn't discovered the joys of technical tees). After a week or so though, I was running a lap. After a few more weeks, consecutive laps. Finally, after a few months I felt like I could run forever and decided to get myself some proper kit. 

I went to my local branch of Sweatshop - a big shout out to the Teddington SRC! - where they not only recommended a pair of Asics GT1000s (I've been wearing this model ever since) but signed me up to the Sunday morning run. Since about September 2011, I've been a regular Sunday morning 10km runner, often adding another 10km running from home and back and sometimes bringing my oldest son along with me. 

I really enjoy the social side of the running and it's no coincidence that my PBs have been running alongside others. I've enjoyed helping others hit a new PB too. It's also become a family thing for me: Gabriel (15) is now a really fast runner and did the Pine Ridge 10km last October (finishing well before me) and my daughter Eve (9) has done a few fun runs and completed a couple of junior triathlons. I really like the fact that this is something we can all do together (whilst also secretly enjoying when I can get away from them now and again!).

Getting into the top 5 means taking the ASICS Target 26.2 challenge to its ultimate and thrilling conclusion. It means new challenges and sacrifices but new friendships and shared achievements too. I feel I've already made a few already. What I think I can bring to the team is experience (age?), grey hair and a few too many kilos but but determination, humour and spirit.

Please vote - early and often;-) - and follow @anthonymcneill on Twitter.

So there we go! Someone with a real dedication and passion for running and someone who is really determined to proceed further in the competition. Not only an enthusiastic runner but a funny and entertaining guy as well who is well deserving of your vote. 

Please vote for him here: http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/target262/runners-500.aspx 

Day 17 A tough run made better with music

Today's run - Recovery run - Pavement - 5K - 28 mins

Today was a tough one, with bootcamp planned for this evening I had to head out early to get my run in which was fine a part from the fact I had attended Pigs Ear Beer and Cider Festival last night and had a few drinks and got to bed rather late!

So while preparing to head out this morning I decided I needed a little something extra, a bit of music aaccompaniment Fresh in my mind was runnersworlds compilation of their best running tracks and I had already added my favourite of these tracks into my own spotify playlist alongside my own running songs.

So off I ran with a soundtrack of the best morivational and uplifting tunes playing away in my ears. It definitely spurred me on and have me an injection of pace that would otherwise have been lacking.

Franz Ferdinand's Take me Out was a great start and by the time The Red Hot Chilli Peppers had fired up their anthemic Cant stop my air guitar was in full flow! It goes doen as one of my best running experiences as it really connected me back with the simple enjoyment of running and reminded me of how great running is. This was pretty much exactly what I needed after the disappointment of not progressing to the next stage in the Asics Target 26.2 competition.

Despite being gutted at not progressing I am relieved at not having to put myself through the stress of the public vote and am genuinely excited and pleased for the lucky ones who have got through.

Day 16 Feeling rough on an early morning run

Today's run - Seeing if I actually feel OK to run - Pavement - 5K - 27.30

Today's run had to be an early morning start and I really didn't feel in the best shape for it. Could it have been the 10K I ran yesterday, having an Indian last night, having a few drinks yesterday, or just having a busy few days with not enough rest and sleep? To be fair I think all these factors were to blame. 

Again it wasn't that cold heading out just after 6am and I soon felt sweaty and stuffy in my running fleece and my new Asics running beanie.

I tried to run as fast as my body would allow which actually was a decent enough pace which I was happy with. Again I ran my 'cheat' route comprising of mainly downhills which definitely helps with an early morning run.

I realise more and more I really need to start eating better to get the best out of my training as a long weekend of eating crap really hasn't left me feeling well and certainly not feeling particularly athletic.

I have realised in previous years the period from end of October to Christmas is just terrible for eating badly and putting on weight. I know it is for most people but for me especially as after the sweet treat fest that is Halloween I then have my wife's birthday in mid November, I then usually see my parents at the end of November/start December and my mum does like to treat me, and then of course you have the run up to Christmas with all the Christmas meals out, Christmas drinks meet ups with friends, Christmas snacks, chocolates and general binge eating! Combine this with cutting loose on a healthy eating regime after usually completing a marathon training program at the end of November and by Christmas I have usually pile on a few pounds! 

The need to burn these extra calories off was another motivating factor in wanting to undertake my runstreak. At the moment I think I am just about managing to keep a balance!

This is my first post in a while with no mention of Asics 26.2, well today is definitely the day we find out who has gone through to the next stage so I am trying not to think about it! After a few days off work I need to knuckle down and get on with some work but I think I will struggle with being productive today!

Day 15 Enjoying a day off work with a run

Today's run - Slow and Steady - pavement/trails - 9K approx - 50 minutes

Today was a nerve wracking day as it was the first day myself and 49 other bootcampers waited for a call to hear our fate in the Runners World Asics Target 26.2 competition.

It is now around 9pm and I haven't received a call nor seen any evidence of anyone else having received a call via Twitter so all I can presume is that the judges are having a difficult time in deciding and will let us know their decisions tomorrow.

In terms of running as I was off work today I headed out early for a longerish run aiming for a around 10K. I headed out into my local country park of Ingrebourne Valley which you will have heard me mention often in my blogs.

I headed out alongside the Ingrebourne river before diverting off and following along some of the Spitfire Scramble course. This turned out to be appropriate as I received notification later in the day that I had been offered a place in one of the UKrunchat team for the 2015 event.

If you aren't aware of spitfire scramble it is a 24 hour team event which I took part in earlier this year, my write up of the event can be found here.

My run itself was most enjoyable, I enjoyed being out early in the quiet and enjoyed going a longer distance. The scenery was great and I found it most rewarding especially in comparison to my commute into London that I would have been undertaking at that time had I been going to work.

Despite trying to stick to paths and trails that would be more solid under foot I did encounter a few dodgy muddy areas where my trainers ended up taking a dip

into the dirty muck!

Alongside my exciting Spitfire Scramble news I also discovered today that Brentwood now have their own parkrun and it is going to be staged in the lovely setting of South Weald Park which was the venue for my third of three marathons in three months the South Weald Marathon. I am really excited to be taking part in this inaugural parkrun on Saturday and hopefully on many future Saturdays to come! 

In terms of my runstreak I continue to enjoy running everyday and continue to feel stronger and fitter. I am now halfway through and am looking forward to finish the raining days strongly.

Tomorrow will now be my day of reckoning to see if I make it through to the next stage of the process for the Asics 26.2 competition! I am keeping my fingers crossed to see what happens!

Day 14 Enjoying running after a long weekend

Today's run - gentle pacing run - Pavement - 5.32K - 26.59
Yesterday's run - fartlek - Pavement - 8.22K - 43.33
Friday's run - Track session at Asics Target 26.2 - Around 7K covered

After a busy weekend it's time to catch up on my runstreak runs. Since my last update on Thursday Day 11 I was at the Asics boot camp on Friday and then had a particularly stressful day yesterday and today to be fair and although I had time to run but not to write it up.

For a summary of my experiences at the Asics boot camp you can read my experience here.

Yesterday I was looking forward to a chilled out Saturday, writing up my boot camp experiences, heading for a run and watching the rugby. It didn't quite turn out that way as when we returned home after a trip out in the morning we found our kitchen flooded!

The rest of the afternoon was then pretty much spent clearing it up then trying to identify and rectify the problem before trying to arrange for a plumber to come out through discussions with our landlord. The problem was eventually pinpointed to a blocked drain just outside the flat and when it was all over I was glad to get out for a run to relax and escape the stresses of the day.



I completed a 8K fartlek run and enjoyed throwing in some good sprint speed work, I am conscious of continuing to work on my speed and get faster ahead of any races next year.

In the evening I was so grateful to relax with some great home cooked food courtesy of my wife.




Today was also a stressful day as I had my parents visiting which is always a draining experience!

I was so looking forward to heading out for my evening run but didn't enjoy it as much as I could of as I struggled after a big Sunday lunch.

One of the main highlights of running at this time of year is seeing the Christmas decorations out and about. Here is the highlight from today's run:

Now I have had a bit of time to reflect on my Asics boot camp experience I am to be honestly feeling pretty calm about the next stage and progressing in the competition. What will be will be!

I am still incredibly eager to be involved in the final 5 and am very interested to see how I would progress in the voting stage but at the same time reluctant to but myself through the stresses of voting.

There were so many deserving characters at the boot camp and I just don't know how the judges will be able to pick out just 4 or 5 runners per category.

Thanks for reading, thanks for the support and honestly and sincerely the best of luck to all bootcampers for the next stage! Please remember my runstreak in support of Pancreatic Cancer and raising awareness of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, if you would like to donate please visit my JustGiving page, thanks!

Asics Target 26.2 Boot camp

Time to reflect on yesterday and my attendance as one of the 50 shortlisted runners at Runners World Asics Target 26.2 Boot camp training day in Birmingham. 

Our introduction to the day informed us that we were lucky enough to be selected from a record number of over 3,500 applicants for the boot camp stage and from everyone I spoke to during the day I can certainly echo the sentiment from Asics that everyone thoroughly deserved their place and should be proud of their achievement of coming this far. 

The day itself.....

The journey 

For me it was a particularly long day as I was up and awake at 4.00 in the morning and out the door at around 5.00 to take on the early less reliant pre rush hour tube service to make it to Euston for my 6.45 train. 

The tube is a completely different proposition at that time of the morning with almost everyone in a zombie like state of sleepiness somewhat surprised that there are other individuals up and awake at this unearthly hour. 

I made it in plenty of time for my train and soon settled down in my seat to catch up on some much needed sleep as I sped my way across the Country. 

At Birmingham New Street Station it was a case of mixing with the early morning Birmingham commuters to catch my connecting train to Perry Bar station and onward to Alexander Stadium where the day was being held. It was pretty easy to spot a few other individuals in running gear heading for the same train so I introduced myself to what turned out to be previous winners Malcolm (AKA Malcs on twitter on the RW forum) and Roger Reid (AKA ChiroRoger on twitter) who both offered interesting and insightful views of their winning experiences. The group also included fellow bootcamper Rosie (AKA Londontrack on twitter) who like me was both nervous and excited about the day that lay ahead. 

Session one - Running gait analysis 

After a quick briefing by the Asics team and watching a video of last years winners experiences we split up into our time category groups for the first session. 

A selfie of the sub 4 group running style! Courtesy of  Sarah @mia79gbr

My category, the sub 4 hours group, had the gait analysis session first where we all took it in turns to have our running gaits analysed and the appropriate suggestions made on our current footwear and potential future footwear. 

The nature of the session meant that the group was able to talk amongst ourselves while one runner was being analysed and it was great to start chatting with fellow runners. We were also able to spend time discussing the incredible prize on offer with previous winners Malcolm (aka Malcs on twitter on the RW forum) Adrian (aka Ady_Livingstone) and Sarah (aka mia79gbr). It was really useful to get a better idea of how the competition progresses as well as hearing about the pressures of the dreaded public vote!

The group listen and learn from last years winner Malcolm, photo courtesy of Craig Bowdery @craigbowdery

Session two - Physio session

Session two for our group was a physio session with Sarah Connors where she talked us though common runner injuries and complaints and how we can combat these. The session especially focused on warming up the nerves in you back and the importance this plays in firing up your glutes and hamstrings to allow you to run more effectively. 

We then all took part in some stretching and core conditioning exercises with varying degrees of success and flexibility. 

After a morning that flew by in a blur it was lunch time and while the other groups hungrily tucked into a wide range of sandwiches our group more conservatively nibbled at our food as we had drawn the short straw of having our running track session straight after the lunch break. 

Session three - Run session on the track 

After trying to take on some sustenance we reluctantly headed outside into the cold West Midland air for the obligatory group photo shoot which gave us our first taste of being out on the track. 

With the formalities of the photos done and dusted the other groups departed leaving us out on the track ready to be put through our paces from the coaches. 

For many of the group it was their first experience of running on a track but I think it is safe to say it was an exciting experience for us all whatever our background. 

The track session had rightly generated a lot of discussion through the day and I think was causing a certain amount of anxiety amongst us especially as we didn't feel particularly well prepared after a hurried lunch. 

After some warming up, which was much needed as it was pretty nippy, our first task was to complete some pacing runs at both 9.30 minute miles and slightly faster at 9 minute miles to give us an idea of the pace required for our marathon times and to see if we could pace ourselves for a sustained period. 

One of the pacing runs as part of our track session, photo courtesy of  @runnersworlduk

It was a difficult task and one I think we all struggled with and relied mostly on guess work rather than an insightful pacing knowledge. 

With several laps now completed we were all raring to go into the main exercise of the 5K time trial. The task was to complete the 5K by completing different periods of sustained increased pace followed by shorter recovery periods. The pattern was to be 400m at our 5K race pace, 200m of recovery at a slightly relaxed pace and repeated 8 times with the final 200m being left for a sprint finish. 

It was a run I really enjoyed both in terms of the mental and physical challenge but also for the testing nature of it. It was pretty tough to keep pushing and raising your speed at regular intervals and it is an interval session I would like to repeat again. Everyone I spoke to form the group seemed to likewise enjoy the session. 

It was hard to judge what was being gained from the session in terms of selection criteria apart from the obvious of making sure we could all run as fast as we had stated on our application which everyone easily demonstrated. I was pleased with finishing fourth in the group despite being ran down in the last quarter but I don't believe it gives me any advantage in terms of being selected for the next stage. 

After another few laps of pacing we were all relieved to head in doors to the warmth and to replenish our energy supplies with some left over sandwiches. 

Session four - Q&A with Holly Rush

Our last session was the Q & A with sponsored Asics athlete Holly Rush which was already a money cant buy opportunity without taking into account the actual prize we were all competing for. Holly was very relaxed in front of the group and obviously is a passionate runner and she was more than happy to talk through her experiences and share with us many facets of her training, nutrition, racing strategies and offered us advice in all these areas plus injury prevention, training methods and race preparation. 

I think the group were all thankful and privileged to have the opportunity to spend time and discuss running with such a talented and passionate elite runner. 

The end of the day

Eventually the session had to come to an end and with it marked the end of the day as a whole. The Asics team gave us a quick debrief of what to expect from the next stage and the boot camp day was then at its conclusion.  

The last thing to do was to pick up our goody bags and make plans for the journey home. And what goody bags they were, here is what we had in them: 

I ended up travelling back into central Birmingham with two runners from my group Chris (aka ChrisBrammer on twitter) and Tony (aka AnthonyMcNeill).

We all had a bit of time to kill before our respective trains so we took the logical option of heading to the pub for a well deserved pint! If an elite ultra marathon like Holly Rush can enjoy a drink during training then why can't we! A nice refreshing pint in the pub was a nice end to the day before the arduous journey back home.

A well deserved pint!

My reflections

Overall it was such a positive day with so many lessons learned. The cynical amongst you might say it is all just a very clever marketing strategy to further the asics brand and you might be right but when they treat us runners so well and offer such an amazing prize I think we are all more than happy to be part of this marketing ploy.

In terms of selecting the bootcampers for the next stage and in turn the final 5 I believe asics know what they are looking for in a potential finalist and maybe I am what they are looking for and maybe I am not. I believe I have a lot to offer but at the same time I am not the big personality perhaps required for some of the demands of being in the final 5.

In many ways I am happy to have just experienced boot camp and would be happy to not progress any further but at the same time I am even hungrier for the prize having found out more about it.

The demands of the voting stage will be gruelling if I get that far and it would be awful to go through to the voting stage and then not get any further. On the other hand I am really interested and motivated by the challenge the voting stage presents!

What did I learn and take away?

• I am definitely a neutral runner
• Making new friends and meeting some social media acquaintances
• Some excellent stretching and core advice and techniques
• To be proud of my running achievements
• A drive to want to be a better stronger runner
• Some good ideas for some more speed work
• A plan to follow the sub 4 marathon training program in the spring
• A renewed determination to run a sub 4 marathon in 2015

Thank you for reading, it was great to be a part of the day and meet so many other bootcampers. I would love to hear what you thought of the day and what you got out of it. I wish all my fellow bootcampers the best of luck in getting through to the next stage and look forward to supporting whoever gets through if I'm not fortunate enough to get through.