Week 3 of sub20 5K training

Week 3 kicked off and I was ready to hit it hard and make up for the lost training opportunities of last week. A busy week in prospect though so fitting in training was going to be another challenge...

Monday - The wife's birthday so a difficult day to justify spending too much time out pounding pavements. Unfortunately I had to be at work while see took a well deserved day off, knowing we would be going out in the evening I was up bright and early for an early morning run.

The plan was for a 5K run following a 400m hard (approx sub20 target pace 4min/km) and 200m easy (approx 5.15/30min/km) rhythm. 

However I didn't feel particularly great, my stomach didn't take kindly to being up early and being out running before it had had enough chance to go through its daily routines, if you get what I mean. So the long and short pf it was that my run was cut short as I aborted my session to head for home and to seek solace in the comforts of the bathroom. Its possible this intestinal discomfort had something to do with the visit to Choccywocydoodah (see my last post for details and more importantly photos!)the day before, its no wild idea to think that eating close to my own body weight in chocolate goodies didn't have the best affect on my stomach.

I probably managed 4 x 400m sprints with 200m rest periods and with a bit of a warm up and a cool down so not a completely wasted session but not a super high intensity workout that I had hoped for. 

Monday evening was a bit more enjoyable though, a few drinks then a tasty meal in the local Thai restaurant. 

Tuesday After a bit of a late night last night and a work function in the evening today was allocated as a rest day as there was no opportunity for training which was why I was all the more frustrated that yesterdays session hadn't been as hard as I had planned.

A slight panic set in when I realised I was meant to be heading over to Hackney Marshes parkun on Saturday for a race with running buddies Chris and Tony. Its these two guys with whom I am undertaking this sub 20 5K challenge and although the challenge is really against the clock and in trying to beat the 20 minute barrier the underlying challenge is the race between the three of us. I had some how missed this date in my diary and knew I was seriously underprepared to run any kind of race at the weekend, oh well I would just have to see how it goes!

Wednesday - Tuesday evening was spent staying in a hotel in West London following my work function and there was no way I was not going to take the chance of going for a morning run in Hyde Park when it was only a few hundred metres from my hotel!

A 6.3K fartlek run in a rather glorious early morning wintery Hyde Park was a very enjoyable way to start my day. The run included some drills, some faster sprints and a kilometer in 4.14min which felt pretty good.

The evening also ended on a high with a gig by one of my favourite bands Reverend and the Makers at one of London's most amazing venues the beautiful KOKO. An awesome band giving a typically high energy performance, so much so I was still buzzing the next morning despite getting to bed late and having to get up early.

Thursday - An early start with work and a late finish but I still had time and energy for an evening run. 

The plan was to really test out my 5K pace with a view for gauging what was possible for Saturday without tiring myself, so after a half Km warm up I launched into 2 miles aiming for a sub 21 minute 5K pace. I concentrated on my pacing and breathing and pushed myself without going flat out, the result? A pace of 6.48 min/km which is pretty much a 21 minute 5K, and it felt comfortable enough so not bad, not bad at all on the back of a less than ideal week or two of training. 

Friday - Rest day after last night and wanting to rest ahead of Saturday's race

Saturday - Wherever you were on Saturday I am sure you had bad weather, freezing temperatures, gale force winds, rain and in many cases snow. So what lovely weather to get up early and go out for a run!

By the time I had headed over to Stratford the cold sleety rain was pelting down and Hackney Marshes were a wet and miserable sight under a grey and groggy sky full of rain.

We managed to hide out in the cafe until it was time to head to the start line where brave runners and even braver volunteers assembled while trying to some how stay dry and not be blown away by the gusty winds.

The race that followed was somewhat challenging in the weather conditions but it was far from unrunable. After the first mile my pace was about 30 seconds slower from where it was on Thursday evening despite feeling that I was pushing the pace as hard as I could. at that point I knew this was not going to be a good run and nothing anywhere near the area of sub 20. 

I had targeted a time of 20.40 pre race which was based on Thursdays session but that completely disappeared out of side as I eventually finished in a despondent 21.38. What made it worse was that Tony was around 10 seconds ahead of me and Chris another decent distance ahead of him. Even though we were all well short of our sub20 aim I was disappointed to come last.

Its easy to suggest the conditions attributed to a slower time for all of us which is partly true but I really wanted to put a finger on why I was not only so far from my aim of 20 minutes but also not even close to my PB of 21.00. My evaluation is as follows:

• A serious lack of running and of miles in my legs, which is an obvious explanation from my schedule the last week or two.
• The weather really took a focus off the race, rather than 'getting in the zone' I was more concerned with battling the elements. So this is a good reminder to stay mentally focused on the task in hand and to try and block out external distractions.
• Sub20 is a massive goal and will require a lot of work which I just haven't been able to commit to in recent weeks.

I summarised this run with the phrase 'sometimes running is shit', meaning although my training hasn't been great I felt I was better than my performance and I did not get up early on a Saturday morning in the cold, wind and rain to run 30 seconds plus outside of my PB. Running is a cruel mistress that sometimes kicks you when you are down, but whatever happens you can never cheat running you will never get out what you don't deserve.

Sunday - Rest day, much work to do....


This blog covers my training the week of 16 - 22 November 2015

Hackney Marshes Parkrun 5th birthday celebrations

So this morning I headed off on what is becoming a regular trip to Hackney Marshes Parkrun for a showdown with running buddies Tony and Chris. 

With Tony still fresh from his Asics262 marathon triumph in Paris and Chris coming off the back of two sub4 marathons in three weeks I knew it would be a tough challenge to keep up with these two. A speed work session with Tony on Thursday morning over at the Regents Park running track where Tony left me behind while he had plenty more speed than me left in the tank had me wondering if I was going to compete with him today.

The reason for a running meet up this particular weekend was to help celebrate Hackney Marshes parkruns 5th birthday celebrations. And we weren't the only ones making the journey over for the celebrations as we joined a field of 176 runners. 

This was my third visit to Hackney Marshes and I must say its a great little setup, a super flat speedy Tarmac course, a nice green tree flanked route and a friendly mix of runners of all abilities, so I was pleased to join them for the celebrations.

An enjoyable part of the experience is my journey to Hackney marshes, although the train journey is quieter than a work day that's not the enjoyable part it's the gentle walk through the Olympic Park to the Parkrun start/finish.

So onto the run its self, a large crowd, prizes and awards for deserving regulars and a host of new timers made for an exciting atmosphere at the start. My excitement was heightened though by a bit of celebratory spotting as spied Ronnie the rocket O'Sullivan lining up at the start. I admit I do get pretty stray struck and am not one to pluck up the courage to strike up a chat or ask for a photo. I was pretty amazed when in the opening few hundred metres as I started to battle through some congestion on the course I felt a hand on my shoulder as another runner tried to avoid colliding with me and to look round and see the snooker legend himself sneak past me! Not only is he a speedy snooker ball potter but he's also a speedy runner as he finished in an awesome time of sub19 minutes.

Courtesy of Hackney Marshes parkrun facebook page

But how was my race? I was eager to try and replicate my form from my 21 minute PB a few weeks back but I knew I wasn't quite in the same shape. 

I took the first km or so a bit easier and breezed past Chris at around 1km, Despite our friendly rivalry I was conscious to try and run my own race rather than concentrating on competing. I maintained a faster pace and felt comfortable up to the half way mark which I reckon I clocked in a faster time than during my PB run.

The second half was a struggle as I tried to keep going after going off too quick  it was made harder knowing Chris was on my shoulder and I expected him to ghost past me at any stage. I managed to hold off the threat of Bramster but as we started to head for home I spotted Tony out of the corner of my eye starting to mount an attack in the closing stages. I struggled in the closing minutes, I still need to work on my strength, the finish wasn't helped by my anticipation of the end. Every time the course bent round I kept thinking it was the home straight only to be disappointed no have further to run! I mustered a semi sprint finish in the last 50m or so and crossed the line in 21.29 luckily having enough to hold off my challengers. 

Looking at my splits I was happy to see a decent even pace, the first km is quick though (if you think it would realistically be a good bit quicker due to a delay at the start), so I need to think about starting slower to be able to run faster later on in the race. 

After the race there was a delicious array of cakes for hungry runners to tuck into. 

Although I won the race between the three of us the performance victory goes to Tony with a shiny new PB in the region of 40 seconds! Chris as well worked hard to run strongly but by his own admission is struggling to recover from two sub4 marathons in three weeks and a half marathon PB shortly after. 

Whatever the results and achievements it was another enjoyable Parkrun and aanother day to celebrate why I enjoy running!