The end of my failed sub 20 5K training

So here we are after seven weeks of dedicated training, my sub 20 5K attempt will be tomorrow. 

If you have been following my progress you will know that sub 20 ain't going to happen tomorrow, it's just not on the cards.

I've trained hard and really tried to focus on improving my speed but it's just not happened. I'm not putting too much pressure on myself and I'm not going to beat myself up, it's a challenge I have aimed for and not quite achieved and I would much rather try for something and not achieve it than not try at all. 

I am still hopeful of a shiny new PB which would mean breaking the 21 minute barrier which is a great time non the less.

The reasons for me not quite hitting my target are quite clear to me:

• I have been too busy and not been able to dedicate enough quality time to training, but hey that's life!
• My diet has not been great, again being busy doesn't help and a few trips away haven't helped either.
• With my training I know some of my sessions haven't been as tough as they could have been, many of my 200m interval sessions should have been 400s and my 400s 800s.
• I also feel that my body has not responded to training that well, maybe it's feeling a bit older, poor diet or not enough rest or probably a mixture of the three. 

Since my last training update here's what I have been up to...

On the 6 December I embarked on my longest run since my marathon in October, a 14K new route exploring the local area of Harold Hill and Noak Hill. It was great to get back into the long run mentality and just enjoy running for a long period of time and taking in the scenery of the new route. The highlight of the run was spotting a Buzzard flying above me before perching in a tree just across the road, I was too bust staring I didn't really get a good photo as you will see below. When I was younger I had a keen interest in birds of prey so this was a real highlight of my running career. 

In terms of speed sessions I have tried several different sessions:

• 400m hard with 200m recoveries
• 800m sprints with 2 minute recoveries 
• 1K hard aiming for sub 4.30min/km with a K at easier pace
• 1K aiming for sub 4 minutes and the continuing into a few more sub 5 minute Ks

I will be honest and say I enjoy the longer tempo type sessions where I running for longer sustained periods of time as opposed to the sprint intervals sessions.

Running in Venice

The real highlight of my running in recent weeks was popping out for a run while on holiday in Venice. Initially I decided I had to run while on holiday as I had decided to do a runstreak through December, although I actually forgot about the trip to Venice when deciding on the runstreak. But then I thought why the hell shouldn't I run on holiday? 

So on a glorious sunny afternoon headed out for a run navigating the waterways, tourists and piazzas of this historic city. I ended up running a 1K hard alternating with a 1K easy session covering 7K. It was a great experience to run in such an iconic place that provided a stunning back drop especially on such a sunny day. 

My run took me over 14 of Venice's famous canals via stepped footbridges many of which still had ramps put in place for the recent Venice Marathon as my route took me along the last mile or two of the marathon course. 

A great experience to add to my list of running highs as well as a great way to burn off the overindulgence's in pizza, wine and limoncello during the holiday! 

Santarun 

Last weekend I ran a 5K that was definitely a run not a race. I joined 550 other people including a group of family members to run around the annual Dagenham santa run, Essex dressed as Santa for this festive fundraiser for Saint Francis Hospice. 

As always it was a great atmosphere and a lot of fun raising funds for charity, a great event to remember the joys of running and the great support and camaraderie it can create.

My failed runstreak attempt

At the start of December I did embark on an advent running runstreak but this kind of petered out mainly due to tightness in my calves and knowing I need to listen to my body and take some rest. I still managed 15 days of exercising every day which included 12 days of at least 30minutes running on each day.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow at least the weather is looking good as the weather is still so mild. We will see how it pans out time wise but I am really keen to bag myself a PB! 

Good luck to everyone running this weekend! 

The last run of 2014

Today was my first run post Christmas and my festive indulgences and despite feeling like the Michelin man after calorific merriment my run felt pretty good.

I am rather ending 2014 on a low note as over Christmas I have struggled to walk let alone run with severe pains in the front of my calves caused by a previously diagnosed complaint I suffer from, compartment syndrome.

Today's run was about seizing the opportunity to run while out visiting family, it provided the chance to run somewhere different and to reminisce about past running routes I used to regularly cover. A visit to Dagenham is not necessarily the most attractive proposition but it was nice to rerun familiar routes and I have always fairly enjoyed running in the area.

Coming towards the end of the year when you are feeling nostalgic it was nice to run around some of my old haunts.  

Castle Green Park

Back several years ago when embarking on training for my first marathon as a naive, up confident runner I did the majority of my training in and around Castle Green park. Foolishly I used to run the same routes repeatedly, over and over to build up my mileage for long runs as opposed to exploring new routes. In castle green I used to run my usual route around but then include figure of eights or extend my course towards the boundaries of the park in the aim of trying to squeeze in extra mileage. 

Castle Green lives up to its name of being a green expanse (minus the castle) which is somewhat rare in these parts with the busy A13 buzzing past. The City and more specifically Canary Wharf is easily visible on a clear day providing a scenic background. 

The most notable part of the park is Barking and Dagenham's sporting tribute to the boroughs sporting heroes. Overlooking the A13 opposite Barking rugby club proudly stands four monuments to the sporting prowess of England's football World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore and manager Sir Alf Ramsey, England's rugby World Cup winning star Jason Leonard and 8 Paralympic medal winning swimmer Beverley Gull. It's a tremondous moment to recognise the boroughs sporting achievements especially the unique and quite unbelievable feat of this unglamourous and less prestigious borough providing both England's triumphant manager and captain for our only World Cup victory. 

In many ways the monument is misplaced as it is somewhat hidden away and not in the most well visited of areas but despite this being placed across the road from the club where Jason Leonard started his career off and just down the road from Beverley Gull's childhood home makes it more than a fitting location.

The statues have provided plenty of inspiration as I have ran past them many times over the years and they have certainly motivated me when using the slope they stand upon for hill training. 

My run then took down to Becontree before heading straight down Hedgemans Road towards Dagenham Heathway. Hedgemans Road is one of those straight never ending roads that goes on and on. Great when your running well and want to power on but demoralising when running poorly when the end of the road never seems to come! It's also a great road for fartlek/interval training as the little side roads provide natural intervals to split up efforts. 

Old Dagenham Park

Then in the second half of my run I ventured through to Old Dagenham park which is part of the area that commemorates the old village when Dagenham was a small green hideaway miles from the hustle and bustle before urban sprawl gobbled it up into London's greater suburbia.

The park is somewhat of a hidden gem as it is a sizable green space consisting of tree lined paths, several football pitches, a traditional children's play area as well as the modern young people's skate park and hangout area as well as a surprising purpose built BMX race track which seems slightly out of place and underutilised.

Overall I covered around 8K over pavements, pathways and grass taking in residential roads, parks, busy shops and industrial areas. 

It was pleasing to finish 2014 with a successful and enjoyable run even if I feel I am limping into 2015 feeling less than fit after a Christmas of excess and feeling injured with my calves.

Thank you for reading and for whatever part you have played in supporting my blog and my running in 2014. I hope your year of running has been successful and I wish you every success and plenty of PBs for 2015!

Day 21 Runstreak Santa Run

Today's run - Santa fun run - pavements - 5K - 24.12

Today was the one run a year where PBs and performance go out of the window, where looking cool in your running gear is forgotten about and instead you run around looking like a bit of a prat all in the name of charity!

This morning I took part in Saint Francis Hospice's annual Santa Run at Dagenham and Redbridge football ground the snappily named The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Football Stadium. 

The premise is quite simple; everyone meets up, gets dressed up in santa outfits and runs around the streets of Dagenham on a 5K route raising money for a local charity. 

The atmosphere is incredibly friendly, positive and cheery and everyone takes part with the smile on their face with a hood friendly spirit whether running or walking, seasoned runner or slow paced walker.

Its a great event that unites the whole community, it is a great introduction to running and running events for many and it was great to see so many youngsters taking part with their parents. And although it might sound strange I sensed a greater sense of satisfaction amongst runners at the finish line than I do at marathons as many participants would have envisaged a 5K distance as unbelievable and are therefore rightly proud to successfully complete the course with finish times becoming irrelevant.

The main challenge of an event like this is struggling with the 'one size fits all' generic costume. With our ever increasingly over weight society one size fits all becomes more aimed towards the larger individuals  and therefore becomes very troublesome for those of a smaller frame like me!

My wife did remark that I looked like a messy Santa as I didn't look particularly smart in my outfit as it was so grossly misfitting. Running in such an outfit was difficult to say the least, trying to stop the bottoms of your trousers coming down around your feet to trip you up, holding your waist band to stop your trousers slipping down (although I did have shorts on underneath!), then wrestling with your Santa jacket as it flailed in the air caused by running, there was also the itchy beard irritating your face and threatening to strangle your throat at any moment! 

The event was made all the more special as I wasn't running it on my own and was joined at the event by my mother in law. Although she opted to complete the course at a more serene steady walking pace while I chose to run round in a pleasing time of just over 24 minutes it was nice to have someone to chat with at the start and cheer on at the finish.

Today's race forms a part of my bigger fundraising efforts of taking part in a 29 day runstreak which you can read about here. As well as raising funds for Saint Francis Hospice today I have been specifically raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK and if you would like to donate please visit my Just Giving page here.