Week 5 of sub20 5K training

Firstly I will be honest, sub20 is not happening, well not anytime soon. If you are reading this blog for advice on how to run a sub20 5K this is not the place for you I'm afraid. However if you by some weird choice of reading materials are looking for a blog about how not to improve your 5K time and run a sub20 5K then welcome this is very much a blog for you!

The start of December this week has seen me embark on an #adventrunning challenge. I am aiming to achieve the standard advent running goal of 30 minutes of exercise, in my case mostly running on every day between the 1st and 25th of December, yes that's right, running everyday on the run up to Christmas and also running on Christmas Day itself. Running on Christmas day I know is not everyone's (including my wife who is yet to be fully happy with my running endeavours) idea of fun but whats 30 minutes before the festivities kick in?

At this time of year it seems everyone is embarking upon an #adventrunning challenge or a festive related #runstreak of some sort. I suppose it is a bit tedious that everyone on social media seems to be doing the same thing and runstreaks are not the unheard of phenomena that they once were.

There seems to be a fair amount of criticism against runstreaks so I thought I would just explain the reasons why I am running everyday for almost a month:

• To challenge my own perceptions of what my limitations are 
• To help offset my festive indulgences 
• To keep me motivated to run during a busy time of the year 
• To get stronger and fitter from the increased amount of running 
• To get into the mindset of having running as an integral part of my schedule ahead of marathon training 

So on to what my training week this week has consisted of:

Monday - Rest day - bracing myself for the runstreak ahead

Tuesday - Runstreak Day 1. 31.45 minutes totaling 5.9K.

Another early morning 6am session consisting of a mile jog to the park, 4x300m sprint intervals followed by 4x200m hill sprints lit up by my head torch.

It was a good session where I felt strong and faster than I have in previous early morning sprint sessions.

The main talking point of the session was a fight I had with a bush, I say fight I ran into it and it attacked me with its prickly thorns, so more of an assault really. How did this happen I hear you ask? It was very dark and I was too busy checking my splits on my phone while jogging on a recovery run.

Honestly, it really is a worse injury than the photo conveys

Wednesday - Runstreak Day 2. 32.11 minutes totaling 6.6K

A 0.8K Warm up followed by a 5K session of 400m sprint/200m easy and 5 minute cool down jog.

Another good session that felt pretty good and I certainly felt some improvements in speed and strength but seriously hampered by lunchtimes pineapple upside down cake.

Thursday - Runstreak Day 3. 37.47 minutes totaling 7.7K

Working form home again I took the opportunity for lunchtime run and followed the same route as I did last week and aimed to knock a few minutes off my time.

I ended up taking over 2 minutes off my previous time with a 7K run in 32.47 which is 4.36min/km, I found this a very pleasing performance as it was a really hilly and tough route and I felt much more comfortable running at a higher pace for a sustained period.

Friday - Runstreak Day 4 - 30 minutes 5.3K a gentle recovery jog, saving my legs for tomorrows parkrun.

Saturday - Runstreak Day 5 - 21.55 parkrun plus plenty of time warming up & cooling down.

I headed off to Ilford Parkrun to put my legs to the test to see if I could translate my good training sessions into a good race time.

Ilford parkrun is my 5th parkrun venue and represents the nearest most convenient flat course at my disposal. Set in the lovely surroundings of Valentines Park its a pretty flat 2 lap route which is probably a little too twisty and turny to be super fast but is an enjoyable route.

My only grievance was the start of the run not kicking off until 9.07! I know its not a big deal and things can easily run behind time but I am quite a stickler for good time management.

The race itself was again a disappointment in terms of race time as I finished with an official time of 21.55. My 5K time was actually about 21.30 as the course went slightly over 5K, this is something I think I need to address as it is not the first time I have ventured a couple of hundred metres over 5K which is an important aspect to address when aiming for a specific time.

My race performance was OK, a first kilometre split of 4 minutes exactly followed by splits between 4.13 and 4.18 upset only by a 4th split of 4.28 caused by a shoelace malfunction.

Again as with my last parkrun at Hackney Marshes the weather was not ideal, although the rain held off it was still pretty windy which would have had an affect on times.

During the run I felt like I was really racing and pushing hard and it is becoming obvious to me now that I am obviously just not fast enough and not doing the right kind of training to deliver me the sub20 time I crave.

I still have two weeks until my sub20 showdown with my running buddies Chris and Tony, so there is work to be done, lets see what I can achieve!

Thank you as always to all the support and advice on my running from blog readers and from Twitter and especially from the incredible #UKrunchat community.
This blog covers my training week of 30 November to 6 December

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!

How was your running over Christmas?

First off best wishes for the holiday season to everyone, hope it has been a merry Christmas and all the best for 2015 to everyone reading.

My Christmas break has been spent tucked away in a rented holiday cottage in Yorkshire with my wife as we decided to escape the stresses of a typical family Christmas at home by going off on our own, and we have had a great time!

Christmas day run?

Did you run on Christmas Day? In the build up to Christmas I noticed the buzz on social media focusing around people's plans to run over Christmas and specifically people's plans to run on Christmas Day itself. At the start and of the week I was full of plans to run over the week and to get out and run on the day itself but the week didn't quite work out the way. Who managed to get out for a run on Christmas Day? Pre Turkey or post Turkey? And who managed to maintain their running over the Christmas holiday period? Hats off to you if you did!

Running sight seeing

I am not afraid to admit that I haven't been running in a week!

My last run was while in Sheffield visiting my sister and I took the opportunity to sneak out for a few miles to see some of the sites. Predictably the sites I was in interested in seeing were sports related as I made a beeline for Hillsborough football Stadium.  

I was pleased to get out and stretch my legs and get a few miles in ahead of the indulgences of the coming festive period. 

Over the next few days I plan to reflect on my running achievements in 2014, so after a shortage of posts over the last few days standby for a flurry of activity for the end of the year!