5K sub 20 race report (I wish)

So if you have been following my weekly (ish) training updates you will know that since the start of November I have been aiming to run a sub20 5K.

My aims at sub20 was part of a challenge with my running buddies Chris and Tony to see if we could hit this mark by the end of the year.

If you have read any of my previous posts on this you will know things haven't quite gone to plan and I haven't improved as I had hoped I would.

From a 21.00 PB back at the start of the summer I have struggled to get anywhere near the 21 minute mark, let alone go under never mind get anywhere near 20 minutes and sub 20 has just been a fantasy.

On Saturday the three of us headed over to Hackney Marshes Parkrun which is a great course for a fats time as it is so flat and a simple there and back course. It is so flat that even the Garmin feedback of the course having a 10m elevation is a thought that is scoffed at!

There was no talk or no confidence of a sub20 attempt, Chris was not feeling well after a dose of flu, Tony had struggled with any quality training due to work commitments and I knew I was in no shape to rival this time mark but maybe a PB was on the cards maybe?

The end results were somewhat mixed, firstly I won the race out the three of us which gave me a tiny amount of satisfaction but my finishing time was 21.25, nowhere close to my PB, however it is my second fastest parkrun time so another little victory. 

The problem was that I had ended up running over 5K, too much weaving around on the course, strava reported a pace of 4.11min/km which would give me a sub 21 5K if I hadn't zigzagged around so much!

Further investigation later showed that strava also reported that I had in fact ran a sub 21 5K, clocking 20.57, so a 5K PB but not a parkrun PB. 

Overall the sub20 5K attempt has been disappointing as despite solely focusing on speed work and running faster over a shorter distance I don't feel I have felt the benefits of this and seen anywhere near the results I had wanted. I know from feedback from other runners that there are a lot of improvements I could make to my speed work training so this is something I will take away to work on.

My other realisation is that running shorter distances faster is so much harder than marathon training! It hurts, its hard and its horrible! 

Anyways onwards and upwards, thanks for all the support and encouragement as always. Not too much rest for me over Christmas, as always more time off work equals more time to run and my first event of 2016 a birthday Half Marathon at the end of January is fast approaching!

Merry Christmas all and happy running in 2016!

Week 4 of sub20 5K training

This week was really about realisation, realising that sub20 is not going to happen anytime soon. I know I am pretty far off achieving this goal and the main reason for this is just not being able to put enough training in.

My goal now is still to aim to improve my 5K PB between now and the end of the year as well as starting to turn my attentions towards my first event of 2016 which is likely to be a half marathon in February or March. 

Here is how my training turned out this week, again not a great week of running with too much other stuff going on but I did manage to get out running on 5 occasions. 

Monday - This was my big speed work session of the week, 1K warm up followed by 8x 400m sprints with approximately 200m recovery jog in between and a 1.3K cool down to finish off. 

My splits were 1.34, 1.27, 1.30, 1.29, 1.30, 1.37,1.34 and 1.46.

Splits 3-5 were slightly downhill which were reflected in the slightly quicker times but the last three were also on a slight incline so again reflected in the slightly slower times. 

I found the session really enjoyable but tough going, it was only the last effort that really killed me and left me running on empty.

A friend I spotted by the side of the path while I was catching my breathe on a recovery jog.

Tuesday - Working from home on a rare occasion I took the opportunity to head out for a lunchtime run. In these winter months its great to be able to head out for a run in the daylight and I felt fortunate to have this opportunity. 

I completed a 7K run aiming for keep my pace comfortably below 5min/km which was a challenge as my legs felt pretty tired from Monday's tough session.

Not a bad way to spend a lunch break and a great way to keep me energised through an afternoon of spread sheets.

Wednesday - Having ran on Tuesday during the day it then meant I was able to run on Wednesday morning rather than if I had ran after work on Tuesday I wouldn't have wanted to then do a Wednesday morning session as I like to give myself a bit more rest time. With working late on Wednesday evening a morning session was my only chance for a run so I was again glad to have had the opportunity of working and running form home on Tuesday. 

I have found running at pace in my early morning sessions really tough going so rather than a structured session I opted for a fartlek run. In all honesty the differences in pace were not as vast as they should have been and it still felt like a good session and I finished a 5.3K run with an average pace of 5.25min/km.

Thursday - Rest day

Friday - I needed to squeeze in another early morning session and was unsure of what to aim for as I was conscious of not wanting to plan a certain session and then be disappointed with not being able to complete or execute it due to feeling below par in the early morning.

As things turned out I felt really great when I headed out so I quickly decided to run 3x1km sprints and managed splits of 4.13, 4.12 and 4.20. While I was pretty pleased with these times they are a way off sub 20 5K time, realistically I know I could have gone quicker if it wasn't an early morning run but at the same time I know I am no where near comfortably running sub 4min/km splits which is the requirement of a sub 20 5K. 

Saturday - Away in Cambridge with work so a day off running.

Sunday - After a busy and enjoyable two nights away in Cambridge, the evidence of which you can see above, I headed out for an early evening run felling slightly sluggish from my weekends indulgences.

My only aim was to run around 10K at a decent pace and I soon set upon trying out a new route while trying to crack a sub 50 10K.

Conditions were incredibly windy which definitely hampered my efforts however the wind at my back on the last K felt incredible. In the end I just managed to creep under the 50 minute barrier with a negative split.

Overall a decent week of training and a week where I felt like I got somewhere near a balance of enjoying life, dealing with the pressures and constraints life throws at you but also getting some decent training time in. 

And so to the week ahead where I plan to keep up my running and even kick on a gear as I have decided to take part in #adventrunning which is a runstreak of 30 minutes of running or at least exercise on every day for the first 25 days of December. Its a challenge I am looking forward to, the hardest part will be negotiating with the wife to be bale to get away for half an hour on Christmas day!

This blog covers my training for the week 23-29 November

Three marathons in three months summary

Three marathons in three months completed, the challenge I had myself as a physical ambition before my 30th birthday, my aim that I have worked towards for the last eight months, finished, completed, all done and dusted.

Three marathons in three months has certainly been tough and challenged me which is exactly what I wanted, OK so it's nothing when you compare it to other marathon challenges you might have seen in the media over the last few years such as Eddie Izzard's 43 marathons in 51 days, Amy Hughes running 53 marathons in 53 days and Rob Young currently aiming to complete 367 marathons in 2014. 

These accomplishments are well ahead of my own and all deserve so much praise and recognition for their incredible physical achievements.


So how do I feel now that my focus for so long is now over?

On the one hand I am pleased to be able to relax and not be concerned with the demands of training. On the other hand I feel disappointed and empty to not have something to work towards at the moment, I am definitely in a typical post marathon slump experiencing some post marathon blues. 

Don't worry though I am already making plans for 2015!

I am planning a 10K in January so I can focus on getting stronger and faster over the winter months to be able to then put in a speedy race in the new year and make a competitive attempt at breaking by PB!

Aside from that I am also aiming for at least 3 marathons next year and these are likely to include Halstead, South Weald and Vanguard Way again and who knows what else....

Here is a recap on my three marathons:


1/2 - The Vanguard Way Marathon - 3rd August time: 4.55

Race report here

In summary a great run, with terrific scenery exploring an unfamiliar part of the country with some tough hills and terrain. My training and preparation was good and during my training I had established a good card loading fueling strategy for the race which worked well. Obviously getting lost (not once, not twice but three times!!!) really frustrated me and curtailed any chances of a competitive time. I am fairly confident that without the detours I could have ran a time of around 4.30. Realistically this kind of event with its tricky terrain was never going to be about PBs and it was more of a run about enjoying the scenery and the challenge of the course which I feel I did on both counts.



2/3 The Robin Hood Nottingham Marathon - 28th September - time: 4.10 - PB!

Race report here

A proper large scale mass participation city marathon such as this is such a different proposition to an off road trail run and in honesty not one that I enjoy as much. Although it was a relief to run on nice flat tarmac roads where I could just get on and run rather than worry about steep hills or muddy conditions underfoot. 

My training had progressed well since the first marathon and although my challenge was a marathon every month the timings of the first two meant the gap was actually 8 weeks so I had ample time to recover and then kick on with my training again. 

Although my diet and nutrition were not as strict as they had been in the build up to the Vanguard marathon I had trained hard and felt I had progressed well. However the week or two before I really didn't feel good and struggled to train and was not in the greatest shape on race day. Over training, illness, mental/nervous/anxiety issues, poor diet/nutrition or a combination of some or all of these I am not sure. 

The race itself went really well though and I put in a solid performance which I was pleased with aside from the PB time which of course was very satisfying.

3/3 South Weald - 27th October - time: 4.34

Race report here

Easily one of my most enjoyable events, in terms of the route, the scenery, my performance and my overall race experience. A really tough route that rates as the second hardest course of the five marathons I have ran so to come away with my third faster marathon time and my fastest off road marathon time felt really rewarding. I definitely noticed an improvement with my marathon running and my mid race strategy and mental planning. 

The magical sub 4 hour mark

As well as the challenge of completing three marathons in a relatively short period of time and keeping up with the demands of training over a several month period my real goal was to try and break that magical sub 4 hour mark. 

Although in my second marathon I managed to smash my PB by 16 minutes to a time of 4.10 the elusive 4 hour barrier was not to be beaten. The main reason for this however is not my fault as the first and third marathons in my challenge were incredibly demanding off road trail marathons which are the type of events that are PB black holes. If all three marathons had been on nice flat roads and if I had performed in the same way I think I would have been pretty confident of running a sub 4 hour marathon as I improved my training and continued to get stronger and gain a better understanding of the marathon distance. 

Performance wise my marathon running over the three marathons definitely improved, in comparison to the other two marathons I had ran prior to this challenge I feel my third marathon of this sequence represented my best running performance of any marathon I have ran.

So what now?

Well I have rested and reflected and I am now itching to keep running to maintain my current fitness levels as well as working on getting even stronger and fitter.

I plan on working on my strength and speed work over the winter, I plan on becoming very accustomed with my new training partners Mr Lunge, Mr Squat and My Burpee. 

I haven't entered any races as yet and am eagerly planning what events to enter throughout 2015. I hope to manage o fit in at least three marathons along with a couple of half marathons as well as maybe venturing into the world of ultras and longer events.

First stop is going to be a 10K in January so I can put my winters strength and conditioning work to the test.

Watch this space for more running challenges and adventures on the horizon! 

This weekends running update

After 35 miles of running last weekend as part of spitfire scramble its fair to say I have struggled a bit to fully recover. 

After a little recovery run on the treadmil on Tuesday I was feeling a bit more energetic by the end of the weekend so headed out Thursday evening and subsequently covered 15km. It was a very pleasing ran as I was able to cover each km in less than 5 minutes and average 4.57min/km overall.

This weekend I was definitely feeling the strain mentallay and physically of marathon training continuously over the last four months. Making the time to squeeze in the required miles and the hours has been demanding and becomes too much after a while and I think I am starting to reach that point.

This weekend required some careful planning and a hefty dose of dedication and determination to get in my run as I had to fit in quite a few responsibilties and plans into the weekend and finding time to dedicate a few hours to running was a challenge.

My training plans were brought into focus  when on Saturday morning I received my Nottingham Marathon race number and information. 

This weekend marks three weeks to go and I must say I am looking forward to it very much but also to a weekend away in a great city.

At the same time that I received this and my mind started to plan ahead my body was having other ideas. Ascending a hill as part of my run on Thursday night I developed a bit of a twinge in my right knee and it has continued to linger over the weekend. 

It doesnt bother me so much when I run but bugs me on stairs and when twisting and turning. A few general applications of ibruprofen gel over the weekend seemed to help and I came through my long run on Sunday unscathed. 

Speaking of my long run on Sunday I planned covering 25-30K across two stints if necessary.

I headed out and covered 18K straight off then popped into the flat for a quick toilet break, drink, energy gel and a change of tshirt before heading out and covering another 10K.

My aim had been to cover as much of a half marathon in sub 5 min splits and then hang on and cover the rest of the distance as best I could.

With my aim of running a sub 4 hour marathon I figure I need to be qble to cover a half marathon in around 1 hour 50 and then be strong enough to complete the second half in 2 hours.

My plan worked well as I managed to knock off the first 18 kilometres in either sub or just over and my last 10K was in a very respectable 57 minutes as well! 

The start of my run was a bit hampered by my eating the night before, my wife's home cooked moussaka seemed to be sitting right in my belly like an uncomfortable weight and it took around 10K for it to shift.

I am pleased though that I am able to run as well as I did despite this problem.

I am feeling buoyant ahead of my next marathon, my next challenge in terms ofsticking to my training and diet will be my trip away with work.

I am away for four days and three nights, I have packed plenty of running kit and am sure I will get the time to head out for a couple of little runs at least!

Some quality miles

Tonight's workout focusing on some 'quality' miles.

I headed out for a 4km run hitting it pretty hard at probably 80% intensity and covered it in just under 19 minutes feeling good which I was pleased with.

Then at a local park I covered around 1km by doing 100m sprints again at around 80% followed by 100m recovery jogs.

To finish I did 3 leg circuits of star jumps, squats, calf raises, lunges and tuck jumps as illustrated on the picture below.

The view from the park was pretty inspiring with the church spire popping up over the tree line, to the other side of me the clouds changing colour as the sun sets.

                                    

Thanks for reading and I hope you are managing to enjoy the last of the summer by getting outside and enjoying the great outdoors. 

Todays blog - Football, hill running, PB and Parkrun

Today's running blog, three points to discuss.

1    1. Last nights run

Last night before the crushing disappointment of England losing to Uruguay in the World Cup I headed out for a bit of a quick run.

My route was one that I have done several times but not recently and is a bit of a hill run. It’s basically running up out of a dip, back down into and then up the other side and down again and repeating this three times. The elevation of the course looks like this:

Although they are not massive hills and there isn’t a massive elevation rise it’s a testing run to try and run at speed and it keeps you working the full course.

Last night feeling good and running well in my new trainers I clocked a time of 32.49 with an average Km split of 4.31min/km which is the fastest average split I have run in a long time! 

Really pleased with the result I have looked over my previous times from early this year or in August and September last year when training for my last marathon in October and my time compares really well. Generally I was running the course in about 34 minutes so I am really impressed in knocking around 2 minutes off my time and it is a good indication that my training is progressing well.

2    2. Tonights gym session and burrito

Tonight after work I am heading out to watch the football and tonights match France v Switzerland is an entertaining prospect. But before the merriment of watching football out in a pub with the associated accompaniment of drinking I will be hitting the gym followed by treating myself to a burrito as a way of refueling after the gym and lining my stomach ahead of the drinking.

I am planning a core and ab circuit session with some body weight resistance exercises focusing on press ups and maybe some kettle bell work as well. I haven’t hit the gym in the evening for a long time and am looking forward to an afternoon session where I am a bit more awake and invigorated than what I sometimes am when training at 7 am in the morning.

Not wanting to curse myself now but I am also looking forward to the gym being quiet as it hopefully will be on a Friday evening, we will see….

3    3. Tomorrows Parkrun

Buoyed by feeling fitter and stronger and the success of my quick run last night as outlined in point 1 I am hoping for a good time in parkrun on Saturday morning. This does of course factor heavily on what happens tonight staying out watching the football as outlined in point 2!

Seriously though I know I have a good time in me and want to rival my PB which is around 21.55, my new trainers are also adding extra speed to my run. I know realistically new trainers will add a little bit of speed as they are firmer and stronger etc but they also add a big mental boost as I feel so much more confident and quicker running in new trainers.

Fingers crossed for some great weather and a great run tomorrow morning!

All the best to everyone else giving parkrun a go this weekend or running an event, run well everyone! 

7 Day Runstreak

Wow! This morning with a 7K run at around 7am I finished my 7 day runstreak. In my ten years of running its the first time I have ever completed so many consecutive days running. I have always had an irrational fear of sustaining injury and a mental block about my capabilities to run back to back days. I have on occasion ran on back to back days and maybe once or twice managed three consecutive days but a whole week that is crazy talk! 

I am so pleased I gave it ago though and so amazed of my mini achievement, it required a good dose of dedication and determination to complete, here is a brief outline of my seven days of running:

Day 1: Saturday, Park Run, Harrow Lodge Park, 5K, official time 22.01

A bright, warm and sunny summers morning where I achieved my second fastest parkrun time.

Day 2: Sunday Morning, weekly longrun, 26K, 2hours 23.

An epically long pavement pounding longrun as I ramp up my mileage ahead of my marathon in August.

Here is a breakdown of the last six days of running:

My runs this week were fueled in no small part by a tuna pasta bake I cooked up on Sunday evening and then subsequently consumed throughout the week.

It provided a delicious, nutritious and filling pack lunch for work providing both my carbohydrate and protein requirements.

Day 3: Monday Evening, recovery run, 5K, 31 minutes.

A slow and gentle recovery run sandwiched in between the world cup games of HollandvChile and BrazilvCameroon.

Day 4: Tuesday Evening, 10K run at pace aiming for close to PB time, 45.53.

A great run only around 1minute 30 off my PB, the training is obviously going well as feeling so much stronger and faster!

Day 5: Wednesday morning, before work along the Thames, 5.84K, approx 35mins.

A nice little canter along the north bank of the Thames from Temple down to Tower Bridge. The mapmyrun graphic shown above showing a time of 18 minutes is wrong! My battery died and while the distance kept tracking the time just cut off when my battery gave out.

A snap of the wire lion sculpture by the Tower of London, a sculpture to remember the menagerie of wild and exotic animals that were kept here in days gone past. 

Thursday mornings run was put in jeopardy from a nice evening out watching NigeriavArgentina, a few alcoholic beverages and a cracking burger!

Day 6: Thursday morning, a few slow miles along the Thames south bank, 4K, 22 minutes.

A run I struggled to complete as the week and the night before caught up with me. A change from my usual routes, I headed over Waterloo Bridge and down the South bank and then back over the Millennium Bridge.

On the North side of the Millennium the steps up to St Paul's provided a great workout area for some step ups, toe tappers and step running before a few sprints along the way back.

Day 7: Friday morning, local run before heading out for the day, 7.3K, 40minutes.

I was determined to squeeze a run in this morning before I headed out for the day and away for the weekend that won't feature any running. Heading out soon after 7am a 7K run sealed my 7 day runstreak!

What goes through my mind trying to run a fast 10K

Last night I headed out to run 10K, I wanted to push myself to run as fast as I could and to try and see if I could get close to my PB. I figured this was a good indicator of where my fitness was and a good way to work on my speed and strength so this was my speed session for the week.

I had planned out a route that was fairly flat, on concrete pavements and paths that would allow me to run fast as opposed to trails and tracks that would require me to run slower. The route was also designed without the need for many road crossings so I wouldn't be held up or delayed.

I have ran a few 10K distances over the last few weeks in around 50 minutes without trying to hard so knew I could get a few minutes under 50 if I pushed a little bit. My 10K PB is 44.30 and I wanted to see if I was in any kind of condition to run close to this bearing in mind I hadn't trained for it and my training emphasis has been on long and slow with the exception of a couple of 5K parkruns.

As part of trying to learn from every run and reflect on what parts of my training are going well or not well I thought it might be useful to try and record my thought processes during my run so here they are listed against each Km ran:  

1st - 4.23 split - I need to run fast, is this fast enough? Am I going too fast? How long can I sustain this pace? Do I feel strong enough to run a good time?

2nd - 4.39 split - Good first K, should I have pushed harder though? Is this pace fast enough or should I push harder? I am nicely settling into a rhythm this is going to be a good run I am feeling good.

3rd - 4.16 split - I am sure I have pushed to hard, I can sustain this for 5K maybe 6 or 7 but not 10 I should have started more conservatively. 

4th - 4.26 split - How is my 5K time going to stack up? I have 3 quick Ks in the bank should I take it easy a bit?

5th - 4.26 split - 22.06 5Km - On course for a great 5K time, I rally need to push a bit harder at Parkrun! Running on concrete though makes a big difference. When will I start to tire? How badly and quickly will I tire? 

6th - 4.40 split - 2nd half its going to get harder! I need to keep breathing, I need to keep concentrating on my technique. Have I fueled well enough to keep going? Should I have eaten more/differently during the day? 

Around this point I started to realise the course I had planned out thinking it was going to be around 10K was now in fact going to be a bit short. I tried to focus on not letting this bother me and distract me but at the same time try to think ahead and plan out where I could run to extend my route on paths or roads that would allow me to keep running fast.

7th - 4.40 split - This is it, this is where the game is won or lost, this is where I dig deep! This is the time to hurt, push now and you get a good time to be proud of, start to relax and you will regret letting yourself down. I want to hurt, I want some pain, I want to push myself hard to the point I will feel ill when I finish, this is it time to go time to give it what you have got!

8th - 4.45 split - Stay strong, keep running the hardest part is behind you but don't let your hard work go to waste you need to finish the job you started.

9th - 4.41 split- On course for a good time now just need to keep at it the last little bit.... I have pushed to early I thought I could increase my pace and sustain it to the end but I have pushed and now there's not much left in the tank, just need to keep working till the end now.

10th - 3.29 split - What have I got left? I am pretty much spent, my technique has gone, my breathing is heavy and so are my legs, when is my final push, what do I have left for a sprint finish?

Overall I was really satisfied with my time of 45.53 as this is probably my second or third fastest ever time and goes to show my training is progressing well and I am getting fitter, stronger and faster, a very satisfying run and result.