Saturday 28 February 2009

Interval training

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Well I went to an injury clinic on Wednesday since my last blog - the foot is fine, just have advice on what to do if it flares up again. Luckily my doctor has run the London Marathon before so I have plenty of advice on training schedules, stretches and advice right down to getting my name put down on my running vest.

She also advised me to do interval training - on the shorter runs, to vary the pace more, stepping it up a little for short stints, so as to increase stamina and help run at the slow pace on the day.

I ran my 3.5 mile loop, not knowing if I intended to run more or not. As always the first mile was hard to get going, so it was only in the latter stages that I thought I might vary the pace. Admittedly some of it was forced on me - I think at least four times I had to stop dead because of traffic pulling out of side roads.

When I did step the pace up a bit it felt OK, but it did leave me with stitch when I slowed back down again. The idea was just to run a little bit faster for two or three lamp posts, then back to normal again. I did do it, and certainly felt a little hotter and sweatier at the end of each stint than I otherwise would have done, though probably just got about three short bursts in.

I finished in a little under 35 minutes for my 3.5 miles, so difficult to justify that this made any difference. Motivation for the shorter runs is a little difficult because I have just one thing on my mind (well, two - Silverstone and London). Each week is about the long Sunday run and whether or not I can go a mile further than the previous week - whether my shorter runs are 4 miles or 6 miles seem to make little difference. This week is no exception - I know that tomorrow (Sunday) I have to try 11 miles again.

I've mapped out a brand new 10 mile route so as to avoid the monotony of three loops round a loop I now know very well, which will take me out and back into the surrounding villages. Another word of advice is to run on roads, not pavements, so just maybe this will help ...

Wednesday 25 February 2009

rush hour

Went for a 4.5 mile run this morning - as I decided to run at 8am I hadn't taken into account the rush hour and the school run. As always, the first mile was horrible, heavy-legged and hard work.

Only this time it never really seemed to change. As a seasoned runner of nine miles now, then 4.5 miles was never going to be too difficult, but it was a challenge to keep going. My runs just seem so slow - it's difficult to change pace because any slower would be walking. If I now see a pedestrian in the distance on a long straight road, it can be minutes before I catch him/her up and overtake.

But the run was done, and I did cover the 4.5 miles in 45 minutes. Nice to get a run completed before 9am too and not to worry for the rest of the day about when to squeeze it in.

Sunday 22 February 2009

10 miles?

Sunday afternoon and I set out to run the furthest yet. I hoped for 10 miles, and rashly ptomised to push it up to 11 if anyone sponsored me today on http://www.justgiving.com/neilrichards1, which duly happened. In the end I hoped for three laps of my 3.5 mile route to get to 10.5 miles total.

I set off without my iPod which I seem to have lost, so was running late (trying to look for it) and not in the best of moods. The main problem of running without music is not just boredom but the fact that a stupid song will then otherwise fill your head the whole time. In my case it was a Dulux pait advert from the 1980s ("May the gloss in Ross be a good gloss" ... remember it?)

I felt so heavy legged during the first lap right from the start - it's just so difficult to get started. ("May the windowsills of Winchester shine"). I was feeling more comfortable as it wasn't as hot as Saturday, and the foot pain from earlier in the week was missing, but the run was a struggle from start to finish.

("May doors in Wales dry hard as nails") - the second lap then started, and though I couldn't really pick up any impetus, it wasn't necessarily any worse at this point, I was fine to carry on. ("May Derby's halls dry even"). Runners were thin on the ground but those that were out sped past in both directions.

But the third lap was really hard - running slowly past my house once again after seven miles when it would have been so easy to stop. ("Celings cover well in Motherwell"). I was willing myself on towards a second wind here, and managed to trudge a couple of miles in. The problem is that I started thinking where I could stop, how much it would all hurt when I got home, where I could turn round and run back home, and how much nicer it would feel to walk rather than run - it seemed I was running so slowly that I was generating far too much effort for little gain. ("And the skirting boards of Fife have a long life ...")

There had been times when I was thinking so negatively I actually thought I was walking, only to look down at my feet to realise I was still running (just!). But anyway the point came when I stopped, and walked. As I walked, I didn't feel out of breath, or overly exhausted and sweaty, just had run out of steam in my legs. Walking briskly was fine, but I just couldn't bring myself to run. I walked a while, ran a little, then walked the rest. I think I probably did run 9 miles, but was disappointed not to have raised the bar to ten or eleven. ("So brush in hand, decorate this land with the best paint").

As I write now on Sunday evening, I feel stiff, but not as stiff as the last time I ran nine miles. My worry is just that I might have hit my limit, or at least a barrier that is going to be hard to break down, with Silverstone just three weeks today!

Getting hotter

Saturday morning and I planned my next run - the long and short loop adding to just under six miles that I have now run a few times. It would be the first test of my foot outside since hurting it last Sunday but in all honesty it had started to feel better so I hoped it wouldn't be an issue.

Resplendant in my winter gear I began running - two layers on top (a high visibility long sleeved winter top with my Save the Rhino running vest proudly over the top of it), and my winter wooly hat on.

The run was fine but it soon became clear that the sun was out and I was overdressed. As I reached the end of the 3.5 mile loop I was very sweaty and gasping for water, but had not brought anything with me. So the easiest and most sensible thing to do was to cut short the run there, so I did. Shorter run than I intended but happy to err on the side of caution.

Thursday 19 February 2009

Injury strikes ...

Well Sunday's nine mile run really seems to have taken it out of me, which worries me a bit - it was a great achievement but have I inadvertently hit my limit?

The next few days I felt very stiff, which was fine, and understandable, and wore off after 24 hours or so. But my right foot was sore if I walked more than 100 yards or so, an ache on the outside of the base half way along.

It doesn't seem major but it has put me off training a little bit - I've had it checked out by the doctor and it seems to be just a bit of inflammation in the tendon. Biggest problem seems to be I have very flat feet indeed, and the shoes I wear (every day, not running shoes) just don't really help.

But the show must go on - having put off my next training until now I decided yesterday (Thursday) to give it a go and see if I could run through it. As it happens it seemed fine, with decent socks and shoes all seemed well supported, and as I write on Friday morning I'm feeling no after effects

The run itself - just taking it easy with 30 minutes (3 miles) on a flat treadmill. Although the foot seemed to hold up, I felt rusty already, quite heavy-legged and stiff, so it seems even three days off is having an effect now! That said, I did run 30 minutes without difficulty, and am glad to have got that out of the way. No rest for the wicked ...

Monday 16 February 2009

New best - nine miles

Sunday arrived where I planned my nine mile run, and by lunchtime the skies were grey and the heavens opened. I've never run in rain before and was not looking forward to it for my longest run yet, but it had to be done. In the end I put it off to about 4pm and the weather was much better. A stroke of luck to help with my aim of running at least nine miles.

This was hard work, perhaps because this was now my third run in four days. The legs felt heavier all the way round, though as I got to the end of my first two loops at just under six miles, I was still OK. I'd told myself I had three options - to stop there, to run a "small loop" and therefore hit about eight miles, or run the full 3.5 mile loop again to total 9.25 miles (though possibly a bit less due to cutting off a small corner where the two loops coincide.

I didn't feel up to it but was annoyed at myself for even considering not completing my challenge of nine miles, so I did the full extra loop and finished it. The hardest time of all was the first half a mile or so of the third loop, running away from home knowing I could easily have stopped. I told myself I could run half a mile, or a mile, into this loop and then turn back, perhaps as some kind of compromise, but the reminder that in 9 weeks time I would be running 26 was enough of a spur to make sure I went the distance.

I finished, and checked the clock at home, while it is not an exact science due to a brisk walk to and from my starting point, and the possible inaccuracies of measuring the route, I was a bit disappointed to see that it took me about 95 minutes for about 9 miles, so perhaps slipping slightly slower than 10 minute mile pace, but was delighted to finish.

However … as I blog this on Monday … I still ache! Immediately after my run I could barely make it up and (especially) down the stairs! And almost 24 hours later I am still stiff of leg and aching on the outside of my right foot. I don't know if this will subside in time for my next run, but I do know this is a challenge I haven't faced before …!

Valentines Run ...

Time for a Saturday run, and with the snow finally just about melted and the sun out it was time to hit the streets again. The plan was to run the route which I had run before, of a long and a short loop to total just under six miles. Sunday would be the test where I will try and stretch my personal best and hit nine miles ...

As always the first mile was difficult but once into a rhythm I was pleased that the run felt fine. As I reached the end, I felt perfectly capable of running on, and considered doing so, in fact if I added another long loop on the end I could surpass the nine miles I wanted to do this weekend. But there were three reasons why I did not …

1) I told my wife I would be one hour - she has been a great support during my training and I am wary of creating a "running widow". Of course, my runs will get longer and longer, if not more frequent, but Saturday was Valentine's day, so I did not want to be half-asleep either when it came to our romantic meal. So as this was a Valentines Day run, I'd like to dedicate this entry to Lorna (see the Feb 8 blog for a picture, though not exactly what you would call a close-up!)

2) That wasn't the deal! I only thought about doing it because it felt good but also because it would then mean I could run less on Sunday instead! So I would have been cheating myself. I can't do my final 20 mile training run the week before the marathon in April, and decide to hit 26 so I can just run 20 on the day instead, it doesn't work like that! Different days have different goals and I didn't want to cheat myself

3) I didn't take any water with me! An hour for six miles is fine but an hour and half for nine and maybe I would have found myself in trouble …

Friday 13 February 2009

I won't back down

Still ice in crucial parts of Bicester which means that yesterday's run would be on the treadmill. I chose my running partner for the day (Tom Petty's Greatest hits on the iPod) and decided to put the treadmill on the highest incline. I wasn't sure how far I'd run and couldn't help thinking my strategy of chooing a Greatest Hits album, because they are generally longer, was a little on the optimistic side.

The incline feels like hard work to start with, and I make sure that I run at the same pace as usual even though I am running uphill - by the end of American Girl I was struggling somewhat. Worrying, as American Girl is the first track on the album. As always I managed to find a rhythm, but halfway through Refugee I felt my back leg go, and almost staggered off the back of the treadmill.

Once again I was able to continue and somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes I felt ready to stop. However I didn't want to stop when Even the Losers was playing, as it somehow would have felt appropriate. At 25 minutes, at a less appropriate song, I called it quits.

Reasonably happy in as much as I have worked hard to cover 2.5 miles uphill. My next two runs this week need to be longer though, and hopefully outdoors if the ice will finally melt ...

Sunday 8 February 2009

8 miles



This is the scene of the cycle path around Bicester and also reminiscent of some of the pavements around the ringroad, so despite best intentions it is not safe to run on the streets at the moment. Apologies for fans waiting to watch me tour the streets, you will have to wait.

I now have new jogger-proof headphones and a fully loaded iPod to try and make the long treadmill sessions less boring. An early start and not too much procrastination meant I started my run at 9am exactly - only just as I started did I realise the significance that this will also be the time of day when I start the Silverstone Half Marathon (five weeks) and the Marathon itself (eleven weeks I think)

As always, getting started was tricky but once in my stride the first hour went fine. Running in the conservatory, in an enclosed room, whatever the temperature or ventilation, I always get so much hotter and sweatier than when running outside and today was no exception, though it didn't prevent me continuing to run.

My intention was to do at least 75 minutes so as to match my previous personal best, and go anywhere up to 90 depending on how I felt. As I hit 70 minutes I was fine to continue but starting to get tired, and at 77 and a bit, the playlist on my iPod stopped, which seemed like the cue to go too much further.

In any case, I completed 80 minutes, which equates to 8 miles, and have done my long run for the week with a new personal best distance/time elapsed. Next week will need to match this distance on the roads, working slowly up to 13 for Silverstone. Sounds easy when I just say it now ...

Friday 6 February 2009

Housebound

Yesterday (Thursday) and a few inches of snow has brought the county to a standstill. Not a good idea to run out on the roads though so I'm glad I have the treadmill option.

I've kind of switched my focus to thinking that the longer runs should now be outside, with treadmill options based more on changing speeds/inclines or just when a shorter run would do. With that in mind I went for a run on the treadmill yesterday not trying to push any boundaries or break any records, just to keep up the training.

I ran about 40 minutes in the end. In fact I ran 35 in one stint but had a couple of earlier aborted starts, due to having the heater on too hot and then throwing my ipod away because the headphones just fall out when I start running. If only it was as easy as just going in, running, and coming back to the house. I think, really, it probably is.

Tuesday 3 February 2009

Upping the speed

Tuesday night and time for another run - with snow on the ground outside I plucked for the treadmill.

This time I wanted to push myself running faster. My treadmill says I run at 5 miles per hour, but I don't believe this as I run 10 minute mile pace outside, so I have always assumed the treadmill pace was wrong. In any case I upped the speed to 6 miles per hour, so one thing I do know is that I ran 20% faster than before. Translating this like the mathematician I am, I managed to convince myself that I was running as about 8 minute mile pace.

With that in mind I began running, and though it seemed difficult at first I ended up having no problem running 32 minutes, so an estimated 4 miles at faster pace. I'm not sticking religiously to a specific training schedule but they do now suggest that I should be doing more hill running and faster paced stuff so I think I'm ticking those boxes nicely.

Thanks to all who are following either here or in person, the encouragement is genuinely helping and I still feel really optimistic about this. At the moment I really don't know what my limits are, so here's hoping they are about 27 miles or more!

Monday 2 February 2009

Sunday

Well Sunday I had the house to myself - my wife and even the dogs were nowhere to be seen, so it was the perfect opportunity for a long run. It was also, as UK followers will know, the start of a cold snap, so the longer I procrastinated the colder it would get and the more chance I gave myself to talk myself out of a run outside or slip away to the ttreadmill.

As 4pm came along I finally plucked up the courage to go and run. I'm still a little self-conscious of running on the street. And this time, as every other time so far, if only just once, a car beeped and flashed me as I went past. It could have been a friend offering genuine encouragement, or it could have been general abuse at a funny looking fat bloke in a hat running slowly. My self-esteem suspects the latter so I tend to run face forward and down - if you were after attention and encouragement in Bicester on Sunday then apologies!!

I ran the 3.5 mile loop from my house with the intention of either doing two loops for 7 miles or the smaller loop for a little less than six. The run went fine until I approached home for the first time - very cold and running into a biting wind, but otherwise fine. I went for the small loop - we can always build up - and to my delight just kept on running. After the first mile or so, I felt no desire to stop, even running through a snow shower in the last mile!

As I returned home after almost 6 miles I genuinely felt I could have done at least another lap, either large or small. With six weeks till the Silverstone half marathon I suppose that's good news as that step up has to come soon. I think I said my goal was to run 6 miles outside by the end of January.

I'll settle for five and three quarters on Februrary first - pretty chuffed!

Two laps





A blog post now for Friday's run. I know that Saturday will not be possible as we have so much to do and plans for the evening, so my runs will have to be Friday and Sunday. I wanted to increase the distance I can run outside, so decided to go for two laps of the smaller circuit around my house. Two laps of 2.25 miles will be 4.5 miles, and my furthest yet off the treadmill.

As it happens, the run was fine, after the first minute or two as usual. The evening was full of joggers, including a woman who both ran past me from the opposite direction and then overtook me all within the first mile. So long as I don't try and run too fast I think I'm usually OK now.

The big challenge was probably going to be the part where I pass close to my house after one lap and resisting the temptation to call it a day. But in all honesty it was never a temptation and I continued with the second lap as comfortable as the first. All in all, 4.5 miles covered.

I did state in my facebook update that was dressed head to toe in polyester and that I looked like a cross between Dave Beasant and Benny from Crossroads! I guess that's the price we pay for our art! You can blame my description on a bright yellow long-sleeved top, long curly hair and curls sticking out from under a stupid hat ...