A Flexible Training Plan

There can't be many people around who don't find marathon training relentless. The weeks stretch out ahead, the shorter runs get longer, the longer runs get to epic distances.

This week I have been forced to change my plan. Monday was a 9.6km run, but my knees were sore from the Sunday long run so I went to the gym. The treadmill is easier on my knees and I substituted some biking and rowing. Tuesday & Wed I stuck to the plan. Thursday was club handicap night. I have not done one of these before and was given a decent handicap of 7:50. So nearly 8 minutes after the first person I set off. 5.5km later and I was the second person across the line. Ahhhhh, a taste of winning! Well thats a new one for me. Friday was a day off and on Saturday Sarah was ill and I substituted the run with, walking around Brockham Big Field doing the boys football thing, making lunch, then 2hrs in Dorking swimming pool being a human climbing frame and underwater surfboard for the boys and Sophie, then tea and getting 3 kids to bed. Did somehow manage to do about 20 lengths in the pool though. Sunday I did my long run. 28.8km (18miles). My total weekly distance is lower than it should be, but I feel the extra activities have made up for it.

A month back the doctor took my blood pressure as 140/92 and told me about 'whitecoat syndrome' (your blood pressure goes up because the doctor frightens you!), now the thing that put my nose out of joint was that, I run 30 miles a week, what does my blood pressure think it's doing? So I went to the ebay doctor and got me a new toy. For less than the price of a new running shirt you can take your own blood pressure. The boys and I have been playing all weekend with this, and the good news is we all have a blood pressure. BP Chart Oliver was the first to record a systolic pressure under 100 and mine right now is 118/75 and a HR of 57. Thats more like the figures I want to believe. Cool toy, and granny is coming on Tuesday, hee hee hee hee!

Priorities and Training

Fitting in a long run at the weekend can be difficult. Todays long run was to take 2:15. The plan was to wake up and go do the run. But it was 10:30am before I was up and ready to go. That would mean the family would miss the best part of the day to go out and do something together. My priority being my family meant a quick change out of running gear and we were off out to Polesden Lacy. Here we are with me teaching the boys how to balance their lives! But I still have a marathon goal to achieve, so at 2:30pm I set off for a 24km run which meant I just about got home before it got dark. So a good day that shows me it is possible to fit in training without impacting family life too much.

This week I have again pretty much kept to the plan (8.83km, 8.39km, 9.6km, 8.9km, 6.91km and 24.9km) fitting in runs at lunchtime, on the way home from work and late in the evening. I felt tired on Saturdays 6.4km run but apart from that I am feeling pretty good. Missed the club run on Thursday because the trains out of London were affected by the high winds we had all day.

But now another pressing commitment calls, Daniels homework. Adios for now.

Return to the Surrey Hills

This week I have run 60.8km. This is an easy week with a shorter long run at the weekend. 20.8km (13 miles) and so I went off around the trails through Boxhill, Headley, Mickleham, Norbury, Ranmore and West Humble. Of course the NT land is shared by many people, horses and dogs. I recognise that dogs like to go for walks as much as I like running though the Surrey hills. But dogs do see runners as a threat and it's difficult for me to share the dog owners belief about their dogs nature as it comes towards me. Will it sniff or bite me? But I did admire the owner of the barking, snarling Alsation. Muzzled, tied up and electronic collar. I never knew this sort of thing existed, but a quick Internet search shows it could be quite common. Maybe it could be adapted to work at the sound of barking as well.

I feel better at this point in the training plan than I did last time I followed it in the summer, and managed to run back up Boxhill at the end of the run instead of calling Sarah to come and get me in the car. But marathon training is about doing lots of miles, and as I look down the plan, there are lots of miles to come, roughly 800 of them! Oh well, 1 step at a time.

Tadworth 10 and once more for luck

The Tadworth 10. I entered this event, (I don't call them races because I don't have a hope of winning), before I got the London Marathon place, so it did not fit exactly to the training plan. I shall try to find a way of posting my plan to the blog.

The start is a way from the carpark, so I got there early and ended up trying to keep warm on a wet and windy Epsom Downs racecourse. Started talking to another runner who had a heart transplant and then took up running! He is running a number of marathons this year to raise awareness for transplant donors, his website is here. Only after finding his site today did I realise he is the same age as me. It makes you realise its all too easy to take your health for granted.

I told myself all the way around to 'just go slow, treat it as a training run'. Did I? I guess I was a bit faster than a training run, but not totally pushing it. Certainly sprinted for the finish line as I watched the clock tick past 1:20. Completed the 10 miles in 1:20:03 a little slower than last year. Got the goody bag, a pair of gloves this year, and set off around again to complete the 15 miles my training plan told me to do.

On my, 'lap of honour', I got a number of strange looks from Marshalls packing up their stations and offered a second goody bag from the Marshalls at the finish line!

I am really pleased with the way I feel after this long run. The legs feel strong, and I felt I could go further. So different from when I was last at this point in my training.

My finish position 187th, I can definately improve on this and will return to do better next year.

This week I have run 5 times, 8.46km, 8.62km, 10km, 7.47km and 25.15km for a total of 59.7km (37.3 miles), this is 2km above plan, so I've started well and pleased with my progress.