Apologies avid readers, I neglected to keep you informed of the run up to the race! Sufficed to say while my fitness remained constant, the two weeks leading up to the marathon were plagued with lower problems which I tried futilely to stretch out. Having said that, running almost acted as a natural pain killer despite almost definitely exacerbating the problem.


The penultimate week played host to a 1hr easy run and an interval session, both of which I enjoyed in the blazing Austin sun. The former took place around part of Lady Bird Lake - a gorgeous area in the city's downtown region and clearly a popular area for local runners. Other than that, I focused on recovery spin sessions to ensure my legs were well rested before I flew to Chicago.

The marathon itself is almost a complete blur. I was so focused on a new PB that I got tunnel vision and failed to take in the smaller details. It was a much earlier start than I'm used to - I was through security and stretching in the Grant Park by 7:10am for an 8:30am start(!). Once we set off, we ran a snaking route taking us past many of the city's architectural highlights (which we had learnt about on an architectural boat tour just one day earlier) and popular suburbs before ending up back in Grant Park. Meetal has planned to see me at miles 4, 12 and 21. 4 and 12 were practically next to each other and to our hotel, so we would have both been familiar with the landmarks. However despite our best efforts, we only saw each other at mile 4 sadly. The crowds were chaotic and crowd control was almost non-existent, meaning spectators were several lines deep and slowly started to moving into the course, narrowing the route quite drastically in some areas.

It wasn't all moans and groans though as I finished in 4:16:07 - a 17min+ improvement over last year's London time! I had noticed an significant improvement in my fitness compared to this time last year and I was so happy this translated into a faster time on the day.

I've been hopeless at writing blog entries this year. I suppose because the training regime and the trials and tribulations that come with it are largely the same as last year. Regardless, I will endeavour to give you a brief update.

Several weeks ago, I set a Half Marathon PB at Solihull Half Marathon! The sun was punishing but the picturesque surroundings and children blasting the runners with water guns made it a great experience.  I would have given anything for even just one additional water station though - I was absolutely parched by the time I crossed the finish line!

I attended a Runners Day Retreat at Loughborough University a couple of weeks ago, where I took part in a lactate test to establish my lactate thresholds and the different paces I should be training at. It turns out I'm a lot fitter than I realise (aerobically at least) and I should be running a lot faster than I am, even for my easy paces! However, I continue to be hampered by pain in my left calf and right SI joint, to the point where I've had to bow out early from more than one run recently.

I've spent the last week or so focusing a little more on stretching and strength training, swapping out some of my easy runs for spin classes to reduce impact on my legs. I have a 20 miler coming up in a few days - fingers crossed it's been worth it(!)

It's been a while, as Staind might say, since I lost posted a blog, and for that I apologise. The content management system I use to manage this website doesn't have an intuitive mobile version which means I have to sit at the computer to post updates. However, this time I went to the effort of including an image for the first time in this training program, so there IS that.

The picture is from yesterday's 12 mile run to Cotgrave Country Park and back which ended up being quite difficult on my legs. Despite that, there's been a noticeable decrease in my average heart rate which I'm quite chuffed about. I attribute that to the 2 x 30min cycle recovery sessions per week that I've added into this program - keeping my heartrate up during low impact activities appears to have really helped!

You're probably wondering how the Nottingham Festival 10K that I mentioned in my last post went. It went as well as could be considering the incredibly high temperatures. This was a day before the 40C heatwave hit the UK so the temperatures were already beginning to soar, so despite the flat course I wasn't able to beat my 10K PB. In fact, it was about 40 seconds lower than my last attempt on that ridiculously hilly course! Oh well, there's always next time.

I'm feeling quite confident about this year's marathon. I'm hoping I can discover new long routes to quell any feelings of boredom because I don't relish the thought of doing the same ones over and over again. I'll check in again very soon.

The last week or so has been one of the strongest weeks in recent memory. Having swapped the Friday/Saturday run with a bike session, I find that I'm able to recover more effectively whilst keeping my aerobic fitness up. It also means the runs themselves are less of an exercise in searing pain. However, the weather over the last 5 or so days has been punishingly hot - my 9mi run last Sunday was particularly gruelling. I've been keeping as close to bodies of water as I can so the breeze cools me down.

I had a look at the training schedule for this week's long run (Week 4) and I need to complete a 10K at race pace (less than 5:30/km). I thought I'd have a quick look in the local area to see if there was an official event I could enter to make it more of a race experience. Well, it turns out it's the first annual Nottingham Running Festival this Sunday at Colwick Racecourse which is about a 10 minute walk from where I live - talk about a result! I'll be heading there to attempt to beat my 10K PB. Given that it's a completely flat course, I reckon my chances are pretty decent!

It's been difficult adapting to four runs a week, so much so that I've had to substitute the Saturday run for a spin bike session to mitigate injuries/soreness. The Chicago Marathon organisers provide a training schedule which includes five runs a weeks and I simply don't know how people do this without injuring themselves(!). However, some of the reading I've done suggests a sudden change in the intensity or volume of workouts can cause a lot of damage to calf muscles, which is exactly what I've been suffering from.

I'm feeling a lot better today, and I'll be heading out for my first run of the week later on. My running schedule now reflects the Weds/Thurs/Sun pattern from my London training, with bike sessions on Tues and Sat to keep my aerobic fitness in check.

Well, it seems like only this time last week I was gearing up to train for London Marathon! However, this time round, I'm far more seasoned and come equipped with the wealth of experience from last year. Or so I'm telling myself.

My first week of training did not go swimmingly. After sitting down and finely crafting a robust training timetable for the first 4 weeks, I forgot to take into account my abnormally high training load from the week before. That, coupled with some incredibly high temperatures, meant that I was pretty much exhausted by Wednesday. After rejigging the rest of the week's activities slightly, I feel much stronger and confident going into my first long tomorrow: an easy 7 miles. I've checked the weather forecast and looks like we're in for pretty moderate temperatures.

The training leading up to race day went as expected, consisting of two easy runs and a 3mi tempo run, the latter of which went very well. I was quietly confident that I would be able to beat my 10K PB, but Nottingham's geography decided otherwise.

The first few kilometres of the race went quite well. I started between the 50 and 55 minute pacers with the intention of catching up with the former over the first 5K. However, despite studying the elevation map and having actually been to the venue before, I still wasn't prepared for quite how hilly the route was. The hills just kept coming, one after the other: up and down, up and down. Gradually, the 50 minute pacer got farther and farther way. I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to beat my PB, but I'd give it a bloody good go regardless.

The venue was the University of Nottingham and their grounds are absolutely stunning. Despite battling the morning heat and multiple hills, I thoroughly enjoyed the landscape. I finished with an official time of 50:39 which I was more than pleased with considering the terrain (the finishing line was on the top of a hill too - what sadist planned this route?!). Time for some well deserved rest now!

I'm well aware at this point that most of my pictures are variations of the River Trent or the lakes at Colwick. Better those than my sweaty face, I suppose(!)

After some waning inspiration, I feel like I got my mojo back this week. I've been sleeping better and the runs have been much more successful, even if I have to drag myself out of the door to do them sometimes. This week has involved a couple of easy runs and an intense 30min spin session on my bike - those are never fun. I've also been inching ever closer to my 10K PB on my Garmin's race time prediction - as of right now, I'm only 4 seconds off at 49:08. Here's hoping today's interval session will push it over the line.

The last week of running has been nothing short of arduous, both mentally and physically. I feel like I've made some progress, cardiovascular-wise, particularly during the interval sessions. However a lot of my body continues to ache, and no amount of stretching seems to alleviate it even a bit. As a result, I've had to miss the odd easy session which is quite dispiriting.

Yesterday I completed a steady 10K in just under an hour which helped restore a bit of my mojo. Oddly, a lot of the calf pain I had experienced in the days prior subsided pretty quickly. I revisited a familiar route along the River Trent and Holme Pierrepont Country Park which I've always enjoyed.

This week will be a little easier as I begin to taper for the race in a couple of weeks time. I'm hoping to get lots of rest to recover from this nagging aches and pains.

Yesterday, I paid a visit to my dear old friend Colwick Park to run 4 x 1km intervals at race pace, which I intended to be between 4:30/km and 5:00/km. However, they actually ended up being 5-10 seconds a kilometre faster! I really enjoy the variety these sessions provide, and I can feel them becoming gradually easier, both in myself and in my average heart rate which seems to slowly dropping. Sometimes it's very easy to get discouraged when fitness improvements aren't immediately obvious but small measures like this keep us on the grind.

Taking a day off before a long easy run on the bank holiday Monday. Until then.

Apologies for the delay in posting. In truth, the end of last week was hectic at both work and home. I managed to squeeze in a moderately successful interval session on Friday, running 3 x 1km at the target race pace, but the heat on that day and a subsequent weekend away made recovery incredibly slow.

However, I am back now and it's clear to me my body needed a little break. After a very scenic yet painful 30min easy on Monday, I switched to my spin bike on Tuesday to give my legs a rest from the impact of running. I now hurt in a multitude of other ways but I think my legs are grateful.

I should be heading out for a 45mins easy session today, mostly likely in the evening!

Yesterday, I embarked upon a 3 mile run at "tempo pace" which I decided to interpret as "race pace". Sufficed to say, I was not able to maintain a 4:30 pace continuously for 3 miles but I wasn't too far off, breaks notwithstanding. In addition, it didn't feel as horrendous as the last tempo run which means I'm definitely moving in the right direction. I'm quietly confident I'll be able to come close to my 10K PB at the very least, maybe even beat it.

Today is an impromptu rest day because my legs feel like absolute shambles. Until tomorrow!

Blog

21 October 2022

Marathon II? Completed It, Mate.

7 September 2022

It's Been A While

1 August 2022

Time to Touch Base

14 July 2022

An Impromptu Race

6 July 2022

Remembering the Strain

25 June 2022

Here We Go Again!

23 May 2022

A Hilly Destiny

13 May 2022

Hello Mojo!

9 May 2022

Inspiration, where art thou?

1 May 2022

Intervalling

28 April 2022

Getting Back Into It

20 April 2022

A Whole Load of Ouch