A verse! Isaiah 40:31

One of my favourite verses (well, one of only a few I know by heart!)

Isaiah 40:31 (New International Version)

but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

A very powerful verse for those long, tough training runs and races.

Joyful running

A few nights before my long Saturday run, I read an excellent, uplifting paragraph in Ryan Hall's (a Christian American elite marathon runner) book "Running for Joy".  It was from a chapter when he was ill and had not been able to run, so has taken a look at his priorities and when his heart lies - is it all about the 2 big races he does per year, and getting the best time possible and possibility winning the race?  Or is it about something deeper - his relationship with Jesus and on-going joy and love of running?  This really struck a chord with me, as I realised that I was focusing too much on times, pace and distance and this was getting me down.  In my heart, why should I run?  I should get joy from running - whatever the time or result - because God has blessed me with the ability to run long distances in the first place and when I am out I can get away from the day-to-day distractions if life and have some spiritual time.  Even if you are not religious I expect many people run for some sort of deeper or spiritual reason where they get the most enjoyment from simply running for joy and not obsessing over times. So during this long run i tried to appreciate simply running because I was able to and thanking Jesus that I could do that and that He could also run with me!!  I often get mental images and pictures or thoughts in my mind during a really good run which I believe to be words of encouragement from Jesus. 

Sometimes they are difficult thoughts that I first i don't like to confront - at one point I got hung up on the fact that God seemed to give great ability to a tiny handful of elite runners like Ryan Hall whilst the rest of us plodded on without even the hope of getting a good for age time.  Why are some people so lucky and blessed but the vast majority of us struggle with average times and capabilities, just trying to finish?  Then I got two more thoughts - firstly, "average" times are still an amazing achievement and something to be be very thankful of at all.  Whether it's running, another sport or a totally different goal, we can't always be an elite in our field or even get a PB every time but that doesn't mean we can't get joy and satisfaction from what we do.  Secondly, only a few people can win a race or qualify as an elite, and they can help encourage club runners and the rest of us mortals by talking about their experiences, giving advice and if they are a Christian, sharing their joy and blessing with the rest of us!  And that can be really amazing!  God will always try to use us to help spread His messages, He can use the elites to encourage the masses and then I will try and do my part by writing this blog and sharing my experiences.  Maybe it will help someone who wants to start running do their own 5k race!!  How cool would that be!  Reading these athlete's accounts about how God has helped them helps me apply it to me own life.   I had a poor run at Brighton and could have let it get to me, but then a good run later on - if i had not been reminded of the real reason for running I may have let my disappointment from Brighton turn into bitterness and then I may have been very negative about Saturday's long run.

I know not everyone reading this is a believer but maybe you have some kind of spiritual attitudes and think that deep down running (or your own sport, etc) should be primarily about bring joy and finding some peace and not just about hitting targets and obsessing over PBs.

Saturday Long Run

Good long slow run of just over 18.5 miles today.  I plotted out my route as normal, but changed it slightly as I thought that part of it, a long track that goes through woods and across a field, would be still very muddy and difficult to run on without trail shoes.  The new route would have two shorter hills instead of one long one and was all on pavement.  I also needed to add another couple of miles to get the distance up, so extended the Alban Way part of the run (the long disused railway track going from West St Albans into Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City) into Hatfield and then did a loop around the business park (one I often do at lunchtime).  Mostly a nice route, quite hilly for the first half but much flatter later on.

Run went well, took it slowly at about 12 min/mile pace.  My aim for the marathon is around 11.30-11.40 m/miles.  It was a very cold day, minus temperatures and some light snow!  I took me a while to get out and go for a run as I was so warm at home, last thing I wanted to do was spend hours running in the cold!  But I had a great bit of motivation - after checking my emails that morning I saw another donation on my JustGiving site!  So I was very grateful and this made me get my kit on and head out to train!  Thanks Harry!

It was a nice break not having to do the 2-mile slog up towards Childwickbury (to avoid the mud later on), but this did make the two hills feel a bit tougher - I'd done the first and knew I had to do another one!  But hey it's good to get the hills in.  That is one thing I am not good at - hill-specific runs!  I will happily put plenty into the training runs (St Albans is on a hill, so no getting away from them) but I am pretty poor at just doing hill-reps!

Felt like I had plenty of energy (I'd had a potato and other "easy" foods the day before) and got by on a Lucozade, 2 gels, and one left-over Gatorzade glucose block (which wasn't as nice as the usual Clif shot blocks).  The first 2 miles are difficult as there is a fairly tough climb followed by a very steep downhill part, so there is not much chance to get into a comfortable pace for quite a while.  I don't feel like I'm "into" the run until I've got onto the main road about 4-5 miles in! 

Topped up my water bottle at the park and had a gel, this kept me going for a while.  I was starting to ache by about 12 miles but managed to keep the pace up and had no need to walk at all.  I was very thankful that the Brighton Half had been a slow one, as now I had energy and strength for this run!  Although at the time I was disappointed with the result, if I'd done it in a faster time I might not have been able to do this training run as well.  I suppose it's like investing my energy in the long slow runs instead of the quicker HM races for a later but ultimately better payoff!

Finished the run in 3:43 and total distance was 18.66 miles.  Will do another 20 miler in 2 weeks time, 21 miles 3 weeks before VLM and then the marathon!!  In between I will do slightly shorter 15-16 mile runs and a couple more HMs which I will take slowly (Bath and Reading).

Spent the rest of the day too tired to do much except watch Skyfall on DVD and have some ice cream!!

Total training

Friday: Cycle to work (7 miles)
Saturday: Long slow run (18.66 miles)
Sunday:  Rest day!

This week's running and swimming

Had a couple of decent training sessions yesterday, and a short swim this morning.
Yesterday lunchtime I headed to the pool where the University triathlon club has a few lanes.  Our Tri-Force coach also helps out the uni club and members of either club can go to each other's sessions.  I don't get long in the pool at lunch - an hour's break which means only about 35 minutes actually swimming, but it's always worth it.

So yesterday i focused on arm technique which is generally getting better but I tend to forget if I am concentrating on something else.  During Monday's session my nose-clips unfortunately snapped making for a very uncomfortable session!  I hate not having them!! But at least I spent that session learning not to drown should I loose them during a race.  I bought some more so this session was much more enjoyable.  Also got good use out of my new fins which are a lot of fun, a bit like skydiving booties :)

Had a pretty good run in the evening, 8.3 miles, after work.  Normally during the winter I run immediately after work from the sports village and then drive home afterwards.  However I have become very bored with that route so drove home to do a route I have not done since early last year.  It is a twisty, turny route going into town and then through some of the residential areas and is generally well or reasonably lit so fine to do in winter when it's dark.  It's fairly hilly, as the route S-turns up and down a hilly section of the district, but there is more up in the first half and more down in the second.  It went quite well and my time was 1.29.  I don't have mile splits but feel the second half was stronger and not just because of the downhill.  Makes me feel better after Sunday's very slow HM.

Today (Thursday) has mostly been a rest day although I did go for a swim first thing before work.  I can't make tonight's session with TF as I am volunteering at the homeless shelter.



Total training

Monday:  
3.6 mile recovery run with Matt
90 minute swim with Tri Force

Tuesday: 
Cycle ride to work (8 miles)

Wednesday: 
35 minute swim with Tri Force
8.3 mile run

Thursday
30 minute swim

Brighton Half Marathon

Spent the weekend in Brighton this weekend for the Half Marathon.  Couldn't have been luckier with the weather - it was positively spring-like!  Blue skies and double-figure temperatures!  The HM was held almost entirely along the beach front, and along the main (closed) roads so was a prime location with thousands of supporters.  

I knew that I would have to take this HM fairly slowly and treat it as a training run.  I'd done over 17 miles the weekend before and this weekend will need to do at least 18, so this was a "rest week". In the 2 months or so before Loch Ness, I tended to do two weeks of long slow runs, followed by one week of 10-12 miles (or about 2/3 of the distance of the long run).  

So I intended to do the Brighton HM quite slow and now aim for a PB or anything, although i did want to beat my Watford time of 2:21.

Unfortunately I found the race quite tough, I don't really know why other than the possibility of having not quite recovered from the previous week's long run.  I went out slightly too fast but slowed down when i saw the 1 mile marker and saw on my watch the time was under 10 minutes (much too fast - even my 2:12 PB at the Stevenage HM last year was an average of 10:05 m/m) but even after slowing down by mile 3 was finding it difficult to keep my pace going.  The course was mostly flat, but there were some long, medium climbs in the first out-and-back part of the race.  I had a really good stretch for a while at mile 5 as it was a slight downhill and really excellent crowds, but a few miles later I was starting to feel drained on energy.  I plodded along as best as I could, had some energy drinks and a gel, but just felt like I was stuck in 2nd gear.  I also felt slightly dehydrated, but was drinking plenty of water in small sips throughout the route. I hope I am not coming down with a cold as I have been sneezing more than usual!!! I'd had an alright night's sleep (apart from being woken up in the middle of the night by some drunk couple shouting at each other!) and had plenty of pasta the day before, no stomach upsets or nuisances such as blisters so I couldn't really understand it.  I meant to take it fairly easy, but I had no choice, I literally couldn't get any faster.

The course itself was great, and once I'd accepted the fact this would probably be a PW, I tried to enjoy it.  It really was a great route, sea on one side and crowds on the other.  It basically consisted on 2 out-and-backs (the first 6-7 miles going east and then turning back and heading west, then you passed fairly near to the start and carried carried on west, then turned back to do the last 3 miles east back to the start/finish.  I am glad I wore my Shelter charity top as it has my name on it, so got plenty of encouragement!

In the end I finished in 2:29, my slowest time for a HM race and an average page of just under 11:30 m/mil.  That is my target pace for the marathon so i am hoping that once I have done a few more long runs and have tapered I'll be able to do that in April for the 26.2.  Part of me was very disappointed by my time (who wants to get a PW in a race just 9 weeks before the marathon?!) but I have tried to learn from it and besides it was not exactly the main race of the season but just a training run to be treated like any Sunday morning long slow run at home.  Just with crowds and a (very nice) medal at the end.  I suppose, say I were to have run that distance/time at home (i.e. not in a race) I wouldn't have been that bothered about the time.

I am going to vary my medium run tonight and do an 8 mile route I have not done since last summer.  I also have a swimming session but otherwise will make sure I am well rested before Saturday's long run.  The last month has not been that great, whilst I have been managing the distance, my times don't seem to have improved.  Ever since we had the snow about 4 weeks ago I have been slower, but the snow has completed melted now so the paths are clear and easy to run on.  Or maybe it is the extra swimming sessions I have been doing.  Maybe it is the opposite and I am not running enough!!  Who knows, and there seems to be so much random advice out there on the internet, I think maybe I will just listen to my body and do what I can do.  I am doing the Bath and Reading HMs soon as well, which I have heard are good flat courses with great PB potential, but I do not think I am going to be able to run them quickly and again will have to treat them as slow training runs.  I will save the fast HM and PB-chasing til well after London and Prague marathons!!  That is when i will hopefully be at my fittest anyway.

Below - some pics!  Back at the charity village tent with Shelter!

The last week or so, some ups and downs

Had some ups and downs in the training over the last few days.  Swimming has gone very well, I have been in the pool most days this week (2 coached sessions and a solo session) and got another lesson tonight.  I haven't really been on the bike at all, it's been awful weather with snow on Sunday night so the roads weren't exactly at their best, or just raining.  Looking forward to the spring now when it will be lighter and warmer!

I did a long run (just over 17 miles) on Saturday which went fairly well.  I say fairly well - it felt good when I was running, a nice consistent pace the whole time, and plenty of energy.  However I had used Map My Run to plot a route, but had to change it slightly because of a flood in the road - I took a different road and thought it was about the same distance, but when I had finished and re-mapped the run accurately I discovered it was almost a mile shorter than what i had planned!  I was intending on doing 18 miles and sadly fell short.  Hmm no wonder I was still feeling strong at the end of it.  To make matters worse, I thought I had a reasonable time, but after realising it was a shorter distance the pace was actually slower than I would have wanted.  Felt a bit miffed at the end of it all, but I suppose in the over all scheme of things a mile here or a few minutes extra there doesn't make a massive difference.

I didn't do much on Sunday apart from go to Church - it was a proper rest day!  I managed to watch a few DVDs and eat rubbish food like pop corn and chocolate!!

Monday, I went for a recovery run at lunchtime.  It has been snowing overnight, but the paths were pretty clear as the snow started melting very quickly.  Wore the trail shoes just in case through, it was quite nice to get out of the office and into the fields a bit.  Had a swimming session with Tri Force in the evening.

Tuesday, I was planning to cycle, but still a bit icy on the roads so went for a swim at lunchtime instead.  Also did the TF circuits class in the evening which was great - although the last 5 minutes doing plank exercises was not fun at all!

Yesterday I went for a medium tempo run after work.  It was meant to be just over 7 miles, and the run went very well.  It was great as I felt I actually had some real energy in my legs and was keeping up a decent pace.  It was also 2.5 minutes faster than the same route last week.  Yet when I got back, again, I realised the Map My Run route was incorrect! (Something to do with the auto-follow road function meant it had not picked up the cycle track i ran on and mapped along the road instead, which was longer)  It was actually 0.3 of a mile shorter than I expected and the pace nearly 30 seconds slower per mile than I first thought. I was meant to be running at roughly half marathon PB-or-close pace (between 10:05 and 10:20 min/mi) and it ended up being 10:35.  Really annoyed at this because I thought this was one of my best runs in ages, but feels like nowadays every time I feel like a run has gone well I find out something which gives a worse result.

Today will be a fairly light day - a swimming session with Tri Force tonight (although this will be hard work!), no running or high impact today.  Tomorrow, hopefully, I will get to ride on my bike and go for a swim.  Then at the weekend I'll be taking the train down to Brighton ready for Sunday's Brighton Half Marathon.

Friday 8th Feb: Rest day! And ballot results

Had a good last couple of days.  I did a medium run of just over 7 miles on Wednesday night which went well.  I had originally pencilled in 9 miles but with a long run coming up and the half marathon from last weekend, I was feeling quite tired and not up to the distance.  Sometimes I guess it is best to listen to your body and do a shorter, better-quality workout than push yourself too far.  I starred with a mile's slow warm up and then had a very good medium paced run for about 6.3 miles.  It was quite a lot colder than I expected though!  I had gloves, but only the thin ones and perhaps i should have worn the thicker ones instead.

Thursday was a bit gentler, I went for a swim at lunch time and worked on some skills, the front crawl is beginning to (slowly) feel more natural now.  I still can't do that many lengths without needed to pause for breath though!  Maybe I set off too fast.... Goodness knows how I'll get through 400m without stopping for the triathlon but at least I look back and can say that a few weeks ago I could barely do 25m of FC without gasping for air!  I had to miss the Thursday Tri-Force evening session as I was volunteering with Centre 33, instead I'd also gone for a short coached session on Wednesday lunchtime.  The Uni triathlon club train then, and TF members can attend them as well.  Had to get back to work though, but it was good to have done 2 short sessions and have something to work on than none at all. 

Today is a rest day, although I did cycle into work on the new racing bike to work as it was a nice morning.  Going to take it easy tonight though as I have a long run tomorrow, probably 17.5 or 18 miles. I can’t believe it’s only about 10 weeks til the London Marathon.  So an peaceful evening in front of a DVD with Hugh Jackman or Robert Downey Jr is my plan!!!

Update - a few weeks ago i applied for the Royal Parks Half, although I'm not sure why since it is only 1 week after the Berlin Marathon.  But there's a bit of me that hates to miss out on any opportunity and if was a case of if I'd got in I'd have just run it very slowly purely for the atmosphere (possibly in fancy dress for charity).  But I'm not in.  OH WELL!  That was a close one!!  I think I will go for it again next year though, it's one I'd love to do and I may even consider the Ultra (50k)......

Oh and second update, got home and waiting for me was the ballot results for Ride London 100.  Didn't get a place in that either.  Can't complain though, I'd rather do one VLM than a hundred Royal Park Halfs and Ride 100's! (both literally and figuratively lol).

Wednesday Total Training

30 minute swim

7.3 mile run

Thursday Total Training

Bike ride to work (8 miles)

30 minute swim

Friday Total Training

Bike ride to work the short way (7 miles)