Week 4 of 13 (21st - 27th Jan)

WEEK 4
Mon Lunch - Conditioning work
Mon PM- 5.5 miles easy, treadmill
Tue - Weights, Cleans, Overhead squat, Straight deadlifts, upper body conditioning
Wed - 15.75 miles (7:40 m/pm)
Thu AM - 6.2 miles (8m20 m/pm)
Thu PM - 4 miles (8m20 m/pm)
Fri - Rest
Sat - Rest
Sun - Rest
TOTAL MILEAGE - 31.5

Bonjour from the slopes of the Alps! Now on a ski holiday so the running stops for a week. Hurray!

After what was described as an "intimidating week" last week we can only say that the mighty have fallen. This week was always going to be a reduced mileage week and although I was going to try and squeeze in as much running as possible, the loss of Saturday and Sunday for my ski break was always going to hamper the mileage.

The ski holiday couldn't really have come at a better time, my right calf has been tightening up for a week or so. So much so that on Thursday's planned 9 mile run I had to cut it short and finish with only a 4 miler. It certainly wasn't debilitating but it was starting to feel like it was going to become a problem so I cut short rather than plough through. A running imbalance has given me problems with the calf before. The first time this happened it took me 3 months to get over it, the last time it happened it took me only 3 days. So I'm hoping experience has shown me how to manage the niggle. The problem with Thursday's 9 miler is that it was a point to point, office to home run so I needed to get the missus (superstar!!) to come pick me up whilst I stood in the Shell garage drinking a luke warm vanilla latte and looking a complete tool in my fluorescent kit and skin tight leggings.

This wasn't the only thing that didn't go to plan this week. On Tuesday I had planned to run in the evening but really wasn't feeling it. Outside was snow and ice, which is no fun, inside is a treadmill which is no fun either. I was driving to the gym and with about 1 minute before the turn home I had a change of mind and decided that the sofa and a bowl of cereal was indeed a more appealing option. Must be a little run down, motivation flagging and a small niggle.

So I think the less said about the rest of the week the better. Next week, mileage will again be low. A nice week of active rest on the slopes should see the fitness stay in place. I have packed my XC spikes though...planning to try and do at least one outside run. Might be tricky as I'm half way up a mountain but the  slope from our appartment to the main slopes looks perfect for hill reps :-)

Next week will be quite exciting as I am expecting the England team for the Anglo Celtic Plate to be finalised and communicated, so I will await an e-mail or phone call with either the good or bad news. I will share the news as soon as I know. We have now booked our accommodation and flights for the trip to Perth. The whole family is coming up which is fantastic. I thought it would be quite a tough sell to be honest, "hey geys, fancy travelling all the way up to Scotland and watch your little/big brother/son run around a park for 8 hours. All you need to do is stay there all day and make sure I'm well fed and watered and I will probably be miserable at best". They all said "yes".

Mileage so far: 39, 73, 102, 31

Week 3 of 13 (14th > 20th Jan)

WEEK 3
Mon Lunch - Conditioning work
Mon PM- 9 miles easy (8:10 m/pm)
Tue AM - 9 miles easy (8:15 m/pm)
Tue PM - Track session 14 x 1300 @ c6:33 m/pm off 1 min
Wed Lunch - 7.9 miles trail (7:47 m/pm)
Wed PM - Strength : Cleans & Squats
Thu - Treadmill session 15 x 650m @ c5:25 m/pm off 1 min
Fri - Rest
Sat - 17 miles easy including 4 miles @ 7:00 m/pm (ave.7:39 p/pm)
Sun - 37.5 miles (8:14 p/pm)
TOTAL MILEAGE - 101.7

So who says you can't run in the snow! As per last week's blog I said this was going to be a week of bigger mileage and a little bit more speed on the track and I executed the week to plan even given the weather.

The first half of the week went relatively smoothly and on paper the track session looked like it was going to be pretty tough. Whilst the pace wasn't super fast, the stop start nature of these reps always builds fatigue more than you would expect. However, the recent higher mileage seems to be flowing through and this session came pretty comfortably.

However by the time I got to the weights session on Wednesday evening I knew I was ready for a rest and that Thursday session was going to be a toughy. I couldn't wait for Friday's rest day. I've been doing weights and conditioning work reasonably consistently for the last 3 months and at the moment it is difficult to assess the impact of these sessions. However by the time we start racing and as we sharpen up in the summer then we will know. The important thing is I enjoy doing them, building up the pistons!

Thursday's session was planned for the track, however the weather was pretty cold and the track has a habit of freezing up pretty quickly (and I have a habit of falling on my arse). So I opted to do this one on the treadmill. Again on paper this one looked pretty quick, at least for this part of the season. In the summer I would have absolutely beasted this one. I found myself a quiet corner in the gym to do the session as other gym goers seem to have a habit of looking at your screen and trying to compete with you, which is nice compliment I guess but bloody annoying. Still didn't avoid the gawping gym rats. Maybe they thought I was Galen Rupp...Turned out the pre-run pep talk chat with Kevin helped me out. He too has to battle with treadmill sessions this week. Roll-on the summer.

Friday saw the snow really start to come down and this was when I started to wonder if I could complete the week. When the weather sets in like this you just have to accept this as an external event, out of your control, and make the most of it. Maybe that is two easy runs, maybe its two gym runs, you just have to play it by ear. Saturday's session was set at 11 miles easy, 10 mins rest, 5.5 miles @ 7:00 p/pm. I set off onto the snowy footpaths with the hope of doing the session, but I really wanted to assess the damage that the snow would do to Sunday's planned super long run (the term I have dubbed for those runs of 30 miles and beyond). The session on Saturday didn't come out entirely as planned but to all intents and purposes it did the job. I finished the run by taking a photo for a young couple enjoying the wintery views of the river Thames. Funny how the weather sometimes brings people together. Not sure my photos were great though.

The pleasing thing was that the ground was good and easy to run on. I knew I could make a good attempt at the super long run of 37.5 miles the next day. Joined by Kevin for multiple loops of a snowy Bushy park and we just about got the session done. Conditions were not so nice as on Saturday because it snowed for the full run which started to annoy me a little (kept getting in my eyes). Kevin joined me at the 13 mile mark and was due to run 20 miles with me. I would then either finish the session on my own or stop with a solid 33 miles to my name. Sensing I was wavering towards the end Kevin did me a massive favour and ran an epic 25 miles to see me to the finish. Super long run number 5 since November. Rewarded of course by a large Papa Johns pizza. I think the snow underfoot gave a little cushioning as whilst I'm tired now, my legs are not feeling as awful as after a 5 hour pounding on the roads. Pleased to have survived the weather without needing to use trail shoes, particularly as at present I don't even own a pair. I'm a road runner after all.

I'm off skiing next Saturday was will be a smaller week of training due to the loss of the weekend (however maybe I should run, I've proved I can run in the snow). Looking forward to a nice week of active week on the slopes and some time to chill with the Mrs.

Mileage so far: 39, 73, 102

Week 2 of 13 (7th Jan > 13th Jan)

WEEK 2
Mon - 11 miles easy (8m28 pm)
Tue - Track session 9100, 2300, 1800, 1400, 100, 800, 500
Wed - 7.5 miles trail (7m57 pm)
Thu - Track session 22 x 450m (30 sec walk rest), c. 1m40 per 450m.
Fri - Rest
Sat - Surrey League XC - Div 2 Mitcham Common - 4th Overall
Sun - 30 miles (7m53 pm)
TOTAL MILEAGE - 73.3

Last week went so badly that whilst I did actually write the blog I didn't really actively publicise it. After spending 5 days ill and 5 days really lethargic I was starting to get a little annoyed and feeling negative about the whole thing. The lethargy of last week probably wasn't helped by my new year's resolution to give up caffeine during the week so I am certainly partly to blame.

Anyway as the old saying goes what a difference a week can make. The return to a full working week and the routine that brings has made a lot of different. A solid if not spectacular week. Having had two good track sessions during the week I feel a whole lot more positive and this running business. November and December had me doing quite a lot of mileage and adding weights and conditioning to my program. This has left me feeling I've lost a little bit of zip, so these sessions where the confidence booster I needed. Now whilst these sessions are particularly speedy, they represent some much faster running than I have been doing and I handled them comfortably. I believe sessions like Tuesday's will form a fundamental part of my build up. I really enjoy these monster sessions on the track and this is probably going to help me with my preparation race at the Barry 40 miler.

Saturday saw another decent performance in the XC league, and whilst it is dangerous to draw comparisons to the runners around you it is nice to see I beat a number of solid marathoners. Maybe I'm just good at XC, but I somehow how doubt that. I only run up hills once every 4 weeks! But pleasing to see my summer speed hasn't totally eluded me.

During today's run an attractive young cyclist came last me and said "Hey, what are you doing around here?", she stopped to say hello. I didn't recognise her as she had helmet and glasses on. I apologised for not knowing her at all and it did indeed turn out to be a case of mistaken identity. As I ran off I joked in my head she was hitting on me (look I was over 20 miles into the run). However, on returning home and seeing the state of me covered in snot, energy gels and over bodily fluids I am convinced that was not the case. Really who looks good after 4 hours of pounding on the road.

Next week is looking a cracker, mileage will be big (for me at least) and the track work will be fast (for me at least).

Mileage so far: 39, 73
Weight (kg): 68.6, 68.5

Week 1 of 13 - (31 Dec > 6 Jan)

WEEK 1
Mon - Rest / Ill
Tue - Rest / Ill
Wed - Rest
Thu - Lunchtime, 4 miles @ 7mins pace, Evening Track session cut short
Fri - Rest
Sat - Easy 11 miles
Sun - Long run cut short 18.5 miles
TOTAL MILEAGE - 39.4

So I wanted to start writing a blog to capture my training for the Anglo Celtic Plate and UK 100km Championships on 31st March. Looking at the above it certainly hasn't started with a bang. Having been ill over the Christmas period this was my first week back running so just to get out of the house a few times was an achievement.

Thursday night's session at the track didn't really happen but I wasn't too worried as this was my first day back running in a week. It seems that even today my legs (and most probably my mind) are not quite in the right place. I had planned a 30 mile run but decided to cut it short and start a fresh with a proper training week starting tomorrow.

My race plans in the build up to the 100km in Perth are now set. These are:

12/1 Surrey XC League Race. I can easily include the XC races into the schedule without losing too much training as these are on Saturday.

17/2 Valentine's 10km. Just wanted to have a bash at a 10km since I went through the whole of the 2012 season without doing one

24/2 Barry 40 mile track race. I don't want to go into Perth 100km cold and this gives me a good opportunity to test fitness, race nutrition and strategy. Running 161 laps on a track will also be an experience. The race organiser has informed me that Grant Jeans and Paul Fernandez are already on the entry list, so this could be a great race in the making.

31/3 Perth 100km. The big one.

Not much more to report from me for now. Hopefully I can string something like looks like a week of running together next week. I'm hoping the return to routine after the Christmas break will help.

Mileage so far: 39
Weight (kg): 68.6